地塞米松抑制哮喘大鼠肺组织p38蛋白激酶的表达

目的:探讨支气管哮喘大鼠肺组织p38蛋白激酶(p38 MAPK)表达的变化以及地塞米松对其影响.方法:复制大鼠哮喘模型,随机分成3组:正常对照组、哮喘对照组和地塞米松(DEX)干预组.分别采用酶联免疫吸附法(ELISA)和蛋白质印迹检测支气管肺泡灌洗液(BALF)IL-5含量和肺组织磷酸化p38 MAPK表达的变化,并观察气道阻力、BALF中EOS计数以及肺组织病理学变化.结果:哮喘对照组大鼠肺组织磷酸化p38 MAPK表达水平及气道阻力、BALF中IL-5含量和EOS计数均较正常对照组显著增加(P＜0.01);DEX干预组上述指标较哮喘对照组显著降低(P＜0.01),肺组织病理学损伤程度明显减轻.肺组织磷酸化p38 MAPK表达水平与气道阻力、BALF中IL-5含量和EOS计数之间分别呈显著正相关(r=0.77、0.63、0.65,P＜0.01).结论:p38 MAPK可能参与了支气管哮喘的发病过程.DEX对哮喘的治疗作用至少部分与抑制磷酸化p38 MAPK的表达有关.     

硝苯地平控释片短期干预对急性冠脉综合征胸痛发作及重要实验参数的影响

目的评价硝苯地平控释片(拜心同)短期干预对急性冠脉综合征(ACS)的安全性及有效性。方法明确诊断的ACS病人30倒按分层随机等分为拜心同组(拜心同30-60 mg/d+常规治疗7 d)及对照组(常规治疗)。对比两组干预前后胸痛发作,动脉血压(SBP/DBP),率压积(HR ×SBP),血清心肌肌钙蛋白T(CTnT),肌酸磷酸激酶同功酶(CK-mB),高敏C-反应蛋白(hsCRP)及D-二聚体(DD)含量改变。结果短期干预后两组上述各项指标均较干预前有明显下降或减少(P<0.05或P<0.01)。但干预后两组比较,拜心同组胸痛发作,SBP/DBP、CTnT、CK-mB及hs -CRP下降或减少程度均大于对照组(P<0.05),但率压积和DD并无明显改变(P>0.05)。结论常规治疗+拜心同短期干预对ACS患者急性胸痛发作,血清心肌坏死标志物,动脉血压,炎症标志物的改善优于常规治疗。但并不明显影响率压积和血栓形成标志物含量。     

急性心肌梗死与C-反应蛋白的关系探讨

目的探讨C-反应蛋白水平(CRP)与急性心肌梗死(AMI)发病间的关系,并判断病情预后。方法采用分组比较的办法,实验组:45例发病后6h内入院的AMI病人,入院后并动态监测CRP。并以CRP增高的程度和持续时间不同分为A、B两组。对照组:选择在年龄和性别构成上与实验组差异无统计学意义的健康体检人员49例监测CRP。结果AMI患者中,CRP水平明显高于正常人群;AMI病程中,随病程延长,CRP呈现峰值关系;A组病死率33.3%,明显高于B组,差异有统计学意义(p<0.01)。心绞痛及心衰发生率也高于B组,差异有统计学意义(p<0.01)。结论AMI患者CRP较正常人明显升高,且CRP水平对AMI预后判定有重要意义。     

Simultaneous detection of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactivity and vasopressin mRNA in neurons of the human paraventricular and supraoptic nucleus

The extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase-1 and -2 (ERK1 and ERK2), also referred to as the p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p44/42 MAP kinase), plays an essential role in neuronal signal transduction, but its function involved in nociceptive response has not been deeply studied yet. Here we report immunohistochemical evidence that p44/42 MAPK might be critical in nociceptive response. We found that after formalin was injected into the perioral skin of the upper lip of mice, the number of activated p44/42 MAPK-like immunoreactive neurons was significantly increased in the laminae I and II of the caudal subnucleus of the trigeminal spinal nucleus (Sp5C). The positive neurons and fibers were mostly concentrated in the middle portion of Sp5C dorsoventrally, where the afferent fibers innervating the skin of the upper lip are terminated. The reactive products were localized in perikarya, dendrites, nuclei, and diffusely in the neuropil. The present result suggests that p44/42 MAPK may be important in the transmission and modulation of noxious information in Sp5C.     

Activation of mouse microglial cells affects P2 receptor signaling

Microglial cells are the immunocompetent cells of the CNS, which are known to exist in several activation states. Here we investigated the impact of microglial activation on the P2 receptor-mediated intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)](i)) signaling by means of fluo-3 based Ca(2+)-imaging. Cultured mouse microglial cells were treated with either astrocyte-conditioned medium to induce a ramified morphology or LPS to shift the cells toward the fully activated stage. The extracellular application of ATP (100 microM) induced a [Ca(2+)](i) elevation in 85% of both untreated and ramified microglial cells, whereas only 50% of the LPS-activated cells responded to the stimulus. To characterise the pharmacological profile of microglial P2 receptors we investigated the effects of various P2 agonists on [Ca(2+)](i) in cultured microglial cells. Untreated and ramified microglial cells demonstrated a very similar sensitivity to the different P2 agonists. In contrast, in LPS-activated microglia, a sharp decrease of responses to P2 agonist stimulation was seen. This indicates that microglial activation influences the capability of microglial cells to generate [Ca(2+)](i) signals upon P2 receptor activation.     

Regions in the brainstem and frontal cortex where electrical stimulation elicits parotid and submandibular saliva secretion in sheep

Tau proteins are encoded by a single gene which is regulated by a unique promoter. The proximal 196 base pairs of the tau 5′ flanking region confers tau protein with neuronal specific expression and nerve growth factor inducibility. We tested tau promoter activity in neuronally differentiated embryonal carcinoma cells, the P19 mouse blastoderm cell line. In these experiments, we examined the temporal expression pattern of the tau promoter and compared it to other viral and cellular promoters. Tau promoter activity increases significantly with differentiation, specifically during neurite initiation. In addition, tau promoter activity in neuronally differentiated P19 cells was significantly greater than all five of the other neuronal or non neuronal promoters tested. All other promoters displayed low levels of promoter activity throughout retinoic acid induced neuronal differentiation of P19 cells. Taken together, our results suggest that the tau promoter is a good choice for ectopic expression of exogenous genes in P19 cells, which serves as a differentiating neuronal model system.     

Differential regulation of ciliary neurotrophic factor and its receptor in the rat hippocampus following transient global ischemia

To investigate a potential role of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) in transient global ischemia, we have studied the postischemic regulatory changes in the expression of CNTF and its receptor, the ligand-binding alpha-subunit (CNTFRalpha). Immunoblot analysis demonstrated CNTF levels were slightly upregulated already during the first day after ischemia and then increased markedly by more than 10-fold until 2 weeks postischemia. Immunoreactivity for CNTF became detectable 1 day after ischemia and was localized in reactive astrocytes. The intensity of the immunolabeling was maximal in CA1 during the phase of neuronal cell death (days 3-7 postischemia) and in the deafferented inner molecular layer of the dentate gyrus. Upregulation of CNTF expression was less pronounced in CA3 and absent in the stratum lacunosum moleculare and the outer molecular layer of the dentate gyrus and thus did not simply correlate with astroliosis as represented by upregulation of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). As shown by in situ hybridization, expression of CNTFRalpha mRNA was restricted to neurons of the pyramidal cell and granule cell layers in control animals. Following ischemia, reactive astrocytes, identified by double labeling with antibodies to GFAP, transiently expressed CNTFRalpha mRNA with a maximum around postischemic day 3. This astrocytic response was most pronounced in CA1 and in the hilar part of CA3. These results show that CNTF and its receptor are differentially regulated in activated astrocytes of the postischemic hippocampus, indicating that they are involved in the regulation of astrocytic responses and the neuronal reorganizations occurring after an ischemic insult.     

Preferential resistance of dopaminergic neurons to glutathione depletion in a reconstituted nigrostriatal system

Depletion of glutathione in the substantia nigra is one of the earliest changes observed in Parkinson's disease (PD), and could initiate dopaminergic neuronal degeneration. Nevertheless, we have previously demonstrated that mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons in primary monolayer cultures are more resistant to the toxicity of glutathione depletion than nondopaminergic neurons. To extend this finding to a system that more closely resembles the in vivo situation, we characterized the effects of glutathione depletion on reaggregate cultures derived from ventral mesencephalic and their striatal target neurons, as well as supporting elements including glia. Dopaminergic neurons were found to be more resistant to the toxicity of buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine, an inhibitor of glutathione synthesis, than other nigrostriatal neurons, while striatal target cells exhibited an intermediate susceptibility when examined after 48 h. Glutathione depletion, however, decreased the intracellular content of catecholamines after 48 h and eventually led to the loss of dopaminergic neurons after 7 days. Our data indicate that the intrinsic resistance of dopaminergic neurons to the toxicity of glutathione depletion occurs in a variety of experimental paradigms, and suggest that global glutathione depletion alone is unlikely to account for the selective loss of dopaminergic neurons in PD. Rather, it is more likely that either the selective loss of glutathione from dopaminergic neurons, or the combination of glutathione loss with other insults contributes to the preferential death of dopaminergic neurons in PD.     

The rat vertex-middle latency auditory-evoked potential as indicator of anaesthetic depth: a comparison with evoked-reflex testing

We investigated whether components from the rat Vx-MLAEP could be used to assess depth of anaesthesia induced by propofol. Propofol decreased MLAEP amplitudes and increased latencies. We propose that the P(16)-N(22) wave in the rat MLAEP is similar to the human P1, and that recovery of this wave during propofol anaesthesia correlates with behavioural measures of the regaining of consciousness.