LINC00665 knockdown protects against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.

LINC00665 has been reported to participate in several human diseases. However, the role of LINC00665 in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (CI/R) is still unknown. This study is designed to investigate the role of LINC00665 in rats with CI/R injury. We established middle cerebral artery occlusion/ reperfusion (MCAO/R) rats model in vivo. PC12 cells treated with oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) were used to establish in vitro I/R model. RT-qPCR assay was adopted to assess the mRNA expression of LINC00665 and miR-744-5p. MTT assay was used to determine cell viability. The protein expression of Bax and Bcl-2 were detected by Western blot assay. The relationship between LINC00665 and miR-744-5p was confirmed by dual luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP). In this study, we found that LINC00665 was sharply up regulated in MCAO/R rats and PC12 cells treated with I/R. Functionally, LINC00665 knockdown attenuated oxidative damage in PC12 cells treated with I/R. Moreover, LINC00665 knockdown promoted cell viability, while inhibited cell apoptosis in PC12 cells treated with I/R. In addition, miR-744-5p was confirmed to be a target of LINC00665. LINC00665 knockdown was validated to project CI/R injury by sponging miR-744-5p expression.

[Surgical results of neck reconstruction in esophageal cancer located at and above the high mid-thoracic segment--a report of 414 cases].

From July 1960 through 1990, a total of 414 patients with esophageal carcinoma, including cervical 29 cases, upper thoracic 239 cases and high mid-thoracic 146 cases, were operated on with reconstruction in neck. The overall resectability rate was 90.8%. The incidences of anastomotic leakage and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury were 20.5% and 12%, respectively. The resection mortality was 7.4% (within 30 days postoperatively). The 1-, 3-, 5-, 10- and 15-years survival rates were 72.3%, 39.5%, 33.1%, 26.6% and 20.5%, respectively. The authors consider that cervical esophagogastrostomy for reconstruction of esophagus after subtotal esophagectomy is an important method and a routine operative type for the surgical management of esophageal cancer at or above high mid-thoracic segment. The main factors influencing the postoperative long-term results were p-TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and the type of resection, either palliative or curative. The preoperative irradiation might remarkably increase resectability, but hardly improved long-term survival.

Presence of multiple sodium-dependent phosphate transport processes in proximal brush-border membrane.

Renal brush-border membrane phosphate transport was studied in early and late segments of the pig proximal tubule. Vesicles were prepared from early proximal tubules (outer cortical tissue) and late proximal tubules (outer medullary tissue). Sodium-dependent phosphate uptake into brush-border membrane vesicles was determined using voltage clamp at 5-6 s, 21 degrees C. Sodium-dependent D-glucose uptake was determined to verify the cortical and medullary tissue cuts. At pH 8.0 (pHi = pHo), two sodium-dependent phosphate transport systems were evident in the early proximal tubule: a high-affinity system [Km, 0.06 +/- 0.01 mM; maximal transport activity (Vmax), 3.6 +/- 1.1 nmol X mg protein-1 X min-1] and a low-affinity system (Km, 4.11 +/- 0.02 mM; Vmax, 9.7 +/- 0.7 nmol X mg protein-1 X min-1). In the late proximal tubule at pH 8.0, only a single high-affinity transport process (Km, 0.19 +/- 0.7 mM; Vmax, 3.4 +/- 0.5 nmol X mg protein-1 X min-1) was evident. D-Glucose kinetics at pH 7.0 revealed both a high-affinity (Km, 0.55 +/- 0.09 mM) and a low-affinity (Km, 20.09 +/- 1.39 mM) system in the early proximal segment and a single high-affinity (Km, 1.27 +/- 0.36 mM) process in the late segment. These data suggest that two systems, distinct in their affinities and capacities, are involved in both D-glucose and phosphate transport across the brush-border membrane of the early proximal tubule, but that only a single high-affinity system is present in the late segment.

pH gradient-stimulated phosphate transport in outer medullary brush-border membranes.

Phosphate transport was studied in brush-border membrane vesicles prepared from outer medullary tissue of the porcine kidney. Phosphate uptake studies were performed in the absence of sodium at 21 degrees C. A 1.2- to 12-fold overshoot, above equilibrium values, was present with intracellular pH (pHin) equal to 8.0 and extracellular pH (pHout) equal to 6.5, which was not evident at pHin = pHout. Concentration-dependence of the pH-stimulate uptake was determined by the difference of uptake in the absence of a pH gradient (pHin = pHout) from that in the presence of a pH gradient over a large range of phosphate concentrations. The uptake was consistent with a single facilitative system characterized by apparent kinetic parameters; with Michaelis constant 149 +/- 11 microM and maximal velocity 4.9 +/- 0.4 nmol.mg protein-1.min-1, n = 3. Phosphate uptake was inhibited by the stilbene derivative 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid with a mean inhibition constant (Ki) value of 0.15 mM (n = 2). In addition, pH gradient-stimulated phosphate uptake was sensitive to furosemide and bumetanide; Ki values of 0.50 +/- 0.05 and 0.11 +/- 0.04 mM, respectively. Arsenate (1 mM) and phosphonoformate (1 mM) inhibited pH-dependent phosphate uptake, whereas sulfate (5 mM), bicarbonate (25 mM), and chloride (100 mM) were without effect, indicating that the transport system is relatively specific to phosphate and its close analogues. pH gradient-stimulated phosphate uptake was not influenced by potassium-diffusional gradients. The data provide evidence for a facilitative process in brush-border membrane vesicles isolated from outer medullary tissue of the pig kidney that is capable of transporting phosphate in the absence of sodium.

Centrifugation of salvaged pump blood is useful in reducing the amount of heparin re-infused into the patient.

Conservation of blood and blood products are of major concern in clinical practice today. All blood salvaged from the extracorporeal circuit at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass should be returned to the patient. We propose the use of a simple and inexpensive centrifuge machine to reduce the amount of heparin from the residual pump blood re-infused to the patient. At the same time, the re-infused blood is concentrated. Sixteen patients were prospectively included in this study. The residual pump blood was collected from the bypass circuit and spun at 4,000 rpm for 7 min on the Jouan GR 4.22 machine. The clear upper supernatant was discarded and the remaining concentrated red cells re-infused back to the patient. The heparin concentration and full blood counts of both layers were measured. We found that this method was useful in removing excessive heparin and avoiding the need for additional protamine.