Long Noncoding RNA-Maternally Expressed Gene 3 Contributes to Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension

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Molecular,structural, and biological characteristics of the tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily

The tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily at present consists of ten different transmembrane (type I) glycoproteins with characteristic limited sequence homology for the cysteine-rich repeats in the extracellular domain. In parallel the tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily has been recognized by discovery of ligands for all members of the receptor superfamily. These molecules are also transmembrane (type II) glycoproteins, with the exception of lymphotoxin-α which is the only entirely secreted protein of the tumor necrosis factor-like proteins. Several members of the ligand superfamily, including tumor necrosis factor and CD95L also exist in a biologically active soluble form. The tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily contains at present ten different proteins. In addition, NGFR p75 binds to a second family of proteins (neurotrophins). These nerve growth factor-like dimeric soluble molecules are basic neurotrophic factors and the five members (NGF, BDNF, NT-3, NT-4, NT-5) are not related to the tumor necrosis factor superfamily ligands. The members of the tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily (TNF, LT-α, LT-β, CD27L, CD30L, CD40L, CD95L, 4-1BB, OX40L, TRAIL) share common biological activities, but some properties are shared by only some ligands, while others are unique. The diverse biological activities but some properties are shared by only some ligands, while others are unique. The diverse biological activities triggered through tumor necrosis factor receptors have been linked to the regulation of cellular activation, including immune responses and inflammatory reactions, but also with the pathology of a series of human diseases.     

Implications of Standardized Uptake Value Measurements of the Primary Lesions in Proven Cases of Breast Carcinoma with Different Degree of Disease Burden at Diagnosis: Does 2-Deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-d-glucose-Positron Emission Tomography Predict Tumor Biology?

Objectives Tumor glycolytic activity as determined by 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-d-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) imaging is an important marker of tumor biology and provides critical information about the behavior of most malignancies at different stages of the disease. This study was undertaken to determine whether the degree of FDG uptake differs between the primary breast lesions with varying disease burden at diagnosis in proven cases of breast carcinoma. Materials and Methods Among 250 patients enrolled for this prospective study, 174 patients with newly diagnosed breast carcinoma at different disease stages who had undergone dual time point FDG-PET before any therapeutic or surgical interventions were considered for inclusion in this analysis. These patients prospectively underwent multimodality imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasonography, digital mammography, computed tomography (CT), and dual time point FDG-PET, as a component of a National Institutes of Health-funded project for characterizing primary breast lesions and local–regional staging. The slice with maximum FDG uptake in the region of interest (ROI) was chosen for the first time point and the second time point images for quantitative measurement of the metabolic activity of the tracer (SUVmax1 and SUVmax2, respectively). Furthermore, the percent change in SUVmax (%ΔSUVmax) between SUVmax1 and SUVmax2 was calculated. Results The patient population (n = 174) were divided into three groups for the purposes of this study. Sixty-four patients with primary and metastatic axillary lymphadenopathy (designated as group I) and 18 patients with both axillary and distant metastases (designated as group II) met the inclusion criteria for this analysis. The third group (group III) comprised of a population of 92 patients without any metastasis either at the lymph nodes or at distant sites. The mean SUVmax1, SUVmax2, and the %ΔSUVmax in the early and delayed FDG-PET in group I (n = 64) patients were as follows: primary lesion 4.8 ± 3.9, 5.3 ± 4.5, and 9.4 ± 12.8%, respectively, and axillary lesions 3 ± 2.6, 3 ± 2.7, and 1.1 ± 21.3%, respectively. Among the group II patients (n = 18), the mean values of the primary lesion with regard to the SUVmax1, SUVmax2, and the %ΔSUVmax were 7.7 ± 6.2, 8.9 ± 7.1, and 15.7 ± 10.8%, respectively. The corresponding figures for the axillary lesions were 3.5 ± 3.1, 3.7 ± 3.1, and 6.3 ± 20.9%, respectively, and those for the distant metastatic lesions were 3 ± 1.4, 3.1 ± 1.2, and 8.5 ± 21.2%, respectively. The mean SUVmax1, SUVmax2, and the %ΔSUVmax of the primary lesion of group III patients (n = 92) without any metastasis were 2.9 ± 2.7, 3.4 ± 2.4, and 4.5 ± 4.2%, respectively. Unifactorial ANOVA of the three parameters among the primary lesions of these three groups were statistically significant with regard to the mean SUVmax1 (p = 0.01) and SUVmax2 (p = 0.01). These values in the primary lesions were highest in group II (those with both axillary and distant metastases), followed by group I (those with only metastatic axillary adenopathy) and group III (patients without any metastasis), and could be related to the more aggressive tumor biology in group II. Conclusion The findings provide evidence that among the lesions with varying disease burden at diagnosis, the FDG uptake is highest in cases with both axillary and distant metastasis, followed by those with axillary metastasis and then by those with no metastatic disease. These provide in vivo insight into tumor biology as FDG uptake is regarded as a surrogate marker of the same.     

早产儿脑损伤的相关生物学标志物

随着围生医学的不断发展,早产低出生体重儿成活率显著提高,而其脑损伤的发病率亦逐年增加。早产儿脑损伤以脑室内出血及脑白质损伤为主,是早产儿神经系统后遗症的主要原因,已成为影响早产儿生存质量的严重问题。早产儿脑损伤病因复杂,难以避免,早期诊断与及时合理的干预尤为重要。由于早产儿脑损伤早期缺乏特异性的临床表现,目前诊断有赖于影像学检查。脑损伤生物学标记物,如：髓鞘碱性蛋白、S100B、激活素 A、脑红蛋白、基质金属蛋白酶、细胞因子 IL-6、IL-10、IL-11、神经元特异性烯醇化酶、肾上腺髓质素、胶质纤维酸性蛋白等,近年来引起了国内外学者的极大关注。该文对上述相关生物标志物进行综述。     

青海高原不同宿主源细粒棘球蚴的病原生物学考察

本文对我国青海高原牦牛和绵羊体内原发性细粒棘球蚴的病原生物学进行了考察。结果表明牦牛细粒棘球蚴的感染率和钙化率显著高于绵羊源(P<0.01);牦牛肝脏感染和肺脏感染无明显差异(各占34.14％和31.20％),绵羊则绝大多数寄生于肝脏(50.76％),肺脏较少(13.40％),肝、肺均感染者与牦牛相近(34.26％和32.58)。牦牛肝脏棘球蚴的钙化率高(73.00％),育囊率低(69.51％),但肺脏棘球蚴与绵羊肝、肺脏棘球蚴的钙化率相近(分别为20.15％、28.00％和18.04％),育囊率均高(分别为94.58％、91.76％和90.00％)。人体棘球蚴的育囊率达100.00％。对各源棘球蚴内的原头节测量结果表明不论原头节寄生在何种宿主,其肺脏原头节总是大于肝脏原头节(P<0.01);同源肝、肺脏原头节的吻钩大小无显著差异(P>0.05)。牦牛棘球蚴体积较绵羊的大,但原头节却小的多(P<0.01),且二者原头节吻钩的多项测量指标之间存在显著的差异(P<0.01或P<0.05)。上述结果提示对这种差异不应仅以棘球蚴寄生在不同宿主来解释,还应考虑到该地区是否存在不同宿主的细粒棘球绦虫虫株。     

应用噬菌体展示技术筛选丙型肝炎病毒非结构蛋白NS5A反式激活基因NS5A-TP9启动子DNA的结合蛋白

目的：筛选丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)非结构蛋白NS5A反式激活基因NS5A-TP9启动子DNA结合蛋白，探索NS5A-TP9的表达调节机制。方法：应用噬菌体展示技术，以聚合酶链反应(PCR)技术扩增的NS5A-TP9启动子DNA片段作为固相筛选分子，对噬菌体人肝细胞cDNA文库进行4轮“吸附-洗脱-扩增”富集过程，噬斑裂解液PCR扩增后，回收产物构建克隆载体，对所筛选克隆进行DNA序列分析和同源性生物信息学搜索。结果：噬菌体经富集后，筛选出10个阳性克隆，成功构建了克隆载体。序列测定后经过同源性搜索，确定了与HCV非结构蛋白NS5A反式激活基因NS5A-TP9启动子DNA结合的蛋白有：补体C3、甲胎蛋白、人血清白蛋白、人核糖体蛋白20S和α1微球蛋白。结论：用噬菌体人肝cDNA文库筛选得到HCV NS5A蛋白反式激活基因NS5A-TP9启动子DNA结合蛋白，分析了这些蛋白的功能，为研究NS5A-TP9基因的转录调节机制，进一步阐明HCV非结构蛋白NS5A的致病机制奠定了基础。     

生物分类学进展与人体寄生虫分类——介绍一种新的寄生虫学分类系统

随着对生物认识的深入和生物技术的进步，国际上对生物及寄生虫的分类在不断地修改和完善，我国所用寄生虫的分类体系仍然是25年前确立的。本文概述了生物分类学的进展，并介绍了Cox的新的寄生虫分类体系，以期推动我国寄生虫学研究的深入。     

青藏高原东部地区发现的新种: 石渠棘球绦虫的生物学特征

青藏高原东部是细粒棘球绦虫和多房棘球绦虫的混合流行区,诸多的家畜和野生动物参与了棘球绦虫的传播。近年来,一种未知的棘球绦虫先后从高原鼠兔（Ochotona curzoniae）和藏狐（Vulpes ferrilata）中被分离出来。由于其特有的形态学、分子遗传学、寄生宿主和地理分布特征,而被作为新种 ——— 石渠棘球绦虫（Echinococcus shiquicus,Xiao et al,2005）进行了系统研究。本文对该虫种的生物遗传学和流行病学特征进行了讨论,并提出了理论上的假设来解释一些仍不十分清楚的现象。     

胃镜下采集的疑似胃癌组织的基因表达谱分析

基因芯片等高通量的研究手段已在肿瘤研究中得到广泛的应用，胃癌方面的研究主要集中住手术切除标本，对胃镜下取得的疑似胃癌组织的基因表达比较研究则较少报道。目的：比较胃镜下取得的病理诊断为胃癌和非癌样品的基因表达谱特征，为识别胃癌早期诊断的指标和疾病的分子分型奠定基础。方法：内镜下取47例胃癌疑似病变组织和对应非病变组织，经病理学诊断为胃癌28例，非癌病变19例。提取RNA，采用含14592个点的人cDNA芯片，经RNA放大技术进行基因表达谱的检测，检测结果采用GeneSpring软件分析，数据标准化用局部加权回归分析（LOWESS）处理，胃癌和非癌两组样品的组内和组间差异的显著性分析应用差异显著性分析（SAM）方法。结果：以30％样品巾的表达调节水平大于1．5倍作为差异基因筛选标准，胃癌组表达上调的基因有133个，卜调的有143个。非胃癌样品中有51个基因表达上调，22个表达下调，其中分别有18个上调基因和13个下调丛因与胃癌组相同。组间差异分析筛选出40个基因，其表达调节可以由之进行胃癌和非癌组样品的区分。结论：基因表达谱芯片技术可以有效地应用于识别胃癌和非癌样品中的差异表达基因，并可用于肿瘤发病机制和分子分型的研究。