Objective To investigate the difference of hypoxia-inducible factor 1a (HIF-1a) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in endometrial cancer and para-carcinoma tissues, and to explore the clinical significance of hypoxia and the two proteins in the development and progression of endometrial cancer. Methods From Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2012, 128 patients with endometrial cancer underwent surgery in Tongji Hospital of Tongji University. The expression of HIF-1a and VEGF in cancer tissues and paired para-carcinoma tissues was detected using immunohistochemical method. The patients were followed up regularly, and the relationship between the expression of HIF-1a and VEGF and the prognosis of the patients was analyzed. The hypoxic cell model of human endometrial cancer was constructed to detect the expression of HIF-1a and VEGF proteins and observe the cell proliferation, invasion and apoptosis. Results The positive rates of HIF-1a and VEGF in cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in the para-carcinoma tissues (both P<0.05). The positive rate of HIF-1a was higher in the patients with lymph node metastasis, high histological grade, maximal tumor dimeter=4 cm or positive progesterone receptor (all P<0.05). The positive rate of VEGF was higher in the patients with lymph node metastasis, high histological grade, deep myometrial invasion, maximal tumor dimeter=4 cm, positive estrogen receptor, positive progesterone receptor or high pathological stage (all P<0.05). The 5-year overall survival rate of the patients with negative HIF-1a was significantly higher than that of the patients with positive HIF-1a (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference in the 5-year overall survival rate between the patients with negative and positive VEGF (P>0.05). In the hypoxic cell model of human endometrial cancer, the expression levels of HIF-1a and VEGF were significantly increased, cell proliferation and invasion were significantly increased, and the cell apoptosis was significantly reduced (all P<0.05). Conclusion HIF-1a and VEGF are related to the progress of endometrial cancer, and positive expression of HIF-1a indicates a poor prognosis.

OBJECTIVETo observe the changes in Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs in brains of 3 month-old APPswe/PS1dE9 double transgenic mice after six-month intervention with curcumin, in order to discuss the neuroprotective effect of curcumin.

METHODAPPswe/PS1dE9dtg mice were randomly divided into the model group, the Rosiglitazone group (10 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and curcumin high (400 mg x kg9-1) x d(-1)), medium (200 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and low (100 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) dosage groups, with C57/BL6J mice of the same age and the same background in the normal control group. After 6 months, the immunohistochemical staining (IHC) and the Western blot method were used to observe the changes in positive cell of Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs in hippocampal CA1 area, their distribution and protein expressions.

RESULTBoth of the immunohistochemical staining and the Western blot method showed more positive cell of Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs in hippocampal CA1 area and higher protein expressions in the model group than the normal group (P < 0.01). IHC showed a lower result in the Rosiglitazone group than the model group (P < 0.05), while Western blot showed a much lower result (P < 0.01). The number of Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs positive cells and the protein expressions decreased in the curcumin high group, the medium group showed a significant decrease (P < 0.01), and the low dose group also showed reductions in the protein expressions of Aβ40 and Aβ42.

CONCLUSIONThe six-month intervention with curcumin can significantly reduce the expressions of hippocampal Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs in brains of APPswe/PS1dE9 double transgenic mice. Whether curcumin can impact Aβ cascade reaction by down-regulating expressions of Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs and show the neuroprotective effect needs further studies.

Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; genetics ; metabolism ; Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Curcumin ; administration & dosage ; Disease Models, Animal ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Transgenic ; Neuroprotective Agents ; administration & dosage ; Plant Extracts ; administration & dosage

A 2,4 -dichlorophenol degrading Pseudomonas strain GI241-1 was isolated from a soil sample. The dienelactone hydrolase gene, designated as dcpD which encodes dienelactone hydrolase involved in transforming cis-2-chloro-dienelactone into 2-chloromaleylacetic acid, was cloned from this bacterium strain. The gene cloning strategy was to construct genomic library after location of its neighbouring gene by Southem blot and to screen the aim transformant by dot blotting. Sequencing results showed that length of dcpD is 702bp. The sequence of dcpD and the deduced amino acid are different from the relative sequences registered in the GenBank.

Objective To explore the effects of the autoantibody against the second extracellular loop of ?3-adrenoceptor(?3AR)from children with heart failure on isolated cardiomyocytes of adult rats.Methods The synthetic peptide corresponding to the sequence of the se-cond extracellular loop(176-202 amino acid residues)of the human ?3AR was used as the antigen to screen the anti-?3AR autoantibodies from the sera of the 50 children with heart failure and 50 healthy children by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA);IgG in the children with heart failure of positive autoantibodies sera was purified.The effects of purified IgG per each group on contractile response of isolated cardiomyocytes of adult rats were observed using motion-edge detection system and double-provocation fluorescence photomultiplier system.Results Among the 50 children with heart failure,the anti-?3AR autoantibodies positive rate was 30%(15/50 cases),and ob-viously higher than that of healthy children[12%(6/50)cases,P

Human violent behavior is a complex behavior which is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. There is a trend in investigating the mechanism of violent behavior by using the genetic methods. This article reviews several candidate genes and advances in epigenetics which are associated with violent behavior. The prospects and significance of violent behavior research from the view of gene polymorphism and epigenetics are also discussed.
Aggression ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Forensic Genetics ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Violence

OBJECTIVETo investigate the influence of seasons, blood types and semen parameters on the cryosurvival rate of frozen-thawed spermatozoa from sperm donors.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed the influence of seasons, blood types, abstinence period, semen volume, sperm morphology, and pre-freeze sperm motility and concentration on the cryosurvival rate of frozen-thawed sperm in 4 088 semen samples from Shaanxi Human Sperm Bank.

RESULTSThe cryosurvival rate of the post-thaw sperm was correlated negatively with the progressive motility of the pre-freeze sperm (r = -0.262, P < 0.01), but positively with pre-freeze sperm concentration (r = 0.247, P < 0.01), and it was significantly higher in the 6-day abstinence group ([70.2 +/- 5.4]%) than in the other abstinence groups (P < 0.01), so was it in the normal sperm morphology rate > 20% group ([71.4 +/- 5.1]%) than in the others (P < 0.01). The survival rate of the post-thaw sperm was not correlated with seasons, blood types, and semen volume (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSperm motility, concentration and morphology and the abstinence period of sperm donors may be valuable predictors of the cryosurvival rate of post-thaw sperm, but no correlation was found between the survival rate and seasons, blood types and semen volume.

Adult ; Cryopreservation ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Semen Preservation ; Sperm Motility ; Spermatozoa ; Young Adult

Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic/diagnostic imaging* ; Endocarditis/diagnosis* ; Endocarditis, Bacterial/drug therapy* ; Humans

Objective To evaluate hemodynamic changes in liver treated by transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent-shunt(TIPSS)with hepatic computed tomography(CT)perfusion,Doppler ultrasound and portal vein pressure measurement,as well as the correlation among these methods.Methods Hepatic CT perfusion was performed in 9 cirrhotic patients one week before TIPSS and 72 hours after TIPSS. Intraoperative portal vein pressure was measured before and after portosystemic shunt establish.The follow- up hepatic CT perfusion were carried out in 3 cases at 3 months and 6 months postoperatively.The hemodynamic surveillance by Doppler ultrasound were performed in 48 hours and 3 months after TIPSS for 9 cases,and in 6 months after TIPSS for 6 cases.Two cases underwent venography and portal vein pressure measurement in 6 months after TIPSS treatment.Results The mean of portal vein perfusion(PVP),total hepatic blood flow(THBF),hepatic perfusion index(HPI)and portal vein free pressure(PVFP)before TIPSSwere(0.92?0.18)ml?min~(-1)?ml~(-1),(1.28?0.17)ml?min~(-1)?ml~(-1),(28?8)%,and (23.92?0.86)mmHg,respectively.In 72 hours after TIPSS,the mean of PVP,THBF,HPI and PVFP were(0.21?0.15)ml?min~(-1)?ml~(-1),(0.74?0.18)ml?min~(-1)?ml~(-1),(74 +13)%,and (12.62?1.54)mm Hg,respectively.After treatment,the mean of PVP was(0.49?0.05)ml?min~(-1)? ml~(-1)at 3 months and(0.57?0.03)ml?min~(-1)?ml~(-1)at 6 months,respectively.There was negative correlation between PVP and PVFP before TIPSS(r=0.678,P0.05).Moreover,a signifieant correlation was found between the degree of portal vein pressure decrease and portal vein perfusion decrease(r=0.867,P

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of compound qingqin liquid (CQL) on Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in rats with urate nephropathy, and to explore its renal protection mechanism.

METHODSTotally 55 SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, i.e., the normal control group (n =5), the model group (n =10), the positive drug group (n=10), and the high-, medium-, low-dose CQL groups (n=10) respectively. The urate nephropathy model was induced by intragastrically administering adenine and feeding yeast. Distilled water was intragastrically administered at the daily dose of 10 mL/kg to rats in the normal control group and the model group. Allopurinol was intragastrically administered at the daily dose of 9.33 mg/kg to rats in the positive control group. CQL was intragastrically administered at the daily dose of 3.77, 1.89, 0.94 g/kg to rats in the high-, medium-, and low-dose CQL groups. Rats of each group were executed in batches at the 4th and 6th week respectively. Their kidney tissues were taken out to determine the mRNA transcription level of TLR2 and TLR4 by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The protein expression level of TLR2 and TLR4 were determined by Western blot. The protein expression level of TLR4 was also detected by immunohistochemical assay.

RESULTSAt week 4 and 6, the protein expression of TLR2 and TLR4 as well as the mRNA transcription of TLR4 increased in the model group, when compared with the control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, there was no statistical difference in the transcription level of TLR2 mRNA or TLR4 mRNA among the 3 CQL groups (P > 0.05) at week 4 and 6. Additionally, at week 6, the protein expression of TLR4 and TLR2 could be reduced by CQL (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONCQL might protect kidney tissue against inflammatory injury by inhibiting the protein expression levels of TLR2 and TLR4.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Kidney ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Kidney Diseases ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Toll-Like Receptor 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Uric Acid

The objective of study was to explore the influence of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) on migration of cord blood CD34(+) cells and their mechanism of migration. The expressions of receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), toll-like receptor-2 (TLR2) and TLR4 were detected by flow cytometry. The CD34(+) cells in umbilical cord blood (CB) were enriched by MiniMACS and were exposed to various concentration of HMGB1 (10, 50, 100, 1, 000 ng/ml), then the migration effect of HMGB1 on umbilical cord blood (UCB) CD34(+) cell count was determined by microscopy, the chemotactic index was calculated. The CD34(+) cells untreated with HMGB1 were used as control. The results indicated that the purity of the isolated CD34(+) cells was more than 98%. The HMGB1 could promote the migration of CD34(+) cells, and the migration effect of HMGB1 on CD34(+) cells in certain concentrations gradually increased along with raise of concentration, the strongest effect was observed in concentration of 100 ng/ml, there was significant difference as compared with control (p < 0.01). Anti-RAGE antibody partially inhibited the migration effect of HMGB1 on CD34(+) cells. It is concluded that the HMGB1 in certain concentration can enhance migration of CD34(+) cells, which may be mediated through RAGE.
Antigens, CD34 ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Female ; Fetal Blood ; cytology ; drug effects ; HMGB1 Protein ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products ; Receptors, Immunologic ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction