On the quantification of prothrombin from different species using echis carinatus as activator

The generation of thrombin-like activity from rat, human, bovine and mouse prothrombin by Echis carinatus venom (ECV) treatment was compared using a partially purified system (i.e. whole ECV and isolated prothrombin). A rapid increase in coagulant activity was obtained within 0.5 to 2 min., being constant upon further incubation for 60 min. A large variation in coagulant activity of the ECV generated thrombin from the four species was found, whereas no differences were found for the amidolytic activities. The coagulant activities of the ECV generated thrombin was also low compared with the corresponding thrombin activities obtained by physiological activation. Coagulant activity of the ECV generated thrombin levelled off at increasing concentration of prothrombin in the sample as measured by the one-stage coagulation assay. By measuring amidolytic activity a linear relationship to the concentration of prothrombin was found, however. These findings indicate that ECV converts prothrombin from the four different species to a thrombin-like protein with properties distinct from -thrombin. The lack of linearity in the ECV generated clot activity with increasing concentration of prothrombin could be explained by assuming a dimerization of the thrombin like protein molecules making them less accessible to fibrinogen. The significance of these observations for the quantification of prothrombin from different species is discussed.     

Stage line diagram: An age‐conditional reference diagram for tracking development

This paper presents a method for calculating stage line diagrams, a novel type of reference diagram useful for tracking developmental processes over time. Potential fields of applications include: dentistry (tooth eruption), oncology (tumor grading, cancer staging), virology (HIV infection and disease staging), psychology (stages of cognitive development), human development (pubertal stages) and chronic diseases (stages of dementia). Transition probabilities between successive stages are modeled as smoothly varying functions of age. Age‐conditional references are calculated from the modeled probabilities by the mid‐P value. It is possible to eliminate the influence of age by calculating standard deviation scores (SDS). The method is applied to the empirical data to produce reference charts on secondary sexual maturation. The mean of the empirical SDS in the reference population is close to zero, whereas the variance depends on age. The stage line diagram provides quick insight into both status (in SDS) and tempo (in SDS/year) of development of an individual child. Other measures (e.g. height SDS, body mass index SDS) from the same child can be added to the chart. Diagrams for sexual maturation are available as a web application at http://vps.stefvanbuuren.nl/puberty . The stage line diagram expresses status and tempo of discrete changes on a continuous scale. Wider application of these measures scores opens up new analytic possibilities. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of average flow in ungated 3D phase contrast angiograms

Three dimensional (3D) phase contrast angiograms contain velocity data, which is discarded after the reconstruction of the projections. In extension to earlier work on velocity quantification with ungated 2D phase data, this paper shows that a useful estimate of the average velocity and flow rate can be extracted from ungated 3D phase contrast angiograms. Simulations and experiments in a phantom and in vivo were performed. For pulsatile flow and strong spin saturation, an over-estimation of the flow rate at the net in-flow end of the imaging volume and underestimation at the net out-flow end was observed. Imaging at lower RF tip angles yielded flow rates close to the correct value within the entire imaging volume. In contrast to ungated 2D experiments, the flow rates determined by repeated 3D experiments showed no variation.     

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV is down-regulated in rat hepatoma cells at the mRNA level

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) is a cell surface ectopeptidase that has been implicated in cell-extracellular matrix interactions, lymphocyte growth and the regulation of biological peptides. Previous studies have shown that immunostaining for DPP-IV and DPP-IV enzyme levels is decreased in hepatoma cells and levels have been correlated with the ability of such cells to adhere in vitro. The aim of this paper was to measure DPP-IV enzyme levels in rat hepatoma cells and to examine whether changes were associated with alterations at the mRNA level. The results indicate a greater than 90% reduction in DPP-IV enzyme levels in two rat hepatoma cell lines, HTC and H35, compared with rat hepatocytes. Enzyme levels of the control enzyme leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) were not decreased. mRNA studies indicated that these changes were associated with similar reductions in rat DPP-IV mRNA. It is concluded that DPP-IV is markedly reduced at the protein, enzyme and mRNA levels in rat hepatoma cells. The significance of these changes is unclear but may lead to decreased extracellular matrix interactions by such cells.     

Anti-Oxidative Therapy with Oral Dapsone Improved HCV Antibody Positive Annular Elastolytic Giant Cell Granuloma

A 72-year-old fisherman who was positive for the HCV antibody developed an annular, erythematous, infiltrated lesions on sun-exposed areas. The lesions were diagnosed as annular elastolytic giant cell granuloma both clinically and histologically. Topical corticosteroid and cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen for several months failed to improve the lesions. We then started dapsone, a known anti-oxidant, at 50 mg/day. A month later, the margins of the erythematous lesions faded, and the infiltration gradually decreased. No recurrence has been observed for one year after the start of the therapy. Anti-oxidative therapy appears to be effective for annular elastolytic giant cell granuloma and could be an alternate therapy for refractory granulomatous disease.     

Highly resolved in vivo 1H NMR spectroscopy of the mouse brain at 9.4 T.

An efficient shim system and an optimized localization sequence were used to measure in vivo 1H NMR spectra from cerebral cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and cerebellum of C57BL/6 mice at 9.4 T. The combination of automatic first- and second-order shimming (FASTMAP) with strong custom-designed second-order shim coils (shim strength up to 0.04 mT/cm2) was crucial to achieve high spectral resolution (water line width of 11-14 Hz). Requirements for second-order shim strengths to compensate field inhomogeneities in the mouse brain at 9.4 T were assessed. The achieved spectral quality (resolution, S/N, water suppression, localization performance) allowed reliable quantification of 16 brain metabolites (LCModel analysis) from 5-10-microL brain volumes. Significant regional differences (up to 2-fold, P < 0.05) were found for all quantified metabolites but Asp, Glc, and Gln. In contrast, 1H NMR spectra measured from the striatum of C57BL/6, CBA, and CBA/BL6 mice revealed only small (<13%, P < 0.05) interstrain differences in Gln, Glu, Ins, Lac, NAAG, and PE. It is concluded that 1H NMR spectroscopy at 9.4 T can provide precise biochemical information from distinct regions of the mouse brain noninvasively that can be used for monitoring of disease progression and treatment as well as phenotyping in transgenic mice models.     

RNA干扰及其在胶质瘤基因治疗中的应用

RNA干扰（RNA interference。RNAi）是双链RNA（double—stranded RNA，dsRNA）降解特异性靶基因转录出的mRNA。从而抑制靶蛋白表达的现象。自从二十世纪九十年代发现RNAi这一现象以来，RNAi已被广泛应用于研究基因功能、信号转导通路和基因治疗等方面。随着分子生物学、分子遗传学等学科的发展．发现了许多与肿瘤发生、发展和预后密切相关的基因。经过大量临床前期试验表明，针对特异性靶基因的小干扰RNA（short／small interfering RNA．siRNA）治疗胶质瘤是行之有效的。为基因治疗胶质瘤提供了新的思路。[第一段]     

反义AKT2 RNA抑制U251胶质瘤细胞生长的体内外研究

目的 研究反义AKT2RNA对U251人脑胶质瘤细胞在体内外的生长抑制效用。方法 将逆转录病毒pLXSN为载体的反义AKT2构建体转染U251人脑胶质瘤细胞系，应用蛋白印记确定基因转染前后AKT2的表达水平。流式细胞法与Matrigel基质生长实验评价肿瘤细胞转染前后的增殖活性。进一步应用裸鼠皮下荷瘤模型观察脂质体介导pLXSN、pLXSN-AS-AKT2基因治疗对U251细胞生长抑制作用。在28d的观察期内定期测量皮下肿瘤体积，对肿瘤标本应用免疫组化的方法进行AKT2和胶质纤维酸性蛋白（GFAP）表达比较。结果 脂质体介导pLXSN-AS-AKT2可显著抑制U251细胞AKT2表达。与对照组和pLXSN转染组比较，细胞周期分析结果表明AK—AKT2转染组进入S期的细胞数减少了8．5％～8．9％，而进入G0＋G1期细胞则增加了7．9％～8．6％。Matrigel基质生长实验显示对照组和pLXSN转染组细胞呈正常形态贴壁生长，而AS～AKT2转染组细胞不能贴壁生长，呈团块状簇集生长。裸鼠皮下荷瘤模型实验显示pLXSN-AS-AKT2显著抑制皮下肿瘤生长，组织病理学分析显示AS-AKT2转染组AKT2表达下降而GFAP表达上调。结论 体内外实验证明反义AKT2方法在抗胶质瘤增殖方面作用重要，AKT2可作为基因治疗胶质瘤的优选靶标。     

Cytochrome c mRNA levels decrease in senescent rat heart.

The concentration of mitochondria decrease in the heart as rodents age from maturity to senescence. The reason for this change is not known. One purpose of the present study was to determine if cytochrome c mRNA, representative of proteins of the inner mitochondrial membrane, decreased in the hearts of Fischer 344 rats as they aged from 12 to 24 months. Twenty-two percent less cytochrome c mRNA existed per given quantity of extracted RNA from the heart in 24-month-old rats as compared with the 12-month-old group. No change in the quantities of cardiac -actin mRNA, Ca²⁺/calmodulin protein kinase II mRNA or 18S rRNA was noted between 12- und 24-month-old hearts. Thus, the decrease in cytochrome c mRNA suggests that decreased in mRNAs for proteins of the inner mitochondrial membrane could play some role in the diminished concentration of mitochondria that exists in the senescent heart.