Objective To investigate the neurodevelopmental outcomes and its risk factors of very low birth weight infant (VLBWI) and extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWI).Methods Data of 85 VLBWI and ELBWI hospitalized in Children's Hospital of Fudan University from October 2005 to November 2009 who had finished infant development test of Baley Scales of Infant Development Ⅱ (Bayley Ⅱ) for neurological development at corrected gestational age between 18 to 42 months were retrospectively reviewed.Twelve infants who accepted treatment in other hospital over 10 days were excluded; the rest 73 infants were divided into normal (neurodevelopment) group or abnormal group according to the definition of neurodevelopmental impairment reported by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Neonatal Network.Potential risk factors of neurodevelopmental impairment were analyzed with Logistic stepwise regression.Results The mean gestational age of 73 infants was (30.4±2.3) weeks; among which 13 were smaller than 28 weeks,42 between 28 and 32 weeks,and 18 older than 32 weeks.The mean birth weight was (1208.0±208.5) g; among which 15 (20.6％) ＜1000 g,and 58 (79.4％) were between 1000 g and 1500 g.Four babies (5.5％) were diagnosed as movement retardation,and neurodevelopmental impairment occurred in 16 cases (21.9 ％),psychomotor developmental index ＜70 occurred in 6 cases (8.2％,one case complicating with cerebral palsy); mental developmental index ＜70 occurred in 2 cases (2.7％); both psychomotor developmental index and mental developmental index ＜70 occurred in 7 cases (9.6 ％,two cases complicating with cerebral palsy),and one case (1.4 ％) was cerebral palsy only.Blind in either eyes and hearing impairment requiring deaf-aid were not found in any of the 73 babies.Logistic stepwise regression showed that use of mechanical ventilation was related to neurodevelopmental impairment (OR =6.183,95％ CI:1.664-22.983,P =0.003).Psychomotor developmental index of infants who needed mechanical ventilation (77.5±15.1) was lower than that of infants did not need (87.3±15.1)(t=2.646,P=0.010).Conclusions VLBWI and ELBWI are in high risk of neurodevelopmental impairment,especially those who need mechanical ventilation.

The DNA structures could be altered or even damaged by exogeous or endogenous factors during cell proliferation. Failure of effective and timely repair will lead to cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. By taking the advantage of the quick proliferation of cancer cells, DNA damage induction, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis promotion have become important strategies for ant-cancer chemotherapy. Previous reports showed that an array of natural compounds inhibit cancer cell proliferation by inducing DNA damage, which have therapeutic potentials for anti-cancer drug research and development.
Animals ; Biological Products ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; DNA Damage ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy

Objective To evaluate the application and the good qualities of high-resolution ultrasound and CDFI-guided mammotome minimally invasive biopsy device in the diagnosis and treatment of breast lesions.Methods The common clinical operations and the lesions which were guided mammotome minimally invasive biopsy device by high-resolution ultrasound and CDFI were contrasted.The effects of treatment were evaluated.Results 307 le- sions of 102 patients were removed by this method,and the operational process was successful.Patients' skin lacera- tions were tiny.Only one lesion was clinically diagnosed as mild blood clot under skin,but without other complica- tions.Conclusion Contrasted with the common clinily operations.the high-resolution ultrasound and CDFI-guided mammotome minimally invasive biopsy device in the diagnosis and treatment of breast lesion is effective,and the scar is tiny.It releases patients' pain.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the variation of serum insulin levels in critically ill children and investigate the underlying mechanism and clinical significance to provide the basis for treatment.

METHODTotally 332 critically ill children admitted in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of Hunan Children's Hospital from Nov., 2011 to April, 2012 were studied. The high insulin group (n = 332) was defined as insulin levels within 24 h > 11.1 mU/L and was divided into 2 groups: mildly elevated group (n = 194): 11.10 - 33.30 mU/L, increased three times group (n = 138): > 33.3 mU/L. Insulin, C-peptide and blood glucose were measured within 24 hours after admission, on day 3 and 7. Other results of inflammatory markers, lactate, cardiac enzymes, amylase, pancreatic ultrasound, hepatic and renal function as well as indicators related to severity and prognosis were recorded after admission.

RESULTThe peak of insulin level was seen on day 1, then presented a downward trend and reached the normal level on day 7. The peaks of blood glucose and C-peptide level were seen on day 1 then declined, the levels on day 7 were still slightly higher than normal level. The insulin level on admission (41.47 ± 30.85) mU/L were positively correlated with lactic acid (2.29 ± 1.81) mmol/L and procalcitonin level (5.08 ± 6.70) ng/ml (r = 0.370, P = 0.000; r = 0.168, P = 0.002) (P < 0.01). The insulin level on admission in children with 1 organ failure (41.24 ± 22.60) mU/L or 2 or multiple organ failure (48.98 ± 22.17) mU/L was higher than that in children with non-organ failure (34.11 ± 29.84) mU/L (U = 1621.001, P = 0.000;U = 1300.000, P = 0.000) (P < 0.01). The insulin level on admission in death group (52.99 ± 32.34) mU/L was higher than that in survival group (32.85 ± 24.10) mU/L (U = 1585.000, P = 0.000) (P < 0.01). Ten cases in death group were complicated with pancreatic damage and the average insulin level on admission was (65.29 ± 50.53) mU/L.

CONCLUSIONThe high insulin level was correlated with the degree of inflammatory response, ischemia and hypoxia. The high insulin level in critically ill children was relevant to the pancreatic damage, the severity of the disease, organ dysfunction, and evaluation of prognosis.

Adolescent ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; C-Peptide ; blood ; Calcitonin ; blood ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Critical Illness ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Insulin ; blood ; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric ; Male ; Multiple Organ Failure ; blood ; mortality ; Pancreas ; metabolism ; pathology ; Prognosis ; Protein Precursors ; blood ; Survival

In order to investigate the mechanisms of phenylhexyl isothiocyanate (PHI) inhibiting the proliferation of multiple myeloma cell RPMI8226 in vitro, the RPMI8226 cells were co-cultured with PHI of various concentrations. The inhibition of proliferation was measured by MTT test and the cell apoptosis was assayed by DAPI staining. The changes of Notch1, Jagged2, BCL-2 and p-Akt proteins in the PHI-treated cells were detected by Western blot. The results showed that PHI inhibited RPMI8226 cell proliferation in certain concentration range and induced their apoptosis. The inhibiting effect caused by PHI showed a concentration-and time-dependent manner. The PHI decreased expressions of Notch1 and Jagged2 proteins in a concentration-and time-dependent manners, the levels of BCL-2 and p-Akt declined at the same time. It is concluded that PHI can inhibit proliferation of RPMI8226 cells, and induce their apoptosis. The cell apoptosis is associated with the inhibition of Notch signaling and downstream targets BCL-2 and p-Akt proteins of RPMI8226 cells, PHI may be a new Notch signaling inhibitor and a promising therapeutic drug for multiple myeloma.
Cell Line, Tumor ; Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; metabolism ; Isothiocyanates ; pharmacology ; Jagged-2 Protein ; Membrane Proteins ; metabolism ; Multiple Myeloma ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Receptor, Notch1 ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects

Cancer, an abnormal cell proliferation resulted from multi-factors,has the highest morbidity and mortality among all the serious diseases. Considerable progress has been made in cancer biology in recent years. Tumor immunology, cancer stem cells (CSCs), autophagy, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) have become hot topics of interests in this area. Detailed dissection of these biological processes will provide novel directions, targets, and strategies for the pharmacological evaluation, mechanism elucidation, and new drug development of traditional Chinese medicine.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; administration & dosage ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; immunology ; physiopathology

OBJECTIVETo identify the mutation in transforming growth factor-beta1 gene (TGF beta1) in a Chinese patient with Camurati-Engelmann disease(CED).

METHODSDenaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) analysis was performed on the whole seven coding exons and exon-intron boundaries, then the mutation was identified by direct sequencing.

RESULTSMutation screening of TGF beta1 in this patient revealed a heterozygous missense mutation R218H in exon 4.

CONCLUSIONThe identification of the mutation could provide essential data for subsequent therapy and genetic counseling.

Base Sequence ; Camurati-Engelmann Syndrome ; genetics ; China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Humans ; Male ; Mutation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; genetics ; Young Adult

Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital ; genetics ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Point Mutation ; genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Pregnancy

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of transforming growth factor (TGF) beta1/Smad signaling pathway on the expression and enzymatic activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) in cultured rat mesangial cells (MsC).

METHODSLipofectin method was used to transfect Smad 2, Smad 3 and Smad 7 vectors into MsC; and immunofluorescence, RT-PCR and Western blot analysis were used to detect their transfection efficiency. The expression and enzymatic activity of MMP-2 and TIMP-2 were determined by Western blot, zymography or reverse zymography assay.

RESULTSMsC transfected with Smad 2 gene showed slightly increased expression and enzymatic activity of both MMP-2 and TIMP-2, which was more obvious upon stimulation by TGF-beta1. MsC transfected with Smad 3 gene showed a slight upregulation of TIMP-2 expression and its enzymatic activity, which was enhanced after TGF-beta1 stimulation. There was however no change in MMP-2 expression and its enzymatic activity. On the other hand, MsC transfected with Smad 7 gene showed a decrease in MMP-2 and TIMP-2 expression and enzymatic activity, which was especially obvious after stimulation by TGF-beta1.

CONCLUSIONSTGF-beta1/Smad signaling pathway may play an important role in the pathogenesis of glomerulosclerosis, probably via MMP-2 and TIMP-2 expression and the associated enzymatic activity.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cells, Cultured ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; physiology ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Gene Expression ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Glomerular Mesangium ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Signal Transduction ; Smad2 Protein ; Smad3 Protein ; Smad7 Protein ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Trans-Activators ; genetics ; physiology ; Transfection ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; pharmacology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1

In order to study the activity and gene expression of DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) on U266 myeloma cells and to analyze their significance, the activity of DNMT was detected by ELISA, and the expressions of DNMT1, DNMT3a and 3b were analyzed by RT-PCR. U266 cells were treated by phenylhexyl isothiocyanate (PHI), and the change of activity and gene expression of DNMT were determined. The results indicated that the activity and expression of DNMT in U266 myeloma cells were higher, compared with normal control. After being treated by different concentration of PHI, U266 cells were driven into apoptosis and the activity of DNMT decreased obviously and the mRNA level of DNMT declined. It is concluded that the activity and gene expression of DNMT on U266 myeloma cells are higher, and DNMT may be a new therapeutic target of multiple myeloma.
Cell Line, Tumor ; DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferase 1 ; DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases ; metabolism ; DNA Methylation ; Humans ; Multiple Myeloma ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics