Osteopontin accelerates chondrocyte proliferation in osteoarthritis rats through the NF-κb signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence of osteopontin (OPN) on the chondrocyte proliferation in osteoarthritis (OA) rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided in the control group (n=10), model group (n=10), and OPN knockdown group (n=10). No treatment was performed in the control group, while OA rats were administrated with control adenovirus in the model group and OPN knockdown adenovirus in the OPN knockdown group. After sampling, the degree of OA was evaluated via hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and the mRNA expression of OPN was detected. Moreover, the expression of the proliferation-associated protein cyclin D1 was detected using immunohistochemistry. The chondrocytes were isolated from the normal rats, cultured, and transfected with OPN overexpression vector or si-OPN. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was adopted to determine the proliferative capacity of chondrocytes, and Caspase3 activity was measured to evaluate the changes in the apoptotic capacity of chondrocytes. Meanwhile, Western blotting was performed to verify the influences of OPN on the pathways on chondrocyte proliferation. RESULTS: After the OA model was established, the expression level of OPN significantly increased. According to HE staining results, OPN knockdown effectively inhibited the onset of OA. Compared with that in the control group, the expression level of cyclin D1 in the model group was raised. However, upregulated cyclin D1 in OA rats was repressed in OPN knockdown group. OPN overexpression promoted the proliferation of chondrocytes, but suppressed their apoptosis, while OPN knockdown had the opposite effects. Besides, OPN overexpression upregulated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and NF-κB knockdown eliminated the regulatory effects of OPN on proliferation and apoptosis of chondrocytes. CONCLUSIONS: OPN promotes the expression of NF-κB signals to accelerate chondrocyte proliferation, thereby inducing OA in rats.

[Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten deficiency sensitizes tumor cells to lithium chloride treatment].

Objective: To identify the therapeutic efficacy of lithium chloride (LiCl) on phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN)-deficient tumors. Methods: First, the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer for mutation spectrum of human endometrial carcinoma samples was analyzed. Second, the relationship between PTEN abundance and LiCl inhibition of endometrial cancer cell lines using Pten(+/+) and Pten(-/-) mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) lines was investigated. Moreover, potential alterations of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway after treatment with LiCl were checked.Last,LiCl's efficacy on PTEN null tumors was studied. Results: PTEN was mutated in 39% of endometrial carcinomas. LiCl preferentially inhibited the proliferation of PTEN-deficient endometrial carcinoma cells and MEFs. Furthermore, LiCl blocked PTEN-deficient tumor development. Mechanistically, LiCl down-regulated mTOR signaling. Conclusions: PTEN is the most frequently mutated gene in endometrial carcinoma.By targeting mTOR signaling pathway,LiCl is a promising regimen for the treatment of tumors with PTEN deficiency.

Application of gene detection technique in the antenatal diagnosis of hereditary hearing loss.

OBJECTIVE: Gene chip and gene sequencing techniques were used to detect the main pathogenic genes in pregnant women with hereditary hearing loss. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From May 2015 to May 2016, 1080 pregnant in Xuzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital were enrolled in this study. Women age range was 18 to 40 years. 4 genes and 9 mutation sites, including 4 sites (35delG, 176, 235delC and 299) in GJB2 gene, 2 sites (2168A>G and IVS-7-2A>G) in SLC26A4 (PDS) gene, 2 sites (1494C>T and 1555A>G) in 12s rRNA gene and 1 site (538C>T) in GJB3 gene, were detected using the GeeDom® 9-item hereditary hearing loss gene detection kit. Deafness genes in the husband of the pregnant woman with GJB2 and SLC26A4 positive gene mutations were verified using Sanger sequencing. Fetuses with the same deafness genes as their parents were diagnosed before delivery using amniocentesis. RESULTS: 48 patients (4.45 %) were detected positive for hereditary hearing loss. Most of them (28 cases) were identified with GJB2 gene mutation (1 case with 176 site mutation, 22 cases with 235delC site mutation and 5 cases with 299 site mutation). We had 15 cases of the SLC26A4 gene mutation (3 cases of 2168A>G site mutation and 12 cases of IVS-7-2A>G site mutation), 2 cases of 538C>T site mutation of GJB3 gene and 3 cases of 1555A>G site mutation of 12s rRNA gene. CONCLUSIONS: The gene detection technique has a great health-economic significance in screening the main pathogenic genes involved in the hereditary hearing loss.

Effect of regular oral intake of aspirin during pregnancy on pregnancy outcome of high-risk pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of 100 mg/d regular oral intake of aspirin during pregnancy on high-risk pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We consecutively selected 98 cases high-risk pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome patients. After obtaining the informed consent of the patients, we randomly divided the patients into aspirin group (50 cases) and placebo group (48 cases). The oral intake of aspirin lasted from the final diagnosis of pregnancy to antepartum time, and was taken before sleep. The bleeding index was closely detected and we stop taking aspirin when necessary. RESULTS: The comparison of clinical outcome showed that the incidents of pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia of aspirin group were significantly lower than that of the placebo group (p<0.05). Comparing the complications of fetus perinatal period, the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: 100 mg/d regular oral intake of aspirin during pregnancy is safe, effective and worthy of generalization to high-risk pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome patients.

The mechanism and inhibitory effect of recombinant human P53 adenovirus injection combined with paclitaxel on human cervical cancer cell HeLa.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of recombinant human p53 adenovirus injection combined with paclitaxel on human cervical cancer HeLa cell proliferation, apoptosis and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Detection of effects of paclitaxel, rAd-p53, and drug combination on the proliferation of HeLa cells by MTT method. Detection of effects of paclitaxel, rAd-p53, and drug combination on the proliferation of HeLa cells by diamidino-phenyl-indole (DAPI) staining. Detection of effects of paclitaxel, rAd-p53, and drug combination on the expression of VEGF of HeLa cells by Western blotting. RESULTS: Paclitaxel, rAd-p53 alone or in combination could inhibit the proliferation of HeLa cells in 24-72 h. The inhibition is time dependent and dose dependent. Inhibition of HeLa cells in the combination group was significantly higher than single use of paclitaxel group and rAd-P53 group (p < 0.05). The combined effect of the coefficient of drug interaction (CDI) value was CDI < 1, showing that the two have a synergistic effect. Cell inhibition rate combined group of RAd-P53 (5 × l07 vp/mL) and paclitaxel (3 µg/mL) 48 h after application is higher than that of monotherapy group [(54.0 ± 0.92) % vs. (31.8 ± 0.58) %, (27.2 ± 0.55) %, p < 0.05]. The apoptosis rate of HeLa cells in combination group was significantly higher than that in paclitaxel group, rAd-p53 alone group [(83 ± 0.07) % vs. (11 ± 0.01) %, (36 ± 0.04) %, (62 ± 0.05) %, p < 0.05]. Expression of VEGF in HeLa cells of combination group was significantly lower than that of the two single drug groups. Expression of VEGF in HeLa cells was decreased by (81 + 0.08) %, (45 + 0.07) % and (60 + 0.06) % (p < 0.05), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of rAd-p53 and paclitaxel inhibiting HeLa cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis is better than the single drug. Its mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of VEGF.

On-chip generation and manipulation of entangled photons based on reconfigurable lithium-niobate waveguide circuits.

A consequent tendency toward high-performance quantum information processing is to develop the fully integrated photonic chip. Here, we report the on-chip generation and manipulation of entangled photons based on reconfigurable lithium-niobate waveguide circuits. By introducing a periodically poled structure into the waveguide circuits, two individual photon-pair sources with a controllable electro-optic phase shift are produced within a Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer, resulting in a deterministically separated identical photon pair. The state is characterized by 92.9±0.9% visibility Hong-Ou-Mandel interference. The photon flux reaches ∼1.4×10(7) pairs nm-1 mW-1. The whole chip is designed to contain nine similar units to produce identical photon pairs spanning the telecom C and L band by the flexible engineering of nonlinearity. Our work presents a scenario for on-chip engineering of different photon sources and paves the way to fully integrated quantum technologies.

Towards a metrological determination of the performance of SERS media.

Enhancement factors under SERS conditions are characterised for two SERS active substrates with different geometries using a combination of optical pumping and photobleaching. A rigorous mathematical method of the photobleaching dynamics under SERS conditions is developed to allow the average enhancement factor to be investigated whilst maximal enhancement factors are studied using optical pumping. We show that both average and maximal enhancements are correlated for the surfaces with average enhancements of approximately 10(8).

Resonance contributions to anti-Stokes/Stokes ratios under surface enhanced Raman scattering conditions.

Anti-Stokes/Stokes asymmetries under surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) conditions are studied for a wide variety of SERS-active media and different analytes. Evidence is provided for the existence of underlying resonances that create these asymmetries. We show here that these resonances are associated with the electromagnetic coupling between the analyte (probe) and the metal. The work demonstrates the use of the anti-Stokes/Stokes ratio as a tool to understand the hierarchy of resonances in the SERS problem, which is essential for quantification purposes.

Novel mechanism of H0 dibaryon production in proton-proton interactions from parton-based Gribov-Regge theory.

A novel mechanism of H0 and strangelet production in hadronic interactions within the Gribov-Regge approach is presented. In this approach the H0 is produced by the same mechanism as usual hadrons, namely, by disintegration of the remnant formed by the exchange of pomerons between the two protons. Rapidity and transverse momentum spectra of the observed hadrons are well described in this approach. In contrast to traditional distillation approaches, here the production of multiple (strange) quark bags does not require large baryon densities or a quark gluon plasma. We calculate the rapidity and transverse momentum distributions as well as the 4pi multiplicity of the H0 for sqrt[s]=17 GeV (Super Proton Synchrotron) and 200 GeV (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider). In both cases the H0, if it exists, should be observable by the present experiments.

Overpopulation of Omega; in pp collisions: a way to distinguish statistical hadronization from string dynamics.

The Omega/Omega ratio originating from string decays is predicted to be larger than unity in proton-proton interactions at SPS energies ( E(lab) = 160 GeV). The antiomega dominance increases with decreasing beam energy. This surprising behavior is caused by the combinatorics of quark-antiquark production in small and low-mass strings. Since this behavior is not found in a statistical description of hadron production in proton-proton collisions, it may serve as a key observable to probe the hadronization mechanism in such collisions.

[Studies on isolation, purification and structure of polysaccharide RHG from Hedysarum polybotrys Hand.-Mazz].

A water-soluble polysaccharide, RHG, was isolated from the roots of Hedysarum polybotrys Hand.-Mazz. It was shown to be homogeneous by electrophoresis and gel filtration. Its average molecular weight was estimated to be 1.4 x 10(4). Methylation analysis, periodate oxidation, Smith degradation, IR, NMR and KI-I2 reaction showed that RHG is a (1-4) linked alpha-D-glucan to which the glucosyl side chains are attached at O-6 of the glucosyl residues of the main chain.

Effect of captopril cardioplegia on renin-angiotensin system, prostaglandins, free radicals and electrolytes in the isolated hypothermic ischemic and reperfusion rabbit hearts.

The effect of captopril cardioplegia on ischemic and reperfusion myocardium after 3 hours of hypothermic (13 +/- 1 C) arrest and 35 minutes of reperfusion was studied in the isolated working rabbit heart. In comparison with the control group, captopril cardioplegia reduced the content of angiotensin II (381 +/- 56 vs 507 +/- 84 pg/g wt of the control group, P < 0.01) and MDA (50.0 +/- 9.2 vs 85.1 +/- 16.1 pmol/mg pr, P < 0.01) in the reperfusion myocardium; augmented the renin activity of ischemic (1050 +/- 353 vs 669 +/- 301 pg/g wt/h, P < 0.05) and reperfusion myocardium (1261 +/- 421 vs 498 +/- 353 pg/g wt/h, P < 0.01) increased the 6-K-PGF1 alpha/TXB2 ratio in the reperfusion myocardium (by 48.1% of the control group). Meanwhile, captopril cardioplegia could also decrease the content of calcium (0.027 +/- 0.015 vs 0.045 +/- 0.014 microM/mg pr, P < 0.05) and sodium (0.54 +/- 0.26 vs 0.82 +/- 0.15 microM/mg pr, P < 0.05) in the reperfusion myocardium, but had no effect on the potassium content. The results show that the protective effect of captopril on hypothermic myocardium may be related to the free radical scavenging action, inhibition of angiotensin II production, improvement of PGI2/TXA2 ratio and decrease of calcium and sodium overload in the myocardium.

Myocardial protective effect of captopril cardioplegia on ischemia and reperfusion injury in the isolated rabbit heart.

The myocardial protective effect of captopril cardioplegia was investigated through the recovery of cardiac functions, biochemical changes and ultrastructural assays in the isolated working rabbit heart after hypothermic ischemic arrest for 3 hours. Hearts were randomly divided into 3 groups with 8 in each. Another 3 groups of hearts (8 in each) were arranged for studying the biochemical changes and ultrastructure during the ischemic period. In the control group (I), the hearts were protected by the modified St. Thomas' cardioplegic solution No. I, while in Group II and III the cardioplegic solutions contained 2.3 mumol/L and 23 mumol/L captopril respectively. The results showed that the percent recoveries of cardiac function in the 23 mumol/L captopril group compared with the control group were 97.9 +/- 9.8% vs 84.9 +/- 7.3% in left ventricular peak systolic pressure (P less than 0.01), 118 +/- 33% vs 79 +/- 20% in +dp/dt max (P less than 0.01), 111 +/- 22% vs 75 +/- 18% in -dp/dt max (P less than 0.01), 145.6 +/- 44.8% vs 76.7 +/- 18% in coronary flow (P less than 0.01), 120.2 +/- 45.7% vs 36.4 +/- 22.2% in aortic flow (P less than 0.01), 127.4 +/- 27.3% vs 56.1 +/- 14% in cardiac output (P less than 0.01), and 118.2 +/- 33.5% vs 52.5 +/- 19.9% in stroke volume (P less than 0.01) respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects on renal excretion in rats after injection of bile extracts from some fresh-water fish.

Bile acid extracts were prepared from grass carp, bighead, common carp, milk fish and tilapia. Injection of the fish bile extracts (3.6 mg/kg, i.v.) into rats increased renal excretion of water, sodium and potassium; decreased blood pressure; and hemolyzed RBCs. The diuretic, natriuretic, hypotensive and hemolytic actions of the bile extracts were stronger in grass carp, bighead and common carp, moderate in milk fish, and weakest in tilapia.

Captopril as a component of cardioplegia in protecting the myocardium from global ischemia during open heart surgery. A preliminary clinical report.

It was demonstrated recently that a local renin-angiotensin system (RAS) exists in the heart and coronary vessels, and the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors can protect the heart from ischemia. Eight patients with NYHA class II-IV subjected to valve replacement were studied in protecting the heart from global ischemia with captopril during open heart surgery. After the ascending aorta was clamped, 500-1000 ml 4 degrees C modified St. Thomas No 1 cardioplegic solution containing 0.058-0.23 mmol/L captopril was perfused into coronary arteries under pressure until the electrocardiogram showed disappearance of myocardial electroactivity. The cardioplegic perfusion was repeated every 30 minutes thereafter during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). All the hearts rebeat after reperfusion either spontaneously or from defibrillation without any trouble. Three patients developed an A-V dissociation which returned to sinus rhythm or atrial fibrillation after a tiny dose of dopamine or isoprenaline intravenously. All the patients weaned from the CPB easily with a stable heart rate and a reasonable MAP. None of them needed inotropic support, even those with severe heart failure before operation did not either, and all recovered uneventfully.