Contrasting effects of electroconvulsive shock on rnRNAs encoding the high affinity kainate receptor subunits (KA1 and KA2) and cyclophilin in the rat

Kainate-preferring glutamate receptors may contribute to the glutamatergic responses to seizures. The cloning of their encoding genes overcomes limitations of the receptor ligands available for their investigation. We have examined the expression of the high affinity kainate receptor subunits KA1 and KA2 mRNAs in the rat hippocampus, using electroconvulsive shock (ECS) as a seizure paradigm not confounded by neurotoxicity. A single shock reduced the levels of KAI mRNA in the CA3c region, while increasing the expression of KA2 mRNA in the dentate gyrus. Following repeated ECS (5 shocks over 10 days), KAI mRNA was reduced in CA3c and in CA3a-b but was unchanged in dentate gyrus. KA2 mRNA, on the other hand, significantly increased in dentate gyrus, and to a lesser extent in CA3c and CA1. All changes in KAI and KA2 mRNAs had returned to baseline 3 weeks after the last shock. We also measured the expression of cyclophilin mRNA, and found it to be reduced in all hippocampul subfields, and in the parietal cortex, after a single ECS. It returned to control levels after repeated ECS but was again reduced following 3 weeks recovery from repeated ECS. These results indicate that the expression of KA1 and KA2 not only change in opposite directions in the rat hippocampus after ECS, but that the alterations are anatomically and temporally regulated. In the respect that cyclophilin is regarded as a housekeeping gene, the reduction in its mRNA suggests that ECS may have more persistent and widespread effects on brain gene expression than previously suspected.     

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome virus infection in livers studied by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry

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2型糖尿病患者外周血白细胞iNOSmRNA表达的变化及意义

目的研究2型糖尿病DM患者外周血白细胞中iNOSmRNA表达的变化及其与糖尿病肾病DN发生、发展的关系。方法101例2型DM患者,根据尿微量白蛋白排泄率和血肌酐水平分为单纯DM组和不同的DN组,用原位杂交法检测外周血白细胞iNOSmRNA表达的阳性细胞的百分率,并与21例健康体检者进行比较。结果早期DN组白细胞iNOSmRNA表达的百分率明显高于对照组、DM组及晚期DN组(P<0.001)。结论外周血白细胞iNOSmRNA表达的变化参与了DN的发生、发展。     

Protective effect of interferon-α on the DNA- and RNA-degrading pathway in anti-Fas-antibody induced apoptosis

Aim: Fas membrane-associated polypeptide antigen is a receptor molecule responsible for apoptosis-mediated signals. In animal models of acute viral hepatitis, apoptosis of hepatocytes is mediated by Fas-death receptors; therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of interferon (IFN)-alpha on apoptotic markers and nuclease activity against different coding and non-coding single and double stranded RNAs during Fas-induced liver apoptosis. Methods: An in vivo experiment was performed with simultaneous administration of anti-Fas (CD95) antibodies and IFN-alpha, and an in vitro experiment was performed in hepatocyte cultures treated with anti-Fas antibodies and IFN-alpha. Results: Detection of apoptosis using Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide, Bcl-2 and Bax expression in hepatocyte cultures confirmed the appearance of early apoptotic events and progression toward late apoptosis after anti-Fas antibody treatment. IFN-alpha had a tendency to retard the apoptosis process in Fas-induced apoptosis by increasing the number of viable cells and decreasing the number of cells in late apoptosis, by increasing the percentage of Bcl-2 positive cells, by decreasing the percentage of Bax positive cells, and by decreasing the nuclease activity compared to the anti-Fas antibody treated group. Total DNA and RNA concentration was much reduced in the Fas group and DNA fragmentation assay provided evidence for increased DNA degradation. Enhanced nuclease activity against DNA, rRNA, poly(A), poly(C), poly(U), poly(I:C), and poly(A:U) was manifested in the anti-Fas antibody treated group, except for the inhibitory-bound alkaline RNase. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that the RNA-degrading pathway in Fas-induced apoptosis can accelerate the liberation of the latent enzyme from the inhibitor complex. IFN-alpha prevented enormous, Fas-ligand induced degradation of all the substrates used in this experimental study, most probably due to similarities in the signal transduction pathways. Investigations of death receptor-induced apoptosis may lead to novel treatment combinations for patients with acute or chronic liver diseases.     

1-Methylnicotinamide stimulates cell growth and inhibits hemoglobin synthesis in differentiating murine erythroleukemia cells

Exposure of murine erythroleukemia cells (MELCs) to nicotinamide (NA) or its synthetic analog N′-methylnicotinamide (N′-MN) reduces cell growth and induces terminal differentiation, marked by increased heme and globin accumulation. On the contrary, 1-methylnicotinamide (1-MN), the primary metabolite of excess NA, was found to stimulate cell growth and reduce spontaneous differentiation of cultured MELCs. Log phase MELCs exhibited up to 50% higher cell density above untreated cells when cultured for up to 96 h with 2.5 mM 1-MN. When combined with NA or several chemically-unrelated inducers of hemoglobin synthesis in cultured MELCs, 1-MN reduced the globin mRNA levels and heme accumulation by 40–80%. 1-MN was able to inhibit heme production if present during only the first 24–48 h after NA exposure. Pre-treatment with 1-MN could not confer resistance of cells to effects of NA, suggesting the inhibition is reversible. Commitment to differentiate in semisolid medium by the most potent inducer, 5 mM N′-MN, was inhibited up to 95% by 2.5 mM concentrations of 1-MN. It appears that 1-MN has opposing effects on growth and induction of differentiation than those seen in MELC cultures exposed to NA or N′-MN.     

乙型肝炎病毒转基因小鼠体内肝靶向反义RNA抗病毒疗效研究

目的：探讨半乳糖修饰的反义RNA真核表达质粒在乙型肝炎病毒转基因小鼠体内的抗病毒作用。方法：以半乳糖多聚赖氨酸（Gal-PLL)作肝靶向载体，将乙型肝炎病毒基因C区的反义RNA真核表达重组质粒（pCEP4-aC）制备为Gal-PLL－pCEP4-aC。将24只血清HBV DNA、HBsAg阳性的小鼠，随机等分为Gal-PLL－pCEP4-aC治疗组、Gal-PLL-pCEP4对照组和生理盐水阴性对照组，于实验第1天尾静脉分别注射Gal-PLL－pCEP4-aC、Gal-PLL－pCEP4（100μg/只）和等体积的生理盐水，观察治疗前后血清HBV DNA以及HBsAg变化。结果：Gal-PLL－pCEP4-aC治疗组21天时血清HBV－DNA转阴率62．5％（5／8），且7，14，21天时血清HBsAg明显降低；而Gal-PLL－pCEP4组血清HBV DNA转阴1只（1／8），生理盐水组8只均未转阴，两组用药后血清中HBsAg与用药前比较差异性均不明显（P＞0．05）。结论：肝靶向反义RNA能在乙肝基因小鼠体内抑制HBV的复制和抗原表达。     

补中益气汤治疗慢性乙型肝炎的临床与实验研究

通过对补中益气汤及西药治疗慢性乙型肝炎临床疗效的对比研究,发现补中益气汤能较快改善慢性乙型肝炎的临床症状及体征,改善肝功能,促使乙型肝炎病毒血清学标志好转(HBsAg、HBeAg转阴或滴度下降,抗-HBe或抗-HBs转为阳性),与西药治疗对照组比较有显著性差异(P<0.05)。动物实验观察了补中益气汤对小鼠肝组织DNA、RNA、蛋白质合成的影响,结果表明,补中益气汤对三者的合成均有明显的促进作用。其抗肝炎的作用机制可能与该方增强肝脏蛋白质的合成,促进肝组织的修复,改善机体整体的抗病机能有关。     

男性不育症患者中YRRM2基因缺陷的研究

YRRM基因是控制精子生成与成熟的一个重要因素，一旦该基因缺陷，将会造成无精或少精。本研究对340例无精与少精患者的外周血标本进行了PCR基因扩增筛查，结果发现7例为该基因缺陷，占2％。证明YRRM2的缺陷也是造成中国人群男性不育的一个原因，从而可作为指导医生采用适当治疗方法的一个可靠指标。在实验过程中，采用直接加热白细胞提取基因组DNA，并以此作为模板对YRRM2基因进行扩增，既节省时间和经费，又保持良好的扩增效果，使之可用于临床医院作为常规检查。