Image-directed percutaneous biopsies with a biopsy gun

Core tissue for histologic study is believed by many pathologists to be more diagnostic than material from needle aspiration. Recently, a biopsy "gun" has been introduced, which simplifies core biopsies. With this device, 182 biopsies of multiple anatomic sites were performed with ultrasonic, computed tomographic, and fluoroscopic guidance and 18-gauge needles. High-quality histopathologic specimens were obtained in 177 of the biopsies, and diagnostic target tissue was obtained in 167. Only three significant complications occurred: one bleeding complication that required transfusion and two cases of pneumothorax that necessitated placement of chest tubes. The biopsy gun eliminated the disjointed movements of conventional "skinny" needle biopsies, and none of the samples demonstrated significant "crush" artifact or obscuring blood, problems that are commonly associated with manual biopsy techniques. Patient discomfort was decreased with this system compared with that of manual biopsies, and the total procedure time was reduced. Because of these distinct advantages, the authors now use the biopsy gun exclusively for all percutaneous biopsies and recommend that other institutions consider the use of this biopsy method.     

新生期大白鼠皮下注射谷氨酸单钠对成年后下丘脑α-促黑素细胞激素神经元免疫反应性的影响

本文用免疫组化方法研究了新生期大白鼠注射谷氨酸单钠(MSG)对成年后下丘脑α-促黑素细胞激素(α-MSH)免疫反应神经元的影响,结果显示MSG处理以后下丘脑弓状核区α-MSII免疫反应神经元减少甚至完全消失,但不影响下丘脑背外侧区的α-MSH神经元群。文中还讨论了这两群α-MSH神经元的生理作用。     

白细胞介素-1基因多态性与高血压易感性的研究

目的　观察白细胞介素 - 1(interleukin- 1,IL- 1)基因多态性在中国汉族人群中的分布及其与原发性高血压 (essential hypertension,EH)的关系 ,初步分析其基因型与 EH易感性的相关性。方法　应用聚合酶链反应和限制性片段长度多态性的方法 ,检测湖北省汉族 15 2例 EH患者和 16 8名正常对照者的IL- 1基因多态性 ,包括 IL- 1α(- 889C/ T)位点、IL- 1β(- 5 11C/ T)位点、IL- 1β( 395 3C/ T)位点、IL- 1Ra( 80 0 6 T/ C)位点多态性以及 IL- 1Ra第 2内含子可变数串联重复序列多态性。结果　IL- 1α(- 889C/ T)位点、IL- 1β( 395 3C/ T)位点、IL- 1Ra( 80 0 6 T/ C)位点多态性和 IL- 1Ra可变重复序列多态性在 EH组和正常人群中的分布差异无显著性 (P>0 .0 5 ) ,而 IL- 1β(- 5 11C/ T)位点多态性在两组人群中的分布差异存在显著性 (P<0 .0 5 ) ,携带 CT基因型罹患 EH的危险性可增加 2 .5 4倍。结论　 IL- 1β基因启动子区 - 5 11位点 C/ T多态性可能与 EH易感性存在相关关系。     

Linkage of the MHC to familial multiple sclerosis suggests genetic heterogeneity. The Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Group

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. While its etiology is not well understood, genetic factors are clearly involved. Until recently, most genetic studies in MS have been association studies using the case-control design testing specific candidate genes and studying only sporadic cases. The only consistently replicated finding has been an association with the HLA-DR2 allele within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on chromosome 6. Using the genetic linkage design, however, evidence for and against linkage of the MHC to MS has been found, fostering suggestions that sporadic and familial MS have different etiologies. Most recently, two of four genomic screens demonstrated linkage to the MHC, although specific allelic associations were not tested. Here, a dataset of 98 multiplex families was studied to test for an association to the HLA-DR2 allele in familial MS and to determine if genetic linkage to the MHC was due solely to such an association. Three highly polymorphic markers (HLA-DR, D6S273 and TNFbeta) in the MHC demonstrated strong genetic linkage (parametric lod scores of 4.60, 2.20 and 1.24, respectively) and a specific association with the HLA-DR2 allele was confirmed (TDT; P < 0.001). Stratifying the results by HLA-DR2 status showed that the linkage results were limited to families segregating HLA-DR2 alleles. These results demonstrate that genetic linkage to the MHC can be explained by the HLA-DR2 allelic association. They also indicate that sporadic and familial MS share a common genetic susceptibility. In addition, preliminary calculations suggest that the MHC explains between 17 and 62% of the genetic etiology of MS. This heterogeneity is also supported by the minority of families showing no linkage or association with loci within the MHC.      

CTLA-4 is required for the induction of high dose oral tolerance

Mucosal and systemic administrations of high dose antigens induce long- lasting peripheral T cell tolerance. We and others have shown that high dose peripheral T cell tolerance is mediated by anergy or deletion and is preceded by T cell activation. Co-stimulatory molecules B7-1 (CD80)/B7-2 (CD86) and their counter-receptors CD28/CTLA-4 play pivotal roles in T cell activation and immune regulation. In the present study, we examined the roles of the B7 co-stimulation pathway in the generation of high dose peripheral T cell tolerance. We found that blocking B7:CD28/CTLA-4 interaction at the time of tolerance induction partially prevented T cell tolerance, whereas selective blockade of B7:CTLA-4 interaction completely abrogated peripheral T cell tolerance induced by either oral or i.p. antigens. These results suggest that CTLA-4-mediated feedback regulation plays a crucial role in the induction of high dose peripheral T cell tolerance.      

Screening for proteins with polyglutamine expansions in autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias

Expansion of trinucleotide CAG repeats coding for polyglutamine has been implicated in five neurodegenerative disorders, including spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) 1 and SCA3 or Machado-Joseph disease (SCA3/MJD), two forms of type I autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias (ADCA). Using the 1C2 antibody which specifically recognizes large polyglutamine tracts, particularly those that are expanded, we recently reported the detection of proteins with pathological glutamine expansions in lymphoblasts from another form of ADCA type I, SCA2, as well as from patients presenting with the distinct phenotype of ADCA type II. We now have screened a large series of patients with ADCA or isolated cases with cerebellar ataxia, for the presence of proteins with polyglutamine expansions. A 150 kDa SCA2 protein was detected in 16 out of 40 families with ADCA type I. This corresponds to 24% of all ADCA type I families, which is much more frequent than SCA1 in this series of patients (13%). The signal intensity of the SCA2 protein was negatively correlated to age at onset, as expected for an expanded and unstable trinucleotide repeat mutation. The disease segregated with markers closely linked to the SCA2 locus in all identified SCA2 families. In addition, a specific 130 kDa protein, which segregated with the disease, was detected in lymphoblasts of patients from nine families with ADCA type II. It was also visualized in the cerebral cortex of one of the patients, demonstrating its translation in the nervous system. Finally, no new disease-related proteins containing expanded polyglutamine tracts could be detected in lymphoblasts from the remaining patients with ADCA or isolated cases with cerebellar ataxia.      

重型乙型肝炎血清可溶性白细胞介素2受体及外周血T淋巴细胞亚群的相关性

对２１例重型乙型肝炎患者白细胞介素２受体（ｓＩＬ－２Ｒ）及Ｔ淋巴细胞亚群检测发现，急性及亚急性重型、慢性重型肝炎患者的ｓＩＬ－２Ｒ均显著增高，与正常对照比较，Ｐ＜０００１。急性、亚急性重型及慢性重型乙型肝炎患者的ＣＤ＋４明显降低，ＣＤ＋８则显著升高，与对照组比较，Ｐ均＜００１。检测证实ｓＩＬ－２Ｒ增高与活化的ＣＤ＋８具有相关性，表明活化的ＣＤ＋８细胞主要是细胞毒性Ｔ细胞（ＣＴＬ），其在急性和亚急性重型肝炎发病中可能起重要作用。ＣＤ＋４、ＣＤ＋８细胞在急性和慢性重型乙肝中表达的不同，提示二者发病机制不同。     

Real-time PCR检测风疹病毒方法学建立及临床应用

为了建立一种能广泛应用于临床快速、简便、灵敏度和特异性较好的风疹病毒(RV)定量诊断方法。针对RV基因保守序列设计两对引物和一条荧光双标记探针。将PCR扩增所得到的产物片段克隆,作为定量检测的标准品,进行Real-time PCR检测,绘制标准曲线。将此方法和ELISA试剂盒平行检测50份孕妇血清,评估两种方法检出阳性率的差异显著性。Real-time PCR法能较好地检出RVcDNA载量。曲线的相关系数(r)为0.998,可检测线性范围大约在103~109copies/μl,灵敏度接近103copies/μl;批间、批内CV值分别为3.36%、0.94%;也有较好的特异性。与经典的ELISA方法相比,有显著性差异。Real-time PCR方法操作简单、快速,并能避免PCR后处理导致的假阳性污染,实现实时定量。此方法对RV感染的临床诊断和疗效判断等方面有较大的指导意义。     

RNA干扰抑制Nogo-A基因表达及对PC12细胞凋亡的影响

为研究Nogo-A基因沉默对细胞凋亡的影响,本文构建了靶向Nogo-A的短发夹样RNA(short hairpin RNA,shRNA)真核表达载体并经脂质体转染到培养的PC12细胞。分别以逆转录聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)和免疫印迹法检测转染48h后Nogo-A mRNA及蛋白表达的变化。在转染后不同时间应用四甲基偶氮唑盐(MTT)法检测细胞增殖活性,用原位末端标记(TUNEL)法及流式细胞仪检测细胞凋亡率。结果显示:由shRNA产生的小干扰RNA(siRNA)可有效抑制PC12细胞Nogo-A基因的表达。Nogo-A siRNA处理组细胞的增殖活性增加、凋亡率明显下降。本结果提示,Nogo-A基因可能与细胞凋亡有关。