In order to obtain three isoforms of apolipoprotein E (apoE), the cDNA encoding apoE3 was obtained by RT-PCR from normal human liver tissue. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to obtain the cDNAs encoding apoE2 and apoE4 isoforms. The 3 cDNAs were subcloned into vector pGEM-3Z and verified by DNA sequencing. The expression recombinant which can express the target protein as a (His) 6-tagged fusion was constructed by subcloning apoE cDNA into vector pT7-PL. The purified proteins were gained by Ni-NTA column. The SDS-PAGE results revealed the 6 His fusion proteins (apoE2, apoE3 and apoE4) were correctly expressed and purified successfully.

The expression vector of shRNA targeted to the rat angiotensin II receptor gene was constructed and the efficacy of siRNAs to modulate the expression of target gene in thein vitro cultured mammalian cells was investigated for antihypertensive therapy in spontaneous hypertensive rat (SHR) at post-transcriptional level. The sense and antisense RNA oligonucleotides strands targeting angiotensin II receptor mRNA were synthesized individually according to the sequence of the rat angiotensin II receptor. For preparation of duplexes, sense- and antisense-stranded oligonucleotides were mixed and annealed, and the annealed duplexes were cloned into the pGenesil-1 vector. The rat glioma cells were transfected with constructed pGenesil-1-shRNA plasmid and scrambled plasmid. The cultured cells were collected at different phases, RT-PCR and Western blot were performed. The AT1 mRNA and protein levels behaved ultimately same. Compared to control after 48 h, AT1 mRNA levels were decreased to 35.5%±3.0%, and the levels reached their lowest point after 72 h (20.7%±4% of control). At 24 and 48 h, AT1 protein was reduced to 46.9%±4.2% and 36.98%±3.7% respectively compared to control and a maximum reduction was observed after 72 h of incubation (28.1%±4% compared to controls). Plasmid-based shRNA expression systems targeted against the rat angiotensin II receptor gene were generated successfully. The shRNAs with a 22-nt stem and a short loop were cleaved into small interfering dsRNA (siRNA) by the Dicer. Thein vitro transcribed siRNA enables the effective silencing of gene expression to the target mRNA and leads to effective inhibition of translation of proteins and will be lay the foundation of application of gene silencing technology to hypertensive rats.

Rat calcincurin (CaN) A α isoform (Ppp3ca) cDNA recombinant adenovirus vector was constructed in order to explore the effect of CaN on the myocardium apoptosis induced by ischemia-reperfusion injury. Total RNA was isolated from the heart of the adult Wistar rat, and Ppp3ca CDS segment of approximate 1.59 kb size was amplified by reverse transcriptional PCR method. Ppp3ca cDNA segment was cloned into pMD18-T Simple vector for sequencing, and the right clone was named T-Ppp3ca. Ppp3ca cDNA segment obtained from T-Ppp3ca was ligated with pShuttle2-IRES-EGFP to construct a recombinant plasmid pShuttle2-Ppp3ca-IRES-EGFP. Ppp3ca-IRES-EGFP expression cassette containing CMV, Ppp3ca-IRES-EGFP and SV40 polyA DNA fragment (3. 97 kb) obtained from pShuttle2-Ppp3ca-IRES-EGFP was connected with pAdeno-X backbone sequence to construct a recombinant plasmid pAdeno-Ppp3ca. After being identified by PCR and enzyme digestion, recombinant plasmid pAdeno-Ppp3ca was packaged in HEK293 cells. Supernatant of adenovirus from HEK293 cells was collected after a visible cytopathic effect (CPE) appeared. The DNA of the recombinant adenovirus was extracted with the standard method. The presence of the recombinant adenovirus was verified by PCR. The results showed that sequencing results verified that the PCR product of Ppp3ca gene was identical to GenBank. Agarose electrophoresis showed the bands of recombined plasmid pAdeno-Ppp3ca and the recombinant adenovirus identified by enzyme digestion and PCR were in the right range corresponding with expectation. It was concluded that the recombinant adenovirus carrying rat calcineurin A α (Ppp3ca) cDNNA as well as a report gene enhancer green fluorescent protein gene was successfully constructed in this experiment.

2,3,5,4′-tetra-hydroxystilbene-2-O-glucoside (THSG), the water-soluble active components extracted from dried tuber root ofPolygonum multi florum (Polygonaceae), can promote the release of nitric oxide (NO) from vascular endothelial cells and has strong antioxidation. The post-conditioning's protection of THSG on cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury and the mechanism were investigated. After reperfusion for 3 h following occlusion of rat left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) for 30 min. SαT recovery speed, arrhythmia and cardiac infarct size were observed. The ischemic size and infarct size was identified by using Evans blue and TTC staining methods re-spectively. The results showed that the infarct size in THSG 7. 5 mg/kg postconditioning group was significantly decreased from 43.6%±9.1% in mode group to 16.5%±6.5% (P<0.01). SαT recovery was quicker and the incidence of arrhythmia (55.6% vs 100%,P<0.05) was significantly lower than in control group. The infarct size in THSG+glybenclamide group was greater than in THSG group, but equivalent to that in control group (46.8%±9.8% vs 43.6%±9.1%,P>0.05), SαT recovery speed slower and the incidence of arrhythmia also lower (33.3% vs 100%,P<0.01), suggesting that glybenclamide could abolish the effects of THSG postconditioning reducing the cardiac infart size. It was concluded that THSG administration before reperfusion could effectively alleviate the cardiac reperfusion injury and possessed the postconditioning effects of reducing cardiac infarct size, which might be related with the K_ATP channel opening.

In order to investigate the protective effect of hypoxic preconditioning on the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax was detected by using immunohistochemical staining after 3h cerebral ischemia followed by 1, 6, 12, 24 and 48h reperfusion respectively in rats treated with or without hypoxic preconditioning before cerebral ischemia. In addition, the apoptosis of neural cells and the behavioral scores for neurological functions recovery were evaluated by TUNEL staining and “crawling method”, respectively. Compared with control group (cerebral ischemia-reperfusion without hypoxic preconditioning), the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly increased, but that of Bax decreased in the hypoxic preconditioning group (cerebral ischemia-reperfusion with hypoxic preconditioning), bothP<0.05. The pre-treatment with hypoxic preconditioning could reduce the apoptosis of neural cells and promote the neurological function recovery as compared to control group. It was suggested that hypoxic preconditioning may have protective effects on the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by inhibiting the apoptosis of neural cells, increase the expression of Bcl-2 and decrease the expression of Bax.

To examine the effects of ischemia and anoxia on cell activation and cell cycle of astrocytesin vitro, the cell cycles and the proliferation of astrocytes in different time points after ischemia and anoxia were studied by flow cytometry and BrdU labeling and the expression of GFAP and cyclin D1 was detected by the fluorescence immunochemistry. After ischemia and anoxiain vitro, the astrocytes in S phase were significantly increased as compared with those in the normal group and the proliferating ability of the astrocytes was highest 6 h after the treatment as revealed by BrdU pulse labeling, but the astrocytes in S, phase and proliferating ability were decreased after 6 h. At the early stages of ischemia and anoxia, the positive staining intensity of GFAP was increased, peaked at 6th h, while 12 h after the ischemia and anoxia, the positive staining intensity of GFAP became weak, and the expression of cyclin D1 was gradually increased after the ischemic and anoxic damage. It is concluded that astrocytes are activated to proliferate and enter new cycle events by ischemia and anoxia, and cyclin D1 is implicated in the proliferation and repair of astrocytes. The cell cycle events are closely associated with the proliferation and activation of astrocytes.

The effect of dexamethasone with different concentrations and different stimulating periods on the expression of glucocorticoid receptors (GRα, GRβ) protein was investigated in human monocyte cell line THP-1. The cultured human monocyte line THP-1 cells were stimulated by dexamethasone with different concentrations and different periods. The expression of GRα and GRβ protein was detected by Western blotting. The results showed that the expression of GRα and GRβ was detected in the THP-1 cells. The quantity of GRα expression was reduced by dexamethasone under the same concentration with the prolongation of the stimulating periods. The quantity of GRβ expression was increased by dexamethasone treatment in a time- and dose-dependent manner. It was concluded that dexamethasone stimulation time-dependently reduced the GRα expression in THP-1 cells. Dexamethasone stimulation time- and dose-dependently increased the GRβ expression in THP-1 cells. The expression of GRα and GRβ was regulated by glucocorticoid.

Human monocyte leukemia cell line THP-1 was stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to simulate the sepsis model and the expression of human glucocorticoid receptor-α (GR-α) mRNA in montocytes with endotoxin tolerance was investigated. THP-1 cells were cultured in serum-free medium, randomly divided into groups A, B, C, D and E, and stimulated with 0, 10, 10, 100,0 ng/mL LPS for 24 h followed with 100, 100, 10, 100,0 ng/mL LPS for another 24 h respectively. The expression of GR-α mRNA was detected by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptional polymerase chain reaction. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that the A values of GR-α/β-actin in groups A, B, C, D and E was, 0.607±0.006, 0.368±0.005, 0.484±0.008, 0.509±0.004 and 0.564±0.014 respectively with the difference being significant among the groups (P<0.05). The GR-α mRNA expression was negatively correlated with the TNF-α expression (P|<0.01). It was concluded that the down-regulation of the expression of GR-α mRNA in endotoxin tolerance THP-1 cells might play an important role in the development of endotoxin tolerance in THP-1 cells.

The expression of stretch-activated potassium channel TREK-1 mRNA and protein of hypertrophic myocardium was measured. Using a model of hypertrophy induced by coaretation of abdominal aorta in male Wistar rats, the expression of TREK-1 mRNA and protein was detected by using semi quantitative RT PCR and Western blot respectively. At 4th and 8th week after constriction of the abdominal aorta, rats developed significant left ventricular hypertrophy. As compared to sham operated group, stretch activated potassium channel TREK-1 mRNA was strongly expressed and protein was up regulated in operation groups (P<0.05). It was concluded that the expression of TREK 1 was up regulated in hypertrophic myocardium induced by chronic pressure overload in Wistar rats.

The relationship between M3 cholinergic receptor agonist (carbachol) hyperstimulation-induced pancreatic acinar cellular injury and trypsinogen activation or NF-κB activation in rats was studiedin vitro. Rat pancreatic acinar cells were isolated, cultured and treated with carbachol, the active protease inhibitor (pefabloc), and NF-κB inhibitor (PDTC)in vitro. Intracellular trypsin activity was measured by using a fluorogenic substrate. The cellular injury was evaluated by measuring the leakage of LDH from pancreatic acinar cells. The results showed that as compared with control group, 10⁻³ mol/L carbachol induced a significant increase of the intracellular trypsin activity and the leakage of LDH from pancreatic acinar cells. Pretreatment with 2 mmol/L pefabloc could significantly decrease the activity of trypsin and the leakage of LDH from pancreatic acinar cells (P<0.01) following the treatment with a high concentration of carbachol (10⁻³ mol/L)in vitro. The addition of 10⁻² mol/L PDTC didn't result in a significant decrease in the activity of trypsin and the leakage of LDH from pancreatic acinar cells treated with a high concentration of carbachol (10⁻³ mol/L)in vitro (P>0.05). It was concluded that intracellular trypsinogen activation is likely involved in pancreatic acinar cellular injury induced by carbachol hyperstimulationin vitro. NF-κB activation may not be involved in pancreatic acinar cellular injury induced by carbachol hyperstimulationin vitro.

The effect and mechanism of the ciglitazone on lung cancer cells A549 growthin vitro andin vivo were studied. Various concentrations of ciglitazone were added to the cultured A549 line, and the proliferation and differentiation of A549 cells were examined by MTT and cytometry analysis. A549 cells (1×10⁶/mouse) were inoculated subcutaneously into 20 nude mice, which were randomly divided into two groups: the control group, the ciglitazone treated group. The weights of subcutaneous tumors were measured. The expression of cyclin D1 and P21 in the lung was detected by immohistochemistry and Western blot respectively. The results showed that the proliferation of A549 was inhibited significantly by ciglitazone in a dose- and time-dependent manner. There were more cells arrested in G₁/G₀ phase and the expression of PPARγ was markedly up-regulated in ciglitazone-treated group. Direct injection of ciglitazone into A549-induced tumors could suppress tumor growth in nude mice and the growth inhibitory rate was 36%. The expression of cyclin D1 was decreased and P21 increased significantly in ciglitazone-treated group as compared with control group. It was concluded that ciglitazone could inhibit A549 proliferation dose-dependently and time-dependently and induce differentiation, which might be related to the modulation of cell cycle interfered by PPARγ.

The efficacy and safety of the recombinant mutant human tumor necrosis factor (rmhTNF) combined with chemotherapy vs chemotherapy alone in the treatment of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) were evaluated in this study. The selected 37 patients with SCLC were divided into experimental group (n=18) and control group (n=19). Both groups were subjected to EP regimen. While in the experimental group, a regimen of 4×10⁶ U/m² rmhTNF intramuscular injection was given once a day from the 1st to 7th day and 11th to 17th day on the chemotherapy cycle. Twenty-one days were as a chemotherapy cycle and all patients received treatment with 2 cycles. The response rate was 83.3% (15/18) in the experimental group and 63.2% (12/19) in the control group respectively (P<0.05). The KPS score after treatment was 78.4±9.6 in the experimental group and 71.2±9.7 in the control group with the difference being significant (P<0.05). No severe adverse effects occurred in the two groups. It was concluded that the curative effectiveness of the rmhTNF combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of SCLC was more satisfactory than chemotherapy alone. The former could obviously improve the quality of life of the patients with SCLC.

In order to explore the molecular mechanism of arsenic trioxide treating multiple myeloma (MM) via inhibition of angiogenesis, the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its specific receptor TrkB in human MM cell line KM3 and endothelial cell line ECV304 was detected by Western blotting. The angiogenic activity was evaluated by wound migration assay and tubule formation assayin vitro. The results showed that BDNF was detected in the MM cells and TrkB in the endothelial cells. Furthermore, 100 ng/mL BDNF could significantly induced endothelial cell tubule formation and wound migration. As₂O₃ depressed the expression of BDNF and TrkB in the dose- and time-dependent manner. As₂O₃ inhibited BDNF-induced wound migration and capillary tube formation. It was concluded that BDNF is a novel angiogenic protein as well as VEGF and has a relation with the pathogenesis of MM. As₂O₃ interrupts a paracrine loop between MM cells and endothelial cells by down-regulating the TrkB expression in endothelial cells and inhibiting BDNF production in MM cells, finally resulting in inhibition of MM angiogenesis. This is probably one part of the mechanisms of the As₂O₃ treating MM via the inhibition of angiogenesis.

To investigate the therapeutic effects and associated complications of allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (allo-PBSCT). 10 patients with various malignant hematopoietic diseases received allo PBSCT. The preparative regimens were based on BUCY2 or modified BUCY2. The acute graft versus host disease (aGVIII) was prevented by cyclosporin A and shortterm MTX regimen in all patients. Two patients from donors with one fully mismatched HLA on DRB1 locus and 4 from unrelated donor also administered Zenapox (CD25 MAb) at dosage of 1 mg/kg every day on the day before transplantation and day 1 after transplantation. These 6 patients were also treated with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). Transfusion of the donor cells: The median of the transfused nucleated cells was 5.38<10⁸/kg and that of the CD34′ cells was 7.8×10⁶/kg respectively. All the patients gained hematopoietic reconstruction except one who died of infection before engraftment. Seven patients got II′ IV^o aGVHD, and the incidence was 17.5%. Fourteen patients got cGVHD and the incidence was 53.8% in the patients who survived over 6 months. Twenty-eight patients had fever or other characteristics of infection. The median follow-up time was 13.8 months. The incidence of transplantation related mortality (TRM) was 17.5% and 2 patients relapsed (5.0_). It was concluded that allo PBSCT can reconstruct hematopoiesis quickly and is a favorable therapeutic method for leukemia.

The effects of SB203580 (SB) with different concentrations at different time points on renal function, apoptosis, P38MAPK activity and the expression, as well as the P38MAPK substrates in renal ischemia/reperfusion injury were investigated. Forty-nine rats were divided into 7 groups at random (n=7 in each group) according to the durations of ischemia/reperfusion injury and the time of medication. Based on the orthogonal Latin side, the rats were injected, by caudal vein, with the same volume but different dosages of SB. BUN and Scr were determined. The apoptosis was detected with TUNEL kit. The protein was assayed qualitatively and semi-quantitatively by Western blot. The results showed that SB could significantly reduce the increased Scr and BUN, the apoptosis of renal tubular epithelia and the activation of P38MAPK all caused by renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05). And the effect was most predominant when SB was given 3 h before renal ischemia. This suggested that SB could significantly alleviate renal ischemia/reperfusion injury. Administration of SB 3 h before ischemia at the concentration of 5 μmol/L could obtain an optimal effect.

In order to characterize the effects of 17β estradiol (17β-E₂) on the expression of IL-6, IL 11 and NF-κB in the human MG 63 osteoblast like cell line, the expression of IL-6 was detected by RT-PCR. Northern blot and Western blot. The expression of IL-11 was determined by RT-PCR, and NF-κB by Western blot. The results showed that 17β-E₂ down-regulated the expression of IL 6 mRNA and protein. IL 11 mRNA and NF κB protein in MG-63 cells. It was suggested that the expression of NF-κB, IL-6 and IL-11 in MG 63 cells could be suppressed by 17β-E₂, and this might lend support to estrogen replacement therapy in postmenopausal women.

The damage degree of neurons in perilesion at different time points was observed in order to explore the optimal operation occasion. Piglet lobar hematomas were produced by pressure-controlled infusions of 2.5 mL autonomous blood into the right frontal hemispheric white matter over 15 min, and the metabolic changes were ambulatorily detected with MRS at 3rd, 12th, 24th and 48th h after hematoma induction. Brain tissues of perihematoma were also obtained at different time points. The transcription level of Bax gene was detected by in situ hybridization and apoptosis by TUNEL technique, and the pathologic change of neurons was observed under an electron microscope. The results showed that the number of Bax positive cells reached the peak at 24 h (79.00±4.243/5 fields). There was no significant difference in A values between 3 h and 6 h, 12 h (P>0.05), but there significant difference between 24 h and 3 h, 6 h, 12 h (P<0.05). The number of apoptotic cells reached the peak at 24 h (P<0.001), and there was no significant difference between 3 h and 6 h (P=0.999). The area of the apoptotic cells showed no significant difference between 3 h and 6 h or among 3 h, 6 h and 6 h (P>0.05). Lac peak mainly occurred at 24 h and 48 h, while on the healthy side, no Lac peak was detectable. The ratio of NAA/Cr presented a descent tendency, but there was no significant difference among the groups before 12 h (P>0.05), there was very significant difference between 3, 6 and 24, 48 h (P<0.01). Under electronic microscopy, the neuronal damage surrounding hematoma in 3 to 6 h was milder than in 24 h to 48 h. It was concluded that the secondary apoptosis, damage and metabolic disturbance of the neurons surrounding hematoma was milder in 3–6 h in acute intracerebral hemorrhage, while obviously aggravated in 24–48 h. An effective intervention is needed to reduce secondary damage as soon as possible.

In order to gain insight into a possible association between chronic sinusitis and asthma, 85 patients with sinusitis and asthma underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgical treatment and serum antibodies and cytokines were measured. The results showed that 51 out of 85 patients with high serum anti-Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB) antibody before treatment obtained satisfactory results for both sinusitis and asthma. The high level of Th2 cytokine IL-4 was down regulated to the levels of normal controls after sinus surgery. Thirty-four out of 85 patients did not show high serum anti-SEB antibody before sinus surgery and did not show much improvement, in their asthmatic symptoms although sinusitis symptoms were resolved by sinus surgery. It was concluded that bacterial superantigen SEB (in the sinuses) might play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of lower airway hypersensitivity.

The inhibition of metastatic progression of Somatostatin receptor type 2 (SSTR2) gene transfection mediated by adenovirus in human pancreatic carcinoma cells and the mechanism involved in this effect were studied. The full-length human SSTR2 cDNA was introduced into the pancreatic cancer cell line BXPC-3 by adenovirus-mediated transfection. Stable expression of mRNAs and protein of SSTR2 was detected by RT-PCR and Western-blot. The Matrigel-coated Transwell was used to detect the migratory and invasive ability of SSTR2-expressing cells, Adv-GFP control cells and mock control cells. Furthermore, the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) was detected by RT-PCR in these cells. The stable expression of SSTR2 was detected in BXPC-3 transfected by Adv-GFP-SSTR2. A dramatic decrease of BXPC-3 expressing sst2 cells migrating through a Matrigel-coated filter was observed, as compared with Adv-GFP control and mock control cells (P<0.01). Moreover, the expression of MMP-2 mRNA was significantly reduced in the SSTR2-expressing cells and conversely the expression of TIMP-2 mRNA was significantly increased in the SSTR2-expressing cells when compared with the Adv-GFP control and mock control (P<0.01). The expression of reintroduced human SSTR2 gene in BXPC-3 cells by Adv-GFP-SSTR2 had the anti-migratory and anti-invasive effects, and the mechanisms involved in this effect may be due to the down-regulated expression of MMP-2 and up-regulated expression of TIMP-2.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation is an essential step that allows tumor cells to penetrate a tissue barrier and become metastatic. Heparanase (HPSE) is an endoglycosidase that specifically degrades heparin sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG), a chief component of ECM, HPSE is not expressed in normal epithelial cells but can be detected in a variety of human carcinomas including pancreatic cancer. In the present study, human pancreatic cancer cell line Panc-1 was transfected with HPSE antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (AS-ODN)in vitro, then the inhibitory effect of AS-ODN on HPSE gene expression and invasive ability of Panc-1 cellsin vitro was examined. The HPSE mRNA and protein expression of Panc-1 cells transfected with AS-ODN was significantly inhibited. However, there were no marked inhibitory effects in Panc-1 cells treated with nonsense oligodeoxynucleotide (NS-ODN). Moreover, a modified Boyden chamber assay demonstrated that transfection with HPSE AS-ODN significantly inhibited invasive potential of Panc-1 cellsin vitro after AS-ODN transfection. This suggests that HPSE AS-ODN may contribute to the inhibition of HPSE mRNA and protein expression, and results in a decrease of the invasive ability of Panc-1in vitro.

In order to investigate the inhibitory effects on the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and cell growth in hapatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by blocking HIF-1α and Smad3 binding site in the VEGF promoter, antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ASODN) were designed to block HIF-1α and Smad3 binding site in the VEGF promoter. Different concentrations of ASODN and ODN were transfected into HCC cells respectively. The expression of VEGF mRNA and protein was detected by SABC, Western blot and RT-PCR techniques and the inhibitory effects on the expression of VEGF and cell growth of the HCC cells stimulated by the supernatants were determined by using MTT method. Immunohistochestry revealed that after co-inoculation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells with different concentrations of ODN and ASODN for 48 h, there was no significant difference in the expression of VEGF protein between ODN group and control group (P>0.05), but there was significant difference between ASODN, the difference was very significant (P<0.01). Western blot and RT-PCR revealed that, after treatment for 48 h at a concentration of 10 μmol/L, the integral gray levels and RNA odds were 59743.2±10412.5 and 0.783±0.032 in ODN group, and 38694.5±10925.1 and 0.468±0.015 in ASODN group, respectively, with the difference being very significant (P<0.01). Antisense ODN could inhibit the growth of HCC cells in a concentration-dependent manner. It was concluded that anti-gene technique of aiming at HIF-1α action site in the VEGF promoter could suppress the VEGF expression and inhibit HCC cell growth, and it is promising that anti-gene technique works as a new gene therapeutic tool for anti-angiogenesis of HCC.

To study the significance of FasL expression in immune escape of colorectal carcinoma. FasL protein expression and the number of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in 80 specimens of colorectal carcinoma were detected by immunohistochemitry. The mRNA of FasL was measured byin situ hybridization in the consecutive tissue slices of 80 colorectal carcinomas respectively. Using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL0, apoptotic cells were detected in 80 specimens of colorectal carcinoma. The expression of FasL was detected in all 80 specimens, but it was not even in the same or among different tissues. In the consecutive tissue slices, the location of expression of FasL protein corresponded with that of FasL mRNA. In those with FasL extensive expression, the number of TILs was less than that of FasL weak expression (P<0.05), and the apoptotic index (AI) of TILs was higher and that of tumor cells was lower than that of FasL with weak expression respectively (P<0.01). The AI of TILs was correlated with that of tumor cells (r=−0.631,P<0.01). It was suggested that colorectal carcinoma cells can induce the apoptosis of TILs through the expression of FasL, which can counterattack the immune system. This may be one of the mechanisms of immune evasion in colorectal carcinoma.

The feasibility and safety of total arterial coronary revascularization with 2 arterial conduits in patients with impaired left ventricular function was evaluated. Data were prospectively collected on all patients with multiple vessel disease and moderately or severely impaired left ventricular function, who underwent coronary surgery with the intention of total arterial revascularization with 2 conduits between March 1995 and August 2002. One hundred and seventy-nine patients were included in the study. Acute coronary insufficiency was present in 3 patients and 43 had unstable angina. Severe left ventricular impairment was present in 29 patients. There were 17 redo operations including 3 redo-redo procedures. Eighty-two percent of patients had a Y graft configuration from the left internal mammary artery (right internal mammary artery 40.8%, radial artery 33.5%, other 7.8%). The perioperative mortality was 2.2%, myocardial infarction 1.7% and stroke 0.6%. Total arterial revascularization in patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction can be safely performed with 2 arterial conduits. The radial artery provides conduit length greater than the right internal mammary artery and allows full revascularization despite left ventricular dilatation.

The expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and leucine-rich repeats and immunoglobulin-like domain 1 (LRIG-1) in human trigeminal neurinoma was investigated and their effect on the origination and development of trigeminal neurinoma, and the relationship between them was studied. By using immunohistochemistry with tissue chip, the expression of EGFR and LRIG-1 was detected in 23 cases of trigeminal neurinoma. It was found that in the 23 cases, the expression rate of EGFR was 21. 74%, while that of the LRIG-1 was 78. 26%. There was a negative correlation between them. It was suggested that LRIG-1 might inhibit the malignant differentiation and proliferation of the trigeminal neurinoma possibly by the negative feedback loop of EGFR.

The regulatory effects of niacinamide (Nia) on intervertebral disc (IVD) aggrecanin vitro was investigated. Chiba's 10 ng/mL interleukin-1 (IL-1)-induced rabbit IVD degeneration modelin vitro was established. 0. 5, 0. 25 and 0. 05 mg/mL Nia was added to normal and degenerated IVDs for intervention. On the first and second week after intervention, safranin O-fast green staining intensity and glycosaminoglycan (GS) content were measured. The expression of aggrecan core protein was detected by RT-PCR. The results showed: (1) After treatment with 0.5 mg/mL Nia for one week, the GS content in nucleus pulposus (NP) was increased by 44.8%, as compared with control group (P<0.01); The GS content in IL-1 induction groups was increased with the increase of Nia concentrations: After treatment with 0.5 mg/mL for one week, the GS content in NP was increased by 68.3 % as compared with control group (P<0.01). After two weeks, GS content in NP and fibrous rings was still higher than in control group at the same period (P<0.01) and untreated group (P<0.01). (2) Safranin O-fast green staining revealed that with the increase of Nia concentrations staining density in NP and fibrous rings was increased and histological structure damage to IVDs by IL-1β was alleviated. (3) RT-PCR showed that the expression of core protein gene in IL-1β-induced degenerated IVDS was increased with the increase of Nia concentrations. It was concluded that under conditionsin vitro, Nia could up-regulate the expression of aggrecan in IVDs and protect IVDs from IL-1β-induced degeneration at least partially, which offers a potential choice for IVD degeneration clinical therapy.

In order to explore the treatments and prognosis of pituitary adenomas in children, the experience in the treatment of 15 children with pituitary adenomas was summed up. The clinical data of 15 children with pituitary adenomas in Tongji Hospital were retrospectively analyzed from Jan. 1997 to Aug. 2004, including 9 males and 6 females with the age ranging from 9–15 years old (mean 12.8). The disease duration was 3 months to 5 years (mean 2 years). Fourteen cases were subjected to the microsurgical operation through oral tanssphenoidal approach and one case to medical treatment. All cases were followed up from 1 to 5 years by imaging studies and endocrine investigation. The results showed that 13 cases obtained total removal of the tumor and one subtotal removal of tumor. No severe complications and operation death occurred. It was concluded that the tanssphenoidal approach was the optimal treatment for children with pituitary adenomas. Regular and long-term follow-up is of great importance.

The necessity and superiority of the surgical operation on children with floating knee injury and the fracture union and complications were investigated. Twenty-eight children with floating knee injury were subjected to open reduction and internal fixation or external fixator. The patients were followed up for 18 months to 7 years. The curative effectiveness was scored by Karlstrom criteria. The results showed that no nonunion or deformity was found. The affected limb was 1.2 cm to 1.5 cm longer in 2 cases, 0.8 to 1.2 cm shorter in 3 cases than the contralateral. No severe dysfunction of knee joint occurred. The excellent-good rate was 92.8% and the curative rate 71.4% respectively. So for children whose age is older than 5 years, it's a good way to treat the fractures of femur and tibia with open reduction and internal fixation or external fixator. The method can be advantageous for the nursing care, early function recovery, shortening of the hospital stay and avoidance of severe complications.

In order to establish more simple and effective rat orthotopic lung transplantation models, 20 rats were divided into donor and recipient groups. Rat lung transplantation models were established by using improved cuff technique. All the 10 operations were accomplished successfully. The mean operative time of recipients was 45±4 min. The survival time was over 30 days after lung transplantation. The checks of X-ray were almost normal. There was no significant difference in the blood gas analysis before and after clipping the right hilum (P>.05). This method is more simple, applicable and requires less time.

The relationship between hypermethylation of CpG islands in the promoter regions of O⁶-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) genes and laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma was explored. Methylation-specific PCR and semi-quantitative RT-PCR were used to study the promoter methylation and mRNA expression of the MGMT gene in laryngeal carcinoma tissues, tissues adjacent to the tumor and normal laryngeal tissues. Hypermethylation of MGMT gene was detected in 16 samples of 46 (34.8%) laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma samples. However, the MGMT hypermethylation was not detected in all tissues adjacent to the tumors and normal tissues. No significant difference in MGMT gene hypermethylation was found in samples with different histological grades (χ³=3.130,P=0.077) or in samples from patients with different TNM status (χ²=3.957,P=0.138). No expression of MGMT mRNA was detected in all hypermethylated laryngeal carcinoma tissues. The expression of MGMT mRNA was detected in all unmethylated laryngeal carcinoma tissues, tissues adjacent to the tumors and normal tissues. It suggests that MGMT gene promoter hypermethylation is associated with MGMT gene transcription loss in laryngeal carcinoma tissues and possibly plays an important role in carcinogenesis of laryngeal tissues.

In order to study the expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and its significance, the expression of VEGF mRNA and COX-2 mRNA in 62 cases of LSCC and 54 adjacent noncancerous laryngeal tissues and 9 normal human laryngeal mucous tissues was detected by using techniques of semi-quantitative RT-PCR. It was found that the expression level of VEGF and COX-2 mRNA was significantly increased in LSCC as compared with that in the normal human laryngeal mucous tissues (bothP<0.01), and the expression level of VEGF and COX-2 mRNA were significantly increased in stage III+IV tissues of LSCC as compared with the stage I+II tissues of LSCC (P<0.01). There was a high positive correlation between VEGF and COX-2 expression in LSCC (r=0.756,P<0.01). These data raise the possibility that VEGF and COX-2 may play key roles in the growth, invasion and metastasis of LSCC.

In order to evaluate the availability of the lateral horizontal laryngectomy and anaplasty of epiglottis to treat some patients with specific supraglottic carcinomas and hypopharyngeal carcinomas, 17 cases of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinomas were retrospectively analyzed, whose tumors were located at the lateral margin of epiglottis, aryepiglottic fold, medial wall of piriform fossa and were treated by the lateral horizontal laryngectomy and anaplasty of epiglottis. The results showed that all cases took food by mouth in postoperative 9–14 days and subjected to decannulation in postoperative 9–15 days. Three cases had postoperative hoarse voice. The free-disease survival rate of 3 years was 71.4% in 14 cases followed up after the first surgical therapy, and the overall free-disease survival rate of 3 years was 85.7% after the second surgical therapy. It was concluded that the manipulations of the lateral horizontal laryngectomy and epiglottiplasty were simple. It could alleviate the postoperative symptoms of aspiration and bucking remarkably and shorten their postoperative recovery time, yet does not lower the survival rate of patients if laryngocarcinoma or hypopharyngeal carcinoma cases were properly selected.

The effects of antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (antisense ODN) to follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) and follicle-stimulating bormone (FSH) on the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were studied in primary culture cells derived from human ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma (OMC). The primary OMC cells were cultured with the enzyme digestion method, and the expression of pan Keratin protein and FSHR mRNA was detected for identification of the cells. OMC cells were co-cultured with antisense ODN, nonsense ODN and FSH with different concentrations for 48 h and 72 h. The expression of PCNA and VEGF was detected by using SP immunohistochemistry. Compared with that in the control group, the PCNA and VEGF expression was increased obviously in FSH groups (P<0.05 orP<0.01). while decreased significantly in antisense ODN groups (P<0.05 orP<0.01) and unchanged in nonsense ODN groups, respectively. Meanwhile, antisense ODN could antagonize the increased expression of PCNA and VEGF caused by FSH significantly (P<0.01). It was suggested that FSH might promote the development of OMC to some extent. Antisense ODN could inhibit the proliferative activity of OMC cells and the promoting proliferative activity enhanced by FSH.

To investigate the expressions of placental growth factor (PLGF) in placenta with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), 45 women with HDP and 20 normally pregnant women were studied. Among 45 women with HDP, there were 23 cases of severe preeclampsia and one case of eclampsia. The location and level of PLGF proteins was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The expression of PLGF mRNA in placenta was assessed by reverse transcriptional-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results showed that: (1) The distribution of PLGF in placenta with HDP was similar to normal one, which was mainly in the cytoplasm of villous syncytiotrophoblast and villous stroma; (2) The expression of PLGF protein was significantly decreased in placentas with mild and severe preeclampsia compared to the normal ones (0.3±0.4 vs 0.6±0.4, 0.2±0.5 vs 0.6±0.4,P<0.01). There were no differences between the gestational, hypertension placenta and normal one (0.5±0.6 vs 0.6±0.4,P>0.05); (3) The transcription levels of the PLGF mRNA in placentas with preeclampsia were significantly lower than in normal groups (3.33±0.39 vs 4.87±0.60, 1.97±0.29 vs 4.87±0.60,P<0.01), and no differences were found between the gestational hypertension placenta and normal groups. These findings suggest that the abnormal expression of PLGF in placentas is related to the pathogenesis of HDP.

In order to investigate the expression levels of Pin1 mRNA and protein in cervical cancer and its association with Ki67 and their clinical significance, amplification of Pin1 gene was examined by RT-PCR, and the expression of both Pin1 and Ki67 protein was detected by immunohistochemistry in cervical cancer tissues. It was shown that the expression levels of Pin1 were higher in cervical cancer than in normal cervical tissues (P<0.05). The expression of Pin1 protein was increased progressively along with the disease process from normal cervix to CIN and to cervical cancer (P<0.05). No significant difference in the Pin1 expression was found between disease stages (FIGO), pathological grades or pelvic lymph node metastasis status (P>0.05). The expression of Pin1 was significantly higher in adenocarcinoma than in squamous carcinoma of the uterine cervix (P<0.05). In cervical cancer, the overexpression of Pin1 was positively correlated with that of Ki67 (P<0.05). These results suggested that the overexpression of Pin1 was closely related with cancer cell proliferation or progression of cervical cancer and contributed to oncogenesis. Pin1 may serve as a potential marker for cervical cancer diagnosis.

A new nested-polymerase chain reaction (nested-PCR) assay was developed to detect human parvovirus B19 DNA corresponding to the nonstructural protein in clinical specimens in a routine diagnostic laboratory. The sensitivity of this highly specific assay was up to 0.005 fg of B19 DNA. Parvovirus B19 was identified in sera of 20 pregnant women with abnormal pregnant out-come. Among these 20 cases. intrauterine parvovirus infection did exist in 7 pregnant women because parvovirus B19 DNA was detected in the pregnant tissues of them such as placenta tissues, chorionic villi amniotic fluid, fetal spleen, liver and abdominal fluids.

To investigate the influences of sperm quality on the zygotes and embryos development, as the role of the paternal factor in early human embryogenesis is gaining more attention because of the application of techniques such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for the treatment of men infertility, 136 infertility couples with men factors (Group 1) were included from May 2002 to January 2001. One hundred and seventy-two infertility couples with tube factors (Group II) served as controls. The sperm parameters, gemmates and embryos quality, implantation rate and pregnant rate in both groups were analyzed. It was found that there was no significant differences in the number of oocytes retrieved, the fertilization rate and number of embryos transferred between two groups. Sperm concentration, percentage of motile sperm and percentage of sperm with normal morphology were significantly lower in group I than in group II (P<0.01). The proportion of good quality zygotes and good quality embryos were significantly lower in the male infertility group than in the tubal disease group (P<0.05). Implantation rate and pregnancy rate were similar in two groups. It was concluded that spermatozoa is involved in the embryo quality, even in the early stages of development, which limited the treatment potency of IVF procedure.

In order to explore the effects of testicular infection of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) on mature sperm viability at different periods following MCMV inoculation in mice, 91 BALB/c mice without MCMV infection were randomly divided into two groups: an experimental group (n=56) and a control group (n=35). The mice in the experimental group were treated by inoculating MCMV intratesticularly, while those in the controlled group were directly inoculated with DMEM without MCMV. The mice in both groups were sacrificed separately on the day 1,1.5,2,4,6,9 and 14 post-inoculation (D1, 1.5,2,4,6,9 and 14 PI). The MCMV M83 mRNA gene was detected in the testis byin situ hybridization (ISH) with MCMV late-mRNA probe labeled with digoxin. Sperm viability of mature sperm in the epididymis cauda was measured. The results demonstrated the positive signal of ISH of MCMV was found mainly in the cytoplasm of the testicular interstitial cells and spermatogenic cells in the experimental group. Compared with that in the controlled group, the sperm viability in the experimental group was decreased significantly on D1 PI and D1.5 PI (P<0.05). No statistically significant difference in the sperm viability was found after D2 PI between two groups (P>0.05). This suggested that sperm viability in mice might be descended significantly shortly after MCMV infection and might return to normal with time, indicating that MCMV acute infection might temporarily degrade sperm quality and influence procreation transiently.

Small hairpin RNA (shRNA) was used to silence the HIF1α gene in human retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) under hypoxia in order to observe the effect of gene silencing on the expression of matrix metalloproteinase tissue inhibitor 1 (TIMP1). By using chemical hypoxic inducer CoCl₂ to mimic RPE hypoxic environment, shRNA against the targeting region of HIF1α mRNA sequence was synthesized by a method ofin vitro transcription, and the HIF1α was interfered in RPE cultured under hypoxia (induced by 150 μmol/L CoCl₂). RT-PCR was employed to detect the expression of HIF1α and TIMP1. The expression levels of HIF1α and TIMP1 were measured by using Western blotting. The results showed that after the RPE were transfected with specific shRNA against HIF1α mRNA. RT-PCR revealed that under hypoxia, the efficacy of HIF1α gene silencing in RPE was 83.4%. Western blotting revealed that the expression levels of HIF1α protein was dramatically dropped. In addition, RT-PCR results demonstrated that the expression of TIMP1 mRNA was decreased by 28.9% and the expression levels of TIMP1 protein were also significantly reduced by Western blotting. It was suggested that shRNA targeted against HIF1α mRNA could effectively silence the HIF1α gene, subsequently effectively inhibit the hypoxia-induced up-regulation of TIMP1.

The changes in the expression of aquaporin-1 (AQP1) mRNA and protein in cultured human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cells treated with dexamethasone and transfected with antisense oligonucleotides (AS-ODN) were studied, and the implication of AQP1 regulation in corticosteroid-glaucoma and the possibility of AS-ODN inhibiting the AQP1 expression were evaluated. The cultured HTM cellsin vitro were treated with different concentrations of dexamethasone and transfected with oligonucleotides for 5 days respectively. Then, total RNA and protein of HTM cells were extracted. The changes of AQP1 mRNA and protein were demonstrated qualitatively and quantitatively by RT-PCR and Western blot. Band intensities were detected by imaging analysis. There was a parallel relationship between the results of RT-PCR and those of Western blot. The expression levels of AQP1 mRNA and protein in dexamethasone-treated groups were increased initially and decreased later as dexamethasone concentration was stepped up. In the 0.04 μg/mL and 0.4 μg/mL groups, the levels of AQP1 were higher than in control group (0 μg/mL). In the 4 μg/mL and 40 μg/mL groups, the AQP1 expression levels were lower than in control group. AS-ODN could down regulate the expression of AQP1 mRNA and protein in a dose-dependent manner. At 5 μg/mL, down-regulation efficiency reached the maximum. There was no statistically significant difference in the expression of AQP1 mRNA and protein between all sense oligonucleotides groups and control group. It was suggested that dexamethasone may induce the changes of the AQP1 expression in HTM cells to be involved in the occurrence of corticosteroid-glaucoma. AS-ODN can down-regulate the AQP1 expression in HTM cells to some extent.

The central corneal thickness (CCT) in age 48 years or less of Chinese was characterized and its relationship with gender, age, refraction and intraocular pressure (IOP) was investigated. Right eyes of 1669 participants were included in this study (880 men, 52.7% and 789 women, 47.3%). Mean age of the samples was 23.8±5.9 years. After the examination of corneal topography and refraction. Goldman applanation tonometry was carried out by one physician. Tonometric values were the mean of three consecutive readings. Subsequently, another physician carried out ultrasonic pachymetry with the DGH 2000 AP ultrasonic pachymeter. Six measurements were made at the center of the cornea of each eye. The mean value was used for analysis. The results showed that mean CCT of male participants was 551.33±34.62 μm, 5.79 μm more than that of female participants. Linear regression analyses revealed that CCT was negatively related with age only in female and no association was found between refractive status and CCT. IOP was positively related to CCT, and there was a difference in IOP of 1.5 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) per 100 μm difference in CCT. Ocular hypertension group was prone to have thicker cornea than average. The results indicated that in adult Chinese CCT tended to decrease with aging in female only. IOP measured by Goldmann tonometry was positively related with CCT so that CCT should be measured along with IOP.

In order to investigate the IFN-γ and IL-4 expression of CD8⁺ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood from patients with recurrent genital herpes (RGH) at different clinical periods and their relationship with the pathogenesis of RGH, flow cytometry was used to detect the intracellular cytokines (IFN-γ and IL-4) of CD8⁺ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of 30 patients with RGH at acute period, 20 patients with RGH at recovery period and 15 healthy volunteers. The results showed that RGH patients at acute period had a lower percentage of Tc1 subsets in peripheral blood than that of healthy controls (P<0.001), especially a remarkable decreased percentage of Tc1 subsets (P<0.001) among those RGH patients with recurrent number more than 3 in the recent half a year. Tc1/Tc2 ratio in the RGH patients at acute period was significantly decreased as compared with normal control group (P<0.05). The recurrent number of acute patients in the recent half a year was significantly correlated with the percentage of Tc1 subsets and the ratio of Tc1/Tc2 (P<0.05). A decreased percentage of Tc1 subsets was found among the RGH patients with recurrent number more than 3 in the recent half a year at recovery period in comparison with healthy volunteers (P<0.05), and it was significantly correlated with the recurrent number in the recent half a years (P<0.05). It is concluded that there are Tc1/Tc2 inbalance and a low level of Tc1 subsets in RGH patients who are relapsing repcatedly in the near period. The low level of Tc1 subsets may be an important factor for the recurrence of RGH and the reactivation of latent herpesvirus infection.

The recently introduced real-time three-dimensional color Doppler flow imaging RT-3D CDFI) technique provides a quick and accurate calculation of regurgitant jet volume (RJV) and fraction. In order to evaluate RT-3D CDFI in the noninvasive assessment of aortic RJV and regurgitant jet fraction (RJF) in patients with isolated aortic regurgitation, real-time three-dimensional echocardiographic studies were performed on 23 patients with isolated aortic regurgitation to obtain LV end-diastolic volumes (LVEDV), end-systolic volumes (LVESV) and RJV, and then RJF could be calculated. The regurgitant volume (RV) and regurgitant fraction (RF) calculated by two-dimensional pulsed Doppler (2D-PD) method served as reference values. The results showed that aortic RJV measured by the RT-3D CDFI method showed a good correlation with the 2D-PD measurements (r=0.93, Y=0.89X+3.9, SEE=8.6 mL,P<0.001); the mean (SD) difference between the two methods was-1.5 (9.8) mL. % RJF estimated by the RT-3D CDFI method was also correlated well with the values obtained by the 2D-PD method (r=0.88, Y=0.71X+14.8, SEE=6.4%,P<0.001); the mean (SD) difference between the two methods was-1.2 (7.9)%. It was suggested that the newly developed RT-3D CDFI technique was feasible in the majority of patients. In patients with eccentric aortic regurgitation, this new modality provides additional information to that obtained from the two-dimensional examination, which overcomes the inherent limitations of two-dimensional echocardiography by depicting the full extent of the jet trajectory. In addition, the RT-3D CDFI method is quick and accurate in calculating RJV and RJF.

The left ventricular regional systolic functions in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) were assessed by using quantitative tissue velocity imaging (QTVD). Left ventricular (LV) regional myocardial velocity along long- and short-axis in 31 HCM patients and 20 healthy subjects were analyzed by QTVI, and the regional myocardial systolic peak velocities (MVS) were measured. Mean MVS at each level including mitral annular, basal, middle and apical segments were calculated. The ratio of MVS along long-axis to that along short-axis (Ri) at basal and middle segments of the LV posterior wall and ventricular septum were calculated. The results showed that mean MVS was slower at each level including mitral annular, basal, middle and apical segments in the HCM patients than that in the healthy subjects (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in mean MVS between obstructive and non-obstructive groups in HCM patients. MVS of all regional myocardial segments along long-axis in the HCM patients were significantly slower than regional myocardial segments along long-axis in the HCM patients were significantly slower than that in the healthy subjects (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in MVS of all regional myocardial segments along long-axis between hypertrophied and non-hypertrophied group in the HCM patients. Ri was significantly lower in the HCM patients than that in the healthy subjects. The LV regional myocardial contractility along long-axis was impaired not only in the hypertrophied wall but also in the non-hypertrophied one in patients with HCM, suggesting that QTVI can assess accurately LV regional systolic function in patient with HCM and provides a novel means for an early diagnosis before and independent of hypertrophy.