Influence of mild hypothermia on vascular endothelial growth factor and infarct volume in brain tissues after cerebral ischemia in rats

BACKGROUND: It has been demonstrated that mild hypothermia has obvious protective effect on both whole and local cerebral ischemia. However, the definite mechanism is still unclear for the brain protection of mild hypothermia on cerebral edema, inhibiting inflammatory reaction, stabilizing blood brain barrier, etc. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of mild hypothermia on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and the infarct volume after cerebral ischemia in rats, and analyze the brain protective mechanism of mild hypothermia. DESIGN: A randomized grouping and controlled animal trial. SETTING: Department of Neurology, People's Hospital of Yunyang Medical College. MATERIALS: Twenty adult male SD rats of clean degree, weighing (250±30) g, were provided by the animal experimental center, School of Medicine, Wuhan University. The kits for SP immunohistochemistry were purchased from Beijing Zhongshan Golden Bridge Biotechnology Co., Ltd. METHODS: The experiments were carried out in the laboratory of Department of Neurology, Renmen Hospital of Wuhan University from May to July 2005. ① The 20 rats were divided randomly into normal temperature group (n =10) and mild hypothermia group (n =10). Models of permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion were established with modified nylon suture embolization. The rats were assessed with the Longa standards: 0 point for without nerve dysfunction; 1 for mild neurological deficit (fore claws could no extend completely); 2 for moderate neurological deficit (circling towards the affected side); 3 for severe neurological deficit (tilting towards the affected side); 4 for coma and unconscious; 1-3 points represented that models were successfully established. The rats of the normal temperature group were fed at room temperature, and those in the mild hypothermia group were induced by hypothermia from 2 hours postoperatively, and the rectal temperature was kept at 34-35 ℃ for 72 hours. ② Measurement of infarct volume: All the rats were anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection overdose sodium pentobarbital 7 days postoperatively, and then the heads were cut down to harvest brain. The brain tissues were placed into -20 ℃ refrigerator for 20 minutes, coronal sections of 2 mm were prepared. The infarct sites were not stained, whereas normal brain tissues were stained as red. The infarct volumes were calculated by using MPLAS-500 multimedia color pathological image&&word analytical system. ③ Counting positive cells of vascular endothelial growth factor protein: The brains were harvested by cutting heads, then coronal sections of 2 mm were prepared. Routine dehydration, hyalinization, wax immersion and embedding were performed, then the detected with SP immunohistochemistry, the kits were purchased from Beijing Zhongshan Golden Bridge Biotechnology Co., Ltd. The cells whose cytoplasm was yellow-brown were positive ones, a single sample as a unit, peri-ischemic site and ischemic core were selected, and the corresponding sites in controlateral hemisphere were taken as controls. Five visual fields were selected from each site to be observed under microscope, the cells were counted, and the average number of positive cells was calculated in each group. The numbers of positive cells were determined with the image analytical apparatus. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of the positive cells of vascular endothelial growth factor protein; Infarct volume of rat brain tissue. RESULTS: All the 20 rats were involved in the analysis of results. ① Number of positive cells of vascular endothelial growth factor protein in brain tissue: It was obviously lower in the mild hypothermia group than in the normal temperature group [(24.02±5.05), (36.07±2.69) cells/high power visual field, P < 0.01]. ② Comparison of infarct volume of brain tissue: After MCAO, it was obviously smaller in the mild hypothermia group than in the normal temperature group [(153.25±23.14), (253.45±36.21) mm3, P < 0.01]. CONCLUSION: Mild hypothermia can inhibit the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and decrease the volume of cerebral infarction. The inhibition of mild hypothermia on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor may be one of the brain protective mechanisms.     

Botulinum versus tetanus neurotoxins: Why is botulinum neurotoxin but not tetanus neurotoxin a food poison?

Botulinum and tetanus neurotoxins, produced by Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium tetani, respectively, are the most poisonous poisons known to mankind. Although botulinum and tetanus neurotoxins share several characteristics, such as similar mol. wts, similar macrostructure, virtually identical mode of action, and a strong amino acid sequence homology, the two neurotoxins differ in one very significant way; only botulinum neurotoxin is a food poison. Factors responsible for the food poisoning potential of botulinum neurotoxins seem to be a group of complexing proteins that are also produced by C. botulinum, and are known to associate with the neurotoxin. Translation products of nucleotide sequences upstream to the neurotoxin genes of serotypes A, B, C, D, E and F botulinum neurotoxin reveal the location of genes for one of the complexing proteins that could be transcribed as polycistronic mRNA to include neurotoxin sequences. No such protein seems to be present in C. tetani, suggesting that the lack of complexing proteins might be responsible for tetanus not being a food poison.     

三硝基甲苯急性中毒对小鼠睾丸超微结构的影响

三硝基甲苯急性中毒后,小鼠睾丸的各级生精细胞,支持细胞及睾丸间质细胞的超微结构均有不同程度的改变,精子细胞的损伤较重,精原细胞的损伤较轻.生精细胞的损伤较支持细胞及睾丸间质细胞为重.     

应用低严格度—单引物聚合酶链反应对问号钩体中国参考株的…

Ｇ１、Ｇ２引物是对问号钩体具有特异性引物。分别用Ｇ１或Ｇ２单引物对问号钩体中国参考株进行前４个低严格度循环的ＰＣＲ扩增，扩增带谱显示赖型、犬型、致热型、秋季型、澳洲型、临海型、乌尔夫型、溶血型为一类，而爪哇型、拜伦型、波摩那型、七日热型、巴叶赞型塔拉索夫型、曼耗Ⅱ型是不与以上赖型等血清型本为一类，双曲钩体ａｔｏｃ型及伊利尼细丝体伊利尼型的扩增带谱与问号钩体截然不同。应用苯酚法提取的高纯度钩体ＤＮＡ     

Administration of balanced or BCAA-enriched amino acid solution in septic rats. Effects on protein synthesis in the liver.

Total hepatic protein synthesis was measured in vivo with a flooding-dose technique, and the production of total secreted proteins, albumin, complement component C3, and seromucoid fraction was measured in perfused livers of septic rats that received one of three different solutions infused intravenously; Group 1 received 16.4% dextrose; Group 2 received Aminosyn (25% BCAA) in 10.6% dextrose, and Group 3 received Freamine HBC (45% BCAA) in 10.6% dextrose. All solutions were isocaloric, and the amino acid solutions were isonitrogenous. The solutions were administered for 18 or 48 hours after the induction of sepsis. There were no significant differences in mortality rates in the three treatment groups. The negative nitrogen balance seen in the dextrose-infused animals was reversed to the same degree by the two different amino acid solutions. There were no significant differences in hepatic protein synthesis rates in vivo between the three groups of rats. Synthesis rates of secreted proteins in perfused liver were similar in the different treatment groups in the 18-hour experiments, whereas in the 48-hour experiments, synthesis rates of total secreted proteins, C3, and the serumucoid fraction were higher in Group 1 than in Groups 2 and 3. The results suggest that administration of an amino acid solution improves nitrogen balance in sepsis, but that this effect is not caused by stimulated hepatic protein synthesis. The nitrogen-sparing effect during sepsis of a branched chain amino acid (BCAA)-enriched solution does not seem to be superior to that of a balanced amino acid solution.     

Selection of Streptococcus pneumoniae Mutants Having Reduced Susceptibility to Moxifloxacin and Levofloxacin

With Streptococcus pneumoniae, moxifloxacin was 4- and 10-fold more effective than levofloxacin at restricting selection of resistant mutants and at killing resistant mutants, respectively. The selection frequency for first-step topoisomerase mutants was 1,000 times lower for moxifloxacin than for levofloxacin; this difference was lost when second-step mutants were selected.