OBJECTIVETo explore the expression patterns of the chemokine CXCL12 and its receptor CXCR4 in human sperm.

METHODSWe collected semen samples from 10 fertile men, performed density gradient centrifugation, and then determined the expressions of both CXCL12 and CXCR4 in the sperm by RT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining.

RESULTSRT-PCR revealed the mRNA expressions of CXCL12 (0.641 +/- 0.180) and CXCR4 (0.464 +/- 0.100) in the sperm. However, only CXCR4 rather than CXCL12 was expressed at the protein level, and the positive staining for CXCR4 was observed mainly in the posterior part of the acrosome.

CONCLUSIONCXCL12 and CXCR4 are involved as important molecules in regulating the function of human sperm.

Acrosome ; metabolism ; Centrifugation, Density Gradient ; Chemokine CXCL12 ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Receptors, CXCR4 ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Spermatozoa ; metabolism

Animals ; Atherosclerosis ; Humans ; Serine Proteinase Inhibitors ; Serpins

SWNTs are a mixture of 1/3 metallic SWNTs (m-SWNTs) and 2/3 semiconducting SWNTs (s-SWNTs). It is desirable to separate the metallic SWNTs from the semi-conducting ones. In this study m-SWNTs was separated by using a poly[(m-phenylenevinylene)-alt-(p-phenylenevinylene)] (PmPV) derivative and used as photo-thermal media instead of SWNTs. The separation effects of m-SWNTs were evaluated by Raman spectra, molecular modeling and TEM images. The effects of m-SWNTs on MCF-7 cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated with MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. m-SWNTs were separated with high purity. A strong inhibition of MCF-7 cell growth was observed with the m-SWNTs under near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation. Our results will be helpful for the potential applications of m-SWNTs in clinical photothermal cancer therapy.
Apoptosis ; Breast Neoplasms ; pathology ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Light ; MCF-7 Cells ; drug effects ; Models, Molecular ; Nanotubes, Carbon

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome is of high variation,which results in persistent infection of HCV and increases the incidence of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.Following the successful paradigm established for HIV protease inhibitors,HCV NS3-4A serine protease has been selected as the main target for the development of small molecule antiviral agents.In this article,we review recent progress in the discovery and development of HCV NS3-4A protease inhibitors,and discuss their antiviral activities,pharmacokinetic properties,side effects and resistance profiles.

Antimony ; blood ; Humans ; Spectrophotometry, Atomic ; methods

Nutritional supplies & biodiversities of deep-sea microorganisms and correlative methodologies were introduced here in an ecological point of view, and development of their natural products was prospective in an applied point of view.

Objective To evaluate the clinical value between peritoneal lavage cytology (PLC) and prognosis of gastric cancer. Methods The peritoneal lavage fluid of 60 gastric cancer patients and 12 noncancer patients were collected,different methods were used to examine the exfoliated cancer cells,and relationships between positive results and relative clinico-pathological parameters were evaluated.Results The positive rate of PLC was 31.8%,and was positively correlated with the degree of histologic differentiation of gastric cancer (P0.05). The postoperative one-year recurrence and survival rates of the positive and negative groups were significantly different(P

To study the influence of foreign plasmid DNA on spleen metabolism in immune-stimulated mice via the gastrointestinal tract. Mice were oral administered by pipette with 200?g of plasmid pcDNA3 and spleen were isolated at 4h and 18h after oral administration. Total RNA were extracted from spleen and spleen gene expression profile of Balb/c mice was analyzed by using Affymetrix oligonucleotide genechip after oral plasmid pcDNA3 administration. Functional cluster analysis was conducted by Genmapp and MAPPFinder software. By functional cluster analyzing the genes which were up-regulated more than twofolds, Genmapp results showed that plenty of metabolic pathway were induced in spleen after oral administration of plasmid pcDNA3. These metabolic process included purine metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, protein synthesis, cholesterol synthesis, fatty acid synthesis, Glycolysis, TCA cycle and mitochondria oxidative phosphorylation pathway. The similar results also took place at 18h after oral administration. The result indicated that foreign plasmid DNA can modulate metabolism process in spleen of mice via the gastrointestinal tract, and may help understand the mechanism of action of foreign plasmid DNA uptaked via the gastrointestinal tract.

To compare the clinical effect of phacoemulsification and middle incision extracapsular cataract extraction ( Ml-ECCE) . METHODS: One hundred and eighty - five eyes of phacoemulsification (137 cases) and 185 eyes of 139 cases for Ml-ECCE from January 2011 to May 2013 were involved in this study. And the ratio posterior capsular rupture during surgery, visual acuity, corneal edema, corneal astigmatism and intraocular pressure post operation were followed up.RESULTS: On 1d after surgery, uncorrected visual acuity in the group of Ml-ECCE was better than that of phacoemulsification group, while from 3d; 1 and 3mo after surgery, no significant difference was found from the above two groups. On 1d postoperation, corneal edema ratio in phacoemulsification group ( 45 eyes ) was higher than that in Ml-ECCE group(20 eyes) ( X2=11. 665, P=0. 0006 ) . No significant difference was found for the ratio of posterior capsule rupture during surgery in these two surgical technique groups(X2=0. 094,P=0. 759). On 1wk;1 and 3mo after surgery, significant difference was found for the average of surgical induced corneal astigmatism between two groups (u=6. 661, 6. 880, 4. 187, P = 0. 00, respectively ). During following up, no significant difference was found for the intraocular pressure between two groups ( u=1. 858, 0. 963, 0. 471, 1. 349, 1. 388; P= 0. 063, 0. 335, 0. 638, 0. 177, 0. 165). lntraocular pressure on 1d postoperation in phacoemulsification and Ml-ECCE groups was higher than before operation ( u = 19. 86, 19. 39, P = 0. 00, respectively). And on 1wk; 1 and 3mo postoperation, intraocular pressure in the operated eyes in both groups was lower than before operation for 2~3mmHg.CONCLUSlON: Although phacoemulsification and Ml-ECCE could both get good visual rehabilitation, with similar visual outcome, no significant effect for intraocular pressure, and no severe complications, the latter one owns the advantage that easier maneuver, quicker recovery, and cheaper instruments needed, which is suitable for the hard nuclei cataract in local hospitals. Ml-ECCE is a safe, effective and easy manipulation for local hospital for large batch of cataract surgeries.

Background There is multi-dimensional order of spatial stereopsis perception in human,however,current stereopsis examination is zero-order of position disparity.A multi-dimensional space perception model is very important for the detection of stereoacuity.Objective This study was to screen the deficit of zero-order,first-order,second-order multi-dimensional spatial stereopsis perception in amblyopia and strabismus children and to explore the association of zero-order,first-order,second-order spatial perception deficit.Methods Multidimensional spacial perception was examined in 79 children aged 4-14 years in Beijing Children' s Hospital.Nineteen normal children,19 children with ametropia amblyopia,12 children with anisometropic amblyopia,18 children with strabismus and 11 children with strabismus combined amblyopia were included this study.The random-dot and line spatial stereopsis perception in zero-order,first-order and second-order were examined with a new system of multidimensional space perception screening.Written informed consent was obtained from each subject or custodian before any ocular examination associated with this study.Results Absence of zero-order,first-order,second-order random-dot channel was found in 24 children (24/79,30.4％),18 children (18/79,22.8％) and 24 children (24/79,30.4％) respectively,with an average percentage of 27.9％.Absence of zero-order,first-order,second-order line channel was examined in 37 children (37/79,46.8％),37 children (37/79,46.8％),32 children (32/79,40.5％),with an average percentage of 44.7％.In the children with a deficiency of the zero-order spatial perception,the children who still remained the first-order or/and second-order spatial perception of random-dot accounted for 41.6％ and that of lines accounted for 43.2％.In children without deficiency of zero-order random-dot or lines spatial space perception,deficiency of first-order and/or second-order spatial perception was in 37.5％ children.Various order spatial perception deficiency was seen in children suffering from amblyopia or strabismus compared with normal group(P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions There exists spatial perception deficiency in children with amblyopia or strabismus.The patients with zero-order spatial perception absence partially remain a first-order or/and second-order spatial perception;while the patients with normal zero-order spatial perception might have first-order or second-order spatial perception deficiency.The multi-dimensional space perception model has a directive role for the training of visual information process and the treatment of spatial perceptual learning in children with amblyopia or strabismus.