Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second major neurodegenerative disease.The pathogenesis of PI) is still unclear.It is generally believed that neural damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, oxidative stress and autophagy dysfunction caused by the transmission and aggregation of a- synuclein play an important role in the occurrence and development of PD.More and more research show- that metabolic disorder is one of the pathogenesis of PD.We examined whether overexpression of a- synuclein could induce metabolic disorder in mice and the possible mechanisms.Mice were divided into two groups: Thyl-aSYN transgenic mice (TG) and the control wild-type (WT) group.The rotarod test was used to analyze motor function in mice.We detected the body weight, plasma insulin content, glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance in the two group mice.The morphology of islets in the two groups were observed by hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining, and the islets were isolated to detect the glucose- stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS).The results showed that compared with the WT group, exercise tolerance of 12-month-old TG group decreased by 23.1% (P < 0.05) , body weight increased by 7% (P < 0.01), glucose tolerance decreased (P < 0.05), insulin tolerance decreased (P < 0.05), and insulin contents in the peripheral blood decreased by 20% (P < 0.05).Compared with the WT group, the levels of ce -syn proteins in the pancreas of the TG group increased by 1.32 times (P < 0.05) , the area of islets in the TG group decreased (P < 0.05 ) , the number of islets decreased (P < 0.01) , and the insulin secretion function decreased (P< 0.01).This study showed that the role of a-synuclein in PD is not limited to the damage of dopaminergic neurons, it also can affect metabolism and the morphology and function of peripheral organs, which provides a new theoretical basis for the pathogenesis of PD.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of Tangzhiping Granule (TZPG) on blood lipids and free fatty acids (FFA) in rats with insulin resistant diabetes (IRD).

METHODSA blank control group consisted of randomly selected normal rats was set up. The remaining rats were established to IRD model by high-fat high-sugar diet feeding and streptozotocin injection. Then the 32 successfully modeled rats were randomized into the model group (treated by saline), the Tangmaikang group (treated with Tangmaikang Granule 1.35 g/kg), and the two TZPG groups treated with high dose (2.70 g/kg) and low dose TZPG (1.35 g/kg) respectively through intragastric infusion for 4 weeks. The body weight (BW), fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin (INS), blood lipids including triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and FFA were detected, and the insulin sensitivity index (ISI) calculated.

RESULTSCompared with the blank control group, BW, FBG and INS increased while ISI decreased in the model group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). All the above-mentioned abnormal indices were improved in the three treated groups (Tangmaikang, high and low dose TZPG group), but the improvements in the high dose TZPG group were more significant than those in the other two groups (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Similar outcomes were also seen in blood lipids detection, in which TG, TC, LDL-C and FFA were higher and HDL-C were lower in model rats than those in blank controls, they were improved in the three treated groups (P < 0.05), and the best improvements were seen in the high dose TZPG group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONTZPG could reduce levels of BW, FBG, INS, TC, TG, LDL-C and FFA, and increase levels of ISI and HDL-C in rat model of insulin resistant type 2 diabetes, so as to improve the insulin resistance in them.

Animals ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; drug therapy ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Fatty Acids, Nonesterified ; blood ; Female ; Insulin Resistance ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Phytotherapy ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Objective To assess the feasibility of using PET molecular imaging to evaluate the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine FuZhiSan (FZS) on the model of aging Alzheimer's disease (AD) rats. Methods Twenty aged AD rats (Sparague-Dawley rats,male) were randomly divided into FZS treated group (n = 10) and control group (n = 10). Another 10 healthy adult rats were as blank controls. Morris water maze record system was used for cognitive function assessment. Before and after FZS treatment 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and 11 C-2- [4'-(methylamino) phenyl] benzothiazol-6-ol ( PIB )PET imaging was undertaken. After post-treatment imaging procedures the brain tissues of all animals were taken for histochemical study,such as staining with HE,congo red,amyloid β (Aβ) immunofluorescence,5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) immunofluorescence and NeuN immunofluorescence. Paired t-test was performed with SPSS 13.0 software for the data analysis. Results The cognitive dysfunction of aging AD rats was improved after FZS treatment. The escape latency in FZS treated group was significantly shorter than that of control group ((32.5 ±10.8) s vs (102.6±8.8) s,t =15.7987,P=0. 0001). Diffuse neuronal loss and Aβ deposition were detected in the hippocampus and cortex in the aged AD rats. The imaging data showed that brain glucose metabolism was amended in FZS treated group while the abatement of amyloid deposition was not significant. Immunofluorescence results indicated that the neuronal proliferation was more remarkable in FZS treated group. Conclusions It may be feasible to use PET imaging as a method to evaluate the therapeutic effect in AD rats. FZS may ameliorate memory dysfunction of aged AD rats. Its mechanism may be partly contributed to the enhancement of the neuronal proliferation and survival.

OBJECTIVETo find out the importance of human bocavirus (HBoV) as an infectious agent for population in Beijing, China, seroprevalence study was conducted by using expressed recombinant major capsid VP2 protein as an antigen.

METHODSSerum specimens collected from infants and children who visited the Children's Hospital Affiliated to the Capital Institute of Pediatrics for health check up and adults visited the Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing for diseases other than respiratory infections from April 1996 to March 1997 were used for investigation. The major capsid protein VP2 from HBoV was expressed in E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) with the transformed PET30b vector inserted with full-length VP2 gene of HBoV and the specific antigenicity of this expressed protein was validated by previous study. Western blot was used to detect specific IgG antibody against HBoV in collected serum specimens diluted to 1:200. Mock expressed protein was E. coli cells strain BL21 (DE3) with the transformed PET30b vector without insert. Anti-His monoclonal antibody and rabbit anti-HBoV VP2 polypeptides hyper-immune serum were used as positive control for antibody detection.

RESULTSOut of 677 serum specimens tested, 400 (59.1%) were positive by Western blot. About 45.3% (34/75) of the newborns under 1 month of age had anti-HBoV antibodies, and antibody positive rates were lower in the age groups of 1 and 2 months (41.4% and 31.3%, respectively) and were higher in the following ages from 6 months to 7 years (from 45.6% to 69.7%). The antibody positive rates were at a relatively constant level (about 70%) in the age groups from 7 years to 40 years and became lower (61.8% - 62.8%) in groups of age over 50 years.

CONCLUSIONThe high seroprevalence against recombinant HBoV VP2 protein and early age antibody acquisition indicate that HBoV has been circulating in Beijing, China as early as in 1996 and most of children had been exposed to HBoV by the age of 7 years. Infants under the age of 6 months were susceptible to infection with this virus.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Blotting, Western ; Bocavirus ; immunology ; Capsid Proteins ; immunology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parvoviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; immunology ; Prevalence ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate association of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms with the susceptibility to chronic periodontitis (CP) of Han Nationality.

METHODSBuccal swabs from 166 patients with severe, moderate and mild CP respectively and 80 matched control individuals were collected. DNA was extracted from these buccal swabs using Chelex-100 method. VDR BsmI, ApaI, TaqI were tested with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The distribution of the genotypes and allele frequencies in the patient and control groups were analyzed.

RESULTSThe frequency of VDR ApaI allele A was significantly higher among patients with CP than controls. Frequencies of VDR ApaI allele A were significantly higher in severe CP patients than in moderate CP and mild CP respectively. There was no significant difference in the genotype distribution or the allele frequencies of VDR BsmI and TaqI between the controls and CP patients.

CONCLUSIONSThese data indicate that VDR ApaI allele A may be related to the susceptibility to CP in Han Nationality.

Adult ; Aged ; Alleles ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Chronic Periodontitis ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Receptors, Calcitriol ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the determination of seminal acid phosphatase (ACP) and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (gamma-GT) activity, and analyze the correlation between seminal ACP or gamma-GT and semen parameters.

METHODSACP and gamma-GT activities in 133 samples of seminal plasma were measured. Two of the samples were randomly selected for intra-assay, one for the detection of ACP activity and the other for gamma-GT activity. And another four were selected the same way for the same purpose, two for the detection of ACP activity and the other two for gamma-GT activity. The semen volume, pH, sperm concentration, motility, and grade-a and -b motility were analyzed by CASA system and so were the correlation between seminal ACP or gamma-GT activity and semen parameters.

RESULTSThere was significant positive correlation between ACP and gamma-GT activities (r = 0.570, P = 0.000). The intra-CV of ACP was 13.72%, and inter-CVs of ACP were 13.80% and 15.49%. The intra-CV of gamma-GT was 7.68%, and inter-CVs of gamma-GT were 7.76% and 9.73%. Both seminal ACP and gamma-GT activities had significant negative correlation with pH (r = -0.330, P = 0.000 vs r = - 0. 388, P = 0.000). There was obvious correlation between gamma-GT activity and sperm concentration (r = 0.165, P = 0.045), but not between ACP activity and sperm concentration (r = 0.048, P = 0.546). Neither of seminal ACP and gamma-GT activity was correlated with sperm motility, grade-a and -b motility, semen volume, abstinence time and age.

CONCLUSIONThe precision of the measurement of gamma-GT activity in seminal plasma was higher than that of ACP. The correlation between seminal gamma-GT activity and semen parameters was similar to that between seminal ACP activity and semen parameters. Thus, the determination of gamma-GT activity was a more reliable marker than that of ACP activity for the evaluation of prostate function.

Acid Phosphatase ; analysis ; metabolism ; Adult ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Male ; Semen ; enzymology ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; gamma-Glutamyltransferase ; analysis ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDHuman bocavirus (HBoV) is a newly identified human parvovirus that was originally detected in the respiratory secretions of children with respiratory infections. This study aimed to learn about the importance of HBoV infections by revealing the prevalence of serum antibodies against HBoV in Beijing population.

METHODSTwo batches of serum specimens collected in different periods were tested by Western blotting for specific IgG against HBoV using recombinant VP2 as antigen.

RESULTSOut of 677 serum specimens collected during April 1996 to March 1997, 400 (59.1%) were positive and antibody positive rate for another batch of 141 serum specimens collected in August, 2005 from adults aged from 20 years to over 60 years was 78.7% (111/141). Comparison of the sero-prevalence profiles for serum specimens collected during 1996 - 1997 to those collected in 2005 indicated that the antibody positive rate for specimens collected in 2005 was higher than that of the corresponding age groups collected during 1996 - 1997.

CONCLUSIONSThe data suggest that HBoV has been circulating in Beijing population for at least over 10 years, and most of children had been exposed to HBoV by age of 7 years. Higher HBoV antibody positive rate shown in the serum specimens collected in 2005 suggested that infections by HBoV have been increased in Beijing population in recent years.

Adult ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Blotting, Western ; Bocavirus ; pathogenicity ; China ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; immunology ; Middle Aged ; Parvoviridae Infections ; blood ; epidemiology ; immunology ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Viral Proteins ; immunology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of chronic lead contaminant on mRNA expression of protein kinase C (PKC) and calmodulin (CaM) in hippocampus of baby rats.

METHODSThe Wistar pregnant rats were randomly divided into 3 groups fed with distilled water and lead contained water (0.2% and 1.0% lead acetate) respectively. The lead exposure period was from the 0 day of pregnancy to the day when the offspring weaned. Then the baby rats were fed with lead water the same as their mothers. The cliff avoidance reflex within postnatal day 8 and step down test at postnatal day 50 were performed. Then pups were killed at postnatal day 8 and 50 respectively. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine lead content of rats' brain. RT-PCR was used to observe mRNA expression of PKC and CaM in hippocampus of baby rats.

RESULTSThe brain lead content of test groups were much higher than that of the control group. The completion rate of cliff avoidance reflex and the score of step down test of test groups were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Compared with control group, PKC and CaM mRNA expression of chronic lead exposure baby rats in the hippocampus had the down trend (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe decrease of PKC and CaM mRNA expression level in hippocampus has a great link with the impairment of learning and memory induced by lead in baby rats, which might be one of the molecule mechanisms of lead induced impairment of learning and memory.

Animals ; Calmodulin ; genetics ; metabolism ; Female ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Lead ; toxicity ; Learning ; drug effects ; Male ; Memory ; drug effects ; Protein Kinase C ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of chronic lead exposure on mRNA and protein expression of ASIC1a, ASIC2a, ASIC2b in hippocampus of baby-rats.

METHODSThe Wistar pregnant rats were randomly divided into 3 groups fed with distilled water or lead contained water (0.2% and 1.0% lead acetate) respectively, 5 rats in each group. The lead-exposure ranged from the 0 day of pregnancy to the offspring weaned. Then the baby-rats were fed with lead water like their mothers and killed at postnatal day 8 or 50. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine lead content in the brain. RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to observe mRNA and protein expression of ASIC1a, ASIC2a and ASIC2b in their hippocampus respectively.

RESULTSThe brain lead content of test groups was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.01), and the lead content of the postnatal day 50 was higher than that in postnatal day 8 (P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, ASIC1a mRNA expression of 1.0% lead exposure in the hippocampus was uptrend (P < 0.01), ASIC1a protein expression of each test group was downtrend (P < 0.05), while for ASIC2a and ASIC2b mRNA and protein, there was no significant differences observed (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONASIC1a expression in hippocampus can be changed by chronic lead exposure.

Acid Sensing Ion Channels ; Animals ; Female ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Lead ; toxicity ; Nerve Tissue Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sodium Channels ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To determine the changes of cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) ?-endorphin(?-EP) and C-reactive protein(CRP) in children with central nervous system(CNS) infection.Methods Sixty-five children suffered from CNS infection were determined the plasma and CSF ?-EP and CRP concentration during the acute and recovering stage with radioimmunoassay, which included 48 viral encephalitis, 12 purulent meningitis and 5 tuberculou meningitis,and 24 non-CNS disease children were as control group.Results The concentrations of plasma and CSF ?-EP of every experimental group were obviously higher than those of control group during the early stage of CNS infection and these were obviously lower during the recovering stage. The serum concentration of CRP during acute stage was significantly higher than that during recovering stage. No change of serum and CSF CRP concentration was determined during either the acute or recovering stage in the other two experimental groups.Conclusions Determining the plasma and CSF ?-EP is mea-(ningful) in early diagnosis of CNS infection,and determining the serum CRP at the same time may be helpful in differentiating septic and inseptic infection.