Identification of volatile organic compounds in muscle tissues of different species based on Headspace-Gas-Chromatography Ion-Mobility spectrometry.

Species identification of unknown biological samples is crucial for forensic applications, especially in cases of explosion, disaster accidents, and body mutilation after murdering, as well as poaching, illegal trade in endangered animals, and meat food fraud. In this study, we identified 60 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in fresh skeletal muscle tissues of seven different animal species (cattle, sheep, pigs, rabbits, rats, chickens and carp) and a human dead body by headspace-gas-chromatography ion-mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS), and compared their differences by retention time, drift time and molecular weight. The results showed that these VOCs formed different gallery plot fingerprints in the skeletal muscle tissues of the human dead body and seven animal species. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed significantly different fingerprints between these species, and these fingerprints maintained good stability between the species and within the same species. Some VOCs have high species specificity, while VOCs of human fresh muscle tissues from different individual sources have little difference, demonstrating that all tested muscle tissue samples could be distinguished based on different VOCs. HS-GC-IMS has proved to be a rapid, high-throughput, highly sensitive and specific species identification method, which can be used for forensic species identification in criminal cases and disaster accidents, as well as detection in the field of food safety, such as meat fraud and adulteration.

Toll­Like receptor 4 promotes the phosphorylation of CRMP2 via the activation of Rho­kinase in MCAO rats.

The mechanism associated with Toll­like receptor 4 (TLR4) in neurological injury remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the pathology of TLR4 in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)/reperfusion rat models via the regulation of collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP2) phosphorylation. The modified neurological severity score (mNSS) was applied to assess neurological recovery. Immunofluorescence and western blotting were used to detect the protein expressions of TLR4, Rho­associated protein kinase 2 (ROCK­II) and CRMP2 following the intracerebroventricular administration of TLR4­specific agonist, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and TLR4­neutralizing antibody, the ROCK­II specific inhibitor Y­27632 or LPS+Y­27632 30 min prior to MCAO. The expression levels of TLR4 and the phosphorylation of CRMP2 significantly increased in response to LPS­mediated induction and/or MCAO; however, they were reversed by treatment with LPS+TLR4­neutralizing antibody. Y­27632 decreased the expression of ROCK­II and phosphorylated (p)­CRMP2, and suppressed the increased ROCK­II and p­CRMP2 induced by LPS; however, no effect on the levels of TLR4 expression was observed. The neurological function as measured by mNSS score was reduced in the LPS group when compared with the MCAO group, whereas the LPS+Y­27632 group reversed the reduced neurological function at 7 and 14 days post­MCAO. The results of the present study suggested that TLR4 may promote the phosphorylation of CRMP2 via the activation of ROCK­II in MCAO rats, which further characterizes the pathological mechanism of TLR4 in stroke, and that modulation of TLR4 could be a potential target to limit secondary post­stroke brain damage.

Progesterone and nifedipine for maintenance tocolysis after arrested preterm labor: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: No treatment is recommended for routine maintenance tocolysis after an arrested preterm birth. Our present study aimed to evaluate the effect of progesterone and nifedipine as maintenance tocolysis therapy after an arrested preterm birth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For relevant studies, we systematically searched the literature in databases of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in the Cochrane Library. Only randomized controlled trials were included. RESULTS: Nine trials were included in our review. Nifedipine and progesterone were used for maintenance tocolysis. Compared to placebo treatment or no treatment, maintenance tocolysis with progesterone could significantly prolong the delivery gestational weeks [standard mean difference (SMD) 1.64; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.21, 2.07; p < 0.00001], reduce the proportion of patients with delivery before 37 weeks (risk ratio 0.63; 95% CI, 0.47, 0.83; p = 0.001), and increase the birth weight (SMD 317.71; 95% CI, 174.89, 460.53; p < 0.0001). However, no such benefits were observed after maintenance tocolysis with nifedipine. Both nifedipine and progesterone had no significant influences on the following outcomes: neonatal intensive care unit stay, proportion of neonatal intensive care unit admission, neonatal mortality, and incidence of respiratory distress syndrome. CONCLUSION: Our results with maintenance tocolysis with progesterone may be useful for patients who had an episode of threatened preterm labor successfully treated with acute tocolytic therapy.

The complete mitochondrial genome of white-tufted-ear marmoset, Callithrix jacchus (Primates: Callitrichinae).

The white-tufted-ear marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is a New World primate that inhabits the coastal rainforests of eastern Brazil. In the present work, we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of white-tufted-ear marmoset for the first time. The total length of this mitogenome is 16,499 bp long, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 1 non-coding region (D-loop region). The gene organization and arrangement is identical to typical vertebrates. The overall base composition is 32.75% of A, 26.95% of T, 26.91% C, and 13.39% G, with a slight A + T bias of 59.7%. All the genes are encoded on H-strand, except for the ND6 subunit gene and 8 tRNA genes. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence reported here will be useful for comparative genomics studies in primates.

Apoptin induces apoptosis in human bladder cancer EJ and BIU-87 cells.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether apoptin is a apoptosis-inducing protein with a potential for bladder cancer therapy. METHODS: We constructed a PCDNA3/Apoptin eukaryotic expression vector, and transfected this vector into bladder cancer cell lines BIU-87 and EJ, then observed the results by RT-PCR, transmission electron microscopy, MTT assay and the flow cytometry (TUNEL method). RESULTS: PCDNA3/Apoptin successfully induced a high level apoptosis in both bladder cancer cell lines, compared with the controls (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Apoptin can induce high level apoptosis in human bladder cancer EJ and BIU-87 cells, which suggests a potential for human bladder cancer therapy.

ppGalNAc T1 as a potential novel marker for human bladder cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of glycopeptide-preferring polypeptide GalNAc transferase 1 (ppGalNAc T1) targeted RNA interference (RNAi) on the growth and migration of human bladder carcinoma EJ cells in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: DNA microarray assays were performed to determine ppGalNAc Ts(ppGalNAc T1-9) expression in human bladder cancer and normal bladder tissues. We transfected the EJ bladder cancer cell line with well-designed ppGalNAc T1 siRNA. Boyden chamber and Wound healing assays were used to investigate changes of shppGalNAc T1-EJ cell migration. Proliferation of shppGalNAc T1-EJ cells in vitro was assessed using [3H]-thymidine incorporation assay and soft agar colony formation assays. Subcutaneous bladder tumors in BALB/c nude mice were induced by inoculation of shppGalNAc T1-EJ cells and after inoculation diameters of tumors were measured every 5 days to determine gross tumor volumes. RESULTS: ppGalNAc T1 mRNA in bladder cancer tissues was 11.2-fold higher than in normal bladder tissues. When ppGalNAc T1 expression in EJ cells was knocked down through transfection by pSUPER-shppGalNAc T1 vector, markedly reduced incorporation of [3H]-thymidine into DNA of EJ cells was observed at all time points compared with the empty vector transfected control cells. However, ppGalNAc T1 knockdown did not significantly inhibited cell migration (only 12.3%). Silenced ppGalNAc T1 expression significantly inhibited subcutaneous tumor growth compared with the control groups injected with empty vector transfected control cells. At the end of observation course (40 days), the inhibitory rate of cancerous growth for ppGalNAc T1 knockdown was 52.5%. CONCLUSION: ppGalNAc T1 might be a potential novel marker for human bladder cancer. Although ppGalNAc T1 knockdown caused no remarkable change in cell migration, silenced expression significantly inhibited proliferation and tumor growth of the bladder cancer EJ cell line.