In order to seek a patient friendly and low-cost intestinal examination method, a structurally simple pneumatic soft intestinal robot inspired by inchworms is designed and manufactured. The intestinal robot was consisted of two radially expanding cylindrical rubber film airbags for anchoring and one low density polyethylene film airbag for axial elongation, which achieved movement in the intestine by mimicking the crawling of inchworms. Theoretical derivation was conducted on the relationship between the internal air pressure of the anchored airbag and the free deformation size after expansion, and it pointed out that the uneven deformation of the airbag was a phenomenon of expansion instability caused by large deformation of the rubber material. The motion performance of the intestinal robot was validated in different sizes of hard tubes and ex vivo pig small intestine. The running speed in the ex vivo pig small intestine was 4.87 mm/s, with an anchoring force of 2.33 N when stationary, and could smoothly pass through a 90 ° bend. This work expects to provide patients with a new method of low pain and low-cost intestinal examination.
Animals ; Swine ; Robotics/instrumentation* ; Equipment Design ; Intestine, Small/physiology* ; Intestines/physiology* ; Humans

Objective To investigate the effects of syncytial formation induced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)spike protein(SARS-2-S)on the proliferation and migration of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells and mouse melanoma B16 cells in vitro.Methods Plasmids expressing human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2(hACE2)and SARS-2-S were constructed and respectively co-transfected with lentiviral packaging plasmids into HEK-293FT cells before the lentiviral supernatant was collected and infected with A549 cells which were screened by puromycin to obtain the A549 cells respectively that were stably transfected with hACE2(A549-A)and SARS-2-S(A549-S).The protein expression of A549-A and A549-S cells was verified by Western blotting.A549-A and A549-S cells were co-cultured before their syncytia were observed by fluorescence microscopy.Conditioned media(syncytial supernatant and non-syncytial supernatant)was collected to culture A549 cells,ovalbumin(OVA)-gene-modified B16 cells(B16-OVA),and B16-F10 cells in vitro.The CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay were used to assess the proliferation capacity of tumor cells,while the wound healing assay was employed to evaluate the migration capacity of tumor cells.Results Stable A549 cell lines expressing hACE2 and SARS-2-S were constructed.The SARS-2-S-induced syncytial formation system was established after co-culture of A549-A and A549-S cells.Both syncytial and non-syncytial supernatants significantly promoted the proliferation and migration of A549,B16-OVA,and B16-F10 cells in vitro,especially the syncytial supernatant.Conclusion SARS-2-S-induced syncytial formation promotes the proliferation and migration properties of A549 and B16 cells in vitro.

Objective: To investigate the function and mechanism of golgi protein 73(GP73) neutralizing antibody in Methionine-choline deficient(MCD) diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD). Methods : Total cholesterol(TC),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),triglyceride(TG) and serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT) levels were detected after MCD diet and GP73 neutralizing antibody intervention. Lipid deposition in liver tissue was observed by oil red O staining; qRT-PCR was used to detect the gene expression ofACC1,HMGR,TIMP1andTGF-βin liver tissue; Western blotting was used to detect α-SMA and SREBP1 protein expression levels in liver tissues. Results : GP73 neutralizing antibody could reduce the accumulation of serum ALT and AST(P<0.001) induced by MCD diet, and increase the levels of serum TG and TC(P<0.001);The gene expression levels ofHGMR(P<0.001),TGF-β(P<0.05),ACC1(P<0.01) and the protein expression levels of α-SMA(P<0.05) and SREBP1(P<0.05) in liver tissue significantly decreased, and the lipid deposition was also improved. Conclusion GP73 neutralizing antibody inhibits the formation of MCD-induced NAFLD by slowing down the progression of liver fibrosis and reducing the deposition of liver lipids.

Objective:To get norovirus (NoV) GII.6 P protein through prokaryotic expression and prepare the polyclonal antibody.Methods:NoV GII.6 P region gene was amplified and cloned into prokaryotic expression vector pET28a, and the recombinant plasmid was transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) competent cell. The recombinant protein GII.6 P was expressed by induced Isopropyl β-D-Thiogalactoside (IPTG) and then purified with Ni-NTA Affinity Column. The binding ability of recombinant GII.6 P was determined by oligosaccharide binding assay and the polyclonal antibody serum was prepared by immunizing BALB/c mice. The titer of GII.6 P polyclonal antibody was determined by ELISA, and the specificity of the antibody was detected by western blot (WB). The effectiveness of GII.6 P polyclonal antibody was assessed. Results:The recombinant GII.6P-pET28a plasmid was constructed successfully and the recombinant GII.6 P protein was expressed with relative molecular mass of 40 ×10 3. The purity of GII.6P protein was more than 90% after purification. The oligosaccharide binding showed that the GII.6 P protein binds to B, le b and H2, but does not bind to A, H1, and le a type; the titer of GII.6 P polyclonal antibody was 1∶160 000. WB indicated that the antibody had high specificity and the cross experiments did not show affinity to GII.4. Conclusions:The GII.6P protein has been expressed successfully and the GII.6 P polyclonal antibody with high titer was prepared, which provides an effective tool for detection and vaccine development for NoV GII.6.

Objective To investigate the effect of BTB/POZ ( broad complex, tramtrack and bric a brac/poxviruses and zinc finger) on proliferation of breast cancer cell lines.Methods The eukaryotic expression plasmid pCMV-HA-BPOZ was constructed by cloning from cDNA of human genome.Western blotting was used to detect the expression of pCMV-HA-BPOZ.Cells growth assay was used to detect the effect of BPOZ on proliferation and colony formation assay was used to detect the effect of BPOZ on cell growth ability.Results Western blotting showed that HA-BPOZ was efficiently expressed in cells.Moreover, the growth ability and proliferation of cells were significantly inhibited in BPOZ overexpressed cells compared with the control cells (both P <0.05).Conclusionp CMV-HA-BPOZ plasmid is constructed.BPOZ can restrain breast cancer cell lines MCF7 and ZR-75-1 cells from proliferating and growing.The results of our study can con-tribute to the study of functions of BPOZ in breast cancer.

Objective To knock out the GP73 gene in H22 cells originating in mice using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system and construct H22 GP73 gene knockout stable strain for identification of its functions .Methods Two pairs of sgRNAs that could specifically identify the upstream and downstream of GP 73 gene first promoter were designed before a recombinant eukaryotic expressional plasmid was constructed using pX 459 .After enzyme digestion and sequencing , two pairs of recombinant plasmids were co-transfected into H22 cells before puromycin was used to screen positive cells and monoclonal cells which stably knocked out GP 73 gene were developed .The knockout effect was measured by Western blotting.Cell Titer 96? AQueous One Solution Assay was used to detect the effect on cell reproductive capacity when the GP73 was knocked out .The transferability was detected through wound healing test .Results The result of Western blotting suggested that GP73 protein was undetected in the construction of H22 GP73 knockout gene stable strain after transfection.The transfer and reproduction slowed down .Conclusion H22 GP73 gene knockout stable strain can be successfully built using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system ,thus facilitating studies on the function of GP 73 in hepatocarcinogenesis .

Objective To study the effect of Golgi protein 73(GP73) on inflammation, and to reveal the effect of GP73 on tumorigenesis and metastasis.Methods The transcriptional activity of NF-κB and the expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-αwith GP73 overexpression or knockdown were detected to illuminate the role of GP73 in inflammation.According to the TCGA database, the correlation between the transcriptional activity of GP73 and the expression of NF-κB, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-αwas analyzed to determine the role of GP73 in tumor inflammation.Results Correlative analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between the expression of GP73 with NF-κB, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α.The transcriptional activity of NF-κB was upregulated by GP73 overexpression, but downregulated by GP73 knockdown.The expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-αwas upregulated by GP73 overexpression.Ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate ( PDTC ) was in-volved in inflammation reaction induced by GP73.Conclusion GP73 is possibly involved in inflammation and promotes tu-morigenesis and metastasis.

Objective To analyze the genetic characteristics of the complete genome of a human echovirus 30 (Echo30) KM/A363/09 strain isolated in Yunnan, China in 2009.Methods Primers specif-ic for Echo30 were designed .The extracted RNA was amplified by using RT-PCR.Seven fragments covering the complete viral genome were sequenced and the complete sequences were aligned with other sequences of enterovirus reference strains downloaded from Genbank . By using Mega5.1, Geneious, RDP3 and SimPlot3.5.1 softwares, the phylogenetic and recombination analysis were carried out .Results The com-plete nucleotide sequence of KM/A363/09 isolate was 7425 bp in length, encoding 2194 amino acids.KM/A363/09 isolate was highly similar with Bastianni prototype strain showing the homology of 81.2%in nucle-otide and 95.8%in amino acid.The eight Echo30 isolates shared 81.2%-88.6%homologies in nucleotide sequences and 95.8%-97.8%in amino acid sequences .Phylogenetic analysis showed that the KM/A363/09 strain belonged to one clade of Echo 30 in China.The genetic recombination of KM/A363/09 isolate was detected in the non-structural region .Conclusion KM/A363/09 isolate belongs to one clade of Echo 30 in China indicating that the evolution of Echo 30 has occurred in China .

OBJECTIVETo analyze the biochemical and pathological changes in mice with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) induced by high-fat diet combined with low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) injections.

METHODSC57BL/6J mice were divided randomly into normal control group (NC group), high-fat diet group (HC group) and high-fat diet plus STZ group (HC+STZ group). The mice were fed on normal chow or a high-fat diet for 1 month before two introperitoneal injections of STZ (40 mg/kg) or citrate buffer with an interval of 24 h as appropriate. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) was detected every week for 4 weeks, and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed one month after the injections, after which the biochemical profiles, islet and liver were evaluated by immunohistochemical and pathological analysis.

RESULTSIn HC+STZ group, FBG was above the cutoff value (13.89 mmol/L) in 75% of the mice at 1 week after STZ injections and in all the mice at two weeks except for the death of 1 mouse, with a success rate of modeling of 91.3%. FBG in HC group, though slightly higher than that in NC group, remained normal (6.8 mmol/L). The body weight in HC+STZ and HC groups was significantly higher than that in NC group after feeding but without obvious increases after the injections (P<0.01). Blood glucose in HC+STZ group at 0.5 to 2 h after OGTT and the area under curve (AUC) were higher than those in NC and HC groups (P<0.01); the AUC in HC group was a also higher than that in NC group (P<0.05). Plasma creatinine was significantly higher in HC+STZ group than in NC (P<0.01) and HC (P<0.05) groups. Insulin secretion by the islets decreased obviously in HC+STZ and HC group. The mice in HC+STZ group showed atrophy, fibrosis, and vacuolization in the islets with mild fatty liver but no visible renal pathologies.

CONCLUSIONHigh-fat diet and low-dose STZ injections can induce T2DM in mice with very similar biochemical and pathological changes to human T2DM and with such complications as fatty liver.

Animals ; Blood Glucose ; Body Weight ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; physiopathology ; Diet, High-Fat ; Fatty Liver ; physiopathology ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Islets of Langerhans ; pathology ; Kidney ; pathology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Streptozocin