Reduced graft-versus-host disease-inducing capacity of T cells after activation, culturing, and magnetic cell sorting selection in an allogeneic bone marrow transplantation model in rats.

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a major complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, has been ascribed to mature T cells in the graft. Because T cells play an important role in engraftment of the bone marrow and decrease the probability of relapse of leukemia, a treatment strategy was developed to preserve the benefits of T cells in the graft and to control the severe complications of GvHD. This can be accomplished by the genetic modification of donor T cells with a suicide gene that allows their selective in vivo elimination and subsequently the abrogation of GvHD. For clinical benefit the alloreactivity of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) gene-transduced T cells should be retained. Therefore, we investigated the influence of gene transduction and the selection procedure on T cells. We demonstrated that activation and culturing of T cells reduce their capacity to induce lethal GvHD in an allogeneic rat bone marrow transplantation model. Furthermore, positive immunomagnetic selection of gene-transduced T cells resulted in loss of the GvHD-inducing capacity of HSV-TK(+) T cells directly after MACS (magnetic cell sorting) selection; this loss could be recovered by a 1-day expansion of the selected T cells. No effect on alloreactivity was observed to be caused by the gene transduction procedure. Our study resulted in the development of an optimized culture and gene transduction protocol with preservation of T cell alloreactivity. Treatment of transplanted rats with ganciclovir resulted in a rapid reduction in the number of HSV-TK(+) T cells in the peripheral blood and in increased survival of the animals.     

Bioavailability and biological efficacy of a new oral formulation of salmon calcitonin in healthy volunteers.

Salmon calcitonin (SCT) is a well-tolerated peptide drug with a wide therapeutic margin and is administered parenterally for long-term treatments of bone diseases. Its clinical usefulness would be enhanced by the development of an orally active formulation. In this randomized crossover double-blinded phase I trial, controlled by both a placebo and a parenteral verum, we have tested a new oral formulation of SCT associated with a caprylic acid derivative as carrier. Eight healthy volunteers received single doses of 400, 800, and 1200 microg of SCT orally, a placebo, and a 10-microg (50 IU) SCT intravenous infusion. SCT was reliably absorbed from the oral formulation, with an absolute bioavailability of 0.5-1.4%, depending on the dose. It induced a marked, dose-dependent drop in blood and urine C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), a sensitive and specific bone resorption marker, with the effects of 1200 microg exceeding those of 10 microg intravenously. It also decreased blood calcium and phosphate, and increased the circulating levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and, transiently, the urinary excretion of calcium. It was well-tolerated, with some subjects presenting mild and transient nausea, abdominal cramps, diarrheic stools, and headaches. This study shows that oral delivery of SCT is feasible with reproducible absorption and systemic biological efficacy. Such an oral formulation could facilitate the use of SCT in the treatment of osteoporosis and other bone diseases.     

油茶皂甙对实验动物造血机能的影响

目的：研究油茶皂甙对豚鼠和罗非鱼造血功能的影响。方法：比较油茶皂甙（1mg/kg）处理前和处理后豚鼠红细胞和血红蛋白量计数变化。罗非鱼分对照组和油茶皂甙处理组，分别在清水和含1ppm油茶皂甙水饲养6天后，再同时置入清水中净养，观察其存活20％的最高温度。结果：豚鼠用药前后红细胞计数和血红蛋白含量改变轻微，无明显统计学差异（P＞0．05），对照组和油茶皂甙处理组罗非鱼在清水中饲养的耐受最高温度为41．5℃，但在含油茶皂甙水中能耐受的最主温度为36℃。结论：油茶皂甙可短暂，轻微地降低红细胞和血红蛋白，但并不影响造血功能。     

慢性乙型肝炎中可溶性白细胞介素2受体与其它血清学指标的关系

目的 :探讨血清可溶性白细胞介素 2受体 (sIL 2R)在慢性乙型病毒性肝炎 (慢乙肝 )中的发病机制及sIL 2R与肝纤维化指标、肝功能的相关关系。方法 :对 312例肝活检病人按组织病理学炎症和纤维化程度进行分级分期 ,同时检测了病人血清sIL 2R、肝功能及肝纤维化相关指标。结果 :血清sIL 2R均值较对照组明显增高 (P <0 .0 1) ,增幅随着肝脏病理炎症和纤维化程度的加重而逐渐加大 ,各组间比较差异有显著性 (P <0 .0 5或P <0 .0 1)。sIL 2R与血清白蛋白 (A)呈显著负相关 ,与血清脯氨酸肽酶 (PLD)、Ⅳ型胶原 (CⅣ )、层粘连蛋白 (LN)、透明质酸 (HA)、Ⅲ型前胶原氨基端肽 (PⅢNP)、肝功指标中的TB、DB、G、ALT、AST、AKP、γ GT呈显著正相关 (P <0 .0 5或P <0 .0 1)。结论 :慢乙肝病人血清sIL 2R水平与A呈显著负相关 ,与PLD、CⅣ、LN、HA、PⅢNP呈显著正相关 ;sIL 2R的血清水平能反映肝脏组织学病变的程度 ,可作为判断肝组织炎症和纤维化程度的参考指标。     

B细胞淋巴瘤TIL-T的IL-2Rα基因突变及蛋白表达检测

目的 :检测B细胞淋巴瘤 (B NHL)中肿瘤浸润T细胞 (TIL T)的活化标记IL 2Rα(CD2 5 )的基因及蛋白表达 ,寻找TIL T在B NHL肿瘤微环境中存在意义的实验依据。方法 :将 19例B NHL提取RNA ,采用RT PCR和SSCP检测其IL 2Rα的Ⅳ Ⅷ外显子基因突变与否 ;19例B NHL采用细胞免疫化学染色进行CD3、CD4、CD8、CD2 0、CD2 5细胞免疫表型的分析 ;2 9例B NHL和 2 0例良性淋巴组织 ,采用冰冻切片免疫组化方法进行IL 2Rα(CD2 5 )蛋白表达的检测。结果 :SSCP显示 19例TIL -T的IL 2Rα未发现异常泳动条带。细胞免疫化学染色示B NHL中 5 2 .6 3% (10 /19例 )的CD2 5 +细胞少于 10 % ,TIL T(CD3+)与CD4相关 (r =0 .5 7,P <0 .0 1)并与CD2 5相关 (r =0 .5 0 ,P <0 .0 5 )。免疫组化示 86 .2 % (2 5 /2 9例 )的B NHL中CD2 5表达 (+/- )和 (+) ,且主要表达在TIL T细胞上 ,呈散在分布 ,阳性细胞少于T标记细胞。结论 :19例TIL T的IL 2Rα在RNA水平未发现基因异常 ;CD2 5蛋白在B NHL中呈弱表达趋势。提示部分TIL T不表达CD2 5 ,推测TIL T的IL 2Rα的表达在转录后机制中可能出现异常或TIL T存在活化障碍。     

成人成骨细胞与珊瑚羟基磷灰石的体外生物相容性

目的：研究成人骨髓成骨细胞与珊瑚羟基磷灰石（carolline hydroxyapatite,CHA)在体外培养条件下的生物相容性。方法：抽取健康成人骨髓组织，置于含体积分数为10％胎牛血清的DMEM培养基中培养，传代后改用含地塞米松、β-甘油磷酸钠和维生素C的条件培养基培养，分为CHA复合细胞组和单纯细胞组，不同时间用倒置相关显微镜，HE染色光镜及扫描电镜观察，MTT法进行细胞增殖测定，并进行细胞微量蛋白含量和碱性磷酸酶的定量检测，结果：成人骨髓成骨细胞体外培养时复合或不复合CHA均生长良好，表现出典型成骨细胞的形态特征和生物学特性，CHA利于细胞的贴附，生长与增殖，并对细胞的功能无不良影响，结论：CHA是较理想的骨组织工程支架材料，成骨细胞复合CHA用于骨缺损的修复，具有广阔的临床应用前景。     

VEGF在膀胱移行细胞癌中的表达及意义

目的：探讨膀胱移行细胞癌中血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）的表达及其与临床病理指标的关系。方法：应用免疫组化方法对40例膀胱移行细胞癌及15例正常膀胱组织中VEGF进行检测。结果：正常膀胱移行上皮均为阴性表达；膀胱移行细胞癌中VEGF阳性表达24例，表达率为60％（24／40），明显高于正常膀胱组织（P＜0.01），其中VEGF表达阳性率随膀胱癌病理分级、临床分期上升而升高，表达强度也随之增强（P＜0.01）。结论：VEGF表达对膀胱移行细胞癌生物学行为有重要影响，VEGF有可能可作为判断膀胱癌生物学行为、转移潜能及预后指标。     

Preferential liver gene expression with polypropylenimine dendrimers.

Previously, the lower generation (DAB 8-generation 2 and DAB 16-generation 3) polypropylenimine dendrimers have been shown to be effective gene delivery systems in vitro. In the current work, we sought to: (a) test the effect of the strength of the carrier, DNA electrostatic interaction on gene transfer and (b) to study the in vivo gene transfer activity of these low molecular weight (<1687 Da) non-amphiphilic plain and quaternary ammonium gene carriers. Towards this aim, methyl quaternary ammonium derivatives of DAB 4 (generation 1), DAB 8, DAB 16 and DAB 32 (generation 4) were synthesised to give Q4, Q8, Q16 and Q32, respectively. Quaternisation of DAB 8 proved to be critical in improving DNA binding, as evidenced by data from the ethidium bromide exclusion assay and dendrimer-DNA colloidal stability data. This improved colloidal stability had a major effect on vector tolerability, as Q8-DNA formulations were well tolerated on intravenous injection while a similar DAB 8-DNA dose was lethally toxic by the same route. Quaternisation also improved the in vitro cell biocompatibility of DAB 16-DNA and DAB 32-DNA dendrimer complexes by about 4-fold but not that of the lower generation DAB 4-DNA and DAB 8-DNA formulations. In contrast to previous reports with non-viral gene delivery systems, the intravenous administration of DAB 16-DNA and Q8-DNA formulations resulted in liver targeted gene expression as opposed to the lung targeted gene expression obtained with the control polymer-Exgen 500 [linear poly(ethylenimine)] and a lung avoidance hypothesis is postulated. We conclude that the polypropylenimine dendrimers are promising gene delivery systems which may be used to target the liver and avoid the lung and also that molecular modifications conferring colloidal stability on gene delivery formulations have a profound effect on their tolerability on intravenous administration.