Objective:To study the expression of connexin43 protein,mRNA and its significance in patients with endometriosis.Methods:Endometria were obtained from 20 cases with endometriosis through hysterectomy,and from 21 cases of the control group through hysterectomy and laparoscopic examination and other ways.Immunohistochemical staining with antibody against connexin 43 protein was performed by S-ABC method.But mRNA of connexin 43 was examined by RT-PCR.Results:Connexin43 protein was mainly expressed in the plasma of glandular epithelium of endometrium.There was a significant difference between the study group and the control group.The expression of connexin43 protein and mRNA in endometriosis group was much lower than in the control group.Conclusion:The gap junction induced by connexin43 protein between the glandular epithelium of endometrium is very important for the communication of substances and signals.The loss of gap junction communication caused by the reduction of connexin43 mRNA and protein in endometriosis might be responsible for the movement of endometrial cells to other places.

0.05). When MS and NID groups compared with NNID group, the difference was extremely significant(all P

Objective:To investigate the relationship between hyper-homocysteinemia ( HHcy) and experiment autoimmune en-cephalomyelitis (EAE) mice,and to study the cause and effect of HHcy in multiple sclerosis (MS).Methods: Four groups were included in this study:healthy C57BL/6 mice and EAE mice fed with chow(HC and EAE group),healthy mice and EAE mice supple-mented with 4%(w/v) methionine in the drinking water (HC+Hcy and EAE+Hcy group).Clinical symptoms,the levels of Hcy and cytokines ( TNF-α,IFN-γand IL-17) were evaluated at different time points.Results:EAE group had no greater Hcy than HC group ( P>0.05 ).The clinical scores and weight loss of mice from EAE+Hcy group were more severe than those from EAE group during the course of EAE ( P<0.05 ).EAE+Hcy group had higher levels of TNF-αand IFN-γthan EAE group ( P<0.05 ) ,while IL-17 was about the same.Conclusion:Mice do not have gradually increased Hcy during the course of EAE.HHcy worsen the symptoms of EAE by pro-moting the production of TNF-αand IFN-γ,but not IL-17.

Thrombospondin (THBS) 2, as a member of the THBS family, is expressed in a variety of tumor cells and has important significance in the development and metastasis of tumors. In recent years, studies have reported that the specific role of THBS2 in different tumors is different, and it participates in a variety of biological processes, such as cell apoptosis, wound healing, angiogenesis and inflammation. At present, the role of THBS2 in tumorigenesis, development, and prognosis is not completely clear. Exploring the abnormal expression and mechanism of THBS2 in tumors is expected to provide a new method for tumor diagnosis and treatment.

To investigate the role of ERC,6 gene in the growth rate and antifungal susceptibility,Aspergillus fumigatus strain with extra copies of ERG6 gene was constructed.Open reading frame (ORF) of putative ERG6 gene was searched in A.fumigatus genome.A PCR fragment, ERG6 ORF sandwiched by its flanking sequences (about 1 kb respectively),was amplified and was then subcloned into vector pRG-AMA1- NotI to produce a recombinant plasmid pERG6,which was further transformed into uracil auxotroph A.fumigatus strain AF293.1 to produce the transformant AF-pERG6.In the same time,empty plasmid pRG-AMA1-NotI was also transformed into A.fumigatus strain AF293.1 to produce the transformant AF-empty as a control.Radial growth of the transformants was tested on minimal medium (MM) and YAG medi- um.Antifungal susceptibilities of these resahing transformants,AF-pERG6 and AF-empty,to the common antifungal agents were performed by using both disk diffusion and broth microdillution methods.A.fumigatus genome contains a ERG6 gene,of which the ORF size is 1 256 bp.Comparing to Candida albicans and Sacchromyces cerivisiae sterol methyltransferase,A.fumigatus Erg6p had 57% and 50% identity, and had 70% and 63% similarity in amino acid sequences,respectively.Radial growth of transformant AF-pERG6 was slower than that of transformant AF-empty.The antifungal susceptibilties of transformant AF-pERG6 to the antifungal drugs itraconazole,voriconazole,terbin- aline,amphotericin B,caspofungin and grisefolvin were same to that of transformant AF-empty.In A.fumigatus,extra copies of ERG6 gene have no effect on antifungal susceptibilities to itraconazole,voriconazole,terbinafine,amphotericin B,caspofungin and grisefolvin.Radial growth of A.fumigatus harboring extra copies of ERG6 gene becomes slower compared to the control.

BACKGROUND: Myasthenia gravis (MG) patients with thymoma were often neglected in clinical work and delayed the therapy.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the significance of the Ryanodine receptor (RyR) antibody on the assessment of MG.DESIGN: A case analysis.SETTING: Institute of neurology in a hospital of a university.PARTICIPANTS: This experiment was carried out in the Institute of Neurology, Fudan University from June 1999 to March 2002. There were 66 MG patients with thymoma(MGT group), 98 MG patients with non-thymoma (NTMG group), 50 patients with non-myasthenia gravis(NMG) and 123 normal persons (NC group).METHODS: Sarcoplasmic reticulum(SR) abounded in RyR was extracted with differential centrifugation, in order to establish a detecting system of ELISA-RyR-RyR antibody (RyR-ab).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The levels of RyR-ab in serum of researched subjects.RESULTS: Positive rate of RyR-ab in MGT group was higher than that in NTMG and NMG groups(P ＜ 0.01), moreover, the sensitivity and the specificity were 81.8% and 94.5% respectively. The positive rates of MGT groups with different thymus histology were no significant difference(P＞ 0.05). Ages, clinical scores and levels of acetylcholine receptor antibody (AchR-ab) in patients with positive RyR-ab were higher than those in patients with negative RyR-ab( P ＜ 0.01 ) in MG group. The levels of RyR-ab was positive correlated with the severities of clinical symptoms in MG patients, especially the patients in MGT group( r = 0. 626, P ＜ 0.01) . And among the different histological types of MGT, thymoma of epithelioid cells has the highest correlation coefficient ( r = 0. 592, P ＜ 0. 01).CONCLUSION: The detection of RyR-ab has better sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of MGT and the levels of RyR-ab is positive correlatied with the severities of MG patients.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to establish two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) profiles of serum of myasthenia gravis patients, and to identify the differential proteomic expressions between normal persons and myasthenia gravis patients with spleen and kidney deficiency syndrome. METHODS: Samples of serum protein were extracted by repeated freeze-thaw method and separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Differential proteomic expressions between the myasthenia gravis patients and the normal control persons were identified by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, silver staining, image-master 2-DE software analysis, peptide mass fingerprinting based on matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), BioWorks and NCBI software database searching. RESULTS: The two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profiles of serum proteins were successfully established by 2-DE. Twenty-one of the significant differential proteins were selected and identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. Eight of them were finally identified. CONCLUSIONS: The 2-DE profiles of serum proteins were established and the differential proteomic expressions were identified by proteome technique in our study. This can be an experimental basis for further research of the pathogenesis and treatment of myasthenia gravis.

Objective To investigate the role of anti-herpes ximplex virus (HSV)-1 IgM secreting cells detection assay in early diagnosis of herpes simplex encephalitis. Methods Twenty-three herpes simplex encephalitis cases and 40 control cases were included in this study. Anti-HSV-1 IgM secreting cells and anti-HSV-1 IgM were retrospectively tested in the patients' cerebrospinal fluid by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISPOT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The data analysis was performed by using Fisher Exact Test. Results Using ELISPOT method for detection of 9 HSV-1 encephalitis patients' and 16 clinical control cases anti-HSV-1 IgM secreting cells within two weeks after disease onset, the sensitivity of ELISPOT for detecting anti HSV-1 IgM secreting cells in the cerebrospinal fluid was 88.9% (8/9) and the specificity was 93.8%(15/16). On the other hand, the sensitivity of ELISA for detecting anti-HSV-1 IgM in ccrebrospinal fluid was 16.6% (2/12) and the specificity was 88.2% (15/17) when using ELISA method for detection of 12 HSV-1 encephalitis patients' and 17 clinical control cases's anti-HSV-1 IgM secreting cells. The sensitivities of the two methods were statistically different (P<0.01). Conclusion Compared to ELISA, ELISPOT for detecting the anti-HSV-1 IgM secreting cells in cerehrospinal fluid is a more sensitive method for early diagnosing herpes simplex encephalitis.

Catheter Ablation ; adverse effects ; Heart Septum ; surgery ; Humans

Objective To compare the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods.Methods Thirty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 3 groups:normal control group,OVA group and OVA/RSV group.With ovalbumin and hydroxide suspension sensitized,OVA nouse asthma model group and OVA/RSV group were established respectively by continuous atomization of ovalbumin and repeated nasal drops of RSV.The control group was established by sensitization and atomization excitation of sterile injection water.24 hours after the last stimulation,the lung function was measured.The cell sorting and counting in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were performed.The pathological changes of lung tissue were observed by HE staining.Results Compared with the control group,the model groups have obvious symptoms of asthma,airway wall thickening,lumen stenosis and a large number of inflammatory cell infiltration.And pathological damage of lung tissue in OVA/RSV group was significantly increased,compared with OVA group.The enhanced expiratory pause (Penh)values of OVA/RSV group were significantly higher than those in group OVA (P ＜ 0.05),and the number of neutrophils,monocytes,lymphocytes and eosinophils in BALF were significantly higher than those in OVA group (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The establishment of asthma mouse model by OVA sensitization and RSV induction is a better way to simulate the human asthma pathogenesis.