人脑颞叶组织中类固醇5a－还原酶同功酶活性分布研究

本文采用酶放射分析法对新鲜人脑颞叶组织中５ａ－还原酶同功酶的活性分布进行研究。结果显示：（１）在颞叶脑组织中，５ａ－还原酶１和５ａ－还原酶２主要分布在灰质，其酶活性（５ａ－还原酶１，３３．６±４．５ｐｍｏｌ·ｈ_（－１）／ｍｇ蛋白，ｎ＝１２；５ａ－还原酶２，１３．８±２．９ｐｍｏｌ·ｈ_（－１）／ｍｇ蛋白，ｎ＝１１）明显高于分布在白质中的酶活性（５ａ－还原酶１，１４．７±２．０ｐｍｏｌ·ｈ_（－１）／ｍｇ蛋白，ｎ＝１２，Ｐ＜０．００１；５ａ－还原酶２，５．２±０．９ｐｍｏｌ·ｈ_（－１）／ｍｇ蛋白，ｎ＝１１，Ｐ＜０，０１）；（２）在灰质中，５ａ－还原酶活性主要来自于５ａ－还原酶１，其酶活性（３４．９±２．５ｐｍｏｌ·ｈ_（－１）／ｍｇ蛋白，ｎ＝３２）明显高于５ａ－还原酶２（１５．０±２．３ｐｍｏｌ·ｒ_（－１）／ｍｇ蛋白，ｎ＝１８，（Ｐ＜０．００１）；（３）５ａ－还原酶１和５ａ－还原酶２的活性在男女性之间差异不显著，且与年龄无相关关系。     

横向电场作用下外周神经兴奋特性的实验研究

传统的外周神经电缆方程只能描述纵向电场刺激下外周神经兴奋,实验发现在脉冲磁场诱导的横向电场作用下也可使神经兴奋,从而揭示出需要进一步对感应电场兴奋外周神经的机理进行研究。本文研究了横向电场作用下外周神经的兴奋特性,以在体的人体正中神经为例研究了横向电场作用下外周神经兴奋点的位置、刺激阈值、及刺激阈值与纤维半径的关系,以离体的蟾蜍坐骨神经为例研究了刺激阈值与作用时间的关系。实验结果验证了改进的电缆方程的有效性。实验研究成果有助于磁刺激技术的进一步发展与应用。     

Effect of interferon on the structural organization of rat thymus

Changes in the thymus of male Wistar rats were studied under a light microscope at various times after intranasal administration of α-interferon. The relative mass of the organ, the cortex volume, the total number of cells, the number of small and medium lymphocytes, and the number of mitoses decrease 14 days after interferon administration. At the same time, the number of macrophages, neutrophils, mature plasmacytes, eosinophils, and erythrocytes increases, and mast cells appear. Thus, α-interferon probably suppresses the formation of T cells, facilitates allergization of the organism, and increases the permeability of the vascular endothelium. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 118, N ^o 12, pp. 609–612, December, 1994     

脑缺血后TLR4作用与小胶质细胞的激活

脑缺血性损伤早期小胶质细胞即被激活。激活的小胶质细胞既有细胞毒性又有神经营养作用。小胶质细胞行使免疫功能的信号转导受体之一是TLR4（toll-like receptor 4）。TLR4在脑内主要表达在小胶质细胞，是一种模式识别受体（pattern recognition receptor，PRR）, 识别一些外源性和内源性的配体。最近的研究表明，TLR4信号通路在脑缺血再灌注损伤中起重要作用。TLR4通过激活小胶质细胞，大量表达炎症因子，加重脑缺血性损伤。     

Effect of hindlimb unloading on resting intracellular calcium in intrafusal fibers and ramp-and-hold stretches evoked responsiveness of soleus muscle spindles in conscious rats

The present study was to investigate and evaluate the dynamic changes of calcium homeostasis of soleus muscle spindle for the exploration of the potential mechanisms of muscle spindle degeneration induced by hindlimb unloading. We systematically observed the changes in immunoreactivity of calbindin D28K (CaBP-D28K), intracellular resting calcium in intrafusal fibers of soleus muscle spindle, and the responsiveness of muscle spindles to ramp-and-hold stretches after short- and long-term (3, 7, 14 d) hindlimb unloading. The immunoreactivity of CaBP-D28K started to decrease after 7-d hindlimb unloading, while its decrease was obviously different compared with the control group 14 d following the hindlimb unloading. The resting calcium concentration was increased significantly at 3 d, and reached the peak level 14 d after the hindlimb unloading. The responsiveness of muscle spindles, assessed by investigating Index3-L₂, Index3-L₃, and Index5, to ramp-and-hold stretches started to decrease during the period of 7-d hindlimb unloading. All Indexs, in particular Index3-L₃ and Index5, were significantly decreased at 14 d after the hindlimb unloading. The data suggest the disturbance of calcium homeostasis in intrafusal fibers during the exposure to hindlimb unloading might gradually influence the structure and function of muscle spindles.     

Interferon-gamma is an autocrine mediator for dendritic cell maturation

Maturation of dendritic cells (DC) is critical for efficient antigen presentation and initiation of an immune response. Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) is an important Th1 cytokine. In this study, we investigated the role of IFN-gamma in DC maturation using either IFN-gamma receptor deficient- or IFN-gamma overexpression-models. We showed that immature DC generated in vitro from bone marrow (BM) progenitor cells produced low level of IFN-gamma. After LPS stimulation, DC produced more IFN-gamma, and IFN-gamma productions were at comparable levels among C57BL/6 mice-derived DC (C57BL/6 DC), wild-type 129 mice-derived DC (129 DC) and IFN-gamma receptor deficient 129 mice-derived DC (IFN-gammaR-/-DC). We found that IFN-gammaR-/-DC exhibited decreased expression of CD54, CD86, reduced capacity to secrete IL-1beta and IL-12p70, and impaired capacity to stimulate alloreactive T cells and to drive Th1 differentiation. Transfection of IFN-gamma gene into DC promoted DC to express higher CD40, CD54, CD80, CD86, CCR7 and I-Ab, secrete more IL-1beta and IL-12p70, and more potently activate both CD4 and CD8 T cells. These data suggest that IFN-gamma signaling pathway is important for the maturation of DC in an autocrine fashion.     

Cross-sectional analysis of clinical and environmental isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: biofilm formation, virulence, and genome diversity

Chronic lung infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms are associated with refractory and fatal pneumonia in cystic fibrosis (CF). In this study, a group of genomically diverse P. aeruginosa isolates were compared with the reference strain PAO1 to assess the roles of motility, twitching, growth rate, and overproduction of a capsular polysaccharide (alginate) in biofilm formation. In an in vitro biofilm assay system, P. aeruginosa displayed strain-specific biofilm formation that was not solely dependent on these parameters. Compared with non-CF isolates, CF isolates expressed two opposing growth modes: reduced planktonic growth versus efficient biofilm formation. Planktonic cells of CF isolates showed elevated sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide, a reactive oxygen intermediate, and decreased lung colonization in an aerosol infection mouse model. Despite having identical genomic profiles, CF sequential isolates produced different amounts of biofilm. While P. aeruginosa isolates exhibited genomic diversity, the genome size of these isolates was estimated to be 0.4 to 19% (27 to 1,184 kb) larger than that of PAO1. To identify these extra genetic materials, random amplification of polymorphic DNA was coupled with PAO1-subtractive hybridization. Three loci were found within the genomes of two CF isolates encoding one novel homolog involved in retaining a Shigella virulence plasmid (mvpTA) and two divergent genes that function in removing negative supercoiling (topA) and biosynthesis of pyoverdine (PA2402). Together, P. aeruginosa biodiversity could provide one cause for the variation of morbidity and mortality in CF. P. aeruginosa may possess undefined biofilm adhesins that are important to the development of an antibiofilm therapeutic target.     

Small intestinal organoid-derived SP cells contribute to repair of irradiation-induced skin injury

Side population (SP) cells, characterized by their ability to efflux the fluorescent dye Hoechst 33342, were isolated from the small intestine of mice. In the abdominal irradiation model, small intestinal organoid-derived SP (sioSP) cells from ROSA 26 mice were submucosally injected into the small intestinal of the irradiated C57BL/6 mice. In contrast to the control mice, mice receiving sioSP cell transplantation demonstrated far less skin injury. Most importantly, hairs in the irradiated body part of the transplanted mice almost remained black, whereas the counterpart in the control mice almost turned white. Histochemistry studies showed the donor cells gave rise to skin cells in the irradiated skin. Thus, our study demonstrated for the first time that stem cells from the small intestine can differentiate into skin cells under local cues and thus supports the theory of stem cell plasticity.     

Comparativein vitro study of the effect of contrast media on complement activity and eicosanoid content in rat blood

The study comparesin vitro effect of different contrast media on complement activity and eicosanoid content. Ionic agents (Bilignost>Iodamide>Triombrast>Hexabrix) exert pronounced complement-activating effect, while nonionic agents markedly increase blood content of arachidonic acid metabolites. The complement-activating effect of contrast media did not correlate with their ability to elevate blood content of prostaglandin F_2α and leukotrienes C₄ and B₄. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 125, No. 6, pp. 637–640, June, 1998     

Molecular cloning and characterization of the 120-kilodalton protein gene of Ehrlichia canis and application of the recombinant 120-kilodalton protein for serodiagnosis of canine ehrlichiosis

The 120-kDa outer membrane protein (p120) is a potential adhesin of Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and recombinant p120 is very useful for serodiagnosis of human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis. The analogous gene of p120 in Ehrlichia canis was cloned, sequenced, and expressed. Like the E. chaffeensis p120, the E. canis p120 contains tandem repeat units. However, neither the repeat number nor the amino acid sequences in the repeats are identical in the two Ehrlichia species. The repeat units are hydrophilic and by probability analysis are predicted to be surface exposed in both species. The repeat regions of the p120s of the two species have common amino acid sequences that are predicted to be surface exposed. The overall amino acid sequence of the E. canis p120 is 30% homologous to that of E. chaffeensis p120. Protein immunoblotting demonstrated that the recombinant E. canis p120 reacted with convalescent sera from dogs with canine ehrlichiosis. These results indicate that the recombinant p120 is a potential antigen for the serodiagnosis of canine ehrlichiosis.