The development of large-scale hospital depends on its comprehensive strength,and the scientific research is especially important of it.However.the potential of the scientific research is dependent on the discipline construction and personnel training.Selecting the outstanding person at home and abroad is the most important aspect of the scientific research field.Therefore,the system for cultivating and selecting talents must be established and perfected.

AIM: To study the roles and mechanisms of ERKs and intracellular free calcium in cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response induced by endothelin-1(ET-1). METHODS: (1) Neonatal rat cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response was assayed by measuring cell surface area and protein content; (2) ERKs activity was determined by Whatman Paper Filter method; (3) Intracellular free calcium concentration (［Ca2+］i) was measured using Fura-2/AM as a fluorescent indicator. RESULTS: (1) ET-1 could increase total protein production, surface area, ERKs activity and ［Ca2+］i in cultured cardiomyocyte in dose-dependent manner at concentrations ranging from 10-9 to 10-7 mol/L. And this effect could be abolished by BQ123, an antagonist of ETA receptor, partly inhibited by PTX, but not by BQ788, an antagonist of ETB receptor.（2）The activation of ERKs and the increase of ［Ca2+］i induced by ET-1 were obviously inhibited by PD98059, a selective ERKs kinase inhibitor, and nifedipine, a calcium channel blocker, respectively. Both antagonists partially inhibited ET-1-stimulated cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response. (3) Staurosporine, a selective PKC inhibitor, could inhibit ET-1-stimulated cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response and increase of ［Ca2+］i, but not affect the activation of ERKs. CONCLUSION: Cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response induced by ET-1 is mediated by ETA receptor coupled to PTX-sensitive G-protein, which involves at least two signalling pathways: PKC-mediated increase of ［Ca2+］i , and PKC-independent activation of ERKs.

Objective To analyze and summarize the imaging features of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE).Methods The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted.The clinicopathological data of 9 patients with EHE who were admitted to the Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between June 2012 and June 2016 were collected.Patients underwent computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations.Number,size,location,shape,density or signal and enhancement method of lesions,with or without lesions fusion and relationship between lesions and vessels were analyzed by 2 imaging doctors.Lesions in left lobe of liver,right lobe of liver and caudate lobe of liver were respectively counted.Real number was a standard as less than 5 lesions and more than or equal to 5 lesions was represented as ≥ 5.Observation indicators:(1) overall imaging features of EHE;(2) MRI findings of EHE;(3) CT findings of EHE;(4) treatment and pathological features of EHE and results of follow-up.Patients received the corresponding treatment after imaging examinations.Follow-up using outpatient imaging examinations was performed to detect tumor recurrence and stable condition of patients up to December 2016.Results (1) Overall imaging features of EHE:of 9 patients with EHE,6 received plain and enhanced scans of MRI,3 received plain and enhanced scans of CT (1 combined with MRI),1 received enhanced scan of CT.Lesions in right lobe of liver were more than that in left lobe of liver,and there were fewest lesions in caudate lobe of liver.Lesions were round or similar-round shape,with a maximum diameter of 2.5-6.1 cm and an average diameter of 3.6 cm.Four patients had total 2-5 lesions and less than 5 lesions in each lobe of liver,without lesions fusion,including 1 with halo sign and capsule retraction sign and 1 with halo sign.Of other 5 patients,2 had more than or equal to 5 lesions in each lobe of liver and 3 had more than or equal to 5 lesions in 2 lobes of liver;4 had halo sign,lollipop sign,capsule retraction sign and a tendency of lesions fusion,1 had halo sign and capsule retraction sign.The halo sign,lollipop sign,capsule retraction sign and a tendency of lesions fusion were 7/9,4/9,6/9 and 4/9 in 9 patients,respectively.(2) MRI findings of EHE:6 patients received plain and enhanced scans of MRI.① Four patients had clearhalo sign on T2 weighted imaging (T2WI),in portal vein phase and hepatobiliary phase.Three patients had slightly central hyperintensity and thick ring of slightly peripheral hyperintensity on T2WI.There were slightly central hyperintensity and thin ring of slightly peripheral hypointensity in 1 patient,and the halo sign was seen by enhanced scan.There were central hyperintensity and peripheral hypointensity in 2 patients,and the halo signs were clearly seen in hepatobiliary phase.Some patients were combined with multiple manifestations.② There were no obvious halo sign on T2WI,annular enhancement in arterial phase by enhanced scan,no obvious halo sign in portal vein phase and hepatobiliary phase in 2 patients.There were hypointensity on T1WI and isointensity-hyperintensity on DWI in 6 patients.(3) CT findings of EHE:plain scan of CT in 4 patients showed slightly hypodense shadow,without calcification.Enhanced scan of CT in 3 patients showed that obvious halo-like enhancement was seen in portal vein phase and halo rings were less obvious than that by MRI examination.(4) Treatment and pathological features of EHE and results of follow-up:of 9 patients with EHE,4 underwent surgical resection based on lesions ≤5 and surgical specimens were detected by pathological examination,5 underwent interventional treatment and pathologic examination with biopsy.Gross specimen examination showed that lesions were solid and stiff,with greyish white section plane and infiltrative margin.Tumor cells consisted of epithelioid cells under the microscopy,without atypia and with rare mitotic figures,and vacuoles were seen in cytoplasm.Immunohistochemistry showed CD31 and CD34 were positive.Nine patients were followed up for 6-54 months.During the follow-up,4 patients with surgery had no recurrence and 5 patients with interventional therapy remained stable condition.Conclusions Imaging manifestations of hepatic EHE are the more typical when lesions of EHE became more.Hepatic EHE has a tendency of lesion fusion,halo sign,capsule retraction sign and lollipop sign.Imaging manifestations on T2WI with fat suppression,in portal vein phase and hepatobiliary phase are helpful to improve the diagnosis of hepatic EHE.

AIM: To study the roles and mechanisms of ERKs and intracellular free calcium in cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response induced by endothelin-1(ET-1). METHODS: (1) Neonatal rat cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response was assayed by measuring cell surface area and protein content; (2) ERKs activity was determined by Whatman Paper Filter method; (3) Intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca 2+ ]i) was measured using Fura-2/AM as a fluorescent indicator. RESULTS: (1) ET-1 could increase total protein production, surface area, ERKs activity and [Ca 2+ ]i in cultured cardiomyocyte in dose-dependent manner at concentrations ranging from 10 -9 to 10 -7 mol/L. And this effect could be abolished by BQ123, an antagonist of ET A receptor, partly inhibited by PTX, but not by BQ788, an antagonist of ET B receptor.(2)The activation of ERKs and the increase of [Ca 2+ ]i induced by ET-1 were obviously inhibited by PD98059, a selective ERKs kinase inhibitor, and nifedipine, a calcium channel blocker, respectively. Both antagonists partially inhibited ET-1-stimulated cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response. (3) Staurosporine, a selective PKC inhibitor, could inhibit ET-1-stimulated cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response and increase of [Ca 2+ ]i, but not affect the activation of ERKs. CONCLUSION: Cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response induced by ET-1 is mediated by ET A receptor coupled to PTX-sensitive G-protein, which involves at least two signalling pathways: PKC-mediated increase of [Ca 2+ ]i , and PKC-independent activation of ERKs. [

Objective To investigate the neuroproteetive effect of Rhubarb extract (RE) on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice and its mechanism.Methods Twenty-eight male ICR mice were randomly divided into sham operation,ischemia-reperfusion,low-dose RE (100 mg/kg),and high-dose RE (100 mg/kg) groups.A model of middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion in mice was induced by the suture method.The drug intervention groups were given intragastric RE administration (once a day) on the third day before model preparation,and the same volume of normal saline was injected into mice of the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion group.The volume of cerebral infarction was detected by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining.The neuron-specific nuclear protein (NeuN),glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP),and ionized calcium binding adapter 1 (IBA-1) were used as markers of the ischemic cortical neurons,astrocytes,and microglial cells,respectively,and detected by inmunohistochemistry.The expression levels ofsuperoxide dismutase (SOD)-1,SOD-2,and catalase (CAT) in ischemic cortex were detected by Western blot analysis.Results Compared with the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion group,the neurological function score of the high-dose RE group was significantly reduced,the infarct volume was significantly reduced,and the number of neurons in the ischemic cortex was increased significantly,and the activation degree of astrocytes and microglia was decreased significantly (all P ＜0.05),the expression levels of SOD-1,SOD-2,and CAT were increased significantly (all P＜ 0.05);in contrast,there was no significant difference between the low-dose RE group and the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion group.Conclusions High-dose RE may play a protective role for cerebral ischemia-reperfusion mice through anti-oxidative mechanism.

Aim To construct a diabetic atherosclerosis mouse model and study the pathological characteristics of diabetic atherosclerosis.Methods Fifty 8-week-old male LDLR-/-mice were fed with standard diet for 2 weeks and then changed to high-fat diet,they were randomly divided into two groups.The diabetic atherosclerosis group was given intraperitoneal injection of low dose streptozotocin(STZ)for 5 days continuouly to establish the model,and the atheroscle-rosis group was given citrate buffer injection at the same time.The body mass,blood glucose and blood lipids of the mice in the two groups were detected for many times.At the age of 23 weeks,the mice were euthanized after glucose tolerance test.HE staining and oil red O staining were used to detect the gross and aortic root atherosclerosis,immunohistochemical staining was used to detect CD4,α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA),EGF-like module-containing mucin-like hormone re-ceptor-like 1(EMR1),monocyte chemotactic protein-1(MCP-1),NOD-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3),vascular cell adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1),matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2)and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1(TIMP-1),Western blot was used to detect α-SMA,CD4,tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),NLPR3,intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1),and type Ⅰ and Ⅲ collagen.Results Compared with the atherosclerosis group,the body mass decreased,the levels of total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG),low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDLC)increased,and the levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDLC)decreased(P＜0.05)in the diabetic atherosclerosis group.Compared with the atherosclerosis group,the distribution of atherosclerotic plaques was diffuse and the area was increased in the diabetic atherosclerosis group,and the contents of lipids,T cells,macrophages,smooth muscle cells,type Ⅰ and Ⅲ colla-gen were increased(P＜0.05);the protein levels of TNF-α,MCP-1,MMP-2,NLRP3,ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in vascular tissues were increased,while the content of TIMP-1 were decreased and MMP2/TIMP-1 were increased(P＜0.05).Conclusions LDLR-mouse model of diabetic atherosclerosis can be successfully established by STZ induction combined with high-fat diet,which can reflect the plaque composition and inflammatory characteristics of diabetes promoting atheroscle-rosis.It can be used as a relatively ideal pathological model for the study of diabetic macroangiopathy.

[Abstract] Objective: To investigate the effect of Tim-4 on invasion and migration of cervical cancer cells and its underlying mechanisms. Methods：The expression levels of Tim-4 in cervical cancer cell lines Siha, Hela and cervical epithelial immortalized cell line H8 were detected by Real-time PCR. The Tim-4 lentiviral vector was transfected into Siha cell line. The over-expression of Tim-4 in Siha cell line was detected by fluorescence microscopy. The effects of Tim-4 on the invasion and migration of cervical cancer cell line were detected by Transwell and scratches methods. The changes of MMP2, MMP9, E-cadherin and N-cadherin in Siha cells were detected by Western blotting. Results：The expression of Tim-4 was higher in Siha and Hela cell lines compared to that in the H8 cell line. The Siha cell line burdening Tim-4 lentiviral vector was successfully constructed. Over-expression of Tim-4 significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of cervical cancer cell line, and affected the expression of MMP2, MMP9, N-cadherin and E-cadherin. Conclusion：Over-expression of Tim-4 promotes the invasion and migration by regulating the EMT transformation in cervical cell carcinoma.

Objective: To analyze the clinical and genetic features of patients with mitochondrial pyruvate carrier deficiency (MPYCD). Methods: This was a case series research. The clinical data, genetic characteristics, and glutamine treatment efficacy of 3 patients diagnosed with MPYCD at the Department of Neurology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University and Department of Pediatrics, Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, from August 2019 to June 2023 were retrospectively collected. A literature search with "MPC1 gene" "MPC2 gene and" "mitochondrial pyruvate carrier deficiency" as keywords was conducted at the Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and PubMed (up to June 2023). Clinical and genetic characteristics of patients with MPYCD were summarized. Results: Case 1 was a 3 years and 11 months old boy, while case 2 was a 4 years and 10 months old boy and case 3 was an 8 years and 9 months old girl. Case 2 and case 3 were siblings from one consanguineous family. All 3 patients presented with general developmental delay, growth failure and elevated serum lactate. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed subtle bilateral symmetrical T2 signal hyperintensity in basal ganglia and thalamus in case 1, but normal in case 2 and 3. Trio-WES revealed case 1 harboring compound heterozygous missense variants c.208G>A (p.Ala70Thr) and c.290G>A (p.Arg97Gln) in MPC1 gene, while case 2 and 3 revealed a homozygous variant c.290G>A (p.Arg97Gln) in the same gene. All 3 cases were diagnosecl as MPYCD. Clinical symptoms including motor ability, cognition and activity endurance were improved in these 3 patients after taking glutamine for 2 years. A total of 5 articles published in English were reviewed, and no Chinese literature was found. Including these 3 cases, 15 cases were enrolled for analysis. Eleven patients carried MPC1 gene variants and 4 cases carried MPC2 gene variants. Except for 3 cases died during prenatal period, 9 of 12 enrolled born cases were onset before 6 months old. The most common clinical symptoms were mental and motor general developmental delay, microcephaly, growth failure and hypotonia. All patients had elevated blood lactate and pyruvate, but the ratio of lactate/pyruvate was normal. Seven patients performed cranial MRI, 3 exhibited non-specific changes, 2 showed bilateral symmetrical T2 signal hyperintensity in basal ganglia and thalamus, and 3 were normal. A total of 5 MPC1 gene missense variants and 2 MPC2 gene variants were identified in 15 cases. Conclusions: Onset age of patients with MPYCD is usually within 6 months. The main clinical characteristics are developmental delay, microcephaly and growth failure, accompanied by increased serum lactate and pyruvate. Glutamine supplement could lead to clinical improvements.
Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Glutamine ; Lactates ; Microcephaly ; Monocarboxylic Acid Transporters ; Pyruvates ; Retrospective Studies ; Child, Preschool

The clinical application of doxorubicin (DOX) in cancer chemotherapy is limited by its life-threatening cardiotoxic effects. Chrysophanol (CHR), an anthraquinone compound isolated from the rhizome of L., is considered to play a broad role in a variety of biological processes. However, the effects of CHR׳s cardioprotection in DOX-induced cardiomyopathy is poorly understood. In this study, we found that the cardiac apoptosis, mitochondrial injury and cellular PARylation levels were significantly increased in H9C2 cells treated by Dox, while these effects were suppressed by CHR. Similar results were observed when PARP1 activity was suppressed by its inhibitors 3-aminobenzamide (3AB) and ABT888. Ectopic expression of PARP1 effectively blocked this CHR׳s cardioprotection against DOX-induced cardiomyocyte injury in H9C2 cells. Furthermore, pre-administration with both CHR and 3AB relieved DOX-induced cardiac apoptosis, mitochondrial impairment and heart dysfunction in Sprague-Dawley rat model. These results revealed that CHR protects against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity by suppressing cellular PARylation and provided critical evidence that PARylation may be a novel target for DOX-induced cardiomyopathy.