人羊膜上皮细胞移植改善AD样病变模型大鼠学习记忆能力

目的:观察人羊膜上皮细胞(h AECs)对阿尔茨海默病(AD)样病变大鼠模型的治疗效应。方法:采用胰蛋白酶消化法分离h AECs,流式细胞术分析表型。48只雄性SD大鼠随机分为假手术组、模型组、培养基组和h AECs移植组,每组12只。采用双侧脑室注入脂多糖(LPS)复制AD样病变大鼠模型。AD样病变大鼠海马区移植5×105个h AECs。细胞移植后2周,Morris水迷宫试验观察行为学变化,HE和硫磺素S染色观察海马病理变化,免疫组化染色检测β-淀粉样蛋白42(Aβ42)、Tau蛋白和乙酰胆碱(ACh)的变化,流式细胞术检测外周血T淋巴细胞亚群的变化,流式微球阵列捕获技术(cytometric bead array,CBA)检测血清细胞因子含量,免疫荧光染色检测海马区人细胞核抗原阳性细胞及其神经元特异性核蛋白(Neu N)的表达。结果:与模型组和培养基组比较,h AECs移植组大鼠逃避潜伏期明显缩短(P0.01),跨域平台次数明显增加(P0.05);海马神经元病损减轻,Aβ沉积减轻(P0.05),磷酸化Tau蛋白水平下降(P0.05),ACh增加(P0.05);外周血Th1和Th17细胞百分比下降(P0.05),而Th2和Treg细胞升高(P0.05);IL-2和IFN-γ水平下调(P0.05),而IL-4上调(P0.05);移植区可见h AECs,并表达Neu N。结论:h AECs可明显改善AD样病变模型大鼠空间辨别性学习记忆能力,减轻海马病理损伤,其免疫调节效应可能发挥重要作用。     

血清人附睾分泌蛋白4在卵巢上皮性癌中的临床价值

目的 研究血清人附睾蛋白4(HE4)在卵巢恶性肿瘤中的诊断价值.方法 用酶联疫吸附试验方法对卵巢上皮性癌组(54例)、盆腔良性疾病组(60例)、正常组(60例)妇女血清中HE4和CA125进行双盲检测,结果以中位数表示,分析比较两者单独检测诊断卵巢恶性肿瘤的价值.血清HE4和CA125的正常值分别为0～ 140pmol/L和0～ 35KU/L,其中任一指标高于正常即为阳性.结果 ①卵巢上皮性癌组血清HE4和CA125水平分别为142.72pmol/L和136.07KU/L,分别与盆腔良性疾病组(分别为63.72pmol/L和72.20KU/L)和正常组(分别为57.82pmol/L和57.42KU/L)比较,差异均有统计学意义(P＜0.01).②以盆腔良性疾病组作参照人群时,HE4和CA125单独检测的受试者工作特征曲线下面积(ROC-AUC)分别为0.958和0.886,两者比较,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.001).③以ROC曲线最左上方的点130 pmol/L、正常组95％参考值80pmol/L和正常值的上限140pmol/L为界值点,比较HE4单项检测对卵巢上皮性恶性肿瘤的诊断能力,结果显示,界值点为80pmol/L的特异度和阳性预测值均为88％,明显低于界值点为130(分别为93％和90％)和140pmol/L(分别为93％和95％)时的特异度和阳性预测值(P＜0.01).结论 HE4单项检测诊断卵巢上皮性恶性肿瘤的特异度优于CA125单项检测.以140pmol/L为界值点,对卵巢上皮性恶性肿瘤的早期诊断准确率更高,而以130pmol/L为界值点有利于卵巢上皮性恶性肿瘤的筛查、降低漏诊率.     

Incidence of Hepatitis C Virus Infections Among Users of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Pre-exposure Prophylaxis

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Microbiology of human immunodeficiency virus anorectal disease

PURPOSE: Individuals who are seropositive for the human immunodeficiency virus are at high risk for opportunistic infection and anorectal disorders. Little prospective information is available regarding anorectal pathogens in these patients. METHODS: One hundred sixty-three HIV-seropositive patients presented to the colorectal clinic between 1989 and 1992. Forty-seven (29 percent) patients were thought to have an infectious process and were prospectively studied using a standardized multiculture protocol. RESULTS: Mean age was 33 (range, 19–59) years. All were male; high-risk behavior accounted for 87 percent of HIV transmissions. Presenting complaints included anorectal pain (79 percent), pus per anum (28 percent), and blood per anum (26 percent). Examination revealed perianal tenderness (60 percent), condyloma (38 percent), perianal ulcers (38 percent), and anal fissures (34 percent). Sixty-six sets of cultures were performed; 28 patients had one set, 15 had two sets, and 4 had three sets. Thirty-two of these 47 patients (68 percent) had positive cultures including herpes (50 percent), cytomegalovirus (25 percent),Neisseria gonorrhoeae (16 percent), chlamydia (16 percent), acidfast bacilli (2 percent), and others (9 percent). Six of 32 patients with positive cultures had more than one organism cultured. Sixteen (50 percent) patients with positive cultures were treated medically, 8 (25 percent) were treated surgically and 8 (25 percent) were treated with both modalities. Sixty-one procedures were performed on 17 patients for condylomata. Eighteen patients had 20 procedures for abscesses, 50 percent of whom had positive cultures for other than common bowel flora; all improved. Fourteen patients underwent 33 procedures for perianal fistulas.Mycobacterium fortuitum was cultured from one patient who required 13 procedures for abscesses and fistulas. Forty-five (96 percent) patients were followed for an average of 12.5 months ±2.9 SEM (range, 1–94 months). Symptoms were improved or resolved in 22 of 32 (69 percent) patients with positive cultures and in 11 of 13 (84 percent) with negative cultures. CONCLUSIONS: Specific pathogens may often be identified in human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive patients with anorectal disorders if aggressively sought. Although patients without specific pathogens identified may be expected to improve with planned empiric treatment, positive identification allows more directed therapy.     

Differential regulation of apoptotic cell death in senescent human cells

Aging of human cells can be reproduced in monolayer cultures, revealing the phenotype of replicative senescence. It was shown that diploid human fibroblasts enter a stable growth arrest phenotype at the end of their lifespan and, in particular, these cells are resistant to various apoptotic stimuli. In contrast, human endothelial cells from the umbilical vein (HUVEC) acquire a proapoptotic phenotype when reaching senescence and this probably results from reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced damage and associated signaling. Ceramides were shown to accumulate in senescent fibroblasts and are also known as potent regulators of apoptotic cell death. To further study age-associated changes in proneness to apoptosis between fibroblasts and endothelial cells, both cell types were challenged by administration of exogenous ceramide and apoptotic cell death was determined. While ceramide can efficiently induce apoptosis in both young and senescent cells of either histotype, quantitative evaluation of the data show that senescent fibroblasts are more resistant to apoptosis induction when compared to their young counterparts, whereas in the case of endothelial cells proneness for apoptosis is increased in senescent cells. Together, these data suggest significant differences in the regulation of apoptosis associated with senescence in fibroblasts and endothelial cells.     

Decreased ATP-sensitive K(+) current density during chronic human atrial fibrillation

Chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with shortening of action potential duration (APD), which involves modified activity of atrial ion currents. However, little is known about the activity of ATP-sensitive K(+) channels (I(K,ATP)) during chronic AF. An AF-related increase in the activity of I(K,ATP) would reduce APD and could contribute to initiation and/or perpetuation of AF. Here, we studied the activity of I(K,ATP) in atrial myocytes from patients with sinus rhythm (SR) and chronic AF. Human atrial myocytes were isolated from atrial tissue obtained from patients undergoing open-heart surgery. Inward rectifier currents were measured with the whole-cell patch-clamp technique by applying a depolarizing ramp pulse (1245 ms) from -100 to +40 mV (0.5 Hz). I(K,ATP) was activated with the I(K,ATP) channel opener rilmakalim. The inward rectifier I(K1) and I(K,ATP) were identified by their sensitivity to 1 mM Ba(2+). Density of I(K1) did not differ between cells from patients with AF (at -100 mV: -14.8 +/- 1.3 pA/pF, n = 38/10 (cells/patients)) and SR (-13.8 +/- 1.5 pA/pF, n = 33/16). In both types of cells, rilmakalim stimulated I(K,ATP) (defined as rilmakalim-inducible current) in a concentration-dependent manner (0.3-10 microM). However, maximum activation of I(K,ATP) with 10 microM rilmakalim was smaller in AF than in SR cells (at -100 mV: -5.3 +/- 0.8 pA/pF, n = 22/7 vs. -11.2 +/- 2.9 pA/pF, n = 19/9; at +40 mV: +9.6 +/- 2.1 pA/pF, n = 22/7 vs. +23.7 +/- 3.4 pA/pF, n = 19/9 for AF and SR, respectively; P < 0.05). Only aortic valve disease and pulmonary hypertension were found to be independent contributors to I(K,ATP) current density. We provide evidence that chronic AF is associated with a downregulation of ATP-sensitive K(+) currents. These changes may provide an additional molecular mechanism for electrical remodeling in chronic AF.     

Differential coupling of m-cholinoceptors to Gi/Go-proteins in failing human myocardium

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) mediate their main cardiac effects via pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins. Physiological effects differ considerably between atrium and ventricle, and it is unknown to which extent these differences derive from selective receptor-G-protein coupling or further downstream events. We have characterized specific coupling between mAChRs and Gi/Go-protein isoforms in atrial and ventricular myocardium by agonist-dependent photoaffinity labeling with [(32)P]azidoanilido GTP (aaGTP) and immunoprecipitation in sarcolemmal membranes from terminally failing human hearts. The total amount of mAChRs, as determined by specific binding of [(3)H]QNB, was significantly higher in right-atrial (RA +/- SEM, 959 +/- 68 fmol/mg, n = 4) than in left-ventricular membranes (LV, 582 +/- 53 fmol/mg, n = 6). Standardized immunoblots revealed that Gialpha-2 was the predominant subtype in both regions. A 40-kDa splice variant of Goalpha (Goalpha-1 and/or Goalpha-3) was almost exclusively detectable in RA. Levels of Gialpha-3 and a 39-kDa splice variant of Goalpha (Goalpha-2) were also higher in RA. Basal aaGTP binding was higher in RA than in LV for all Gialpha/Goalpha subtypes. The carbachol (10 micromol/l)-induced increase in aaGTP binding was significantly higher in RA than in LV for Goalpha-1/3 (336 +/- 95% of LV, n = 4) and for Gialpha-3 (211 +/- 83%), lower for Gialpha-2 (42 +/- 5%), and was similar in both regions for Goalpha-2 (130 +/- 62%). The differential coupling of mAChRs in human RA and LV suggests that the initiation of different physiological responses to mAChR stimulation starts with signal sorting at the receptor-G-protein level.     

New approaches to understanding the immune response to vaccination and infection

The immune system is a network of specialized cell types and tissues that communicates via cytokines and direct contact, to orchestrate specific types of defensive responses. Until recently, we could only study immune responses in a piecemeal, highly focused fashion, on major components like antibodies to the pathogen. But recent advances in technology and in our understanding of the many components of the system, innate and adaptive, have made possible a broader approach, where both the multiple responding cells and cytokines in the blood are measured. This systems immunology approach to a vaccine response or an infection gives us a more holistic picture of the different parts of the immune system that are mobilized and should allow us a much better understanding of the pathways and mechanisms of such responses, as well as to predict vaccine efficacy in different populations well in advance of efficacy studies. Here we summarize the different technologies and methods and discuss how they can inform us about the differences between diseases and vaccines, and how they can greatly accelerate vaccine development.