The mechanisms of rHu-EPO attenuating the apoptosis after myocardial infraction in rats were studied. Thirty-two rats wre divided into three groups: sham operation group (Sham), acute myocardial infarction group (MI) and rHu-EPO-treated group (MI+EPO). Acute myocardial infarction model was made by ligating the anterior descending coronary artery. rHu-EPO was administered i. p. in MI+EPO group at the dose of 5 000 IU/kg body weight immediately after the ligation. Each rat in MI+EPO group received the same dose of rHu-EPO daily the next 6 days. On the 14th day all rats underwent hemodynamic measurements and then killed. The samples were examined with HE stain, immunohistochemistry technique (bcl-2, bax) and TUNEL dyeing. The results showed that hemodynamic function in MI+EPO group was much better than in MI group. The number of the cells positive for bax and TUNEL in MI+EPO group was less than that in MI group. The number of the cells positive for bcl-2 in MI+EPO group was more than that in MI group. These findings suggested that rHu-EPO could treat myocardial infarction by preventing apoptosis and attenuating post-infarction deterioration in hemodynamic function.

To investigate the expression and the role of three isoforms of Serum and Glucocorticoid-inducible Kinase (SGK) in experimental diabetic nephropathy (DN), 12 male C57BL/6 mice of 8-weeks-old were divided into two groups. Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic nephropathy and normal controls were analyzed at the end of the 4th week after the induction of diabetes. Renal hemodynamics and histological studies were performed. The expression of SGK1 mRNA, SGK2 mRNA and SGK3 mRNA of kidney cortex were measured by RT-PCR, and the cortical SGK1 protein was detected with Western blotting. Our results showed that the blood glucose, blood HbA1c, 24-h urinary protein, creatinine clearance and the renal index were all increased in DN group. More extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation was observed. The level of cortical SGK1 mRNA and protein were up-regulated in DN group in comparison with control group. SGK2 and SGK3 mRNA were elevated in DN mice. In DN, mRNA level of three SGK isoforms and SGK1 protein were increased significantly. It is concluded that SGKs may contribute to the early renal injury of DN.

The threshold of cyclin E expression at G1/S boundary is a characteristic feature of cell cycle progressing. In this study, we tried to develop a quantitative approach to analyze cyclin E threshold by multiparamter flow cytometry. The expression of cyclin E in exponentially growing MOLT-4 cells was detected under different photomultiplier tube (PMT) voltages by cyclin E/DNA multiparameter flow cytometry. Additionally, cyclin E was detected in cells which were treated with caffeine and cycloheximide (CHX) under the same PMT voltage. Moreover, the expression of cyclin E in MOLT-4 cells was compared with that in JURKAT cells. Cyclin E threshold was quantified by formula B²/A×C (A, B, C indicates the minimum, threshold, and maximum of cyclin E fluorescence intensity, respectively). Results showed that in MOLT-4 cells, cyclin E threshold calculated by formula B²/A×C was invariable under different PMT settings. It was decreased in cells treated with caffeine and remained changeless in cells treated with cycloheximide. Cyclin E threshold in JURKAT cells was much lower than that in MOLT-4 cells. It was suggested that Formula B²/A×C we firstly set up could be used to analyze cyclin E expression threshold quantitatively.

This study examined the postoperative plasma endotoxin level, plasma endotoxin inactivation capacity and clinical outcome after administration of an enteral diet supplemented with glutamine, arginine and ω-3-fatty acid in patients undergoing gastrointestinal operations on an prospective, randomized and double-blind design. 40 patients undergoing gastrointestinal operations were randomized into two groups, with each having 20 patients. One group received standard enteral nutrition and the other was fed the formulation supplemented with glutamine, arginine and ω-3-fatty acid. The two groups were isonitrogenous. The infusion was started from day 1 after surgery and continued for 7 days. Blood samples were collected on the morning of day 1 before operation and on the morning of 1, 4 and 7 day(s) after operation and analyzed for plasma endotoxin level and endotoxin inactivation capacity (EIC). Our study found no differences between the two groups on plasma endotoxin level. After surgery a rapid reduction in plasma endotoxin inactivation capacity was observed in both groups, a significant recovery of the plasma endotoxin inactivation capacity was observed on morning of day 4 after surgery in the study group (0.12±0.02 EU/mL and 0.078±0.022 EU/mL respectively,P<0.01). Shortened hospital stay was observed in the experimental group (11.7±2.0 days in the control group and 10.6±1.2 days in the experimental group respectively,P=0.03). It is concluded that perioperative parenteral nutrition supplemented with glutamine, arginine and ω-3-fatty acid ameliorated postoperative immunodepression but without direct effect on endotoxemia.