OBJECTIVETo improve the diagnosis and treatment of penile metastasis from rectal carcinoma.

METHODSWe reported a case of penile metastasis secondary to rectal adenocarcinoma, reviewed the relevant literature, and discussed the common origins, clinical features, pathogenic mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

RESULTSThe patient was a 54-year-old male, with metastatic penile tumors secondary to rectal adenocarcinoma, with serious adhesion to the surrounding tissue and metastasis to the liver. As treatment, we performed colostomy to relieve voiding difficulty, followed by combination chemotherapy with oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and levofolinate. The patient died 10 months later as a result of systemic failure.

CONCLUSIONPenile metastatic malignancy has a poor prognosis. Early diagnosis and combined and individualized therapies may improve the quality of life, relieve pain and prolong the life of the patient.

Adenocarcinoma ; secondary ; therapy ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Combined Modality Therapy ; methods ; Fluorouracil ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; secondary ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Organoplatinum Compounds ; administration & dosage ; Penile Neoplasms ; secondary ; therapy ; Quality of Life ; Rectal Neoplasms ; pathology

Objective To make a further understanding of mammographic features of simple cyst of the breast (SCB).Methods Molybdenum target radiographic signs in 39 cases with SCB proved pathologically and were retrospectively analyzed. Results Of the 56 SCB in 39 cases, 23 were diagnosed rightly as SCB, 10 as fibroadenoma, 2 as cancer and the remaining 4 were undefined. The diagnostic accuracy and misdiagnosis were 59.0% and 41.0% respectively. Radiograph showed round in 12, ovoid in 38, mild lobed in 4 and comet tail form in 2. The borders of cyst were distinct and sharp in 26, distinct partly and indistinct partly in 27,indistinct completely in 3. The density was homogeneous in 54 with calcifications in 2. Of the 56 SCB, the length axes of cyst were upright to chest wall in 20 and towards nipple in 18. The cysts could be transformed with pressure in 4.Conclusion Careful analysis of radiographic features of SCB is helpful for diagnosing accurately this disease.

In order to establish the stable andreliable ISSR-PCR System of Lysimachia christinae, L16 (4(5)) orthogonal design, which based on 7 levels of single factor experiment, were used in this study. The variance analysis was carried out by SPSS 19.0, and 5 main factors affecting the reaction system were optimized in 4 levels. The best annealing temperature was selected by the optimized reaction system. And the stability and reliability of this system was tested by 23 samples from different origins. The results showed that the five factors (DNA template, primer, dNTP, Mg2+ and Taq enzyme) were the most impacts on the amplified results of ISSR-PCR of L. christinae. The order of the influence was: primer > Taq enzyme > DNA template > Mg2+ > dNTP. The optimal system, which was determined by multiple comparison on different levels of each factor, was total volume of 25 microL, including DNA template 60 ng, primer 0.3 micromol x L(-1), dNTP 0.2 mmol x L(-1), Mg2+ 1.8 mmol x L(-1), Taq enzyme 1.25 U. The optimal system was stable and reliable tested by 23 samples from different origins. This study lays the foundation for genetic diversity analysis, fine varieties selection and molecular identification of L. christinae, and provides reference for optimization on ISSR-PCR system of other speciesin future.
DNA Primers ; genetics ; DNA, Plant ; genetics ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; classification ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Primulaceae ; classification ; genetics ; Quality Control

In order to develop characteristic folk medicine resources in Jiangxi, a pharmacognostical study was systematically performed for four different origin plants of Sikuaiwa, the result of study provides the microscopic features of powder and tissue of the crude drug. The research provided reference for the identification of Sikuaiwa, as well as a theoretical basis for the further development and the formulation of quality standards.
Magnoliopsida ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Medicine, Traditional ; Plants, Medicinal ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; growth & development

This study was designed to explore the RNA interference technique in inhibition of the expression of the mouse fibrinogen like protein 2 (mfgl2), which has been reported to be involved in the development a variety of diseases including fulminant viral hepatitis. A plasmid named p-mfgl2shRNA,complementary to the sequence of mfgl2 was constructed, while another short hairpin RNA (shRNA)which was a mutated form of the mfgl2shRNA sequences was used as a control. A plasmid named pEGFP-mfgl2 expressing the mfgl2-EGFP fusion protein was also constructed for the screening of the effect of p-mfgl2shRNA on mfgl2 expression. By cotransfection of p-mfgl2shRNA and pEGFP-mfgl2 or pcDNA3.1-mfgl2 expression construct into CHO cells or HeLa cells, the inhibition of mfgl2 expression by mfgl2shRNA was analyzed by direct observation through fluorescent microscopy, FACS, RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry staining. The experiments showed the significant inhibitory effect of p-mfgl2shRNA on mfgl2 expression at 48h post-transfection in both CHO and Hela cell lines with the inhibitory efficiency as high as 80.1%. The study demonstrated that the construct of p-mfgl2shRNA successfully interfered with the mfgl2 expression in vitro.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the protective effect of noninvasive limb ischemic preconditioning (N-LIP) on acute lung injury (ALT) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats. METHODS: Fifteen female SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, an acute lung injury group (ALI group), an acute lung injury and noninvasive limb ischemic preconditioning group (ALI+N-LIP group). After ALI rats were treated with N-LIP, the changes of airway resistance (AR) and dynamic compliance (Cdyn) were tested by invasive pulmonary function system and recorded. Blood samples and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected, the amounts of white blood cell (WBC) in BALF were counted by cytometry, and the level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in BALF was also examined by automatic biochemistry analyzer. The level of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyd (MDA) was examined by chromatometry. The lung tissues were acquired to observe the expression of pulmonary surfactant-associated protein-A (SP-A) and pathological changes. RESULTS: After being stimulated by methacholine (Mch), the increasing rate of AR and decreasing rate of Cdyn in the ALI+N-LIP group were less than those in the ALI group (P<0.01). The levels of WBC and LDH in BALF in the ALI+N-LIP group were much lower than those in the ALI group (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the activity of serum SOD in the ALI+N-LIP group was higher, and the level of serum MDA was lower than that in the ALI group (P<0.05). The expression of SP-A in the lung tissue in the ALI+N-LIP group was the highest in the 3 groups, while that in the ALI group was the weakest (P<0.01). Injury of the lung tissue in the ALI+N-LIP group was less than that in the ALI group, but more severe than that in the control group. CONCLUSION N-LIP has protective effect on acute lung injury induced by LPS in rats. The possible mechanism is related to improving the secretion of SP-A and antioxidation.
Acute Lung Injury ; chemically induced ; complications ; prevention & control ; Animals ; Female ; Ischemia ; complications ; physiopathology ; Ischemic Preconditioning ; methods ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Lower Extremity ; blood supply ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Laron syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by defects of growth hormone receptor (GHR) gene. It is characterized by severe postnatal growth retardation and characteristic facial features as well as high circulating levels of growth hormone (GH) and low levels of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3). This report described the clinical features and GHR gene mutations in 2 siblings with Laron syndrome in a Chinese family. Their heights and weights were in the normal range at birth, but the growth was retarded after birth. When they presented to the clinic, the heights of the boy (8 years old) and his sister (11 years old) were 80.0 cm (-8.2 SDS) and 96.6 cm (-6.8 SDS) respectively. They had typical appearance features of Laron syndrome such as short stature and obesity, with protruding forehead, saddle nose, large eyes, sparse and thin silky hair and high-pitched voice. They had higher basal serum GH levels and lower serum levels of IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and growth hormone binding protein (GHBP) than normal controls. The peak serum GH level after colonidine and insulin stimulations in the boy was over 350 ng/mL. After one-year rhGH treatment, the boy's height increased from 80.0 cm to 83.3 cm. The gene mutation analysis revealed that two patients had same homozygous mutation of S65H (TCA -->CCA) in exon 4, which is a novel gene mutation. It was concluded that a definite diagnosis of Laron syndrome can be made based on characteristic appearance features and serum levels of GH, IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and GHBP. The S65H mutation might be the cause of Laron syndrome in the two patients.
Base Sequence ; Carrier Proteins ; blood ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Laron Syndrome ; genetics ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutation, Missense ; Receptors, Somatotropin ; genetics

mPem, a homeobox gene, is expressed in a time and stage specific manner during murine ontogeny. Pem transcripts are abundant in 7- and 8-day mouse embryos, but decrease precipitously thereafter. On Day 9 they become abundant in placenta and yolk sac, persisting there until parturition. Although Pem transcripts are not detectable in most of adult tissues, they are present in reproductive system such as testis, epididymis and ovary. This indicates a important role for Pem during embryogenesis and reproductive development. To study the function of mPem protein, we used a GAL4 based yeast two-hybrid assay to screen a 7-day mouse embryo library with full-length of mPem. 3 proteins were found interacting with mPem protein. One of theses is Mdfic. We confirmed the interaction between mPem and Mdfic in yeast and in vitro. Mdfic, MyoD family inhibitor domain containing, encodes the myoD family inhibitor domain (I-mfa domain). The interaction between mPem and Mdfic suggested they maybe form the transcriptional regulator complex to regulate embryo differentiation.
Animals ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Embryonic Development ; Female ; Genes, Homeobox ; genetics ; Homeodomain Proteins ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Mice ; Pregnancy ; Protein Binding ; Transcription Factors ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Two-Hybrid System Techniques

AIMTo explore the characteristic of ATP-activated current in trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons of rat.

METHODSWhole-cell patch-clamp was performed.

RESULTS(1) The majority (92.1%) of TG neurons responded to ATP applied externally with inward currents. We recorded three distinct ATP-activated currents: fast, slow and intermediate, which were concentration-dependent. (2) In general, the fast ATP-activated currents were distributed mainly in small-diameter TG neurons, the slow ATP-activated currents were distributed mainly in large-diameter TG neurons, and the intermediate ATP-activated currents were distributed mainly in intermediate-diameter TG neurons. (3) The time course of rising phase from 10% to 90% of the three distinct ATP-activated currents were as follows: fast: (33.6 +/- 4.5) ms; intermediate: (62.2 +/- 9.9) ms; slow: (302.1 +/- 62.0) ms, and that of desensitizing phase were (399.4 +/- 58.2) ms (fast), and > 500 ms (slow) respectively. (4) From the current-voltage relationship curves, it can be seen that the reversal potential values of the three distinct ATP-activated currents were the same, all being 0-5mV. And they all were characterized by inward rectification. (5) The dose-response curve for fast ATP-activated current shifted downwards as compared with the intermediate ATP-activated current, and that for the slow ATP-activated current shifted upwards.

CONCLUSIONThe EC50s of the three curves tended to be identical. The results suggested that three kinds of distinct ATP-activated currents could be mediated by various subtypes of P2X receptors assembled by different subunits, and the subtypes existed in TG neurons of different diameters and transmit different information.

Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; Membrane Potentials ; Neurons ; physiology ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Purinergic P2 ; metabolism ; Trigeminal Ganglion ; physiology

OBJECTIVEThis study examined the effects of PI3K inhibitor LY294002 on the differentiation of mouse preadipocytes and the expression of CCAAT enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα) and peroxisome proliferation activated receptor γ (PPARγ), in order to study the possible roles of insulin receptor substrate (IRSs)/PI3K signal pathway in the differentiation of preadipocytes.

METHODSThe mouse 3T3-L1 cells were cultured normally and divided into experimental and control groups. 3T3-L1 cells in the experimental group were treated with PI3K inhibitor LY294002 (25 μmol/L) and those in the control group were treated with DMSO culture medium. 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) (0.5 mmol/L), dexamethasone (10-6 mol/L) and insulin (5 μg/mL) were used to induce the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes in both groups. Before culture, and 2, 4 and 8 days after culture, the cells were collected to detect the expression of C/EBPα and PPARγ by real-time PCR and Western blot assays. The lipid droplets of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were observed by oil-red O staining.

RESULTSPI3K inhibitor LY294002 did not affect the expression of C/EBPα and PPARγ in un-induced 3T3-L1 preadipocytes (P>0.05), but decreased the expression of C/EBPα and PPARγ during the in vitro induced differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes compared with the control group (P<0.05 or 0.01). The lipid droplets count was greatly reduced by LY294002.

CONCLUSIONSPI3K inhibitor LY294002 can inhibit the differentiation of mouse 3T3-LI preadipocytes and the expression of C/EBPα and PPARγ in the differentiation of 3T3-LI preadipoeytes, suggesting that IRSs/PI3K signal pathway may play an important role in the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes by regulating the expression of C/EBPα and PPARγ.

3T3-L1 Cells ; Adipocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; Animals ; CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-alpha ; analysis ; genetics ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Chromones ; pharmacology ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; Mice ; Morpholines ; pharmacology ; PPAR gamma ; analysis ; genetics ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis