Aim To observe the effects of liver cirrho-sis on the expression of transforming growth factor-β1 ( TGF-β1 ) and ColⅠin rat myocardium and interven-tion of erythropoietin ( EPO ) . Methods Thirty-six male Sprague-Dasley rats were randomly divided into three groups:control group, liver cirrhosis group and EPO group, then the cardic hemodynamic parameters in vivo and levels of serum lactate dehydrogenase ( LDH ) as well as creatine kinase isoenzyme ( CK-MB) were measured. With Masson′s trichrome stain, changes of collagen formation of myocardial tissue in different groups were observed. Also the mRNA ex-pressions of TGF-β1 and ColⅠin myocardium were de-tected by RT-PCR. Results In contrast to control group, rats in liver cirrhosis group showed a decline in systolic and diastolic function of left ventricule, rising myocardial enzyme, a distinct increase of cardiac colla-gen deposition, as well as an elevation of TGF-β1 and ColⅠmRNA expressions. In contrast to liver cirrhosis group, rats in EPO group demonstrated an improve-ment in systolic and diastolic function of left ventricule as well as in cardiac collagen deposition, and a de-crease in both myocardial enzyme and TGF-β1 and ColⅠmRNA expressions. Conclusion Liver cirrhosis can lead to the changes of myocardial structure and function in rats,and it can accelerate myocardial inter-stitial fibrosis; EPO can protect the myocardial injury in liver cirrhosis rats.

Objective To discuss related factors of perioperative pulmonary complications in infants with congenital heart disease and provide a scientific basis to improve the quality of intensive care in in-fants with congenital heart disease after surgery. Methods Tracking survey was carried out in 225 cases of infants with congenital heart disease in our city to observe the perioperative lung condition from March 2005 to May 2007. Every process that might occur pulmonary complications,such as preoperative care of children,anesthesia and cardiopulmonary bypass surgery (CPB) management and postoperative monitoring was closely observed. Statistical analysis was conducted according to emerging problems and summarized the relevant factors and nursing methods. Results 225 infant patients passed the operation with no seri-ous complications.Conclusions Effective treatment and nursing during every process of perioperation was the key factor to reduce pulmonary complications.

Objective To verify whether miR-630 could inhibit MDA-MB-231 cells migration and invasion by targeting Sox4 in triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC).Methods Collection normal breast tissue and breast cancer tissue from patients undergoing breast cancer resection.RT-PCR were used to test the expression of miR-630,miR-21,miR-195,miR-134,miR-200a,miR-381 and miR-1228.Western blot were used to test the expression of COL1A1,COL1 A5,MMP-2,MMP-9 and Sox4.In vitro experiment,after miR-630 was transfected into MDA-MB-231 cells,wound healing were employed to test the migratory ability of MDA-MB-231 cells,and transwell were used to test the invasion ability of MDA-MB-231 cells.Western blot were used to investigate the expressions of COL1 Al,COL1 A5,MMP-2,MMP-9 and Sox4 in MDA-MB-231 cell.Luciferase assay was used to confirmed whether Sox43'-UTR the target gene of miR-630.Results Compared with normal breast tissue,the expression of miR-630 was decreased(P＜0.01),meanwhile the expression of COL1A1,COL1A5,MMP-2,MMP-9 and Sox4 were significantly increased in the triple-negative breast cancer tissue(P＜0.01).In the vitro experiment,compared with the control group,the expression of COL1A1,COL1A5,MMP-2,MMP-9 and Sox4 were decreased in the miR-630 group (P＜0.05);The migration activity of MDA-MB-231 cells was decreased in the miR-630 group (P＜0.01);The Luciferase activity of the Sox4-3'-UTR plasmid was significantly suppressed by miR630 (P＜0.05);Over expression of Sox4 could reverse the effect of miR-630 on MDA-MB-231(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).Conclusion In triple-negative breast cancer tissue,the expression of miR-630 decreased;miR-630 inhibits triple-negative breast cancer cells migration and invasion by targeting Sox4-3’-UTR.

Aim To investigate the effect of progester-one ( PROG) in protecting the neurons against impair-ment induced by the Aβ1-42 activated astrocytes, and the underlying molecular mechanism. Methods The astrocytes were divided into 5 groups: control, Aβ, and Aβplus PROG groups treated with 3 different con-centrations of progesterone for 24h. Then, Aβand pro-gesterone were removed, and neurons were co-cultured with the treated astrocytes. MTT assay was used to e-valuate the viability of cultured neurons; ELISA was used to detect the levels of IL-1βand TNF-αin culture media of astrocytes; immunofluorescence and Western blot were performed to detect the activation of NF-κB in astrocytes. Results PROG dose dependently pro-tected against Aβ1-42 activated astrocytes induced via-bility decrease in co-cultured neurons. Aβ induced release of IL-1β and TNF-α from astrocytes, and in-crease of NF-κB activity was abolished by progesterone treatment. Conclusion PROG protects the neurons through inhibiting the reactivity of astrocytes, and the underlying mechanism involves the NF-κB signal trans-duction.

Objective To summarize our experience with off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) during previous 13 years. Methods Data from 3703 patients who underwent OPCAB between October 1996 and December 2008 were collected and analyzed in this study. Following perioperative variables were reviewed and evaluated: changes in the number of patients, demographic characteristics of patients, coexisting conditions such as hypertension, and diabetes, grafting options,numbers of grafts per patient, and postoperative complications and clinical outcomes. Patients were divided into four age subgroups: those who were less than 45 years were assigned to group 1, those who were 45 to 60 years were assigned to group 2,those who were 60 to 75 years were assigned to group 3, and those older than 75 years of age were assigned to group 4. Perioperative data, including the use of internal mammary artery and the constituent of the grafts, were collected retrospectively and analyzed. Results Three thousand and twenty-five patients were male (81.7%) and 678 were female ( 18.3% ), mean age was (61.35 ±9.38) years old. The number of patients who underwent OPCAB increased steadily over time. The mean grafts per patient were 3.3 ± 0.8. The use of left internal mammary artery and "hybrid" bypass grafts composed of vein and artery played a predominant role in this cohort (P<0.05) . During this period of 13 years, intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP)was performed in 41 patients and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT)was required in 12 patients. Main complications included rethoracotomy for bleeding and tamponade in 1.49% of patients, deep sternal wound infection requiring re-exploration in 1.38%, perioperative myocardial infarction in 1.03%, neurological adverse events in 0.62%, tracheotomy in 0.59%, acute renal dysfunction in 0.77%, and other complications in 0.77%. The overall in-hospital mortality was 0.7% (26 of 3703 patients). A trend toward a reduction in morbidity and mortality was shown in this study. Diseases associated with hospital mortality were cardiac sudden death, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, low cardiac output syndrome, severe infection, extensive myocardial infarction and neurological adverse events. Conclusion The indications for OPCAB, an innovative revascularization strategy, have been expanded and the curative rate for OPCAB has been improved in recent years. Appropriate and practical grafting strategies, as well as complete perioperative management, are considered as contributors to the improved outcomes.

Objective To investigate the protective effect of meglumine adenosine cyclosphosp (MAC) on the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in rabbits.Methods Twenty four healthy rabbits were randomly divided into control group (n =6),I/R group (n =6),MAC pretreated group (n =6),and MAC treated group (n =6).Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury model was made by separating and electrocoagulating vertebral arteries and clipping common carotid arteries in the latter 3 groups after anesthesia.The sham-operated group underwent vessel separation without clipping.L/R group was administered with nothing,while MAC pretreated group with MAC before ischemia,and MAC treated group with MAC just after ischemia.Blood was gathered from jugular vein before ischemia,and 30 min,1 h,and 2 h after reperfusion for testing IL-8,superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA).The brain tissue slice was observed by optical microscope.Results Compared to control group and before ischemia,the levels of IL-8 and SOD in serum were significantly increased and decreased,and the levels of MDA was significantly increased at 30 min after reperfusion in I/R group; the levels of IL-8 and MDA in serum were significantly increased,and the levels of SOD in serum was significantly decreased at 1 h and 2 h after reperfusion in I/R group.The levels of IL-8 in serum was less at 30 min and 1 h and 2 h after reperfusion in MAC pretreated group than in I/R group.At 1 h and 2 h after reperfusion,the levels of MDA in serum was less and the levels of SOD in serum was higher in MAC pretreated group than in I/R group.At 1 h and 2 h after reperfusion,the levels of IL-8 in serum were less and the levels of SOD in serum were higher in MAC treated group than in I/R group.The levels of MDA in serum were less at 2 h after reperfusion in MAC treated group than in I/R group.Compared to I/R group,pathological change was lighter in the MAC pretreated and MAC treated group.Conclusions MAC has a fine cerebral-protective effect and has no side effect.

OBJECTIVETo study the changes in diaphragmatic function and gene expressions of calcium regulatory proteins in diabetic rats and explore the mechanism of diaphragm dysfunction in diabetes mellitus.

METHODSSD rats were randomly divided into normal control group and diabetic (induced by intraperitoneal STZ injection) group. After 4 and 8 weeks, the body weight and diaphragm to body weight ratio were measured, and the activities of succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) in the diaphragm and blood glucose were assayed. The diaphragm contractility was assessed and the alterations of diaphragm ultrastructure were observed. RT-PCR was used to detect the changes in sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA) and phospholamban (PLB) mRNA expressions in the diaphragm.

RESULTSThe diabetic rats showed a significant weight loss with a lowered diaphragm to body weight ratio (P<0.01) and SDH activity (P<0.01). The peak twitch tension and maximum tetanic tension of the diaphragm were significantly lowered and the time to peak contraction and half relaxation time significantly prolonged (P<0.01) in the diabetic rats, which also exhibited a lowered tetanic force in response to stimulus (P<0.01). Transmission electron microscopy revealed obvious ultrastructural changes of the diaphragm in diabetic rats. RT-PCR showed significantly decreased SERCA and increased PLB mRNA expressions in diabetic rat diaphragm (P<0.01), and these changes intensified with time (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONDiabetes can cause impairment of diaphragmatic ultrastructure, mitochondrial injuries, and lowered SDH activity and ATP production. Decreased SERCA and increased PLB mRNA expressions in diabetes result in reduced Ca(2+) uptake by the diaphragm sarcoplasmic reticulum to induce diaphragm dysfunction.

Animals ; Body Weight ; Calcium ; metabolism ; Calcium-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Diaphragm ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ; metabolism ; Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium-Transporting ATPases ; metabolism ; Succinate Dehydrogenase ; metabolism

Chronic and heavy alcohol consumption is one of the causes of heart diseases. However, the effects of ethanol on insulin sensitivity in myocardium has been unclear. To investigate the effects of ethanol on the expression of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4), all of which are involved in the regulation of insulin sensitivity, in the myocardium, we performed three parts of experiments in vivo and in vitro. I: Rats were injected with 5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR, 0.8 mg.kg(-1)) for 2 h. II: Rats received different dose (0.5, 2.5 or 5 g.kg(-1).d(-1)) of ethanol for 22-week. III: Primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were isolated and treated with or without 100 mM ethanol or 1 mM AICAR for 4 h. The cardiac protein and mRNA expression of AMPKalpha subunits, MEF2 and GLUT4 were observed by western-blotting and RT-PCR, respectively. Serum TNFalpha levels were assessed by ELISA. The results showed chronic ethanol exposure induced insulin resistance. Ethanol decreased the mRNA levels of AMPKalpha1 and alpha2, the protein levels of total- and phospho-AMPKalpha in cardiomyocytes. Similarly, ethanol showed inhibitory effects on both the mRNA and protein levels of MEF2A and 2D, and GLUT4 in a dose-response-like fashion. Correlation analysis implied an association between phospho-AMPKalpha and MEF2A or MEF2D, and between the levels of MEF2 protein and GLUT4 transcription. In addition, ethanol elevated serum TNFalpha level. Taken together, chronic ethanol exposure decreases the expression of AMPKalpha and MEF2, and is associated with GLUT4 decline in rat myocardium.
AMP-Activated Protein Kinases/genetics/*metabolism ; Aminoimidazole Carboxamide/analogs & derivatives/pharmacology ; Animals ; Enzyme Activation/drug effects ; Ethanol/*administration & dosage/*pharmacology ; Feeding Behavior/*drug effects ; Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects ; Glucose Transporter Type 4/genetics/*metabolism ; Insulin/pharmacology ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Myocardium/*enzymology ; Myogenic Regulatory Factors/antagonists & inhibitors/genetics/*metabolism ; Protein Isoforms/antagonists & inhibitors/genetics/metabolism ; RNA, Messenger/genetics/metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Ribonucleotides/pharmacology ; Time Factors ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/blood

OBJECTIVETo evaluate associations between carbon constituents of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP).

METHODSWe collected subjects from two communities by a system sampling, and 112 people aged over 60 years old without cardiovascular disease were recruited. The levels of cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) of objects, and personal exposure to PM2.5 were measured on December, 2011. Total carbon (TC), organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) of PM2.5 were detected and AIP was calculated according to its definition.

RESULTSThe value of AIP among the 112 subjects was 0.05 ± 0.26. Personal exposure concentration of PM2.5 and its carbon components (TC,OC and EC) were (164.75 ± 110.67), (53.86 ± 29.65), (44.93 ± 26.37) and (9.49 ± 5.75) µg/m(3), respectively. The Pearson analysis showed the linear relationship between TC,OC,EC and AIP, all significant positive correlations. The correlation coefficients were TC (r = 0.307, P < 0.05),OC (r = 0.287, P < 0.05) and EC (r = 0.252, P < 0.05), respectively. The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that when the AIP risk categories were selected as dependent variable and low risk group as reference group, the regression coefficient of TC,OC and EC was separately 1.03 (95%CI:1.01-1.05), 1.03 (95%CI:1.01-1.05), 1.12 (95%CI:1.02-1.22) in the high risk group; while there was no statistical significance of the regression coefficient and OR in the middle risk group.

CONCLUSIONThere was stable associations between the carbon constituents (TC,OC and EC) of fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and AIP. The findings suggested that carbon components of PM2.5 should be considered as risk factors of atherogenic.

Aged ; Air Pollutants ; analysis ; Air Pollution ; adverse effects ; Atherosclerosis ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Carbon ; analysis ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Environmental Exposure ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Particle Size ; Particulate Matter ; analysis ; Risk Assessment ; Triglycerides ; blood

Objective:To understand the molecular transmission characteristics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS) patients in the mountainous area of southwest Zhejiang Province(Lishui city).Methods:A total of 147 blood samples were collected from newly-diagnosed HIV-1 infected who received no antiviral therapy, and pol gene was amplified, followed by sequencing. MEGA6.0 software was used to construct phylogenetic tree and determine gene subtypes. HIVDB online was used to analyze drug resistance mutation, then the pairwise genetic distance(GD) was calculated and the opitimal threshold of GD was selected, finally the molecular transmission network was constructed by Cytoscape3.7.0 software. Chi-square or Fisher′s exact probability method was used for statistical analysis. Results:A total of 134 sequences were obtained successfully, and nine subtypes were detected. The dominant subtypes were CRF08_BC (34.33%, 46/134), CRF01_AE (29.85%, 40/134) and CRF07_BC (23.88%, 32/134). It also found that age, registered residence, education level and transmission route had significant differences in distribution of subtypes ( P<0.05). Nineteen drug resistance individuals were found, and the total drug resistance rate was 14.18% (19/134). The HIV-1 molecular transmission network was plotted based on 1.2% GD threshold. A total of 15 transmission clusters (cluster size ranging from 2 to 29) were found. The network access rate was 49.25% (66/134), mainly including male (75.76%, 50/66), heterosexual (81.82%, 54/66) and patientsrinfected with CRF08_ BC (50.00%, 33/66). A transmission cluster including two cases of female sex workers and seven cases of drug resistance was identified, in which the average age of the patients was 57.21 years old and the average degree value was 22.7, and the cases were mainly infected through heterosexual contact (96.55%, 28/29). The highest homology of the sequences in the cluster was in Yunnan. Conclusions:The HIV-1 subtypes were diverse in the mountainous area of southwest Zhejiang Province(Lishui city). Drug resistant transmission had reached a moderate epidemic level. There were molecular transmission clusters with the aggregation characteristics of elderly clients in specific regions. It was urgent to formulate and implement precise intervention strategies to curb the spread of HIV.