Objective To analyze the diagnostic accuracy and safety of adenosine stress 99mTc-MIBI myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT)for assessing coronary artery disease(CAD)in the elderly. Methods 63 elderly patients(≥65 years old)without myocardial infarction were enrolled in the research.They were admitted into hospital because of suspected CAD or suffering from acute coronary syndrome.Adenosine was infused intravenously at a rate of 140μg·kg-1·min-1 for 6 minutes.During the period.all patients were given electrocardiogram monitor and blood pressure detection,the uncomfortable symptoms were recorded.At the end of 3 minutes of adenosine infusion,925MBq of 99mTc-MIBI was injected intravenously.Then adenosine stress SPECT myocardial imaging acquisition was obtained.If the results were abnormal.the rest SPECT myocardial imaging would be performed next day.All patients underwentcoronary angiography(CAG)within 1 week before or after SPECT. Results In the 53 CAD patients diagnosed by CAG,there were 51 cases with positive adenosine 99mTC-MIBI myocardial perfusion SPECT.In 10 cases with normal CAG there were 7 cases with negative adenosine myocardial imaging.The results showed the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of adenosine stress SPECT in detection of CAD in comparison with CAG were 96.2%,70.0%,92.1%respectively.The results of CAG also showed that 74 coronary arteries had been affected(defined as≥50%coronary vessel lumen reduction).There were 44 cases with affection in left anterior descending(LAD),18 eases in left circumflex(LCX)and 25 cases in right coronary artery(RCA).Correspondingly,there were 42 patients with lowering myocardial perfusion in anterior wall territory,10 patients in lateral wall territory and 21 patients in inferior wall territory.The sensitivity of adenosine 99mTc-MIBI myocardial perfusion SPECT for diagnosing LAD lesion was 95.5%,which was higher than for the other 2 coronary arteries,but the specificity for detecting LCX lesion was 100%.The adverse effects during the adenosine stress test were found in 50%patients,no serious events occurred.Conclusions Adenosine stress 99mTc-MIBI myocardial perfusion SPECT is a good noninvasive method with high diagnostic accuracy and safety in detection of CAD in the elderly,especially.highly accurate for detection and localization of significant CA D.

Background Deficiency of neurotrophic factor is associated with the damage of optic nerve in glaucoma.Reaserches showed that ectopically applied neurotrophic factor has a transient neuroprotective effect in glaucoma model,and the viral expression of adeno-associated neurotrophie factor may provide long-term supplementation of neurotrophic factor and neuroprotection in tissues.Objective The present study Was to investigate the neuroproteetive effect of adeno-associated viral(AAV)-mediated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)on retinal ganglion cells(RGCs)in DBA/2J mice with experimental glaucoma. Methods 10 clean DBA/2J mice were administered intravitreal injection with 1 microliter of AAV-BDNF-GFP in the left eyes at the age of 6 months,and the right eyes were injected with the same volume of saline solution as control.Intraocular pressure (IOP)was measured with Tonolab in the mice every month.Retinas were obtained after 3 months for the investigation of GFP expression in RGCs using fluorescence microscopy.Immunohistochemistry Was performed by applying TUJ1 and Cy3 antibodies to identify surviving RGCs. Results The IOP of DBA/2J mice were 11.90 mmHg and 11.40 mmHg in the right eyes and left eyes,respectively,at 4 months.The IOP of DBA/2J mice began to rise at 5 months and reached its peak in 8 month-old mice.There was no statistically significant difference in IOPs between the right eyes and the left eyes from 4 month-through 9 month-old mice(t=-1.78-0.61,P=0.11-0.90).Three months after intrlavitreal injection of AAV-BDNF-GFP,GFP was positively expressed in RGCs of retinas with the expression rate of 46.33%±8.08%.The over-expression of BDNF led to more RGCs survival than the control eyes (3168.13±1319.33/mm2 vs 2024.81±796.38/mm2,t=2.75,P=0.02). Conclusion These data suggest that BDNF can exert a protective effect in DBA/2J glaucoma mice.

Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Lung ; pathology ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo investigate the distribution of babA2 cagA and vacA genotypes of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) in chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer and to discuss the relationship between babA2, cagA and vacA genotypes of Hp and chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer.

METHODSbabA2, cagA genotypes and vacA subtype of 58 Hp strains isolated from patients of Zhejiang province with chronic gastritis or peptic ulcer were tested by polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTSThe positive rates of babA2, cagA, vacAs1a, vacA m1 and vacA m2 of 58 Hp strains were 87.9%, 100%, 93.1%, 1.7% and 65.5%, respectively. There were no significant differences between the positive rates of babA2, vacA s1a and vacA m2 genes of Hp strains isolated from patients with chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer.

CONCLUSIONThe genotypes of Hp isolated from patients of Zhejiang province were predominatly babA2 positive, cagA positive and vacA s1a/m2. The relationships between babA2, cagA and vacA genotypes of Hp and chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer can not be identified.

Adhesins, Bacterial ; Antigens, Bacterial ; Bacterial Proteins ; genetics ; Carrier Proteins ; genetics ; Chronic Disease ; Gastritis ; microbiology ; Genotype ; Helicobacter pylori ; genetics ; Humans ; Peptic Ulcer ; microbiology

The c-Abl nonreceptor tyrosine kinase is activated in the cellular responses to genotoxic, oxidative and other forms of stress. Using tagged forms of c-Abl, the present studies demonstrate that c-Abl forms homodimers in cells. The results show that the c-Abl N-terminal regions interact with the corresponding C-terminal regions of both partners in the dimmer. Specifically, the c-Abl SH3 domain binds to a proline-rich motif at amino acids 958-982 in the c-Abl C-terminal region. Deletion of the proline-rich motif disrupts dimmer formation. These findings provide the first evidence that c-Abl forms homodimers and indicate that homodimerization can contribute to the regulation of c-Abl activity.
Humans ; Protein Multimerization ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-abl ; genetics ; metabolism ; src Homology Domains

AIMTo investigate the effect of taurine on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and nitric oxide products (NO2 /NO3 ) content in myocardium and plasma during shock resuscitation.

METHODSTwenty-four rabbits were divided randomly into 3 groups (n=8): control group, shock group, taurine group. The model of hemorrhagic shock resuscitation was used. The activities of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and the contents of nitric oxide products (NO2- /NO3-) in plasma were observed before shock and shock 1.5 hours, after resuscitation 1 hour, 2 hours and 3 hours. The activities of NOS and the contents of NO2-/NO3- in myocardium homogenate were measured after resuscitation 3 hours. Meanwhile, pathologic samples treated routinely.

RESULTS(1) During resuscitation, the activities of NOS, LDH and the contents of NO2- /NO3- in plasma of shock group were significantly higher than that of before shock and shock 1.5 hours (P < 0.01). (2) After resuscitation 3 hours, the activity of NOS and the contents of NO2- / NO3 in myocardium of shock group were significantly higher than that of control group (P < 0.01). The cardiac myocyte appeared edema, fatty degeneration. (3) All the changes of above mentioned could be attenuated by intravenous injection taurine (40 mg/kg) (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThese results suggest that the NOS activation and NO release may mediated myocardium injury induced by shock resuscitation, taurine can ameliorate the myocardium injury, which may be related to decreasing the generation of NO.

Animals ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; pathology ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; metabolism ; Plasma ; metabolism ; Rabbits ; Resuscitation ; Shock, Hemorrhagic ; blood ; metabolism ; Taurine ; pharmacology

AIMTo approach the relationship between lung injury induced by shock/reperfusion and nitric oxide as well as the beneficial effect of taurine.

METHODSTwenty four rabbits were divided randomly into 3 groups (n = 8): control group, shock group, taurine group. The model of lung injury induced by shock/reperfusion was used. The activities of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide products (NO2-/NO3-) in plasma and lung homogenate, lung wet/dry weight, lung water content, lung permeability index, and protein content in the pulmonary alveolar lavage fluid were measured. Meanwhile, pathologic samples treated routinely.

RESULTS(1) At 3 hours after reperfusion, the activities of SOD in plasma and lung homogenate decreased markedly, but the other indexes above mentioned were increased significantly compared with the control group (P < 0.01). (2) A close correlation was shown between MDA content and NO2-/NO3- content in plasma and lung. Furthermore, the content of NO2-/NQ3- in lung homogenate showed strong positive correlation with the lung injury parameters. (3) Taurine (40 mg x kg(-1) i.v.) could attenuate all the changes above mentioned at the same time points of reperfusion.

CONCLUSIONNO may play an important role in lung injury induced by shock/reperfusion. Taurine can ameliorate the lung injury, mechanism of which may be related to decreasing the generation of NO and anti-lipoperoxidation.

Animals ; Lung ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Lung Injury ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; metabolism ; Rabbits ; Reperfusion Injury ; complications ; drug therapy ; Shock, Hemorrhagic ; complications ; drug therapy ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Taurine ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use

Redox signal transduction, especially the oxidative modification of proein thiols, correlates with many diseases and becomes an expanding research area. However, there was rare method for quick and specific detection of protein thiols and their oxidative modification in living cells. In this article, we review the current chemical strategies for the detection and quantification of protein thiols and related cysteine oxidation. We also look into the future of the development of fluorescent probes for protein thiols and their potential application in the research of reactive cysteine proteomes and early detection of redox-related diseases.
Animals ; Cysteine ; metabolism ; Fluorescent Dyes ; Humans ; Nitrosation ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Proteins ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Reactive Nitrogen Species ; metabolism ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Sulfenic Acids ; analysis ; Sulfhydryl Compounds ; analysis ; chemistry ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technique in reconstruction of zygomatic complex defect.

METHODSThree-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) and rapid prototyping (RP) techniques were applied to produce facsimile models in 13 patients with zygomatic complex defects resulted from trauma or tumor ablation. The zygomatic complex defect was reconstructed using a mirroring technique by CAD/CAM. Titanium mesh was prefabricated on individual facsimile models and combined with autologous bone graft and pedicled buccal fat pad flap for reconstruction.

RESULTSThe measuring data of zygomatic complex defect between facsimile model and intraoperative findings was extremely consistent. The prefabrication of reconstructive titanium mesh was matched with zygomatic complex defect in the surgery. The postoperative 3D-CT image demonstrated the symmetry of reconstructed zygomatic complex. The functional recovery and facial contours were satisfactory in all cases.

CONCLUSIONThe application of CAD/CAM technique can simulate the surgery procedures accurately, which contributes to shorten the actual operative time. RP techniques can reconstruct the facial contours symmetry and recover the function of zygomatic complex defect.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Bone Substitutes ; Bone Transplantation ; Computer-Aided Design ; Female ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Male ; Prosthesis Design ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Surgical Flaps ; Titanium ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult ; Zygoma ; surgery

BACKGROUNDChina is one of the countries with the highest incidence of H. pylori and more than 9090 isolates possessed the cagA gene. This study was to evaluate the biological activity of the H. pylori virulence factor cagA isolated from Chinese patients.

METHODScagA DNA fragments were amplified from the genomic DNA and subsequently cloned into the mammalian expression vector for cell transfection and DNA sequencing. cagA protein, phosphorylated-tyrosine cagA and the complex of cagA precipitated with SHP-2 were identified respectively by western blot in the crude cell lysate from conditionally immortalized gastric epithelial cells at 48 hours after transfection with cagA DNA. In addition, the ability of induction of scattering phenotype was examined after transient expression of cagA in AGS cells.

RESULTSThe C-terminal half of cagA contained only one repeated sequence and three tandem five-amino-acid motifs glutamic acid-proline-isoleucine-tyrosine-alanine (EPIYA). Moreover, the amino acid sequence of D2 region in repeated sequence was aspartic acid-phenylanaline-aspartic acid (D-F-D) which was significantly distinguished from the three repeated sequences and aspartic acid-aspartic adid-leucine (D-D-L) in the western standard strain NCTC11637. Western blot revealed that cagA became phosphorylated in tyrosine site and bound with SHP-2 after transient expression of cagA DNA in gastric epithelial cells. Transient expression of cagA in AGS cells showed that cagA was able to induce the elongation phenotype although to a lesser extent than western strains.

CONCLUSIONScagA perturbs cell signaling pathways by binding with SHP-2. However, significant difference exists in amino acid sequence and biological function of cagA in Chinese compared with those of western countries.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Antigens, Bacterial ; chemistry ; physiology ; Bacterial Proteins ; chemistry ; physiology ; Blotting, Western ; Cells, Cultured ; Gastric Mucosa ; Humans ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phenotype ; Phosphorylation ; Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 11 ; Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases ; metabolism ; Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid ; Signal Transduction