Endemic dental fluorosis has been reported in some regions of the world. China seemed to have high prevalence of endemic dental fluorosis, especially in southwest China. It is now most likely that excessive fluoride intake during enamel development play a key role in the pathogenesis of dental fluorosis. However, excessive intake of fluoride-induced cellular and molecular mechanisms of dental fluorosis are not entirely conclusive. Scholars at home and abroad have made a lot of research on pathogenesis of enamel fluorosis by using various experimental techniques. More recent studies mainly suggest that endoplasmic reticulum stress and calcium overload-associated apoptotic pathway may participate in fluoride excess-evoked pathogenesis of dental fluorosis. Furthermore, the functional changes of enamel matrix protein and protease activity may be involved in the pathological event. This paper summarized the recent research progress on this topic.

OBJECTIVETo observe the cytotoxicity of indirubin derivative PHII-7 against human breast cancer MCF-7 cells and to study its primary mechanisms.

METHODSThe proliferation of MCF-7 cells was detected using MTT colorimetry. Annexin V/PI double staining was applied to detect the apoptosis rate of MCF-7 cells. The distribution of cell cycles was detected using PI staining and flow cytometry (FCM). The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in MCF-7 cells were detected by DCFH-DA staining. The mRNA and protein levels of c-fos were detected using RT-PCR and Westem blot analysis.

RESULTSPHII-7 at different concentrations inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, with the inhibitory rate ranging from 43.13% to 90.90% (P < 0.05). The inhibition was strengthened along with increased concentrations. PHII-7 at different concentrations could induce the apoptosis of MCF-7 cells. The early apoptosis rate was 1.43% +/- 0.02%, 9.14% +/- 0.36%, and 45.79% +/- 8.46%, respectively with the action of 1.25, 2.50, and 5.00 micromol/L PHII-7, respectively, showing dose-dependent manner. FCM analysis found that the proportion of MCF-7 cells in the G0/G1 phase and the S phase decreased after treatment with PHII-7, and the ratio of MCF-7 cells in the G2/M phase obviously increased (P < 0.01). The intra-cellular ROS level was significantly elevated 2 h after pretreatment with PHII-7. The levels of the protooncogene c-fos mRNA and protein were down-regulated in a dose-dependent manner after action of PHII-7.

CONCLUSIONSPHII-7 exerted obvious in vitro cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 cells. Its mechanisms might be associated with arresting the cell cycle, regulating the redox equilibrium, and down-regulating the expression of the protooncogene.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Female ; Humans ; Indoles ; pharmacology ; MCF-7 Cells

CDISC standard has become a set of global data standards that can be used in clinical study, covering the full life cycle of clinical researches. After nearly 20 years of development and continuous version upgrades, CDISC standard can improve the quality and efficiency of clinical research and drug review, and to facilitate all stakeholders involved in researches to exchange the study data and communicate the outcomes. CDISC standard has been or is to be adopted as standard format in data submission by multiple regulatory authorities, and more widely implemented by the global pharmaceutical community. CDISC standard is gradually adopted in China. The feasibility and roadmap of CDISC standard as the Chinese data submission format requirements are undergoing exploration and piloting further.
Biomedical Research ; standards ; China ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; standards ; Data Collection ; standards

Objective To investigate the effect of emulsified isoflurane anesthesia on the expression of hippocampal amyloid-beta protein (Aβ) and phosphorylation of Tau protein in rats.Methods Seventy-two healthy Sprague-Dawley rats,aged 8 weeks,weighing 250-300 g,were randomly divided into 3 groups:normal control group (group C,n =12),fat emulsion group (group E,n =12),and 8％ emulsified isoflurane group (group EI,n =48).30％ fat emulsion and 8％ emulsified isoflurane 0.15 ml/100 g were slowly injected via the tail vein in groups E and EI,respectively.Morris water maze test was performed 6 days before anesthesia.Twelve animals in each group were chosen at 2 h after administration (T1) in E group,at the corresponding time points in C group,or at T1 and 1,7 and 14 days after administration (T2-4) in EI group and underwent spatial probe tests,and the escape latency was measured.The rats were anesthetized with intraperitoneal 1％ pentobarbital sodium 4 g/100 g after the end of Morris water maze test.Blood samples were taken for determination of the plasma S100 protein concentration.The rats were then sacrificed and brains were removed for determination of the expression of hippocampal Aβ and phosphorylated Tau (p-Tau) protein by immunohistochemistry.Results The escape latency and swimming distance were significantly shorter on 3rd,4th and 5th days than those on 1st day of place navigation test before anethesia (P ＜ 0.01).Compared with group C,the escape latency and swimming distance were significantly prolonged and the time of staying at the original platform quadrant was shortened at T1,and the plasma S100 protein concentration was decreased at T4 in group EI (P ＜ 0.05),and no significant change was found in the each parameter of Morris water maze test,plasma S100 protein concentration,and expression of Aβ and p-Tau protein in group E (P ＞ 0.05).The escape latency and swimming distance were significantly shorter and the time of staying at the original platform quadrant was longer at T2-T4 than at T1 in group EI (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Emulsified isoflurane anesthesia exerts no effect on the expression of hippocampal Aβ and phosphorylation of Tau protein,indicating that hippocampal Aβ and Tau protein are not involved in emulsified isoflurane anesthesia-induced cognitive dysfunction in rats.

Objective To investigate the protective effects of Digoxin on cardioventricular function in rats after simulated weightlessness.Methods Eighty rats were divided randomly into 5 groups:control(Con)group,tail-suspended+sham feeding(TS+SF)group,tail-suspended+Digoxin 2 wk(TS+D2)group and tail-suspended+Digoxin 3 wk(TS+D3)group.The TS+SF group was given the distilled water.At the end of tail-suspended for 3 weeks,the heart function of 10 rats in each group was examined with echocardiography.The level of atrial natriuretic polypeptide(ANP)in serum was measured with immunoradiometric assay in other 6 rats.Results Compared with TS+SF group,the contractile function of LV improved in TS+D2 and TS+D3 groups(P0.05).Conclusion Digoxin can improve muscle contractile and blood ejection of LV and retard the tendency of atrophy in simulated weightlessness.

Objective To make it clear whether dust storms may produce same acute adverse impacts on community population. Methods 2 primary schools in Baotou City were selected. During the period of dust storm in March of 2004 an investigation among 918 pupils from third to fifth grades and 1 770 parents of them was conducted by questionnaires. Meanwhile the concentrations of PM2.5 were also determined. Results On the day of dust storms developed the concentrations of PM2.5 obviously increased (212.9 ?g/m3)then decreased rapidly(

OBJECTIVETo investigate the therapeutic mechanism of Weiweifang (WWF, a Chinese herbal preparation) on gastric ulcer in rats viewing from metabonomics.

METHODSWistar rats were made to gastric model by acetic acid cauterization and randomized into the model group, the spontaneously healing group and the three WWF treatment groups, and a group of normal rats was set for control. Metabolic spectra of gastric mucosa extraction of rats were acquired with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. After being pre-processing, data were subjected to partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to discover the biomarkers in rats of the normal group and the model group. The therapeutic effect of WWF on experimental gastric ulcer was assessed by principal component analyses (PCA), and its action of mechanism was explained viewing from the changes of biomarkers.

RESULTSSpectra of biomarkers, including organic acids, fatty acids, amino acids, etc. in model rats were statistically different to those in normal rats, which demonstrated that the energy and substance metabolisms were disordered in rats with gastric ulcer. WWF could cure gastric ulcer effectively by way of regulating the metabolism of gastric mucosa.

CONCLUSIONThe therapeutic mechanism of WWF on experimental gastric ulcer in rats is revealed integrally by metabonomics in this study, displaying prominently the characteristics of Chinese medicine multiple targets comprehensive therapy.

Acetic Acid ; Amino Acids ; metabolism ; Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Fatty Acids ; metabolism ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Gastric Mucosa ; metabolism ; Male ; Metabolomics ; methods ; Phytotherapy ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Stomach Ulcer ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; metabolism

Objective To study the mental health condition of undergraduate students from different departments in military medical university,and provide evidence and guideline for education before and during exercitation.Methods 140 medical undergraduate students and 90 nursing undergraduate students were surveyed by the questionnaires of PSSS(Perceived Social Support Scale),SES(Self-Esteem Scale)and GWB (General Well-Being).The results were analyzed by SPSS 13.0.Results Self-esteem,social support and general well-being of undergraduate students from different departments were normal,were>30、>50 and>60.respectively;scores of"support from family"and"control of emotion and behavior"were significantly different among undergraduate students from different departments(P<0.05);there was no significant difference in scores of other sections among undergraduate students from different departments.Self-esteem had no obvious relationship with social support,while had relationship with well-being.Conclusions The military medical university should emphasize the edueation before exercitation,alleviate the anxiety of graduate students and strengthen the management during exercitation to prevent accidents.

This study was aimed to investigate the change of tissue factor pathway (TFP) ratio during the attack of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and its clinical significance. Plasma recalcification time was assayed by manual operation. Plasma tissue factor (TF), TF pathway inhibitor (TFPI) antigen, FVII:Ag, activated FVII (FVIIa) and D-Dimer were measured by enzyme linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). TF activity was determined by chromogenic assay, plasma FVII coagulation activity (FVII:C) was detected by one-stage system. Blood samples were taken from 59 patients with AMI and 84 healthy volunteers. The results indicated that (1) plasma recalcification time was significantly shorter in the AMI group than that in the control; (2) compared with the control, TF activity in AMI patients showed no significant change (p > 0.05); the antigen levels of TF and TFPI in patients with AMI were remarkably increased (p < 0.05), and the increment degree of TF was remarkably higher than that of TFPI, therefore the TF/TFPI ratio was enlarged; total TFPI (t-TFPI) and full-length TFPI (fl-TFPI) were significantly higher (p < 0.01), truncated TFPI (tr-TFPI) was significantly lower (p < 0.01); the TF/t-TFPI ratio was higher than that in normal group, the TF/t-TFPI ratio was lower than that in normal group (p < 0.01), but the TF/tr-TFPI and fl-TFPI/t-TFPI ratios in AMI group were more remarkably higher than that in control group (p < 0.01), the tr-TFPI/t-TFPI and tr-TFPI/fl-TFPI ratios were significantly lower (p < 0.01). (3) compared with the control, the levels of plasma FVIIa and FVII:C in AMI group were higher (p < 0.05), FVII:Ag did not significatly change; FVIIa/FVII: Ag ratio was more remarkably higher (p < 0.01), but the elevation of FVIIa/FVII:C and FVII:C/FVII:Ag ratios showed no significant change (p > 0.05); (4) plasma D-dimer was significantly higher, compared with the normal control (p < 0.01). It is concluded that TFP is initiated during the attack of AMI, suggesting the circulating blood in AMI patients is in hypercoagulable status, therefore the simultaneous detection of multiple coagulation factors is necessary for evaluating risk factors in AMI patients, and the use of ratio for reflecting hypercoagulable status and risk factors is more reliable to detect each of them separately.
Aged ; Blood Coagulation ; Case-Control Studies ; Factor VII ; metabolism ; Female ; Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; blood ; Thromboplastin ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the relationship of hair content of rare earth elements (REEs) in the young children aged 0 - 3 years to that in their mothers living in a rare earth mining area of Jiangxi Province.

METHODSContent of five kinds of REEs, i.e., lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd) and samarium (Sm) were determined for the hair-root samples collected from 71 young children and 62 of their mothers by inductively coupled plasma source mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

RESULTSThe mean hair content of REEs (e.g., La) was the highest (2,202.90 ng/g) in the young children living in the place nearest to the REE mining area, next (471.72 ng/g) was in those nearer to the REE mining area, and the lowest (97.37 ng/g) was in those in the control area. And, the hair content of REEs in the mothers was the same as that in their children, i.e, the mean content of La was the highest (1,510.21 ng/g) in high-exposure area, next (241.63 ng/g) was that in the low-exposure area, and the lowest (59.15 ng/g) was that in the control area, with P < 0.001. Pair-comparison analysis for the means showed that the average hair level of five kinds of REEs in the young children was two times high as their mothers' (P < 0.001). For example, the hair level of La was 533.83 ng/g in the young children and 279.78 ng/g in their mothers, respectively. Simple linear regression analysis showed that there was a significant correlation between the hair levels of each kind of REEs in the young children and those in their mothers, with a correlation coefficient of more than 0.75, e.g., that of La was 0.878 (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe hair level of REEs can be used as a bio-marker to reflect body's level of exposure to REEs. The hair level of REEs in young children and their mothers decreased with the increase of the distance from their home to rare earth mining area. Young children living in the area with REEs mining may be the high-exposure population, and their hair level of REEs was significantly higher than that in their mothers and more attention should be paid to them.

Child, Preschool ; Environmental Exposure ; Hair ; chemistry ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Metals, Rare Earth ; analysis ; Mining ; Mothers