Biomedical Research ; China ; Preventive Medicine ; Research Support as Topic

Biomedical Research ; China ; Preventive Medicine ; Research Support as Topic

Objective: To explore the inhibitory effect of artesunate(Art)on human esophageal carcinoma cells and to study the related mechanism.Methods: Nude mice were inoculated with Eca109 cells subcutaneously on the left upper limbs to establish esophageal carcinoma model.The model mice were divided into 5 groups: first group received 100 mg/kg Art,second group 200 mg/kg Art,third group 300 mg/kg Art,forth group 3 mg/kg cisplatin(DDP),and the fifth group received normal saline.Mass and volume changes of transplant tumors in different groups were observed.Flow cytometry was used to detect the cell cycle,apoptosis,and the expression of CDC25A protein,Smad3 protein and TGF-?protein in the transplanted tumors in mouse model.RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of CDC25A,Smad3 and TGF-?mRNA in the transplanted tumors.Results: Nude mouse model bearing human esophageal carcinoma was success- fully created.Compared with the control group,the volume and mass of transplant tumors in Art groups were significantly smaller(P

OBJECTIVETo analyze the projects of the general program in preventive medicine submitted to and funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) from 2004 to 2006, and to discuss the disadvantages of these projects and foundation trends.

METHODS4124 projects submitted and 656 projects supported in 16 fields of preventive medicine between 2004 to 2006 were analyzed statistically.

RESULTS1082, 1378 and 1664 projects were submitted to NSFC and 199, 210 and 247 projects were financially supported in last three years, respectively, with selecting rate 18.4%, 15.2% and 14.8%, respectively. The number and the selection rate of projects supported in the different study fields from 2004 to 2006 were 15 (7.5%), 24 (11.4%) and 18 (7.3%) in environmental health, 8 (4.0%), 12 (5.7%) and 15 (6.1%) in occupational health, 30 (15.1%), 24 (11.4%) and 31 (12.6%) in nutrition and food hygiene, 3 (1.5%), 4 (1.9%) and 4 (1.6%) in child and adolescent health, 14 (7.0%), 20 (9.5%) and 20 (8.1%) in toxicology, 7 (3.5%), 7 (3.3%) and 2 (0.8%) in social medicine, 17 (8.5%), 22 (10.5%) and 31 (12.6%) in epidemiology, 7 (3.5%), 7 (3.3%) and 10 (4.0%) in endemiology, 2 (1.0%), 5 (2.4%) and 5 (2.0%) in biostatistics, 0 (0%), 2 (1.0%) and 1 (0.4%) in health laboratory technology, 7 (3.5%), 2 (1.0%) and 7 (2.8%) in vector biology, 15 (7.5%), 9 (4.3%) and 16 (6.5%) in parasitology, 0 (0%), 2 (1.0%) and 0 (0%) in disinfection, 58 (29.1%), 51 (24.3%) and 58 (23.5%) in infectious disease, 3 (1.5%), 1 (0.5%) and 5 (2.0%) in sexually transmitted disease, 13 (6.5%), 18 (8.6%) and 24 (9.7%) in dermatology, respectively. The contents of these research subjects reflected that more importance has been attached to the fields of preventive medicine. However, it is necessary that original and innovatory research should be further strengthened, and the field and prospective study should be emphasized in the future.

CONCLUSIONRapid advancement have been made in the fields of toxicology, epidemiology, environmental health, nutrition and food hygiene, and infectious disease, while other areas such as social medicine, health laboratory technology, disinfection and sexually transmitted disease need a rapid advancement. In general, the levels of the projects received and funded have been elevating yearly.

China ; Financial Support ; Fund Raising ; Preventive Medicine ; economics ; statistics & numerical data ; Research Support as Topic ; statistics & numerical data

OBJECTIVETo systematically optimize the cultivation conditions of adventitious roots of Pseudostellaria heterophylla.

METHODTissue cultivation technology and ultraviolet spectrophotometry were adopted to observe the effect of inoculum volume, sucrose concentration, inorganic salt concentration, number of cultivation days, gradual scale-up cultivation and bubble different angles of bioreactor on the growth of adventitious roots of P. heterophylla, and determine the content of constituents such as saponin, polysaccharide and amino acid.

RESULTThe propagation multiple of adventitious roots reached the maximum when the inoculum was 6 g in a 1 L culture shake flask. With the increase in sucrose concentration, the dry weight propagation multiples of adventitious roots followed an up and down trend. The inorganic salt concentration in a cultivation dish had a greater effect on the growth of adventitious roots, particularly 3/4 MS was the most favorable for the growth of adventitious roots. The growth curve of P. heterophylla was "S", with the biomass reaching the maximum at the 28th day.

CONCLUSIONThe inoculum volume, sucrose concentration, inorganic salt concentration, gradual scale-up cultivation and angles of bubble bioreactor had a significant effect on the growth of adventitious roots of P. heterophylla. The contents of saponin and amino acid in adventitious roots were higher than that in cultivated P. heterophylla, whereas the polysaccharide content were lower than that in cultivated P. heterophylla.

Amino Acids ; metabolism ; Biomass ; Bioreactors ; Caryophyllaceae ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Plant Roots ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Polysaccharides ; metabolism ; Saponins ; metabolism ; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet ; Time Factors ; Tissue Culture Techniques ; instrumentation ; methods

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effect of lycopene against cryopreservation injury of post-thawing human sperm and its mechanism.

METHODSSemen samples were collected from 25 volunteers, each sample equally divided into four parts to be cryopreserved with cryoprotectant only (Ly0 control) or cryoprotectant + lycopene at the concentrations of 2 (Ly2), 5 (Ly5), and 10 µmol/L (Ly10), respectively. Before and after thawing, the semen samples were subjected to computer-assisted semen analysis ( CASA) for sperm kinematics, flow cytometry for sperm apoptosis, thiobarbituric acid assay for malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, and JC-1 fluorescent staining for the sperm mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP).

RESULTSAfter cryopreservation, sperm motility was markedly decreased in all the groups (P < 0.01). The rate of sperm apoptosis was significantly lower in the Ly5 group than in the Ly0 control ([25.68 ± 4.36]% vs [33.26 ± 4.78]%, P < 0.05), while sperm MMP remarkably higher in the former than in the latter ([66.18 ± 14.23]% vs [55.24 ± 12.31]%, P < 0.05). The Ly2, Ly5 and Ly10 groups showed no statistically significance differences in the MDA level from the Ly0 control (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAddition of lycopene at a proper concentration to cryoprotectant may reduce oxidative damage to sperm mitochondria in the freezing-thawing process, attenuate oxidative stress injury induced by reactive oxygen species to sperm plasma membrane, and improve the anti-apoptosis ability of sperm.

Apoptosis ; Carotenoids ; pharmacology ; Cryopreservation ; Cryoprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; analysis ; Oxidative Stress ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Semen Analysis ; Semen Preservation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Sperm Motility ; Spermatozoa ; drug effects ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo explore the best freezing time and the optimum analgesia modality.

METHODSIn dogs, intercostal nerves were froze at -70 degrees C at different time including 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 s. Samples were got at the operative day, in 10 days and 60 days respectively, then carried on the pathology exam. In clinical study, 150 patients undergoing thoracotomy were randomly designated into 5 groups, all patients were recorded the heart rate, blood pressure, SO2, VAS, the dosage of dolantin, and observed the complications and side effects.

RESULTSAt operative day, the freezing nerves appeared brown print macroscopically, and presented degeneration, necrosis of the nerve fiber microscopically with more than 90 s. After 10 days, nerves with more than 90 s became thinner than normal. After 60 days, all nerves had no obvious differentiation than normal. In clinical study, both 90 s group and 90 s with PCIA group were significantly better than 60 s group or PCIA group; The VAS of 90 s with PCIA group was significantly lower than 90 s group but had more side effects such as vomiting, nausea.

CONCLUSIONSAt -70 degrees C, the freezing time should be no less than 90 s. The freezing intercostal nerves can safely and effectively relieve postoperative chest pain. The effect of analgesia of 90 s with PCIA group is the best, but has many side effects.

Adult ; Aged ; Animals ; Chest Pain ; etiology ; therapy ; Cryoanesthesia ; adverse effects ; methods ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dogs ; Female ; Humans ; Intercostal Nerves ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nausea ; etiology ; Pain, Postoperative ; etiology ; therapy ; Random Allocation ; Thoracotomy ; adverse effects ; Time Factors ; Vomiting ; etiology

OBJECTIVETo predict the function of KIAA0101 gene over-expressed in human non-small cell lung cancer by bioinformatics methods.

METHODSThe gene expression profiles of the lung cancer tissues and the adjacent normal tissues were compared by dChip software analysis, and the differential genes coexpressed with KIAA0101 gene were identified. The biological functions of these genes were analyzed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), Gene Ontology (GO) and Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING), and the common transcription factors of these genes were predicted using Gene Annotation Tool to Help Explain Relationships (GATHER).

RESULTSNine genes were found to have at least two-fold overexpressions in the lung cancer tissues in comparison with the expression level in the adjacent normal tissues, and showed similar pattern of expression variations in the lung cancer tissue. Most of these genes had the E2F1 binding sites in the promoter region.

CONCLUSIONKIAA0101 gene may participate in the cell cycle regulation of the non-small cell lung cancer, and the expression levels of the 9 genes identified may be regulated by the transcription factor E2F1.

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; genetics ; Carrier Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Profiling ; methods ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; genetics

To explore the angiotensin peptide [Ang (1-7)]-mediated inhibition of Ang II in human hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and determine the involvement of the ACE2-Ang (1-7)-Mas axis. The human HSC line, LX2, was used in all experiments, and divided into control (unstimulated) and Ang II-stimulated (10-6 mol/L) groups. The Ang II-stimulated cells were further divided among several pre-treatment (prior to Ang II) groups: ROCK-inhibited (Y27632 blocking agent, 10-6 mol/L); irbesartan-inhibited (AT-1 receptor antagonist, 10-6 mol/L); and Mas receptor-inhibited (A779 Mas receptor antagonist, 10-6 mol/L). To explore the potential inhibitory effects of various Ang family members, the Ang II-stimulated and pre-treated LX2 cells were exposed to Ang (1-7) (10-6 mol/L) for 24 h. Western blot, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and QuantiGene assay were used to assess changes in protein and mRNA expression levels of RhoA, ROCK, and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). Compared with the control group, Ang II-stimulated cells showed significantly increased levels of RhoA protein (0.337+/-0.074 vs. 0.870+/-0.093), ROCK2 mRNA (0.747+/-0.061 vs. 0.368+/-0.023), and CTGF mRNA (0.262+/-0.007 vs. 0.578+/-0.028) (all, P less than 0.01). Pre-treatment with irbesartan or Y27632 eliminated these responses. Ang (1-7) inhibited the Ang II-stimulated up-regulation of RhoA, ROCK, and CTGF. Ang (1-7) can inhibit the Ang II-stimulated up-regulation of RhoA, ROCK and CTGF in hepatic stellate cells, indicating that the ACE2-Ang (1-7)-Mas axis, an important branch of the renin-Ang-aldosterone system is involved in the occurrence and development of liver fibrosis.
Angiotensin I ; pharmacology ; Angiotensin II ; pharmacology ; Cells, Cultured ; Connective Tissue Growth Factor ; metabolism ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Peptide Fragments ; pharmacology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Signal Transduction ; rho-Associated Kinases ; metabolism ; rhoA GTP-Binding Protein ; metabolism

Adult ; Female ; Femoral Fractures ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Fibula ; transplantation ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Time Factors ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Transplantation, Autologous