Treatment with metformin and sorafenib alleviates endometrial hyperplasia in polycystic ovary syndrome by promoting apoptosis via synergically regulating autophagy.

This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the roles of metformin (MET) and Sorafenib (SOR) in the treatment of endometrial hyperplasia (EH) in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Effects of MET and SOR on the area of endometrium and myometrium were detected. Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry assays were carried out to detect the levels of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), mTORC2, LC3-II, P62, and Caspase-3 in rats and cultured cells. Furthermore, cell counting kit-8 assay and flow cytometry analysis was carried out to determine the apoptotic profiles of treated cells. MET and SOR could apparently decrease the areas of endometrium and myometrium in PCOS. MET notably enhanced the expression of LC3-II and Caspase-3 in PCOS while substantially reducing the level of mTORC1 and P62. Similarly, SOR also enhanced the expression of LC3-II and Caspase-3 in PCOS while substantially reducing the level of mTORC2 and P62. Treatment with MET and SOR significantly inhibited the proliferation of HCC-94 and HEC-1-A cells while promoting their apoptosis by upregulating the expression of Caspase-3. In cells treated with MET, the expression of mTORC1 and LC3-II was upregulated while the expression of P62 was downregulated. Similarly, in cells treated with SOR, the expression of mTORC2 and LC3-II was also upregulated while the expression of P62 was also downregulated. Furthermore, MET showed no effect on mTORC2 expression, while SOR showed no effect on mTORC1 expression. In this study, we suggested that MET and SOR alleviated the risk of EH in PCOS via the mTORC1/autophagy/apoptosis axis and mTORC2/autophagy/apoptosis axis, respectively.

Inner Surface-Functionalized Graphene Aerogel Microgranules with Static Microwave Attenuation and Dynamic Infrared Shielding.

Bulk graphene aerogels with high electrical conductivity, ultralow density, and high specific surface area have attracted significant attention because of their fascinating performances in energy storage, catalysis, absorption, sensor, electromagnetic shielding, etc. However, graphene aerogel microgranules (i.e., reducing the size of the bulk aerogels into microscale) and their performances in the electromagnetic field have been ignored. Herein, we report a new strategy to make floatable graphene aerogel microgranules with high hydrophobicity (137°), low density (13.5 mg/cm3), and high specific surface area (516 m2/g). These microgranules were synthesized initially from reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hydrogel microparticles and then in situ-modified by silica nanoparticles. Further investigations have demonstrated that the resulting silica-modified rGO aerogel microgranules possess highly efficient static electromagnetic screening (average 30.3 dB in 8-18 GHz) and dynamic infrared shielding (higher than 10 dB during floatation in air for 15 min) properties. The work reported here should give much inspiration to make more functional aerogel microgranules used in various emerging fields.

Pb induces the release of CXCL10 and CCL2 chemokines via mtROS/NF-κB activation in BV-2 cells.

Lead (Pb), a well-known environmental pollutant, could cause damage of microglia, the resident macrophages vitally regulating inflammation in brain. Previous studies have found that Pb exposure induces typical pro-inflammatory factors release, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), but what effects of Pb treatment below the dose causing these factors release are unknown. Thus, cytokines assay was performed to identify the factors released from Pb-treated BV-2 cells at 2.5 µM, causing no effects on TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 release and cell death. Cytokines assay identified low doses of Pb exposure mainly induce an increase in specific chemokines, including CXCL10, CCL2, and CXCL2, which were confirmed by ELISA. Subsequent assessment found Pb could damage mitochondria function and generate mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS), and Mito TEMPO, a specific inhibitor of mtROS, suppressed Pb-caused upregulation of CXCL10 and CCL2, but not CXCL2. Finally, we determined that mtROS mediated Pb-induced activation of NF-κB pathway, as Mito TEMPO treatment inhibited P-p65/p65 escalation during Pb treatment. Inhibition of NF-κB pathway by Bay11-7821 suppressed the release of CXCL10 and CCL2. Collectively, low dose of Pb induces the release of CXCL10 and CCL2 chemokines, but not TNF-α and IL-1ß, via mtROS/NF-κB activation in BV-2 cells.

[Effects of levonorgestrel intrauterine system on endometrial tissue after endometrial polyps resection by hysteroscopy].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the changes of endometrial tissues after the insertion of levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS). METHODS: The endometrial tissues were harvested from 21 cases after endometrial polyps resection by hysteroscopy. And the patients received a 1-year follow-up. The immunohistochemical stains for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), Ki-67, bcl-2 and bax were used for semi-quantitative analyses. The changes of endometrial thickness were monitored and uterine weight was observed with a 3-year follow-up. RESULTS: The endometrial thickness and uterine weight declined continuously after the insertion of LNG-IUS. The endometrial thickness decreased from the preoperative level of (9.8 ± 1.2) mm to (3.5 ± 1.0) mm while the uterine weight dropped from the preoperative level of (98.8 ± 8.6) g to (66.6 ± 9.8) g. The expressions of ER, PR and Ki-67 were significantly lower than those of the para-polyps endometrial tissue (P < 0.05). The expressions of bcl-2 and bax were significantly higher than those of the para-polyps endometrial tissue (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: LNG-IUS may prevent the recurrence of uterine endometrial polyps through its inhibited expressions of ER, PR and Ki-67 and induced endometrial apoptosis.

Lead exposure represses mitochondrial metabolism by activation of heme-binding protein BACH1 in differentiated SH-SY5Y cell.

Exposure to lead (Pb), a known toxin causing developmental neurotoxicity, can impair neurogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), but the mechanism is not clarified. In the current study, we aim to explore the effects of Pb on the differentiation of SH-SY5Y cells and investigate the role of heme and heme-binding protein BACH1 during differentiation. We found that Pb exposure caused a shift from OXPHOS to glycolysis, resulting in neurogenesis impairment by decreasing neurite growth and downregulation of PSD95 and Synapsin-1 in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells. Heme reduction mediated this mitochondria metabolism repression caused by Pb depending on BACH1 activation. Hemin supplement alleviated Pb-induced OXPHOS damage and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) reduction in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells, and further protected for Pb-induced damage of synapse. Heme binding factor BACH1 was negatively regulated by heme content and BACH1 knockout rescued the Pb-induced transcription and expression decline of genes related to OXPHOS and abrogated Pb-induced growth inhibition of axon promotion and synapse formation. Collectively, the present study demonstrates that heme deficiency mediates OXPHOS damage caused by Pb through BACH1 activation, resulting in neurogenesis impairment.

Serum protein profiling to identify biomarkers for small renal cell carcinoma.

Diagnostic biomarkers for early detection of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) are in great need. In the present study, we compared the serum protein profiles of patients with small RCC to those of healthy individuals to identify the differentially expressed proteins with potential to serve as biomarkers. Serum samples were collected from 10 patients with small RCC and 10 healthy individuals. The serum protein expression profiles were analyzed by two-dimensional (2-D) gel electrophoresis. Twenty-seven proteins with differences in expression levels between RCC patients and healthy volunteers were identified. Of these, 19 were expressed at different levels and eight were expressed in serum from the RCC group, but not from the control group. Six differentially expressed proteins identified by using mass spectrometry included coagulation factor XIII B, complement C3 and its precursor, misato homolog 1 (isoform CRA_b), hemopexin, and alpha-1-B-glycoprotein. Some of these serum proteins are known regulators of tumor progression in human malignancies. In conclusion, we successfully applied 2-D gel electrophoresis and identified six serum proteins differentially expressed between patients with small RCC and healthy volunteers. These proteins may provide novel biomarkers for early detection and diagnosis of human RCC.

The long non-coding RNA PTTG3P promotes growth and metastasis of cervical cancer through PTTG1.

The outgrowth and metastasis of cervical cancer (CC) contribute to its malignancy. Pituitary Tumor Transforming Gene 1 (PTTG1) is upregulated in many types of cancer, and enhances tumor cell growth and metastasis. However, the activation and regulation of PTTG1 in CC, especially by its pseudogene PTTG3P, have not been shown. Here, we detected significantly higher levels of PTTG1 and PTTG3P in the resected CC tissue, compared to the paired adjacent normal cervical tissue. Interestingly, the PTTG3P levels positively correlated with the PTTG1 levels. High PTTG3P levels were associated with poor patients' survival. In vitro, PTTG1 were increased by PTTG3P overexpression, but was inhibited by PTTG3P depletion in CC cells. However, PTTG3P levels were not altered by modulation of PTTG1 in CC cells, suggesting that PTTG3P is upstream of PTTG1. Moreover, PTTG3P increased CC cell growth, likely through CCNB1-mediated increase in cell proliferation, rather than through decrease in cell apoptosis. Furthermore, PTTG3P increased CC cell invasiveness, likely through upregulation of SNAIL and downregulation of E-cadherin. Our work thus suggests that PTTG3P may promote growth and metastasis of CC through PTTG1.

Perspective of Calcium Imaging Technology Applied to Acupuncture Research / 中国结合医学杂志

Acupuncture, a therapeutic treatment defined as the insertion of needles into the body at specific points (ie, acupoints), has growing in popularity world-wide to treat various diseases effectively, especially acute and chronic pain. In parallel, interest in the physiological mechanisms underlying acupuncture analgesia, particularly the neural mechanisms have been increasing. Over the past decades, our understanding of how the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system process signals induced by acupuncture has developed rapidly by using electrophysiological methods. However, with the development of neuroscience, electrophysiology is being challenged by calcium imaging in view field, neuron population and visualization in vivo. Owing to the outstanding spatial resolution, the novel imaging approaches provide opportunities to enrich our knowledge about the neurophysiological mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia at subcellular, cellular, and circuit levels in combination with new labeling, genetic and circuit tracing techniques. Therefore, this review will introduce the principle and the method of calcium imaging applied to acupuncture research. We will also review the current findings in pain research using calcium imaging from in vitro to in vivo experiments and discuss the potential methodological considerations in studying acupuncture analgesia.

[Proteomic analysis in combination with CT diagnosis to distinguish renal cell carcinoma from renal benign masses].

OBJECTIVE: To identify the proteomic differences between renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and renal benign masses and to evaluate the diagnostic value of parallel and serial test combining with CT and surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS). METHODS: Serum samples were collected from 96 patients with renal tumors, 62 RCC cases and 34 renal benign mass cases, all of which had been evaluated by CT before surgery. The sera were analyzed using IMAC-Cu2+ ProteinChip system by SELDI-TOF-MS. The decision tree was generated by Biomark Pattern based on the sera of 42 RCC cases and 22 renal benign mass cases and was blind-tested by the rest sera samples. The parallel method and serial method combining CT and SELDI were also used to distinguish RCC and renal benign masses. RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of the decision tree were 85.7% (36/42) and 90.9% (20/22) respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the double-blind test were 75.0% (15/20) and 83.3% (10/12) respectively. CT showed higher sensitivity but lower specificity in detecting RCC. While combining CT with SELDI-TOF-MS, the sensitivity and specificity could be improved. CONCLUSION: Three peaks with the molecular weights of 4657.56, 2955.95, and 3278.00 were detected which are potentially useful for differentiating RCC and renal benign masses. Using serial method combining CT and the decision tree based on these three proteins improves the sensitivity and positive predictive values of diagnosing RCC to 100%.

Detection of mutant p53 protein in workers occupationally exposed to benzidine.

To investigate the expression of mutant p53 protein in workers occupationally exposed to benzidine, we detected mutant p53 protein by immuno-PCR assay in the serum of 331 benzidine-exposed healthy workers, while we classified exfoliated urothelial cells in urine samples with Papanicoloau's grading (PG). The Papanicoloau's grading classified exfoliated urothelial cells of the subjects from grade I (normal cells) to grade III (suspicious malignant cells). The subjects were also divided into high, medium and low exposure groups according to the exposure intensity index. The results revealed that mutant p53 protein in the medium and high exposure groups were significantly higher than the in low exposure group (p<0.05), and in PG II and III were significantly higher than in the PG I (p<0.05). There was no significant differences among Papanicoloau's gradings strata in the low exposure group on the incidence and quantity of mutant p53 protein. In the medium and high exposure groups, the incidence and/or quantity of mutant p53 protein in the stratum of PG II and/or III were significantly higher than that of PG I (p<0.05). Detection of mutant p53 protein in conjunction with benzidine exposure level and Papanicoloau's gradings of exfoliated urothelial cells could provide more information to help us elevate surveillance efficiency and diagnose bladder cancer in the early period.

Referred Somatic Hyperalgesia Mediates Cardiac Regulation by the Activation of Sympathetic Nerves in a Rat Model of Myocardial Ischemia / 神经科学通报·英文版

Myocardial ischemia (MI) causes somatic referred pain and sympathetic hyperactivity, and the role of sensory inputs from referred areas in cardiac function and sympathetic hyperactivity remain unclear. Here, in a rat model, we showed that MI not only led to referred mechanical hypersensitivity on the forelimbs and upper back, but also elicited sympathetic sprouting in the skin of the referred area and C8-T6 dorsal root ganglia, and increased cardiac sympathetic tone, indicating sympathetic-sensory coupling. Moreover, intensifying referred hyperalgesic inputs with noxious mechanical, thermal, and electro-stimulation (ES) of the forearm augmented sympathetic hyperactivity and regulated cardiac function, whereas deafferentation of the left brachial plexus diminished sympathoexcitation. Intradermal injection of the α2 adrenoceptor (α2AR) antagonist yohimbine and agonist dexmedetomidine in the forearm attenuated the cardiac adjustment by ES. Overall, these findings suggest that sensory inputs from the referred pain area contribute to cardiac functional adjustment via peripheral α2AR-mediated sympathetic-sensory coupling.

[Serum proteomic patterns may assist the diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules].

OBJECTIVE: To screen relatively specific biomarkers in serum from lung adenocarcinoma patients by surface-enhanced laser desorption and ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOFMS), and to investigate the clinical value of SELDI-TOF-MS in differentiation of benign from malignant solitary pulmonary nodules (SPN). METHODS: Serum samples from 71 lung adenocarcinoma patients and 71 healthy volunteers with matched gender, age and history of smoking were analyzed using WCX2 ProteinChip to screen potential biomarkers. 28 patients received surgical treatment among total 53 patients with SPN. The clinical value of SELDI-TOF-MS in differentiation of benign from malignant solitary pulmonary nodules was evaluated by pathological diagnosis. RESULTS: Five highly expressed potential biomarkers were identified with the relative molecular weights of 4047.79 Da, 4203.99 Da, 4959. 81 Da, 5329. 30 Da and 7760.12 Da. The postoperative pathologic diagnosis was lung adenocarcinoma in 24 patients with SPN, validating the clinical value of the 5 potential biomarkers. CONCLUSION: SELDI-TOF-MS technology is a quick, easy, convenient, and high-throughput analyzing method capable of screening several relatively specific potential biomarkers from the serum of lung adenocarcinoma patients and may have attractive clinic value in differentiation of solitary pulmonary nodules.

[Preliminary study of serum proteome biomarkers of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To screen the serum proteome biomarkers of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC) and to establish a predictive model for early detection of HSCC. METHODS: Serum samples were collected from 48 HSCC patients before surgery and 52 age and sex-matched individuals without cancer used as controls. The samples were divided into 2 sets: training set (including 36 HSCC patients and 36 controls) and blind testing set (including 12 HSCC patients and 16 controls). With WCX2 and IMAC3 protein chips, surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) was used to analyze the serum protein profiling. 72 samples of the training set were analyzed by a decision tree algorithm to be able to differentiate HSCC patients from controls. Double-blind test was used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the classification model. RESULTS: Ranging from 2000 - 50000 (M/Z), 11 potential biomarkers on WCX2 and 19 biomarkers on IMAC3 protein chip could differentiate HSCC patients from the control set (P < 10(-5)). Among them 4 candidate protein peaks with the m/z values of 7796, 4216, 5927, and 5361 were selected to be used to establish a predictive model by Biomarker Pattern Software. The model separated effectively the HSCC samples from the control samples, achieving a sensitivity of 94.44%, and a specificity of 88.89%. An accuracy of 85.71% (24/28), sensitivity of 91.67% (11/12), specificity of 81.25% (13/16), positive predictive value of 78.57%% (11/14), and negative predictive value of 92.85% (13/14) were validated in the double-blind testing set. CONCLUSION: The SELDI-TOF-MS Protein Chip combined with artificial intelligence classification algorithm helps find serum proteome biomarkers and establish predictive model for early diagnosis of HSCC. This technique has potential for the development of a screening test for the detection of HSCC.

Systematic review and Meta-analysis of the efficacy of Apatinib and Tegafur in the treatment of colonic neoplasms / 国际外科学杂志

Objective:To conduct a systematic review and Meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of Apatinib and tegafur in colonic cancer.Methods:With "Apatinib" "Tegafur" "Colonic cancer" as keywords, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, WanFang Data, VIP, CNKI and CBM were searched from inception to December 2020 to collect randomized controlled trail about treatment for colonic cancer with Apatinib and Tegafur. Evaluated the portion remission and stable duration and progression-free survival. Meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.Results:Meta-analysis showed that in colonic cancer patients, the portion remission and stable duration, tumor progression of Apatinib were not inferior to those of Tegafur ( RR=1.10, 95% CI: 0.71-1.71, P=0.640; RR=0.51, 95% CI: 0.28-1.32, P=0.205). But for progression-free survival, Apatinib was superior to Tegafur in overall patients( SMD=0.90, 95% CI: 0.42-1.37, P<0.000 1). Conclusion:In the treatment of colon cancer, compared with Tegafur, Apatinib can effectively improve the progression-free survival and has better overall survival.

Onco-microRNA miR-130b promoting cell growth in children APL by targeting PTEN.

OBJECTIVE: To study the expression of microRNA-130b (miR-130b) in children acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) and its role for regulating PTEN expression. METHODS: A total of 50 children APL marrow tissues and 15 normal marrow tissues between January and December in 2012 were collected into our study. The expression of miR-130b in APL and normal marrow tissues were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. MiR-130b inhibitor was transfected into HL-60 cells. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and flow cytometry were used to measure cell proliferation and apoptosis, respectively. The expression of PTEN, a potential target of miR-130b, and its downstream genes, Bcl-2 and Bax, in transformed cells were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western-blot. RESULTS: The expression of miR-130b was significantly higher in children APL marrow tissues than in normal marrow tissues (P < 0.05). Down-regulation of miR-130b could significantly suppress cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in HL-60 cells (P < 0.05). PTEN expression was upregulated when miR-130b was knocking-down (P < 0.05). As downstream genes of PTEN, the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax were regulated as well. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-130b is overexpressed in children APL marrow tissues and associated with cell growth. MiR-130b may promote children APL progression by inducing cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis.

Application progress of smart glasses for triage during mass casualty incident / 中华危重病急救医学

In mass casualty incidents (MCI), the number of casualties can far exceed the capacity of medical emergency units to treat and transport in a very short period of time. A rapid MCI triage according to the severity of their injuries, can not only effectively use limited medical resources, but also improve the survival rate of injured patients. With the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR), smart glasses have been developed and used in different scenarios, and have achieved remarkable results in the medical field. This article focuses on the role and advantages of smart glasses in the triage of MCI, while proposing the problems in the application of smart glasses. At the same time, we elaborate on the development status of smart glasses in the triage, and discuss the application trend and development direction of smart glasses in the triage of pre-hospital injuries.

An association of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 2B7 C802T (His268Tyr) polymorphism with bladder cancer in benzidine-exposed workers in China.

UDP-Glucuronyltransferase 2B7 (UGT2B7) is involved in benzidine metabolism, as demonstrated by in vitro experiments with liver slices. To evaluate the possible association of UGT2B7 gene polymorphism with bladder cancer risk for benzidine-exposed subjects, diagnosed bladder cancer cases (n = 36) who were members of a cohort of benzidine-exposed workers in the Chinese dyestuff industry were investigated. UGT2B7 polymorphism at locus C802T (His268Tyr) was detected using a PCR-RFLP based procedure. Nondiseased cohort members (156 men, 95 women) were taken as work-related control, and unexposed healthy individuals (113 men, 105 women) were taken as community control. The data showed that the polymorphism at locus UGT2B7 C802T in a general Chinese population significantly differs from that in a Caucasian population (p = 0.00018), displaying a distinctly lower frequency of T/T genotypes (9.2 vs. 25.3%), while no significant difference to a Japanese population could be detected (p = 0.17). A higher prevalence of T/T genotype carriers was found in the cancer cases, compared with unexposed healthy controls (25 vs. 9%, odds ratio [OR] 3.30, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.37-7.98, p = 0.006). A higher presentation of T allele carriers in the patients group was also confirmed (46 vs. 33%, OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.05-2.87, p = 0.03). A higher portion of the T/T genotype was also observed in bladder cancer patients compared with nondiseased members of the same benzidine-exposed cohort, although some of them displayed different degrees of cellular alterations in their exfoliated urothelial cells. This study points for the first time to an association between a homozygous mutant genotype of human UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 2B7 catalyzing the biotransformation of benzidine and an elevated bladder cancer risk for formerly benzidine-exposed workers of the dyestuff industry.

[Expression of protein p53 in workers occupationally exposed to benzidine and bladder cancer patients.].

OBJECTIVE: To study expression of mutant p53 protein in workers occupationally exposed to benzidine and bladder cancer patients. METHODS: Mutant p53 protein in serum from the workers occupationally exposed to benzidine and bladder cancer patients were determined with Immuno-PCR, while exfoliated urothelial cells in the urine samples were classified with Papanicolau grading. RESULTS: Positive rate of mutant p53 protein increased with the exposed intensity index in workers occupationally exposed to benzidine. The positive rate of mutant p53 protein in bladder cancer patients (83.3%) was significantly higher than that in the group 1 of exposed intensity index. The average scanning integrals of PCR amplified band in the group of bladder cancer patients and group 2 of exposed intensity index were both higher than that in the group 1 significantly. Workers in the groups of different exposed intensity indices were further stratified according to Papanicolau grades. In the group 2 of exposed intensity index, the average scanning integrals of PCR amplified band in the stratum of Papanicolau grade II and III were significantly higher than that in the strata of Papanicolau grade I. And in the group 3 of exposed intensity index, the positive rate of mutant p53 protein in the strata of Papanicolau grade III was higher than that in the strata of Papanicolau grade I significantly. CONCLUSION: The increase of exposed intensity may not only result in the positive rate of mutant p53 protein, but also the quantity of mutant p53 protein in serum within the low range of benzidine exposure. Once the exposed intensity was beyond that spectrum, the positive rate of mutant p53 protein in serum and the average scanning integrals of PCR amplified band were no longer enhanced with the increase of exposed intensity. There was tight correlation between Papanicolau grade of exfoliated urothelial cells and the positive rate or the quantity of mutant p53 protein for the higher benzidine exposure intensity.

Electroacupuncture at "Neiguan"(PC6) decreased cardiac sympathetic hyperactivity and improved cardiac function in chronic myocardial ischemia model rats / 针刺研究

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the autonomic nervous mechanism of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of ischemic cardiomyopathy by observing the influence of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Neiguan"(PC6) on the superior cervical cardiac nerve activity and cardiac function in chronic myocardial ischemia (CMI) rats. METHODS: Male SD rats were randomly divided into control, model and EA groups (n＝8 in each group). The CMI model was established by ligating the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery. EA (15 Hz, 1.5 mA) was applied to bilateral PC6 for 20 min, once a day for 28 consecutive days. Cardiac sympathetic nerve electrical activities (CSNEA), electrocardiogram (ECG) of the standard limb lead Ⅱ and ultrasonic cardiogram (UCG) were recorded for observing changes of ST segment height, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS)．. RESULTS: The CSNEA was significantly increased(P<0.001), and the hight of ECG-STⅡ， LVEF and LVFS were considerably decreased in the model group relevant to the control group (P<0.01, P<0.001), while after the intervention, modeling induced increase of CSNEA and decrease of ECG-STⅡ， LVEF and LVFS were obviously suppressed in the EA group in comparison with the model group (P<0.01, P<0.05, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: EA of PC6 can improve cardiac function and myocardial ischemia in CMI rats, which is possibly related to its effect in decreasing cardiac sympathetic hyperactivity.

Polymorphism of N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) gene polymorphism in shanghai population: occupational and non-occupational bladder cancer patient groups.

OBJECTIVE: Arylamine N-acetyltransferases (NATs) are involved in the detoxification of aromatic amines and hydrazine. In order to explore the possible association of NAT2 polymorphism with bladder cancer risk in benzidine exposed or non-exposed Chinese individuals, healthy subjects, subjects with bladder cancer of a former benzidine exposed cohort in Shanghai dyestuff industry and a group of bladder cancer patients without known occupational exposure to aromatic amines were genotyped for NAT2 gene polymorphism. METHODS: NAT2 genotyping was performed with a set of RFLP procedures at seven major polymorphic loci of gene coding area: G191A, C282T, T341C, C481T, G590A, A803G and G857A. RESULTS: The wild allele NAT2 *4 was the most prevalent allele (59%) in healthy individuals. The alleles NAT2*6A and NAT2*7B were also frequently observed (21% and 17%, respectively). In contrast to Caucasians, the percentage of slow acetylators was lower (12% in Chinese vs. 58% in Caucasians, P < 0.001). No relevant differences were observed for homogenous rapid, heterogeneous rapid/slow and homogeneous slow acetylation genotypes between the healthy subjects and both groups of bladder cancer patients. CONCLUSION: The present work did not support the association of slow acetylating genotypes of NAT2 gene with elevated risk of bladder cancer in Chinese whereas it was documented as an important genetically determined risk factor in Caucasians. Different mechanisms might play a role in individual susceptibility to bladder cancer related with aromatic amine exposure in various races or ethnic groups.