Objective To investigate the neuroprotective effect and possible mechanism of nicorandil in mice under deep hypothermic low flow (DHLF). Methods A total of 105 3-week-old male C57/BL-6 mice were randomly divided into 7 groups: sham operation, model, nicorandil (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg), nicorandil 20 mg/kg + LY294002, and LY294002 groups (n = 15 in each group). A DHLF model was induced. At 24 h after reperfusion, the brain tissues of mice were taken out for HE and TUNEL staining. The pathological changes of cerebral cortical neurons and apoptosis were observed. Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of the total Akt, phospho-Akt (p-Akt), Bcl-2, and Bax. Results HE pathological staining showed that cortical neuronal injury was reduced, the phenomena of cel membrane depression, nuclear condensation, concentrated dye, and the blurring of the nucleus were decreased significantly in nicorandil group. The morphology of neurons was basicaly restored to normal. TUNEL staining showed that the apoptosis index in various dose groups of nicorandil was decreased significantly compared with the model group (al P < 0. 05). Western blot analysis showed that the expression levels of p-Akt and Bcl-2 proteins increased significantly in various dose groups of nicorandil compared with the model group (al P < 0. 05), and the expression level of Bax protein was decreased significantly (al P < 0. 05 ). After adding the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) specific inhibitor LY294002, there was no significant difference in neurons pathological injury in the cortex compared with the model group. There was no significant difference in the apoptosis index, and the expression levels of p-Akt, Bcl-2, and Bax compared with the model group. Conclusions Nicorandil has a certain neuroprotective effect in mice under DHLF. Its mechanism may be associated with the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and then further regulation of the downstream protein Bcl-2 and Bax expression.

Background Inherited retinal degeneration,one of the major causes of blindness worldwide,comprises a large number of disorders characterized by a slow and progressive retinal degeneration.Interleukin-1 (IL-1)was recognized to be involved in inherited retinal degeneration.Whether IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) can arrest retinal degeneration is worthy of investigation.Objective This study was to investigate the effects of IL-1ra on photoreceptor apoptosis in Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats.Methods The use of the animals complied with the Regulations for the Administration of Affairs Concerning Experimental Animals by State Science and Technology Commission.The SPF RCS rats aged 9,15,16,25,30,35,40,50 and 60 postnatal days were collected,with 9 rats for each age group.Retinal sections were used for the TdT-mediated biotin-dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) cell apoptosis assay.1 μl of IL-1ra (1.8 g/L) was intravitreally injected in the right eyes of 9 RCS rats aged 15 postnatal days and PBS was used in the same way in the fellow eyes.The injection procedure was repeated on the 20 th and 25 th day,respectively.The rats were sacrificed on the 30 th day and retinal sections were prepared for the TUNEL assay.The differences in the percentage of the positive cellular nuclei area among different ages of rats were compared by one-way ANOVA,and the differences in retinal layer thickness between IL-1ra injection group and PBS injection group were assessed by paired t test.Results Photoreceptor apoptosis appeared in 20-day-old RCS rats and progressed and peaked in 30 and 35-day-old rats and then reduced,showing a significant difference among rat of various age groups (F=28.020,P＜0.01).Images from TUNEL assay showed a weaker and less TUNEL staining in the IL-1ra injected eyes than the PBS injected eyes in 30-day-old rats.The total area and relative area of TUNEL positive nuclei were (223.052±153.092) μm2 and (2.206±1.531) ％ in the IL-1ra injected group,and those in PBS injected group were (1235.050±359.767) μm2 and (7.269± 1.624) ％,with a significant difference between them (t =4.370,t=3.250,P＜0.01).The cone and rod thickness was (15.324±9.035) μm in the IL-1ra injected group and (49.566±4.605)μm in the PBS injected group,showing a significant difference (t =22.674,P＜0.01).However,no significant difference was seen in the outer nuclear layer thickness between the two groups (t =0.268,P＞0.05).Conclusions IL-1 participates in the pathogenesis and development of inherited retinal degeneration of RCS rats.The use of IL-1ra might be a potential approach in the treatment of inherited retinal degeneration.

?AIM: To evaluate the effect for refractory glaucoma by using Ex - Press miniature implantation with deep sclerectomy.?METHODS: Thirty eyes in 24 patients with refractory glaucoma were treated by Ex- Press miniature ( P50 ) implantation with deep sclerectomy. The patients’ symptom, intraocular pressure ( IOP ) , visual acuity and complications were analyzed in a 12mo follow-up period.?RESULTS: During the follow-up period, all patients’ ocular pain was reduced. The mean IOP before operation and at the last follow-up time were 51. 15 ± 2. 60mmHg (1kPa=7. 5mmHg) and 15. 11 ± 2. 51mmHg, respectively, there was significant difference (P<0. 05). Postoperative visual acuity was improved in 8 eyes, had no significant change in 22 eyes. After operation, hyphema of anterior chamber appeared in 2 eye ( 7%) , which were obsorbed after 1wk.? CONCLUSION: Ex - Press miniature implantation combined with deep sclerectomy surgery is a relatively effective and safe treatment for the patients with refractory glaucoma. This method can significantly degrade the IOP, lessen ocular pain and reduce the complications risk.

Objective To explore the changes of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type 1(sTNFR1)in children with acute virus encephalitis(VE)and its clinical significance.Methods The levels of tumor necrosis factor-?(TNF-?),sTNFR1 and neuron specific enolase(NSE)in cerebrospinal fluid were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)in 55 children who were admitted with VE,including 25 cases with severe VE(SVE)and 30 cases with mild VE(MVE).Fifteen cases without VE were as control group.Results The levels of TNF-?,sTNFR1 in cerebrospinal fluid in encephalitis children were significantly higher than that in control group(Pa

Dengue virus (DENV) envelope [E] protein is the major surface protein of the virions that indued neutralizing antibodies. The domain III of envelope protein (EDIII) is an immunogenic region that holds potential for the development of vaccines; however, the epitopes of DENV EDIII, especially neutralizing B-cell linear epitopes, have not been comprehensively mapped. We mapped neutralizing B-cell linear epitopes on DENV-1 EDIII using 27 monoclonal antibodies against DENV-1 EDIII proteins from mice immunized with the DENV-1 EDIII. Epitope recognition analysis was performed using two set of sequential overlapping peptides (16m and 12m) that spanned the entire EDIII protein from DENV-1, respectively. This strategy identified a DENV-1 type- specific and a group-specific neutralizing epitope, which were highly conserved among isolates of DENV-1 and the four DENV serotypes and located at two regions from DENV-1 E, namely amino acid residues 309-320 and 381-392(aa 309-320 and 381-392), respectively. aa310 -319(310KEVAETQHGT319)was similar among the four DENV serotypes and contact residues on aa 309 -320 from E protein were defined and found that substitution of residues E309 , V312, A313 and V320 in DENV-2, -3, -4 isolates were antigenically silent. We also identified a DENV-1 type-specific strain-restricted neutralizing epitope, which was located at the region from DENV-1 E, namely amino acid residues 329-348 . These novel type- and group-specific B-cell epitopes of DENV EDIII may aid help us elucidate the dengue pathogenesis and accelerate vaccine design.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; immunology ; Dengue ; virology ; Dengue Virus ; chemistry ; genetics ; immunology ; Epitope Mapping ; Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte ; chemistry ; genetics ; immunology ; Humans ; Mice ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Viral Envelope Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; immunology

Objective To study the effects of microRNA-34a-5p on erythroid differentiation of K562 cells.Methods K562 cells were transfected with the microRNA-34a-5p mimics and antisense inhibitors specifically targeting mi-croRNA-34a-5p, respectively.The effects of over-expression or knocking-down of microRNA-34a-5p were exam-ined by Quantitative RT-PCR.Flow cytometry was performed to detect specific surface marker of erythroid cells . The benzidine staining assay was used to access the differentiation of K 562 cells.Western blot was performed to de-tect miRNA targets.Results microRNA-34a-5p was down-regulated at the early stage of K562 erythroid differenti-ation.Over-expression of microRNA-34a-5p in K562 cells attenuates erythroid differentiation , in contrast, inhibi-tion of microRNA-34a-5p accelerates erythroid pheotypes in K562 cells.c-MYB was found to be the direct target of microRNA-34 a-5 p in erythroid cells .Conclusions microRNA-34 a-5 p regulates early erythroid differentiation of K562 cells via repressing c-MYB.

Bel1, a transactivator of prototype foamy virus (PFV), plays pivotal roles in the replication of PFV. Previous studies have shown that Bel1 bears a nuclear localization signal (NLS), but its amino acid sequence remains unclear and the corresponding importins have not been identified. In this report, we inserted various fragments of Bel1 into an EGFP-GST fusion protein and investigated their subcellular localization by fluorescence microscopy. We found that the 215PRQKRPR221 fragment could direct nuclear localization, which accords with the consensus sequence K(K/R)X(K/R) of monopartite NLS. Point mutation experiments revealed that K218, R219, and R221 are essential for the nuclear localization of Bel1. The results of the GST-pulldown showed that the Bel1 fragment with residues 215-223, which bears the NLS, interacts with KPNA1, KPNA6, and KPNA7. This result suggests that KPNA1, KPNA6, and KPNA7 maybe involved in Bel1 nuclear translocation.
Cell Line ; Cell Nucleus ; genetics ; metabolism ; virology ; Humans ; Nuclear Localization Signals ; genetics ; metabolism ; Protein Binding ; Protein Transport ; Retroviridae Infections ; genetics ; metabolism ; virology ; Retroviridae Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Spumavirus ; chemistry ; genetics ; physiology ; Trans-Activators ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; alpha Karyopherins ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To observe the expression changes of 12 ischemia-related microRNAs (miRNA) in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury after deep hypothermic low flow (DHLF) in mice.Methods A total of 80 3-w eek-old healthy and clean grade C57BL/6 male mice w ere randomly divided into either a DHLF model group or a sham operation group. Each group w as redivided into 4 subgroups according to the time points of 2, 6, 12, and 24 h (10 in each group). The bilateral carotid arteries of the DHLF model group w ere clipped and a DHLF model w as established, w hile the carotid arteries of the sham operation group w ere not clipped. The mice w ere sacrified at each time point and the brain tissue w as removed. The total RNA w as extracted. Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction w as used to detect miRNA expression. Results Compared w ith the sham operation group, the expression levels of 9 miRNAs w ere upregulated, 2 w ere dow n-regulated, and 1 did not have any significant change in the DHLF model group. Conclusions The expression levels of 11 miRNAs changed significantly after DHLF. It might have a regulatory role in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury after DHLF.

Simvastatin is a hypolipidemic drug that inhibits hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMGCoA) reductase to control elevated cholesterol,or hypercholesterolemia.Previous studies have shown that simvastatin may attenuate inflammation in ischemia-reperfusion injury and sepsis.Herein,we hypothesized that simvastatin may prevent rats from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced septic shock.In our study,rats were divided into a saline group,an LPS group and an LPS plus simvastatin group.Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were pretreated with simvastatin (1 mg/kg) for 30 min before the addition of LPS (8 mg/kg),with variations in left ventricular pressure recorded throughout.Ninety min after LPS injection,whole blood was collected from the inferior vena cava,and neutrophils were separated from the whole blood using separating medium.The neutrophils were then lysed for Western blotting to detect the levels of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1).In addition,mesentery microcirculations of inlet diameter,outlet diameter and blood flow rate were measured in all three groups.The results indicated that simvastatin significantly promoted heart systolic function and increased the level ofuPA while simultaneously inhibited the expression of PAI-1 as compared with LPS group.Moreover,simvastatin reversed the LPS-induced inhibition of mesentery microcirculation.Taken together,it was suggested that simvastatin can effectively protect the rats from LPS-induced septic shock.

This paper aims to construct a Bayesian(BN) fault diagnosis model of traditional Chinese medicine dry granulation based on the failure model and effect analysis(FMEA), effectively control risk factors and ensure the quality of granules.Firstly, the risk ana-lysis of dry granulation process was carried out with FMEA, and the selected medium and high risk factors were taken as node variables to establish corresponding BN network with causality.According to the mathematical reasoning method of probability theory, the model was accurately inferred and verified by Netica, and the granule nonconformance was used as the evidence for reversed reasoning to determine the most likely cause of the failure that affected the granule quality.The BN fault diagnosis model of traditional Chinese medicine dry gra-nulation was established based on the medium and high risk factors of process, prescription and equipment screened out by FMEA, such as roller pressure, raw material viscosity, clearance between rollers in the paper.The fault diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine dry granulation process was then carried out according to the model, and the posterior probability of each node under the premise of nonconforming granule quality was obtained.This method could provide strong support for operators to quickly eliminate faults and make decisions, so as to improve the efficiency and accuracy for fault diagnosis and prediction, with innovation in its application.
Bayes Theorem ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Probability