Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System was released online in 2011 by America College of Radiology (ACR) for standardizing the performance,interpretation and reporting of CT and MR imaging examinations of the liver in patients at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma.This article overviewed the profile of this system,its updated version and recent progress on its clinical application.

Aim To explore the possible protective effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on oligomeric Aβ1-42 induced apoptosis and its possible mechanism. Methods The damage was induced by oligomeric Aβ1-42 in primary cortical neurons. Cells were incubated in the absence or presence of Aβ, or co-incubated in sp600125 with Aβ, or pre-incubated in ginsenoside Rg1 then co-incu-bated in Aβ. The p-JNK, JNK, caspase-3 activity and TUNEL-positive cells were detected. Results In Aβ1-42 treated group, the ratio of p-JNK/JNK level was increased more than that in non-treated group for 15 min. However, in neurons preincubated with (2. 5, 5, 10 μmol·L-1 ) ginsenoside Rg1 and then co-incuba-ted with 5 μmol·L-1 oligomeric Aβ1-42 , the p-JNK/JNK ratio, caspase-3 activity and TUNEL positive neu-rons were significantly decreased compared with those of Aβ1-42 treated group. Conclusion Ginsenoside Rg1 can attenuate the oligomeric Aβ1-42-induced apop-tosis by JNK pathway.

Objective To investigate the possible effect of ginsenoside Rg1 and oligo Aβ1-42 on PKA/CREB pathway.Methods The damage was induced by oligomeric Aβ1-42 in primary cortical neuron.Neurons were incubated with or without glutamate,or incubated in Aβ,or pre-incubated in Rg1 and then co-incubated in Aβ.The proteins of p-CREB,t-CREB,PKA Ⅱ α and BDNF were detected by Western blot.Results After the treatment with Oligo Aβ1-42 for 2 h,the p-CREB/t-CREB level induced by glutamate was obviously lower (P＜ 0.001).However,in neurons pre incubatedwith 2.5,5.0,10.0 μmol/L of ginsenoside Rg1 and then co-incubated with 5μmol/L of oligo Aβ1-42,the p-CREB/t-CREB induced by glutamate was significantly increased as compared with that of Aβ1-42 group (P＜0.05).Upon Aβ1-42 exposure for 2 h,cortical neurons showed a statistically significant increase in PKA Ⅱ α as compared to the control group (P ＜ 0.001).Pre-treatmentwith varying doses of ginsenoside Rg1 (2.5,5,10μmol/L) showed a decrease in PKA Ⅱ α as compared to neurons treated with Aβ1-42 alone for 2 h (P＜0.001).Furthermore,BDNF level significantly increased in Rgl-pretreated cells as compared to cells treated with Aβ1-42 alone for 24h (P＜0.05).Conclusions Ginsenoside Rg1 attenuates the oligo Aβ142 inhibition of PKA/CREB pathway.

The aim of this study was to express and purify human histydyl-tRNA synthetase related gene and to prepare its polyantibody. The open reading frame was amplified by PCR, and then recombined into prokaryotic expression vector pQE30 and transformed into E. coli M15 for expression. The expressed products were induced by IPTG after the reconstructed pQE30 was transferred into M15. After purified by Ni affinity chromatography, the product was identified to be a single band by SDS-PAGE. The rabbits were inoculated with purified products. High-titer polyantibody was successfully prepared. Highly-purified expression product and prepared polyantibody may provide a good basis for further study.
Antibodies/*genetics ; Antibodies/immunology ; Escherichia coli/genetics ; Escherichia coli/metabolism ; Histidine-tRNA Ligase/biosynthesis ; Histidine-tRNA Ligase/*genetics ; Histidine-tRNA Ligase/immunology ; Open Reading Frames/genetics ; Prokaryotic Cells/metabolism

To investigate the effects of ischemia-reperfusion on the levels of nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase isoforms (nNOS and iNOS), rat organotypic hippocampus slice were cultured in vitro and subjected to ischemia by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) for 30 min and then placed in the normal culture condition. The ischemia-reperfusion produced a time-dependent increase in nitrite levels in the culture medium. Reverse transcriptional-polymerase chain reaction showed augmented levels of mRNA for both nNOS and iNOS when compared with control at 12 h and remained increase at 36 h after OGD (P < 0.05). The protein levels of both nitric oxide synthase isoforms increased significantly as determined by Western Blot. OGD also caused neurotoxicity in this model as revealed by the elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) efflux into the incubation solution. The results suggest that organotypic hippocampus slice is a useful model in studying ischemia-reperfusion brain injury. NO and NOS may play a critical role in the ischemia-reperfusion brain damage in vitro.
Animals, Newborn ; Cell Hypoxia ; Hippocampus/cytology ; Hippocampus/*metabolism ; Nitric Oxide/*metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I/*metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/*metabolism ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury/*metabolism ; Tissue Culture Techniques

AIM: To observe the effect of mouse Sim2 (mSim2) eukaryotic expression vector transfection on the cell cycle in PC12 cells in vitro and to explore the role of Sim2 in the pathogenesis of Down syndrome. METHODS: The full open reading frame of mSim2 was amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and cloned into the vector pcDNA3. Then the constructed pcDNA3-Sim2 vectors were transiently transfected into PC12 with Lipofectamine~ TM . The expression of mSim2 was detected by RT-PCR. The effect of mSim2 on the cell cycle was observed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The eukaryotic expression vector mSim2 was successfully constructed. There was notable expression of mSim2 in the cells transfected with pcDNA3-Sim2. There were more cells in G_0/G_1 phase in the pcDNA3-Sim2 transfected cells than that in the control (P

Objective To assess the value of multi-slice spiral CT in the diagnosis of hepatic venous outflow obstruction (HVO) after liver transplantation. Methods Five patients with HVO were confirmed with digital subtraction angiography and epigastric tri-phase contrast-enhanced CT scans within 4-102 days after liver transplantation, and the CT dynamic enhancement features were retrospectively evaluated. Results Among 5 patients, 2 had middle hepatic vein obstruction, 1 had left hepatic vein obstruction, 1 had right hepatic vein obstruction, and 1 had middle hepatic vein and inferior caval vein obstruction. Contrast-enhanced CT showed typical liver congestion in all 5 patients. The liver parenchyma drained by obstructed hepatic vein was low-density on CT plain scans (1 patient showed mix-density caused by liver parenchyma hemorrhage), while no enhancement on artery phase, moderate enhancement on venous phase and high enhancement on delay phase were observed. During the venous phase, peripheral portal branches were invariably enhanced in the congested area of liver parenchyma. During the delay phase, opacification of the obstructed hepatic vein could be seen. After all patients had treated with interventional therapy, their clinical symptoms were improved, and 2 patients received contrast-enhanced CT scans after interventional therapy, which showed liver congestion relieved and obstructed hepatic vein opacificated well in venous phase. Conclusion Multi-slice spiral dynamic enhancement CT scans can accurately display the location of HVO and the extent of liver congestion.

Objective To assess the clinical value of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles as embolic material in patients with primary hepatic cancer (PHC). Methods Twenty patients with PHC underwent TACE. The mixed emulsion of chemotherapy agents and lipiodol was given to embolize the tumor vssTranscatheter arterial chemoembolization using polyvinyl alcohol feeding artery of tumors. The tumors size, response rate and Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) value were monitored respectively at the end of the first month, the third month, the sixth month and the first year after TACE. The changes of liver function, including serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and total bilirubin (TBILI), were recorded within 1 week and 1 month after TACE. The time to progression and the overall survival were recorded. Results Compared with pre-TACE, the tumor size decreased obviously at the end of the first month, the third month, the sixth month and the first year after TACE (P<0.05), the response rate reached 80.00%, 90.00%, 95.00% and 95.00%, respectively. The AFP value decreased obviously. Serum AST, ALT and TBILI significantly increased in the first week after TACE (P<0.05), but returned to preoperative level within 1 month. The average follow-up time was (19.8±7.0) months (range 12-32 months), the time to progression was (17.0±6.8) months, and the overall survival was (19.3±7.0) months. Conclusion PVA particles are optimal embolic material for TACE of PHC. Superselective embolization is necessary in TACE to achieve effective tumor devascularization and reduce liver damage.

Objective Using CT perfusion (CTP) technique,to investigate the graft perfusion changes in patients with hepatic artery stenosis (HAS) with or without ischemic-type biliary lesions (ITBL) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT).Methods Thirteen recipients with HAS received CTP scan of the liver,including 8 with ITBL and 5 without ITBL.For all patients,the diagnosis of HAS was made by CTA,and the diagnosis of ITBL by percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography.CT perfusion indices were obtained,including hepatic artery perfusion (HAP),portal vein perfusion (PVP),total liver perfusion (TLP) and hepatic perfusion index (HPI).Results Of the 13 patients with HAS,mean HAP in patients with and without ITBL was 59.8 and 35.1 ml·min-1 ·100 ml-1 (P =0.021,two-tailed paired Student t test) ; mean PVP was 125.4 and 166.2 ml·min-1·100 m1-1 (P =0.016) ; mean TLP was 185.2 and 201.3 ml· min-1 · 100 ml-1 (P =0.306) ; and mean HPI was 33.6 and 18.2 (P =0.005),respectively.Conclusion Using CTP technique,liver perfusion changes were reflected by measuring CTP indices noninvasively.Compared to those without ITBL in this study,HAP and HPI in patients with ITBL were higher and PVP was lower,which may be contributed to biliary inflammation.

Objective To investigate the imaging characteristics of different biliary strictures after liver transplantation and their relationship with causes. Methods Forty-six patients with jaundice and biliary stricture were enrolled in this study.The diagnosis was confirmed by percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC).All the patients had hepatic arteriography with DSA or CTA and underwent liver biopsy.Their imaging characteristics were analyzed and the related statistic analysis was conducted.Results Anastomosis biliary stricture (ABS) was demonstrated in 21 cases,and non-anastomosis biliary stricture (NBS) with hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) occurred in 13 cases,and there were 12 cases of NBS without HAT.PTC examination confirmed there were 26 cases of biliary stricture at hepatic hilum,and the incidence of biliary stricture in NBS group was significantly higher than that in ABS group (92％ vs.14.35％,P＜0.05).There were 31 cases of intrahepatic bile duct stricture,and the incidence in NBS group was significantly higher than that in ABS group ( 100％ vs.28.6％,P＜0.05).There were 33 cases of dilatation of intrahepatic bile duct,and the incidence in NBS without HAT group was significantly lower than that in ABS group and NBS with HAT group (16.7％,100％ and 76.9％ respectively) (P＜0.05).There were 21 cases of extrahepatic biliary dilatation,and the incidence in ABS group was significantly higher than that in NBS group (85.7％ vs. 12％,P＜0.05). There were 18 cases of stricture and dilatation in intrahepatic bile duct,and the incidence in NBS with HAT group was significantly higher than that in ABS group and NBS without HAT group (76.9％,28.6％ and 16.7％ respectively,P＜0.05).The results of the liver biopsy were accorded with the diagnosis of biliary stricture,Conclusion The different biliary strictures carry different imaging characteristics,including location of biliary stricture,and location and type of secondary biliary dilatation.