Background Studieshowed thaDelta-like ligand 4 (Dll4) participatein the deveopmenof retinal celland angiogenesis.The Dll4-Notch pathway and vasculaendothelial growth facto(VEGF) are thoughto be critical mediatorof neovascularization undehypoxiconditions.The relationship between Dll4 and VEGF inovery cleaand furtheresearch ineeded.Objective Thistudy wato observe the inhibition of Dll4 on experimental retinal neovascularization and VEGF expression.MethodThe retinal neovascularization animal model wainduced by oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) in 5-day-old SPF SD ratby rearing the new postnatal ratwith the motherattogethein closed box with oxygen level a(80±2) ％ till 12-day-old.The ratwere then raised in normal aifo5 days.Aftethat,2.5μl (0.5 μg) of Dll4 monoclonal antibody wainjected into the mid-vitreoucavity in the righeye(Dll4 injected group) and PBwaused in the same way in the fellow eye(PBcontrol group) in the 12-day-old rats.Retinawere isolated in the 17-day-old rats,and retinal vasculamorphology waexamined by adenosine diphosphatease (ADPase) staining of retinal flatmounts,and the endotheliocyte nuclei above the internal limiting membrane were counted in the retinal tissue-slices.Reverse transcription PC(RT-PCR) waused to detecthe mRNexpression level of Dll4,VEGF,VEGF receptor-1 (VEGFR-1),VEGFR-2 and neuropilin-1 mRNin the retinas.Statistical analysiwaperformed by the paired t-test.The care and use of the animalcomplied with the Guidance Suggestion issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Chinin 2006.ResultThe Dll4 mRNexpression in the retin(Dll4 mRNA/β-actin mRNA) wa0.22± 0.06 and 0.98 ± 0.13 in the Dll4 injected group and the PBcontrol group,respectively,with statistically significandifference (=21.839,P =0.000).No significandifferencewere found in the expression of the VEGF mRNA,VEGFR-1 mRNand VEGFR-2 mRNin the retinabetween the two group(t=0.463,P=0.649;=1.687,P=0.109;=-1.674,P=0.111).Compared with the PBcontrol group,the expression of neuropilin-1 mRNwasignificantly elevated in the Dll4-injected group (0.73±0.08 vs.0.64±0.07) (t=-2.677,P=0.015).ADPase staining showed thathere were much more new blood vesselin the Dll4 injected group than those of the PBcontrol group.The numbeof nuclei structurally adjacento the vitreal side of the internal limiting membrane wa(63.6± 11.6)/slide in the Dll4 injected group,which wamore than thaof the PBcontrol group a(35.1±5.2)/slide (=-7.879,P =0.000).ConclusionDll4 playan essential role in the procesof pathological angiogenesiin the retina.Dll4 ithoughto be feedback regulatoof VEGFR,which participatein the procesof restraining pathological vasculogenesis.

Objective To investigate the changes of serum glycocholicacid(CG),hyaluronic acid(HA),procollagen type Ⅲ(PCⅢ) in neonatal diseases.Method The levels of serum CG,HA and PCⅢ were measured by radioimmunoassay in 46 neonates with different diseases and 20 healthy neonates.Results Serum CG and HA in patients group were significant higher than those in healthy control group(P

To compare the DAAO expression level in different Pichia pastoris host strains, the gene encoding DAAO from Trigonopsis variabilis was cloned into plasmid pPIC3.5k and then transformed into P. pastoris GS115 and KM71 respectively. The positive transformants PDK13 (MutS) and PD27 (Mut+) were obtained by PCR analysis. Their optimal and different expression conditions were investigated. To compare with PD27, PDK13 was determined to poss a slower consumption of methanol, a longer induction time, a lower oxygen request and apparently higher expression of DAAO. The highest expression levels were reached up to 2700, 2500 IU/L in shaking flask and 10140, 8463.5 IU/L in fermentor respectively. The over-expression of DAAO can meet its large demand for production of 7-ACA, alpha-keto acid and L-amino acid. In addition, the phenylpyruvate and L-phenylalanine were obtained by crude DAAO reacting with DL-phenylalanine at 37 degrees C for 3h.
D-Amino-Acid Oxidase ; genetics ; Fermentation ; Methanol ; metabolism ; Phenylalanine ; metabolism ; Pichia ; genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

Objective To develop a new algorithm to reconstruct the distribution of acoustic sources of magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction(MAT-MI)in the acoustic inhomogeneous media,which is developed on the basis of generalized finite element method (GFEM) and modified time inversion algorithm. Methods The acoustic and acoustic coupling theory and the basic equations of acoustics were used to study the forward and inverse problems of the acoustic inhomogeneous concentric sphere magneticacoustic coupling model. The solution of acoustic non-uniform media wave equation based on GFEM was proposed.The method solved the problem of acoustically inhomogeneous media sound source reconstruction and conductivity reconstruction.At the same time,the distribution of velocity was reconstructed by rotating the pairs of transducers and the time reversal algorithm. Results The proposed algorithm could accurately reconstruct the acoustic source distribution in acoustic inhomogeneous media,and could obtain the distribution of sound velocity during the reconstruction of sound source and recover the image well. Conclusion The proposed algorithm had its feasibility and effectiveness verified,and gains advantages in MAT-MI reconstruction of acoustic inhomogeneous media.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the preventive effects of Qiangzhi Decoction (, QZD) on influenza A pneumonia through inhibition of inflammatory cytokine storm in vivo and in vitro.

METHODSOne hundred ICR mice were randomly divided into the virus control, the Tamiflu control and the QZD high-, medium-, and low-dose groups. Mice were infected intranasally with influenza virus (H1N1) at 10 median lethal dose (LD50). QZD and Tamiflu were administered intragastrically twice daily from day 0 to day 7 after infection. The virus control group was treated with distilled water alone under the same condition. The number of surviving mice was recorded daily for 14 days after viral infection. The histological damage and viral replication and the expression of inflammatory cytokines were monitored. Additionally, the suppression capacity on the secretion of regulated on activation normal T cells expressed and secreted (RANTES) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in epithelial and macrophage cell-lines were evaluated.

RESULTSCompared with the virus control group, the survival rate of the QZD groups significantly improved in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05), the viral titers in lung tissue was inhibited (P<0.05), and the production of inflammatory cytokines interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-6 (IL-6), TNF-α, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were suppressed (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the secretion of RANTETS and TNF-α by epithelial and macrophage cell-lines was inhibited with the treatment of QZD respectively in vitro (p<0.05) CONCLUSIONS: The preventive effects of QZD on influenza virus infection might be due to its unique cytokine inhibition mechanism. QZD may have significant therapeutic potential in combination with antiviral drugs.

Animals ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Chemokine CCL5 ; metabolism ; Chemokines ; metabolism ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Dogs ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hemagglutination, Viral ; drug effects ; Humans ; Inflammation ; pathology ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; drug effects ; physiology ; Influenza A Virus, H1N2 Subtype ; drug effects ; Lung ; drug effects ; pathology ; Madin Darby Canine Kidney Cells ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Orthomyxoviridae Infections ; complications ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Pneumonia ; complications ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Survival Rate ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo study the changes in the mRNA expression of endothelial cellular adhesion molecules in the cerebral blood vessels in rats with prestroke condition caused by simulated cold wave.

METHODSTwo-kidney two-clip renovascular hypertension was induced in 48 male SD rats, which were subsequently randomly assigned into cold wave exposure and non-exposed group (n=24). Each group was further divided into 4 sub-groups according to their systolic blood pressure, namely the sham-operated group with blood pressure (BP)<140 mmHg, mild hypertensive group with BP of 160-199 mmHg, moderate hypertensive group with BP of 200-219 mmHg, and severe hypertensive group with BP no less than 220 mmHg. Cold wave exposure was simulated by housing the rats in an artificial climate chamber with 3 cycles of 12 h light at 22 degrees celsius; and 12 h dark at 4 degrees celsius;. The non-exposed group was kept at 22 degrees celsius; throughout the experiment. After the exposure, the rats were sacrificed and the tissues of the frontal lobe were slice into 2.0-mm-thick coronal sections for real-time RT-PCR detection of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and p-selectin mRNA expressions. The 5.0-microm-thick frozen sections from the bregma section underwent in situ hybridization of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and p-selectin. The other sections were stained with HE to observe the infarct lesions, and the rats with cerebral infraction were excluded from the statistical analysis.

RESULTSIn rats with cold wave exposure-induced prestroke condition and BP <220 mmHg, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and p-selectin mRNA expressions all increased compared with those in the non-exposed group. In rats with BP>or=220 mmHg and cold exposure, the expressions all decreased to some extent compared with those in the non-exposed treatment. In the non-exposed rats, a positive correlation of BP to VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and p-selectin mRNA expressions were noted, and this correlation was also found in cold-wave-exposed rats with BP <220 mmHg; VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and p-selectin mRNA expressions decreased dramatically in the exposed rats with BP >or=220 mmHg compared with those in rats with BP <220 mmHg.

CONCLUSIONPersistent and severe hypertension impairs the modulatory function of the cerebral vascular endothelia, which is a prerequisite for the stroke vulnerability. The modulatory function deteriorates as the BP further increases.

Animals ; Atmosphere Exposure Chambers ; Cerebral Arteries ; metabolism ; Cold Temperature ; Environment, Controlled ; Equipment Design ; Hypertension, Renovascular ; complications ; metabolism ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; P-Selectin ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stroke ; etiology ; metabolism ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo analyze a case of cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX) with mental retardation as the initial neurological symptom.

METHODSMedical imaging, histopathological assay and genetic testing were carried out to analyze the patient.

RESULTSNeurological manifestations of the 27-year-old male patient were initiated by mental retardation and subsequently memory lapses, ataxia, spastic paraplegia and fuzzy language. Other symptoms included cataract, xanthomatosis in Achilles tendon, kidney stones and high arches. The total bile acid in serum has risen to 14.7 umol/L. There were symmetrical abnormal signals in bilateral cerebellar dentate nuclei, hypointensities on T1WI and DWI and mixed signals on T2WI. Cholesterol crystallization and cholesterol granulomatous inflammation were found upon pathological examination of the Achilles tendon. The patient was found to have carried a compound heterozygous mutation of the CTX gene, which consisted of two novel mutations including c.379C>T (p.Arg127Trp) in exon 2 and c.1174G>A (p.Glu392Lys) in exon 6 of the CYP27A1 gene.

CONCLUSIONClinicians should be alert to cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis when the patient has mental retardation caused by genetic and metabolic factors beginning at a young age, particularly accompanied with tendinous xanthomatosis and cataracts. CTX can be readily diagnosed by histopathological assay and sequencing of the CYP27A1 gene.

Adult ; Cholestanetriol 26-Monooxygenase ; genetics ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; etiology ; Male ; Xanthomatosis, Cerebrotendinous ; complications ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo analyze the association of that the polymorphisms and haplotypes of Taq I site in beta fibrinogen gene and the single nucleotide sites -455 G/A, -249 C/T, -148 C/T, +1689T/G, Bsm A I G/C, 448 G/A, Bcl I G/A, Hinf I A/C in beta-fibrinogen gene are linked up with the ischemic stroke(IS).

METHODSTurbidmetric assay was used to measure the plasma fibrinogen level of one hundred and sixty cases with ischemic stroke and one hundred and thirty healthy individuals from Hainanese Han population. The polymorphisms and genotypes were characterized by PCR-RFLP. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and statistical differences of allelic, genotype and haplotype frequencies were obtained by Chi-square test. Pairwise linkage disequilibrium was calculated and haplotypes of nine or four polymorphisms were estimated by the EH + program.

RESULTSThere were highly significant differences in genotype frequencies and allelic frequencies of the polymorphisms -455 G/A, -148 C/T, 448 G/A, which happened between the IS group and control subjects (P< 0.01). However, the significant differences of the allelic frequencies in the other six polymorphisms were not found between the IS group and the control (P> 0.05). The odds ratio(OR) with the rare alleles of A -455, T -148 and A 448 is 2.46, 2.30 and 2.08 (95% confidence interval 1.153%-3.924%, 1.429%-3.694% and 1.298%-3.329%) respectively. No definite haplotype block was found by linkage disequilibrium analysis in the control group and the IS group. Association of haplotypes constructed from the nine polymorphisms with IS was not found. Among the haplotypes constructed from four polymorphisms including -455 G/A, -148 C/T, 448 G/A alleles, haplotype differences were found between the control group and the IS group. Haplotypes with G -455, C -148, G448 alleles appeared more frequently in control group(P< or = 0.01), whereas haplotypes with A -455, T -148, A 448 occurred more frequently in the IS group(P< 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe results of multi-allele and haplotype analysis indicated that the polymorphisms -455 G/A, -148 C/T, 448 G/A in beta fibrinogen gene were the possible risk factors associated with the occurrence of ischemic stroke in Hainan Han population.

Alleles ; Brain Ischemia ; complications ; Female ; Fibrinogen ; genetics ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Genotype ; Haplotypes ; genetics ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; genetics ; Stroke ; etiology ; genetics

Food intake has a great influence on blood glucose in patients with diabetes.This study was to determine the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of a particular pomelo named Majia pomelo and its effects on postprandial glucose (PPG) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).Twenty healthy subjects and 20 T2D patients (controlled on lifestyle measures and/or metformin) were tested on 2 separate days with 50 g of glucose and 50 g equivalent of carbohydrates from Majia pomelo for GI measurement.To test effects of Majia pomelo on PPG,19 hospitalized T2D patients (controlled on insulin therapy) were selected for a 9-day study.The dose of insulin for each patient was adjusted on the first 3 days.A total of 100 mg Majia pomelo was consumed per meal in the last 3 tested days.Blood glucose was measured to evaluate the glycemic excursions.The GIs for Majia pomelo in healthy individuals and T2D patients were 78.34± 1.88 and 72.15±1.95 respectively.The value of GL was as low as 4.23 in diabetic patients with serving size of 100 g pomelo,indicting Majia pomelo as a high GI but low GL fruit.Consumption of Majia pomelo in hospitalized T2D patients did not cause significant glucose fluctuation.It was concluded that high GI pomelo can serve as a low GL fruit if it is consumed with a limited daily amount and thus can be supplied to diabetic patients.These results may mean more varieties of food choices for T2D patients.

Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS) was applied to rapidly identify the phospholipids in human plasma and explore the mass spectrometric fragmentation pattern. An acquity UHPLC^TM BEH C18 column (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) was utilized and eluted with a gradient system; the mobile phase consisted of 10 mmol·L^-1 ammonium formate aqueous solution-0.1% formic acid aqueous solution (A) and acetonitrile-isopropanol (1∶1) organic solution (B) containing 10 mmol·L^-1 ammonium formate-0.1% formic acid. The flow rate was 0.3 mL·min^-1 and the column temperature was set at 50 ℃. An electrospray ionization (ESI) source was used to collect mass spectra in positive and negative ion mode. Based on the precise relative molecular weight and elemental composition calculated by Masslynx 4.1 software, comparison with references, and secondary mass spectrometry fragment ions and lipid databases, a total of 82 plasma lipids were identified, including 14 lysophosphatidylcholines (LysoPCs), 39 phosphatidylcholines (PCs), 17 sphingomyelins (SMs), 7 ceramides (Cers), 4 phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs), and 1 phosphatidylinositol (PI). A simple, efficient, fast and stable analytical method was established in this study for the qualitative analysis of phospholipids in human plasma, and the fragmentation regularity of the main phospholipids was determined. This work provides a good foundation for further metabolomics studies of plasma phospholipids. This study was approved by the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University Clinical Research and Application Institutional Review Board Approval (No. 2020-hs-07).