BACKGROUND: Impairment of relaxing response and augmentation of contractile response to vasoactive substances have been reported in atherosclerotic arteries. These alterations in vascular reactivity are considered as an underlying mechanism for the development of acute vasospasm in atherosclerotic coronary artery. Recently, it has been reported that lysophophatidylcholine (LPC), an oxidative metabolite of low density lipoprotein causes this functional abnormality. However, the precise mechanism of LPC induced change of vascular reactivity is still uncertain. METHOD: In this study, to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of abnormal vascular reactivity in atherosclerotic coronary artery, we examined the effect of LPC on whole cell K+current using patch clamping technique in rabbit coronary smooth muscle cells. RESULTS: Application of LPC(1microM) showed dual effect on whole cell outward current which depends on the magnitude of test potentials. At relatively high depolarizing test potentials (> 10 mV), LPC increased amplitude of outward current which was blocked by Gd3+ not by iberiotoxin (100 nM) and TEA (1 mM). Reversal potential of this Gd3+sensitive, LPC-induced current was -9.7 +/- 0.6 mV. At less depolarizing test potentials (< 10 mV), LPC decreased whole cell K+currents in a dose dependent manner (from 0.01 to 10 microM) in the range of -30 mV to +0 mV. Half maximal inhibition of K+current was 1.509 microM at 0 mV test potential (n =5). Depolarizing holding potential (0 mV) prevented this LPC-induced inhibition of K+current. Steady state activation and inactivation parameters of K+current were significantly shifted to the positive direction by application of LPC (p < 0.01, n =8). Pretreatment of staurosporine (100 nM), a blocker of protein kinase C partially blocked LPC-induced decrease of K+currents. CONCLUSION: LPC-induced inhibition of voltage dependent K+current may explain abnormal vascular reactivity in atherosclerotic coronary artery.
Arteries ; Constriction ; Coronary Vessels ; Lipoproteins ; Lysophosphatidylcholines* ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle* ; Protein Kinase C ; Staurosporine ; Tea

AIMTo fabricate multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWNT) modified electrode and study the electrochemical behaviors of diethylstilbestrol at the MWNT-modified electrode.

METHODSCyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry.

RESULTSThe oxidation peak current of diethylstilbestrol increased remarkably and the peak potential shifted negatively at the MWNT-dihexadecyl hydrogen phosphate (DHP) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE), in contrast to that at the bare GC electrode and DHP-modified GC electrode. The oxidation peak current is linear with the concentration of diethylstilbestrol over the range from 1 x 10(-8) to 2 x 10(-6) mol.L-1. The detection limit was 2.5 x 10(-9) mol.L-1. The relative standard deviation (n = 10) was 2.9% for 1 x 10(-6) mol.L-1 diethylstilbestrol.

CONCLUSIONThe MWNT-DHP modified GCE exhibits catalytic activity to the oxidation of diethylstilbestrol.

Carbon ; chemistry ; Diethylstilbestrol ; analysis ; chemistry ; Electrochemistry ; Electrodes ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Nanotechnology

Aim To investigate the protective effects of nicorandil, glutamine and metoprolol used in single and combination on the antiapoptosis ability of cardio-cytes and the expression of HSP70 after myocardial is-chemia/reperfusion injury in rats. Methods Male Wistar rats were divided randomly into seven groups:( 1 ) Sham group:in which the coronary artery was not roped;(2) I/R group:in which only 30 min ischemia and 120 min reperfusion of LAD was executed; ( 3 ) Nicorandil group; ( 4 ) Glutamine group; ( 5 ) Meto-prolol group; ( 6 ) Nic + Glu + Met ( NGM ) group;(7) low dose of Nic+Glu+Met ( NGML) group. In the pharmacological precondition groups, correspond-ing drugs were administered 30 min before I/R proto-col, and the initial drug dose in each group was 1 mg ·kg-1 . Myocardial apoptotic rates were measured with TUNEL ( terminal dexynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling) , and the expression of apop-tosis related proteins-Bcl-2/Bax and protective pro-tein-HSP70 was detected by Western blot. ResultsIn I/R group, the apoptotic rate in ischemic region was very high ( 36.9% ± 10.3%) , and Bcl-2/Bax was very low ( 0.14 ±0.08 ) . Compared with I/R group, the apoptotic rate of pharmacological precondition groups was decreased significantly ( P <0.01 ) , and the ratio of Bcl-2 to Bax was raised ( P<0.01 ) . Com-pared with Sham group, the expression of HSP70 in-creased significantly ( P<0.01 ) in I/R group. Com-pared with IR group, the expression of HSP70 of phar-macological precondition groups was elevated ( P <0.01 ) , and the expression in NGM group was higher than in the single drug group ( P<0.01 ) . Conclusion Compared with single therapy after I/R in rat, the combination therapy of nicorandil, glutamine, meto-prolol can decrease the apoptotic rate, and the expres-sion of apoptosis related proteins is developed. In the mean time, the expression of protective protein HSP70 is elevated.

Objective To establish the first national standard of Cystatin C.Methods The candidate standard was prepared from human recombinant Cystatin C,diluted and dispensed aseptically.Homogeneity and stability study were carried out on the automated biochemical analyzer.The target value was assigned by six laboratories using widely recognized immumoassay under strict conditions,and traceable to ERM-DA471.Commutabilities of the candidate standard and its saline dilutions were evaluated according to EP14-Evaluation of Matrix Effects.Excel 2007 was used to analyze the results.Results The preparation had good immunological activity and was proved to be homogeneous and stable (6 months sealed at 2-8 ℃,30 days sealed at room temperature and 37 ℃,30 days open-vial at 2-8 ℃).The assigned value of the preparation was (4.47 ± 0.25) mg/L (coverage factor k =2).The candidate standard and/or its saline dilutions have commutability on the 10 evaluated systems.Conclusion The preparation meets the requirements of national secondary standard and could be used in quality control and evaluation of Cystatin C assays in China.

This essay is to make brief comments on the Nitinol vascular stents fatigue lifetime requirements, finite element analysis and fatigue lifetime tests etc.
Alloys ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis ; Finite Element Analysis ; Materials Testing ; Stents

Aim To investigate the effects of dioscin ( Dio) on rat myocardial contractility. Methods Left ventricular contractile function was measured using the Langendorff non-recirculating mode of isolated rat heart perfusion. Effects of low, middle and high concentra-tion of Dio were investigated by measuring left ventricu-lar systolic pressure ( LVSP ) and left ventricular end diastolic pressure ( LVEDP) . Also, peak rates of rise/fall of left ventricular pressure ( ± dp/dtmax ) of isolated rat heart were calculated. Effects of Dio on intracellu-lar free calcium concentration in rat H9 c2 cells were measured by using the confocal microscopy. Mitochon-drial membrane potential was detected with multifunc-tional microplate reader. Results With 0. 1, 1 μmol · L-1 Dio, LVSP were significantly enhanced from (11. 55 ± 0. 52), (10. 53 ± 0. 28) kPa to (13. 08 ± 0. 72), (12. 53 ±0. 64) kPa(P<0. 01); +dp/dtmax were dramatically increased from ( 0. 38 ± 0. 10 ) , (0. 40 ± 0. 07) kPa·ms-1 to (0. 42 ± 0. 11), (0. 43 ± 0. 02) kPa·ms-1(P<0. 05). With the 10μmol· L-1 Dio, LVSP and + dp/dtmax were both decreased from (12. 13 ± 0. 33) kPa and (0. 42 ± 0. 04) kPa· ms-1 to ( 9. 46 ± 0. 77 ) kPa and ( 0. 24 ± 0. 04 ) kPa ·ms-1 (P <0. 01). With 0. 1, 1, 10 μmol·L-1 Dio, the relative fluorescence intensity of intracellular free calcium concentrations was increased significantly from (16. 62 ± 0. 89) to (21. 48 ± 0. 80), (25. 68 ± 0. 69) and (19. 84 ± 0. 66)(P <0. 01)respectively. 0. 1, 1μmol·L-1 Dio showed no significant effects on the mitochondrial membrane potential of rat H9 c2 cells, while with effects of 10 μmol·L-1 Dio, the ra-tio of JC-1 monomer and J-aggregates was changed from (1. 14 ± 0. 03) to (1. 35 ± 0. 06)(P<0. 01), indica-ting a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane poten-tial. Conclusion Low and middle concentrations of Dio show a positive inotropic effect on isolated rat heart, as the LVSP and + dp/dtmax are enhanced, which may concern with the increase of the intracellu-lar concentration of Ca2+. It will not cause the calcium overload while the intracellular concentration of Ca2+ is increased by low and middle concentration of Dio in the myocytes except high concentration of Dio.

OBJECTIVETo explore ginseng fermentation process by Lactobacillus plantarum, and to make part of total saponins transformed into more reactive ginsenoside Rd.

METHODMicrobial fermentation was carried out by still dark culture. Total saponins were extracted by Soxhlet extraction, and determined by UV visible spectrophotometry with colours reaction by vanillin-sulfuric acid. Ginsenoside Rd was determined by HPLC method.

RESULTThe fermentation process was: MRS medium, 35 degrees C, pH 5.0, cultured for 2 days. The content of total saponins was inhance 32%, and the content of ginsenoside Rd was increased 4.864 mg x g(-1).

CONCLUSIONThe fermentation system's process was reasonable, and it's suitable for mass production, important significance for ginsenoside microbial transformation.

Biotransformation ; Culture Media ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Ginsenosides ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Lactobacillus plantarum ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Molecular Structure

This retrospective analysis compared standard regimen of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) with the dose-dense ABVD regimen (ABVD-21) in terms of efficacy and toxicity. Patients who had early-stage unfavorable or advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) according to German Hodgkin Study Group criteria from March 1999 to February 2011 were analyzed for treatment response, long-term survival and hematological toxicity. There were 85 patients in the ABVD-21 group and 118 patients in the ABVD group respectively. The complete remission rates after completion of treatment were 92.9% and 90.7% for ABVD-21 and ABVD, respectively. During a median follow-up period of 62 months, no significant difference was found in projected 10-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates (84.7% and 94.1% respectively for ABVD-21; 81.4% and 91.5% for ABVD). Subgroup analyses showed that ABVD-21 was significantly better than ABVD for patients with IPS≥3 in terms of PFS and OS rates. Grade 3 to 4 leukopenia (51.8% vs. 28.8%, P=0.001) and neutropenia (57.6% vs. 39.0%, P=0.009) were more common with ABVD-21. We were led to conclude that dose-dense ABVD did not result in better tumor control and overall survival than did ABVD for early-stage unfavorable HL. However, patients at high risk, for example, with IPS≥3, may benefit from dose-dense ABVD.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is the causative agent of reproductive failure and respiratory disorders in pigs. The viral genome consists of eight overlapping open reading frames (ORFs). ORF5 encodes one of the major glycoproteins and is known as an immunologically important structural protein associated with virus neutralization. The ORF5 gene of the Korean PRRSV isolate, CNV-1, was amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), cloned and sequenced. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of CNV-1 ORF5 shared 91% and 83% identity, respectively, with the American isolate (VR2332 strain) and 57% and 49% identity with the European isolate. For the expression and easy purification of ORF5, the cDNA containing the complete ORF5 sequence fused in-frame with sequence encoding glutathione S-transferase (GST) was cloned into a baculovirus transfer vector and transfected into Sf9 cells. The GST-ORF5 fusion protein produced in Sf9 cells was detected by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting. Sequencing results confirmed that the recombinant baculovirus from Sf9 cells contains the complete ORF5 gene. Further studies in this direction will address whether ORF5 can be a good candidate for a subunit vaccine against PRRSV in Korea.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Baculoviridae ; Blotting, Western ; Clone Cells ; DNA, Complementary ; Electrophoresis ; Genome, Viral ; Glutathione Transferase ; Glycoproteins ; Korea ; Open Reading Frames ; Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome ; Porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus ; Sequence Analysis ; Sf9 Cells ; Sodium ; Swine ; Viruses

PURPOSE: To explore how young adults in their 20s adjust to hemophilia. METHOD: Grounded theory method guided the data collection and analysis. A purposeful sample of 15 young adults with hemophilia participated during the period of 2000-2001. The data were collected by semi-structured individual interviews, focus group interviews, and participant observations. All interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Constant comparative analysis was employed to analyze the data. RESULT: "Living like a normal person" emerged as the basic social-psychological process. Two dimensions of the self were identified: normal self and abnormal self. "Living like a normal person" means conscious effort to focus on normal self rather than abnormal self. Five subcategories were identified : 1) pretending as if he is not hemophiliac; 2) relieving the burden; 3) maintaining best physical conditions; 4) becoming independent; and 5) reconciliating with their mothers. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that young adults with hemophilia strive for living a life as a normal person. But there is a question whether it is good for their ultimate quality of life. The results indicate that our society needs to be more tolerant to differences that hemophiliacs have.
Data Collection ; Focus Groups ; Grounded Theory ; Hemophilia A* ; Humans ; Methods ; Mothers ; Quality of Life ; Social Adjustment ; Young Adult*