Formaldehyde-induced gene expression in F344 rat nasal respiratory epithelium

Formaldehyde (FA), an occupational and environmental toxicant used extensively in the manufacturing of many household and personal use products, is known to induce squamous cell carcinomas in the nasal turbinates of rats and mice and squamous metaplasia in monkey noses. Tissue responses to FA include a dose dependent epithelial degeneration, respiratory cell hypertrophy, and squamous metaplasia. The primary target for FA-induced toxicity in both rodents and monkeys is the respiratory nasal epithelium. FA increases nasal epithelial cell proliferation and DNA-protein crosslinks (DPX) that are associated with subsequent nasal cancer development. To address the acute effects of FA exposure that might contribute to known pathological changes, cDNA gene expression analysis was used. Two groups of male F344 rats received either 40 ul of distilled water or FA (400 mM) instilled into each nostril. Twenty-four hours following treatment, nasal epithelium was recovered from which total RNA was used to generate cDNA probes. Significance analysis of microarrays (SAM) hybridization data using Clontech Rat Atlas 1.2 arrays revealed that 24 of the 1185 genes queried were significantly up-regulated and 22 genes were significantly downregulated. Results for ten of the differentially expressed genes were confirmed by quantitative real time RT PCR. The identified genes with FA-induced change in expression belong to the functional gene categories xenobiotic metabolism, cell cycle, apoptosis, and DNA repair. These data suggest that multiple pathways are dysregulated by FA exposure, including those involved in DNA synthesis/repair and regulation of cell proliferation. Differential gene expression profiles may provide clues that could be used to define mechanisms involved in FA-induced nasal cancer.     

Correlation and simple linear regression

In this tutorial article, the concepts of correlation and regression are reviewed and demonstrated. The authors review and compare two correlation coefficients, the Pearson correlation coefficient and the Spearman rho, for measuring linear and nonlinear relationships between two continuous variables. In the case of measuring the linear relationship between a predictor and an outcome variable, simple linear regression analysis is conducted. These statistical concepts are illustrated by using a data set from published literature to assess a computed tomography-guided interventional technique. These statistical methods are important for exploring the relationships between variables and can be applied to many radiologic studies.     

Statistical validation based on parametric receiver operating characteristic analysis of continuous classification data

Rationale and Objectives. The accuracy of diagnostic test and imaging segmentation is important in clinical practice because it has a direct impact on therapeutic planning. Statistical validations of classification accuracy was conducted based on parametric receiver operating characteristic analysis, illustrated on three radiologic examples.

Materials and Methods. Two parametric models were developed for diagnostic or imaging data. Example 1: A semi-automated fractional segmentation algorithm was applied to magnetic resonance imaging of nine cases of brain tumors. The tumor and background pixel data were assumed to have bi-beta distributions. Fractional segmentation was validated against an estimated composite pixel-wise gold standard based on multi-reader manual segmentations. Example 2: The predictive value of 100 cases of spiral computed tomography of ureteral stone sizes, distributed as bi-normal after a nonlinear transformation, under two treatment options received. Example 3: One hundred eighty cases had prostate-specific antigen levels measured in a prospective clinical trial. Radical prostatectomy was performed in all to provide a binary gold standard of local and advanced cancer stages. Prostate-specific antigen level was transformed and modeled by bi-normal distributions. In all examples, areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were computed.

Results. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were: Example 1: Fractional segmentation of magnetic resonance imaging of brain tumors: meningiomas (0.924–0.984); astrocytomas (0.786–0.986); and other low-grade gliomas (0.896–0.983). Example 3: Ureteral stone size for treatment planning (0.813). Example 2: Prostate-specific antigen for staging prostate cancer (0.768).

Conclusion. All clinical examples yielded fair to excellent accuracy. The validation metric area under the receiver operating characteristic curves may be generalized to evaluating the performances of several continuous classifiers related to imaging.     

温阳利水强心颗粒剂治疗慢性充血性心力衰竭60例临床疗效观察

"温阳利水强心颗粒剂"系我所在真武汤基础上,结合云南著名中医学家吴佩衡先生运用附子的经验,采用现代制剂工艺研制而成.具有温阳利水、强心益肾、通脉宁心之功,治疗慢性充血性心力衰竭(阳虚型).将100例符合要求病例随机分为治疗组60例,西药对照组40例进行对比观察,结果治疗组总有效率96.67%.对照组总有效率95%,治疗组与对照组P＞0.05,无显著性差异.中医舌脉总改善率治疗组53.33%,对照组32.5%,P＜0.05,有显著差异,说明温阳利水强心颗粒剂突出中医定性指标及辨证论治特色,不仅心功能得到有效改善,中医宏观疗效指标也得到明显改善,提高病人生存质量,减少心衰发作次数,显示了中药复方多环节、多靶点的整体调节优势.     

BRD7交互作用蛋白基因BRD2、BRD3在鼻咽癌组织中的表达

背景与目的：BRD7基因是通过cDNA代表性差异分析获得的一个鼻咽癌（nasopharyngeal carcinoma,NPC）密切相关基因。采用酵母双杂交技术,已从人胎脑的cDNA文库中筛选到了两个与BRD7蛋白存在交互作用且包含溴区结构域（bromodomain)的蛋白BRD2、BRD3。本研究的目的在于进一步证实BRD7蛋白与BRD2、BRD3蛋白之间的交互作用,探讨BRD2、BRD3基因在鼻咽癌中的表达和作用模式。方法：将BRD2、BRD3基因分别与BRD7基因共转化酵母Y187后将菌落影印到尼龙膜,X－Gal检测酵母中报告基因LacZ的表达,推断BRD2、BRD3与BRD7蛋白之间的交互作用。RT－PCR方法检测BRD2、BRD3基因在正常鼻咽上皮组织和鼻咽癌活检组织中的差异表达以及在BRD7基因稳定转染的鼻咽癌细胞株（HNE1）中,BRD7基因的重表达对BRD2、BRD3基因表达水平的影响。结果：通过特异性酵母双杂交技术,发现酵母转化子的颜色呈蓝色,进一步证实BRD2、BRD3蛋白能分别与BRD7蛋白发生交互作用。RT－PCR结果显示,在鼻咽癌组织中,BRD2和BRD3基因表达下调或缺失;在BRD7基因稳定转染的HNE1细胞株中,随着BRD7基因表达的增强,BRD2、BRD3基因的表达存在明显的上调。结论：BRD7蛋白能分别与BRD2、BRD3蛋白发生交互作用,且在mRNA水平存在一定程度的协同表达作用,彼此可能形成二聚体或三聚体,共同参与鼻咽癌的发病过程。     

肺癌相关基因HLCDG1的克隆和表达分析

背景与目的：比较基因组杂交和微卫星多态性位点全基因组扫描结果显示肺癌患者在染色体3p、5q、6q、9p、10q、llp、13q、17p、19p等区域存在高频率的杂合性缺失,提示可能有多个未知的易感基因或抑癌基因与肺癌的发生、发展相关。本研究选用在mRNA差异显示研究中获得的在肺癌组织中表达下调且代表新基因的表达序列标签(expressed sequence tag,EST)LXDDl为进一步研究对象,克隆其全长cDNA。方法：采用Northern杂交验证LXDDl在肺癌中的表达差异。并用MTN(Multiple Tissue Northern Blots^TM)膜检测其在正常组织中的表达及其所代表基因的转录本大小;克隆其全长cDNA,并利用生物信息学对该序列进行初步分析;用差异RT-PCR检测新基因在肺癌组织、配对癌旁非癌组织、肺癌细胞系和其它肿瘤细胞系中的表达。结果：成功地克隆了一个在肺癌中表达下调的新基因。HLCDGl(human lung carcinoma deleted gene 1),GenBank登录号为AF447582,全长cDNA为3．113kb,预测其开放阅读框编码一个含166个氨基酸的跨膜蛋白质。通过电子-聚合酶链反应(electric-polymerase chain reaction,e-PCR)将该基因定位于5q33。结论：HLCDGl基因是一个在肺癌中表达下调的新基因。这提示HLCDGl可能与肺癌的发生、发展相关。     

Role of placental tissues in the intrauterine transmission of hepatitis B virus

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanism of intrauterine transmission of hepatitis B virus. STUDY DESIGN: Placental tissues from 158 pregnant women who tested positive for hepatitis B surface antigen were examined for hepatitis B virus markers, Fc gamma receptors, and hepatitis B surface antigen-anti-hepatitis B surface antigen in different layers of cells. RESULTS: It was shown that the hepatitis B virus infection rate among different layers of placental cells gradually decreased from the maternal side to the fetal side. Furthermore, the closer the infected cell layer was to the fetal side, the higher the risk of intrauterine hepatitis B virus infection. Fc gamma receptors were found on cells of both hepatitis B surface antigen positive and negative placentas; Fc gamma receptors III were found on trophoblastic cells and villous mesenchymal cells, and Fc gamma receptors II were found on only villous mesenchymal cells. Hepatitis B surface antigen-antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen was detected in the cytoplasm and on the membrane of trophoblastic cells and villous mesenchymal cells in 2 hepatitis B surface antigen-positive placentas. CONCLUSION: The results support the hypothesis that intrauterine hepatitis B virus transmission could be caused through "cellular transfer" in the placenta. One of the means of cellular transfer could be through Fc gamma receptor III-mediated entry of hepatitis B surface antigen-antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen into cells.     

主要组织相容性复合物Ⅱ类分子转录激活因子核酶的克隆及其活性

目的探讨主要组织相容性复合物(MHC)Ⅱ类分子转录激活因子(CⅡTA)核酶抑制MHCⅡ类分子的表达。方法设计并合成针对人类CⅡTA的一组核酶,通过体外制备和活性鉴定,筛选出活性较高的核酶一Rz464。将Rz464克隆到真核表达载体pIRES2-EGFP,简称为pRz464,并稳定转染Daudi细胞株(pRzA64一D),流式细胞术检测经典的MHCⅡ(HLA-DR、-DP、-DQ)类抗原表达,RT—PCR检测CⅡTA mRNA水平。结果 pRz464-D与无关核酶组比较,HLA—DR、-DP、-DQ抗原表达分别降低了88．4％、83．5％、93．4％;同时CⅡTA的mRNA含量明显减少。结论提示抗CⅡTA锤头状核酶抑制了自身mRNA含量,从而阻止了其调控的MHCⅡ类分子的相应表达。     

载脂蛋白E上3个氨基酸缺失-脂蛋白肾病相关的基因突变

目的 通过对3例脂蛋白肾病患者(其中2例为母子,1例与他们无血缘关系)的载脂蛋白E(apoE)基因的分析,研究脂蛋白肾病的发病机制。方法 使用限制性酶切片段长度多态性的方法分析3例患者及其中一些家系成员的apoE的基因型,对患者的apoE进行DNA测序。结果 该3例脂蛋白肾病患者均携带一个apoE的突变体(3个氨基酸的缺失)。结论 该突变与脂蛋白肾病有关,在中国汉族人可能为脂蛋白肾病的致病性基因突变。     

Comparison of the protective efficacy of neurotrophins and antioxidants for vibration-induced trauma

BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing temporal bone surgery or subjects working with vibrating tools may develop vibration-induced hearing loss (VHL). The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of pretreatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) or the neurotrophic factors, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), on VHL in an animal model. METHODS: Trauma to the cochlea was created with a vibrating probe placed on the bone of the external ear canal. BDNF and CNTF(Ax1) were delivered into the cochlea with mini-osmotic pumps. NAC was delivered into the cochlea by round window membrane (RWM) injection, by RWM permeation, or by oral administration. Hearing was evaluated with electrocochleography (ECoG). RESULTS: For control animals, vibration resulted in an average immediate threshold shift of 42 +/- 26 dB. NAC provided no protective benefit in animals subjected to VHL, regardless of the delivery method, with average threshold shifts varying from 38 to 56 dB across groups. NAC injection through the round window membrane was toxic, causing a ECoG threshold shift of >25 dB. In BDNF+CNTF(Ax1)-treated animals, immediate hearing loss was similar to that in control animals. There was a trend of threshold recovery by 1 day after vibration; however, the improvement was not statistically significant, nor was there a significant difference in 1-day thresholds across groups. CONCLUSIONS: Local infusion of BDNF and CNTF(Ax1) may enhance the rate of recovery from VHL, compared to control animals. In contrast, NAC had no effect on VHL, and when delivered by RWM injection, was actually toxic to the inner ear.