BACKGROUND:Our previous study has already manifested that Chinese medicine Xiaokening can effectively prevent and treat the early diabetic nephropathy. OBJECTIVE:To compare the effect of rhein and archen on the apoptosis of mesangial cells of rats cultured with high glucose. METHODS:Mesangial cells were stimulated by different concentrations of rhein and archen (20, 40 and 80 μmol/L). Morphology of apoptotic cells was observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Karyon apoptosis was examined by fluorescence staining of DAPI. cellapoptosis rate was detected by flow cytometry. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The outcome of hematoxylin-eosin staining and DAPI staining indicated that the effect of rhein was much stronger than that of archen on the apoptosis of mesangial cells in the rats cultured with high glucose. Comparison of the apoptosis rate also indicated that the rhein had a stronger effect on the earlier and the later stage apoptotic rate of mesangial cells than archen. Both rhein and archen with different concentrations can induce apoptosis of mesangial cells, but the effect of rhein is much stronger.

Objective To investigate the effect of As_2O_3 on normal mouse bone marrow stromal cells(BMSCs).Methods BMSCs and colony-forming unit-granulocyte macrophage (CFU-GM) were cultured in vitro to observe the quantitative changes of colony-forming unit-fibroblast(CFU-F) and CFU-GM after BMSCs were treated with different concentrations of As_2O_3 respectively;the quantitative changes of CFU-GM supported by BMSCs and granulocyte colony stimulating factor(G-CSF) and IL-11 secreted by BMSCs were also observed after the progenitor cells supported by BMSCs were treated with As_2O_3 for 3,5 and 7 d,respectively.Results The productions of CFU-F and CFU-GM supported by BMSCs were decreased obviously when treated with 7 ?mol?L~(-1) As_2O_3,also the levels of G-CSF and IL-11 secreted by BMSC(P

Aim To study the anticonvulsive and antiepileptic mechanism of ?-asarone.Methods ?-asarone was intraperitoneally injected (ip) in mice and acute epileptic mouse models were made after 30 min.Change of ATPase,index of antioxidation,and variation of amino acid (AA) contents in brain of epileptic mice were used to investigate ?-asarone′s anticonvulsive and antiepileptic mechanism.Results For ?-asarone treated epileptic mice,when compared with model group,glutamate/gamma-aminobutyric acid (Glu/GABA) was greatly decreased (P

Objective To screen the optimal dose of Tangtong Formula in vitro. Methods RSC96 Schwann Cells were cultivate by DMEM mediums which contains different concentrations of glucose (5–125 mmol/L). The prevention effects of Tangtong Formula at different concentrations (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0 mg/mL) on the proliferation of RSC96 Schwann Cells induced by high glucose were detected. After the RSC96 Schwann Cells were cultivated in 100 mmol/L and 125 mmol/L high glucose mediums for 72 h, the apoptosis of RSC96 Schwann Cells was detected by flow cytometry Annexin V/PI, and the apoptosis rate was calculate; the proliferation situation of RSC96 Schwann cells in different times was detected by CCK-8 method. Results RSC96 Schwann cells were in apoptosis after being intervened by 100 mmol/L and 125 mmol/L high glucose mediums. The apoptosis rates were respectively(7.46±0.96)％ and(16.53±1.01)％, with statistical significance compared with control group (P<0.01). Different concentrations of Tangtong Formula could alleviate the inhibitory effect of high glucose on the proliferation of RSC96 Schwann cells, and the threshold concentration of Tangtong Formula in 24 h was 0.25 mg/mL. The concentrations of Tangtong Formula in 0.5 mg/mL, 1.0 mg/mL, and 1.5 mg/mL could inhibit the apoptosis of RSC96 Schwann cells induced by high glucos, compared with 125 mmol/L high glucose group, the apoptosis rate of RSC96 Schwann cells decreased significantly (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion Among three different doses, when the dose of Tangtong Formula is in 1.5 mg/mL, the effects on inhibiting apoptosis are the best.

At present,corresponding cell-free parasite DNA molecules (CFPD) has been detected in serum,plasma,urine,saliva and other bodily fluids of a variety of the patients with parasitic diseases.Due to its high specificity and sensitivity,the CFPD shows a strong advantage of noninvasive diagnosis and continuous monitoring,etc.in parasitic diseases.This article namely reviews the current research of CFPD in the patients with parasitic disease at home and abroad in recent years,so as to provide new ideas for the development direction of parasitic disease diagnosis in the future.The current related problems are discussed in the mean time.

Objective This study investigates the relationship of serum irfflammatory cytokine levels with intracranial pressure (ICP) in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) after surgery.Methods A total of 32 cases with severe TBI and placement of ICP monitor were prospectively enrolled.Serum was collected before surgery and every 12 h after surgery.Cytokines levels of interleukin (IL)-1β,IL-8,and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were analyzed and compared with outcome of patients.Hourly values of ICP were recorded.The degree of ICP above treatment threshold (20 mm Hg) were calculated every 12 h as pressure times time dose(PTD-ICP20),which was compared with serum cytokine levels before (Pre) and after (Post) the 12-hour time period using linear regression method.Results Serum IL-1β (P＜0.05),IL-8 (P＜0.01) and TNF-a (P＜0.01) levels elevated dramatically after severe TBI and were significantly associated with outcome of patients.Mean PTD-ICP20 was (42.9 ± 60.2)mm Hg/h and was correlated with increased Pre-IL-8 (r=0.554,P＜0.001),Pre-TNF-α (r=0.597,P＜0.001),Post-IL-8 (r=0.629,P＜0.001) and Post-TNF-α (r=0.538,P＜0.001) levels.Conclusion Serum IL-8 and TNF-α demonstrated the most promising candidate bio.rnarkers of impending ICP elevation in this study.These findings indicate a feasible way of monitoring patients with severe TBI.

Objective Sodium-bile acid cotransporter plays an important role in the development of Echinococcus.The present study aimed to clone sodium bile acid cotransporter gene in Echinococcus multilocularis (EmSBACT5) and to analyze the bioinformatics of its coding protein.Methods EmSBACT5 gene was amplified by reverse transcription RCR (RT-PCR) technology and its nucleotide sequence was sequenced.Bioinformatics softwares were used to predict and analyze the physical and chemical properties, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, transmembrane domain, post-translational modification sites, structural domain, secondary structure, tertiary structure, subcellular localization and biological functions of the coding protein.Results The complete open reading frame was amplified with 654 bp in length, encoding 217 amino acids.The homology of the nucleic acid sequence and amino acid sequence of EmSBACT5 gene were 98% and 96% with the published SBACT5 in Echinococcus granulosus (EgSBACT5) respectively.Protein analysis results showed that the molecular formula of EmSBACT5 protein was C1141H1797N273O284S11.Its relative molecular mass was 24240 and isoelectric point was 8.99.There were 9 post-translational modification sites and 4 typical domains.Alpha helical, β-sheet, β-turn and random coil accounted for 29.95%, 31.80%, 7.83% and 30.41%, respectively.This protein was a hydrophobic membrane protein and was mainly located in the cytoplasmic membrane, and it might play a role in the processes of material transport and signal transmission.Conclusion The EmSBACT5 gene was cloned successfully and the informatics characteristics of its coding protein were obtained, which provides basic information for prevention and control of echinococcosis.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are diverse polyesters synthesized by a variety of bacteria as intracellular carbon and energy storage compounds. As bio-renewable and biodegradable materials with diverse properties, PHA have drawn industrial attentions for their potential applications in many fields. This review focuses on recent strain developments for PHA production via cofactor engineering and metabolic engineering. The microaerobic production of PHA and application of PHA synthesis genes for improving robustness of industrial microorganisms are addressed.
Bacteria ; metabolism ; Genetic Engineering ; Industrial Microbiology ; Metabolic Networks and Pathways ; Polyhydroxyalkanoates ; biosynthesis ; chemistry ; genetics

Objective To investigate the genotypes of β-lactamases produced by Klebsiella pneumoniae.Methods Plasmid conjugation,PCR amplification,gene cloning and DNA sequencing,isoelectric focusing electrophoresis and extended-spectrum β-lactamase(ESBLs)confirmatory test were carried out for analyzing the encoding gene of β-lactamases in clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae collected from hospital wards.Results Totally 75 clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae were collected,in which 48 strains were confirmed to produce genotype of β-laetamases(64.0%),including 39 ESBLs-producing Btraim(52.0%).Among 48 strains,17 isolates(35.4%)carried 2 types of ESBLs genes,7(14.6%)carried 3 types of ESBL8 genes,and 5(10.4%)carried 4 types of ESBLs genes.CTX-M was the most comon type(30/48,62.5%),followed by TEM(26/48,54.2%)and SHV(25/48,52.1%).Among 9 isolates with DHA-1 AmpC β-laetamase,8 produced AmpC β-lactamases and ESBLs.Class A carbapenemase KPC-2 was produced in 3 isolates.False negative rate of ESBLs confirmatory test was 23.1%(9/39).Condusion Genotypes of β-lactamases produced by Klebsiella pneumoniae are complicated,which results in multi-drug resistance in clinic.

Objective To investigate the variation of biomarker of coagulation, anti-coagulation, fibrinolysis in elderly critical patients and find out whether they are related to the disease severity. Methods Sixty-seven patients were no less than 60 years old. Eligible criteria: coincidence with the diagnostic criteria of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and APACHE Ⅱ score was no less than 10 scores. Blood sample was drawn from the venous for the test of biomarker (APTT, PT, TT, D-D, Fib, AT-Ⅲ , PC, PAI-1). According to the existent status,all the patients were divided into two groups:survival group (43 cases) and death group(24 cases) ,meanwhile,according to the diagnostic criteria of MODSE,all the patients were divided into MODSE group (30 cases) and non-MODSE group (37 cases). Results There were significant differences in APACHE Ⅱ score between MODSE group and non-MODSE group, survival group and death group [(25.83 ± 1.19) scores vs(18.1±20.73) scores and(18.81±0.72) scores vs(26.50 ± 1.42) scores](P <0.01). The PT and D-D in MODSE group anti death group were higher than those in non-MODSE group and survival group, the differences were significant (P <0.05),while the activity of AT-Ⅲand PC in MODSE group and death group were lower than those in non-MODSE group and survival group, the differences were significant (P <0.05). The PT,D-D and PAI-1 were positively correlated to APACHE Ⅱ score (related coefficients were 0.328, 0.308, 0.335,P <0.05). The AT-Ⅲ and PC were negatively correlated to APACHE Ⅱ score (related coefficients were -0.469, -0.559,P <0.01). Conclusions The abnormality of eoagnlation-fibfinolysis system exists in elderly critical patients. The extended PT, elevated D-D and PAI-1 ,descended PC and AT-Ⅲ are the hints of disease severity and poor prognosis.