Reduced 293T cell susceptibility to acrolein due to aldose reductase-like-1 protein expression.

Acrolein is a highly reactive alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde produced endogenously during lipid peroxidation and naturally distributed pervasively in living environments, posing serious threats to human health if not properly metabolized. In this study, we report aldose reductase-like-1 (ARL-1) as a novel enzyme that catalyzes the reduction of acrolein and protects cells from their toxicity. Using purified ARL-1 protein, we determined its enzymatic activity in response to acrolein and defined its steady-state kinetics with K(m) and V(max) at 0.110 +/- 0.012 mM and 3122.0 +/- 64.7 nmol/mg protein/min, respectively. By introducing a functional Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP)/ARL-1 fusion protein into 293T cells, we demonstrated that plating efficiency in liquid culture and focus formation in soft agar increased by more than 60% (p < 0.05), compared to the vector control cells. More significantly, at a low dose of 5 microM acrolein, EGFP/ARL-1 expression enhanced both plating efficiency and focus formation by more than threefold, and the foci (in soft agar) of 293T cells expressing EGFP/ARL-1 were significantly larger than those of the vector control cells. At high concentrations of acrolein (25 and 50 microM), EGFP/ARL-1 protein prevented oncotic death of 293T cells induced by acrolein. In summary, our data demonstrated for the first time that the ARL-1 protein protects 293T cells from acrolein toxicity. Due to the high toxicity and wide distribution of acrolein, this finding is important to the understanding of its detoxification mechanisms.     

Inflammatory mediators and the destruction of bone

Bone is remodelled by the coordinated actions of osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Cellular remodelling occurs in discrete packets of bone, and is regulated by local cytokines produced in the environment of the remodelling cells. These cytokines are secreted by immune cells and by bone cells. In addition, some growth regulatory factors are incorporated into the noncollagenous bone matrix and are released in an active form when bone is stimulated to resorb. Complex interactions between these cytokines and their target cells are responsible for the normal delicate balance between bone resorption and bone formation, and disorders of bone loss are due to imbalances between the rates of resorption and formation.     

酵母硒对小鼠EAC瘤生长和抗氧化机能的影响

目的观察酵母硒对小鼠艾氏腹水瘤(EAC)生长及机体氧化机能的影响。方法将30只小鼠分为3组(对照组、低剂量酵母组和高剂量酵母组),酵母硒组小鼠通过灌胃的方法分别灌注酵母硒溶液,剂量分别为107μg/kg.BW.d和214μg/kg.BW.d,灌胃第13 d接种EAC,第23 d后测定小鼠肿瘤重和血清中丙二醛(M DA)含量、谷胱甘肽过氧化酶(G SH-Px)和超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活力。结果酵母硒可抑制小鼠EAC的生长,同时显著提高血清G SH-Px活性(P<0.05),极显著提高血清SOD活力(P<0.01),高剂量酵母硒降低血清M DA水平(P<0.05)。结论酵母硒可抑制小鼠移植肿瘤的生长,显著提高机体抗氧化能力。     

Mobilization and evolutionary history of miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) in Beta vulgaris L.

We have identified three families of miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (VulMITEs) in the genome of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), evidently derived from a member of the Vulmar family of mariner transposons. While VulMITEs I are typical stowaway-like MITEs, VulMITEs II and VulMITEs III are rearranged stowaway elements of increased size. The integration of divergent moderately and highly repetitive sequences into VulMITEs II and, in particular in VulMITEs III, respectively, shows that amplification of repetitive DNA by MITEs contribute to the increase of genome size with possible implications for plant genome evolution. Fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH), for the first time visualizing stowaway MITE distribution on plant chromosomes, revealed a dispersed localization of VulMITEs along all B. vulgaris chromosomes. Analysis of the flanking sequences identified a dispersed repeat as target site for the integration of the stowaway element VulMITE I. Recent transposition of VulMITE I, which most likely occurred during the domestication of cultivated beets, was concluded from insertional polymorphisms between different B. vulgaris cultivars and species. ^†Sequence data from this article have been deposited in the EMBL/GenBank Data Library under the accession nos. AM231630-AM231653 and AM259123-AM259125.     

胰岛素样生长因子-1受体在子宫内膜癌中的表达及临床意义

目的 研究子宫内膜癌组织中IGF-1R的分布、表达及其临床意义。方法 选取30例子宫内膜癌手术标本，石蜡切片，采用PV-600PicTureTM检测试剂进行免疫组化，测定IGF-1R的分布及表达，分析与临床病理之间的关系。另取10例正常的增生期子宫内膜标本作为对照。结果 IGF-1R为膜受体。IGF-1R在10例正常增生期子宫内膜细胞中的阳性表达率为70％，无过度表达；而在30例子宫内膜癌细胞中的阳性表达率为90％，过度表达率为40％（中度阳性7例、强阳性5例）。统计表明，正常增生期子宫内膜细胞与子宫内膜癌细胞相比IGF-1R阳性表达率差异尤显著性（P=0．13）；IGF-1R过度表达率差异有显著性（P=0．017）。子宫内膜癌细胞膜IGF-1R阳性表达及过度表达在高分化与中、低分化之间有显著差异（与分级呈负相关系：分化越低，IGF-1R的表达越强，反之，分化高，IGF-1R的表达则弱）。IGF-1R的阳性表达及过度表达在临床分期Ⅰ-Ⅲ期各组间均无明显差异。结论 IGF-1R在子宫内膜癌细胞膜表达，且随恶性程度的增加其表达量增加，IGF-1R的表达量可以预测内膜癌的预后，对临床治疗可能具有一定的指导意义。     

乳腺癌患者血清Leptin和VEGF的表达

目的：研究瘦素（Leptin）、血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）在乳腺癌患者血清中的表达，探讨其在乳腺癌诊断中的意义。方法：选择乳腺癌患者36例，乳腺良性增生病变患者31例，另选56例健康女性作为对照。分别用放射免疫分析（RIA）和酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）测定这些患者术前血清Leptin、VEGF。结果：正常对照组与良性病变组、乳腺癌组Leptin存在明显差异，正常对照组与乳腺癌组，良性病变组与乳腺癌组VEGF存在明显差异。乳腺癌患者术前血清Leptin、VEGF含量与有无淋巴结转移具有相关性。结论：乳腺癌患者术前血清Leptin、VEGF可作为鉴别乳腺良恶性肿瘤有无转移的指标。     

Phenotypic and genetic analyses of T-cell-mediated immunoregulation in patients with Type 1 diabetes.

AIMS: To investigate the contribution of regulatory T cells and co-stimulatory molecules in CD4(+) T cells to the development of Type 1 diabetes (T1D). METHODS: Twelve patients with T1D, nine patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and 12 age-matched healthy control subjects participated. We analysed the proportions of CD25(+)CD4(+) T cells and natural killer T cells (NKT cells), and the expression levels of Foxp3, CTLA-4, CD28, ICOS, PD-1 and BTLA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and purified CD4(+) T cells. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the proportions of CD25(+) CD4(+) T cells or NKT cells among the three groups. PD-1 expression levels of peripheral CD4(+) T cells from T1D patients were significantly lower than those from healthy control subjects (P = 0.00066). In contrast, PD-1 expression levels were similar in SLE patients and healthy control subjects. The expression levels of Foxp3, CTLA-4, CD28, ICOS and BTLA were similar in the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased expression of the PD-1 gene in CD4(+) T cells may contribute to the development and/or maintenance of autoimmune T1D. As the population studied was small and heterogeneous, further studies are required to confirm the findings.     

Isthmotectal axons make ectopic synapses in monocular regions of the tectum in developing Xenopus laevis frogs.

During the development of binocular maps in the tectum of Xenopus laevis, axons that relay input from the ipsilateral eye via the nucleus isthmi undergo a prolonged period of shifting connections. This shifting accompanies the dramatic change in eye position that takes place as the laterally placed eyes of the tadpole move dorsofrontally. There is a concomitant expansion of the proportion of tectum that receives contralateral retinotectal input corresponding to the binocular portion of the visual field. Electrophysiological recording demonstrates that ipsilateral units are present in those rostral tectal zones, and anatomical methods show that the isthmotectal axons arborize densely in the rostral region but also extend sparser branches into the caudal zone, which is occupied by contralateral inputs with receptive fields in the monocular zone of the visual field. A mechanism that aligns the ipsilateral and contralateral maps is activity-dependent stabilization of isthmotectal axons that exhibit firing patterns correlated with those of nearby retinotectal axons. In order for activity patterns to function in stabilizing correct connections and promoting the withdrawal of incorrect connections, synaptic communication of some sort is hypothesized to be essential. We have investigated whether isthmotectal axons make morphologically identifiable synapses during development and where such synapses are located. We find evidence for morphologically identifiable synapses in all regions of the tectum, along with many growth cones and structures that are probably immature synapses. As in the adult, the synapses contain round, clear vesicles, have asymmetric specializations, and terminate on structures that appear to be dendrites. In both adult and tadpole, the rarity of serial synapses involving isthmotectal terminals suggests that the interactions between retinotectal and isthmotectal inputs are mediated by postsynaptic dendrites.     

内皮素-1对高血压病患者肠系膜动脉平滑肌细胞钙激活钾通道活性的影响

目的　探讨内皮素 1(ET1)对高血压病患者血管平滑肌细胞KCa通道活性的影响。方法　选择高血压病患者 18例 ,血压正常者 17例 ,两组患者均于腹部手术时取肠系膜动脉小分支用酶消化法获得单个血管平滑肌细胞。以膜片钳技术检测KCa通道的活性 ,记录不同钳制电压下单通道电流的平均开放时间 (To)、平均关闭时间 (Tc)、平均开放概率 (Po)、电流幅值 (Am) ,并绘制成电流 电压关系曲线。再分别加入Ca2 + (10 -8、10 -7、10 -6mol/L)、ET1(2× 10 9mol/L、4×10 9mol/L、6× 10 9mol/L、8× 10 9mol/L)后检测To、Tc、Po、Am等参数变化。结果　①高血压病患者KCa通道活性变化 :于细胞内面向外膜片下 ,在对称性高钾液中 ,高血压病组KCa通道平均开放概率增加 ,关闭时间延长、开放时间缩短。在浴液中分别加入Ca2 + 后 ,两组KCa通道均被明显激活 ,但血压正常组Po的增加显著高于高血压病组 (P <0 .0 0 1)。②ET1对高血压病患者KCa通道活性的影响 :血压正常者在内面向外式膜片下 ,Po、Tc均先增加后降低 ,显示低浓度时兴奋、高浓度时抑制 ,然而高血压病患者肠系膜血管平滑肌KCa通道对ET1则缺乏反应。结论　高血压病患者肠系膜动脉平滑肌细胞KCa通道活性明显高于血压正常者 ,但对Ca2 + 的敏感性降低。ET1对高血压病人KC     

妊娠肝内胆汁淤积症患者胎盘组织中血管内皮生长因子的表达

目的观察血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)在妊娠肝内胆汁淤积症(ICP)胎盘中的表达.方法采用免疫组织化学方法,检测25例正常妊娠胎盘(对照组)和25例ICP胎盘(ICP组)中VEGF的水平.结果 VEGF在正常妊娠胎盘和ICP胎盘中分布基本一致,分布在滋养细胞、血管及绒毛间质.在ICP组VEGF为轻度表达占76%,中度表达占24%,无重度表达;而在对照组VEGF轻度表达占24%,中度表达占44%,重度表达占32%.ICP组中VEGF表达明显低于对照组(P＜0.01).结论 VEGF在胎盘中主要由绒毛滋养细胞分泌,ICP胎盘中VEGF的减少可能与胎盘血管生成减少及胎盘滋养叶细胞浸入异常有关,在ICP发病中占有一定的地位.