Identification, characterization and biological activity of oxytocin receptor in the developing human penis

Although abnormalities of the male external genitalia (MEG) are a relatively common problem, little is known concerning the molecular mechanisms that finely regulate penile development. We report here the expression of the oxytocin receptor (OTR) gene by real-time RT-PCR in human fetal tissues (11th-12th week of gestation), including the MEG. The developing penis expressed a very high level of OTR mRNA, only a half log(10) unit lower than fetal central nervous system, used as a positive control. The OTR protein is also highly expressed (western, immunohistochemistry and binding studies) and immunolocalized both in the mesenchymal body and in the surrounding blood capillaries, which will later constitute penile trabeculae and sinusoids. Binding studies using [125I]oxytocin antagonist ([125I]OTA) in cultured human fetal penile smooth muscle cells (hfPSMC) revealed the presence of specific OTR with a high capacity and affinity for oxytocin (OT) and for OTA. Increasing concentrations of OT dose-dependently induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. Furthermore, OTR mediated an increase in the proliferation and the migration of hfPSMC. In conclusion, we demonstrate that in the developing human MEG, OTR is highly expressed and might be involved in coordinating timely and appropriate proliferation and migration of the penile cells. Thus, OTR might represent an additional target for investigating human fetal MEG organogenesis.     

Occurrence and Potential Diagnostic Applications of Serological Cross-Reactivities between Brucella and Other Alpha-Proteobacteria

Agrobacterium, Sinorhizobium, and Ochrobactrum are genera closely related to Brucella but, in contrast to the latter, are not pathogenic for humans and animals. We studied by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) the reactivities of brucellosis sera against cytosolic (CYT) and membrane (MA) antigens from these nonpathogenic bacteria, and we evaluated the potential usefulness of these cross-reactions for the diagnosis of brucellosis in humans, sheep, cows, and dogs. Canine infection by Brucella canis was detected with high specificity by CYT antigen-based ELISAs (96% for Agrobacterium, 96% for Sinorhizobium, and 91% for Ochrobactrum), while sensitivity was variable (58% for Agrobacterium, 88% for Sinorhizobium, and 84% for Ochrobactrum). In addition, it was possible to diagnose canine disease shortly after exposure to the pathogen (15 days). Similar results for canine brucellosis were obtained with MA antigens. In contrast, normal sera from humans, sheep, and cattle reacted strongly with all the antigens (CYT and MA antigens from the three bacteria), producing high cutoff values and, consequently, low sensitivities. While for some host species the reactivity patterns of normal sera by Western blotting were similar to those produced with sera from infected individuals, the reactivity pattern of bovine sera against Sinorhizobium meliloti antigens exhibited some differential bands for the two groups of sera. These results show that crude fractions from nonpathogenic alpha-proteobacteria can be used to diagnose canine brucellosis but may need to be further separated into simpler fractions to have diagnostic usefulness in ovine, bovine, or human infection. By reducing the biosafety requirements, the use of antigens derived from these nonpathogenic bacteria would simplify the production of diagnostic kits for brucellosis, especially in settings where biosafety level-3 facilities are scarce or absent.     

二十碳五烯酸联合视黄酸对HL-60细胞凋亡相关基因表达的影响

目的 研究二十碳五烯酸(EPA)是否协同视黄酸(RA)影响HL-60细胞的凋亡及相应分子机制。方法 流式细胞仪(FCM)检测细胞周期相分布以测定细胞增殖和凋亡功能；Western blot法分析bcl-2和caspase—3表达。结果 与单独应用相比，EPA和RA联合应用可增强HL-60细胞的调亡效应，以及下调节bcl—2和增强caspase-3基因表达。结论 EPA和RA联合应用对HL-60细胞凋亡的增强效应，可能与它们增强caspase-3和降低bcl—2基因表达相关。     

细胞内外膜跨膜电位频率响应模型及滤波器特性的研究

提出球形单细胞内外膜跨膜电位频率响应模型和仿真计算方法。通过对频率响应的仿真分析，发现内外膜跨膜电位分别表现出一阶带通和低通滤波器特性，并在内膜频率响应中心频率到上限截止频率的范围内，内膜跨膜电位大于外膜同时能保持在较高水平，这将有利于诱导细胞内电处理效应。计算结果与动物实验吻合得很好，为纳秒脉冲电场治疗肿瘤的窗口参数合理选择提供了理论依据。     

纳秒级陡脉冲电场诱导癌细胞凋亡的实验及作用机理研究

观察纳秒级陡脉冲电场诱导人浆液囊腺性卵巢癌SKOV3癌细胞凋亡效应,及其对细胞内钙离子浓度即[Ca2＋]i的影响并探讨其作用机理。采用场强为10kV/cm、脉宽为100ns、重复频率为1Hz的纳秒级陡脉冲电场作用于SKOV3癌细胞悬液5min。4h后采用Annexin V-FITC/PI双标记并结合流式细胞仪分析SKOV3癌细胞的凋亡率,采用扫描和透射电子显微镜观察癌细胞凋亡的超微结构变化;以Fluo-3/AM为细胞内钙离子的荧光指示剂,用激光扫描共聚焦显微镜检测纳秒级陡脉冲电场对SKOV3癌细胞[Ca2＋]i的影响,及[Ca2＋]i变化时的Ca2＋来源。结果显示,流式细胞术检测到癌细胞的早期凋亡率为（22.21±2.71）%,明显高于对照组的（3.04±0.44）%（P〈0.01）,扫描和透射电子显微镜均观察到典型的凋亡细胞形态,证实纳秒级陡脉冲电场能够有效诱导SKOV3癌细胞发生凋亡;同时纳秒级陡脉冲电场可明显升高细胞[Ca2＋]i（P〈0.01）,而与细胞外钙离子浓度无关（P〉0.05）。由于纳秒级陡脉冲电场的等值频率很高,容易穿透细胞膜,其诱导凋亡的机制之一可能是通过激活细胞内钙库（内质网、线粒体）,引起细胞内钙离子升高,从而介导凋亡信号通路。     

Lack of association between serotonin transporter gene promoter variants and autistic disorder in two ethnically distinct samples

Family-based studies performed to date provide conflicting evidence of linkage/association between autistic disorder and either the "short" [Cook et al., 1997: Mol Psychiatry 2:247-250] or the "long" [Klauck et al., 1997: Hum Mol Genet 6:2233-2238] allele of a polymorphic repeat located in the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene promoter region, affecting 5-HTT gene expression [Lesch et al., 1996: Science 274:1527-1531]. The present study was designed to assess linkage and linkage disequilibrium in two new ethnically distinct samples of families with primary autistic probands. The 5-HTT promoter repeat was genotyped in 54 singleton families collected in Italy and in 32 singleton and 5 multiplex families collected in the U.S.A., yielding a total sample of 98 trios. Linkage/association between 5-HTT gene promoter alleles and autistic disorder was assessed using the transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT) and the haplotype-based haplotype relative risk (HHRR). Both the Italian and the American samples, either singly or combined, displayed no evidence of linkage/association between 5-HTT gene promoter alleles and autistic disorder. Our findings do not support prominent contributions of 5-HTT gene variants to the pathogenesis of idiopathic infantile autism. Heterogeneity in pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the disease may require that linkage/association studies be targeted toward patient subgroups isolated on the basis of specific biochemical markers, such as serotonin (5-HT) blood levels. Am. J. Med. Genet. (Neuropsychiatr. Genet.) 96:123-127, 2000.     

The beta1 adrenergic effects of antibodies against the C-terminal end of the ribosomal P2beta protein of Trypanosoma cruzi associate with a specific pattern of epitope recognition

BALB/c mice immunized with recombinant Trypanosoma cruzi ribosomal P2beta protein (TcP2beta) develop a strong and specific antibody response against its 13 residue-long C-terminal epitope (peptide R13: EEEDDDMGFGLFD) that has a concomitant beta1-adrenergic stimulating activity. However, other animals that undergo similar immunizations seem tolerant to this epitope. To evaluate further the antibody response against the ribosomal P proteins, 25 BALB/c and 25 Swiss mice were immunized with TcP2beta. From the 50 animals, 31 developed a positive anti-R13 response, whereas 19 were non-responsive. From the 31 anti-R13 positive mice, 25 had anti-R13 antibodies that recognized the discontinuous motif ExDDxGF, and their presence correlated with the recording of supraventricular tachycardia. The other six had anti-R13 antibodies but with a normal electrocardiographic recording. These anti-R13 antibodies recognized the motif DDxGF shared by mammals and T. cruzi and proved to be a true anti-P autoantibody because they were similar to those elicited in Swiss, but not in BALB/c mice, by immunization with the C-terminal portion of the mouse ribosomal P protein. Our results show that the recognition of the glutamic acid in position 3 of peptide R13 defines the ability of anti-R13 antibodies to react with the motif AESDE of the second extracellular loop of the beta1-adrenergic receptor, setting the molecular basis for their pathogenic beta1 adrenoceptor stimulating activity.     

Preferential location of sex chromosomes, their aneuploidy in human sperm, and their role in determining sex chromosome aneuploidy in embryos after ICSI

BACKGROUND: In babies born after ICSI procedures, an increase of de-novo sex chromosome abnormalities has been observed. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain these findings: an increased rate of sex chromosome aneuploidy in sperm of oligozoospermic men, or a preferential location of the sex chromosomes in the sub-acrosomal region of the sperm nucleus which leads to a reduced DNA decondensation of this region. In order to investigate which theory may be more reliable, we studied the localization of sex chromosomes and their aneuploidy rate in sperm in men undergoing ICSI. METHODS: Using fluorescent in-situ hybridization we studied sex chromosome localization and the aneuploidy rate for sex chromosomes and chromosome 18 in 20 oligospermic men undergoing ICSI and in 10 controls. RESULTS: In 40.94 and 52.92% of cases, the X and Y chromosomes respectively were localized in the sub-acrosomal region of the sperm nucleus compared with only 14.29% of cases of chromosome 18 (P < 0.001). An increase of sex chromosome aneuploidy in sperm of oligospermic men was observed; 2.91 versus 0.69% of controls (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Sex chromosomes are localized preferentially in the sub-acrosomal region of sperm and sex chromosome aneuploidy rate in the sperm of oligozoospermic men is higher than in controls.     

静脉用药调配中心干预不合理医嘱的效益分析

目的对静脉用药调配中心(pharmacy intravenous admixture services,PIVAS)干预临床不合理用药产生的经济效益、社会效益、人力资源效益进行分析,促进临床合理、安全、经济用药。方法采用回顾性分析方法,调取2018年10月1-31日山东大学齐鲁医院PIVAS接收的全部静脉用药医嘱及对不合理用药医嘱的干预结果,分析PIVAS干预不合理用药医嘱产生的药品资源、人力资源节约情况。结果2018年10月1-31日PIVAS药师共审核用药医嘱412782组,其中不合理医嘱1967组,占0.417%,包括不规范、不适宜及超常医嘱等类型。通过PIVAS药师干预不合理用药医嘱,及时纠正医师用药医嘱错误,节约了药品资源及护理工时。结论PIVAS进行用药医嘱审核对于保障患者临床合理用药具有积极意义,有利于节约医疗资源。     

Free Fatty Acids Signature in Human Intestinal Disorders: Significant Association between Butyric Acid and Celiac Disease

Altered circulating levels of free fatty acids (FFAs), namely short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs), and long chain fatty acids (LCFAs), are associated with metabolic, gastrointestinal, and malignant diseases. Hence, we compared the serum FFA profile of patients with celiac disease (CD), adenomatous polyposis (AP), and colorectal cancer (CRC) to healthy controls (HC). We enrolled 44 patients (19 CRC, 9 AP, 16 CD) and 16 HC. We performed a quantitative FFA evaluation with the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method (GC–MS), and we performed Dirichlet-multinomial regression in order to highlight disease-specific FFA signature. HC showed a different composition of FFAs than CRC, AP, and CD patients. Furthermore, the partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) confirmed perfect overlap between the CRC and AP patients and separation of HC from the diseased groups. The Dirichlet-multinomial regression identified only strong positive association between CD and butyric acid. Moreover, CD patients showed significant interactions with age, BMI, and gender. In addition, among patients with the same age and BMI, being male compared to being female implies a decrease of the CD effect on the (log) prevalence of butyric acid in FFA composition. Our data support GC–MS as a suitable method for the concurrent analysis of circulating SCFAs, MCFAs, and LCFAs in different gastrointestinal diseases. Furthermore, and notably, we suggest for the first time that butyric acid could represent a potential biomarker for CD screening.