[Progress in surgical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombus in the inferior vena cava].

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is one of the most common malignancies of the digestive system,which is prone to be associated with microvascular or macrovascular invasion. Among them,HCC with inferior vena cava tumor thrombus(IVCTT) or right atrium tumor thrombus(RATT) is rare and has a poor prognosis. However,surgical treatment of HCC with IVCTT and (or) RATT is rarely reported and summarized. The review described the classification of HCC tumor thrombus with IVCTT and (or) RATT, summarized the progress of surgical approaches and surgical operations,and introduced a case of thrombectomy after pushing from the outer surface of the atrium,rendering the RATT to the inferior vena cava under non-cardiopulmonary bypass. The review also proposed the prospective treatments for HCC with IVCTT or RATT,providing clinical guidance to hepatobiliary surgeons.

Adjusting lung cancer risks for temporal and spatial variations in radon concentration in dwellings in Gansu Province, China.

Our recent study in Gansu Province, China reported an increasing risk of lung cancer with increasing residential radon concentration that was consistent with previous pooled analyses and with meta-analyses of other residential studies (Wang et al., Am. J. Epidemiol. 155, 554-564, 2002). Dosimetry used current radon measurements (1-year track-etch detectors) in homes to characterize concentrations for the previous 30 years, resulting in uncertainties in exposure and possibly reduced estimates of disease risk. We conducted a 3-year substudy in 55 houses to model the temporal and spatial variability in radon levels and to adjust estimates of radon risk. Temporal variation represented the single largest source of uncertainty, suggesting the usefulness of multi-year measurements to assess this variation; however, substantial residual variation remained unexplained. The uncertainty adjustment increased estimates of the excess odds ratio by 50-100%, suggesting that residential radon studies using similar dosimetry may also underestimate radon effects. These results have important implications for risk assessment.

Functional analysis of a novel male fertility CYP86MF gene in Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis makino).

In our earlier work, a cytochrome P450 CYP86MF gene was isolated from floral bud of Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis Makino, syn. B. rapa L.) by mRNA differential display PCR (DD-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). To unravel the biological function of CYP86MF gene, the antisense fragment from the CYP86MF gene was transferred into Chinese cabbage pak-choi (B. campestris ssp. chinensis var. communis Tsen et Lee). Out of 22 plants transformed with the antisense gene constructed from the CYP86MF, 20 reached to flowering stage. Morphological investigations showed that the transgenic plants developed the normal floral organ. However, they remained self-infertile, even when artificial self-pollination was performed in the bud stage. Pollen germination test indicated that the pollen from the transgenic line TB-2 could not germinate normally. Further physiological, biochemical and cytological analyses showed that only significant difference was detectable in contents of the endogenous hormones, and a layer of unknown material adhered to the surface of microspore. The present studies thus provided valuable clues for understanding the biological function of the CYP86C subfamily genes. Furthermore, our studies also demonstrate a novel method for obtaining artificial male sterility line of Chinese cabbage.

Liver-infiltrating T lymphocytes cause hepatocyte damage by releasing humoral factors via LFA-1/ICAM-1 interaction in immunological liver injury.

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: To explore the mechanisms by which liver-infiltrating T lymphocytes cause hepatocyte damage in the liver injury induced by delayed-type hypersensitivity to picryl chloride. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nonparenchymal cells (NPC) were isolated 12 h after liver injury elicitation and fractionated into Kupffer cell-enriched (Fr. A) and lymphocyte-enriched populations (Fr. B). They were used as the effectors for coculture with hepatocytes. RESULTS: The cells in total NPC and Fr. B harvested at 12 h of liver injury were increased two- and six-fold respectively compared with those at 0 h. Fr. B, mainly including CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, exhibited a significantly stronger hepatotoxicity than total NPC did, while Fr.A did not. NPC at 12 h showed remarkably increased matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 activities indicative of infiltration potential through extracellular matrix. When NPC and hepatocytes were cultured in separated compartments in Transwell chamber, no hepatotoxicity was observed. However, 30 min-pre-contact with hepatocytes as stimulator significantly triggered NPC hepatotoxicity. The acquisition of such hepatotoxic potential was significantly abolished by anti-LFA-1 pretreatment for NPC or anti-ICAM-1 treatment for hepatocytes before contact. Both aprotonin and superoxide dismutase dose-dependently inhibited the hepatotoxicity. CONCLUSIONS: Liver-infiltrating T lymphocytes may be triggered by hepatocytes via LFA-1/ICAM-1 interaction to release toxic substances, such as proteases and oxygen radicals, which consequently lead to the hepatocyte damage.

[Reclamation of the plant regeneration efficiency of Brassica campestris subsp. chinensis var.Parachinensis].

This investigation has developed an efficient and fast method for plant regeneration from petiole of cotyledon explants of Brassica campestris L. subsp. chinensis Makino var. parachinensis Tsen et Lee. A medium was designed for B. campestris subsp. chinensis var. parachinensis to obtain the high frequency of shoot regeneration, which contained BAP 2 mg/L, NAA 0.75-1.0 mgL and 7.5 mg/L AgNO3 solution to the half of NH4+ concentration's MS basic medium. 60 mL/L coconut milk were added to all of media. In this method, frequency of shoot regeneration of "youqing caixin" reached as high as 91.2% and the number of shoots per explant reached as high as 4.7 plants. The result showed that there was a positive correlation between frequency of shoot regeneration and number of shoots per explant. The little shoots could be observed five days after inoculation and were formed directly. The inducing rate of roots of the shoots reached as high as 100% and the rate of viability of transferred mature plant reached higher than 95%. The regeneration period from petiole with cotyledon to a seedling was shorten to about 49 days. Factors influencing in vitro explant regeneration were studied.