The effects of paraquat on neonatal rat lung: A histological and biochemical study

The effects of paraquat on morphological, histological, and biochemical parameters in neonatal rat lung were studied. One-day-old rat pups were injected (IP) with 25 mg paraquat per kg body weight and sacrificed after 24 hr. At the end of the experimental period, the body weight in control and herbicide-treated animals slightly increased and decreased, respectively. The lung weight in the paraquat group was not significantly lower than those of the control. Histologically, the lungs from the paraquat group showed an increase in the thickness of the alveolar wall with much intra-alveolar infiltration of cells and cell debris. In the paraquat-treated group, while the total lung protein increased by about 18%, the enzyme phosphatidic acid phosphatase activity was reduced nearly 30%. These results indicate that paraquat induces both histological and biochemical changes in the neonatal rat lung.     

甲亢方对甲亢大鼠甲状腺激素水平和甲状腺病理改变的影响

目的观察甲亢方（益气滋阴方）对实验性甲亢大鼠甲状腺激素水平和甲状腺病理改变的影响。方法将40只大鼠随机分成正常组、甲亢模型组、甲亢方组、西药对照组,后三组用优甲乐（左甲状腺素钠）灌服建立甲亢大鼠模型,甲亢方组以甲亢方对模型进行干预,西药对照组以丙基硫氧嘧啶对模型进行干预。采用放射免疫法测定血清游离三碘甲状腺原氨酸（FT3）、游离甲状腺素（FT4）、三碘甲状腺原氨酸（T3）、甲状腺素（T4）、促甲状腺激素（TSH）含量,用光学显微镜观察甲状腺病理改变。结果与模型组相比,甲亢方组血清T3、T4、FT3、FT4含量降低（P〈0．01）,TSH含量增高（P〈0．05）;甲亢方能改善甲亢大鼠甲状腺病理改变。结论甲亢方能明显改善甲亢大鼠甲状腺功能。     

Clinical, biochemical and histological responses to treatment in polymyositis: a prospective study.

Routine methods of monitoring treatment responses in polymyositis patients, such as clinical strength assessments and measurements of ESR and serum creatine kinase, have been compared with functional strength measurements and assay of serum myoglobin levels, in a prospective study of nine cases followed for up to five years. Seven patients also underwent serial muscle biopsies during the first year of treatment in order to document the nature and chronology of histological changes during therapy. Inflammatory and necrobiotic changes indicating active myositis resolved within six months in all cases and no patient developed histological evidence of steroid myopathy. Scores on functional muscle strength assessments improved more slowly than static manual muscle strength test results, reflecting morphometric and architectural abnormalities in the biopsies which persisted throughout the period of observation. Serum creatine kinase levels returned to normal more rapidly than serum myoglobin. No statistical relationship was found between muscle strength measurements and biochemical or histological changes within the patients as a group, but variations in these indices in individual subjects reflected changes in clinical state.     

Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids improve histological and biochemical alterations in rats with experimental ulcerative colitis.

The aim of the present study was to determine whether dietary intake of monounsaturated (MUFA) and/or polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) of the (n- 3) and (n-6) series could improve intestinal damage and reduce inflammation in experimental ulcerative colitis (UC). Rats were treated with 80 mg/kg body of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid and fed for 1 or 2 wk diets enriched in olive oil (OO), fish oil (FO), or purified pig brain phospholipids (BPL), as sources of monounsaturated and PUFA of the (n-3) and (n-3) + (n-6) series. Evaluation of macroscopic and microscopic colonic damage was assessed. Ultrastructural and histologic changes were analyzed as well as plasma and colonic mucosa fatty acid profiles and some biochemical markers of injury and inflammation [alkaline phosphatase (AP), mieloperoxidase (MPO), prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) and leukotriene B(4)]. Fatty acid profiles of both plasma and mucosa mostly reflected the dietary fatty acid composition. Plasma MUFA proportions were higher in UC animals fed the OO diet compared with FO or BPL groups 1 and 2 wk and (n-3) long chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) were higher in the FO than in the OO and BPL groups. At 1 wk, UC led to lower MUFA mucosa levels and (n-3)LC-PUFA were higher in the FO group compared with the OO and BPL groups. Rats with UC fed FO at 1 wk showed significantly less macroscopic and microscopic colonic damage. They also have lower AP and MPO activities and PGE(2) levels compared with the OO and BPL groups and showed enhanced histological repair, less necrotic areas within the mucosa, and more goblet cells with mature mucin granules. These results suggest that the use of balanced diets containing (n-3) LC-PUFA could ameliorate the inflammation and mucosal damage in UC.     

Effects of trifluralin on carp: biochemical and histological evaluation.

Acute and subacute toxicity of the herbicide trifluralin on fish was investigated in laboratory toxicity tests with carp. Median lethal concentrations were determined in acute tests. The 96-h LC50 value was 0.045 (0.036-0.051)mg/L. Fish were exposed to subacute concentrations of the herbicide (0.005, 0.01, and 0.02 mg/L trifluralin) in the 14-day toxicity tests and the effects on the relative growth rate, some biochemical parameters [alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanin aminotransferase (ALT) activities in serum, gills, liver, and kidney], gills, liver, and kidney structure were studied. A decrease in relative growth rate was found. An increase of functional enzyme activities in blood serum and the organs examined, particularly in the highest concentration of trifluralin indicated changes in the vital organs, was confirmed by histological analysis. The most severe changes (although mostly reversible) were found in the gills and kidney of the fish examined.     

Influence of dietary vitamin E on the lungs of ozone-exposed rats: a correlated biochemical and histological study

The effect of dietary vitamin E on pulmonary susceptibility to near ambient levels of ozone was studied in rats. Exposure to 0.7 or 0.8 ppm ozone continuously for 7 days resulted in significant biochemical augmentations in the lungs of both vitamin E-deficient and -supplemented rats. The relative order of the change was glutathione (GSH) peroxidase > lactate dehydrogenase > glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase > reduced glutathione > malic enzyme > glutathione reductase > protein and malic dehydrogenase. Except for malic dehydrogenase, the degrees of biochemical changes were greater in the lungs of vitamin E-deficient rats than those of the supplemented group following ozone exposure, and the differences in the levels of GSH peroxidase, G-6-P dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase, and GSH were statistically significant. Histological examination of animal lungs revealed that all animals exposed to 0.7 ppm ozone for 7 days had detectable lesions compared to none from the control groups. However, almost all the lungs categorized as having severe lesions by two investigators in a blind study were from rats fed the vitamin E-deficient diet, while nearly all the lungs from the supplemented group had mild lesions. The results suggest that dietary vitamin E alters cellular sensitivity of lung tissue to ozone exposure, and that depletion of dietary vitamin E lowers the threshold concentration of ozone at which effects can be detected.     

绝经后女性促甲状腺激素水平对骨代谢生化指标的影响

目的分析绝经后女性促甲状腺激素(TSH)水平对骨代谢生化指标的影响。方法选取2017年6月—2020年3月湖州市中心医院甲状腺功能正常的120例绝经后女性,按照TSH水平,分为T1组(0.27~2.00 mIU/L)45例,T2组(2.01~3.23 mIU/L)37例,T3(3.24~4.20 mIU/L)38例。比较3组血清激素、骨密度相关指标及骨代谢相关指标。结果T1组血清卵泡刺激素(FSH)和雌二醇(E₂)水平分别为(56.55±25.57)IU/L和(112.61±123.59)pmol/L,T2组血清FSH和E₂水平分别为(54.15±21.54)IU/L和(116.72±99.41)pmol/L,T3组血清FSH和E₂水平分别为(43.96±21.92)IU/L和(169.11±122.89)pmol/L,T1组和T2组血清FSH水平高于T3组(t=2.364,P=0.021;t=2.030,P=0.046),血清E₂水平低于T3组(t=2.080,P=0.041;t=2.027,P=0.046)。T1组和T3组股骨颈、L1~L4、全髋、大转子、Ward三角区及左前臂骨密度,股骨颈和L1~L4骨密度T值比较差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.05);T2组股骨颈骨密度低于T3组(P<0.05)。T3组骨保护素(OPG)和核因子κB受体活化因子配体(RANKL)水平均显著高于T1组和T2组(均P<0.05)。结论甲状腺功能正常的绝经后女性TSH水平在正常范围内波动可在一定程度上影响雌激素水平、骨密度及骨代谢指标,且低水平TSH女性的骨密度更低。     

Protective role of diallyl tetrasulfide on cadmium-induced testicular damage in adult rats: a biochemical and histological study

Cadmium (Cd)-induced oxidative damage is the most serious problem that leads to reproductive system failure in both human and animals. Our previous studies indicate that diallyl tetrasulfide (DTS) from garlic has the cytoprotective and antioxidant activity against Cd-induced toxicity in vivo and in vitro. The present investigation was carried out to find the influence of DTS on peroxidative damage induced by Cd in rat testes. The Cd-exposed rat testis showed a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in testes to body weight ratio, along with a significant (p < 0.05) increase in Cd accumulation, lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl levels. In Cd-exposed rats, we also observed a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the activities of antioxidant (superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase) and glutathione metabolizing (glutathione-S-transferase, glutathione reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) enzymes as well as reduced levels of non-enzymic (reduced glutathione, ascorbate and total sulphydryl groups) antioxidants. In contrast, treatment with DTS (40 mg/kg body weight orally) significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the accumulation of Cd and lipid peroxidation markers and also significantly improved the activities of antioxidant defense system in testes. Testicular protection by DTS is further substantiated by remarkable reduction of Cd-induced pathological changes. Our study has revealed that DTS renders protection against Cd-induced testicular injury by reducing Cd-mediated oxidative damage.     

Thyroid system-disrupting chemicals: interference with thyroid hormone binding to plasma proteins and the cellular thyroid hormone signaling pathway

In vertebrates, thyroid hormones are essential for post-embryonic development, such as establishing the central nervous system in mammals and metamorphosis in amphibians. The present paper summarizes the possible extra-thyroidal processes that environmental chemicals are known to or suspected to target in the thyroid hormone-signaling pathway. We describe how such chemicals interfere with thyroid-hormone-binding protein functions in plasma, thyroid-hormone-uptake system, thyroid-hormone-metabolizing enzymes, and activation or suppression of thyroid-hormone-responsive genes through thyroid-hormone receptors in mammals and amphibian tadpoles. Several organohalogens affect different aspects of the extra-thyroidal thyroid-hormone-signaling pathway but hardly affect thyroid hormone binding to receptors. Rodents and amphibian tadpoles are most sensitive to the effects of environmental chemicals during specific thyroid-hormone-related developmental windows. Possible mechanisms by which environmental chemicals exert multipotent activities beyond one hormone-signaling pathway are discussed.     

The regulation of the thyroid-stimulating hormone of the anterior pituitary gland by thyroid hormone and by 9-cis-retinoic acid

Thyroid-stimulating hormone, TSH, of the anterior pituitary gland is regulated by the binding of the thyroid hormone-activated thyroid receptor to the TSH gene at the same time as the binding of the 9-cis-retinoic acid-activated retinoid X receptor to the same gene. Both interactions, separately or simultaneously, can suppress and thus regulate the expression of the TSH gene.     

Regulation of resistin by gonadal,thyroid hormone,and nutritional status

OBJECTIVE: Resistin was recently identified as a hormone secreted by adipocytes that is under hormonal and nutritional control. This hormone has been suggested to be the link between obesity and type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of gender, gonadal status, thyroid hormones, pregnancy, and food restriction on resistin mRNA levels in adipose tissue of rats. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We have determined resistin mRNA expression by Northern blot analysis in all experimental sets. RESULTS: Resistin mRNA expression is influenced by age, with the highest hormone levels existing at 45 days after birth and decreasing thereafter. Resistin mRNA expression is higher in men than in women. Moreover, we studied the effect of orchidectomy and ovariectomy in rats of different ages and showed that gonadal hormones increase adipose tissue resistin mRNA expression in male rats. Resistin is also regulated by thyroid hormones; it is severely decreased in hyperthyroid rats. Our results clearly show that chronic food restriction (30% of ad libitum food intake) led to a decrease in adipose tissue mRNA levels in normal cycling female rats and pregnant rats. In pregnancy, resistin mRNA levels were enhanced particularly at midgestation. DISCUSSION: Our observations indicate that resistin is influenced by gender, gonadal status, thyroid hormones, and pregnancy. These findings suggest that resistin could explain the decreased insulin sensitivity during puberty and could be the link between sex steroids and insulin sensitivity. Moreover, resistin could mediate the effect of thyroid hormones on insulin resistance and the state of insulin resistance present during pregnancy.     

骨碱性磷酸酶对佝偻病早期诊断的临床研究

目的:探讨骨碱性磷酸酶(BALP)在小儿佝偻病早期诊断的临床意义。方法:对101例VitD缺乏性佝偻病患儿进行BALP检测并设立正常对照组,对BALP≥250U/L者,结合临床进行血清Ca、P、ALP和X线比较分析。结果:BALP检测具有敏感、特异、简单、快速、经济等优点。结论:BALP是目前佝偻病早期诊断有价值的实验方法,值得普及和推广。