转化生长因子β细胞内信号转导负调控蛋白Smad6，7在肾间质纤维化大鼠肾脏表达与益气活血法的影响

目的:观察肾间质纤维化大鼠肾组织中转化生长因子β细胞内信号转导负调控蛋白Smad6,7表达变化与益气活血法中药制剂的影响。方法:实验于2006-12/2007-06在首都医科大学解剖与组织胚胎学系实验室完成。①实验动物:Wistar雄性大鼠30只,采用随机数字法随机分为模型组、中药大剂量组、中药中剂量组、中药小剂量组、西药蒙诺组、假手术组,每组5只。益气活血法中药提取液(生黄芪15g,当归10g,赤白芍10g,丹参30g,黄芩10g,车前草15g,牛膝15g等)经水提醇沉得4.4kg/L生药提取液。实验过程中对动物处置符合动物伦理学要求。②实验方法:其中前5组行单侧输尿管梗阻致肾小管间质纤维化模型手术。假手术组打开大鼠腹腔后分离左侧输尿管,并不结扎即关闭腹腔。中药大剂量组、中药中剂量组、中药小剂量组、西药蒙诺组,于手术前2d给予灌胃给药0.072mL/(kg·d),0.036mL/(kg·d),0.018mL/(kg·d),10mg/(kg·d),1次/d,连续2周。模型组及假手术组用相同体积的生理盐水灌胃。③实验评估:6组大鼠于术后14d麻醉后处死,观察梗阻肾组织病理改变,用免疫组化方法检测肾组织Smad6,7蛋白表达,通过医学病理图像分析系统对Smad6,7蛋白的积分光密度进行统计学分析。结果:30只大鼠全部进入结果分析。苏木精-伊红染色显示模型组肾小管上皮细胞萎缩,大部分肾小管管腔扩张,间质纤维组织增生,大量炎性细胞浸润,肾小球数目明显减少。中药大剂量组、中剂量组、西药蒙诺组较模型组肾间质炎性细胞浸润、纤维组织增生、肾小管扩张情况明显减轻。Smad6,7蛋白主要在肾皮质肾小管上皮细胞内表达,在模型组它们的表达较假手术组明显减弱且分布面积减少,两组间积分光密度差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05);中药中剂量组、大剂量组、西药蒙诺组Smad6,7蛋白的表达较模型组明显增强、面积增加,积分光密度差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:益气活血法可以通过诱导肾组织Smad6,7蛋白表达而抑制肾间质纤维化。     

不同孔径纳米羟基磷灰石人工骨修复兔桡骨缺损效果比较

目的:纳米级的羟基磷灰石材料与人体内组织成分更为相似,具有更佳的生物性能。评价不同孔径的多孔纳米羟基磷灰石人工骨的骨缺损修复能力,从而筛选出适合的孔径以达到骨传导功能与生物力学性能的良好统一。方法:实验于2005-10/2006-10在深圳市第二人民医院中心实验室完成。①实验材料:纳米羟基磷灰石人工骨以硝酸钙和磷酸二氢铵为原料,采用溶胶-絮凝法制备粉体,运用压力成型、木模成型和浸渍成型分别制得孔隙分布均匀的孔径分别为50～150μm、100～250μm和300～500μm的多孔纳米羟基磷灰石人工骨。②实验动物:雄性新西兰大白兔60只随机分为植入50～150μm孔径材料组、植入100～250μm孔径材料组、植入300～500μm孔径材料组、空白对照组,每组15只。实验过程中对动物处置符合动物伦理学要求。③实验方法:制备双侧桡骨骨缺损动物模型,然后用3种不同孔径的纳米羟基磷灰石人工骨材料植入骨缺损处进行修复,空白对照组不植入任何材料。④实验评估:术后4,8和12周分别行大体标本观察、X射线片观察、扫描电镜观察及生物力学测试,比较各组材料修复骨缺损的能力。结果:实验动物均进入结果分析。①X射线片检查结果:术后4周、8周、12周,植入100～250μm孔径材料组X射线评分高于植入50～150μm,300～500μm孔径材料组,差异有显著性意义(P<0.05)。②生物力学检测结果:术后4周、8周、12周,植入100～250μm孔径材料组生物力学强度高于植入50～150μm,300～500μm孔径材料组,差异有显著性意义(P<0.05)。③扫描电镜观察结果:植入100～250μm孔径材料组成骨效果明显优于植入50～150μm,300～500μm孔径材料组和空白对照组。结论:纳米羟基磷灰石人工骨具有良好的成骨能力,但其骨修复能力受孔径因素的影响,孔径100～250μm的纳米羟基磷灰石人工骨材料成骨能力较好。     

单侧输尿管梗阻大鼠肾脏组织基质金属蛋白酶3、基质金属蛋白酶2和金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子2的表达及益气活血法的影响

目的:肾间质纤维化是肾脏疾病进展到肾功能衰竭的共同通路。通过观察益气活血法中药制剂对肾间质纤维化大鼠肾组织基质金属蛋白酶3,基质金属蛋白酶2和金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子2表达的影响,探讨其抗肾间质纤维化的作用机制。方法:实验于2006-12/2007-06在首都医科大学解剖与组织胚胎学系实验室完成。①实验动物:Wistar雄性大鼠30只,采用随机数字法分为模型组、西药蒙诺组、中药小剂量组、中药中剂量组、中药大剂量组和假手术组。实验过程中对动物处置符合动物伦理学要求。②实验方法:其中前5组行单侧输尿管梗阻致肾小管间质纤维化模型手术,假手术组打开大鼠腹腔后,分离其左侧输尿管,不结扎即关闭腹腔。益气活血法中药制剂主要由生黄芪,当归,赤白芍,丹参,黄芩,车前草,牛膝等组成。西药组、中药小剂量组、中药中剂量组和中药大剂量组于手术前2d开始灌胃给药,1次/d,其药量分别为:西药组蒙诺10mg/(kg·d)、小剂量组0.018mL/(kg·d)、中剂量组0.036mL/(kg·d)、大剂量组0.072mL/(kg·d),连续给予2周。模型组及假手术组用相同体积的生理盐水灌胃。③实验评估:6组大鼠于术后14d麻醉后处死,观察梗阻肾脏病理改变,并用免疫组织化学方法检测肾组织对基质金属蛋白酶2、基质金属蛋白酶3和金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子2的表达,通过医学病理图像分析系统对基质金属蛋白酶2、基质金属蛋白酶3和金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子2的积分光密度进行统计学分析。结果:30只大鼠全部进入结果分析。肾组织切片免疫组织化学方法结果显示:基质金属蛋白酶2、基质金属蛋白酶3和金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子2主要表达部位在肾小管上皮,少量表达在肾间质和肾小球。基质金属蛋白酶2和基质金属蛋白酶3在模型组的表达较假手术组明显减弱,两组间积分光密度比较差异有显著性意义(P<0.05);中药大、中剂量组及西药蒙诺组的表达较模型组显著增强,积分光密度差异有显著性意义(P<0.05)。金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子2在模型组的表达较假手术组显著增强,两组间积分光密度比较差异有显著性意义(P<0.05);中药大、中剂量组及西药蒙诺组的表达较模型组有所减弱,两组间积分光密度比较差异有显著性意义(P<0.05);中药小剂量组无论基质金属蛋白酶2和基质金属蛋白酶3还是金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子2的表达与模型组相比均较为相似,两组间积分光密度比较差异无显著性意义(P>0.05)。结论:大鼠输尿管梗阻后呈现出的病理损害可能和肾组织基质金属蛋白酶3,基质金属蛋白酶2与金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子2的表达失衡有关,益气活血法可以上调基质金属蛋白酶2,基质金属蛋白酶3的表达,下调金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子2的表达,显示在抑制或延缓肾间质纤维化的进程中具有一定的作用。     

Brain imaging in the study of Alzheimer's disease

Over the last 20 years, there has been extraordinary progress in brain imaging research and its application to the study of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Brain imaging researchers have contributed to the scientific understanding, early detection and tracking of AD. They have set the stage for imaging techniques to play growing roles in the clinical setting, the evaluation of disease-modifying treatments, and the identification of demonstrably effective prevention therapies. They have developed ground-breaking methods, including positron emission tomography (PET) ligands to measure fibrillar amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pulse sequences, and powerful image analysis techniques, to help in these endeavors. Additional work is needed to develop even more powerful imaging methods, to further clarify the relationship and time course of Aβ and other disease processes in the predisposition to AD, to establish the role of brain imaging methods in the clinical setting, and to provide the scientific means and regulatory approval pathway needed to evaluate the range of promising disease-modifying and prevention therapies as quickly as possible. Twenty years from now, AD may not yet be a distant memory, but the best is yet to come.     

Molecular genetic rearrangements distinguish pre- and post-bone marrow transplantation lymphoproliferative processes

Chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) may display a lymphoproliferative phase (lymphoid blast crisis) that is generally of B cell phenotype. Since lymphoproliferative disorders may occur following bone marrow transplantation (BMT), it may be difficult to distinguish posttransplant relapse of CML lymphoid blast crisis from de novo lymphoproliferation. Lymphoid blast crisis cells from a patient with CML displayed immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (C mu) rearrangement before BMT. Following BMT the patient developed a lymphoproliferative disorder involving multiple organs. Clonal rearrangement of C mu was demonstrated in several involved tissues. The rearranged C mu restriction fragment was distinct from that displayed before BMT. Additionally, rearrangement of the breakpoint cluster region (bcr) was demonstrated in the pretransplant blast crisis sample, but not in the posttransplant lymphoproliferation samples, thus confirming that these lymphoproliferative disorders were distinct. Molecular genetic techniques offer powerful diagnostic tools for monitoring the course of patients with CML undergoing BMT.     

Diverging associations of an intended early invasive strategy compared with actual revascularization, and outcome in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome: the problem of treatment selection bias

AIMS: In several observational studies, revascularization is associated with substantial reduction in mortality in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (nSTE-ACS). This has strengthened the belief that routine early angiography would lead to a reduction in mortality. We investigated the association between actual in-hospital revascularization and long-term outcome in patients with nSTE-ACS included in the ICTUS trial. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study population of the present analysis consists of ICTUS participants who were discharged alive after initial hospitalization. The ICTUS trial was a randomized, controlled trial in which 1200 patients were randomized to an early invasive or selective invasive strategy. The endpoints were death from hospital discharge until 4 year follow-up and death or spontaneous myocardial infarction (MI) until 3 years. Among 1189 patients discharged alive, 691 (58%) underwent revascularization during initial hospitalization. In multivariable Cox regression analyses, in-hospital revascularization was independently associated with a reduction in 4 year mortality and 3 year event rate of death or spontaneous MI: hazard ratio (HR) 0.59 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.37-0.96] and 0.46 (95% CI 0.31-0.68). However, when intention-to-treat analysis was performed, no differences in cumulative event rates were observed between the early invasive and selective invasive strategies: HR 1.10 (95% CI 0.70-1.74) for death and 1.27 (95% CI 0.88-1.85) for death or spontaneous MI. CONCLUSION: The ICTUS trial did not show that an early invasive strategy resulted in a better outcome than a selective invasive strategy in patients with nSTE-ACS. However, similar to retrospective analyses from observational studies, actual revascularization was associated with lower mortality and fewer MI. Whether an early invasive strategy leads to a better outcome than a selective invasive strategy cannot be inferred from the observation that revascularized patients have a better prognosis in non-randomized studies.     

Anti-IgM induces transforming growth factor-beta sensitivity in a human B-lymphoma cell line: inhibition of growth is associated with a downregulation of mutant p53

We wished to examine the role of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF- beta) in the regulation of human lymphoma cell growth. The RL cell line is an immunoglobulin M (IgM)+, IgD+ B lymphoma cell line, which does not constitutively express receptors for TGF-beta, and thus has lost the ability to respond to the inhibitory effects of TGF-beta. We demonstrate here that anti-Ig antibodies can efficiently upregulate the expression of TGF-beta receptors and promote sensitivity to growth inhibition by TGF-beta. Furthermore, because TGF-beta has been shown to function in late G1 of the cell cycle, we examined the ability of TGF- beta to modulate two tumor suppressor proteins known to be critical regulators of the G1/S transition, Rb and p53. Rb is a 105- to 110-kD phosphoprotein, which has been shown to maintain its growth suppressive function when it is found in the hypophosphorylated state. Wild-type p53 is a 53-kD phosphoprotein that appears to be important in preventing cell-cycle progression and promoting apoptosis in cells with DNA damage, whereas mutant p53 can overcome those functions. We show here that TGF-beta treatment of phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or anti- Ig-activated RL cells results in growth inhibition through a dual effect on Rb and mutant p53. After TGF-beta treatment, we observe a predominance of Rb in the hypophosphorylated, growth suppressive form. In addition, we show a decrease in levels of mRNA and protein for mutant p53. We also show that, although these changes are sufficient to halt progression through the cell cycle, the cells do not appear to undergo extensive programmed cell death following 72 hours of TGF-beta treatment. Thus, although these lymphoma cells maintain the capacity to be negatively growth regulated by TGF-beta, the ability of TGF-beta to induce apoptosis must be independently controlled.     

Clinical features and serum antinuclear antibodies in 230 Danish patients with systemic sclerosis

The objective was to investigate the relationship between the presence of different types of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and the presence of clinical features. Sera from 230 patients with SSc were tested for the presence of ANA, including anticentromere antibodies (ab), antitopoisomerase I ab, anti- U1 RNP ab and antinucleolar ab, including anti-Th RNP, anti-U3 RNP and anti-U17 RNP. Clinical features were registered prospectively in a clinical database. Eighty-two per cent of the patients were women. The median age was 58 yr (45-67, quartiles) and median age at disease onset was 44 (30-55) yr. ANA were found in 86% of the patients (anticentromere: 34%; antitopoisomerase I: 14%; anti-U1 RNP: 6.5%; antinucleolar total: 16%; anti-Th RNP: 2.2%; anti-U3 RNP: 3.5%; anti- U17 RNP: 0%). Anticentromere ab were found to be related to a high prevalence of calcinosis, telangiectasia, digital ulcers, acrosclerosis, primary biliary cirrhosis, isolated reduction of pulmonary diffusing capacity, and a low prevalence of radiological evidence of pulmonary fibrosis. Antitopoisomerase I ab were associated with a high prevalence of digital joint deformity, distal osteolysis, radiological signs of pulmonary fibrosis, a low prevalence of calcinosis and late onset of disease. Anti-U1 RNP ab were related to a high prevalence of arthritis and myositis, a low prevalence of calcinosis, and early disease onset. The presence of antinucleolar ab, including anti-U3 RNP and anti-Th RNP, was not significantly related to any particular clinical features in this study; possibly due to the small number of patients with these ab. The presence of anticentromere, antitopoisomerase I and anti-U1 RNP ab in the serum was also found to have previously described clinical correlations in a group of Danish SSc patients.      

Activated natural killer cells and interleukin-2 promote granulocytic and megakaryocytic reconstitution after syngeneic bone marrow transplantation in mice

Purified populations of natural killer (NK) cells were obtained from mice with severe combined immune deficiency (SCID). SCID spleen cells were cultured and activated with recombinant human interleukin-2 (rhIL- 2) in vitro. The activated NK cells were then transferred with syngeneic BALB/c bone marrow cells (BMC) and rhIL-2 into lethally irradiated syngeneic recipients to determine their effect on long-term hematopoietic reconstitution. On analysis, the transfer of rhIL-2- activated NK cells along with BMC resulted in significant increases in splenic and BM hematopoietic progenitor cells when compared with those for mice not receiving NK cells. Histologic and flow cytometric analysis showed a marked increase in granulocytic and megakaryocytic lineage cells present in the spleens of the mice receiving activated NK cells. Analysis of the peripheral blood indicated that the transfer of activated NK cells with BMC also significantly improved platelet and total white blood cell counts, with increases in segmented neutrophils. Erythroid recovery was not affected. Finally, lethally irradiated mice receiving activated NK cells and rhIL-2 along with limiting numbers of syngeneic BMC showed a marked increase in survival rate. These results show that the use of populations enriched for activated NK cells after syngeneic BM transplantation (BMT) has a profound enhancing effect on engraftment primarily affecting megakaryocytic and granulocytic cell reconstitution. Therefore, the transfer of activated NK cells and rhIL- 2 may be of clinical use to promote hematopoietic reconstitution after BMT.     

Incidence and prevalence of dementia in the Cardiovascular Health Study

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the incidence and prevalence of dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and vascular dementia (VaD) in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study using prospectively and retrospectively collected data to evaluate dementia. SETTING: Four U.S. communities. PARTICIPANTS: There were 3,602 CHS participants, including 2,865 white and 492 African-American participants free of dementia, who completed a cranial magnetic resonance image between 1992 and 1994 and were followed for an average of 5.4 years. MEASUREMENTS: Dementia was classified by neurologist/psychiatrist committee review using neuropsychological tests, neurological examinations, medical records, physician questionnaires, and proxy/informant interviews. Demographics and apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype were collected at baseline. Incidence by type of dementia was determined using National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria for AD and Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Center's State of California criteria for VaD. RESULTS: Classification resulted in 227 persons with prevalent dementia at entry into the study and 480 incident cases during follow-up. Incidence rates of dementia scaled to age 80 were 34.7 per 1,000 person-years for white women, 35.3 for white men, 58.8 for African-American women, and 53.0 for African-American men. Sex differences were not significant within race. Adjusted for age and education, racial differences were only of borderline significance and may have been influenced by ascertainment methodology. Rates differed substantially by educational attainment but were only significant for whites. Those with the APOE epsilon4 allele had an incidence rate at age 80 of 56.4, compared with 29.6 for those without this allele (P<.001). In whites, type-specific incidence at age 80 was 19.2 for AD versus 14.6 for VaD. These rates were 34.7 and 27.2 for African Americans. At termination of observation, women had only a slightly higher prevalence of dementia (16.0%) than men (14.7%). CONCLUSION: Sex and racial differences were not found, and VaD was higher than reported in other studies. These data provide new estimates of dementia incidence in a community sample for projection of future burden.