OBJECTIVETo analyze the role of Caspase 3 in neuronal apoptosis after acute brain injury.

METHODSExperiments were carried out with rat diffuse brain trauma model. The neuronal DNA injury in cortex and hippocampus was observed by TUNEL stain. The mRNA and protein expressions and enzyme activation of Caspase 3 were observed by Northern blot, in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry stain and Western blot, respectively. Special Caspase 3 enzyme inhibitor was used to observe the therapeutic effect.

RESULTSTUNEL positive neurons appeared 2 hours after severe trauma, peaked at 1 day and lasted for 7 days. Northern blot showed that the Caspase 3 mRNA expression was increased and peaked at 1 day, about twice higher than the control. In the area of cortex and hippocampus, positive mRNA staining neurons appeared most distinct on one day. With the antibody for Caspase 3 P20 subunit, the active Caspase 3 expression peaked at 1-3 days. The electrophoresis band of PARP degradation would be seen by Western blot. Caspase 3 enzyme inhibitor could reduce apoptotic neuronal death without any effect on Caspase 3 P20 subunit expression.

CONCLUSIONSAfter brain trauma, Caspase 3 mRNA and protein expressions and enzyme activation are enhanced in combination with neuronal apoptosis. Special Caspase 3 enzyme inhibitor can apparently decrease the neuronal apoptosis.

Acute Disease ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; physiology ; Brain Injuries ; enzymology ; physiopathology ; Caspase 3 ; Caspases ; metabolism ; Enzyme Activation ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Nervous System ; physiopathology ; Neurons ; enzymology ; physiology ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

· AIM: To inspect and compare the functional vision of an aspheric intraocular lens (Tecnis) with those of conventional monofocal silicone and acrylic intraocular lens and multifocal intraocular lens (Array).· METHODS: The IOLs were tested in the eye model, which was designed to be optically equivalent to the theoretical eye model. The eye model is a combination of a spherical photographic lens with 35mm focal length ( IOL put in a water cell)and a charge coupled device (CCD) camera. The images constructed by the lenses are observed on a monitor of personal computer and the contrasts of the images are analyzed by using commercial image processing software.· RESULTS: The modulation transfer function of the eye model equals the scale produced by the theoretical eye model. The images constructed by changing the diameter of aperture stop and IOL.· CONCLUSION: The proposed eye model is useful for testing functional vision and for inspecting differences of intraocular lens.

Backcground:Ankyrin repeat and SOCS box protein 3 (ASB3) is a member of ASB family and contains ankyrin repeat sequence and SOCS box domain.Previous studies indicated that it mediates the ubiquitination and degradation of tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 and is likely involved in inflammatory responses.However,its effects on oncogenesis are unclear.This study aimed to investigate the effects of ASB3 on the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC).Methods:We used next-generation sequencing or Sanger sequencing to detect ASB3 mutations in CRC specimens or cell lines,and used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction,Western blotting,and immunohistochemical or immunofluorescence assay to determine gene expression.We evaluated cell proliferation by MTT and colony formation assays,tested cell cycle distribution by flow cytometry,and assessed cell migration and invasion by transwell and wound healing assays.We also performed nude mouse experiments to evaluate tumorigenicity and hepatic metastasis potential of tumor cells.Results:We found that ASB3 gene was frequently mutated (5.3％) and down-regulated (70.4％) in CRC cases.Knockdown of endogenous ASB3 expression promoted CRC cell proliferation,migration,and invasion in vitro and facilitated tumorigenicity and hepatic metastasis in vivo.Conversely,the ectopic overexpression of wild-type ASB3,but not that of ASB3 mutants that occurred in clinical CRC tissues,inhibited tumor growth and metastasis.Further analysis showed that ASB3 inhibited CRC metastasis likely by retarding epithelial-mesenchymal transition,which was characterized by the up-regulation of β-catenin and E-cadherin and the down-regulation of transcription factor 8,N-cadherin,and vimentin.Conclusion:ASB3 dysfunction resulted from gene mutations or down-regulated expression frequently exists in CRC and likely plays a key role in the pathogenesis and progression of CRC.

Objective To analyze the characteristics of proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after total joint arthroplasty.Methods 40 cases of proximal DVT were collected from May 2007 to October 2016 which were all diagnosed by lower limb venography or sonography.There were 9 males and 31 females aged from 38 to 86 years,average 67 years,and body mass index was from 16.94 to 31.25kg/m2,with an average of 24.3 kg/m2.29 cases of THA patients and 11 cases of TKA patients.The anatomical distribution,size,radiological performance,local physical findings were recorded and multivariable analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between distribution of proximal DVT and related parameters including age,gender (male/female),side of leg(left/right),surgery type(knee and hip),preoperative diagnosis(femoral neck fracture/other disease),time of diagnosis with DVT (during hospitalization/after discharge).Results Among 40 proximal DVT cases,31 cases diagnosed by phlebography and 9 cases were diagnosed by ultrasound.2 cases were isolated proximal DVT while 38 cases connected with distal DVTs.9 cases of blood clots in the proximal and distal thrombosis connected discontinuously.There was no isolated proximal DVT in TKA group and 10 cases (90.9％) of blood clots in the proximal and distal thrombosis connected continuously while there were 2 cases (6.9％) isolated proximal DVTs in THA group and 21 (77.8％) of blood clots in the proximal and distal thrombosis connected discontinuously,and there was no statistic significant difference between the two groups.The average length of proximal was 8.85±9.3 1cm (range from 2-35cm) with 5.0±2.05 cm in TKA group and 10.31 ± 10.55 cmin THA group.A significant difference was found between the 2 groups (P=0.014).13 cases located in femoral veins and upper venous region which were all from THA group.There was a significant difference in the distribution between surgery type and preoperative diagnosis.However,there was no significant difference between other potential factors and distribution of proximal DVT.25 cases accepted the evaluation of symptom of DVT before scanning.However,no significant difference were found in edema,VAS score,Homans sign,Neuof sign between 9 TKA and 16 THA cases.Conclusion Proximal DVTs after knee and hip arthroplasty are more preferred to connect with distal DVT continuously.Surgery type and preoperative diagnosis have a significant effect on the distribution of proximal DVT.Proximal DVTs in THA and patients with preoperative femoral neck fracture could be more easily involving femoral veins and upper parts.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the surgical methods and clinical results of modified transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion and internal fixation for the treatment of upper lumbar disc herniation.

METHODSClinical data of 32 cases of upper lumbar disc herniation in our department from June 2005 to June 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 21 males and 11 females, the age from 24 to 59 years with an average of 38.5 years. All the cases were treated by the use of nucleus pulposus removed, modified transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) and internal fixation with pedicle screw system. All patients were followed up with an average of 9 months (from 3 to 18 months), according to Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores and visual analogue scores (VAS) to evaluate clinical effects.

RESULTSAll the cases were followed up from 3 to 18 months with an average of 9 months and the fusion rate was 100%. The JOA sores before and after operation were 10.5 +/- 2.1, 26.2 +/- 2.4 respectively, and the improvement rate was 84.9%. The VAS before and after operation was 7.2 +/- 1.3 and 1.4 +/- 1.1 respectively, and the rate of catabatic pain was 80.6%. Lumbar rigidity and unwell had 4 cases, obviously leg pain had 2 cases after operation, but the systems vanished gradually at 1-8 weeks after non-operative treatment.

CONCLUSIONModified transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion has the advantages of simple, safe operation and thoroughly decompression, and it is a therapeutic method for upper lumbar disc herniation.

Adult ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Internal Fixators ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; physiopathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; pathology ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Fusion ; methods ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo explore the prevalence and characteristics of chronic headache in children and adolescents in Shanghai and to collect messages concerning the impact and compliance of medication for migraine.

METHODSA population-based questionnaire study was conducted among subjects 6 - 15 years of age sampled from primary and junior high schools in Shanghai and the subjects were followed up.

RESULTS(1) The prevalence: 8701 (88.6%) out of 9857 pupils responded to the questionnaire; 17% of the respondents had headache and in 86.4% of them the reason of headache was unknown. The prevalence of chronic headache in Shanghai children and adolescents was 7.8%, there was no significant difference between both genders (chi(2) = 0.010, P > 0.05). (2) The prevalence of chronic headache increased with age, the incidence was higher in boys before 12 years of age, while higher in girls after 12 years of age. (3) Characteristics of chronic headache: the proportion of unilateral, bilateral and headache of unknown site was similar; in most of the cases headache was localized in the temple (35.2%) and forehead region (25.6%), the duration of headache was short, always accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms. Half of the patients reported that the headache had affected their study and daily life. (4) The status of using health care facilities: 24% of the students sought medical assistance during their headache episodes and among them only 30.9% took medicine. (5) Over-fatigue (51.4%), followed by insufficient sleep (40.4%), emotional changes (38.5%) were the main aggravating factors. The headache was also associated with positive family history and stress in studying.

CONCLUSIONSHeadache is a common complaints of children, affecting the patients' study and daily life. But many patients with headache were not treated properly, therefore, the medical and educational sectors and the society should pay more attention to this problem.

Adolescent ; Child ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Headache Disorders ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Male ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of arthroscopic debridement for acute gouty arthritis of the ankle.

METHODSForty-one patients with acute gouty arthritis of the ankle were treated under arthroscopy from January 2010 to June 2012. All the patients were male, age in ranging from 28 to 69 years with an average of 43 years. Eighteen patients were in the left ankles and 23 in the right ankles; 12 cases were firstly attack and 29 cases were recurrent attack. Course of disease was from 2 weeks to 30 months. The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot Scale score was used to evaluate the clinical effects. Number of acute attacks of gouty arthritis were observed.

RESULTSAll the patients were followed up at least 12 months. The mean AOFAS Ankle-Hindfoot Scale score increased from 58.44 +/- 9.45 preoperatively to 86.15 +/- 7.36, 83.41 +/- 9.22, 84.10 +/- 8.22 postoperatively at 6, 12, months and the last follow-up respectively. Swelling of the ankle were improved significantly, pain was relieved and the mean number of acute attacks of gouty arthritis decreased significantly.

CONCLUSIONArthroscopy is helpful for the diagnosis of acute gouty arthritis of the ankle and improvement of clinical symptoms and ankle function.

Adult ; Aged ; Ankle Joint ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Arthritis, Gouty ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Arthroscopy ; Debridement ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of DADLE, a δ-opioid receptor agonist, on the proliferation of human liver cancer HepG2 cells and explore the mechanism involving PKC pathway.

METHODSHepG2 cells were treated with DADLE at different doses (0.01, 0.1, 1.0 and 10 µmol/L). Cell viability was determined using methyl thiazolyl terazolium (MTT) assay. The expression of PKC mRNA and p-PKC protein were examined by RT-PCR and Western blot assay. After treated separately with DADLE plusing NAL or PMA, the cell cycle of HepG2 cells was analyzed by flow cytometer. MTT was used to detect their proliferation capacity and Western blot was used to examine the p-PKC expression. The growth inhibitory rate of HepG2 cells treated with DADLE and cis-diammine dichloridoplatinum (CDDP) was analyzed.

RESULTSDADLE at different concentrations showed an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of HepG2 cells though inhibiting the expression of PKC mRNA and p-PKC protein. The results of flow cytometry showed that compared with the control group, the percentage of S + G(2)/M cells in DADLE-treated group was lowered by 3.94% (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, after treated with NAL and PMA, the percentage was elevated by 3.22% and 3.63%, respectively (P < 0.01). The MTT and Western blot assays showed that compared with the control group, the values of A570 and p-PKC protein levels in the HepG2 cells of DADLE-treated group were significantly decreased (P < 0.01). After treatment with NAL and PMA, the values of A570 and p-PKC protein levels were elevated significantly (P < 0.01). The growth inhibitory rate of DADLE + CDDP group was 79.9%, significantly lower than 25.2% and 43.2% of the DADLE and CDDP groups, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSActivation of δ-opioid receptor by DADLE inhibits the apoptosis of human liver cancer HepG2 cells. The underlying mechanism may be correlated with PKC pathway. DADLE can enhance the chemosensitivity of HepG2 cells to CDDP.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cisplatin ; pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Enkephalin, Leucine-2-Alanine ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Naltrexone ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Phosphorylation ; Protein Kinase C ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Receptors, Opioid, delta ; agonists ; Signal Transduction ; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology

AIMTo investigate whether NR2B-pERK1/2-pElk-1 signaling contributes to the Y-maze learning and memory of rat brain.

METHODS45 adult male SD rats were divided into 4 groups: (1) Ifenprodil peritoneal injection group (Ifenprodil ip, n = 14); (2) DMSO peritoneal injection group(DMSO ip, n = 15); (3) Ifenprodil cerebral ventricle injection group (Ifenprodil ic, n = 8); (4) DMSO cerebral ventricle injection group(DMSO ic, n = 8). Y-maze training and test were used as an learning and memory enhancing stimulus. Immunohistochemical and Western blotting methods were used for detecting pERK1/2 and pElk-1 expression intensity of different brain regions.

RESULTSCompared with the DMSO ip group, the ifenprodil ip group showed no change on the Y-maze learning score (P > 0.05), but its Y-maze memory score tested 24 after learning decreased (P < 0.05). Ifenprodil peritoneal injection made brain pERK1/2 and pElk-1 expression decreased generally. In hippocampus, marginal division of striatum(MrD), amygdala,these changes were more significant (P < 0.05). Compared with the DMSO ic group, the reconsolidation of Y-maze memory tested 6 hours after ifenprodil injection was impaired in ifenprodil ic group (P < 0.05). The OD value of pERK1/2 and pElk-1 positive bands in ifenprodil ic group attenuated generally. The pElk-1 positive bands of caudate putamen and MrD almost disappeared in ifenprodil ic group.

CONCLUSIONNR2B is essential for the formation of long-term memory, reconsolidation of Y-maze memory. The deactivation of NR2B by ifenprodil will impair these courses. Meanwhile, the deactivation of NR2B attenuates pERK1/2 and pElk-1 expression of learning and memory related regions after Y-maze learning and memory reconsolidation test. In MrD and caudate putamen, the pElk-1 expression are completely blocked by ifenprodil after memory reconsolidation test.

Animals ; Avoidance Learning ; physiology ; Dimethyl Sulfoxide ; pharmacology ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; metabolism ; Male ; Maze Learning ; physiology ; Memory ; physiology ; Piperidines ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate ; metabolism ; ets-Domain Protein Elk-1 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo set up a method for the drainage of lymph fluid and explore the change of active materials in lymph fluid and serum after rat ischemia-reperfusion injury.

METHODSThe method of the drainage of lymph fluid was well established. Sixteen healthy male rats of SPF grade were selected and randomly divided into 2 groups: intestinal ischemia-reperfusion + drainage group (I/R + drainage group) and drainage group. All the rats were subjected to superior mesenteric artery occlusion for 60 minutes, followed by 120 minutes of reperfusion. We compared the change of high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) protein, endotoxin tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL) -1 beta, IL-6, and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecular-1 (sICAM-1) by draining lymph fluid and collecting serum in 2 groups.

RESULTSThe drainage of lymph fluid was successfully performed. The HMGB1, endotoxin, and cytokines in serum and lymph fluid were significantly higher in ischemia-reperfusion group than in drainage group (P < 0. 05).

CONCLUSIONSThe method for drainage of lymph fluid is simple and feasible. Endotoxin, HMGB1, and some cytokines in serum and lymph fluid may mediate the ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drainage ; methods ; Endotoxins ; metabolism ; HMGB1 Protein ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Intestines ; blood supply ; metabolism ; Lymph ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism