Objective: To investigate the mechanisms of miR-375 affecting the proliferation and invasion of hepatoma cells via targeting YAP (Yes-associated protein). Methods: The cancerous tissues and corresponding para-cancerous tissues of 70 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who underwent surgical resection at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2015 to December 2016, as well as the hepatoma cell lines SMMC-7721, Hb611, HepG2 and BEL-7405 were collected for this study. qPCR method was used to detect the expression level of miR-375 in collected HCC tissues and different hepatoma cell lines; Dual luciferase reporter gene assay was used to verify the interaction between miR-375 and YAP; The relationship between miR-375 and clinicopathological features of HCC patients was also analyzed; MTT assay was used to detect the effect of miR375 on the proliferation of hepatoma cells; Transwell invasion assay was used to detect the invasive ability of hepatoma cells after inhibiting the expression of miR-375; Western blotting was used to detect the expression of YAP in HepG2 cells. The nude mouse model of subcutaneously transplanted xenograft was established, and the tumor volume and mass of transplanted hepatoma cells were detected after inhibiting the expression of miR-375. The expression of YAP in xenograft of nude mice was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Results: The expression of miR-375 and YAP in HCC tissues was significantly higher than that in para-cancerous tissues (all P<0.05). The expression of miR-375 in HepG2 cells was the highest (P<0.05). miR-375 could specifically bind to the 3' UTR of YAP and regulate the expression activity of YAP. After inhibiting the expression of miR-375, the proliferation and invasion abilities of HepG2 cells were reduced (all P<0.05); The tumor volume and mass of transplanted xenografts were significantly reduced (both P<0.05); The expression of YAP protein in the transplanted xenografts was down-regulated (P<0.05). Conclusion: miR-375 plays an important role in the occurrence and development of liver cancer, and can influence the malignant biological behaviors of hepatoma cells by targeting and regulating the expression ofYAP.

Objective To investigate the lead and cadmium contents in different sampling sites from full term neonatal placenta and to explore the role of placental sample in the evaluation of intrauterine heavy metals exposure.Methods The placentas from 30 healthy full term neonates were collected from the West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University during May and June 2016.Each placenta fetal side was divided into the left and right parts with the umbilical vein in the umbilical cord cross-section as the 12 o'clock direction.The villus lobular tissue samples were taken from the 1/4 radius in left part (site A) and 3/4 radius in the right part (site B).The graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry was used to detect the lead and cadmium contents in the samples.The elements contents in the site A and B were performed the paired t-test and correlation analysis.Results The mean contents of lead and cadmium in dry weight sample at placental site A were 91.8 and 66.7μg/kg which at the site B were 88.9 and 64.8 μg/kg respectively.The lead and cadmium contents at these two sites presented the positive correlation,the coefficients were 0.98 and 0.97 respectively,whereas the difference in contents between the tissues from different placental sites had no statistical significance.Conclusion The lead and cadmium contents of villus lobular tissue in the central part of placenta fetal side (1/4-3/4 radius area) are basically consistent,which is a reliable indicator for evaluating the intrauterine heavy metals exposure.

Aim To investigate the role of endothe-lium in the enhancement of phenylephrine-mediated vasoconstriction by bupivacaine in the isolated rat aor-ta.Methods The isolated rat aortic rings were pre-pared, and the vascular endothelium was removed chemically or physically .Phenylephrine-mediated vas-oconstriction was recorded .Results A pretreatment with bupivacaine at 30 μmol · L-1 for 20 min signifi-cantly increased the Emax value of vasoconstrictive re-sponses to phenylephrine from 2.22 ±0.07 g of sol-vent-controlled group to 2.50 ±0.05 g ( P<0.01 ) in the isolated endothelium-intact rat aorta.However, the Emax value was not significantly changed by a pretreat-ment with bupivacaine at 30 μmol · L-1 for 5 , 10 or 15 min ( P>0.05 ) .A pretreatment with bupivacaine at 30 μmol · L-1 for 20 min slightly but significantly inhibited the vasoconstrictive responses to low concen-tration of phenylephrine in the isolated endothelium-de-nuded rat aorta (P<0.05).In the isolated endotheli-um-intact rat aorta under a combined treatment with in-dometacin, ChTX, apamin and L-NAME, the vasodi-lator responses to acetylcholine were completely sup-pressed , and a pretreatment with bupivacaine at 30μmol· L-1 for 20 min did not significantly affect the vasoconstrictive responses to phenylephrine ( P >0.05 ) .Conclusion Bupivacaine enhances α1-adre-noceptor-mediated vasoconstriction by inhibiting vascu-lar endothelium in the isolated endothelium-intact rat aorta, Which potentiates indirectly the vasoconstrictive responses to phenylephrine .

OBJECTIVETo assess the pathologic markers for evaluation of reversibility in pulmonary hypertension (PAH) related to congenital heart disease.

METHODSTwenty-eight patients with congenital heart disease complicated by PAH were subclassified into reversible pulmonary hypertension (RPAH) and irreversible pulmonary hypertension (IPAH), according to post-operative mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP). Pulmonary vascular lesion was analyzed according to Ruan's method. Mean medium thickness percent, mean medium area percent and pulmonary arteriolar density were measured by quantitative morphometry. Immunohistochemical study for transgelin and filamin A was carried out.

RESULTSAmongst the 28 cases studied, 24 were RPAH and 4 were IPAH. Of the 24 patients with RPAH, 13 (54.2%, 13/24) had pulmonary vascular lesion of grade 0, 9 (37.5%, 9/24) of grade 1 and 2 (8.3%, 2/24) of grade 2. Of the 4 patients with IPAH, 1 had lesion of grade 1, 1 of grade 2 and 2 of grade 3. Both preoperative and postoperative MPAP were higher in IPAH patients than that in RPAH patients[(53.3±23.4) mmHg versus (34.1±12.7) mmHg, P=0.020 and (35.0±8.8) mmHg versus (17.8±3.9) mmHg, P<0.01]. Compared to patients with pulmonary vascular lesion of grades 0 and 1, the preoperative MPAP in patients with grades 2 and 3 showed no significant difference, but the postoperative MPAP was higher (P<0.05 or 0.01). Compared to control group, mean medium thickness percent and mean medium area percent were significantly higher in RPAH and IPAH categories (12.0±3.5, 8.5±2.0 versus 5.7±1.0, P<0.01 and 55.8±11.1, 49.0±9.4 versus 34.0±5.5, P<0.01). Mean medium thickness percent was significantly higher in IPAP group than that in RPAH group (12.0±3.5 versus 8.5±2.0, P=0.001). Correlation analysis demonstrated that mean medium thickness percent and mean medium area percent had positive correlation with preoperative and postoperative MPAP. There was no correlation between grading of pulmonary vascular lesion and reversibility. Transgelin and filamin A had stronger staining in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells in IPAH than those in RPAH and controls(P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSPathologic assessment of lung biopsy remains the gold standard for evaluation of the reversibility in PAH related to congenital heart disease. Mean medium thickness percent, mean medium area percent and immunoreactivity for transgelin and filamin A are useful parameters.

Biomarkers ; metabolism ; Biopsy ; Filamins ; metabolism ; Heart Diseases ; complications ; pathology ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; complications ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Lung ; pathology ; Microfilament Proteins ; metabolism ; Muscle Proteins ; metabolism

Aim To investigate the selective inhibition of ethanol on muscarinic receptor-or 5-HT receptor-me-diated contractile responses in the circular smooth mus-cle strips isolated from the different regions of rat stom-ach. Methods Circular muscle strips isolated from the rat gastric fundus, body, cardia and pylorus were prepared, and the contractile responses to carbachol ( CCh ) or 5-HT were recorded. Results Ethanol (0. 000 05~0. 000 5, V/V) did not affect the contrac-tile response to CCh in circular muscle strips from the rat gastric fundus and cardia, and that to 5-HT in the strips from rat gastric fundus and body ( P >0. 05 ) . However, ethanol(0. 000 1 and 0. 000 5) significantly inhibited the Emax value of the contraction by CCh from (12. 18 ± 0. 33) g of control level to (10. 88 ± 0. 41) g and -lgEC50 value from ( 6. 33 ± 0. 05 ) of control level to (6. 12 ± 0. 06)(P <0. 05) in the strips from rat gastric body. Ethanol(0. 000 1 and 0. 000 5) also significantly inhibited the Emax value of the contraction by CCh from (2. 87 ± 0. 15) g of control level to (2. 2 ± 0. 13) g and -lgEC50 value from (6. 49 ± 0. 10) of control level to (6. 05 ± 0. 09)(P<0. 01) in the strips from rat gastric pylorus. Moreover, ethanol ( 0. 000 1 and 0. 000 5) significantly inhibited the Emax value of the contraction by 5-HT from (2. 93 ± 0. 35) g of con-trol level to ( 2. 1 ± 0. 30 ) g ( P<0. 05 ) , but did not affect the -lgEC50 value in the strips from rat gastric cardia. Conclusions Ethanol inhibits the contractile responses to 5-HT only in the circular muscle strips of rat gastric cardia, and it inhibits the contractile respon-ses to CCh more strongly in the circular muscle strips of gastric pylorus than gastric body. In those gastric circular muscle strips, ethanol decreases both the ac-tivity and affinity of CCh to muscarinic receptors, but decreases only the activity of 5-HT to its receptors.

Objective To construct plasmid vectors of calmodulin(CaM)Mg2+binding site mutants,and to express,purify and identify the mutant proteins. Methods Three kinds of cDNAs coding for the mutated CaM were cloned into pGEX?6P?3 plasmid vectors. These recombinant plasmids were transfected into Escherichia coli BL21 to express GST fusion proteins of CaM mutants. The fusion proteins were purified with Glutathione?Sep?harose 4B beads and PreScission protease. Results Both enzyme digestion analysis and DNA sequence identification proved the successful con?struction of the CaM mutant plasmids. SDS?PAGE results showed the high purity of each CaM mutant protein. The concentrations of three CaM mu?tants were around 1.0 mg/mL. Conclusion Prokayotic expression vectors of CaM Mg2+binding site mutants were successfully developed,and the eli?gible CaM mutant proteins were obtained. This study provided an important basis for further study on CaM’s biological function.

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics with long-term prognosis in patients with mid-ventricular obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (MVOHCM).
Methods: A total of 66 MVOHCM patients treated in our hospital were retrospectively studied for their morbidity, clinical characteristics and mortality. The cumulative survival rate was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method; the risk factors for cardiac death and cardiovascular events were analyzed by uni- and multivariate Cox proportional hazard model.
Results: There were 66 (2.74%) patients suffering from MVOHCM among 2413 patients of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the average diagnostic age was (40.16 ± 14.64) years. With (7.30 ± 6.25) years of follow-up study, the cardiovascular mortality was 13.6% and unexplained syncope (HR=13.37, 95% CI: 1.65-114.46, P=0.015) was the independent predictor for cardiovascular death. There were 45.45% (30/66) patients experienced at least 1 time of cardiovascular event and the most frequent one was non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT); 19.70% (13/66) of patients combined with apical aneurysms, and they were more inclined to experience NSVT.
Conclusion: MVOHCM patients usually have unfavorable prognosis with the higher incidence of cardiovascular events, some patients may develop apical aneurysm. The early diagnosis of MVOHCM is important for appropriate treatment.

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical and pathologic features of primary cardiac inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor.

METHODSA total of 4 patients with primary cardiac inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor were encountered during the period from 1993 to 2013 in National Center for Cardiovascular Disease. The clinical features, imaging findings and outcomes of the 4 patients were evaluated. ALK protein expression and ALK gene status were studied using the archival tumor tissues.

RESULTSThere were 1 female and 3 male patients. The age of patients ranged from 5 months to 30 years (mean = 16 years). The tumor was located in right ventricle (n = 2), right atrium (n = 1) or pericardium (n = 1). Histologic patterns included 2 cases of fibrous histiocytoma type, 1 case of granulomatous type and 1 case of sclerosing type. Immunohistochemical study showed that 2 cases expressed ALK protein. Fluorescence in-situ hybridization however did not reveal any ALK gene rearrangement.

CONCLUSIONSInflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the heart is rarely encountered and easily misdiagnosed. It carries distinctive clinical and pathologic features. ALK protein expression is helpful in arriving at the correct diagnosis.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Child ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Granuloma, Plasma Cell ; enzymology ; pathology ; Heart Neoplasms ; enzymology ; pathology ; Histiocytoma, Benign Fibrous ; enzymology ; pathology ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Infant ; Male ; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism