Oxidative stress has been demonstrated to be one of the important mechanisms for brain injury. Free radicals are one of the most important products following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion and intracerebral hemorrhage. They are the important markers for evaluating the 2 types of stroke injuries. At present, some relevant biomarkers of oxidative stress, such as lipid, DNA, protein peroxidation, antioxidant enzymes, and non-enzymatic antioxidant molecules as well as inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors, are increasingly receiving attention. This article reviews and evaluates the biomarkers of oxidative stress in stroke.

To investigate the effects of Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, on the proliferation and extracellular matrix synthesis of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) from neonatal rats induced by angiotensin II, and to explore the mechanism of Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction in improving myocardial fibrosis.

Objective:To select the differentially expressed vascular smooth muscle cell(VSMC) apoptosis gene induced by icariin,glucose regulated protein 78(GRP78),to observe the expression of GRP78 in atherosclerosis tissue and to the elucidate the mechanism of anti-atherosclerosis of icariin.Methods:The model was established by using halfcystine in viro.The vascular smooth muscle cell was incubated with various concentrations of icariin for 48 hours.The apoptosis was detected by TUNEL assay.GRP78 gene was amplificated by PCR,recombinant plasmid were constructed,transfected into E.coli,positive clonings were selected and conf irmed by restriction endonucleas analysis,and sequence-ed.Tissue situ hybridization was used to observe the GRP78 expression in atherosclerosis tissue.Results:Icariin promoted obviously vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis.Furthermore,the fragment,648bp,was similar to the gene of GRP78 from VSMC,and the expression level was signif icantly higher in high cholesterol group than in control nroup.Conclusions:The GRP78 plays a key role in inducing atherosclerotic lesions.The mechanism of anti-atherosclerosis of icariin might be partly due to promoting apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cell.

Objective To investigate the relationship between HLA-DRB1 alleles and vascular anomalies in infants of Han nationality in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.Methods This study included 145 infants with vascular anomalies (99 cases of hemangioma (hemangioma group) and 46 cases of vascular malformation (vascular malformation group)) and 105 healthy infants (control group) of Han nationality residing in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.The genotypes of HLA-DRB1 alleles were determined by using PCR-sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP).Chi-square test was performed to analyze the difference in the frequency of HLA-DRB1 alleles between these groups by using the SPSS 16.0 software.Results There were significant differences in the frequency of HLA-DRB1*0901,*1401 and *16 alleles among the hemangioma group,vascular malformation group and control group (x2 =13.05,12.79,10.36,respectively,all P ＜ 0.01).Paired comparison revealed significant differences in the frequency of HLA-DRB1*0901 allele between the hemangioma group and vascular malformation group (RR =4.84,P ＜ 0.01) as well as between the hemangioma group and control group (RR =3.21,P ＜ 0.01),and in the frequency of HLA-DRB1*16 allele between the hemangioma group and control group (RR =2.25,P ＜ 0.01) as well as between the vascular malformation group and control group (RR =2.60,P ＜ 0.01).The frequency of HLA-DR*1401 allele was significantly lower in the hemangioma group than in the control group (RR =0.30,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions HLA-DRB1*0901 and *16 may be the predisposing genes for hemangioma and vascular anomalies respectively,while HLA-DRB1*1401 appears to be protective against hemangioma,in infants of Han nationality in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Objective To investigate the clinical manifestation and diagnosis of osteitis deformans. Methods Three male patients with characteristic manifestations of osteitis deformans were reviewed in this study. The ages of the patients were 51, 49 and 43 respectively. Two patients with pelvic lesions on X ray films presented symptomatic pain and malaise localized in hip, one complained of tibial bowing deformity. The typical radiographic characteristics were bone enlarged size, increased bone mineral density with uneven distribution; the bone trabeculae were usually coarse and arrayed irregularly like a grid. All patients underwent the diagnostic biopsy. Under microscopic observation, the bone structures were arranged disorderly, the trabeculae were thickened and enriched with osteoclasts and osteoblasts, irregular blue cement line were also seen in thickened trabeculae, the bone marrow were replaced by the fibrovascular connective tissue. All patients were given calcitonin and diphosphonates as medical treament. Results In the follow up period of an average of 16 months(range 3-26 months), one patients had pain relief at lesioned hip but functional limitation remained, the others did not have any sign of malignant progression. The serum alkaline decreased dramatically and the involved bone did not present with deteriorated change. They were working as usual. Conclusion Osteitis deformans is a disorder of bone architecture resulting from disturbance in the rate of bone turnover; typical radiographic and pathologic feature is the important points for definite diagnosis of osteitis deformans.

Objective To study the effect of continuous renal replacement therapy(CRRT) in preventing myonephropathic metabolic syndrome(MNMS) after operation of acute arterial occlusion. Methods Twenty-four patients with acute arterial occlusion were divided randomly into 2 groups: CRRT group(n=11) and control group(n=13).The patients were treated with embolectomy or revascularization.In control group,we used conventional therapy such as anti-inflammation,expansion of blood capacity,anticoagulation,and correcting acidosis and electrolyte disorder.In CRRT group,patients were treated by continuous veno-venous hemofiltration(CVVH) with 6 h during operation and 24 h after operation. Results In control group,24 h after operation,the serum potassium,blood urea nitrogen(BUN),serum creatinine(SCr),and myoglobin(Mb) were significantly increased(P

Production of bioethanol using starch as raw material has become a very prominent technology. However, phytate in the raw material not only decreases ethanol production efficiency, but also increases phosphorus discharge. In this study, to decrease phytate content in an ethanol fermentationprocess, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was engineered forheterologous expression of phytase on the cell surface. The phy gene encoding phytase gene was fused with the C-terminal-half region of α-agglutinin and then inserted downstream of the secretion signal gene, to produce a yeast surface-display expression vector pMGK-AG-phy, which was then transformed into S. cerevisiae. The recombinant yeast strain, PHY, successfully displayed phytase on the surface of cells producing 6.4 U/g wet cells and its properties were further characterized. The growthrate and ethanol production of the PHY strain were faster than the parent S. cerevisiae strain in the fermentation medium by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. Moreover, the phytate concentration decreased by 91% in dry vinasse compared to the control. In summary, we constructed recombinant S. cerevisiae strain displaying phytase on the cell surface, which could effectively reduce the content of phytate, improve the utilization value of vinasse and reduce the discharge of phosphorus. The strain reported here represents a useful novel engineering platform for developing an environment-friendly system for bioethanol production from a corn substrate.
6-Phytase ; metabolism ; Biofuels ; Ethanol ; chemistry ; Fermentation ; Industrial Microbiology ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; metabolism ; Starch ; chemistry ; Zea mays ; chemistry

SUMMARY To describe the first case of leiomyosarcoma of the tibia with multiple skeletal metastases in China. A 31-year-old woman was referred to Peking University People’s Hospital for evaluation of a lesion on the proximal left tibia. The radiographic examination showed the lesion had a moth-eaten destructive appearance with ill-defined border and soft tissue extension. The tumor is isointense to muscle on T1-weighed images and heterogeneous and of high signal on T2-weighed images. Technetium-99m bone scintigraphy demonstrated multiple markedly increased skeletal radioisotope uptake. The tibia lesion was surgically removed. Microscopically, tumor cells consisted of spindle shaped cells, arranged in bundles, with cigar-shaped and blunt-ended nuclei. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the tumor cells were positive for smooth muscle antigen (SMA) and caldesmon. It should be cautious to make the diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma arising in bone. After excluding metastasizing leiomyosarcoma of gastrointestinal tract, urinary system and uterus, the final diagnosis relies on immunohistochemical analysis, however, other spindle cell sarcomas have to be differentially diagnosed.

Aim To investigate the effects of TSG on the content of nitric oxide and the expression of endo-thelium nitric oxide synthase in artery vessels of experimental atherosclerotic rats.Methods Sixty male rats were randomly divided into six groups.GroupⅠ,Normal control;GroupⅡ,Model control;Group Ⅲ,TSG low dose;Group Ⅳ,TSG middle dose;GroupⅤ,TSG high dose;group Ⅵ,Simvastatin.After 12 weeks,blood samples were collected from carotid arteries of rats,and the levels of NO in serum were measured.After that,the aortas were separated from the bodies and placed in-70℃,then the content of nitric oxide synthase was detected,and gene expression of eNOS and iNOSmRNA in artery vessels were respectively measured with RT-PCR method.STATA 8.0 software was adopted in date analysis..Results compared with those of the model group,the level of NO,the activity of NOS and the gene expression of eNOS were increased,and the gene expression of iNOS was reduced by simvastatin and TSG 30,60,120 mg?kg-1?d-1 in the high cholesterol-fed rats,which showed a dose-dependent effect.Conclusion TSG can enhance the expression of eNOS gene and reduce the expression of iNOS gene in aorta vessels of experimental atherosclerotic rats,which may be one of the anti-atherosclerosis mechanisms of TSG.

AIM: To select differentially the expressed gene,glucose regulated protein 78(GRP78),to observe the expression of GRP78 in atherosclerosis tissue and to elucidate the mechanism for anti-atherosclerosis of puerarin.METHODS: The model was established by using homocysteinemia in vitro.The vascular endothelial cells were incubated with various concentrations of puerarin(10 -7 mol/L,10 -6 mol/L,10 -5 mol/L) for 48 h.The apoptosis rate was detected by flow cytometry using Annexin/PI-staining.GRP78 gene was amplificated by PCR.These differentially expressed fragments were cloned,selected,confirmed,and sequenced.Digoxigenin-labeled DNA Probe and cholesterol-rich rabit model were prepared,GRP78 mRNA was determined by in situ hybridization in atherosclerotic lesions and normal tissue.RESULTS: Three concentrtions of puerarin significantly inhibited the apoptosis of endothelial cells.The early apoptosis rate was decreased magnificently in a dose dependent manner compared with that of HCY group (P