The effects of DEHP on morphology and function of progenitor Leydig cell in rat / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects and mechanisms of diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) on morphology and function of progenitor Leydig cells (PLC) in rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty pregnant SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups ( n = 5): normal control group, DEHP low dose group , middle dose group, and high dose group, which were treated from postnatal day (PND) 1 to PND 21 of the pubs with DEHP at the doses of 0, 10, 100, 750 mg/(kg · d) in 0.5 ml of corn oil by gavage respectively. At the end of the treatment, the male pups were killed and blood samples were collected for determination of serum testosterone concentration by chemiluminescence method. The body weight, testis weight and anogenital distance (AGD) were measured. The morphology of PLC was observed by light and transmission electron microscopy. The protein expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein(StAR) in PLC was determined by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA expression of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in the testis was assayed by real-time PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with normal control group, the serum testosterone and AGD of male pubs from the middle and high dose groups were declined significantly (P < 0.01), the testis weight and body weight from high dose group were decreased significantly (P < 0.01), while the testis weight increased in the low dose group (P < 0.05). Under light microscope, PLC showed hyperplasia and cluster aggregation in the low dose group and focal hyperplasia in the middle and high dose group. The spermatogenic cells in seminiferous tubules showed decrease, apoptosis and unfix in the high dose group. Under transmission electron microscope, the PLC showed decreased lipid droplets, smooth endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondriae in the treated group. The mRNA expression of IGF-I increased in the low dose group, and the protein expression of StAR decreased in the middle and high dose group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Lactating exposure to DEHP may interfere with the synthesis of testosterone of PLC in male pubs, the decrease of StAR and the damage of PLC may be involved in it.</p>

The effects of Kangai injection on enzyme activities of macrophages in rats / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of Kangai injection on the enzyme activities of macrophages and morphology of spleen and thymus from rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty four male SD rats were randomly divided into two groups (n = 12), normal control group and experimental group. The rats in experimental group were injected with Kangai injection at the dosage of 5 ml/kg x d for 30 days peritoneally and those in control group were injected with nomal saline at the same volume. The content of supermicro protein was assayed by BCA method, the activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) from alveolar macrophages(AM) and peritoneal macrophages (PM) were detected biochemically. The activities of acid phosphatase (ACP), superoxide dismutase(SOD) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) from AM and PM were detected by ELISA. The morphology of spleen and thymus were observed by light microscopy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The activities of LDH, GSH-Px and iNOS within AM and PM from experimental group were increased significantly compared with those of control group (P < 0.05). The activities of ACP, SOD and SDH in AM and PM from experimental group were also higher than those from control group (P < 0.05). Microscopically, there was thickening of peripheral arterial lymphatic sheath, enlargement of splenic lymphoid nodules with expended germinal center in the spleen of experimental group. There was no significant difference in the mophology of thymus between the two groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Kangai injection may improve immune function by activating macrophages.</p>

Sequences analysis of cytochrome C oxidase subunit I gene in Aedes albopictus from different geographic strains in China / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the sequences of cytochrome C oxidase subunit I gene (COI) in Aedes albopictus from different geographic strains in China and to discuss the differences in susceptibility among different geographic strains to dengue virus (DV).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>COI was amplified with polymerase chain reaction method and sequenced from its genomic DNA. Molecular phylogenetic trees were constructed with Neighbor-Joining method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Sequence length of COI fragment in each geographic strains was 415 bp. The rates of shift and reverse of base pairs in Simao strain were 1.93% and 0.24% respectively. The rate of shift in Mawei and Nanning strains was 0.48%. The analyses of phylogenetic of COI sequences showed that there was close relationship between Simao strain in Yunnan and Mawei strain in Guizhou and between Mawei strain and Nanning strain in Guangxi.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The susceptibility was widely related to many factors including genetic and environmental ones. COI in Aedes albopictus from different geographic strains in China belonged to the same gene type. There were no direct correlations between COI gene type in different geographic strains and susceptibility to DV.</p>