miR-144/451基因簇在肿瘤组织中对相关基因调控概述

微RNA(microRNAs,miRNA)是真核生物中广泛存在的一种内生的小RNA分子,在基因表达、细胞周期、生物体发育时序调控等多方面发挥重要作用。在肿瘤中,miRNA参与调控肿瘤细胞的增殖、凋亡和自噬等过程。miR-144/451基因簇在多种肿瘤组织中低表达,然而其在肿瘤组织中的调控情况还不清楚。本实验室构建了转染空表达载体和过表达miR-451载体的HCT116稳转细胞株的抑制消减杂交文库,从文库中筛选得到B细胞受体相关蛋白31、真核翻译延伸因子1A1、细胞分裂周期蛋白20等基因。本文将对这些受miR144/451调控的基因和其可能参与的调控网络进行阐述。     

Leukotrienes in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Leukotrienes (LTs) are lipid mediators derived from the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism and are markers and mediators of pulmonary inflammation. Research over the past two decades has established that LTs modulate inflammation in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The purpose of this review was to summarize the current knowledge of LTs in the pathophysiology of PAH and to highlight a recent study that advances our understanding of how leukotriene B₄ (LTB₄) specifically contributes to pulmonary vascular remodeling. The results of these studies suggest that pharmacological inhibition of LT pathways, especially LTB₄, has high potential for the treatment of PAH.     

Pokemon对霍奇金淋巴瘤细胞凋亡作用的探讨

目的 探讨霍奇金淋巴瘤(Hodgkin's lymphoma,HL)中Pokemon、p53蛋白的表达及其与细胞凋亡的关系.方法 采用免疫组化MaxVision法检测60例HL和20例淋巴结反应性增生(benign lymph nodes hyperplasia,BLH)组织中Pokemon、p53蛋白的表达,并用TUNEL法检测瘤细胞凋亡.结果 60例HL中Pokemon阳性率为68.33％,明显高于BLH组(30.00％)(P＜0.05);p53在60例HL中的阳性率为61.67％,明显高于BLH组(20.00％).HL和BLH组的凋亡指数(apoptosis index,AI)值分别为3.55±0.10、4.55 ±0.12,组间比较差异有显著性(=4.052,P＜0.05).HL中Pokemon阳性表达组的AI值(3.53±0.10)显著低于Pokemon阴性表达组(4.16 ±0.68),差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).结论 Pokemon高表达与HL的发病机制有关,Pokemon可能通过调节p53细胞凋亡通路,参与HL的发生、发展.     

Api6在高脂高胆固醇饮食引起肺部炎症中所发挥作用的研究*

 目的：研究凋亡抑制因子6（Api6）在高脂高胆固醇饮食所致C57BL/6J小鼠肺部炎症反应中的作用。方法：6～8周龄的C57BL/6J雄性小鼠喂养于SPF环境中,随机分成2组,分别给予普通饮食和高脂高胆固醇饮食喂养。喂养16周后收集肺组织并采用免疫组织化学和ELISA法鉴定肺组织的炎症状态。实时定量PCR和Western blotting鉴定Api6 mRNA与蛋白的表达水平,流式细胞术检测小鼠支气管肺泡灌洗液细胞凋亡情况。体外培养巨噬细胞RAW264.7,流式细胞术检测Api6对氧化型低密度脂蛋白（oxLDL）引起的细胞凋亡的影响。结果：高脂高胆固醇饮食喂养小鼠16周后,C57BL/6J小鼠肺组织出现以巨噬细胞蓄积以及肿瘤坏死因子α和单核细胞趋化蛋白1升高为主的炎症反应。与普通饮食组相比,高脂高胆固醇饮食喂养小鼠肺组织的Api6 mRNA和蛋白表达水平都显著上调（P<0.01）,同时支气管肺泡灌洗液中的巨噬细胞凋亡水平明显下降（P<0.01）。体外实验证实500 μg/L的重组Api6处理RAW264.7细胞可显著抑制oxLDL引起的细胞凋亡（P<0.05）。结论：高脂高胆固醇饮食可致C57BL/6J小鼠肺组织巨噬细胞蓄积,其机制可能与Api6抑制巨噬细胞的凋亡有关。     

Differential Muscle Hypertrophy Is Associated with Satellite Cell Numbers and Akt Pathway Activation Following Activin Type IIB Receptor Inhibition in Mtm1 p.R69C Mice

X-linked myotubular myopathy is a congenital myopathy caused by deficiency of myotubularin. Patients often present with severe perinatal weakness, requiring mechanical ventilation to prevent death from respiratory failure. We recently reported that an activin receptor type IIB inhibitor produced hypertrophy of type 2b myofibers and modest increases of strength and life span in the severely myopathic Mtm1δ4 mouse model of X-linked myotubular myopathy. We have now performed a similar study in the less severely symptomatic Mtm1 p.R69C mouse in hopes of finding greater treatment efficacy. Activin receptor type IIB inhibitor treatment of Mtm1 p.R69C animals produced behavioral and histological evidence of hypertrophy in gastrocnemius muscles but not in quadriceps or triceps. The ability of the muscles to respond to activin receptor type IIB inhibitor treatment correlated with treatment-induced increases in satellite cell number and several muscle-specific abnormalities of hypertrophic signaling. Treatment-responsive Mtm1 p.R69C gastrocnemius muscles displayed lower levels of phosphorylated ribosomal protein S6 and higher levels of phosphorylated eukaryotic elongation factor 2 kinase than were observed in Mtm1 p.R69C quadriceps muscle or in muscles from wild-type littermates. Hypertrophy in the Mtm1 p.R69C gastrocnemius muscle was associated with increased levels of phosphorylated ribosomal protein S6. Our findings indicate that muscle-, fiber type-, and mutation-specific factors affect the response to hypertrophic therapies that will be important to assess in future therapeutic trials.X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM) is a severe form of congenital myopathy with an estimated incidence of 1:50,000 male births that most often presents with severe perinatal weakness and respiratory failure.^1,2 Many patients with XLMTM die within the first year of life despite the use of mechanical ventilation, and no treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration are available. XLMTM is caused by mutations in the gene that encodes myotubularin (MTM1), which is a phosphoinositide phosphatase thought to be involved in endosomal trafficking, cytoskeletal organization, apoptosis, and/or maintenance of the sarcoplasmic reticulum/T-tubular system within myofibers.^3–8 Muscle biopsies from patients with XLMTM display excessively small fibers with increased numbers of fibers that contain central nuclei and central aggregation of organelles.⁹ Although the number of centrally nucleated fibers bears little relationship to a patient''s prognosis, there is a clear correlation between the degree of fiber smallness at birth and the severity of the patients'' disease.¹⁰ Two murine models of myotubularin deficiency are used, the severely symptomatic Mtm1δ4 (also referred to as Mtm1 knockout in prior studies^3,11,12) and the moderately symptomatic Mtm1 p.R69C mice,¹³ both of which display weakness and myofiber smallness and similar pathology to that seen in XLMTM.Because of the relationship between myofiber size and symptomatic severity in patients with XLMTM and in Mtm1δ4 mice, we had previously hypothesized that correction of myofiber smallness in myotubularin deficiency would greatly improve strength. Inhibitors of myostatin or nonfunctional decoys of its receptor, the activin type IIB receptor (ActRIIB), can be used to inhibit this negative regulator of myofiber size, leading to myofiber hypertrophy. Myostatin binds to (and signals through) the ActRIIB to activate the transforming growth factor-β pathway, which prevents progression through the cell cycle and down-regulates several key processes related to myofiber hypertrophy.^14,15 We recently reported a trial of ActRIIB-mFC in Mtm1δ4 mice, which produced 17% extension of life span, with transient increases in weight, forelimb grip strength, myofiber size, and myofiber hypertrophy restricted to type 2b myofibers in Mtm1δ4 animals.¹² Interestingly, ActRIIB-mFc produces hypertrophy in all muscle fiber types in wild-type (WT) mice,^12,16 which suggests that myotubularin deficiency interferes with the activation of hypertrophic pathways in oxidative fibers.We hypothesized that the transience of the therapeutic effects observed in treated Mtm1δ4 mice may have been related to the severity of the disease, so we have now repeated this study in the less severely affected Mtm1 p.R69C mouse.¹³ Surprisingly, treatment of Mtm1 p.R69C mice did not produce significant increases in animal weight or grip strength, and treatment-induced myofiber hypertrophy was only observed in the Mtm1 p.R69C gastrocnemius muscles. The ability of these muscles to respond to ActRIIB-mFC treatment correlated with treatment-induced increases in satellite cell number and several muscle-specific abnormalities of hypertrophic signaling. The main difference between treatment-responsive (gastrocnemius) and treatment-resistant (quadriceps) muscles in Mtm1 p.R69C mice was related to low levels of phosphorylated ribosomal protein 6 (p-rpS6) and high levels of eukaryotic elongation factor 2 kinase (eEF2K) in the treatment-responsive gastrocnemius muscle that were not observed in other Mtm1 p.R69C muscles or in WT mice. rpS6 and eEF2K are terminal signaling molecules of the insulinlike growth factor-1/Akt and extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) pathways that are involved in the fine-tuning of global protein synthesis, with a role in the determination of cell size that remains unclear (reviewed in Meyuhas¹⁷). Our findings indicate that the response to hypertrophic agents does not always correlate with activities of known hypertrophic pathways, such as the Akt pathway, but unexpectedly varies both by muscle type and fiber type and in XLMTM is affected by the nature of the Mtm1 mutation. These results highlight that there is much we still do not understand about the control of muscle size and emphasize the importance of evaluating multiple muscle and fiber types in future trials of hypertrophic therapies.     

Development of a recombinant protein-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and its applications in field surveillance of rodent mice for presence of immunoglobulin G against Orientia tsutsugamushi

A recombinant protein containing the immunodominant conserved epitope region of the 56-kDa outer membrane protein of the Karp strain of Orientia tsutsugamushi was purified to near homogeneity using recombinant DNA techniques. The purified protein was used to immunize rabbits and produced an antibody that could recognize different strains of O. tsutsugamushi, as demonstrated both by Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on this recombinant protein was developed to detect antibody (immunoglobulin G [IgG]) against O. tsutsugamushi in mice captured in different districts of Taiwan during 2000 to 2001. A significant difference was found in the antibody seroprevalence rates of Suncus murinus mice captured in different districts of Taiwan (chi(2)(4, 0.95) = 26.64; P < 0.05). Furthermore, a significant difference of IgG seropositivity rates was observed among different kinds of mice (chi(2)(5, 0.95) = 93.85; P < 0.05). Antibody seropositivity rates were higher in Bandicota indica (100%), Rattus flavipectus (96.17%), and Rattus losea (95.83%) than in Rattus norvegicus (86.05%) and Rattus mindanensis (83.67%) (chi(2)(diff, 5, 0.95) = 12.59, P < 0.05). The lowest antibody seropositivity rate (54.4%) was observed in Suncus murinus. Antibody seropositivity rates of mice from different districts differed significantly because of the significant difference in antibody seroprevalence rates for S. murinus. The results of this study indicated that the recombinant protein ELISA developed in this study could be used to conduct large-scale surveillance of rodent mice for the presence of antibody against O. tsutsugamushi. The high seroprevalence rates in rodent mice (except S. murinus) suggest that people residing in these districts are at increased risk of developing O. tsutsugamushi infection.     

Climacteric symptoms and knowledge about hormone replacement therapy among Hong Kong Chinese women aged 40-60 years

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the prevalence of climacteric symptoms, and the knowledge about HRT. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted by telephone interview among a randomly selected population-based sample of 978 Hong Kong Chinese women aged 40-60 years. RESULTS: Of 414 women with a history of either natural or surgical menopause, 22 (5.3%) and 17 (4.1%), respectively, were either past or current users of HRT. The climacteric symptom scores of premenopausal women were significantly lower than those of perimenopausal women, but were comparable with those of postmenopausal women. The commonest climacteric symptom was 'muscle and joint pains' which was reported in 553 (56.6%) women, while only 228 (23.3%) and 151 (15.4%) women reported hot flushes and night sweating, respectively. Moreover, only 230 (23.5%) women realized that HRT could relieve menopausal symptoms and only 33 (3.4%) women were aware that HRT was protective against osteoporosis. In general, women with more climacteric symptoms, who had ever used HRT, and those with higher education level and higher family income, had better knowledge about HRT. CONCLUSIONS: Postmenopausal Hong Kong Chinese women have a low HRT usage rate and the majority of them are lacking of the knowledge about HRT.