BACKGROUND: As a reliable marker of inflammation, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) plays an important role in atherogenesis. Recently, it is assumed in researches of recent years that chronic inflammation mediated by ICAM-1 is involved in hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy probably, but there are still some objections reported. Tanshinone ⅡA is a kind of liposoluble extract from danshen(Radix Salviae Mitiorrhizae) . It is verified in animal experiment that it can inhibit hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between ICAM-1 and hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy and the effect of tanshinone ⅡA on expression of ICAM-1.DESIGN:A randomized controlled observation was designed.SETTING: Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology.MATERIALS: The experiment was performed in the Laboratory of Emergency Department of Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology from October 2002 to January 2004. Ten male WKY rats(10 WKY rats) of 12-week-old and 20 rats with spontaneous hypertension(20 SHR rats) were employed and divided into the control group(10 WKY rats), hypertension group(10 SHR rats) and tanshinone ⅡA group(10 SHR rats).injected from caudal vein for treatment and distilled water at the same dose was injected in the other two groups. Twelve weeks later, the rats were sacrificed and myocardium was collected for specimen preparation. Haematoxylin and eosin(HE) staining, VG staining, immunocytochemical staining and myocardial ED1 labeling were applied to determine myocardial macrophage infiltration degree. The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) were used to determine the expressions of ICAM-1 mRNA and protein.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Degree of macrophages infiltration and the expressions of ICAM-1 mRNA and protein in myocardium in each group.RESULTS: Twelve SHR and 10 WKY rats were employed in the experiment pared with the control group, ICAM-1 mRNA and protein expressions in hypertrophic myocardium were increased significantly in hypertension group (0.176±0.087,0.537±0.195;0.104±0.011,0.173±0.027, P ＜0.01or P ＜ 0.05) . Infiltration of macrophage was significant(0. 62 ±0.07,non Ⅱ A group, the expressions of ICAM-1 mRNA and protein were decreased significantly(0. 537 ±0. 195, 0.291 ±0. 106; 0. 173 ±0.027, 0. 125± 0. 014, P ＜ 0.01 or P ＜ 0. 05); the amount of macrophages infiltration was decreased(1.85 ±0. 23, 1.16 ±0. 17, P ＜ 0.05) and the degree of cardiomyocytic hypertrophy and interstitial fibrosis was remarkably relieved.CONCLUSION: Excessive expression of myocardial ICAM-1 and its mediated inflammatory cellular infiltration plays an important role in hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy. The inhibition of tanshinone ⅡA on left ventricular hypertrophy may be contributed to decreased expression of ICAM-1 and alleviated inflammatory cellular infiltration in myocardium.

0.05).The activity of Na~+-K~+ ATPase in SMO group was significantly higher than that in HTK group at 72 h(P

Commensal microorganisms that colonize barrier surfaces of all multicellular organisms exist in harmony with their hosts and have an important effect on both immune and non-immune functions of their hosts. Numerous researches have shown that gastrointestinal microbiota being one of the most important commensal microorganisms plays a critical role in the occurrence, development and treatment of cancer. As-signing causal roles in cancer to specific microbes and microbiotas, unraveling host-microbiota interactions with environmental factors in carcinogenesis, and applying such knowledge to cancer diagnosis and treatment are areas of intensive interest. This review considers how microbes and the microbiota may amplify or miti-gate carcinogenesis, responsiveness to cancer therapeutics, and cancer-associated complications.

Objective To study the distribution of K15 alleles of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) in Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in Xinjiang,and to investigate the relationship between clinical profiles of KS and alleles of HHV-8 K15.Methods HHV-8 DNA was extracted with phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol from 27 formalin-fixed,paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of KS.The HHV-8 K15 gene was amplified by nested- PCR,and sequenced for the identification of K15 allele.Results HHV-8 DNA could be detected in 22 (81.48%) out of 27 KS patients in Xinjiang.HHV-8 DNA was detected in all 4 patients with AIDS-related KS.Twenty viral strains were identified as P type,including all 4 from the AIDS-related KS patients;two strains were identified as M type,which were all from the classical KS patients.Conclusions In KS,most of HHV-8 K15 alleles are P type,and some are M type.The 4 patients with AIDS-related KS all carried P type of K15 allele.

Objective:To investigate the polymorphism of HLA-DQA1 genes in Jing nationality of Central Vietnam.Methods:Applied PCR-SSP tecnique to determine the polymorphism of the HLA-DQA1 alleles of 105 healthy children and youth,unrelated individuals in Central of Vietnam.Results:10 HLA-DQA1 alleles were detected of which DQA1*0104 were the most common allele with frequency of 21.3% and lowest frequency is DQA1*0601.Conclusion:The results indicate that HLA-DQA1 alleles polymorphism of Jing nationality in Central Vietnam is different from the other Chinese. [

Objective To investigate the correlation of pretreatment serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen(SCCAg)with the clinico-pathological features of squamous cell carcinoma of uterine cervix and its significance as a prognostic factor.Methods One hundred and fourteen patients of squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix(Ⅰbl-Ⅱa),who underwent pretreatment serum SCCAg evaluation and long-term follow-up after treatment were selected for this study.Clinical data were used to investigate the correlation between SCCAg and clinico-pathological features and factors that influence prognosis through univariate and multivariate analysis.Results Univariate analysis showed elevation of SCCAg(using≤1.5 mg/L as the cut-off value)was correlated with tumor size,deep stromal invasion and pelvic node metastasis (P0.05).However,between no pelvic node metastasis+elevated SCCAg cases and no pelvic node metastasis+normal SCCAg cases,there was a significant difference in DFS (71.8% vs 98.0%,P=0.003),recurrence rate(33.3% vs 9.8%,P=0.006)and local recurrence (26.5% vs 2.1%,P=0.001).Conelusions The independent prognostic factors for Ⅰ bl-Ⅱa squamous cell carcinoma of uterine cervix include elevated pretreatment SCCAg and pelvic node metastasis. Patients with elevated pretreatment serum SCCAg and no metastasis to pelvic lymph node(s)are at significantly elevated risk of local recurrence,and therefore need individualized treatment to improve local control and long-term survival.

?ig-h_3 was first identified as a transforming growth factor-beta1-inducible gene in human lung adenocarcinoma cell line. It encodes for a secreted extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, which is thought to act on cell attachment and ECM composition. Previous study showed that ?ig-h_3 were highly expressed in human hepatoma cell lines and lowly expressed in human normal hepatic cells. The present study aimed to transfect ?ig-h_3 into 7721 cells to investigate its effect on secretion of MMPs in the transfected human hepatoma cells. Full-length ?ig-h_3 gene,cloned by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector pEGFP-C_2. The recombinant plasmid was transfected into 7721 cells with Lipofectamine2000 and Gelatin-Zymography were adopted to detect the production of MMPs in the transfected cells. Results showed that ?ig-h_3/pEGFP-C_2 recombinant expression plasmid was successfully constructed and achieved high transfection efficiency. MMPs expression of the transfected cells was promoted significantly. These results suggest that overexpression of ?ig-h_3 promoted the production of MMPs, indicating that ?ig-h_3 may play roles in the invasive and metastatic processes of hepatoma.

Poly ?-glutamate is a biopolymer material that has a good application prospect.The Vitreoscilla hemoglobin(VHb) gene was integrated into the chromosome of Bacillus licheniformis WX-02 by integrative vector pDG1730-vgb.The expression of VHb was confirmed by CO-difference spectra analysis.It was shown by the results of batch cultures in a 3 L bioreactor that biomass and ?-PGA obtained in the recombinant M2 were 25.5 % and 20% higher than those of the control respectively.

BACKGROUND: Paraquat (PQ) is an effective herbicide and is widely used in agricultural production, but PQ poisoning is frequently seen in humans with the lung as the target organ. Clinically pulmonary pathological changes are often used to predict the severity and prognosis of the patients. In this study, we observed the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in rat lung after PQ poisoning and to investigate the therapeutic effects of ulinastatin. METHODS: Seventy-two adult healthy SD rats were randomly divided into a control group (group A, n=24), a poisoning group (group B, n=24), and an ulinastatin group (group C, n=24). The rat models of acute PQ poisoning were established by intra-gastric administration of 80 mg/kg PQ to rats of groups B and C, and the rats of group C were intra-peritoneally injected with 100000 IU/kg ulinastatin 30 minutes after poisoning. The expression of HSP70 in lung tissue was observed, and W/D and histopathological changes in the lung tissue were compared 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after poisoning. The expression of HSP70 in the lung tissue was assayed by using RT-PCR. All quantitative data were processed with one-way analysis of variance to compare multiple sample means. RESULTS: Compared to group A, the expression of HSP70 in the lung of rats in groups B and C increased significantly at all intervals (P<0.05). The pathological changes in lung tissue of rats with PQ poisoning included congestion, leukocytes infiltration and local hemorrhage, whereas those of group C were significantly lessened. CONCLUSION: Ulinastatin may ameliorate acute lung injury to some extent after PQ poisoning in rats by enhancing the expression of HSP70.

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and premature coronary heart disease (PCHD) patients with blood stasis syndrome (BSS).

METHODSrs4343, rs4293, and rs4267385 were selected at SNP from ACE gene. Allele and genotype were detected. Frequencies of allele and genotype were compared by using time-of-flight mass spectrometry technique (TOF-MS).

RESULTSCompared with the healthy control group, genotype of rs4293 and rs4267385 in ACE gene were similar, but there was statistical difference in polymorphisms and allele frequencies of rs4343 in the I and II group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The frequency of G allele was higher in the 3 groups than in the healthy control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The relative risk analysis showed that the risk for PCHD occurrence in G allele carriers at rs4343 (GG +AG) was 3. 6 times the risk in non-G allele carriers (95% CI: 1.224-10.585, P = 0.02). There was also statistical difference in sex, age, TC, and TG after adjusted Logistic regression analysis (OR = 3.994, 95% CI: 1.230-12.974, P = 0.021).

CONCLUSIONThe polymorphism at rs4343 (G2350A) might be one of risk factors for PCHD occurrence, but not a predisposing factor for PCHD patients of BSS.

Alleles ; Case-Control Studies ; Coronary Artery Disease ; genetics ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Risk Factors