优选前后精子顶体酶活性与IVF受精率相关性的研究

目的探讨优选处理前和处理后精子顶体酶活性的变化,及与体外受精(IVF)受精率的相关性。方法采用分光光度比色法,对接受IVF治疗的53例不育夫妇男方精液,分别测定优选处理前和处理后精子顶体酶活性,分析其与IVF受精率的相关性。结果优选处理后精子顶体酶活性与优选前比较有显著性差异(P<0.05);达到常规IVF标准并选择常规IVF治疗者,优选后的精子顶体酶活性与IVF受精率有相关性,精子顶体酶活性降低与IVF受精率降低有关。结论精子顶体酶活性与IVF受精率有相关性,并且通过精子顶体酶活性可以预测IVF受精率。     

Polymyxin B antagonizing biological activity of lipopolysaccharide

Objective ： To investigate the mechanism of polymyxin B （ PMB ） antagonizing the biological activity of Hipopolysaccharide （LPS）. Methods： The affinity of PMB for LPS and lipid A was assayed by biosensor, and the neutralization of PMB for LPS （2 ng/ml ） was detected by kinetic turbidimetric limnins test. The releases of TNF-α and IL-6 in murine peritoneal macrophages （PMφ） after exposure to LPS （ 100 ng/ml） were detected, and the expression levels of TLR4, TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA in PMφ induced by LPS （100 ng/ml） were measured by RT-PCR. Results： PMB had high-affinity to LPS and lipid A with dissociation equilibrium constants of 18.9 nmol/L and 11.1 nmol/L, respectively, and neutralized LPS in a dosedependent manner. Furthermore, PMB could markedly inhibit the expressions of TLR4, TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA and the release of cycokines in LPS-stimniated murine PMφ. Conclusions： PMB neutralizes LPS and inhibites the expression and release of cycokines in macrophages, in which the affinity of PMB for lipid A plays an important role.     

Hepatitis B virus genetic diversity and its impact on diagnostic assays

Summary.  Hepatitis B virus (HBV) circulates in blood as closely related, but genetically diverse molecules called quasispecies. During replication, HBV production may approach 10¹¹ molecules/day, although during peak activity this rate may increase 100–1000 times. Generally, DNA polymerases have excellent fidelity in reading DNA templates because they are associated with an exonuclease which removes incorrectly added nucleotides. However, the HBV-DNA polymerase lacks fidelity and proofreading function partly because exonuclease activity is either absent or deficient. Thus, the HBV genome and especially the envelope gene, is mutated with unusually high frequency. These mutations can affect more than one open reading frame because of overlapping genes. The S gene contains an exposed major hydrophilic region (residues 110–155), which encompasses the 'a' determinant that is important for inducing immunity. Nucleotide substitutions in this region are common and result in reduced binding or failure to detect hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in diagnostic assays. Adaptive immunity also depends on the recognition of HBsAg by specific antibody and variants pose a threat if they interfere with binding to antibody. Finally, genomic hypervariability allows HBV to escape selection pressures imposed by antiviral therapies, vaccines and the host immune system, and is responsible for creating genotypes, subgenotypes and subtypes.     

Acute Cellular Rejection with CD20-Positive Lymphoid Clusters in Kidney Transplant Patients Following Lymphocyte Depletion

Lymphoid clusters (LC) containing CD20-positive B cells in kidney allografts undergoing acute cellular rejection (ACR) have been identified in small studies as a prognostic factor for glucocorticoid resistance and graft loss. Allograft biopsies obtained during the first episode of ACR in 120 recipients were evaluated for LC, immunostained with CD20 antibody, and correlated with conventional histopathologic criteria, response to treatment and outcome. LC were found in 71 (59%) of the 120 biopsies. All contained CD20 positive B cells that accounted for 5-90% of the LC leukocyte content. The incidence of LC was highest in the patients who had no lymphoid depletion or had been treated with Thymoglobulin preconditioning (79% vs. 75%, respectively) compared to 37% in patients pretreated with Campath (p = 0.0001). Banff 1a/1b ACR were more frequent in the LC-positive than the LC-negative group (96% vs. 80%, respectively; p = 0.0051). With a posttransplant follow-up of 953 +/- 430 days, no significant differences were detected between LC-postitive and LC-negative groups in time to ACR, steroid resistance, serum creatinine and graft loss. CD20+LC did not portend glucocorticoid resistance or worse short to medium term outcomes. CD20+LC may represent a heterogenous collection in which there may be a small still to be fully defined unfavorable subgroup.     

Assessment of functional vision and its rehabilitation

This article, based on a report prepared for the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and the International Society for Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation (ISLRR), explores the assessment of various aspects of visual functioning as needed to document the outcomes of vision rehabilitation. Documenting patient abilities and functional vision (how the person functions) is distinct from the measurement of visual functions (how the eye functions) and also from the assessment of quality of life. All three areas are important, but their assessment should not be mixed. Observation of task performance offers the most objective measure of functional vision, but it is time‐consuming and not feasible for many tasks. Where possible, timing and error rates provide an easy score. Patient response questionnaires provide an alternative. They may save time and can cover a wider area, but the responses are subjective and proper scoring presents problems. Simple Likert scoring still predominates but Rasch analysis, needed to provide better result scales, is gaining ground. Selection of questions is another problem. If the range of difficulties does not match the range of patient abilities, and if the difficulties are not distributed evenly, the results are not optimal. This may be an argument to use different outcome questions for different conditions. Generic questionnaires are appropriate for the assessment of generic quality of life, but not for specific rehabilitation outcomes. Different questionnaires are also needed for screening, intake and outcomes. Intake questions must be relevant to actual needs to allow prioritization of rehabilitation goals; the activity inventory presents a prototype. Outcome questions should be targeted at predefined rehabilitation goals. The Appendix cites some promising examples. The Low Vision Intervention Trial (LOVIT) is an example of a properly designed randomized control study, and has demonstrated the remarkable effectiveness of vision rehabilitation. It is hoped that further similar studies will follow.     

Postembryonic development of tapeworms — source of novel phylogenetic characters for analysis of cestode evolution: comparative TEM studies

Summary Ultrastructural features of juvenile cestodes (metacestodes) can provide useful characters for phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses. Until now, however, they have been relatively little utilised (Beveridge 2001, Chervy 2002). The postembryonic development and structure of fully formed metacestodes were examined in two cyclophyllideans: Taenia parva Baer, 1926 (Taeniidae); and Sobolevitaenia verulamii (Mettrick, 1958) Korniushin, 1972 (Dilepididae). In T. parva, three developmental stages were recognized: (1) an early stage of exogenous budding at the surface of the central vesicle; (2) a stage of polycephalic cyst development accompanied by segmentation of the growing metacestode strobila and an obvious decrease in the size of the central vesicle; (3) a fully formed metacestode of the strobilocercus type with 14–24 invaginated scoleces. The tegument, scolex, subtegumental musculature of the strobilar segments, protonephridial system, calcareous corpuscles and medullary parenchyma of larvae exhibit general similarity to the same structures in adults at both LM and TEM levels. The morphogenesis of the metacestode of T. parva is compared with that of polycephalic metacestodes of other Taenia spp. (T. krepkogorski, T. twitchelli and T. endothoracica) and with other asexually multiplying metacestodes (Mesocestoides vogae, hymenolepidids and dilepidids). In S. verulamii, the body of the cysticercoid with invaginated scolex armed with a double crown of rostellar hooks was completely surrounded by the cercomer, which appears to be separated from the cyst and scolex. The surface of the suckers is covered with a thick layer of glycocalyx. Five cell types were distinguished in the sections: (1) perikarya of metacestode tegument; (2) glycolgen-storing parenchymal cells; (3) glandular-type cells with large, electron-dense secretory-like granules; (4) flame cells; and (5) calcareous corpuscle-forming cells. The surface of the cercomer is covered by elongated microvilli, which evidently differ from characteristic microtriches covering all other parts of the metacestode surface. The ultrastructure of S. verulamii evidently differs from that of the other dilepidid cestode examined to date, Lateriporus geographicus, the cyst wall of which more resembles cysticercoids of Hymenolepididae than those of Dilepididae. Concluding remarks: Ultrastructural studies on metacestodes have considerable promise for providing important new characters for phylogenetic analysis. New TEM data on a great variety of cestode species are urgently needed. Until now, this field has not been exploited in a systematic fashion. Until more comprehensive studies become available, the current data are not yet amenable to analysis.