The association between the decreased expression levels of FOXJ1 and the activation of NF-κB pathway in interstitial lung disease of MRL/Lpr mice

Background: Pulmonary manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are appearing in 4-5% of patients involving lung in almost half of the cases during the disease course. Objective: We compared the autoimmune pulmonary inflammation in the lung tissue of mice to determine the association between decreased expression levels of Forkhead Box J1 (FOXJ1) and the activation of the NF-κB pathway in autoimmune pulmonary inflammation of MRL/Lpr mice. Methods: The female BALB/c mice (n=6) and MRL/Lpr mice (n=30) were divided into 5 groups including a control group (BALB/c), and five MRL/Lpr mice groups (8W, 12W, 16W, 24W, and 32W). The infiltration of the inflammatory cells was determined in lung tissue by performing the histological analysis. The western blotting was used to examine the expression levels of the age-related FOXJ1, and p50 and p65 proteins in the lungs of MRL/Lpr mice. The expression levels of MMP2 and MMP9 were determined via immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Results: There were severe infiltrates of lung cells with high levels of tracheal damage, perivascular injury and interstitial inflammatory cell infiltration when the MRL/Lpr mice from 16w to 32w comparing to the 8w old healthy MRL/Lpr mice in the control group (p <0.05). Moreover, the reduced expression levels of FOXJ1 were associated with the activation of the NF-κB pathway in interstitial lung disease of MRL/Lpr mice via the modulation of p50 and p65. In addition, the expression levels of MMP2 and MMP9 pro-inflammation factors increased in the lungs of the MRL/Lpr mice from 16w to 32w. Conclusions: The expression level of FOXJ1 might be an indicator of the degree of lung disease in lupus-prone mice.     

Blood flow velocity in the common carotid artery in humans during graded exercise on a treadmill

Cerebral blood volume flow and flow velocity have been reported to increase during dynamic exercise, but whether the two increase in parallel and whether both increases occur as functions of exercise intensity remain unsettled. In this study, blood flow velocity in the common carotid artery was measured using the Doppler ultrasound method in eight healthy male students during graded treadmill exercise. The exercise consisted of stepwise progressive increases and decreases in exercise intensity. The peak intensity corresponded to approximately 85% of maximal oxygen consumption. During this exercise, the heart rate (f _c), mean blood pressure (BP) in the brachial artery and mean blood flow velocity (_cc) in the common carotid artery increased as functions of exercise intensity. At the peak exercise intensity, (f _c), BP and _cc increased by 134.5%, 20.5% and 51.8% over the control levels before exercise (P < 0.01), respectively. The resistance index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) were determined from the velocity profile and were expected to reflect the distal cerebral blood flow resistance. The RI and PI increased during the graded exercise, but tended to decrease at the highest levels of exercise intensity. As _cc increased with increases in exercise intensity it would be expected that cerebral blood flow would also increase at these higher intensities. It is also suggested that blood flow velocity in the cerebral artery does not proportionately reflect the cerebral blood flow during dynamic exercise, since the cerebral blood flow resistance changes.     

GDC栓塞术中颅内动脉瘤再破裂的原因、对策与结果

目的探讨电解脱弹簧圈(Guglialm i detachab le coil,GDC)颅内动脉瘤栓塞术中动脉瘤再破裂的发生率、原因、对策及结果。方法302例颅内动脉瘤破裂患者行GDC栓塞术,其中8例发生术中动脉瘤再破裂。结果2例由微导丝穿破动脉瘤壁引起,3例由微导管穿破动脉瘤壁引起,2例由置放首枚弹簧圈时顶破动脉瘤壁引起,l例术中自发破裂,所有病例均继续行GDC动脉瘤填塞。2例死于动脉瘤破裂后大出血,其他6例均康复没有留下后遗症。本组术中动脉瘤再破裂发生率为2.6%,死亡率为25%。结论GDC血管内栓塞术中引起动脉瘤再破裂是十分少见的,但大部分病例经过继续填塞GDC可达到完全填塞动脉瘤,且不留下后遗症。     

神经生长因子对穹窿海马伞切割后海马自体神经干细胞增殖和向神经元分化的影响

目的 探讨切割穹窿海马伞及脑室给予神经生长因子(NGF)后,对大鼠海马自体神经干细胞增殖和分化为神经元的影响.方法 12只SD大鼠,随机分成给药组和对照组,每组6只,切割右侧穹窿海马伞,两组切割后即时及第2d、4d向侧脑室分别注射NGF和人工脑脊液, 并在术后第3～7d每日腹腔注射2次BrdU.于术后28d灌注取脑、冷冻切片,行BrdU/NF-200免疫荧光双标检测.结果 海马齿状回内BrdU阳性细胞数,给药组和对照组切割侧明显多于正常侧,给药组切割侧和正常侧分别多于对照组切割侧和正常侧;海马齿状回内的BrdU/NF-200双标神经元数,给药组切割侧最多,给药组正常侧和对照组切割侧较少,而对照组正常侧则无.结论 切割穹窿海马伞后,可致大鼠海马齿状回自体神经干细胞增殖加快并向神经元分化,脑室施加 NGF可促进其增殖和分化.     

Immunohistochemical analysis of the vimentin filaments in Sertoli cells is a powerful tool for the prediction of spermatogenic dysfunction

The close interaction between male germ cells and Sertoli cells, a type of somatic cell found in the seminiferous tubules of mammalian testis, is essential for the normal progression of spermatogenesis in mammals. Vimentin is an intermediate filament protein that primarily provides mechanical support, preserves cell shape, and maintains the nuclear position, and it is often used as a marker to identify Sertoli cells. Vimentin is known to be involved in many diseases and aging processes; however, how vimentin is related to spermatogenic dysfunction and the associated functional changes is still unclear. In a previous study, we reported that vitamin E deficiency affected the testes, epididymis, and spermatozoa of mice, accelerating the progression of senescence. In this study, we focused on the Sertoli cell marker vimentin and explored the relationship between the cytoskeletal system of Sertoli cells and spermatogenic dysfunction using testis tissue sections that caused male reproductive dysfunction with vitamin E deficiency. The immunohistochemical analysis showed that the proportion of the vimentin-positive area in seminiferous tubule cross-sections was significantly increased in testis tissue sections of the vitamin E-deficient group compared with the proportion in the control group. The histological analysis of testis tissue sections from the vitamin E-deficient group showed that vimentin-positive Sertoli cells were greatly extended from the basement membrane, along with an increased abundance of vimentin. These findings suggest that vimentin may be a potential indicator for detecting spermatogenic dysfunction.