AIM : To observe the effect of stress and ovariectomy on behavior activity in mice and the prevention and therapy of the TCM complexⅠcomposed of spine date seed and common anemarrhena rhizome. METHODS : The effect of stress and ovariectomy were investigated on bedtime, survival time under hypoxia, climbing time on the string and number of times of the activity in mice, and the prevention and therapy of TCM the complexⅠwere observed. RESULTS : The effect of stress, ovariectomy, stress and ovariectomy were different on bedtime, survival time under hypoxia and climbing time on the string and the number of times of the activity in mice. The effect of stress and ovariectomy on previous parameters was stronger than that of stress or ovariectomy lonely in mice. The stress and ovariectomy resulted in sleep impairment, the decreasing of the survival time under hypoxia and climbing time on the string, and the increasing of the number of times of the activity in mice. CONCLUSION : The TCM complex I can alleviate the high sensitivity to the environment in mice with ovariectomy and stress, which is similar to the mechanism of human climacteric syndrome.

Objective To observe the effect of active components(glycyrrhizic acid monoaminate,total ginsenoside and to-tal ophiopogonoside)of Zhi Gancao Decoction(ZGD)and their combination on the triggered activity and myocardial dam-age in the isolated ischemia -reperfusion rat heart.Methods Isolated rat heart was treated with L angendroff perfusion and monophase action potential technology was applied.Results &Conclusion Total extract of ZGD,single active c omponents and their combination can markedly l ower the incidence of cardiac triggered activity,prevent the myocardiu m from injury and decrease the incidence of arrhythmia induced by ischemia -reperfusion in rats and the effects of their com bination are positively related to the doses.

Object To study the influence of main active principles of ZHIGANCAO DECOCTIDN (ZD), glycyrrhizic acid (GA), ginseng total saponin (GTS) and Ophiopogon total saponin (OTS) on electrophysiology of isolated rat myocardium Methods The influence of GA, GTS and OTS on the automaticity, excitability and functional refractory period of isolated rat atrium and papillary muscle were studied in comparison with ZD made free of the above said active ingredients Results The combine use of GA, GTS and OTS significantly decreased the automaticity, inhibited excitaibility and prolonged the functional refractory period of isolated rat atrium; decreased the automaticity and arrhythmia of papillary muscle induced by epinephrine, while ZD made free of GS, GTS and OTS showed much less effect than the intact decoction Conclusion GA, GTS and OTS proved to be the main effective ingredients responsible for the antiarrhythmic activity of ZD

Objective To investigate the effect of Gout Gra nule(GG)for gout.Methods Gout -relieving effect of GG was observed in rats with adjuvant arthritis induced by sodium urate and i n mice with hyperuricemia induced by hypoxan-thine.Anti -inflammation of GG was i nvestigated in mice with xylene -ind uced auricular swelling and in rats with edema of hind paw induced by injection of carrageenin.WBC migratory response c aused by carboxymethylcellulose(CMC)in mice was also observed.Results GG could reduce the blood level of uric acid and inhibit acute inflammatio n in model ani-mals and also tended to promote the elimination of uric acid.Conclusion GG had a remarkable effect on the acut e attack of gout.

Objective To study the clinical characteristics of bulbar myasthenia gravis (MG). Methods Retrospective review was performed on 166 patients with bulbar type of myasthenia gravis, diagnosed at Tongji Hospital in the period of May 1983 through October 2005.Results Bulbar MG was a relatively rare type of MG,accounting for 5.7% (166/2888) of MG classifications.Females were more often affected than males (the ratio of male:female was 1:1.35).The peak of onset age was at 20—40 years.The incidence of myasthenia crisis in the group was 26.5% (44/166).Myasthenic crisis occurred in 10.8% (18/166) of the bulbar MG patients within 6 months after onset,resulting in a mortality rate of 6.0% (10/166) in the group.Out of the group,30 cases experienced puhnonary infections (18.1%). Thirty cases were initially misdiagnosed as other diseases such as nasopharyngeal disorders (33/166, 19.9%).The routine therapy was not very satisfactory.Median dose cyclophosphamide therapy appeared to be effective for ameliorating refractory MG.Thymectomy was performed in 25 patients,with optimistic efficacy rate up to 80.0% (20/25) in a 3-year follow-up.Conclusions The clinical analysis in the current study suggested that the bulbar MG had its own characteristics in such aspects as progression of the disease, complications,treatment and prognosis.The information of the clinical manifestations presented in this study may be useful in diagnosing and treating bulbar MG.

Objective To observe the effect of inducible costimulator(ICOS) costimulation pathway blockade in rat limb allografts acute rejection by RNA interference. Methods Twenty-seven cases of modified hind llmb allotransplantation were performed from Wistar to SD rats. The rats were divided into 3 gronps(each n=9): the rejection group not given a special disposal; the control group, consisting of SD rats that received injection of pSilencer 4.1 and Sofast complex by vein post transplantation; and the interference group that received injection of pSilencer 4.1-ICOSshRNA and Sofast complex. On the eighth day posttransplantation, 3 rats were killed to study the pathological changes in each group. The expressions of ICOS gene in vivo were detected by flow cytometry and RT-PCR. The mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) was performed and eytokines in blood were measured by ELISA. The rest rats were used to record limb survival time. Results The mean survival time in rats of the rejection and the control groups were(11.34±1.21) and (11.14±1.32) days respectively. In the interference group, the mean survival time of limb allografts was (16.85±1.73) days(P<0.05). The rats in the rejection and the control groups experienced moderate to serious acute rejections with skin epidermal necrosis, a large quantity of lymphocyte infdtration, muscle cell necrosis and interstitial edema, while the pathological changes in rats of the interference group were mild. The splenocyte ICOS mRNA expression level in the interference group(18.75%) was significantly lower than that of the rejection group(100%) and the control group(98.51%). ICOS cell surface expression level as judged by the fluorescence intensity was 45.59±12.87 in the interference group, 103.72±21.76 in the rejection group, and 93.47±29.55 in the control group(F=6.89, P<0.05). In stimulation assays, a one-way mixed lymphocyte reaction stimulation index(SI), with spleen cells from Wistar and Lewis rats, respectively, the rejection group (5.26±0.42,5.18±0.29) and the control group (5.37±0.27,4.93±0.44) had significantly greater reactions than the interference group(2.37±0.35, 4.87±0.36), respectivily(F=7.29, P<0.05; F=6.19, P0.05). In the IFN-γ and IL-4 expression assays, reactions of the interference group (230.17±38.47,160.32±59.13) were lower than those of the rejection group(490.73±51.48,230.67±45.21) and the control group(480.15±43.96, 240.53± 47.36), (F=7.23,6.75, all P<0.01). Conclusions In vivo transfection of pSilencer 4.1-ICOS shRNA interference plasmid can effectively block T-cell co-stimulation pathway, suppress acute rejection, and prolong limb allografts survival.

OBJECTIVETo study the clinicopathologic features, immunophenotype and differential diagnosis of plexiform angiomyxoid myofibroblastic tumor (PAMT) of the stomach.

METHODSThe clinical and pathologic findings of 3 cases of PAMT in the gastric antrum were retrospectively analyzed. Immunohistochemical study was carried out and the literature was reviewed.

RESULTSThe age of patients ranged from 31 to 47 years. The male-to-female ratio was 1:2. The clinical presentation included epigastric pain and distension. Endoscopically, the tumor mass protruded into the gastric cavity at the antrum and ranged from 4.5 cm to 8.0 cm in greatest dimension. One of the tumors studied was associated with surface ulceration. Histologically, the tumors were located in the gastric wall. They were composed of bland spindle cells and small vessels arranged in a plexiform or nodular pattern within a myxoid stroma. Immunohistochemical study showed that the spindle cells were consistently positive for smooth muscle actin and muscle-specific actin. There was focal staining for h-caldesmon, desmin in case 3 and focal positive for epithelial membrane antigen, CAM5.2 in case 1. Further, CD10 and progesterone receptor were positive in case 3.

CONCLUSIONSPAMT represents a rare novel mesenchymal tumor of the stomach, with a propensity of gastric antral involvement. The distinctive pathologic features help to differentiate this entity from other benign and malignant tumors.

Actins ; metabolism ; Adenomyoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Adult ; Antigens, CD34 ; metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Fibromatosis, Abdominal ; metabolism ; pathology ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrectomy ; methods ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myofibroma ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Myxoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit ; metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery

Microgravity is known to produce a number of neurological disturbances during space flight; however, the underlying mechanism of these disturbances is yet to be elucidated. There have been some reports about the increased oxidative stress under microgravity or simulated microgravity. In the present study, we investigated the process of oxidative stress induced by simulated microgravity in different areas of rat brain, which may shed light on the mechanism of neurological disturbances and further neuroprotective research in spaceflight. After adaption for 7 d, 40 healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were matched for body weight and randomly assigned to control groups (7, 14, 21 and 28 d) and tail-suspended simulated microgravity groups (7, 14, 21 and 28 d). The tail-suspended groups were treated with 30 angels of tail suspension and the control groups were treated similarly to the tail-suspended groups but without tail suspension. After the required times, different structures of rat brain, including cerebellum, cerebral cortex and hippocampus, were harvested and frozen for the further determination. Griess assay, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) assay, competitive ELISA and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) assay were used for the observation of the changes of reactive nitrogen species (RNS), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitrotyrosine (NT) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), respectively. As shown in the results, there were different changes in various brain regions after tail suspension compared with control groups. (1) In cerebellum, NT increased after 7 d tail suspension, decreased after 14 d and increased again after 28 d; MDA increased after 14 d; RNS increased and TAC decreased after tail suspension for 21 d; (2) Increase of NT after14 d tail suspension, increase of MDA and decrease of TAC after 21 d were found in cerebral cortex; (3) In hippocampus, RNS increased after tail suspension for 7 d, decreased after 14 d and increased again after 28 d; MDA increased after 21 d; NT increased after 28 d; TAC increased after 7 d and recovered after 21 d. These results suggest that simulated microgravity induced by tail suspension increases the level of oxidative stress in rat brain; however, there are different features in different areas of rat brain. During the response to simulated microgravity, rat brain tissues present a similar process from adaptive response to irreversible oxidative damage.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; metabolism ; Brain ; physiopathology ; Hindlimb Suspension ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Weightlessness Simulation

OBJECTIVETo observe the pathological changes in rabbits with spinal cord injury induced by decompression sickness (DCS), and to investigate the role of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in spinal cord injury induced by DCS.

METHODSRabbits were randomly divided into normal control group, DCS group, and safe decompression group. The rabbit model of DCS was established. Light microscopy, real-time PCR, and immunohistochemical method were used to observe the pathomorphological changes in the thoracolumbar spinal cord and the mRNA and protein expression of TNF-α, respectively. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) was used to observe the apoptosis in the spinal cord.

RESULTSIn the DCS group, cavities formed in the white matter of spinal cord and gliosis occurred around necrotic areas. Moreover, the mRNA and protein expression of TNF-α was significantly higher in the DCS group than in the normal control group and the safe decompression group (P<0.01). The results of TUNEL showed that the number of positive apoptotic cells was significantly larger in the DCS group than in the normal control group and the safe decompression group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONApoptosis plays an important role in spinal cord injury induced by DCS. In the early stage of DCS, the massive release of TNF-α initiates apoptosis and contributes to the pathological changes in spinal cord injury induced by DCS.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Decompression Sickness ; metabolism ; pathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; RNA, Messenger ; Rabbits ; Spinal Cord ; pathology ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; metabolism ; pathology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism