Phenotype of endomyocardial biopsy-derived T-lymphocyte cultures and chronic rejection after heart transplantation

Chronic rejection (CR) is a major problem in long-term survival in heart transplantation. We analysed whether the occurrence of CR correlates with the incidence of acute rejections (AR) or with characteristics of endomyocardial biopsy-derived cell cultures. CR was diagnosed by annual angiography and defined as all coronary vascular changes. One year after transplantation 24 of the 63 patients had CR (38%). The incidence of AR in CR + and CR — patients was comparable. The patients in both groups had similar individual median percentages of EMB-yielding cell cultures. During the first year the CR — patients had more cultures in which at least 60% of the cells were CD4 + T cells (50% vs 37%, P = 0.05), due to a stronger CD4 predominance in the first 6 months. In the second year the CD4 predominance in the patients diagnosed as CR + after 1 year tended to be higher (P = 0.08). The patients had comparable percentages of cultures predominated by CD8 + T cells, γδ T cells or NK cells, irrespective of the time interval. These results might indicate that CD4 + T lymphocytes play a dual role in the aetiology of CR.     

eIF4E在乳腺癌中表达的研究进展

真核细胞翻译起始因子是调节蛋白质翻译的关键因素,作为mRNA帽结合磷蛋白,过度表达能使一些肿瘤相关恶性基因的蛋白质表达量发生变化,引起致癌性改变。笔者就eIF4E在乳腺癌中的表达、作用以及治疗研究的最新研究进展作一综述。     

Partial replication of a DRD4 association in ADHD individuals using a statistically derived quantitative trait for ADHD in a family-based association test.

BACKGROUND: Previous research found an association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter region of DRD4 and statistically derived phenotypes generated from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. We sought to replicate this finding by using the same methodology in an independent sample of ADHD individuals. METHODS: Four SNPs were genotyped in and around DRD4 in 2631 individuals in 642 families. We developed a quantitative phenotype at each SNP by weighting nine inattentive and nine hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. The weights were selected to maximize the heritability at each SNP. Once a quantitative phenotype was generated at each SNP, the screening procedure implemented in PBAT was used to select and test the five SNPs/genetic model combinations with the greatest power to detect an association for DRD4. RESULTS: One of the four SNPs was associated with the quantitative phenotypes generated from the ADHD symptoms (corrected p-values = .02). A rank ordering of the correlation between each of the ADHD symptoms and the quantitative phenotype suggested that hyperactive-impulsive symptoms were more strongly correlated with the phenotype; however, including inattentive symptoms was necessary to achieve a significant result. CONCLUSIONS: This study partially replicated a previous finding by identifying an association between rs7124601 and a quantitative trait generated from ADHD symptoms. The rs7124601 is in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with the SNPs identified previously. In contrast to the previous study, this finding suggests that both hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive symptoms are important in the association.     

A simple model describes large individual differences in simultaneous colour contrast

We report experimental evidence for substantial individual differences in the susceptibility to simultaneous colour contrast. Interestingly, we found that not only the general amount of colour induction varies across observers, but also the general shape of the curves describing asymmetric matching data. A simple model based on von Kries adaptation and crispening describes the data rather well when we regard its free parameters as observer specific. We argue that the von Kries component reflects the action of a temporal adaptation mechanism, while the crispening component describes the action of the instantaneous, purely spatial mechanism most appropriately labeled simultaneous colour contrast. An interesting consequence of this view is that traditional ideas about the general characteristics of simultaneous contrast must be considered as misleading. According to Kirschmann’s 4th law, for instance, the simultaneous contrast effect should increase with increasing saturation of the surround, but crispening predicts the converse. Based on this reasoning, we offer a plausible explanation for the mixed evidence on the validity of Kirschmann’s 4th law. We also argue that simultaneous contrast, the crispening effect, Meyer’s effect and the gamut expansion effect are just different names for the same basic phenomenon.     

CO中毒致迟发性脑病大鼠脑内CD4+T淋巴细胞浸润及神经胶质酸性蛋白的表达

目的观察CO中毒致迟发性脑病（DNS）大鼠脑内CD4^＋T淋巴细胞浸润以及神经胶质酸性蛋白（GFAP）的表达情况，探讨CO中毒致DNS的病理过程。方法25只SD雄性大鼠随机分为对照组、染毒后3、7、10、20d组，每组5只。采用HE和免疫组织化学染色方法，观察染毒后各时间点大鼠脑内病理形态学变化，及CD4^＋T淋巴细胞浸润和GFAP的表达情况。结果HE染色结果显示：各染毒组在大脑皮层及海马均出现神经细胞不同程度的变性、坏死，染毒后7d组最重。免疫组织化学染色结果显示：对照组无CD4^＋T淋巴细胞浸润，有少量GFAP表达；各染毒组不同脑区CD4^＋T淋巴细胞、GFAP均有不同程度的浸润和表达。CD4^＋T淋巴细胞染毒后3d开始浸润，7d达峰值，两者在数量上差异有统计学意义（P〈0．01）。各组染毒后GFAP均有大量表达，随染毒时间延长表达数量呈上升趋势。结论CD4^＋T淋巴细胞可能参与了CO中毒致DNS的免疫病理过程，GFAP阳性细胞对CO中毒引发的DNS可能具有保护作用。     

大鼠癫痫持续状态后水通道蛋白-4的表达

目的 探讨癫痫持续状态（SE）后大鼠水通道蛋白-4（AQP4）的表达变化与脑水肿形成之间的关系。方法 54只SD大鼠随机分为对照组（n=6），SE后6h，12h，24h，48h，72h，96h，120h，168h组（n=6）。腹腔注射锂-匹罗卡品建立大鼠SE模型，免疫组织化学染色和逆转录PCR方法检测AQP4蛋白和基因在SE形成后的表达。结果 SE后AQV4蛋白和mRNA24h表达水平明显增加，48h达到高峰，持续72h后下降，168h时仍有表达。SE后AQP4表达变化和脑水肿形成过程在时间上呈明显的正相关（r=0．73，氏0．05）。结论 SE后AOP4表达明显增强，在时间上与脑水肿形成呈正相关，提示AQP4在SE后脑水肿形成过程中起着重要作用。     

肿瘤微环境对树突细胞功能状态的影响

目的：探讨肿瘤细胞分泌的可溶性细胞因子营造的微环境对树突细胞(DCs，dendritic cells)的分化发育的影响，以进一步揭示肿瘤的免疫逃逸机制。方法：用免疫磁珠从人外周血分离CD14^ 单核细胞，加入粒细胞巨噬细胞集落刺激因子(GM-CSF)、白细胞介素4(IL-4)和人白血病细胞Jurkat培养上清液体外培养DCs，以正常培养诱导的DCs作为对照，采用傅立叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)技术分析人白血病细胞培养上清液对DCs分化发育的影响。结果：正常培养DCs与肿瘤上清液培养的DCs相比，在细胞内蛋白质和核酸的相对含量和细胞内消耗葡萄糖重新合成磷脂的量方面差异无显著性，但是，在细胞的转录状态方面差异有显著性。结论：肿瘤细胞上清液培养液所营造的微环境细胞转录水平上对DCs的功能状态有明显的抑制作用。     

Expression of Na+/HCO3− co‐transporter proteins (NBCs) in rat and human skeletal muscle

Aim: Sodium/bicarbonate co‐transport (NBC) has been suggested to have a role in muscle pH regulation. We investigated the presence of NBC proteins in rat and human muscle samples and the fibre type distribution of the identified NBCs. Methods and results: Western blotting of muscle homogenates and sarcolemmal membranes (sarcolemmal giant vesicles) were used to screen for the presence of NBCs. Immunohistochemistry was used for the subcellular localization. The functional test revealed that approximately half of the pH recovery in sarcolemmal vesicles produced from rat muscle is mediated by bicarbonate‐dependent transport. This indicates that the NBCs are preserved in the vesicles. The western blotting experiments demonstrated the existence of at least two NBC proteins in skeletal muscle. One NBC protein (approximately 150 kDa) seems to be related to the kidney/pancreas/heart isoform NBC1, whereas the other protein (approximately 200 kDa) is related to the NBC4 isoform. The two NBC proteins represent the electrogenic isoforms named NBCe1 and NBCe2. Membrane fractionation and immunofluorescence techniques confirmed that the two NBCs are located in the sarcolemmal membrane as well as in some internal membranes, probably the T‐tubules. The two NBCs localized in muscle have distinct fibre type distributions. Conclusions: Skeletal muscle possesses two variants of the sodium/bicarbonate co‐transporter (NBC) isoforms, which have been called NBCe1 and NBCe2.     

Accelerated 3D echo-planar spectroscopic imaging at 4 Tesla using modified blipped phase-encoding.

Whole-brain echo-planar spectroscopic imaging (EPSI) often substantially lengthens MRI/MRSI (magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging) protocols. To halve acquisition time, application of a blipped phase-encoding (PE) gradient during the EPSI readout (RO) was previously suggested by PE of the even RO echoes in k-space at an interstitial location along k(PE), separated from the odd RO echoes, effectively reducing the number of PEs by a factor of 2. However, the approach is very susceptible to phase inconsistencies between even and odd RO echoes in the presence of B(0) inhomogeneities and gradient imbalance, leading to ghosting in the PE direction. In this work, the blipped PE gradient is placed in between pairs of even/odd RO gradient lobes to avoid these problems. This approach is demonstrated in a phantom and in normal human brain in vivo at 4T. While the proposed method allows substantial reduction in metabolite ghosting, it may be limited by the presence of a relatively large spurious signal at the Nyquist frequency.     

胰岛素和睾酮对Ishikawa细胞葡萄糖转运蛋白4表达的影响

目的探讨胰岛素(INS)和睾酮(T)对多囊卵巢综合征(PCOS)子宫内膜腺上皮细胞生长的影响和葡萄糖转运蛋白4(GLUT4)表达的调节机制。方法体外培养Ishikawa细胞,予不同浓度INS(90、60、30、3、0.3 U/L)或T(10-3、10-4、10-5、10-6、10-7mmol/ml)刺激Ishikawa细胞48 h,MTT法检测INS、T对Ishikawa细胞生长的作用;免疫细胞化学检测GLUT4蛋白在Ishikawa细胞定位表达;分别以30 U/L INS和10-5mmol/ml T刺激Ishikawa细胞24和48 h,逆转录聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)方法测定INS和T对Ishikawa细胞GLUT4 mRNA表达的影响。结果(1)不同浓度的INS均可促进Ishikawa细胞的生长,随着INS浓度的增加,INS促进Ishikawa细胞生长作用越强,INS浓度自0.3~30 U/L时,Ishikawa细胞生长依次加强,与对照组相比均有显著性差异(P<0.01)。INS浓度达60、90 U/L时,细胞生长状况与INS浓度为30 U/L相似。不同浓度的T均可抑制Ishikawa细胞的生长,随着T浓度的增加,T抑制Ishikawa细胞生长作用越明显。T浓度自10-7、10-6、10-5mmol/ml,Ishikawa细胞生长依次减弱,与对照组相比均有显著性差异(P<0.01,P<0.05),T浓度达10-4、10-3mmol/ml时,细胞生长抑制状况与T浓度10-5mg/ml相似。(2)GLUT4蛋白,定位表达于Ishikawa细胞的细胞浆内。(3)Ishikawa细胞中GLUT4 mRNA表达,在INS组和T组均较对照组减弱(P<0.01,P<0.05),INS组比T组减弱更明显(P<0.05),且INS和T作用24和48 h GLUT4 mRNA表达无显著性差异(P>0.05)。结论不同浓度INS和T均可影响Ishikawa细胞生长,并降低GLUT4 mRNA的表达,推测PCOS高胰岛素、高雄激素血症的病理生理特性有可能影响子宫内膜的代谢过程,与子宫内膜的病变相关。