TORCH infection during pregnancy is a group of infectious diseases resulting from viruses and other microorganisms. According to the past over 20-year experiences in serum screening in China, several infections which should be performed in the first trimester, or even much earlier in pregnant period, are hepatitis B, syphilis, HIV, and these three infections are confirmed to be harmful to the fetus or infants and also diagnostic methods and treatment are available. Screening for rubella should be better performed before conception and no specific management is required with IgM+, while immunization is recommended before pregnancy with IgM-. Screenings for cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis and herpes virus are not recommended. Scnography is warranted if fetal abnormalities were resulted from the above infections and amniocentesis or cordocentesis might be required for further investigations.

Objective To examine the expression of protein kinase C (PKC), connexin43(Cx43) and non-phosphorylated Cx43 in ovarian cancer, and discuss the role of phosphorylated of Cx43 in chemoresistance in ovarian cancer. Methods We examined the expression of Cx43, non-phosphorylated Cx43 and PKC in ovarian cancer tissue by immunohistochemistry, and compared their expression in chemosensitivity group and ehemoresistance group. Cisplatin resistant ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3/DDP cells were treated by staurosporine (a kind of PKC inhibitors). Then expression of Cx43, non-phosphorylated Cx43 and PKC were tested. Meanwhile, we tested chemosensitivity of SKOV3/DDP cells by ATP bioluminescence tumor chemosensifivity assay (ATP-TCA). Results (1) Immunohistochemically,the rates of positive expression of Cx43 and non-phospharylated Cx43 were 54%, 14% respectively in the chemoresistance group, which were 83%, 59% in the chemosensitivity group respectively (P<0.05). The rate of positive expression of PKC in 28 chemoresistance ovarian cancer cases (64%) was higher than that in 29 chemosensitivity cases (31% ,P<0.05). Both of them were significantly lower in ehemoresistanee group than in chemosensitivity group (P<0.05). In addition, the expression of PKC was negatively correlated with the expression of Cx43 and non-phosphorylated Cx43. The correlation coefficients were -0. 626 and -0. 714, respectively (P<0.05). (2) Immunohistochemically, PKC was down regulated, and Cx43 and non-phosphorylated Cx43 were up regulated in SKOV3/DDP cells after staurosporine treatment. The longer the staurosporine worked, the more expression of Cx43 was. (3) By ATP-TCA, SKOV3/DDP cells were resistant to paclitaxel and cisplatin. The tumor growth inhibition was higher in the group of paclitaxel or cisplatin combined staurosporine than in the group of paclitaxel or cisplatin alone. The sensitivity was intermediate in the group combined with low concentration staurosporine (1×10-8 moL/L), and the sensitivity was high in the group combined with high concentration staurosporine (1×10-7 mol/L). Conclusions Phosphorylation of Cx43 caused by PKC leads to decrease in the expression of Cx43. This effect makes ovarian cancer cells less chemosensitive. Phosphorylation of Cx43 caused by PKC can be inhibited by staurosporine.

Objective: To develop an improved method for the primary isolation and culture of highly purified endometrial glandular epithelial cells in vitro.Methods: Normal endometrial tissues were isolated and cultured in vitro by double collagenase digestion and selective wall-pasting.Results: Highly purified endometrial epithelial cells were successfully isolated and cultured.Conclusion: Epithelial and interstitial cells of the endometrium can be successfully isolated with high purity by double collagenase digestion and selective wall-pasting.

Objective: To evaluate the cyclooxygenase-2 ( COX-2) expression at mRNA and protein levels , as well as its clinical significance, and to study the correlation of COX-2 with angiogenesis, apoptosis and estrogen or progestron receptors. Methods: Forty-one samples of normal endoraetrium tissues and 52 ones of endometrial carcinomas( EC) were collected,together with their corresponding clinical information. RT-PCR was adopted to determine the expression of COX-2 mRNA. Immunohistochemical staining was engaged to evaluate the protein expression of COX-2, VEGF, Bcl-2 and the MVD marked by CD105. And TUNEL was used to count the apoptosis cells. Results: (1) Significantly higher mRNA and protein levels of COX-2 were found in endometrial carcinomas than in normal endometrial tissues ( P＜0.001) . (2) At protein level ,COX-2 expression was related to the grade(P =0.020) , but had nothing to do with the stage, pathological type, depth of myometrium invasion and lymph node metastasis. Neither did the level of COX-2 mRNA with all the factors above. (3)The level of COX-2 mRAN had nothing to do with that of protein(P =0. 125, r =0. 222). (4) The higher the expression of COX-2 protein was, the higher that of VEGF,MVD or Bcl-2 was,and the lower the count of apoptosis cells was P＜0.05. (6)The upregulation of COX-2 protein had no correlation with ER-α and ER-β . But it had positive correlation with PRA and PRB,P was 0.031 and 0.007 .respectively. Conclusion: (1)The expression of COX-2 is significantly higher in EC than in normal endometrium tissue, not only at the mRNA level, but also at protein level. ( 2 ) At protein level, COX-2 expression is related to the grade, but has nothing to do with the stage, pathological type, depth of myometrium invasion and lymph node metastasis. Neither does the level of COX-2 mRNA with all the factors above. (3)The upregulation of COX-2 protein in EC correlates with the increase of VEGF protein and MVD. (4) The upregulation of COX-2 protein in EC correlates with the increase of Bcl-2 protein and the decrease of apoptosis cells. (5)The upregulation of COX-2 protein in EC has no significant correlation with ER expression, but has something to do with the increase of PRA and PRB.

Objective To study the role of human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) in the carcinogenesis and development of choriocarcinoma. Methods We designed and synthesized a double strand small interference RNA (siRNA) of HLA-G, then transfected it into a HLA-G overexpressed choriocarcinoma cell line, JEG-3 by lipofectine; HLA-G mRNA level was detected by real time RT-PCR; HLA-G protein level was detected by western blot. The living cells of JEG-3 were counted under microscope after transfection by siRNA. Results Double strand siRNA of HLA-G effectively downregulated the mRNA level and the protein level of HLA-G. The mRNA levels by Ct value at different concentration (1.0, 2.5, 5.0 ?g/L) were 20.67?0.02, 21.37?0.03,21.43?0.02, respectively. They were significantly different compared with the control groups which were 20.33?0.01, 20.37?0.02,20.40?0.03, respectively ( P

Objective To study the expression of Notch 1,Jagged1 and Notch intracellular domain (NICD) in epithelial ovarian carcinoma tissues and analyze the clinical significance.To explore the activity of γ-secretase in epithelial ovarian carcinoma cell line SKOV3 and the effect of N-[N-(3,5-dil uorophenacetyl)-L-alanyl]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester (DAPT),a γ-secretase inhibitor on the activity of γ-secretase in SKOV3.Methods Immunohistochemistry staining method was performed in 43 patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma and 11 patients with benign epithelial ovarian tumor to detect the expression of Notch1,Jagged1 and NICD.The differences of expressionof Notch1,Jagged1 and NICD between malignant and benign ovarian tumors was compared and alsoanalyzed the correlation with clinicopathological parameters of ovarian carcinoma.Human serous ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 and immortalized nontumorigenic ovarian epithelial cell line T29 were incubated in vitro.The activities of γ-secretase in SKOV3 and T29 with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and DAPT were detected respectively by Gal4VP16/UAS and dual luciferase reporter assay system.Results (1) The immunohistochemical composite scores (ICS) of Notch1 in epithelial ovarian carcinoma (6.7±2.2) were not significantly different with those in benign epithelial ovarian tumor (5.4± 2.7,P=0.153),while the ICS of Jagged 1 and NICD in epithelial ovarian carcinoma (5.3± 2.4,5.3± 2.3) were higher than those in benign epithelial ovarian tumor (1.6± 1.4,3.1± 1.7; all P＜0.01).The expression of Notch 1,Jagged 1 and N ICD had no correlation with patients' aged,history of carcinoma,ascites,the level of serum CA125,maximum length of ovarian tumor,Federation International of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage,grade and pathology subtypes (all P＞0.05).The hazard ratio between the high expression of Notch1,Jagged1,or NICD and the moderate to low expression of Notch1,Jagged1,or NICD,and Jagged1 were 0.771,1.648 and 1.316,respectively (all P＞0.05).The 5-year survival rate and median survival time between the high expression of Notch,Jagged 1 or NICD in subgroup and moderate to low expression in subgroup were of no difference (all P＞0.05).The activity of γ-secretase in SKOV3 was significantly higher than that in T29 [(12.2± 1.4)％,P=0.019].(2)After DAPT treated,the relative activity of γ-secretase in SKOV3 (50 μmol/L) was declined from (100.0±5.3)％ to (6.6±0.8)％ (P=0.001).Conclusions Jagged1 and NICD in Notch1 pathway may play a key role in the occurrence of ovarian carcinoma.The activity of γ-secretase in epithelial ovarian carcinoma was higher than that in ovarian epithelial cell which suggest that DAPT,γ-secretase inhibitor,may become the target of ovarian carcinoma treatment.

Objective To investigate the sexual activity of pregnant women in the third trimester and its influencing factors. Methods A retrospective investigation was conducted among 338 postpartum women in our hospital who delivered between June and August in 2003. The questionnaires was completed by every subjects supervised by special trained persons on the 2nd to 4th day postpartum. Results More than a quarter (96/338, 28.4%) of the pregnant women had coitus during the third trimester. The increase of sexual activity was positively related to their partners who were less educated (Wald ?~2=9.68,P

Objective To study the effect of 17α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17P) and medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) on expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in placenta and uterine myometrium of inflammation-induced preterm birth mouse model to investigate the mechanism of preventing inflammation-induced preterm birth by progestogen.Methods Thirty clean CD-1 mice were divided into 6 groups (5 mice in each group) at 15th day of gestation:control group,lipopolysaccharides (LPS) group,17P 1 mg+LPS group,17P 2 mg+ LPS group,MPA 1 mg+LPS group and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) + LPS group.Progestogens at different dosage were administered 1 h before LPS and 6 h after LPS administration.After these mice were sacrificed,TNF-α and COX-2 levels in the myometrium and placenta were detected by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry.Data were analyzed by ANOVA,and comparisons between groups were adopted LSD method.Results 1.The comparison of relative expression of COX-2 mRNA and TNF-α mRNA in myometrium and placenta among groups:(1) Expressions of COX-2 mRNA and TNF-α mRNA in myometrium and placenta in the study groups were obviously higher than those of control group (P＜0.05).(2) COX-2 mRNA expression in myometrium of 17P 1 mg+LPS group (11.410±3.931),17P 2 mg+LPS group (8.352±3.209) and MPA 1 mg+LPS group (11.920± 2.905) were obviously lower than that of LPS group (20.540± 4.147) and DMSO+ LPS group (18.620 ± 4.156) (P＜0.05,respectively) ; although TNF-α mRNAexpression had similar trends among these groups,there were no statistical significance (P＞0.05,respectively).(3) COX-2 mRNA expression in placenta of 17P 1 mg+LPS group (10.864±3.777),17P 2 mg+LPS group (7.084±1.667) and MPA 1 mg+LPS group (11.830±3.652) were obviously lower than that of LPS group (18.920±4.106) and DMSO+LPS group (23.820±7.554)(P＜0.05,respectively).(4) TNF-α mRNA expression in placenta in 17P 1 mg+LPS group (14.340±1.618),17P 2 mg+ LPS group (11.488 ± 2.910) and MPA 1 mg+ LPS group (13.040 ± 2.982) were obviously lower than that of LPS group (24.240±7.059) and DMSO+LPS group (23.040±5.896) (P＜0.05,respectively).2.The comparison of protein expression of COX-2 and TNF-α in placenta among groups:(1) The expression of COX-2 protein in placenta of the study groups was significantly higher than that of control group (P＜0.05).(2) There were no differences among the COX-2 protein expression of 17P 1 mg+ LPS group (14 360.92± 1766.01),17P 2 mg+ LPS group (13 340.18±965.35) and MPA 1 mg+LPS group (12 870.81±1521.97)(P＞0.05),while the COX-2 protein expressions of them were significantly lower than that of LPS group (16 426.64 ± 1823.87) and DMSO+LPS group (16 761.23±2388.17)(P＜0.05,respectively).(3) There were no differences among the TNF-α protein expression of 17P 1 mg+LPS group (22 750.96±4656.68),17P 2 mg+LPS group (22766.24± 3500.34) and MPA 1 mg+LPS group (20770.01±3318.48)(P＞0.05),while the TNF-α protein expressions of them were significantly lower than that of LPS group (26204.49±5090.34) and DMSO+LPS group (27346.18±3269.30)(P＜0.05,respectively).Conclusions 17P and MPA might prevent the preterm parturition of inflammation-induced mouse model by inhibiting inflammation cytokines and prostaglandins.

Objective To study the expression and clinical significance of Notch3 and Notch intracellular domain (NICD) in ovarian carcinoma and the effects of N-[N-(3 ,5-difluorophenyl) acetyl-L-alanyl]-S-phenyl glycine t-butyl ester (DAPT), a γ-secretase inhibitor on the proliferation and apoptosis in OVCAR3, A2780 ovarian carcinoma cell lines. Methods Western blot was used to detect the expression of NICD in the tissues from 58 ovarian carcinomas patients and 21 normal ovarie, who were admitted in Peking University First Hospital from July 2006 to June 2009. Immunohistochemistry was also used to detect the expression of Notch3 in these tissues. The relationship with clinical features of ovarian carcinoma was also analyzed. Proliferation of OVCAR3 and A2780 ovarian cancer cells was determined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, cell cycles and apoptosis and index of proliferation were detected by flow cytometry method. The expression of NICD in OVCAR3 and A2780 cells incubated with DAPT was detected by western blot. Results (1)The expression level of NICD in ovarian carcinomas was significantly higher than that in normal ovarian tissues (1.64 ±0. 19 vs. 0.98 ±0.20;P <0.05). The NICD expression was higher in ovarian cancers with low grade or advanced stage than those in high-middle grade or early stage,respectively (1.90 ± 0. 22 vs. 1.25 ± 0. 21,1.80 ± 0. 21 vs. 1.21 ± 0. 15; all P < 0. 05). The Notch3 protein was stained positively in cytoplasm, nuclear and cell membrane. The expression of Notch3 was higher in ovarian carcinomas than that in normal ovaries [78% (45/58) vs. 24% (5/21); P < 0. 01]. While,there were no stasistical difference in different pathological types, stages, differentiation of ovarian carcinoma. There was no difference between the patients with adjuvant chemotherapy or not. (2)After OVCAR3 and A2780 cells incubated with DAPT 24, 48, 72 hours, NICD expression was significantly lower than that in control group (P < 0. 05). The effects of DAPT inhibited the proliferation and prompted the apoptosis of OVCAR3 and A2780 cells were depended on the concentrations and times. Conclusions Notch3 and NICD may play a key role in the occurrence and progress of ovarian carcinoma. The mechanism of DAPT inhibited the proliferation and prompted the apoptosis of OVCAR3 and A2780 cells may be due to decreased the formation of NICD.

Objective To understand the clinical features, management, pregnant outcomes and prognosis of pregnant women complicated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Retrospective analysis of 34 women (35 pregnancies) complicated with SLE were conducted and 26 of them were followed up for 0.5～15 years. Results (1) Out of the 35 pregnancies in these 34 women, 8 were in remission stage, 8 in the well-controlled period, 1 in active phase and 18 were primary onset (10 diagnosed during the pregnancy, and 8 after terminations) during the pregnancy. (2) Among those diagnosed during the pregnancy, 2 women in the remission group and 3 in the well-controlled group were in the active stage of SLE. The several most common clinical manifestations indicating SLE deterioration were proteinuria, fatigue, edema, hypertension, erythra and decreased serum C3. (3) In women with onset during the pregnancy, 7 (38.9%) presented with proteinuria, edema and hypertension which similar to symptoms of gestational hypertension. (4) The average maternal age of the remission group was much older than those women with onset during pregnancy [(32.4±5.5) years vs (26.6±3.9) years, P=0.034]. while the proportion of active lupus nephritis was lower than that of the later (1/4 vs 16/16, P=0.004) and the well-controlled group (1/4 vs 6/6,P=0.033) during post-partum follow-ups. Conclusions Pregnancy prompted lupus nephritis has nothing to do with maternal age, but the stage of SLE. Patients who conceived in the remission stage are the least likely to have nephritic damage. Although women with onset during the pregnancy is relatively young, they are expected to have more serious renal damage and poor prognosis.