ObjectiveTo construct one recombinant adenovirus AdE7E6 expressing HPV16 E6 and E7 fusion protein as candidate for HPV16 therapeutic vaccine.MethodsThe codon-optimized E6 and E7 gene,were fused to create one open reading frame,then inserted into adenovirus vector pCD316.A strain of recombinant adenovirus was constructed through homologous recombinant in 293 cells,and identified by PCR and Western blot.Finally,it was employed to study it's immunogenicity and the activity of the tumor growth regression.ResultsThe PCR result showed that E6E7 fusion gene had been integrated in recombinant Ad5 DNA.Western blot test confirmed that the E6E7 fusion protein was highly expressed in 293 cells infected with Ad5E7E6 recombinant adenovirus.The recombinant adenovirus elicited significant E7 specific CD8+ T lymphocyte response in vaccinated mice.These responses could completely prevent the TG-1 tumor cell bearing mice treated with AdE7E6 from developing into tumor.ConclusionThese results suggested that rAd5E7E6 could be a potent vaccine candidate for the treatment of HPV16-associated tumors and their precancerous transformations.

OBJECTIVESTo study the contribution of the genes and environment to variation of serum levels of lipids and lipoprotein.

METHODSOne hundred and forty-three healthy monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs and 93 dizygotic (DZ) ones aged 5 to 19 [with a mean of (11.2 +/- 3.4) years]. Microsatellite polymorphism (STR) was used to diagnose zygosity of twins, and intraclass correlation coefficient method and Falconer formula were performed to investigate heritability of serum lipids and lipoproteins unadjusted or adjusted for age and sex. Logarithmic transformation was used for data with skewed distribution. Influence of relevant physical and biochemical indicators on serum lipids and other components was analyzed with partial coefficients of correlation adjusted for age and sex.

RESULTSIn the twin samples, difference in serum level of triglycerides (TG) between MZ and DZ was not statistically significant with intraclass variation and intraclass correlation. There was significant difference in serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and lipoprotein [Lp(a)] between MZ and DZ, with their heritability estimates of 0.56, 0.55, 0.49 and 0.58 unadjusted, respectively, and 0.63, 0.63, 0.55 and 0.64 adjusted for age and sex, respectively. Serum levels of TC, HDL-C, LDL-C and Lp(a) correlated reversely with age. Serum levels of TC, HDL-C and LDL-C in girls were slightly higher than those in boys. Most indicators for serum levels of lipids and lipoprotein, except for serum level of Lp(a) correlated with body mass index (BMI), body fat ratio, Pelidisi index, and other indexes such as blood pressure, blood sugar, serum level of calcium, adjusted for age and sex.

CONCLUSIONSSerum levels of TC, HDL-C and Lp(a) were influenced more greatly by genetic factors, and serum level of TG was mainly influenced by environmental ones. Levels of blood lipids in children were influenced by age and sex, and correlated with indicators that reflect their body fat and nutritional status.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Child ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; genetics ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Lipids ; blood ; genetics ; Lipoproteins ; blood ; genetics ; Male ; Sex Factors ; Triglycerides ; blood ; genetics ; Twin Studies as Topic ; Twins, Dizygotic ; Twins, Monozygotic

OBJECTIVEThis study was to investigate the growth and proliferation characteristics of rat bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) isolated by the method of whole bone marrow culture and to explore the effect of cell inoculation density and incubation period on cell proliferation, with an aim to provide multipotential seed cells for preventing from degenerative disease.

METHODSBone mesenchymal stem cells were isolated by the method of whole bone marrow culture and then cultured in vitro. The cell morphologic features were observed by inverted microscope. The cell surface antigens were identified by flow cytometry. The effect of cell inoculation density and culture period on cell growth and proliferation was explored by analyzing the characteristics of a ten-day cell growth curve in 96-well plates.

RESULTSFlow cytometry results showed the detection rates for CD29, CD34 and CD45 were 97.68% (7607/7788), 7.93% (661/8340) and 2.76% (215/7788) respectively, which was consistent with the expression characteristics of BMSCs surface antigens. BMSCs became uniform after three cell passages, existing in a typical shape of whirlpool or radial colony. The senescent cells started to appear at 7(th) passage, and more senescent cells were found at 10(th) passage. The growth curve for moderate inoculation density was typically S-shaped. Lag phase was found during the first two days, and logarithm growth phase was in the following three days. Plateau phase started from the 6(th) day and cell numbers decreased slightly from the 8(th) day.

CONCLUSIONThe whole bone marrow culture is an effective way to obtain BMSCs. A moderate inoculation density was more advantageous to cell proliferation, by which more seed cells could be obtained.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Flow Cytometry ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo identify specific T lymphocyte epitope on E6 protein of human papillomavirus type 18 in mice.

METHODSInfection with one recombinant vaccinia virus rVVJ18 E7, E6 respectively in C57 BL/6 and BALB/c mice, specific cellular immune responses were detected by ELISPOT or intracellular cytokine stainings by using a series of overlapping synthetic peptides covering full length of the amino acid sequence of E6 and E7 proteins or various truncated peptides.

RESULTSThe rVVJ18 E7, E6 generated significant E6 specific T-cell immune responses in vaccinated mice. Mapping of the epitope of E6 revealed that the peptides E6(67-75 ( KCIDFYSRI) and E6(60-68) (IPHAAGHKC) presented respectively by C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice were the optimal peptides to activate E6-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes. However no positive cellular immune responses stimulated with various E7 peptides were detected by ELISPOT in immunized mice.

CONCLUSIONSTwo specific T lymphocyte epitopes were identified on E6 protein in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, which will provide the basis to evaluate cellular immune response elicited by HPV18 E6 protein based vaccine.

Animals ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; immunology ; Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte ; immunology ; Human papillomavirus 18 ; immunology ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Oncogene Proteins, Viral ; immunology ; Papillomavirus Vaccines ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo express HPV6bL2deltaN360E7E6 fusion protein in E. coli and preliminarily evaluate its immune effect.

METHODSThree HPV6b gene fragments, which were L2(1-360 bp), E7 and E6, were fused by overlapping PCR, then were inserted into a prokaryotic expression vector and expressed in E. coli. C57BL/6 mice were immunized with purified fusion protein plus Al (OH)3 and/or CpG adjuvants through intramuscular route, the cellular and humoral immune responses were detected by IFN-gamma ELISPOT and ELISA respectively.

RESULTSProtein plus CpG adjuvant could induce the strongest cellular immune response to E7 and E6, high antibody titer against L2 could be detected in all immunized groups but there were no significant difference among these groups.

CONCLUSIONSHPV6bL2deltaN360E7E6 gene was successfully cloned into pQE30 vector and expressed in E. coli, the fusion protein was also purified and proved that could induce strong cellular and humoral immune responses with appropriate adjuvant in C57BL/ 6 mice and could be used for future research.

Adjuvants, Immunologic ; Animals ; Condylomata Acuminata ; genetics ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay ; methods ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; Gene Expression ; Genetic Vectors ; Immunity, Humoral ; Immunization ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Recombinant Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of aspartate-ornithine granules in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

METHODSSeventy-two patients with NASH were included in this multiple-dose parallel controlled clinical trial and received a 12-week course of aspartate-ornithine granule treatment at either high-dose (6 g bid po; n = 38) or low-dose (3 g bid po; n = 34). Clinical efficacy was assessed by monitoring data from urinalysis, serologic tests (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and triglyceride (TG)), and abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan. Safety was assessed by occurrence of adverse events (fatigue, anorexia, abdominal distension, nausea, and vomiting). Statistical analyses were conducted to determine the significance of differences between parameters before (baseline) and after treatment.

RESULTSAfter 12 weeks of treatment, the liver and spleen CT ratios in both the high-dose group (0.89 +/- 0.19) and the low-dose group (0.80 +/- 0.15) were significantly higher than at baseline (S = 329, P less than 0.0001 and S = 246, P less than 0.0001); the overall improvement was more robust in the high-dose group (52.63%) than in the low-dose group (38.23%) (Z = -2.1042, P less than 0.05). After 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, the serum ALT levels in both the high-dose group and the low-dose group were significantly lower than at baseline (6 weeks: S = 324.5, P less than 0.0001 and S = 223, P less than 0.0001; 12 weeks: S = 370.5, P less than 0.0001 and S = 297.5, P less than 0.0001); the overall improvement was more robust in the high-dose group (79.0%) than in the low-dose group (53.0%) (Z = -2.0533, P less than 0.05). Similar trends were seen for the serum levels of AST and GGT after 6 and 12 weeks of treatment (all P less than 0.01) and serum levels of TG after 12 weeks of treatment. The rate of adverse reactions was low and similar between the two groups (high-dose: 4.8% and low-dose: 4.4%; all gastrointestinal).

CONCLUSIONAspartate-ornithine granule therapy was an effective and safe treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, with the higher dose of 6 g bid po providing more robust clinical benefit without affecting the safety profile.

Adult ; Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Dipeptides ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; drug therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Triglycerides ; blood ; gamma-Glutamyltransferase ; blood

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of the ratio of the fetal cardiac diameter to biparietal diameter( CBR) as a predictor of homozygous α-thalassemia-1 . Methods Single mid-pregnancies ( 15-22weeks) at risk of homozygous α-thalassemia-1 were enrolled . A total of 251 singleton pregnancies were recruited ,in which 63 cases were homozygous α-thalassemia-1 fetuses and the rest were unaffected . The CBR and cardiothoracic ratio(CTR) were measured by two-dimensional ultrasound . Then the accuracy of these variables were analyzed and compared with each other by ROC curves . Results ①The CBR and CTR in affected fetuses were significantly higher than those in the unaffected( P ＜0 .01) . ②With CBR＞0 .43 and CTR ＞ 0 .52 as the best cut off values ,the sensitivity and specificity of predicting homozygous α-thalassemia-1 fetuses in 15-22 gestational weeks were 95 .74% , 92 .06% and 94 .15% , 85 .71% , respectively ;the area under ROC curve were compared with Z test and there was no significant difference between them ( Z ＝ 1 .500 , P ＝ 0 .1335) . ③ When CBR and CTR were combined ,the sensitivity and specificity of the prediction were significantly increased ( the sensitivity of series experiment : 99 .75% ,the specificity of parallel experiment : 98 .87% ) . Conclusions CBR is a novel , effective and noninvasive predictor of homozygous α-thalassemia-1 in mid-pregnancy whose prediction efficiency is the same as traditional CTR . The measurement of CBR is easier to standardize and is not affected by thoracic lesions such as pleural cavity ,pericardial effusion and skeletal dysplasia . If combined with CTR ,it may play an important role in improving the prenatal detection rate of homozygous α-thalassemia-1 fetuses .

Improving the reproducibility of biomedical research results is a major challenge.Transparent and accurate reporting of the research process enables readers to evaluate the reliability of the research results and further explore the experiment by repeating it or building upon its findings. The ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines, released in 2019 by the UK National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), provide a checklist applicable to any in vivo animal research report. These guidelines aim to improve the standardization of experimental design, implementation, and reporting, as well as the reliability, repeatability, and clinical translatability of animal experimental results. The use of ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines not only enriches the details of animal experimental research reports, ensuring that information on animal experimental results is fully evaluated and utilized, but also enables readers to understand the content expressed by the author accurately and clearly, promoting the transparency and integrity of the fundamental research review process. At present, the ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines have been widely adopted by international biomedical journals. This article is a Chinese translation based on the best practices of international journals following the ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines in international journals, specifically for the complete interpretation of the ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines published in the PLoS Biology journal in 2020 (original text can be found at https://arriveguidelines.org). The fourth part of the article includes the items 1-5 of ARRIVE 2.0 Recommended 11 section, which covers "Abstract" "Background" "Objectives" "Ethical statement" and "Housing and husbandry". Its aim is to promote the full understanding and use of the ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines by domestic researchers, enhance the standardization of experimental animal research and reporting, and promote the high-quality development of experimental animal technology and comparative medicine research in China.

Chemical constituents from the fruits of Vitex negundo var. cannabifolia and their nitric oxide (NO) inhibitory and cytotoxic activities were investigated. The compounds were isolated and purified by various column chromatography, and their structures were identified by physiochemical properties and spectroscopic data. Thirteen lignans and six phenolic compounds were isolated from the CH2Cl2 extract of the fruits of V. negundo var. cannabifolia, respectively. Their structures were elucidated as 6-hydroxy-4-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-hydroxymethyl-7-methoxy-3,4-dihydro-2-naphthaldehyde (1), vitedoin A (2), vitexdoin F (3), detetrahydroconidendrin (4), vitexdoin E (5), 4-oxosesamin (6), L-sesamin (7), (+)-beechenol (8), ligballinol (9), 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-6-(3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)-3,7-dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane (10), (-)-pinoresinol (11), balanophonin (12), thero-guaiacylglycerol-β-coniferyl aldehyde ether (13), trans-p-coumaryl aldehyde (14), coniferyl aldehyde (15), 5,7-dihydroxychromone (16), trans-3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy-cinnamic aldehyde (17), frambinone (18), and alternariol 4-methyl ether (19). Compounds 8-10,14,18,19 were firstly isolated from Verbenaceae family, compound 13 was obtained from Vitex species, and 6,7,12,15-17 from V. negundo var. cannabifolia for the first time, respectively. The isolated compounds were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic effects in vitro. Eight compounds (3,5,7,10,11,14,15,17) showed inhibition against NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW 267.4 cells (IC₅₀ in the range of 7.8-81.1 μmol•L⁻¹) and four compounds (1-4) showed cytotoxicity on HepG-2 cells (IC₅₀ in the range of 5.2-24.2 μmol•L⁻¹).

Objective: To investigate the cellular and humoral immune responses induced by combined immunization with the fusion protein of human papillomavirus type 18 (HPV18) and the recombinant vaccinia virus. Methods: Purified HPV18L2_31-600E7E6 fusion protein, expressed by prokaryotic expression system, were immunized in combination with the recombinant vaccinia virus vaccine expressing HPV18E7E6 fusion protein (rVV18E7E6) by using various prime-boost regiments in C57BL/6 mice. Cellular and humoral immune responses were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISPOT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and pseudovirus neutralization assay. Results: Higher levels of cellular immune responses were induced in mice primed with the HPV18L2_31-600E7E6 fusion protein/adjuvant CpG and boosted with the recombinant vaccinia virus rVV18E7E6, than in other immunized mice. Higher binding antibody level was induced, and low level neutralizing antibody against pseudovirus was detected simultaneously. Conclusions Priming with HPV18L2_31-600E7E6 fusion protein/CpG and boosting with the recombinant vaccinia virus rVV18E7E6 could induce higher cellular and humoral immune response in immunized mice, which might be taken as vaccine candidate for treatment of HPV18 chronic infection and postoperative adjuvant treatment for cervical cancer.