Decrease of potassium permeability by intracellular application of sodium ions in snail neurons

In the identified neurons B1, B2 and B3 of Helix pomatia an intracellular injection of Na+ induced an outward current in 10% and an inward current in 90% of the experiments. The outward current was associated with an increase and the inward current with a decrease of the membrane conductance. Both currents reversed at membrane potentials of between -60 and -70 mV. Inward currents were also elicited by intracellular Li+ or tris-[hydroxymethyl]-aminomethane (Tris+) injection. All inward currents were reduced by extracellular administration of tetraethylammonium or quinine. It is suggested that the outward current represents a calcium-activated potassium current and that the inward current is due to a blockade of potassium channels from the intracellular side.     

A 47,XXY fetus conceived after ICSI of spermatozoa from a patient with non-mosaic Klinefelter's syndrome: case report

The birth of 12 healthy infants to fathers with non-mosaic Klinefelter's syndrome has been reported so far. The spermatozoa for these pregnancies was obtained from frozen-thawed ejaculate in one pregnancy (twins) and from the testis in the remaining 10 infants. All of them had a normal karyotype. We describe a patient with non-mosaic Klinefelter's syndrome from whom a testicular biopsy was obtained and motile spermatozoa were collected. Of 16 oocytes that were injected, 14 fertilized and cleaved. Three embryos were transferred, resulting in a triplet pregnancy. Karyotype analysis from chorionic villous sampling revealed 46,XX, 46,XY and 46,XXY from the three fetuses. The affected 46,XXY fetus was reduced on the 14th gestational week. The pregnancy culminated with the birth of a healthy male and female, on the 36th gestational week, weighing 3600 and 2660 g respectively. This case report proves the presence of hyperploid spermatozoa in the seminiferous lumen, and strengthens the necessity of genetic diagnosis of the embryos or fetuses in such pregnancies to fathers with non-mosaic Klinefelter's syndrome.     

Fertility of ejaculated and testicular megalohead spermatozoa with intracytoplasmic sperm injection

In this study the fertility and outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using megalohead spermatozoa from the ejaculates and testicles was evaluated. Seventeen males with megalohead and pinhead sperm forms in their ejaculate were studied in 22 cycles. A high number of sperm heads without tails and abundant round spermatid forms were commonly observed. Round-headed spermatozoa were seldom accompanied by these severely abnormal spermatozoa. The majority of megalohead spermatozoa were observed to have multiple tails, were predominant in the sample, and were used for ICSI. Ejaculated megalohead spermatozoa were used for ICSI in 15 cycles, while testicular spermatozoa were used in seven cycles where there were no vital spermatozoa or spermatozoa of low vitality in the ejaculate. The same abnormal morphology was observed in the testicles as in the ejaculated spermatozoa in the same males. Mean (+/- SD) low motility 4.7 +/- 5.6% and sperm count (3.8 +/- 4.19 x 10(6)) were common findings in these severely teratozoospermic patients. A low fertilization rate (43.2%) was achieved by using megalohead sperm forms (group I, n = 17) in comparison with the control group (60.2%) which had zero normal sperm morphology according to strict criteria (group II, n = 30) (P <0.01). Furthermore, a low pregnancy rate (9.1%) was obtained in the megalohead sperm group in comparison with the control group (40%) (P <0.05). Low fertilization and pregnancy rates may be due to a high incidence of chromosomal abnormalities from severely defective spermatozoa in the ejaculate. Couples should be counselled and warned about possible low fertilization and pregnancy rates with ICSI when only pinhead and megalohead forms with a high number of sperm heads without tails are present in the ejaculate.     

腓浅神经痛诊治的解剖学基础(系列介绍之十五)

目的 介绍腓浅神经痛的诊断与局部注射的治疗方法。方法 选择门诊确诊为腓浅神经痛的患者18例，采用强的松龙混悬液加麻药局部注射神经穿出小腿深筋膜的部分的治疗方法。结果 所有病例皆在注射后短时完全止痛，多数病例一周后痊愈，少数病例经1～3次注射后痊愈。结论 对诊断明确的病例，采取强的松龙局部注射法，可以获得满意的疗效。     

Round spermatids from infertile men exhibit decreased protamine-1 and -2 mRNA

During spermiogenesis, histone-to-protamine exchange causes chromatin condensation. Spermatozoa from infertile men are known to exhibit an increased protamine-1 (PRM1) to protamine-2 (PRM2) protein ratio. Since patients undergoing testicular sperm extraction (TESE) followed by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) reveal low fertilization rates, whether the outcome of ICSI could be related to the percentage of round spermatids expressing PRM1-mRNA and PRM2-mRNA was investigated. Applying in-situ hybridization, 55 testicular biopsies from men undergoing TESE/ICSI were investigated. The percentage of PRM1-mRNA and PRM2-mRNA positive spermatids was significantly (P < 0.0001) decreased in men with at least qualitatively normal spermatogenesis (PRM1-mRNA: 58.4 +/- 13.8%; PRM2-mRNA: 56.4 +/- 11.3%) and impaired spermatogenesis (PRM1-mRNA: 32.6 +/- 10.8%; PRM2-mRNA: 31.7 +/- 11.1%) compared with men with obstructive azoospermia and quantitatively normal spermatogenesis (PRM1-mRNA: 79.9 +/- 4.6%; PRM2-mRNA: 78.1 +/- 5.7%). A positive correlation (r(PRM1) = 0.733; r(PRM2) = 0.784; P < 0.001) was demonstrated between the score and the percentage of PRM1-mRNA and PRM2-mRNA positive spermatids. While successful fertilization was neither related to the score, nor to the percentage of PRM1-mRNA and PRM2-mRNA positive spermatids, a significant (P < 0.05) relationship was demonstrated between successful fertilization and the PRM1-mRNA to PRM2-mRNA ratio. Therefore, the PRM1-mRNA to PRM2-mRNA ratio in round spermatids may serve as a possible predictive factor for the outcome of ICSI.     

Pregnancies after intracytoplasmic sperm injection with cryopreserved testicular spermatozoa

In 25 patients (14 suffering from obstructive azoospermia, sixfrom non-obstructive azoospermia, three from astheno-azoospermiaand two from absence of ejaculation) spermatozoa were extractedfrom testicular biopsies. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)with fresh testicular spermatozoa was performed in 18 cases;spermatozoa in excess were cryopreserved in pills. No pregnancieswere achieved. In the remaining seven patients, testicular spermatozoawere retrieved and cryopreserved during a diagnostic testicularbiopsy. After thawing, sperm motility was assessed in 17 cases(68%), and 18 ICSI with cryopreserved testicular spermatozoawere performed. The mean two-pronuclear (2PN) fertilizationrate was 59%, the mean cleavage rate was 92%, and six clinicalpregnancies were achieved, all of them still ongoing (pregnancyrate 33%). A comparison of the results of ICSI carried out withfresh or cryopreserved testicular spermatozoa showed that themean 2PN fertilization rates per cycle (53 compared with 55%),mean cleavage rates per cycle (99 compared with 96%) and embryoquality were not significantly different In conclusion, cryopreservationof testicular spermatozoa is feasible, even in patients withnon-obstructive azoospermia, and the results of ICSI with frozen-thawedtesticular spermatozoa are similar to those obtained using freshtesticular spermatozoa. Cryopreservation of testicular spermatozoamay avoid repetition of testicular biopsies to retrieve spermatozoafor successive ICSI cycles in patients in whom the only sourceof motile spermatozoa is the testicle.     

干扰素诱导淋巴瘤细胞凋亡实验及临床研究

目的：分析梯度浓度的干扰素(IFN-α)对Burkitt淋巴瘤细胞株Daudi和T细胞淋巴瘤细胞株Jurkut及15例难治性淋巴瘤患者的直接作用。方法：以MTT法测定梯度浓度的IFN-α对两种淋巴瘤细胞株Daudi、Jurkat增殖作用的影响，以DNA末端标记法，流式细胞术，电镜观察测定IFN-α对淋巴瘤细胞的凋亡诱导作用，并采用瘤内注射IFN-α联合化疗治疗15例耐药的难治性淋巴瘤。结果：低浓度亚IFN-α对DaudiJurkat细胞增殖无明显抑制作用，高浓度IFN(10000U／ml)可显著抑制两种细胞增殖，且有时间相关性。高浓度的IFN-α可诱导淋巴瘤细胞凋亡。15例患者CR5例，PR7例，有效率80％，无明显毒副作用。结论：IFN-α可抑制淋巴瘤细胞增殖，诱导凋亡，有显著时间，剂量依赖性。局部应用IFN-α联合化疗是治疗难治性淋巴瘤的有效方法之一。     

Expert opinion on the management and follow-up of uveitis patients during SARS-CoV-2 outbreak

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Routine medical and ophthalmic care is being drastically curtailed in the context of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Uveitis patients require particular attention because of their theoretical risk of viral infection, in the context of therapeutic immunosuppression.     

Injection of substance P (SP) N-terminal fragment SP(1-7) into the ventral tegmental area modulates the levels of nucleus accumbens dopamine and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in male rats during morphine withdrawal

The biologically active substance P (SP) N-terminal metabolite SP_1–7 has been reported to modulate several neural processes such as learning, locomotor activity and reaction to opioid withdrawal. Although all these processes are believed to be associated with dopaminergic transmission no evidence of an interaction between SP_1–7 and dopamine in the case of morphine withdrawal has so far been reported. Therefore, in this work we applied in vivo microdialysis to investigate the effect of SP_1–7 injection into the ventral tegmental area on dopamine release in nucleus accumbens of male rats during naloxone precipitated morphine withdrawal. The result showed that the heptapeptide enhances dopamine release and also elevates the level of the dopamine metabolite dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in this brain area. It was suggested that the observed action of the SP fragment on the dopamine system represents the underlying mechanism for a previously observed ability of SP_1–7 to counteract the aversion response to morphine withdrawal.     

鱼腥草注射液抗内毒素性心肌损伤作用的实验研究

目的:揭示鱼腥草注射液抗内毒素诱导的心肌损伤作用的机制。方法:取SD雄性大鼠24只随机分成正常对照组(NC组,n=6),内毒素组(ET组,n=6),鱼腥草注射液+内毒素组(HHI+ET组,n=6)和单纯鱼腥草注射液组(HHI组,n=6),在Langendorff装置上用Krebs-Henseleit(KH)液对大鼠离体心脏行主动脉逆灌。在相应时点以HR、LVSP、LVEDP、LVDP、+dp/dt_max、-dp/dt_max等6项参数为指标,测定冠脉流出液中的超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性、丙二醛(MDA)含量及心肌组织一氧化氮(NO)含量、琥珀酸脱氢酶(SDH)活性。结果:与ET组相比,HHI+ET组在相应时点,左心室压差与心率乘积(LVSP-LVEDP)×HR、LVDP、+dp/dt_max恢复百分率明显改善,对内毒素诱导的心肌SOD、SDH活性的降低和MDA、NO含量的升高有明显抑制作用。结论:鱼腥草注射液具有明显的抗内毒素心肌损伤作用,通过降低心肌中NO的量,增强心肌的抗氧化能力,稳定心肌酶活性和膜相结构等途径,提高心肌对内毒素性损伤的抵抗力。