AIM: To observe the dynamic alteration of myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate(MARCKS) mRNA expression in rat hippocampus with acute multi-cerebral infarction,and discuss the relationship between the alteration of hippocampus MARCKS gene and ischemia damage.METHODS: The acute multi-cerebral infarction model was established by method of Kaneko.Neurological function deficits were evaluated in the behavior test.The consequences of cerebral ischemic damage were examined by histopathological analyses.The MARCKS mRNA expression was measured by semi-quantitative PCR.RESULTS: The rats in acute multi-cerebral infarction group showed different level changes of neurological function deficits.The hippocampus damage of histopathology became significant 24h after ischemia.At the same time,the MARCKS mRNA expression was upregulated at the area of rats hippocampus during ischemia,and its overexpression started 1h after ischemia,and reached maximum7d after ischemia.CONCLUSION: MARCKS mRNA of rat hippocampus overexpresses during acute cerebral ischemia.This MARCKS mRNA overexpression is related with hippocampus ischemia damage.

Objective This exploratory study aimed to assess effectiveness with ethylene oxide treatment for removing DNA contamination. Methods 98 different spiked samples such as saliva, dander, skin cell, hair, blood and cartilage were conducted with ethylene oxide treatment. After extraction of samples, the dna was amplified and then the STR analysis was performed with 3130xl or 3500xl. Results A 6h EO treatment results showed that two saliva stains of 44 samples STR profile were detected; Just one hair of 54 samples treated with ethylene oxide was detected contaminating DNA with EO treatment for 8 hours. Conclusion This work suggested that it was more successful to reduce DNA contamination by using ethylene oxide treatment.

While human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have promising applications in regenerative medicine, most of the hiPSC lines available today are not suitable for clinical applications due to contamination with nonhuman materials, such as sialic acid, and potential pathogens from animal-product-containing cell culture systems. Although several xeno-free cell culture systems have been established recently, their use of human fibroblasts as feeders reduces the clinical potential of hiPSCs due to batch-to-batch variation in the feeders and time-consuming preparation processes. In this study, we have developed a xeno-free and feeder-cell-free human embryonic stem cell (hESC)/hiPSC culture system using human plasma and human placenta extracts. The system maintains the self-renewing capacity and pluripotency of hESCs for more than 40 passages. Human iPSCs were also derived from human dermal fibroblasts using this culture system by overexpressing three transcription factors-Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog. The culture system developed here is inexpensive and suitable for large scale production.
Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Cell Differentiation ; Cellular Reprogramming ; Culture Media ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; isolation & purification ; Female ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; Humans ; Lentivirus ; genetics ; Placenta ; chemistry ; Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Sodium Chloride ; chemistry ; Transcription Factors ; genetics

Objective To investigate the value of flexi-rigid thoracoscopy in pleural effusion of unknown causes and the correlation with CEA, TK1 and ADA. Methods The clinical data and results of CEA, TK1 and ADA of 25 patients were retrospective analyzed in our department from 2015 January to November 2015. These patients accepted the examination of flexi-rigid thoracoscopy with pleural effusion of unknown causes. Results In the 25 patients with pleural effusion of unknown causes, definite diagnosis was made in 22 cases (88.00 %), of which 9 cases were malignant pleural effusion (36.00 %), 11 cases were tuberculous pleural effusion (44.00 %), 2 cases were inflammatory pleural effusion (8.00 %), 3 cases were undetermined (12.00 %). The positive rate of TK1 and CEA in malignant group was significantly higher than that in the tuberculosis group and inflammatory group, the positive rate of ADA in the tuberculosis group was significantly higher than that in the malignant group and inflammatory group. Conclusion Flexi-rigid medical thoracoscopy examination is an effective and safe method for diagnosis of unexplained pleural effusion with high exact diagnosis rate, less trauma and less complication. Combination with CEA, TK1 and ADA are helpful to improve diagnostic rate of pleural effusion of unknown causes.

Objective This study aimed to assess the efficiency and purification of the Trace DNA extraction with a quantified method for the magnetic bead-based DNA extraction as performed on the Tecan Automated systems with TE-MAGS magnetic separator. Methods Serial dilutions of standard commercial DNA 9947A were used with the total DNA contents, 0.1ng, 0.2ng,0.3ng, 0.4ng,0.5ng, 0.6ng, 0.7ng, 0.8ng, 0.9ng,1ng,diluted progressively and a 1ng DNA (standard commercial DNA 9947A) admixed with 6 common DNA-PCR inhibitors were extracted on the Automated systems and then performed via Fluorogenic probe quantitative PCR and STR genotype for the quantification analysis of recovery and purification. Results The recovery rate of standard 9947A DNA diluted with 0.1~1ng was 38.92~60.01%, and 0.3ng and more DNA could observed the full STR profiles. For the different PCR inhibitors, above 94.5% of bile acid, collagen and urea were efficient removal during the purification process, and the hemoglobin, melanin and humic acid removal efficiency were about 97.5%, 97.85%, 82.14%, respectively.Conclusion Our results suggested that The TE-MAGS magnetic bead-based DNA extraction was suitable for the extraction of trace DNA with high recovery efficiency and purification ability.

Objective To study the mechanism of Chaihu Guizhi Decoction(CGD)in the treatment of influenza and staphylococcus aureus co-infection.Methods The co-infection model of influenza and staphylococcus aureus was established and CGD was used to intervene.The chemical components of CGD were qualitatively analyzed by UPLC-Q-Exactive/MS technology.The potential action targets of chemical components in CGD and the related targets of influenza Staphylococcus aureus co-infection were mined by network pharmacology method.The"component target disease"network was constructed.Core targets were selected according to degree ranking.Core action pathways were enriched by KEGG analysis and GO annotation analysis.The core target was verified by RT-qPCR,and the interaction between the core component and the key target was verified by molecular docking.Results CGD could significantly improve the decrease of body weight and thymus index(P<0.05)caused by co-infection.The lung index(P<0.05),relative amount of MmRNA expression(P<0.05)and bacterial load(P<0.05)were decreased,and the survival rate was improved.51 chemical constituents were identified from CGD.Through network pharmacological analysis,107 related targets corresponding to CGD treatment of bacterial pneumonia secondary to influenza were excavated.TNF,AKT1,ALB,VEGFA,MAPK3,PTGS2,STAT3,EGFR and other targets with strong correlation,mainly involved Fc epsilon RI signal pathway,GnRH signal pathway,NF-κB signal path,etc.Molecular docking study showed that the main active component of CGD,including oroxyloside,baicalein and wogonin have strong affinity with TNF,PTGS2 and EGFR targets.Compared with co-infection model group,in CGD group TNF-α、EGFR and PTGS2 increased significantly(P<0.05).Conclusion The main active ingredient of CGD is oroxyloside,baicalein and wogonin.TNF-α,PTGS2,EGFR and other targets to played a role in the treatment of influenza staphylococcus aureus co-infection.

ObjectiveTo characterize the efficacy components of Guizhi Jia Gegentang（GGT） in intervening influenza virus pneumonia by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS）. MethodBALB/c mice were randomly divided into normal group and GGT group（36 g·kg^-1·d^-1） with six mice in each group. GGT group was continuously administered GGT extract for 5 d， while the normal group was administered an equal amount of ultrapure water. Serum and lung tissue were collected after administration， and UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS was used to characterize the prototypical and metabolic components of GGT in serum and lung tissue of mice. The components existed simultaneously in the serum and lung tissue of mice from the GGT group were defined as its functional components， and the targets of efficacy components were searched by SwissTargetPrediction database， and GeneCards database was used to query the target of influenza virus pneumonia， and then the intersection was taken to obtain potential targets of GGT for intervening in the disease. Protein-protein interaction（PPI） network analysis of potential targets was performed by STRING database， and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis on potential targets was performed by Metascape. ResultA total of 29 prototypical components and 28 metabolic components of GGT were detected in the drug-containing serum of mice， of which 11 prototypical components and 4 metabolic components were detected in the lung tissue of mice. The main metabolic pathways included reduction， hydroxylation， methylation， glucuronidation and sulfation. The results of PPI network and KEGG analysis showed that these functional components may act through their effects on targets such as albumin（ALB）， epidermal growth factor receptor（EGFR）， steroid receptor coactivator（SRC）， Toll-like receptor 4（TLR4）， nuclear transcription factor（NF）-κB and adhesion junction. ConclusionThe 11 prototypical components and 4 metabolites present simultaneously in the drug-containing serum and lung tissue of mice may be the potential therapeutic components of GGT in interfering with influenza viral pneumonia， and act through interfering with inflammatory metabolic pathways. This study can provide a reference for the mechanism study of GGT in the treatment of influenza viral pneumonia.

OBJECTIVETo explore the presence, frequency and clinical value of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in peripheral blood of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

METHODSFlow cytometry using antibodies against CD11b, CD33, CD14 or HLA-DR was conducted to explore the unique cell surface markers of MDSCs and statistical analysis was performed to explore the correlation of MDSCs and clinical features.

RESULTSMDSCs were present in 36 patients with SCLC and uniquely marked by CD11b and CD33-positive, but HLA-DR-negative on cell surfaces and possessed mononuclear phenotype. The levels of CD11b(+)CD33(+)HLA-DR(-)cells (MDSCs) in the SCLC patients and healthy controls were (26.87 ± 6.87)% and (11.04 ± 3.76)%, respectively, with a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001). MDSCs level was significantly associated with clinical stage and tumor distant metastasis (P < 0.05) , but not with age, sex, smoking status and performance status. The later was the clinical stage, the higher was the MDSCs level (r = 0.665, P < 0.001). The level of MDSCs was higher in SCLC patients with distant metastasis than in those without metastasis (r = 0.489, P = 0.003). The level of MDSCs was higher before treatment than after treatment and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONSThe results of our study demonstrate the existence of MDSCs in SCLC patients and the MDSCs level is associated with SCLC stage, metastasis and treatments. MDSCs might be a novel biomarker for early diagnosis and prognosis for SCLC patients.

Flow Cytometry ; HLA-DR Antigens ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Myeloid Cells ; Phenotype ; Prognosis ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma ; metabolism ; pathology