Research progress on targeted SUMOylation inhibitors and their antitumor activity / 药学学报

SUMOylation is an important post-translational modification of proteins. Similar to ubiquitylation, SUMOylation is the process that the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) proteins are specifically and covalently binding to lysine residues of substrate proteins. Through SUMOylation, the physiological functions and pathological processes of cells are well controlled and balanced, and its abnormal activation has been reported in various tumors. Therefore, SUMOylation has been a potential target for anti-tumor drug development. In this review, we summarize recent advances on development of inhibitors targeting SUMOylation pathway and their antitumor properties.

Prospective effect of dietary intake of fat on menarche among girls / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the prospective effect of dietary intake of total fat and fatty acids on menarcheal timing among girls,and to provide a theoretical basis for preventing the early puberty development of Chinese children.@*Methods@#Using the data from 1997-2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), 1 240 girls aged 6-13 with menarche information, baseline dietary survey data and at least one follow up assessment were selected. Cox regression analysis was performed to examine the prospective effect of dietary intake of total fat and fatty acids before menarche on age at menarche.@*Results@#The mean baseline age of the participants was (8.3±1.8). After adjustment for year of birth, residence, household income, dietary energy intake and body mass index Z score at baseline, girls in the highest quartile of intake of total fat and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) had a 30% and 34% higher probability of experiencing menarche at an earlier age than those in the lowest quartile [ HR(HR 95%CI )=1.30 (1.01~1.68)，1.34(1.05~1.70)]. After adjusting for the confounders, there were no correlations between the intake of saturated fatty acid (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and the onset of menarche [ HR(HR 95%CI )=1.24(0.98~1.58),1.25(0.97~ 1.62 )]( P >0.05).@*Conclusion@#Higher dietary intake of total fat and PUFA before menarche may lead to earlier age at menarche and no correlation between intake of SFA and MUFA before menarche with age at menarche is found among Chinese girls.

Study on patterns and characteristics of in vivo tissue distribution of anti-inflammatory extract of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum aerial part in healthy and inflammatory pathological model rats / 中国中药杂志

The concentrations of seven anti-inflammatory components in blood and tissues were determined by UPLC-MS/MS after oral administration of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum aerial part(THAA) in healthy and inflammatory pathological model rats. The determination was carried out by using positive and negative ion switching technique, and multiple reaction monitoring(MRM) mode. The tissue distributions of the seven components in different physiological states were compared, and the patterns and characteristics of the effective components of THAA were studied. The results revealed that the seven effective components have large drug-time-curve areas(AUC) in heart, brain, small intestine, and stomach in both normal rats and inflammatory pathological model rats. This suggests that the anti-inflammatory effective component groups in THAA extract can all penetrate the blood-brain barrier, and have a large distribution area in gastrointestinal tract. It is inferred that gastrointestinal reabsorption may be one of the causes of the bimodal distribution of the drug-time curve of the drug blood distribution graph. As compared to normal rats, the effective component groups in THAA extract have higher drug-time curve area(AUC) in heart, brain, small intestine, stomach, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, and muscle of inflammatory pathological model rats. Among them, the effective component groups have the largest distribution area in heart, brain, small intestine, and stomach. This suggests that the binding force of organ tissues and drugs in the body may change under pathological conditions. It is speculated that the heart, brain, small intestine, and stomach may be the target tissues of THAA to produce anti-inflammatory effect. The retention times of THAA effective component groups in various organ tissues of rats in different physiological states are all relatively short, and do not have much difference. This suggests that no effective component accumulates in body, and that the pathological state of inflammation does not affect the onset times of the effective component groups. This experiment elucidates the patterns and characteristics of the in vivo target-effecting tissue distribution of THAA anti-inflammatory extract, and provides an experimental basis for clinical treatment.

Ciclesonide inhibits Zika virus replication in vitro / 药学学报

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging mosquito-borne virus that is associated with severe congenital brain malformations in the fetus and Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. However, there are currently no drugs or preventive vaccines approved for ZIKV infection. Here, ciclesonide has been found significantly against ZIKV activity by plaque and cytotoxicity assays in vitro, and its 50% effective concentration (EC50) to ZIKV SZ01 and MR766 are (0.40 ± 0.22) and (1.59 ± 1.08) μmol·L-1, respectively. Its 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) to Vero cells are (64.70 ± 7.33) μmol·L-1; Virus yield reduction and Western blot assays showed that ciclesonide can inhibit replication of ZIKV. In addition, ciclesonide can also inhibit the replication of ZIKV in A549 cells; the results of time of drug addition analysis indicated that ciclesonide mainly acts on the ZIKV RNA synthesis stage. Ciclesonide can also inhibit the internalization of ZIKV. These results indicated that ciclesonide is a potential drug against ZIKV.

The anti-ZIKA virus activity of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate in vitro / 药学学报

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is a nucleoside analogue that has been widely used for clinical treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The aim of this study was to investigate whether TDF has anti-Zika virus (ZIKV) activity in vitro. The inhibitory effect of TDF on ZIKV was detected by plaque reduction assay. Then, the anti-ZIKV activity of TDF at RNA level and protein level was verified by real time quantitative PCR and Western blot. Finally, MTT assay was used to determine the cytotoxicity of TDF. Our results showed that TDF not only reduced the formation of plaque after ZIKV infection, but also inhibited the replication of ZIKV RNA or expression of ZIKV NS2B protein. The 50% effective concentration (EC50) of TDF in inhibition of ZIKV replication were 14.96-27.47 μmol·L-1, while that of ribavirin was 56.01 ± 12.16 μmol·L-1, which served as the positive control. The cytotoxicity of TDF and ribavirin in Vero cells were very low, with their 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) values being greater than 500 μmol·L-1. The therapeutic index of TDF calculated by CC50/EC50 was greater than 18.20, which was significantly higher than that of ribavirin. The results suggest that TDF has good anti-ZIKV activity in vitro and is expected to become a candidate drug for anti-ZIKV therapy.

Research Progress on the Risk Factors and Outcomes of Human Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaques / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory process that results in complex lesions or plaques that protrude into the arterial lumen. Carotid atherosclerotic plaque rupture, with distal atheromatous debris embolization, causes cerebrovascular events. This review aimed to explore research progress on the risk factors and outcomes of human carotid atherosclerotic plaques, and the molecular and cellular mechanisms of human carotid atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability for therapeutic intervention.</p><p><b>DATA SOURCES</b>We searched the PubMed database for recently published research articles up to June 2016, with the key words of "risk factors", "outcomes", "blood components", "molecular mechanisms", "cellular mechanisms", and "human carotid atherosclerotic plaques".</p><p><b>STUDY SELECTION</b>The articles, regarding the latest developments related to the risk factors and outcomes, atherosclerotic plaque composition, blood components, and consequences of human carotid atherosclerotic plaques, and the molecular and cellular mechanisms of human carotid atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability for therapeutic intervention, were selected.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>This review described the latest researches regarding the interactive effects of both traditional and novel risk factors for human carotid atherosclerotic plaques, novel insights into human carotid atherosclerotic plaque composition and blood components, and consequences of human carotid atherosclerotic plaque.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Carotid plaque biology and serologic biomarkers of vulnerability can be used to predict the risk of cerebrovascular events. Furthermore, plaque composition, rather than lesion burden, seems to most predict rupture and subsequent thrombosis.</p>

Effect of Small Interfering RNA Silencing the Fatty Acid Synthase Gene on Lipid Metabolism in Human Hepatic Cell Line HepG2 / 中国循环杂志

Objective: To investigate the effect of the gene interfering technology on fatty acid synthase (FAS) gene silencing for lipid contents in human hepatic cell line HepG2 and to study the lipid metabolism related gene expression in HepG2 cells. Methods: A total of 3 pairs of small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting different sequences of FAS mRNA were synthesized as FAS-siRNA-1, FAS-siRNA-2 and FAS-siRNA-3, meanwhile, 2 controls were established as Blank control group, in which HepG2 cells were not treated, and Negative control group, in which HepG2 cells were transfected by non-effective siRNA. The mRNA, and protein expression levels of FAS in HepG2 cells were examined by real-time lfuorescence quantitative RCR and Western blot analysis to screen the most effective pair of siRNA for FAS gene silencing; and that speciifc siRNA was transtected to HepG2 cells for 48 hours to detect the intra-/extra-cellular TG, TC levels and the mRNA expression related to lipid metabolism in HepG2 cells. Results: The screening experiment indicated that FAS-siRNA-3 was most effective for FAS gene silencing. Compared with Blank control group, the mRNA and protein expressions in FAS-siRNA-3 transfected HepG2 cells (Transfected group)decreased to (52.33 ± 3.07) % and (51.57 ± 3.14) % respectively. Compared with Blank control group, Transfected group had the reduced intra-/extra-cellular TG levels and reduced extracellular TC level; while increased mRNA expression of hepatic lipase,P<0.0001 and decreased mRNA expression of TG transfer protein in HepG2 microsome,P<0.05. Conclusion: FAS gene silencing could signiifcantly decrease the intra-/extra- cellular TG level and extracellular TC level in HepG2 cells, those ifndings need to be conifrmed by furtherin vivo andin vitro studies.

Coxsackievirus B3 infection induced viral myocarditis by regulating the expression pattern of chemokines in cardiac myocytes

Viral myocarditis is a common cardiovascular disease, which has greatly threatened human health. However, up to now, the pathogenesis of viral myocarditis has been unclear, which leads to the lack of its effective treatments. To investigate the role of chemokines in pathogenesis of viral myocarditis, mRNA expression for a panel of 19 chemokines detected by RT-PCR in myocardial tissue of BALB/c mice that were inoculated intraperitoneally with coxsackievirus B3. Moreover primary cultured cardiac myocytes were infected with coxsackievirus B3 following extraction of RNA, from myocytes the expression of 19 chemokines was detected by by RT-PCR. Our results showed that there was much difference in the expression pattern of chemokines in myocardial tissue between infected mice with viral myocarditis and uninfected control mice. The expression of chemokines was varied significantly in clusters in myocardium post coxsackievirus B3 infection. There were also complexity and imbalance in the change of the expression of chemokines. In the meantime, Coxsackievirus B3 infection also influenced the expression pattern of chemokines in cardiac myocytes in vitro. However the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 alone was upregulated in cardiac myocytes post coxsackievirus B3 infection in the 19 detected chemokines. The chemokine expression pattern changed in complexity and imbalance manner both in myocardium and in primary cultured cardiac myocytes after coxsackievirus B3 infection. Coxsackievirus B3 infection may start viral myocarditis by regulating the expression pattern of chemokines in cardiac myocytes. MCP-1 may be one of key chemokines in the initial stage of viral myocarditis

Protective effect of gypenosides on primarily cultured fetal rat mesencepimlic dopaminergic neurons / 中华神经医学杂志

Objective To explore the protective effect of gypenosides (GPs) on primarily cultured mesencephalic dopaminergic (DA) neurons in embryonic rats. Methods Ventral mesencephalic neurons were primarily cultured in the presence of GPs at the concentrations of 100, 200, 400, and 800 μg/ml, with culture medium as the blank control and nerve growth factor (NGF) as the positive control. At 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h, the cells were observed under inverted microscope and the cell viability was assessed using MTT assay to optimize the concentration of GPs and culture time. The expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons in the 3 groups was detected by immunocytochemical staining. In the cells with or without GPs pretreatment, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) was added, and the cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytomertry and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) observed by immunocytochemical staining. Results MTT assay showed that incubation of the cells with 400 μg/mL GPs for 48 h resulted in the highest cell viability, which was uncomparable with that cell incubated in the presence of NGF (P>0.05). Immunocytochemistry demonstrated a significant increase in TH-positive neurons in GPs and NGF groups as compared with those in the blank control group (P<0.05). In the cells with 400 μg/ml GPs pretreatment, iNOS expression and cell apoptosis rates, as shown by immunocytochemistry and flow cytomertry, were significantly higher than those in the blank control group, but is still obviously lower than those in MPTP-treated cells without GPs pretreatment (P<0.05). Conclusion GPs may offer protective effect on primarily cultured DA neurons from embryonic rats.

High-density lipoprotein attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in mice / 生理学报

High-density lipoprotein (HDL), an abundant plasma lipoprotein, has been thought to be anti-inflammatory in both health and infectious diseases. It binds lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and neutralizes its bioactivity. The present study aimed to investigate the potential role of HDL, which was separated from human plasma, in LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice. Kunming mice (18-22 g) were treated with either HDL (70 mg/kg body weight, via tail vein) or saline 30 min after LPS administration (10 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneally) and were decapitated 6 h after LPS challenge. The arterial blood was collected and analyzed for blood gas variables (PaO(2), pH, and PaCO(2)). The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were analyzed for total protein concentration, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, and white blood cell (WBC) count. The lung samples were taken for histopathological evaluation and for determination of lung wet-to-dry weight ratio (W/D), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) content. Arterial blood gas analysis showed that after LPS challenge, HDL-treated mice exhibited a higher PaO(2), and pH, but a lower PaCO(2) than HDL-untreated ones (P<0.01). LPS-induced increases in total protein concentration, WBC number and LDH activity in BALF were significantly attenuated in HDL-treated mice (P<0.01). HDL treatment also resulted in a significant protection of lung tissues against LPS-induced acute lung injury via decreasing W/D ratio, MPO activity, MDA content, and the content of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α (P<0.05, P<0.01). Histological examination revealed that HDL treatment resulted in significantly lower scores of acute lung injury induced by LPS, with reduced hemorrhage, intra-alveolar edema and neutrophilic infiltration (P<0.01). It is suggested that HDL plays a protective role in attenuating LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice.

Expression of target gene in eukaryotic cells driven by prokaryotic T7 promoter and its RNA polymerase / 生物工程学报

To enhance the efficiency of the expression of target gene in eukaryotic cells, one of the strongest prokaryotic expression systems, the T7 RNA polymerase and T7 promoter, was introduced into eukaryotic cells. A duel-plasmid gene expression system of T7 bacteriophage components was developed; one containing the T7 phage RNA polymerase gene under the control of eukaryotic promoter CMV (pCMV-T7pol) and the other (pT7IRES) containing the T7 promoter and T7 terminator as well as EMCV IRES. To test the feasibility of this plasmid system for eukaryotic expression, hepatitis B virus envelop HBV preS2/S was used to construct pT7IRES-HBs. The target genes were expressed efficiently by the eukaryonized prokaryotic expression system in a variety of the cells indicating C2C12, SP2/0, NIH3T3 and BALB/c 3T3, suggesting the potential applications of the expression system in gene therapy and gene immunization.

Anti-tumor effect of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate effects of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies on growth of tumor in vitro and in vivo.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>BALB/c mice were inoculated with inactivated tumor cells and challenged s.c. with SP 2/0 and Wehi 164 tumor cells four weeks after the last inoculation. The naïve mice were inoculated with SP 2/0 tumor cells immediately after incubating with sera derived from the immunized mice at week 6. Then the tumor size was examined. In vitro, the cytotoxicity of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies to tumor cells was analysed. Furthermore, apoptosis of SP 2/0 and Wehi 164 tumor cells induced by anti-dsDNA autoantibodies was examined by FACS.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In vivo study showed that the growth of SP 2/0 and Wehi 164 tumors were inhibited in mice with anti-dsDNA autoantibodies, but not in mice lack of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies. In vitro, apoptosis of SP 2/0 and Wehi 164 tumor cells was induced when the tumor cells were incubated with the sera containing anti-dsDNA autoantibodies. Statistical analysis showed that the ability of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies to induce apoptosis of SP 2/0 and Wehi 164 tumor cells was significantly correlated with affinity (r = 0.990, P < 0.01 and r = 0.901, P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Anti-dsDNA autoantibodies have inhibitory effect on tumor cells via inducing apoptosis.</p>

Relations between the expression of cyclin E, p16ink4, ki67 and HPV16/18 infection in cervical exfoliated cells / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To confirm the relations between the expression of cyclin E, p16ink4, ki67 and HPV16/18 infection using cervical exfoliated cells, and evaluate the usefulness of cyclin E, p16ink4 and ki67 as biomarkers for screening of cervical carcinomas.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression of cyclin E, p16ink4 oncoproteins and ki67 proliferative activity was evaluated immunohistochemically in 78 cervical exfoliated epithelial specimens. Human papillomavirus type16 and 18 (HPV16/18) infection was assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using type specific primers.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Cyclin E, p16ink4 and ki67 were all overexpressed in cervical preneoplasia and neoplasia cells, compared with little expressed in ASCUS (P less than 0.005). Overexpression of cyclin E was observed in CIN, (P less than 0.01), p16ink4 and ki67 overexpressed in invasive carcinoma(100 percent and 90.9 percent respectively). The degree of p16ink4 and ki67 expression correlated well with the degree of cervical neoplasia (P less than 0.005). HPV16 infection was assessed at all stages of cervical neoplasia samples, and a significant relationship with the degree of cervical epithelial lession was observed at the same time. The expression level of p16ink4 and ki67 seemed to be more closely associated with HPV16 infection than cyclin E did (rs=1.0 vs rs=0.4). HPV18 was found positive in only 1 case in CIN1 and in 4 cases in CIN2-3. Therefore no significance was found on statistical analysis (P less than 0.005).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Cyclin E, p16ink4 and ki67 should be regarded as useful biomarkers of HPV-related cervical neoplasias, and be used for screening patients at high risk for developing cervical carcinomas. Moreover, cyclin E might be a significant cytologic marker for the primary screening of cervical carcinomas.</p>

The role of CXCL16 in immunological liver injury induced by BCG and LPS in mice / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the pathophysiological role of CXCL16 in immunological liver injury induced by Bacille de Calmette et Guerin (BCG) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Immunological liver injury was induced by BCG and LPS in mice, and the expression of CXCL16 was detected in the liver tissues by real-time quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical examination. The relationship of the expression of CXCL16 and the extent of hepatic necrosis was investigated histopathologically and immunohistochemically. Mononuclear cells were isolated from the liver tissues and their numbers were counted; T lymphocytes populations in the liver tissue were also analyzed with FACS.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The immunological liver injury model was successfully created. Up-regulation of CXCL16 in injured livers correlated with the extent of liver injury and the amountmononuclear cell infiltrations.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These findings suggest that up-regulation of CXCL16 was closely correlated with liver injury extent during the immunological liver injury induced by BCG-LPS in mice, and intrahepatic recruitment of specific lymphocytes might be an important mechanism of liver injury.</p>

Effects of astragalus polysaccharides-chitosan/polylactic acid composite material on biological behavior of canine bone marrow stromal cells cultured in vitro / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the biological behavior of canine bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) cultured in vitro with the astragalus polysaccharides-chitosan/polylactic acid (AP-C/PLA) and with the chitosan/polylactic acid (C/PLA) and to find a suitable compound material for periodontal tissue engineering.@*METHODS@#BMSCs (induced 14 days by 50 mg/L vitamine C, 10(-8) mol/L dexamethasone, 10 mmol/L beta-sodium glycerylphosphate) were cultured on AP-C/PLA or C/PLA for 5 days respectively. The BMSCs attachment and the morphology were observed with scanning electronic microscope and the combining rates were counted. Type I collagen synthesis was examined with immunohistochemistry staining and the content of osteocalin was determined with radio-immunological method.@*RESULTS@#Combining rates, type I collagen synthesis, and the content of osteocalin of BMSCs on AP-C/PLA were significantly higher than those on C/PLA.@*CONCLUSION@#AP-C/PLA may promote the BMSC proliferation, differentiation and extracellular matrix synthesis, and it can be used as a good scaffold material for bone tissue engineering.

Repair of hard cleft palate with absorbable membranes made by poly-DL-lactic acid: a feasibility study / 华西口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the feasibility and clinical results of applying poly-DL-lactic acid (PDLLA) biomembranes in cleft palate repair.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>68 cleft palate patients were divided into study group and control group. The traditional surgical method was used to control group to close the soft cleft palate, and the PDLLA biomembrane was used to study group and implanted into the surgical gap between the periosteum and bone at the hard palate, and fixed with suture. The duration, blood loss at operation, post-operative complication, wound healing and recovery were recorded and compared to conventional cleft palate repair.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Operations were successfully completed on all 34 patients. Wound healing of soft palate and uvula was uneventful with no incidence of fistula or dehiscence. The primary healing on tissue defect of hard palate occurred in 29 patients, secondary healing occurred in 3 patients, permanent fistula between the oral cavity and the nasal cavity occurred in only one patients, and 3 patients left over fistula on alveolar process. Compared to traditional cleft palate repair, blood loss and incidence of fistula on alveolar process were decreased; the average surgical time was 89.25 minutes and was not prolonged; and there was no significant increase in post-operative complication.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Hard cleft palate repair with PDLLA biomembranes is safe, simple and practical with good clinical results and is beneficial to minimize the bad influences towards the development and growth for maxilla of cleft palate patients.</p>

Differential susceptibility of naïve versus cloned CD4+ T cells to antigen-specific and MHC-restricted anergy induction / 生理学报

T cell anergy has been successfully induced under different conditions in cloned CD4(+) T cells, but induction of T cell anergy in vivo has been difficult and controversial. Due to the low frequency of naturally occurring T cell population with specificity to a defined antigen, it is very difficult to study anergy of naïve T cells without prior in vivo priming which complicates the interpretation of experimental data. To solve this problem, we adopted the HNT-TCR transgenic mice which have homogeneous antigen specific CD4(+) T cell population. In this study, we generated an influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) peptide-specific CD4(+) T cell clone from the HNT-TCR transgenic mice and induced anergy using APCs which were treated with the crosslinker, ECDI (1-ethyl-3-3(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide). The proliferative response of the cloned or freshly purified naïve CD4(+) transgenic T cells after treatment with ECDI-treated APCs and the HA peptide antigen was monitored as the index of anergy induction. The results showed that anergy was successfully induced in the cloned HNT-TCR transgenic CD4(+) T cells. It was determined that the induced anergy was antigen- and MHC-specific. By contrast, anergy was not observed in freshly purified naïve CD4(+) transgenic T cells under the same conditions. The results suggest that naïve CD4(+) T cells may have different anergy inducing requirements, or that cloned CD4(+) T cells may have certain priming or in vitro cloning artifact which makes them more susceptible to anergy induction. We propose that induction of T cell anergy may depend on the T cell growth, activation and differentiation state or cloning conditions. The results from the present study may have important implications for the study of the mechanism(s) underlying T cell anergy induction in vivo and for applications of immune tolerance based therapy.

Synergistic regulation of the acute phase protein SIP24/24p3 by glucocorticoid and pro-inflammatory cytokines / 生理学报

SIP24/24p3 is a secreted murine acute phase protein which has been speculated to play an anti-inflammatory role in vivo. Recently SIP24/24p3 has been found to be able to specifically induce apoptosis in leukocytes. By using (35)S metabolic labeling method, we studied the regulation of SIP24/24p3 by glucocorticoid and pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-alpha in cultured Balb/c 3T3 and BNL cells. The following results were observed: (1) dexamethasone induced the expression of SIP24/24p3 in both Balb/c 3T3 and BNL cells, the induction was more significant in BNL cells; (2) dexamethasone and IL-6 synergistically induced the expression of SIP24/24p3 in both Balb/c 3T3 and BNL cells; (3) in Balb/c 3T3 cells dexamethasone and TNF-alpha acted synergistically to induce the expression of SIP24/24p3, whereas in BNL cells dexamethasone and TNF-alpha induced the expression of SIP24/24p3 in an additive manner; (4) dexamethasone and IL-6/TNF-alpha acted synergistically in Balb/c 3T3 cells and additively in BNL cells to induce the expression of SIP24/24p3. The inducibility of SIP24/24p3 by multiple factors will help to explain its highly specific expression in vivo. The difference in the expression patterns of SIP24/24p3 in different cell types is also suggestive to its expression and regulation in hepatic and extrahepatic tissues. Finally, the fact that SIP24/24p3 protein can be induced by both pro-inflammatory as well as anti-inflammatory factors is indicative of the important role of SIP24/24p3 in the entire acute phase response process.

Influence of super high molecular weight poly D,L-lactic acid on viability and new bone formation of osteoblasts / 中华口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the influence of the viability and new bone formation of osteoblasts by the super high molecular weight poly D,L-lactic acid (SHMW-PDLLA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>1. The osteoblasts derived from neonatal rat were grown and maintained at steep of SHMW-PDLLA and normal culture medium. The viability and function of the osteoblasts were measured with MTT array. 2. The plate and screws made of SHMW-PDLLA were implanted and fixed at the artificial fractured mandible of dogs. Specimens were gained at 3 and 6 months and examined with macroscopy and SEM.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>1. There is no significant difference of OD values between the experimental group and the control group (P > 0.05). The SHMW-PDLLA isn't toxic to osteoblast at 1 week and 2 weeks, and the toxicity is 3% at 3 days. 2. There were a lot of new bone formed between the implanted SHMW-PDLLA plate and bone tissues under SEM.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SHMW-PDLLA hasn't pathological influence on the viability and new bone formation of osteoblasts and it is feasible in tissue engineering of bone.</p>

Specifics anti-tumor immunity induced by gene immunization with ectopic hCGbeta encoding gene / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the specific anti-tumor immunity induced by gene immunization with ectopic hCG encoding gene.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>BALB/c mice were immunized with plasmid TR421-hCGbeta coding for hCGbeta and mock DNA for 3 times at 3 weekly intervals. The level of specific anti-hCGbeta IgG antibody in the serum was determined by ELISA at the indicated time in the two groups. The growth inhibitory activity of the sera against tumor cells was examined in vitro by [(3)H]-Thymidine incorporation assay. Specific lympho-proliferation versus hCGbeta was detected by [(3)H]-Thymidine incorporation assay with hCGbeta protein or inactivated SP2/0-hCGbeta cells as specific stimulating antigen. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity of the splenocytes derived from the immunized mice was measured by [(3)H]-Thymidine release assay. Protective assay was performed by subcutaneous inoculation of SP2/0-hCGbeta cells into the immunized mice. The weight and formation rate of the tumor were evaluated after challenge.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All mice immunized with plasmid TR421-hCGbeta developed high level of anti-hCGbeta antibodies, which could inhibit the growth of Hela cells and SP2/0-hCGbeta cells compared with the serum from animals immunized with mock DNA (P < 0.05). The high-level specific lympho-proliferation against hCGbeta protein or/and inactivated SP2/0-hCGbeta cells were shown in TR421-hCGbeta immunized mice, whereas no significant proliferative activity was found in mock DNA immunized animals (P < 0.01). A strong cytotoxic activity against SP2/0-hCGbeta in TR421-hCGbeta immunized mice was found. Inoculation of SP2/0-hCGbeta cells into the mice immunized with mock DNA developed large tumors within 25 days. But a marked reduction of tumor weight and formation rate was found after the tumor cells challenge in the mice immunized with TR421-hCGbeta plasmid DNA (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The gene immunization of ectopic hCGbeta encoding gene, eliciting high-level of specific humoral and cellular immune responses, could inhibit the growth of tumor cells harboring ectopic hCGbeta in vitro and in vivo.</p>