Polymorphism of the DQA1 promoter region (QAP) and DRB1, QAP, DQA1, DQB1 haplotypes in the Dai minority population in South-Western China

We have investigated the polymorphism of the DQA1 promoter region (QAP) and we have deduced four point (DRB1, QAP, DQA1, DQB1) haplotypes of 60 unrelated healthy Dai minority individuals using the polymerase chain reaction and Dig-ddUTP labeled oligonucleotides. A total of eight QAP alleles (QAP1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1 and 4.2) were detected and two QAP alleles, QAP1.5 and QAP2.1 were absent in this population. The most predominant allele was QAP1.2 with 80% allele frequency. We also found that QAP alleles are in strong linkage disequilibrium with certain alleles of the neighboring loci DQA1 and DQB1. Complete positive association was found for QAP4.1-DQA1^*05, QAP4.2-DQA1^*0601, QAP1.2-DR2 group, QAP3.2-DRB1^*09, QAP4.1-DRB1^*03. A total of 28 different four point (DRB1-QAP-DQA1-DQB1) haplotypes were deduced and the most frequent haplotypes were DRB1^*1602-QAP1.2-DQA1^*0102-DQB1^*0502 (N = 18, H.f. = 15%) and DRB1^*09-QAP3.2-DQA1^*03-DQB1^*03032 (N = 18, H.f. = 15%) followed by the haplotypes DRB1^*1401-QAP1.3-DQA1^*01-DQB1^*0502, DRB1^*1202-QAP4.2-DQA1^*0601-DQB1^*0301 and DRB1^*1502-QAP1.2-DQA1^*0101-DQB1^*0501 with H.f. 9.1%, 6.7% and 5.0% respectively. The other 23 haplotypes were all less than 5% (H.f. 0.8%-5%). The relationship between the QAP alleles and DQA1 in the Dai minority is the same as that in the Chinese and the Caucasoid population.     

神经导航中脑组织变形补偿的点云处理

有限元方法是解决神经导航中脑组织变形的重要方法,需要手术过程中的脑皮层信息作为其边界条件.本文通过非结构点云进行了脑皮层信息的表示,并通过对其进行处理来获取有限元方法的边界条件.点云处理包括纹理映射、分割、简化和去噪,其中非结构点云的简化与去噪采用了改进的基于表面特性k邻域的聚类方法.实验结果证明所采用的点云处理方法是可靠的.     

Evaluation of the relationship between IL-18 levels in urine and parameters of renal pathological changes in patients with lupus nephritis]

AIM: To evaluate the relationship between IL-18 levels in urine and parameters of renal pathological changes in patients with lupus nephritis (LN). METHODS: IL-18 levels in morning free urine and 24-hour's urine in 19 normal persons and 55 patients with LN were measured by ELISA. The correlation between IL-18 levels and parameters of renal pathological changes, namely activity index (AI) and chronicity index (CI), were analyzed by liner correlation analysis method. RESULTS: IL-18 levels in morning free urine and 24-hour's urine in LN group were elevated significantly compared with control group. In both groups IL-18 levels in morning free urine were (247.1+/-317.5) ng/L and (20.3+/-14.5) ng/L, respectively, P<0.001; those in 24-hour's urine were (192.1+/-170.1) ng/d and (21.0+/-3.8) ng/d, respectively, (P<0.001). There was close positive correlation between IL-18 levels in morning free urine and 24-hour's urine and LN patient's AI (for morning free urine: r=0.602, P<0.001; for 24-hour's urine: r=0.461, P<0.005) but there was no correlation between IL-18 levels in morning urine and 24-hour's urine and CI (P>0.05). Patients with LN were divided into three groups (high, moderate and low) according to AI value. There was distinct difference of IL-18 levels in urine among the three groups: IL-18 levels in morning urine were (69.2+/-82.7) ng/L, (193.5+/-106.1) ng/L and (580.7+/-453.1) ng/L, respectively, (P<0.001); those in 24-hour's urine were (103.5+/-141.4) ng/d, (188.8+/-124.0) ng/d and (333.1+/-183.2) ng/d, respectively. CONCLUSION: It is very simple and convenient to detect IL-18 levels in morning free urine, so it is a good method for evaluating renal pathological activity of LN.     

HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein 120 increases intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression by human endothelial cells

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is often associated with central nervous system damage and vascular complications. However, the mechanisms of this association are largely unknown. We examined the effect of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein 120 (gp120) on cell adhesion molecule expression by endothelial cells. We found, for the first time, that both soluble and membrane-bound gp120 could significantly increase the expression of human endothelial intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) at both mRNA and protein levels, but not vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and E-selectin. The specificity of gp120-mediated response was demonstrated by blocking experiments using a specific monoclonal antibody against gp120, which successfully abolished the gp120-mediated increase of ICAM-1 expression. Furthermore, there was a significant increase of human monocytic cell line THP-1 adherence onto the gp120-treated endothelial monolayers. This increased cell adhesion was effectively blocked by either anti-gp120 or anti-ICAM antibodies. These findings suggest that HIV-1 gp120-mediated endothelial ICAM-1 expression could be one of the important mechanisms of HIV-1 pathogenesis.     

Evidence on major gene control of cortical index in pedigree data from Middle Dalmatia,Croatia

It was recently reported that the inheritance of the metacarpal cortical index (CI) in the Chuvashian population can be described in terms of a major gene (MG) model. By applying transmission probability tests, the hypothesis was accepted that not only baseline level of CI but also its sex‐specific dependence on age were under control of the same putative large‐effect gene. Using a pedigree sample from the population of the islands of Middle Dalmatia, Croatia (847 observed individuals in 278 pedigrees), data are presented to support the above findings. The following hypotheses were accepted: (i) inheritance of baseline CI in the Croatian population can be attributed to the effect of a MG responsible for about 42% of the variation; (ii) the same MG takes part in the control of the dependence of CI on age, particularly the age at onset of involutive bone changes (inflection point), and of the rate of decrease in CI with age (slope coefficient). Issues related to the assortative mating effect on CI and the determination of the most parsimonious model are discussed. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 13:398–408, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

聚醚砜表面光固定脲酶的研究

我们利用含芳香叠氮基的光活性酯将脲酶光固定在聚醚砚（Polyether sulfone,PES）膜的表面。同时研究了紫外光辐照时间对固定化脲酶密度、固定化脲酶活性的影响，温度、PH值对自由脲酶、固定化脲酶相对活性的影响；并考察了固定化脲酶的相对活性随光活性酶浓度的变化、固定化脲酶的重复使用次数及储存稳定性等性质。结果表明，PES膜表面固定化脲酶的浓度为0.33mg/cm^2；当紫外光辐照时间为5分钟时，固定化脲酶的相对活性最高；固定化脲酶的最适Ph值和最适温度分别为7℃和50 ℃；在50℃时，连续使用12次后，固定化脲酶仍具有50%的催化活性；在4℃保存储存一个多月仍可保持80%的催化活性。     

HBV基因组转染对小鼠NIH3T3细胞内基质金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子的转录调控作用

ObjectiveTo understand the mechanism of liver cirrhosis after the infection of hepatitis B virus.MethodsMouse fibroblast NIH3T3 cells were transfected with 3.2 kb HBV DND by exposure of the cells to calcium phosphate.The change of the levels of mRNA for tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1and 2(TIMP1,2) was detected in mouse fibroblast NIH3T3 cells and the cells of transfection with HBV Genome by in situ hybridization.ResultsThe levels of mRNA for TIMP1 and TIMP2 were increased significantly.ConclusionHBV infection can induce the expression of the mRNA for TIMP1 and TIMP2.     

Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein (CETP) Genetic Variation and Early Onset of Non‐Fatal Myocardial Infarction

Although Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein (CETP) mediates the transfer of cholesteryl esters and triglycerides between lipoprotein particles and thus plays a crucial role in reverse cholesterol transport, the association of variations in the CETP gene with acute myocardial infarction (MI) remains unclear. In this study we examined whether common genetic variation in the CETP gene is related to early‐onset non‐fatal MI risk in a population‐based case‐control study from western Washington State. Genotyping for the CETP ?2708 G/A, ?971 A/G, ?629 A/C, Intron‐I TaqI G/A and exon‐14 A/G (I405V) SNPs was performed in 578 cases with first acute non‐fatal MI and in 666 demographically similar controls, free of clinical cardiovascular disease, identified randomly from the community. In‐person interviews and non‐fasting blood specimens provided data on coronary heart disease risk factors. In men, there was little evidence for an association between single SNPs and MI risk, but in women the age‐ and race‐adjusted OR was found to be significant in 4 out of the 5 CETP single variants. Haplotype analysis revealed two haplotypes associated with MI risk among men. As compared to men homozygous for the most common haplotype D (?2708 G, ?971 G, ?629 C, TaqI G and exon‐14 A), the fully‐adjusted multiplicative model identified haplotype G (?2708 G, ?971 A, ?629 A, TaqI G and exon‐14 G) was associated with a 4.0‐6.0‐fold increased risk of MI for each additional copy; [95%CI 2.4–14.8] and haplotype B (?2708 G, ?971 G, ?629 A, TaqI A and exon‐14 A) showed a significant decreased risk for early onset MI [OR = 0.18; 95%CI 0.04 – 0.75]. An evolutionary‐based haplotype analysis indicated that the two haplotypes associated with the MI risk are most evolutionarily divergent from the other haplotypes. Variation at the CETP gene locus is associated with the risk of early‐onset non‐fatal MI. This association was found to be independent of HDL‐C levels. These data and the sex‐specific findings require confirmation in other populations.     

Peritransplant use of ultraviolet-B irradiation (UV-B) therapy is detrimental to allogeneic stem cell transplantation outcome.

Whole-body UV-B phototherapy has been used for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) of the skin and has systemic immunosuppressive and tolerogenic effects. We hypothesized that whole-body UV-B therapy would improve donor engraftment and decrease the incidence and severity of GVHD that is associated with decreased intensity allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This study tested the feasibility of using UV-B phototherapy that was initiated before grafting and continued until engraftment to determine its effect on transplantation outcome. Eight patients (median age, 55.5 years; range, 32-65 years) with hematologic malignancies were included. Allogeneic peripheral blood stem cells were obtained from matched related (n=5) or matched unrelated (n=3) donors. Conditioning regimen was fludarabine 30 mg/m2 intravenously for 5 days, cyclophosphamide 1 g/m2/d intravenously for 2 days, and equine antithymocyte globulin 30 mg/kg/d for 2 days. GVHD prophylaxis included cyclosporine, methylprednisolone, and escalating doses of narrowband UV-B (311 nm) according to skin tolerance, 3 days a week, from 10 days before to 28 days after transplantation. The conditioning regimen and the UV-B therapy were well tolerated. Two patients received all 14 prescribed UV-B treatments (cumulative doses of 2000 and 3260 mJ/cm2, respectively) and 6 patients received 8 to 13 treatments with a cumulative dose range of 528-3465 mJ/cm2. There was a rapid decrease in epidermal CD1a+ cells by day of transplantation. Myeloid engraftment was rapid. One patient had secondary engraftment failure at 3 months and another had mixed chimerism at day 100. Seven of 8 patients developed severe acute GVHD (grade III, n=5; grade IV, n=2). Six had skin involvement, 5 had gastrointestinal involvement, and 1 had liver involvement. Four patients died (2 from sepsis, 1 from acute GVHD, and 1 from chronic GVHD). Four patients are alive (130-287 days), 3 with extensive chronic GVHD. We conclude that extended peritransplant UV-B therapy at the standard minimally erythemogenic dose is detrimental to the outcome of allogeneic stem cell transplantation. It is unclear how UV-B at this immunsuppressive dose might have altered skin and systemic cytokine and immune cell compositions in the host and increased GVHD- and treatment-related mortalities. Different UV-B dose and schedules should be further explored. However, although other phototherapeutic modalities may be effective against GVHD, extended UV-B therapy should not be used during early phases of decreased conditioning allogeneic transplantation.     

通痹灵对于IL-2及其受体α链影响的体内外研究

从体内体外两个方面 ,研究通痹灵对于CIA大鼠关节滑膜原代细胞分泌IL 2 ,以及通痹灵总碱对于IL 2受体α链CD2 5表达的影响。体内实验采用CIA大鼠动物模型。容积法测量足肿胀度 ,原代滑膜细胞培养、放免法检测培养液上清 ,观察通痹灵对滑膜内IL 2的影响 ;体外实验 ,分离大鼠淋巴细胞 ,佛波醇酯 (PDB )或刀豆蛋白 (ConA )体外刺激 ,双色免疫荧光标记 ,流式细胞仪检测 ,观察通痹灵总碱对CD3+CD2 5 +表达的影响。结果是体内实验 ,通痹灵高剂量可明显减轻CIA大鼠的足肿胀度 ,与MTX比较无显著性差异 (P >0 0 5 ) ,通痹灵高、低剂量可明显抑制CIA大鼠滑膜内IL 2的合成 (P <0 0 1) ;体外实验 ,通痹灵总碱显著抑制ConA刺激下的CD3+CD2 5 +的表达 ,而对PDB加ionomycin没有明显作用。提示通痹灵可以通过抑制IL 2合成及ConA激活的IL 2受体α链CD2 5信号转导通路 ,减轻局部关节的炎症 ,为其用于类风湿性关节炎的治疗提供了实验依据