Genetic control of the circulating concentration of transforming growth factor type beta1

The concentration of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) in plasma has been correlated with the development of several diseases, including atherosclerosis and certain forms of cancer. However, the mechanisms that control the concentration of TGF-beta in plasma are poorly understood. In a study of 170 pairs of female twins (average age 57.7 years) we show that the concentration of active plus acid- activatable latent TGF-beta1 [(a+l) TGF-beta therefore is predominantly under genetic control (heritability estimate 0.54). Single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) mapping of the TGF-beta1 gene promoter has identified two single base substitution polymorphisms. The two polymorphisms (G-->A at position -800 bp and C-->T at position -509 bp) are in linkage disequilibrium (correlation coefficient Delta = 0.215, P < 0.01). The C-509T polymorphism is significantly associated with the plasma concentration of (a+l) TGF-beta1, explaining 8.2% of the additive genetic variance of (a+l) TGF-beta1 concentration. It is therefore possible that predisposition to atherosclerosis, bone diseases or various forms of cancer may be correlated with the presence of particular alleles at the TGFB1 locus.      

人精子膜甘露糖结合蛋白的研究--蛋白的定位

作者运用生物素标记的山羊抗人巨噬细胞甘露糖受体（ＧｏａｔＡｎｔｉ－ｈｕｍａｎＭａｃｒｏｐｈａｇｅＭａｎｎｏｓｅＲｅｃｅｐｔｏｒ,ＡＭＭＲ）ＩｇＧ对人获得能精子膜上的甘露糖结合蛋白进行定位,经激光共聚焦显微镜分析结果显示：ＡＭＭＲＩｇＧ组阳性率显著高于运用正常山羊（ＮｏｒｍａｌＧｏａｔ,ＮＧ）ＩｇＧ的对照组：ＡＭＭＲＩｇＧ组的阳性率大约在７０％（６９．４１％）左右,而ＮＧ ＩｇＧ对照组中除少量精子显     

Effect of RANTES on the infection of monocyte-derived primary macrophages by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and type 2

The effect of β chemokines on human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) infection of primary macrophages is controversial, and their effect on HIV-2 infection of these cells has not yet been documented. We examined the effect of synthetic and recombinant regulated-on-activation, normal T cell-expressed and -secreted (RANTES) on HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection of primary monocyte-derived-macrophages (MDM) that were obtained as the adherent cells of 5-day cultures of blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), followed by 2-day culture without peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) nor added cytokines. These MDM expressed CD4, CCR5 and CXCR4, the major coreceptors for HIV macrophage- and T cell-tropic isolates, respectively. Infection of MDM from different donors with HIV-1 or HIV-2 macrophagetropic strains was reproducibly inhibited by RANTES. This inhibition depended on RANTES continuous presence in culture during and after infection. Treatment of MDM with RANTES just before or during, but not after, exposure to virus did not protect MDM from infection. When RANTES was added after MDM had been infected, and was continuously maintained in culture thereafter, no inhibition occurred and limited enhancement of infection could be observed. These data indicate that RANTES inhibits HIV-1 as well as HIV-2 infection of MDM, likely at a post-binding step, and support the role of CCR5 as the major coreceptor for HIV-1 and HIV-2 entry into primary macrophages.     

Electrical impedance tomography compared to positron emission tomography for the measurement of regional lung ventilation: an experimental study

Introduction  

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT), which can assess regional lung ventilation at the bedside, has never been compared with positron-emission tomography (PET), a gold-standard to quantify regional ventilation. This experiment systematically compared both techniques in injured and non-injured lungs.     

Epitope DNA vaccines against tuberculosis: spacers and ubiquitin modulates cellular immune responses elicited by epitope DNA vaccine

Cell-mediated immune responses are crucial in the protection against tuberculosis. In this study, we constructed epitope DNA vaccines (p3-M-38) encoding cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes of MPT64 and 38 kDa proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In order to observe the influence of spacer sequence (Ala-Ala-Tyr) or ubiquitin (UbGR) on the efficacy of the two CTL epitopes, we also constructed DNA vaccines, p3-M-S(spacer)-38, p3-Ub (UbGR)-M-S-38 and p3-Ub-M-38. The immune responses elicited by the four DNA vaccines were tested in C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice. The cytotoxicity of T cells was detected by LDH-release method and by enzyme-linked immunospot assay for epitope-specific cells secreting interferon-gamma. The results showed that DNA immunization with p3-M-38 vaccine could induce epitope-specific CD8 CTL response and that the spacer sequence (AAY) only enhanced M epitope presentation. The protein-targeting sequence (UbGR) enhanced the immunogenicity of the two epitopes. The finding that defined spacer sequences at C-terminus and protein-targeting degradation modulated the immune response of epitope string DNA vaccines will be of importance for the further development of multi-epitope DNA vaccines against tuberculosis.     

定义实验室参考值和决定限:人群,区间范围及其解读

简要概述多种分析人类精液检测结果的方法。参考区间(参考值范围)是最常用的解释临床实验结果的工具。参考值范围概念的发展,有赖于20世纪80年代临床化学专家国际联盟对这一概念的详尽阐述。这些指南要求:健康参考人群至少应包括120个健康个体,并对其进行分类,辨别最外延5%的参考值数据来确定双侧或单侧参考区间的界限值。最近,基于流行病学结果分析得出的决定限,也已用来解读分析检测结果。参考群体必须根据检验项目的临床使用要求严格定义:如果参考值范围用于评估男性生育能力,12个月内使配偶成功妊娠的男性应当是最合适的参考人群;如果用于精液检测结果的流行病学评估,随机选择的健康男性应该是最为理想的参考群体。虽然男性个体精液检测结果基于参考值和决定限无疑会在不久的将来成为解释结果的工具,但从长远看,解释精液检查结果的多因素方法或结合女性有关因素的分析,似乎是检测生育能力低下夫妇妊娠可能性的最佳方式。     

中国118家实验室精液分析状况的调查

为在实验室内和实验室间实现精液分析标准化和进行质量控制,必须了解目前男科实验室精液分析的状况。为此,对中国大陆地区的部分精液分析实验室进行了调查。设计的"男科实验室精液分析调查表",包含36个问题,涉及精液分析的相关内容。本研究发放调查表145份,回收有效调查表118份。调查显示,53.6%(59/110)的实验室采用目测法检测精液量;对液化不全精液,70.9%(73/103)的实验室未作任何处理;精子密度、活动率、存活率及形态学分析以手工普通光学显微镜分析和计算机辅助精液分析(CASA)系统检测并存;精子染色方法达5种以上;精子自身抗体检测以酶联免疫吸附试验(ELISA)为主;仅有27.1%(32/118)的实验室开展了精浆生化项目检测。而且,在参与调查的所有实验室中,无一家实验室开展精液分析的室内和室间质量控制。总之,在中国大陆,男科实验室精液分析的方法和报告方式很不统一。采用的精液分析方法与《世界卫生组织人类精液分析实验室手册》第4版推荐的方法也不一致。本研究提示,为使不同实验室的检测结果具有可比性且有意义,中国男科实验室目前使用的精液分析方法急需标准化和质量控制。     

消化道肿瘤肝转移的介入治疗

介入治疗方法是一种微创手术,具有损伤小、近期疗效显著、并发症少、易于重复等特点,愈来愈得到国内外学者的重视.目前,肝动脉栓塞化疗、瘤内无水酒精注射等介入治疗已经得到了广泛应用,各种新技术不断应用于转移性肝癌介入治疗,并显示了较好的治疗效果.转移性肝癌的介入治疗方法多种,主要包括经皮的局部消蚀法和经血管的介入方法两大类.     

Identifying mental health services in clinical genetic settings

The purpose of this study was to examine the mental health needs of individuals at risk for adult onset hereditary disorder (AOHD) from the perspective of their genetic service providers, as it is unknown to what extent psychosocial services are required and being met. A mail-out survey was sent to 281 providers on the membership lists of the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors and the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists. The survey assessed psychosocial issues that were most commonly observed by geneticists, genetic counsellors (GCs), and nurses as well as availability and types of psychosocial services offered. Of the 129 respondents, half of genetic service providers reported observing signs of depression and anxiety, while 44% noted patients' concerns regarding relationships with family and friends. In terms of providing counselling to patients, as the level of psychological risk increased, confidence in dealing with these issues decreased. In addition, significantly more GCs reported that further training in psychosocial issues would be most beneficial to them if resources were available. As a feature of patient care, it is recommended that gene-based predictive testing include an integrative model of psychosocial services as well as training for genetic service providers in specific areas of AOHD mental health.