Hint1 gene deficiency enhances the supraspinal nociceptive sensitivity in mice.

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies have indicated a possible role of histidine triad nucleotide-binding protein 1 (HINT1) on sustaining the regulatory crosstalk of N-methyl-D-aspartate acid glutamate receptors (NMDARs) and G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) such as the µ-opioid receptor (MOR). Both receptors are present in the midbrain periaqueductal gray neurons, an area that plays a central role in the supraspinal antinociceptive process. METHODS: In the present study, a battery of pain-related behavioral experiments was applied to Hint1 knockout, heterozygous and wild-type mice. Both the male and female mice were investigated to assess the differences between genders. RESULTS: Hint1-/- mice presented significant shorter latency at 50°C in both male and female in hot plate test while no significant difference was found in tail filck test. In Von Frey hairs test Hint1-/- mice were more sensitive than Hint1+/+ mice, presenting a lower withdrawal threshold and enhanced relative frequency of paw withdrawal. The average flinches and licking time of Hint1-/- mice were more than that of Hint1+/+ mice in formalin test. CONCLUSION: The absence of Hint1 gene-enhanced supraspinal nociceptive sensitivity in mice, including thermal, mechanical and inflammatory hyperalgesia. Meanwhile, there was no certain evidence indicating the haploinsufficiency and gender differences of Hint1 gene in pain-related behaviors.

Polymorphic distribution and forensic effectiveness study of eight miniSTR in Chinese Uyghur ethnic group.

We obtained the allelic frequencies and forensic efficiency data for eight mini short tandem repeat loci including Penta E, D12S391, D6S1043, D2S1338, D19S433, CSF1PO, Penta D and D19S253 loci from a sample of 128 unrelated Uyghur individuals from China. The amplification products of the eight STR loci are <240 bp in size. A total of 94 alleles were observed and the corresponding allelic frequencies ranged from 0.0039 to 0.3438 in the present study. Observed genotype distributions for each locus do not show deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations. The combined power of discrimination, combined power of exclusion and combined matching probability of the eight STR loci equaled to 0.999999999963373, 0.9997770 and 3.6627 × 10(-11), respectively. Because of the small fragment length of PCR products and the high degree of polymorphisms, the eight STR loci are highly beneficial for the forensic analysis of degraded DNA samples which are commonly observed in forensic cases. The STR data of the Uyghur group were compared with the previously published population STR data of other groups from different ethnic or areas, and significant differences were observed among these groups at some loci.

Silencing Prx1 and/or Prx5 sensitizes human esophageal cancer cells to ionizing radiation and increases apoptosis via intracellular ROS accumulation.

AIM: To investigate whether down-regulation of peroxiredoxin 1 (Prx1) and/or peroxiredoxin 5 (Prx5) sensitizes human esophageal cancer cells to ionizing radiation (IR). METHODS: Human esophageal carcinoma cell lines Eca-109 and TE-1 were used. Prx mRNA expression profiles in Eca-109 and TE-1 cells were determined using RT-PCR. Two highly expressed isoforms of Prxs, Prx1 and Prx5, were silenced by RNA interference (RNAi). Following IR, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis were measured using flow cytometry, the activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were measured, and the radiosensitizing effect of RNAi was observed. Tumor xenograft model was also used to examine the radiosensitizing effect of RNAi in vivo. RESULTS: Down-regulation of Prx1 and/or Prx5 by RNAi does not alter the activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, but made human tumor cells more sensitive to IR-induced apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. When the two isoforms were decreased simultaneously, intracellular ROS and apoptosis significantly increased after IR. CONCLUSION: Silencing Prx1 and/or Prx5 by RNAi sensitizes human Eca-109 and TE-1 cells to IR, and the intracellular ROS accumulation may contribute to the radiosensitizing effect of the RNAi.

[The reproductive system impairment of adult male rats induced by cocaine].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the reproductive system impairment induced by cocaine in adult male rats and the possible underlying mechanism. METHODS: Thirty adult male rats were randomly divided into experimental and control groups, with 15 rats in each group. Rats of the experimental group were injected cocaine hydrochloride (15 mg/kg body weight) subcutaneously daily for four weeks. The weight of body and testis, as well as the level of serum hormone of the rats were examined. In addition, the apoptosis rate of testicular tissue by TUNEL and the expression of Fas gene in testicular tissue were examined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Compared with the control, the weight of testis in the cocaine exposed group decreased significantly (P<0.05), and the serum testosterone level decreased significantly (P<0.05). Moreover, both the apoptosis rate and the expression of Fas gene increased in the testicular tissue of rats in the cocaine exposed group in comparison to the control group (P<0.05). The apoptosis rate was significantly correlated with the expression of Fas gene (r=0.9012, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Cocaine may cause reproductive system injury in adult male rats, and Fas-mediated apoptosis may be one of the functional mechanisms involved in the reproductive system injuried by cocaine.

[Adverse drug events and its forensic medical identification].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the basic principles and important rules of forensic identification of adverse drug events and to accumulate basic data and to provide references for forensic identification of similar cases. METHODS: Thirty-three cases of adverse drug events in our forensic identification files were retrospectively reviewed, analyzed, and summarized. RESULTS: There were 27 live and 6 dead victims included in this study. Our study showed a gradually increasing numbers of adverse drug cases in forensic identification year by year with a slight female predominance (20/33 cases, 60.6%). Of the 33 victims, nearly two-thirds (21/33, 63.6%) were due to hospital errors including only one case of drug overdose (1/21, 4.8%), whereas the rest were not related to the hospital errors. Eight cases (8/33, 24.2%) were caused by illegal medical practitioners due to improper use of medication. CONCLUSION: Investigators need to pay more attention to the characteristics and complexities of adverse drug events on a case by case basis encountered in increasing numbers of more and more such forensic identification.

[A debate about mental disability expertise of the disability evaluation criteria of traffic accident injurious].

In recent years, mental disability estimation are more than ever in the practice of forensic psychiatric expertise. The standards about mental disability estimation in the Disability Evaluation Criteria of Traffic Accident Injury are ambiguous and difficult to operate, it cause to different understanding in one case. This article discuss some common questions through 3 aspects in mental disability expertise according to some typical cases, there are the first, we should compare the IQ score before and after injurious in intelligence estimate. The second, the mental disability estimation should be done at least one year after the end of medicine treatment. The third, mental estimate scale should be used in mental disability estimation.