脑卒中急性期白细胞反应及临床意义

脑卒中急性期大多数患者白细胞增多，表现为中性粒细胞计数与白细胞总数增高，脑出血组白细胞增高姓率高于脑梗塞组，而中性粒细胞增高发生率二组间无差别，外周血白细胞增高与临床神经功能缺损程度评分有密切关系，中性粒细胞计数越高，近期神经功能预后则越差。     

肾病综合征患儿血红细胞磷脂过氧化氢谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶活力的研究

本文对１７例肾病综合征（ＮＳ）患儿和１５例健康对照组儿童血红细胞磷脂过氧化氢谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（ＰＨＧＰｘ）活力，脂溶性荧光色素（ＬＳＦＰ）含量进行了研究。结果表明，ＮＳ急性期ＰＨＧＰｘ活力明显降低．ＬＳＦＰ含量增加；恢复期ＰＨＧＰｘ活力较急性期明显提高，但仍低于正常对照组，ＬＳＦＰ虽较急性期下降，但仍高于正常对照组。说明ＮＳ存在ＰＨＧＰｘ和ＬＳＦＰ的改变，但可逐渐恢复。     

Zinc, calcium, and magnesium metabolism: effects on plasmacytomas in Balb/c mice

The effects of different amounts of dietary zinc on the Zn absorption rate and on Zn, calcium and magnesium concentrations in tissues of MOPC 104E tumor-bearing Balb/c mice were determined. The Zn absorption rate was inversely related to the amounts of Zn in their diets and was lower than that of nontumor-bearing control mice fed a laboratory mice chow. Zn concentrations of tumor-bearing mice were also low compared with control mice but tumor Zn concentrations, regardless of the concentrations of Zn in the diets, were higher than those of normal tissues of the host other than the pancreas. Ca concentrations in tumor and tissues of tumor-bearing mice were higher than in control animals but Mg concentrations in tissues of tumor-bearing mice appeared to be similar to those of control mice. Results suggest that tumor-bearing mice have a lower intestinal Zn absorption capacity and a higher Zn uptake rate causing other tissues to become hypozincemic and hypercalcemic.     

Detection of cell apoptosis by MTT assay.]

OBJECTIVE: To study the feasibility of using MTT assay to detect cell apoptosis. METHODS: K562 cells were grown in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 10% calf serum and 4 micromol/L arsenic trioxide. Apoptosis was induced in the cultured cells by As2O3, and the cells were detected with optical microscope, DNA gel electrophoresis and MTT staining respectively. RESULT: MTT staining could also accurately detect cell apoptosis, by which the apoptotic cells were easily distinguished from normal cells and dead cells. CONCLUSION: MTT staining is simple, convenient and practical for detecting cell apoptosis.     

Isolation of a rat S100 alpha cDNA and distribution of its mRNA in rat tissues.

In order to clarify the reported discrepancies in S100 alpha protein and mRNA distribution in rat tissues, a rat S100 alpha cDNA has been isolated and this species homologous probe along with a rat S100 beta cDNA probe has been used to examine S100 mRNA expression in rat tissues. Although the rat S100 alpha cDNA was missing approximately 30 nucleotides of coding sequence, only 4 conservative changes in amino acid sequence were observed when the deduced amino acid sequence was compared to the bovine S100 alpha amino acid sequence. Thus, S100 alpha proteins, like S100 beta proteins, are highly conserved among species. All nineteen of the tissues examined (including cerebrum and cerebellum) contained S100 alpha mRNA. In addition, S100 beta mRNA was detected in thirteen of the nineteen tissues examined. These results are in agreement with previous protein distribution studies and further demonstrate that S100 proteins are not brain-specific and are expressed in a large number of tissues. Although S100 alpha and S100 beta mRNAs were detected in rat tissues which had previously been reported to contain S100 alpha and S100 beta protein, a direct correlation between the protein and mRNA levels were not observed, suggesting that different mechanisms regulate S100 expression in various tissues. S100 alpha exhibited a single similar size mRNA species (0.5 Kb) in all tissues examined, as did S100 beta (1.5 Kb), suggesting that the individual S100 proteins are expressed as single mRNA and protein products in rat tissues.     

Good titles makes good articles: designing of English titles for medical papers.]

Based on the experience of the author and an intensive study of the titles of English medical papers written by authors in English-speaking countries, the characteristics and styles of the titles were expounded with well-selected examples. The paper also introduces some practical skills to write good English titles and enumerates some frequently used structures and expressions, which might be helpful for potential Chinese contributors to medical journals.     

Inhibition of the expression of lysyl oxidase and its substrates in cadmium-resistant rat fetal lung fibroblasts.

Copper (Cu)-dependent lysyl oxidase (LO) catalyzes crosslinking of collagen and elastin stabilizing the extracellular matrix (ECM). Chronic inhalation of cadmium (Cd), a toxic metal, induces emphysema. To probe mechanisms of Cd injury to the lung, we developed Cd-resistant (CdR) cells from rat fetal lung fibroblasts (RFL6) by chronic exposure to CdCl(2) from 1 to 40 microM and further examined their expressions of LO, LO substrates, and Cu-scavenging thiols. Levels of cellular thiols, metallothionein, and glutathione in CdR cells were elevated to 13.0- and 3.2-fold of parental controls, respectively, whereas LO mRNA and protein levels were markedly reduced in these cells, with catalytic activity declining to only 16% of the parental control. A conspicuous 52 kDa species rather then the normal 50 kDa proenzyme appeared in the CdR cell extract but not in the conditioned medium, which was codistributed with the endoplasmic reticulum marker [DiOC5(3)] within the cell, implying the Cd-induced 52 kDa species as a product of an abnormal LO-processing defect in secretion. Addition of Cu into CdR cell cultures enhanced the expression of LO mRNA, protein and catalytic activities reflecting limitation of Cu bioavailability for LO in these cells. With inhibition of LO, CdR cells also displayed downregulation of collagen and elastin, substrates of LO. Restoration of collagen synthesis by exposure of CdR cells to purified LO or Cu suggests that inhibition of LO and limitation of Cu cofactor by Cd, as key phenotype changes, accelerated collagen and elastin damage, a critical event pertinent to emphysema pathogenesis.