"Waste" follicular aspirate from fertility treatment--a potential source of human germline stem cells?

Fertility clinics worldwide routinely produce a large volume of 'waste' follicular aspirate, which is potentially an abundant source of immature ovarian follicles. Current attempts to cultivate these further in vitro to yield viable mature oocytes for fertility treatment have not yet achieved much success. Instead, recent lines of evidence have emerged that are suggestive of a potential stem cell niche within such immature ovarian follicles. The recent discovery of follicular renewal and putative germ-line stem cells within the postnatal mammalian ovary shook the foundations of reproductive biology by challenging the established dogma that mammalian females lose the capacity for germ cell renewal during fetal life, such that a fixed reserve of germ cells (oocytes) enclosed within follicles is endowed at birth. More intriguingly, another recent study in the Drosophila model provided compelling evidence that somatic progenies (nurse cells) of germ-line stem cells had the ability to revert back to the stem-cell-like state. This introduces the exciting possibility that within the mammalian ovarian follicle, similar somatic progenies of germ-line stem cells may also possess a greater intrinsic ability to revert back into functional stem cells. If this is the case, then a favored candidate would be the cumulus/granulosa of immature ovarian follicles, since such cells are true homologues of nurse cells found within the Drosophila ovary. The successful elucidation of a human germ-line stem cell niche within immature ovarian follicles is likely to have huge ramifications in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.     

NF-κB在人肝细胞肝癌中的表达及与HBV X蛋白的关系

目的：研究核转录因子NF－-κB在人肝细胞肝癌组织中的表达及其与乙型肝炎病毒（HBV ）X蛋白的关系。方法；用免疫组织化学S－P法，检测52例人肝细胞肝癌组织中核转录因子NF－-κB及HBV X蛋白的表达；用脂质体介导的基因转染法将HBV x基因真核表达载体pcDNA3.1-HBX转染入人肝癌细胞系HCC－9204，检测肝癌细胞内核转录因子NF－-κB的表达。结果：52例人肝细胞肝癌组织均有核转录因子NF－-κB的广泛表达，并且在11例HBV X蛋白阳性的肝癌组织，核转录因子NF－-κB位于细胞胞质和胞核，而在41例HBV X蛋白阴性的肝癌组织，核转录因子NF－-κB位于肝癌细胞的胞质。将HBV x基因真核表达载体pcDNA3.1-HBX转染 入人肝癌细胞系HCC－9204，并在稳定表达X蛋白 的肝癌细胞，核转录因子NF－-κB定位于其胞质和胞核，而未进行基因转染的亲体细胞，核转录因子NF－-κB仅定位于细胞质，细胞核无核转录因子NF－-κB的表达。结论：核转录因子NF－-κB在人肝细胞肝癌组织中广泛表达，人肝细胞肝癌中存在着核转录因子NF－-κB的异常激活，并且核转录因子NF－-κB的异常激活与HBV X蛋白有关，X蛋白激活核转录因子NF－-κB， 使其从细胞转位于细胞核，这可能在HBV相关的人原发性肝癌肝癌的发生中起一定作用。     

APC I1307K and the E1317Q variants are not present in Chinese colorectal cancer patients.

PURPOSE: The APC I1307K and E1317Q variants predispose to colorectal adenomas and carcinomas in Caucasians, but data are lacking in Asians. METHODS AND RESULTS: We sequenced the APC gene from codons 1261 to 1409 and found none of 147 Chinese, 20 Malay, and 11 Indian colorectal cancer patients in Singapore to carry the APC I1307K or E1317Q variants. CONCLUSION: These variants are rare in these Asian populations, and play little role in colorectal cancer causation in Chinese.     

路氏乳杆菌JCM1081黏附相关蛋白的初步鉴定

目的研究路氏乳杆菌(Lactobacillus reuteri,也称罗伊氏乳杆菌)JCM1081菌体表面蛋白对其黏附HT-29细胞的影响。方法将路氏乳杆菌JCM1081菌体进行胰蛋白酶、蛋白酶K处理;用氯化锂和盐酸胍对乳杆菌表面的蛋白进行抽提,进行SDS-PAGE后与黏蛋白受体进行Western blot,并对杂交阳性蛋白进行质谱分析鉴定。结果路氏乳杆菌JCM1081菌体经胰蛋白酶、蛋白酶K处理后,其对HT-29细胞的黏附力显著下降(P<0．01);用氯化锂去除路氏乳杆菌JCM1081菌体外表面的S层蛋白后,路氏乳杆菌JCM1081对HT-29细胞的黏附力无显著变化;Western blot结果显示相对分子质量(Mr)为29×103和14×103的两种菌体表面蛋白与黏蛋白受体杂交中出现了强阳性;质谱分析结果显示29×103蛋白与路氏乳杆菌ATCC55730的h0793蛋白相似性高达71．1％。结论路氏乳杆菌JCM1081菌体表面的蛋白参与了乳杆菌的黏附,其中29×103和14×103的两种胞壁表面蛋白能够特异地识别黏蛋白受体并与之结合,29×103蛋白属ABC转运蛋白家族。     

A simple, quantitative method for assessing angiogenesis and antiangiogenic agents using reconstituted basement membrane, heparin, and fibroblast growth factor.

BACKGROUND: Blood vessel growth is necessary for normal tissue homeostatis and contributes to solid tumor growth. Methods to quantitate neovascularization should be useful in testing biological factors and drugs that regulate angiogenesis or to induce a vascular supply to promote wound healing. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: An extract of basement membrane proteins (Matrigel) was found to reconstitute into a gel when injected subcutaneously into C57/BL mice and to support an intense vascular response when supplemented with angiogenic factors. RESULTS: New vessels and von Willebrand factor antigen staining were apparent in the gel 2-3 days after injection, reaching a maximum after 3-5 days. Hemoglobin content of the gels was found to parallel the increase in vessels in the gel allowing ready quantitation. Angiogenesis was obtained with both acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors and was enhanced by heparin. Several substances were tested for angiostatic activity in this assay by coinjection in Matrigel with fibroblast growth factor and heparin. Platelet-derived growth factor BB, interleukin 1-beta, interleukin-6, and transforming growth factor-beta were potent inhibitors of neovascularization induced by fibroblast growth factor. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha did not alter the response but was alone a potent inducer of neovascularization when coinjected with Matrigel and heparin. Consistent with the previously demonstrated importance of collagenase in mediating endothelial cell invasion, a tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases that also inhibits collagenases was found to be a potent inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor-induced angiogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: Our assay allows the ready quantitative assessment of angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors and should be useful in the isolation of endothelial cells from the capillaries that penetrate into the gel.     

Protection of hepatocytes from apoptosis by a novel substance from actinomycetes culture medium

A novel substance, #675, found from an Streptomyces sp. SM675 culture medium, dose-dependently stimulates the proliferation of human functional liver cell 4 (FLC4). When FLC4 cells were incubated under conditions without fetal bovine serum (FBS), typical features of apoptotic cell death such as shrinkage and nuclear condensation appeared; high molecular weight (HMW) DNA fragments were found; and caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) proteins were cleaved. When FLC4 cells were incubated with #675 and without FBS, the cells grew healthy, no HMW DNA fragments were found, and caspase-3 and PARP cleavage weakened, suggesting that #675 protects FLC4 cells from apoptosis induced by FBS-deprivation. The quantitative reverse-transcribed polymerase chain reaction did not show differences in PARP or Bcl-2 mRNA expression in FLC4 cells incubated with or without #675, indicating other genes may be involved in this anti-apoptosis effect. These results show that #675 enhances FLC4 proliferation via an apoptosis-inhibition pathway, implying potential pharmacological and clinical applications.     

TLR2和TLR4在原发性肝癌中的表达

目的：本研究通过检测原发性肝癌Toll样受体2（TLR2）和Toll样受体4（TLR4）的表达，分析其与临床病理生理因素的关系，探讨TLR2，TLR4在原发性肝癌疾病过程中的可能作用。方法：采用免疫组化法和实时荧光定量PCR分别在蛋白水平及mRNA水平检测原发性肝癌组织和配对癌旁组织TLR2、TLR4的表达。结果：原发性肝癌组织在蛋白水平和mRNA水平TLR2和TLR4的表达均明显低于癌旁组织（P<0.01）。但免疫组化结果显示不论是肝癌组织还是癌旁组织，TLR2和TLR4的表达均明显高于正常肝组织（P<0.01，P<0.05），有门静脉分支癌栓的患者癌组织TLR4的表达强度低于无门静脉分支癌栓的患者（P<0.05）。结论：肝癌组织TLR2和TLR4的表达与癌旁组织相比受到相对抑制，但高于正常肝组织，TLR2和TLR4信号途径可能参与了原发性肝癌的病理过程。     

颞骨岩部的应用解剖

在２０个成人福尔马林固定的尸体头标本上，对４０侧颞骨岩部的表面及内部结构进行显微解剖研究。发现表面结构与内部结构间有恒定的空间位置关系，可以通过表面标志定位内剖结构，并提出了颞骨岩部水平段颈内动脉和耳蜗定位第三角，对指导临床手术有重要价值。     

Body composition measures from underwater weighing and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in black and white girls: A comparative study

The purpose of this study was to compare estimates of body composition in two ethnic groups, 31 black and 38 white girls 10 through 16 years of age, to establish accurate and precise laboratory standards for field measures of body composition in the NHLBI Growth and Health Study HC 55025. The dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measures of fat free mass (FFM) and % body fat (%BF) were made using Hologic QDR-1000/W. Corresponding values of FFM and %BF from underwater weighing (UWW) were determined using the two-component model of Siri, and these were corrected using the model of Lohman for white girls only. In the comparison of the different models and methods, the two-component model overestimated FFM compared to estimates from DXA for black girls, as did the corrected Lohman model for white girls. The two-component model significantly overestimated %BF in both white and black girls compared to corresponding estimates from DXA. The ratio of bone mineral content (BMC)/FFM affected the degree of %BF differences in black girls but not in white girls. Also, as the density of FFM increased or approached adult status in black girls (BMC/FFM increased), differences between the two-component model and estimates from DXA decreased. In both groups of girls, the relationship of %BF from UWW and DXA are a function of the level of body fatness. DXA values of %BF are greater than those from UWW under about 24% body fat, but the converse occurs above 25% body fat. The inability of UWW using the two-component model to account for the body composition in these girls can be corrected in part by measuring the variables for a multicomponent model or more easily by using DXA estimates of body composition. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.