Fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21) is an important metabolism regulator, however, whether FGF-21 has effects on cardiovascular remains unclear. In this study, H2O2-induced injury in H9c2 cells was used as a cell model, the anti-apoptosis potential and mechanism of FGF-21 against oxidative injury were evaluated by MTT assay, flow cytometry assay and real-time PCR. The results showed that FGF-21 could increase the cell survival of H2O2-induced injury in H9c2 cells and prevent H9c2 cells from oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, FGF-21 can elevate SOD activity and regulate Bcl-2/Bax expression in H9c2 cells. The results suggest that FGF-21 have protective effect against the H2O2-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cells.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; pharmacology ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; toxicity ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Rats ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate how network education can improve college students' knowledge on sexual and reproductive health in Ningbo city.

METHODSFrom December 2012 to June 2013, we conducted a questionnaire investigation among college students in Ningbo city about the effects of network education on their knowledge about sexual psychology, sexual physiology, sexual ethics, and reproductive health.

RESULTSA total of 7 362 college students accomplished the investigation, of whom 2 483 (42.1% males and 57.9% females) received network education, while the other 4 879 (24.1% males and 75.9% females) did not. Approximately 47.1% of the male and 28.0% of the female students acquired sexual and reproductive knowledge via network education. Reproductive health-related network education significantly enriched the students' knowledge about the reproductive system and sex, pubertal development, sexual physiology, conception and embryonic development, methods of contraception, sexual psychology, sexually transmitted diseases and their prevention, pregnancy care and eugenics, and environment- and occupation-related reproductive health (P < 0.01). It also remarkably improved their cognitive attitude towards reproductive health knowledge (P < 0.01). Those who received reproductive health-related network education showed a significantly higher rate of masturbation (P < 0.01) but markedly later time of the first masturbation (P < 0.01) than those who did not.

CONCLUSIONNetwork education can enhance the effect of reproductive health education among college students and improve their sexual experience and health.

China ; Contraception ; Female ; Health Education ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Masturbation ; Pregnancy ; Reproduction ; Reproductive Health ; Sexual Behavior ; physiology ; psychology ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases ; Students ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Universities

OBJECTIVETo analyze the clinical features of patients with newly diagnosed myeloma bone disease (MBD).

METHODClinical features of MBD in two hundred and five patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) were analyzed retrospectively. The relationship between outcome of different grades of MBD patients and their prognosis was compared.

RESULTS(1) Among the 205 patients, one hundred and fifty (72.7%) had bone pain as the first symptom. (2) According to X-ray evaluation, there were 23 (11.3%) of grade 0, 14 (6.9%) grade 1, 23 (11.3%) of grade 2, 68 (33.3%) grade 3 and 76 (37.2%) grade 4. (3) Patients with grade2-4 MBD had significantly higher ECOG performance score, marrow plasmacytes, marrow CD138(+) CD38(+) cell percentage and serum IL-6 level than those with grade 0 - 1 did (P < 0.05). Patients with grade 4 MBD presented with hypocalcemia (P < 0.05) more often than those with grades 0 - 3 diseases did. (4) There was no significant difference in response to initial induction chemotherapy among the five groups (P = 0.642). (5) Univariate analysis demonstrated that the time to progression (TTP) in grade 2 - 4 MBD groups was significantly shorter than that in grade 0 - 1 groups (P = 0.029). (6) Multivariable COX analysis did not indicate lytic bone changes was a independent prognostic factor for OS and TTP.

CONCLUSIONThere is a rather high incidence of MBD in MM patients in China. Patients with extensive X-ray bone lesions have more severe hematologic parameters than those without bone lesions did, and severe bone lesions is an important adverse prognostic factor for TTP.

Bone Diseases ; Bone Marrow ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; Multiple Myeloma ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To master the status in control of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) in Gansu province and to provide the basis for development of control strategies. Methods One county which reached the national standardization of IDD elimination was selected randomly from each of 14 cities of Gansu province in 2009, then one town was selected respectively from five directions (east, south, west, north, and central) of the above selected counties. One village was chosen from every town which was selected for investigating household iodized salt and iodized salt sales network. At the same time the thyroid of children was examined, their urinary iodine (UI) was determined, the intelligence quotient(IQ) values of children were measured and health education was surveyed in one primary school which was chosen in each of the selected town. Results A total of 1420 edible salt samples were tested;the weighted iodized salt coverage rate and the weighted qualified iodized salt rate were 99.53% and 98.15 respectively. Urine samples were collected from 1761 children included in the study. The urinary iodine median was 225.87 μg/L. The urinary iodine medians were at optimal levels in five counties, over the optimal levels in seven counties and at excessive levels in two counties. A total of 3051 children aged 8 - 10 were randomly selected for thyroid examination. The weighted thyroid goiter rate(TGR) of children was 1.9%, and TGR was higher than 5% only in Hoaggu county. IQ of 2815 children was tested and the mean IQ was 105.3, except for the country of Zhuoni and Kangle, the mean IQ of other counties were over 100. The average score of health education was 3.2.Children of 57.08% (1229/2153) knew that iodine deficiency could lead to mental retardation, 71.76% (1544/2153) knew that iodine deficiency could cause thyroid goiter, 68.04%( 1465/2153 ) knew that eating iodized salt was the best method for IDD prevention and control and 61.82%(1331/2153) informed their families of the benefits of eating iodized salt. Each town had one agency selling iodized salt and each village had one more retail store with iodized salt, but 73.5%(75/102) of the stores without license for the sales. Conclusions Great progress has been made on the prevention and control of IDD in Gansu province. The qualified iodized salt consumption rate has reached the national standard for IDD elimination, TGR has decreased markedly, the urinary iodine levels in more counties are over the optimal levels and iodized salt distribution network is basically sound. But progress in health education is uneven.

This study aims to investigate the effects of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) on learning and memory abilities and antioxidant capacity of D-galactose-induced aging mice. Kunming mice (37.1 +/- 0.62) g were randomly divided into normal control group, model group and FGF-21 high, medium and low dose groups (n = 8). Each group was injected in cervical part subcutaneously with D-galactose 180 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) once a day for 8 weeks. At the same time, FGF-21-treated mice were administered with FGF-21 by giving subcutaneous injection in cervical part at the daily doses of 5, 2 and 1 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1). The normal control group was given with normal saline by subcutaneous injection in cervical part. At seventh week of the experiment, the learning and memory abilities of mice were determined by water maze and jumping stand tests. At the end of the experiment, the mice were sacrificed and the cells damage of hippocampus was observed by HE staining in each group. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in the brain of mice were determined. The results showed that different doses of FGF-21 could reduce the time reaching the end (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05) and the number of touching blind side (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05) in the water maze comparing with the model group. It could also prolong the latency time (P < 0.05) and decrease the number of errors (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05) in the step down test. The result of HE staining showed that FGF-21 could significantly reduce brain cell damage in the hippocampus. The ROS and MDA levels of three different doses FGF-21 treatment group reduced significantly than that of the model group [(5.58 +/- 1.07), (7.78 +/- 1.92), (9.03 +/- 1.77) vs (12.75 +/- 2.02) pmol (DCF) x min(-1) x mg(-1), P < 0.01 or P < 0.05], [(2.92 +/- 0.71), (4.21 +/- 0.81), (4.41 +/- 0.97) vs (5.62 +/- 0.63) nmol x mg(-1) (protein), P < 0.01]. Comparing with the model group, the activities of SOD, GPx, CAT and T-AOC of the three different doses FGF-21 treatment groups were also improved in a dose-dependent manner. This study demonstrates that FGF-21 can ameliorate learning and memory abilities of D-galactose induced aging mice, improve the antioxidant abilities in brain tissue and delay brain aging. This finding provides a theoretical support for clinical application of FGF-21 as a novel therapeutics for preventing aging.
Aging ; drug effects ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; metabolism ; Brain ; drug effects ; Catalase ; metabolism ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; pharmacology ; Galactose ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Maze Learning ; drug effects ; Memory ; drug effects ; Mice ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

Previous studies proposed that the synergistic effect of fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21) and insulin may be due to the improvement of insulin sensitivity by FGF-21. However, there is no experimental evidence to support this. This study was designed to elucidate the mechanism of synergistic effect of FGF-21 and insulin in the regulation of glucose metabolism. The synergistic effect of FGF-21 and insulin on regulating glucose metabolism was demonstrated by investigating the glucose absorption rate by insulin resistance HepG2 cell model and the blood glucose chances in type 2 diabetic db/db mice after treatments with different concentrations of FGF-21 or/and insulin; The synergistic metabolism was revealed through detecting GLUT1 and GLUT4 transcription levels in the liver by real-time PCR method. The experimental results showed that FGF-21 and insulin have a synergistic effect on the regulation of glucose metabolism. The results of real-time PCR showed that the effective dose of FGF-21 could up-regulate the transcription level of GLUT1 in a dose-dependent manner, but had no effect on the transcription level of GLUT4. Insulin (4 u) alone could up-regulate the transcription level of GLUT4, yet had no effect on that of GLUT1. Ineffective dose 0.1 mg kg(-1) FGF-21 alone could not change the transcription level of GLUT1 or GLUT4. However, when the ineffective dose 0.1 mg x kg(-1) FGF-21 was used in combination with insulin (4 u) significantly increased the transcription levels of both GLUT1 and GLUT4, the transcription level of GLUT1 was similar to that treated with 5 time concentration of FGF-21 alone; the transcription level of GLUT4 is higher than that treated with insulin (4 u) alone. In summary, in the presence of FGF-21, insulin increases the sensitivity of FGF-21 through enhancing GLUT1 transcription. Vice versa, FGF-21 increases the sensitivity of insulin by stimulating GLUT4 transcription in the presence of insulin. FGF-21 and insulin exert a synergistic effect on glucose metabolism through mutual sensitization.
Animals ; Blood Glucose ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; metabolism ; Drug Synergism ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; pharmacology ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Glucose Transporter Type 1 ; metabolism ; Glucose Transporter Type 4 ; metabolism ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Insulin ; pharmacology ; Insulin Resistance ; Liver ; metabolism ; Mice

OBJECTIVETo determine the incidence and clinical significance of chromosome 13q14 deletion in multiple myeloma (MM).

METHODSBone marrow samples were collected from 132 newly diagnosed MM patients referred to our hospital. Interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (i-FISH) combined with magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) were performed on chromosome 13q14 (RB-1).

RESULTS(1) i-FISH was used to investigate CD138-enriched bone marrow MM cells and revealed a 13q14 deletion rate of 51.5% (68/132), while conventional cytogenetic (CC) analysis revealed 13q deletions/monosomy 13 (Δ13) only of 5.0%(6/120). (2) Univariate analysis showed that 13q14 deletion rate by i-FISH > 25%, bone marrow plasma cells > 50%, ISS stage and β(2)-MG ≥ 5.5 mg/L were associated with shorter overall survival (OS). Multivariate analysis revealed that 13q14 deletion rate by i-FISH > 25% was an independent unfavorable factor (P = 0.042). (3) Patients treated with bortezomib had a much better response than those treated with traditional chemotherapy (P = 0.001). There was no significant difference in OS between patients received bortezomib with and without 13q14 deletion (P > 0.05), indicating that bortezomib could reverse the poor prognosis of 13q14 deletion.

CONCLUSION(1) i-FISH followed CD138 cell sorting appears to be a highly sensitive method for detecting 13q14 deletion. (2) 13q14 deletion rate by i-FISH > 25% is an independent unfavorable factor. (3) Bortezomib could reverse the poor prognosis of 13q14 deletion.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Boronic Acids ; therapeutic use ; Bortezomib ; Chromosome Deletion ; Chromosome Disorders ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 13 ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology ; Prognosis ; Pyrazines ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVETo investigate the specificity and sensitivity of the immunohistochemistry for hMLH1 and hMSH2 with detection of microsatellite instability (MSI) to identify the kindreds with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer and to analyse its value in clinical practice.

METHODSpecimens of 16 cases with HNPCC and 16 cases with sporadic colorectal cancer were detected by immunostaining with hMLH1 and hMSH2 and MSI was also detected.

RESULTSThe specificity and sensitivity of the immunohistochemistry for hMLH1 and hMSH2 were 91.7% and 87.5% respectively. The specificity and sensitivity of MSI were 100% and 75.0%. By combining two methods, the specificity and sensitivity were 91.7% and 93.8% respectively.

CONCLUSIONSBy combination of the immunohistochemistry for hMLH1 and hMSH2 and detection of MSI to identify the kindreds with HNPCC, the specificity and sensitivity are improved which is better than to use either of them alone. And it is very easy and cheap that it can be used in clinics.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; Adult ; Aged ; Carrier Proteins ; Colorectal Neoplasms, Hereditary Nonpolyposis ; genetics ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; analysis ; Female ; Genomic Instability ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Middle Aged ; MutL Protein Homolog 1 ; MutS Homolog 2 Protein ; Neoplasm Proteins ; analysis ; Nuclear Proteins ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; analysis ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVETo explore prognostic factors in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

METHODSTwo hundred and three CLL patients in our hospital between 2000 to 2007 were retrospectively reviewed for prognostic factor analysis. Survival was analysed by Kaplan-Meier analysis, univariate analysis by Log-rank test and multivariate analysis by COX regression model.

RESULTSWith a median follow-up time of 48.0 (3.0-156.0) months, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was (87.3 +/- 2.4)% and 10-year OS rate was (77.4 +/- 3.3)%. Forty-eight (23.6%) patients died. Univariate analysis indicated that advanced clinical stage, B symptoms, extranodal involvement, number of lymph node regions involved > or = 3, enlarged liver, Hb < 100 g/L, BPC < 100 x 10(9)/L, absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) > 50 x 10(9)/L, atypical cell morphology, progression to stage, non-response to treatment, complicating infections and secondary cancer or disease transformation were associated with poor prognosis. And on multivariate analysis, lymph node region involved > or = 3 and atypical cell morphology were independent poor prognostic factors. Based on the two independent poor prognostic factors, three risk groups were defined: low--(0 factor), intermediate--(one factor) and high--(two factors) groups. The 5 year OS rates were (89.8 +/- 3.5)%, (66.4 +/- 7.2)% and (15.0 +/- 13.8)%, respectively, and the difference between them was statistically.

CONCLUSIONThe number of lymph node region involved and cell morphology are useful for assessing CLL patients prognosis.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell ; pathology ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo clone a novel gene relative to blood glucose regulation.

METHODSRat modes of autonomous regulation of blood glucose was made by intra jugular vein to right atrium injection of high concentration of glucose solution, and the control rats were injected with 0.9%NaCl both before skeletal muscles were separated for gene analysis. The differentially expressed fragments were identified by differential display technology (DDRT-PCR). After slot blot and Northern blot analysis, the artificial positive fragments were excluded and the true EST (expression sequence tag) differentially expressed was obtained. These positive EST were used as probes to screen cDNA library of rat skeletal muscle.

RESULTSA novel full-length cDNA, named as Fang-2 was obtained. GenBank Accession No. was AF399874. Fang-2 was found rat homologue of human troponin T by blast software (NCBI). It shared 78% identical nucleotides, which showed the family proteins were conservative. After high concentration of glucose stimulation of rats, the expression of Fang-2 was down-regulated.

CONCLUSIONSA novel gene relative to blood glucose regulation was cloned from rat skeletal muscle. The gene can regulate blood glucose level by effect certain mechanisms unknown yet with down-regulation expression.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Base Sequence ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; isolation & purification ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Male ; Models, Animal ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Muscle, Skeletal ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Troponin T ; genetics