<Emphasis Type="Italic">In vitro</Emphasis> study on human trophoblast cells infected with HCMV

Human trophoblast cells were isolated and cultured in vitro in order to investigate possible pathogenesis of intrauterine infection caused by HCMV.Trophoblast cells were obtained by compound enzymes digestion and discontinuous percoll gradient.Cells and purity were identified by using immunocytochemistry assay with anti-CK7,Vim and β-hCG antibodies.HCMV AD169 strain replication in isolated trophoblast cells and cell apoptosis were detected at different time points post infection(p.i.).The results showed tha...     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In vitro</Emphasis> anti-hepatitis B virus effect of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hypericum perforatum L</Emphasis>.

The anti-hepatitis B virus(HBV)effects and its mechanisms of the ethanol extracts of Hypericum perforatum L.(EHP)in vitro were explored.HepG2 2.2.15 cells,a stable HBV-producing cell line,were cultured as the model system to observe the anti-HBV effect.The viral antigens of cellular secretion,HBsAg and HBeAg,were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The quantity of HBV-DNA released in the supernatant was assayed by real-time PCR.In order to understand the mechanisms of the suppression of H...     

HBsAg/HBsAb double positive hepatitis B virus infection model <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vivo</Emphasis>

The pathogenesis of HBsAg （＋）/HBsAb （＋） double positive hepatitis B virus infection was investigated by simulating HBsAg/HBsAb coexistence in vitro and establishing HBsAg/HBsAb double positive model in vivo. Eukaryotic expression plasmids PCI-SY, PCI-adw, PCI-adr, PCI-ayw, which expressed S gene product of different serotypes, were constructed and transfected into HepG2 cells. Recombinant proteins were purified from the transfected cells. At the same time, HBsAg mouse antiserum was obtained by immunizing mice with PCI-SY plasmid. HBsAg/HBsAb coexistence was simulated using these antigens and antiserum. Furthermore, the expression plasmids expressing different serotypes of S gene product including PCI-adw, PCI-adr, and PCI-ayw were injected into mice via tail vein. HBsAg and HBsAb in mice sera were tested at the first and 7th day respectively after antigen plasmids injection. Both in vitro simulation and in vivo animal models demonstrated that HBsAg antigen and HBsAb of the same serotypes Could not coexist, but HBsAg antigen and HBsAb of different serotype could coexist. HBsAg/HBsAb double positive hepatitis B virus infection could be due to infection of viruses of different serotypes.     

Effect of VEGF on neural differentiation of human embryonic stem cells <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

The effects of vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） on neural differentiation of human embryonic stem cells （hESCs） in vitro and the possible mechanism were observed. The hESCs lines, TJMU1 and TJMU2, were established and stored by our laboratory, hESCs differentiated into neuronal cells through embryonic body formation. In this induction process, hESCs were divided into three groups： group A, routine induction; group B, routine induction＋10 ng/mL VEGF; group C, routine in- duction＋10 ng/mL VEGF＋10 ng/mL VEGFR2/Fc. OCT4, Nestin and GFAP in each group were de- tected by RT-PCR, and the cells expressing Nestin and GFAP were counted by immunofluorescence. The percentage of Nestin positive cells in group B was significantly higher than in groups A and C, while the percentage of GFAP positive cells in group B was significantly lower than in groups A and C （P〈0.01）. There was no significant difference between groups A and C （P〉0.05）. It was concluded that VEGF, via VEGFR2, stimulated the neural differentiation of hESCs in vitro.     

Isolation of cultured endothelial progenitor cells <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis> from PBMCs and CD133<Superscript>+</Superscript> enriched cells

Two isolation methods for sorting of endothelial progenitor cells(EPCs):from peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)and CD133+ enriched cells were compared,by defining the cell morphology,phenotype,reproductive activities and function in vitro,to provide a reference for clinical application of EPCs.PBMCs from healthy subjects were used either directly for cell culture or for CD133+ sorting.The two groups of cells were cultured in complete medium 199(M199)for 7 to 14 days and the phenotypes of EPCs were an...     

Antitumor effect of betulinic acid on human acute leukemia K562 cells <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

The effects of betulinic acid (BA), a pentacyclic lupane-type triterpene, on the cell viability, cell cycle and apoptosis in human leukemia K562 cells were investigated. The effects of BA on the growth of K562 cells were studied by MTT assay. Apoptosis was assayed through Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) double-labeled cytometry. The effects of BA on the cell cycle of K562 cells were studied by a PI method. The expression of Bax and capase-3 was detected by using Western blot. The results showed that BA was ...     

Fluoroquinolone resistance and mutation patterns in <Emphasis Type="Italic">gyrA</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">parC</Emphasis> genes in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neisseria gonorrhoeae</Emphasis> isolates from Shanghai,China

In order to study the resistance of Neisseria （N.） gonorrhoeae to the fluoroquinolone and detect mutation patterns of quinolone resistance-determining regions （QRDRs） of clinical isolates in Shanghai, China, a total of 80 clinical isolates of N. gonorrhoeae were consecutively collected from Shanghai. The MIC of fluoroquinolone for the isolates was examined by using the agar dilution method and the mutation profiles of the QRDRs of gyrA and parC were analyzed by sequencing and restriction fragment length polymorphism （RFLP）. Chi-square test was used for comparison of the t：nutation patterns. The results showed that： （1） High percentages of the 8 isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin （95.0%）, ofloxacin （95.0%） and lomefloxacin （97.5%）, only one strain was susceptible to the ciprofloxacin. （2） Sensitive strains had a substitute of Asp95→Ala in the gyrA, and all isolates that were resistant or intermediated to the ciprofloxacin, had a double mutation in the gyrA （Ser91, Ala 92 and Asp95）. Some strains also had a mutation in the parC. （3） The MICs of these isolates were significantly associated with the mutation patterns in the gyrA and parC. A double mutation of gyrA combined with parC87 mutation was a predominant pattern in Shanghai and could mediate high level resistance to ciprofloxacin. It suggests that mutations in the QRDRs of gyrA and parC may be responsible for the fluoroquinolone resistance. And fluoroquinolone could not be used as the first line antibiotics for gonorrhea treatment any more in Shanghai, China.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">cagA</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">vacA</Emphasis> status and influence of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicobacter pylori</Emphasis> infection on serum oxidative DNA damage in Iranian patients with peptic ulcer disease

Background  

Infection with Helicobacter pylori strains may result in different pathological manifestations and increased oxidative stress leading to a strong inflammatory response in gastric mucosa.     

Neurogenic differentiation of murine adipose derived stem cells transfected with EGFP <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

Some studies indicate that adipose derived stem cells(ADSCs)can differentiate into adipogenic,chondrogenic,myogenic,and osteogenic cells in vitro.However,whether ADSCs can be induced to differentiate into neural cells in vitro has not been clearly demonstrated.In this study,the ADSCs isolated from the murine adipose tissue were cultured and transfected with the EGFP gene,and then the cells were induced for neural differentiation.The morphology of those ADSCs began to change within two days which developed i...     

Reversal of multi-drug resistance by vector-based-ShRNA-Mdr1 <Emphasis Type="Italic">In Vitro</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">In Vivo</Emphasis>

In order to investigate the effects of vector-based hairpin small interference RNA （shRNA） on the reversal of multi-drug resistance （mdr） of A2780/Taxol cells, a novel vector pEGFP-HI/mdrl containing mdrl-shRNA targeting at position 2943-2963 of mdrl was designed and synthesized. Subsequently, A2780/Taxol cells were transfected with pEGFP-H1/rndrl, and the expression ofmdrl mRNA and P-gp was detected by using RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. MTT was used to measure the 50% inhibition concentration （IC50） of Taxol to A2780/Taxol cells. The results showed that at the 24th and 48th h after transfection, the expression of mdrl mRNA was decreased to （52.1±1.0）% and （0.01±1.7）%, and that of P-gp decreased to （88.3±2.1）% and 0%, respectively. At the 48th h after transfection, the relative reversal rate of A2780/Taxol cells to Taxol was 69.54%. In vivo, the nude mice xenografts were injected with pEGFP-H1/mdrl, and then administrated Taxol. The tumor volume in pEGFP-H1/mdrl-transfected group was significantly reduced as compared with that in blank control group or pEGFP-Hl-transfected group （807.20±103.16 vs 1563.78±210.54 or 1480.78±241.24 mm^3, both P〈0.01）. These results suggested that transfection of pEGFP-HI/mdrl could efficiently down-regulate the expression of mdrl mRNA and P-gp in A2780/Taxol cells, and effectively restore the sensitivity of A2780/Taxol ceils to Taxol both in vitro and in vivo.     

The role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in mouse oocyte maturation <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can promote developmental competence in mammalian oocytes during in vitro maturation (IVM),but the role of BDNF in oocyte maturation at cellular level is not still clear.In this study,mouse cumulus-enclosed oocytes subjected to IVM were fertilized and cultured to blastocyst stage.Meiotic spindle configuration and cortical granules distribution during oocyte maturation in vitro were assessed by using immunofluorescence and laser confocal microscopy.The results showed that BDNF contributed to the complete preimplantation development of mouse oocytes compared to the control oocytes (13.78% vs.5.92%;P<0.05).Further,BDNF did not accelerate nuclear maturation of IVM oocytes.For the BDNF-treated oocytes at meiosis Ⅰ,Meiotic spindle areas were significantly smaller and the number of cytoplasmic microtubule organizing centers was greater than that in the control,and the percentages of oocytes showed spindles positioned near the oolemma and a well-formed cortical granule-free domain were significantly higher than that of the control.These morphological characteristics of the BDNF-treated oocytes were much closer to the oocytes matured in vivo than those of the control oocytes.In conclusion,BDNF can promote the developmental competence of mouse IVM oocytes,by improving the meiotic spindle configuration and location and cortical granules distribution at meiosis Ⅰ.     

A novel sequence-based <Emphasis Type="Italic">coa</Emphasis> genotyping method to discriminate nosocomial methicillin-resistant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Staphylococcus aureus</Emphasis> isolates

Aim  

To evaluate a novel sequence-based coa typing method in classification for nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.     

Effect of Gambogic acid on the regulation of hERG channel in K562 cells <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

Overexpression of human ether-h-go-go （eag） related gene （bERG） has been found in a broad range of human leukemia cell lines and primary human leukemia. The block of hERG protein might be a potential therapeutic strategy for leukemia. Gambogic acid （GA） has recently exhibited marked anti-tumor potency on solid tumors of various derivations. Here, we investigated the anti-leukemia effects of GA and its relation to the regulation of hERG in K562 leukemia cells in vitro. K562 cells were treated with various concentrations of GA （0.125-8.0 μmol/L） for 0-72 h. MTT assay was used to evaluate the inhibition effect of GA on the growth of K562 cells. Cell apoptosis was measured through both Annexin-V FITC/PI double-labeled cytometry and transmission electron microscopy. Cell cycle regulation was studied by a propidium iodide method. RT-PCR and Western blot were applied to detect the expression level of hERG in K562 cells. GA presented striking growth inhibition and apoptosis induction potency on K562 ceils in vitro in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The IC50 value of GA for 24 h was 2.637±0.208 μmol/L. Moreover, GA induced K562 cells arrested in G0/G1 phase, accordingly, cells in S phase decreased gradually, and no obvious changes were found in G2/M phase cells. Under the transmission electron microscopy, apoptotic bodies containing nuclear fragments were found in GA-treated K562 cells. After treatment with GA of 2.0 μmol/L for 24 h, the percentage of apoptotic cells was increased from 4.09% to 18.47% （P〈0.01）. Overexpression of hERG channel was found in K562 cells, while GA could down-regulate it at both protein and mRNA levels （P〈0.01）. It was concluded that GA exhibited its anti-leukemia effects partially through down-regulating the expression level of hERG channel in K562 cells, suggesting that GA may be a potential agent against leukemia with a mechanism of blocking hERG channel.     

Incidence and significance of <Emphasis Type="Italic">FLT3</Emphasis>-ITD and <Emphasis Type="Italic">NPM1</Emphasis> mutations in patients with normal karyotype acute myeloid leukaemia

Background  

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a heterogeneous clonal disorder of haematopoietic progenitor cells. Approximately half of all adult AML patients have a normal karyotype (NK-AML) and an intermediate risk prognosis.