Nerve injury alters profile of receptor-mediated Ca2+ channel modulation in vagal afferent neurons of rat nodose ganglia

Although nerve injury is known to up- and down-regulate some metabotropic receptors in vagal afferent neurons of the nodose ganglia (NG), the functional significance has not been elucidated. In the present study, thus, we examined whether nerve injury affected receptor-mediated Ca2+ channel modulation in the NG neurons. In this regard, unilateral vagotomy was performed using male Sprague-Dawley rats. One week after vagotomy, Ca2+ currents were recorded using the whole-cell variant of patch-clamp technique in enzymatically dissociated NG neurons. In sham controls, norepinephrine (NE)-induced Ca2+ current inhibition was negligible. Following vagotomy, however, the NE responses were dramatically increased. This phenomenon was in accordance with up-regulation of alpha2A/B-adrenergic receptor mRNAs as quantified using real-time RT-PCR analysis. In addition, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and prostaglandin E2 responses were moderately augmented in vagotomized NG neurons. The altered NPY response appears to be caused by up-regulation of Y2 receptors negatively coupled to Ca2+ channels. In contrast, nerve injury significantly suppressed opioid (tested with DAMGO)-induced Ca2+ current inhibition with down-regulation of micro-receptors. Taken together, these results demonstrated for the first time that the profile of neurotransmitter-induced Ca2+ channel modulation is significantly altered in the NG neurons under pathophysiological state of nerve injury.     

Determination of burn depth by polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

An assessment of burn depth is a key step in guiding the treatment of patients who have sustained thermal injuries. Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) might eventually provide the physician with a quantitative estimate of actual burn depth. Burns of various depths were induced by contacting rat skin with a brass rod preheated to 75 degrees C for 5, 15, or 30 s. Thermal injury denatured the collagen in the skin, and PS-OCT imaged the resulting reduction of birefringence through the depth-resolved changes in the polarization state of light propagated and reflected from the sample. Stokes vectors were calculated for each point in the PS-OCT images and the reduction in the rate of phase retardation between two orthogonal polarizations of light (deg/microm) was found to show a consistent trend with burn exposure time. PS-OCT is a noninvasive technique with potential to give the physician the information needed to formulate an optimal treatment plan for burn patients.     

Human papillomavirus typing with a polymerase chain reaction-based genotyping array compared with type-specific PCR

BACKGROUND: Type-specific persistence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection can cause invasive cervical cancer. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of HPV detection and typing with a general polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based genotyping array and to compare it with a type-specific PCR assay. STUDY DESIGN: Four hundred and thirty-three cervical samples were tested with a modified MY11/GP6+ PCR-based reverse-blot assay (EasyChip HPV Blot; King Car, Taiwan [hereafter HPV Blot]) and with 20 genotypes of L1-type-specific PCR (HPV-6, -11, -16, -18, -31, -33, -35, -39, -45, -51, -52, -53, -56, -58, -59, -62, -66, -68, -70, and -71 [CP8061]). RESULTS: The concordance of the two tests in determining HPV positivity was 96.8% (419/433), with a Cohen's kappa=0.93 (95% CI: 0.90-0.97) and McNemar's test of P=1.0, which indicates excellent agreement. The overall concordance of the two tests in the identification of type-specific HPV was 91.0% (394/433). Sensitivity (90-100%), specificity (99.2-100%), and accuracy (98.6-100%) rates of HPV Blot against the gold standard were satisfactory for HPV-16, -18, -58, -33, -52, -39, -45, -31, -51, -70 while HPV-71 (63.6%) had suboptimal sensitivity. Though the kappa values between the two tests for many individual genotypes could not be reliably calculated because of low positivity, the kappa values for HPV-16, -52, and -58 were excellent (0.93, 0.96, and 0.95, respectively). CONCLUSION: The modified MY11/GP6+ PCR-based HPV Blot assay is accurate and sensitive for detection and genotyping of HPV in cervical swab samples.     

从频率因素分析振动对小白鼠体内~（125）Ⅰ－碘化钠的分布影响

本文系统地观察了不同频率的全身振动引起小白鼠对１２５Ｉ－碘化钠的吸收与分布作用。用放射免疫方法测定小白鼠体内不同组织中碘化钠的分布密度（ｃｐｍ／ｋｇ）。结果发现，振动能明显促进小白鼠对碘化钠的吸收速度。其中，心脏组织、肝脏组织、血液和肾脏组织中碘化钠的分布密度较对照组明显增多。且分布密度的大小依赖于振动频率的高低。同时，振动还能加快碘化钠在小鼠体内的耗散过程。     

Organ distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in SARS patients: implications for pathogenesis and virus transmission pathways

We previously identified the major pathological changes in the respiratory and immune systems of patients who died of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) but gained little information on the organ distribution of SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). In the present study, we used a murine monoclonal antibody specific for SARS-CoV nucleoprotein, and probes specific for a SARS-CoV RNA polymerase gene fragment, for immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, respectively, to detect SARS-CoV systematically in tissues from patients who died of SARS. SARS-CoV was found in lung, trachea/bronchus, stomach, small intestine, distal convoluted renal tubule, sweat gland, parathyroid, pituitary, pancreas, adrenal gland, liver and cerebrum, but was not detected in oesophagus, spleen, lymph node, bone marrow, heart, aorta, cerebellum, thyroid, testis, ovary, uterus or muscle. These results suggest that, in addition to the respiratory system, the gastrointestinal tract and other organs with detectable SARS-CoV may also be targets of SARS-CoV infection. The pathological changes in these organs may be caused directly by the cytopathic effect mediated by local replication of the SARS-CoV; or indirectly as a result of systemic responses to respiratory failure or the harmful immune response induced by viral infection. In addition to viral spread through a respiratory route, SARS-CoV in the intestinal tract, kidney and sweat glands may be excreted via faeces, urine and sweat, thereby leading to virus transmission. This study provides important information for understanding the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV infection and sheds light on possible virus transmission pathways. This data will be useful for designing new strategies for prevention and treatment of SARS.     

针刺对多囊卵巢综合征大鼠卵巢TGF-α、EGFR表达的影响

目的:研究针刺对多囊卵巢综合征(PCOS)大鼠卵巢转化生长因子α(TGF-α)、表皮生长因子受体(EGFR)表达的影响,探讨针刺促排卵的作用机制。方法:24日龄雌性大鼠颈背部皮下注射脱氢表雄酮(DHEA)的油溶液制作(PCOS)模型,对照组同期皮下注射油剂。PCOS大鼠随机分为模型组和针刺组。模型组不作处理,针刺组大鼠从80日龄起针刺关元、中极、双侧三阴交、双侧子宫穴,1次/天,15min/次,连续6周。治疗结束后各组大鼠断头处死,迅速取血并分离血清,-20℃冰箱保存,待测性激素水平。摘取双侧卵巢,称重,4%多聚甲醛固定,作HE染色和免疫组织化学染色。结果:与模型组相比,针刺组卵巢湿重、卵巢TGF-α、EGFR表达及血清睾酮(T)、雌二醇(E2)水平均显著降低(P<0.01),而卵泡刺激素(FSH)、黄体生成素(LH)、孕酮(P4)水平差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论:针刺能显著降低PCOS大鼠卵巢TGF-α及EGFR的表达,抑制TGF-α对卵巢和激素合成的作用,改善PCOS大鼠多囊样变和高雄激素血症,促进排卵。     

Preparation and identification of di-block copolymer composed of crystalline poly(ethylene oxide) and noncrystalline poly(vinyl acetate) with well-defined structure

A block copolymer of ethylene oxide (EO) and vinyl acetate (VAc) was prepared by sequential anionic and photo-induced charge transfer polymerization (CTP) using UV sensible p-aminophenoxy end groups on PEO (PEO_a). The structure and composition of this block copolymer (PEO-b-PVAc) were identified in detail. The relationship between polymerization rate (R_p) and the concentrations of benzophenone (BP) and monomer, and the effect of the concentration and molecular weight of PEO_a on the polymerization of VAc, are discussed; the relationship R_p ∝ [PEO_a-11000]^0.33 [VAc]^0.28 [BP]^0.47 using benzene as a solvent was derived. The dependence of the thermal properties of PEO-b-PVAc on the length of the PVAc block is described. It turned out that the PEO and PVAc blocks are compatible.     

人类一条新的类蛋白质二硫键异构酶cDNA的克隆和表达

利用SMART技术构建了人胎脑cDNA文库，通过大规模测序筛选出一条1645bp的人类cDNA。此cDNA含有一个888bp的开放阅读框（ORF），编码一个296个氨基酸的蛋白质，预测分子量34．0KD。与目前数据库中序列比较，该cDNA编码的蛋白质与蛋白质二硫键异构酶的同源性达36％，命名为类蛋白质二硫键异构酶（PDI－L）基因，多组织Northern blot分析显示PDI－L cDNA在心、脑、肝肾等组织中均有表达，该cDNA的读框片段正确插入到改造后的pBV220表达载体中，获得了预期的表达蛋白。     

The dependence of nerve regeneration through muscle grafts in the rat on the availability and orientation of basement membrane

Summary Nerve regeneration through grafts of basement membrane matrix, prepared by freezing of autogenous muscle followed by thawing in distilled water, was investigated in Sprague-Dawley rats. Electrophysiological evidence of recovery in distal nerve was observed at 51 days after implantation of treated grafts whose basement membrane tubes were coaxial with the proximal and distal ends of the transected sciatic nerve. This correlated with histological findings of well-developed myelinated nerve fibres within both grafts and distal nerve. However, whereas normal axon numbers were achieved in the grafts by 3 months, the regenerating nerve in these muscle grafts took 6 months to 1 year to recover normal axon diameter and myelination. Recovery was delayed through grafts whose basement membrane tubes were at right angles to the nerve fibres and through grafts of untreated muscle coaxially aligned. It is concluded that successful repopulation of the distal stump and functional recovery can follow nerve regeneration through treated muscle autografts. The rate of regeneration is dependent on the availability of empty basement membrane tubes. If these are unavailable or inappropriately orientated, regeneration can still occur but is significantly delayed.     

A transformation procedure for Botryotinia squamosa

Summary The onion leaf blight fungus, Botrytis squamosa, was transformed to hygromycin B resistance using a plasmid (pDH25) containing a bacterial gene for hygromycin phosphotransferase (hph) fused to promoter elements from Aspergillus. Southern hybridization of transformants indicated that single or multiple copies of the vector were integrated into heterologous regions of the B. squamosa genome. Free plasmid was found in undigested preparations of transformant DNA, but was not detected after 3–5 passages of selective transfer. Most transformants were mitotically stable in both selective and non-selective growth; however, both genetic rearrangements and loss of integrated DNA occurred during vegetative growth.