mPem, a homeobox gene, is expressed in a time and stage specific manner during murine ontogeny. Pem transcripts are abundant in 7- and 8-day mouse embryos, but decrease precipitously thereafter. On Day 9 they become abundant in placenta and yolk sac, persisting there until parturition. Although Pem transcripts are not detectable in most of adult tissues, they are present in reproductive system such as testis, epididymis and ovary. This indicates a important role for Pem during embryogenesis and reproductive development. To study the function of mPem protein, we used a GAL4 based yeast two-hybrid assay to screen a 7-day mouse embryo library with full-length of mPem. 3 proteins were found interacting with mPem protein. One of theses is Mdfic. We confirmed the interaction between mPem and Mdfic in yeast and in vitro. Mdfic, MyoD family inhibitor domain containing, encodes the myoD family inhibitor domain (I-mfa domain). The interaction between mPem and Mdfic suggested they maybe form the transcriptional regulator complex to regulate embryo differentiation.
Animals ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Embryonic Development ; Female ; Genes, Homeobox ; genetics ; Homeodomain Proteins ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Mice ; Pregnancy ; Protein Binding ; Transcription Factors ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Two-Hybrid System Techniques

Objective :To study correlation between treadmill exercise test assessing myocardial ischemia and coronary stenosis .Methods :A total of 150 patients with stable angina pectoris in our hospital ,according to vascular stenosis by coronary CT were divided into group A (stenosis＜ 50%,n＝ 50) ,group B (stenosis 50% ～75%,n＝ 50) and group C (stenosis ＞75%,n＝50).Coronary stenotic rate and ST depression during exercise test were compared a-mong three groups.Spearman method was used to analyze correlation between treadmill exercise positive rate and coronary stenosis .Results :Compared with group B ,there were significant rise in coronary diameter stenotic rate [(63.64 ± 4.21)% vs.(66.71 ± 4.46)%] and vascular diameter of reference segment [(2.92 ± 0.23) mm vs.(3.03 ± 0.21) mm] in group C ,P＜0.05 or ＜0.01. Along with coronary stenosis aggravated ,there was significant re-duction in onset time of ST depression [(712.3 ± 202.7) s vs.(602.3 ± 210.4) s vs.(501.2 ± 236.1) s] ,and signif-icant rise in duration [ (425.4 ± 200.5) s vs.(520.8 ± 205.8) s vs.(603.4 ± 198.4) s] and treadmill exercise posi-tive rate (64.00% vs.82.00% vs .92.00%) ,in group A ,B ,C respectively ;and ST depression extent of group C was significantly higher than that of group A [(2.4 ± 1.1) mV vs.(1.9 ± 0.8) mV] ,P＜0.05 or ＜0.01. Spearman correlation analysis indicated that treadmill exercise positive rate (myocardial ischemia rate ) was not significantly correlated with coronary stenotic degree (r＝3.425 , P＝0.126).Conclusion :Although treadmill exercise test pos-sesses important significance in diagnosis of myocardial ischemia ,but coronary stenotic degree is not correlated with myocardial ischemic degree .which should raise clinical attention

OBJECTIVEThe progression of prostate cancer (PCa) after endocrine therapy varies widely in different PCa patients. This study aims to analyze the factors that influence the progression-free survival time of PCa patients after endocrine therapy in an attempt to improve the prognosis of the disease.

METHODSWe reviewed the clinicopathological data of 116 cases of prostate cancer treated by endocrine therapy, analyzed the clinicopathological factors that influence the progression-free survival time of PCa patients using univariate (log-rank test) and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models, and investigated the correlation among these factors by Spearman rank correlation analysis.

RESULTSIn the stepwise Cox proportional hazard model, the independent prognostic factors for PCa progression after endocrine therapy were found to be Gleason score (P < 0.01) and clinical stages (P < 0.01). The hazard of PCa progression after endocrine therapy increased 2.126 times that of the baseline for each unit of increase in Gleason score, and 6.625 times for each unit of increase in the clinical stage. The pretreatment PSA level was correlated with both clinical stages (P < 0.01) and Gleason score (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONClinical stages and Gleason score were important factors that influenced the progression-free survival time after endocrine therapy in this cohort of PCa patients.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Prostate ; pathology ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; mortality ; pathology ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of water decoction of the root of Crataegus cuneata on infertility induced by multi-glucoside of Tripterygium wilfordii (GTW) in rats.

METHODMale adult rats were randomly divided into five groups, which were treated via gastric gavage of distilled water (1 mL x kg(-1)) , solution of GTW (10 mg x kg(-1)) and three doses of water decoction of root of C. cuneata (1.8, 5.4, 18 g x kg(-1)) + GTW (10 mg x kg(-1)), respectively. 8 weeks later, GTW was stopped and the decoction and water continued for another 4 weeks. And then, all the male rats were copulated with adult female rats. The rates of pregnancy, average numbers of embryos and luteum of female rats, relative weights of reproductive organs, sperm counts, sperm motility and viability were compared among all the groups. The histology and ultrastructure of testis and epididymis were observed, while the concentrations of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and testostorone (T) in serum and T in testicular homogenate were detected by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTCompared with those in GTW model group, the embryo numbers, the relative weight of testis and epididymis and sperm counts and motility in C. cuneata groups were increased obviously (P < 0.05). After treatment, the morphological damages of seminiferous tubules and sperms were recovered, while concentrations of T in testicular homogenate were also significantly increased (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONC. cuneata could relieve the reproductive lesions induced by GTW, and hence improve the uberty of the male infertile model rats.

Animals ; Crataegus ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Female ; Glucosides ; antagonists & inhibitors ; isolation & purification ; Infertility, Male ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sperm Motility ; drug effects ; Spermatogenesis ; drug effects ; Testis ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Testosterone ; blood ; metabolism ; Tripterygium ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo detect the characteristic chromosomal changes in Chinese children with infantile autism.

METHODSChromosome aberrations in 68 cases of infantile autism were analyzed by high-resolution G-banding and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones.

RESULTSChromosomal changes were detected in 4 cases by high-resolution G-banding: one case with t(4;6)(q23-24;p21), one case with longer p arm of chromosome 21 (21p+), and two cases with pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 (inv(9)) which was confirmed by C-banding. BAC FISH analysis was performed to confirm these observations and changes in chromosomes 2, 7 and 15, which are often found in autistic children. There could exist the translocation of t(4;6) (q25-26;p21.1). Chromosome changes often reported previously in chromosomes 2, 7 and 15 were not detected in this study. Inv(9) and 21p+ were not confirmed with present BAC clones.

CONCLUSIONChromosomal changes were detected in four cases of infantile autism, with a detectability of 5.9% , far lower than that (10% to 48%) reported in literature. The breakpoint of translocation could be detected more accurately using BAC FISH method.

Autistic Disorder ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Child ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosome Banding ; Chromosomes, Artificial, Bacterial ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; methods ; Male ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Our earlier research has shown that mono-substituted N-phenyl-2, 2-dichloroacetamide exhibited much higher anti-cancer activity than the lead compound sodium dichloroacetate (DCA). In this paper, a variety of multi-substituted N-phenyl-2, 2-dichloroacetamides were synthesized and biologically evaluated. The results showed that 3, 5-disubstituted N-phenyl-2, 2-dichloroacetamide analogues had satisfactory potency. Among them, N-(3, 5-diiodophenyl)-2, 2-dichloroacetamide had an IC50 of 2.84 micromol x L(-1) against non-small cell lung cancer cell line A549 and could induce cancer cell apoptosis.
Acetamides ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Drug Design ; Humans ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Molecular Structure ; Structure-Activity Relationship

BACKGROUNDBerberine is one of the main constituents of Coptidis rhizoma (CR) and Cortex phellodendri. In this study, we investigated the beneficial effects of berberine on renal function and its possible mechanisms in rats with diabetic nephropathy (DN).

METHODSMale Wistar rats were divided into three groups: normal, diabetic model, and berberine treatment groups. Rats in the diabetic model and berberine treatment groups were induced to diabetes by intraperitonal injection with streptozotocin (STZ). Glomerular area, glomerular volume, fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Cr) and urine protein for 24 hours (UP24h) were measured using commercially available kits. Meanwhile, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum, activity of aldose reductase (AR) and the expression of AR mRNA and protein in kidney were detected by different methods.

RESULTSThe results showed that oral administration of berberine (200 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) significantly ameliorated the ratio of kidney weight to body weight. Glomerular area, glomerular volume, FBG, BUN, Cr and UP24h were significantly decreased in the berberine treatment group compared with the diabetic model group (P < 0.05). Berberine treatment significantly increased serum SOD activity and decreased the content of MDA compared with diabetic model group (P < 0.05). AR activity as well as the expression of AR mRNA and protein in the kidney was markedly decreased in the berberine treatment group compared with diabetic model group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThese results suggested that berberine could ameliorate renal dysfunction in DN rats through controlling blood glucose, reduction of oxidative stress and inhibition of the activation of the polyol pathway.

Aldehyde Reductase ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Animals ; Berberine ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; complications ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; drug therapy ; Male ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Streptozocin

BACKGROUNDIn recent years the proportion of lung adenocarcinoma (adCA) which occurs in lung cancer patients has increased. Using laser capture microdissection (LCM) combined with liquid chip-mass spectrometry technology, we aimed to screen lung cancer biomarkers by studying the proteins in the tissues of adCA.

METHODSWe used LCM and magnetic bead based weak cation exchange (MB-WCX) to separate and purify the homogeneous adCA cells and normal cells from six cases of fresh adCA and matched normal lung tissues. The proteins were analyzed and identified by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-fight mass spectrometry (MALDI-OF-MS). We screened for the best pattern using a radial basic function neural network algorithm.

RESULTSAbout 2.895 × 10(6) and 1.584 × 10(6) cells were satisfactorily obtained by LCM from six cases of fresh lung adCA and matched normal lung tissues, respectively. The homogeneities of cell population were estimated to be over 95% as determined by microscopic visualization. Comparing the differentially expressed proteins between the lung adCA and the matched normal lung group, 221 and 239 protein peaks, respectively, were found in the mass-to-charge ration (M/Z) between 800 Da and 10 000 Da. According to t test, the expression of two protein peaks at 7521.5 M/Z and 5079.3 M/Z had the largest difference between tissues. They were more weakly expressed in the lung adCA compared to the matched normal group. The two protein peaks could accurately separate the lung adCA from the matched normal lung group by the sample distribution chart. A discriminatory pattern which can separate the lung adCA from the matched normal lung tissue consisting of three proteins at 3358.1 M/Z, 5079.3 M/Z and 7521.5 M/Z was established by a radial basic function neural network algorithm with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 100%.

CONCLUSIONSDifferential proteins in lung adCA were screened using LCM combined with liquid chip-mass spectrometry technology, and a biomarker model was established. It is possible that this technology is going to become a powerful tool in screening and early diagnosis of lung adCA.

Adenocarcinoma ; metabolism ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Male ; Microdissection ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization ; methods

OBJECTIVETo provide novel spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD OCT) findings of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease as well as new insights into the pathogenesis of this disease.

METHODSDetailed SD OCT and fluorescein angiography (FA) findings of 18 consecutive VKH patients (11 women and 7 men) from December 2007 to April 2009 who were in acute uveitic stage at presentation were reviewed. All the patients had been followed up for at least 6 months with reevaluation(s) of SD OCT performed in 10 patients.

RESULTSIntraretinal cysts were found to be located in various layers of the outer retina. In addition to the photoreceptor layer, they could also be found between the outer plexiform layer and the outer nuclear layer, or spanning the external limiting membrane. On FA, intraretinal cysts could be hypofluorescent, normofluorescent, or hyperfluorescent. Some intraretinal cysts had a characteristic FA pattern, in which a small round hypofluorescent area was surrounded by a ring of hyperfluorescence (donut-shaped dye pooling). Subretinal fibrinoid deposit appeared in acute uveitic stage in two severe VKH patients and seemed to develop from subretinal exudates and evolved into typical subretinal fibrosis. Gradual transfiguration/migration and progressive proliferation/pigmentation of the subretinal fibrinoid deposit/subretinal fibrosis was observed in one patient.

CONCLUSIONSIntraretinal cysts could form in various layers of the outer retina and may result from extension of choroidal inflammation. Subretinal fibrosis may develop from subretinal exudates in VKH patients and may cause substantial visual impairment.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Cysts ; pathology ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retina ; pathology ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; methods ; Uveomeningoencephalitic Syndrome ; etiology ; pathology

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate associations of overall obesity (OO) and abdominal obesity (AO) with brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) among type 2 diabetes(T2DM) patients. Methods A community-based study for T2DM patients was conducted in rural communities in Beijing．Every patient completed a questionnaire to collect demography, lifestyle and diseases history, and underwent physical examinations, baPWV assessments and blood biochemical tests. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess the relationship between obesity index and baPWV. Abnormal baPWV was defined as patients with baPWV≥1,700 cm/s. Logistic regression model was performed to explore the risk of abnormal baPWV after adjusting for poetential confounders step by step. Results A total of 2 048 T2DM patients were recruited. The average age was (59.2±8.3) years and total prevalence of abnormal baPWV was 49.7%. After multivariable adjustment, linear regression showed that there was a negative correlation between body mass index(BMI) and baPWV and a positive correlation between waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and baPWV. Compared to normal weight group, those with BMI≥28 kg/m2 had lower risk of abnormal baPWV (OR=0.59, 95% CI: 0.44-0.78，P<0.001), but there was an increased risk of 46% among patients with obesity in WHR (OR=1.46, 95% CI:1.07-2.00，P=0.018). Compared to those without OO and AO, patients without OO but with AO had a 1.67-fold increasesd risk of abnormal baPWV (OR=1.67, 95% CI: 1.19-2.35，P=0.003). Conclusions Abdominal obesity is related with arterial stiffnening among T2DM patients, and it is critical to evaluate arterial stiffness of T2DM patients with abdmonal obesity and normal BMI in order to reduce future risk of cardiovascular diseases.