Responses of CDKs and p53 in Delayed Ischemic Neuronal Death

Stroke is a debilitating disease that affects millions each year.While in many cases cerebral ischemic in jury can be limited by effectivw resuscitation or thrombolytic treatment,the injured neurons wither in a process known as delayed neuronal death(DND).Mounting evidence indicates that DND is not simply necrosis played out in slow motion but apoptosis is triggered.Of particular interest are two groups of signal proteins that participate in apoptosis-cyclin dependent kinases(CDKs) and p53-among a myriad of signaling events after an ischemic insult.Recent investigations have shown that CDKs,a family of enzymes initially known for their role in cell cycle regulation,are activated in injured neurons in DND.As for p53,new reports suggest that its up-regulation may represent a failed attempt to rescue in jured neurons,although its up-regulation was previously considered an indication of apoptosis.These observations thus rekindle an old quest to identify new neuroprotective targets to minimize the stroke damage.In this review,the author will examine the evidence that indicates the participation of CDKs and p53 in DND and then introduce pre-clinical data to explore CDK inhibition as a potential neuroprotective target.Finally,using CDK inhibition as an example,this paper will discuss the pertinent criteria for a viable neuroprotective strategy for ischemic in jury.     

Reversal of diabetes in BB rats by transplantation of encapsulated pancreatic islets

Prolonged survival of pancreatic islet allografts implanted in diabetic BB rats was achieved by encapsulation of individual islets in a protective biocompatible alginate-polylysine-alginate membrane without immunosuppression. Intraperitoneal transplantation of the encapsulated islets reversed the diabetic state of the recipients within 3 days and maintained normoglycemia for 190 days. Normal body weight and urine volume were maintained during this period, and no cataracts were detected in the transplant recipients. In contrast, control rats receiving transplants of unencapsulated islets experienced normoglycemia for less than 2 wk. These results demonstrated that microencapsulation can protect allografted islets from both graft rejection and autoimmune destruction without immunosuppression in an animal model that mimics human insulin-dependent diabetes.     

Elimination of antibiotic-resistant plasmids by quinolone antibiotics

Of 7 plasmids we tested, the plasmid pORF2 was eliminated in vitro with the most efficiency by treatment with subinhibitory concentrations of novobiocin, coumermycin and 10 quinolones. It showed a cure rate of 43% by enoxacin; 12% by novobiocin, pefloxacin, ciprofloxacin and CI-934; 7% by coumermycin and ofloxacin; 9% by amifloxacin; and 4% by AM-833. On the other hand, pSC194, pBR322 and pMH612 were poorly cured in vitro by quinolones, except pSC194 which was cured 33% by enoxacin. R1, pP1603, and pUB110 were unaffected by the treatment. Mice were challenged intraperitoneally with a 2XLD50 of Escherichia coli carrying the ORF2 plasmid and were treated per os with 1 X or 1/2 X ED50 of either enoxacin or CI-934. The frequency of loss of ampicillin resistance determined 3 h after treatment shows curing effects of 92% for CI-934, 89% for enoxacin and 20% for untreated control.     

Delivery of therapeutic doses of doxorubicin to the mouse lung using lung-accumulating liposomes proves unsuccessful

Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology - Addition of solid doxorubicin or solutions to pre-formed liposomes proved to be the optimal method for incorporating the drug into liposomes whilst...     

输卵管积水造口术对体外受精与胚胎移植的影响

【目的】探讨在体外受精与胚胎移植 (IVF ET)之前输卵管积水患者行输卵管造口术对IVF ET治疗效果的影响。【方法】回顾分析 1999年 2月至 2 0 0 1年 1月因女性输卵管因素不孕行IVF ET治疗的 90 8个周期的资料。按输卵管积水患者在IVF ET前是否治疗分 3组 ,A组 :输卵管积水未手术治疗行IVF ET 2 3个周期 ,B组 :在IVF ET之前行输卵管积水造口术 (腹腔镜下或开腹 ) 2 2个周期 ,C组 :对照组 (输卵管阻塞 ,未发现输卵管积水 ) 86 3个周期。【结果】A组、B组、C组的IVF ET的种植率分别为 9 7%、17 9%、16 7% ,临床妊娠率分别为 2 1 7%、4 0 9%、39 2 %。A组的种植率及临床妊娠率比其它组低 ,经 χ2 检验 ,有统计学意义。【结论】输卵管积水未治疗行IVF ET的种植率及临床妊娠率较低 ,但在IVF ET之前行输卵管造口术可改善IVF ET的种植率及临床妊娠率     

二甲基亚砜诱导人肝癌细胞BEL-7402凋亡的研究

目的 :研究二甲基亚砜 (DMSO)对人肝癌细胞凋亡的诱导作用。方法 :用不同浓度的DMSO处理体外培养的人肝癌细胞BEL 74 0 2 ,应用普通光镜、荧光显微镜、MTT分析方法和流式细胞技术 (FCM )检测肝癌细胞凋亡的形态学变化、细胞存活率、凋亡百分率和细胞周期分布的变化。结果 :DMSO诱导BEL 74 0 2细胞核DNA凝缩和核片段化 ,最后形成凋亡小体 ;随着DMSO浓度的增加和处理时间的延长 ,细胞存活率明显下降 ,其IC50 为 1.9% ;2 %的DMSO处理细胞 12h ,凋亡率达 17.2 1% ,同时S期细胞明显增加 ,G2 M期细胞明显下降。结论 :DMSO可诱导人肝癌细胞凋亡 ,并使细胞受阻于S期而进入凋亡程序。     

青菜的保鲜贮藏研究

目的 :延长青菜在冷藏条件下的贮藏期 ,解决海军舰艇冷藏库蔬菜贮藏期短的问题。方法 :使用塑料袋、纸箱、塑料筐为包装材料 ,塑料袋内充O3 负离子对青菜在 2℃和 9℃条件下进行保鲜贮藏。结果 :2℃条件下塑料袋包装青菜贮藏期延长至 2 5d ,腐烂率小于 5 .9%。结论 :使用塑料袋包装青菜 ,适宜的贮藏温度为 2℃。     

膝关节镜下膝后侧腔室联合手术入路的探讨

[目的]探讨在关节镜下膝关节后侧腔室联合手术入路的重要性和可操作性。[方法]经过前内侧、前外侧和股骨髁切迹以及后内侧、后外侧和后纵隔内切口联合入路分别入镜、入器械，进行膝关节后侧腔室的探查和手术操作。[结果]216例（239膝）应用联合入路探查和治疗，其中5例膝因关节僵硬操作失败；175例膝用于治疗后侧腔室疾病，膝关节后侧腔室手术视野显著改善，探查和手术操作完善，均达到手术目的。1例膝内侧隐神经不全损伤，没有腘后神经、腓总神经、腘后血管、交叉韧带等重要组织损伤。[结论]膝关节后侧腔室病变较多，是检查和治疗的重要部位，并非“技术盲区”。这种联合手术入路，手术风险低，具备可操作性，可以提高手术效率和质量，可作为膝关节镜下常规手术入路。     

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase isoforms are differentially inhibited by leucovorin: characterization and comparison of recombinant zebrafish serine hydroxymethyltransferases.

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) provides activated one-carbon units required for the biosynthesis of nucleotides, protein, and methyl group by converting serine and tetrahydrofolate to glycine and N(5),N(10)-methylenetetrahydrofolate. It is postulated that SHMT activity is associated with the development of methotrexate resistance and the in vivo activity of SHMT is regulated by the binding of N(5)-CHO-THF, the rescue agent in high-dose methotrexate chemotherapy. The aim of this study is to advance our understanding of the folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism in zebrafish by characterizing zebrafish mitochondrial SHMT. The cDNA encoding zebrafish mitochondrial SHMT was cloned, overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and purified with a three-step purification protocol. Similarities in structural, physical, and kinetic properties were revealed between the recombinant zebrafish mitochondrial SHMT and its mammalian orthologs. Surprisingly, leucovorin significantly inhibits the aldol cleavage of serine catalyzed by zebrafish cytosolic SHMT but inhibits to a lesser extent the reaction catalyzed by the mitochondrial isozyme. This is, to our knowledge, the first report on zebrafish mitochondrial folate enzyme as well as the differential inhibition of leucovorin on these two SHMT isoforms. Western blot analysis revealed tissue-specific distribution with the highest enrichment present in liver for both cytosolic and mitochondrial SHMTs. Intracellular localization was confirmed by confocal microscopy for both mitochondrial and cytosolic SHMTs. Unexpectedly, the cytosolic isoform was observed in both nucleus and cytosol. Together with the previous report on zebrafish cytosolic SHMT, we suggest that zSHMTs can be used in in vitro assays for folate-related investigation and antifolate drug discovery.