Safflower Extract and Aceglutamide Injection Promoting Recovery of Peripheral Innervations via Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-B Signaling in Diabetic Mice / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Safflower extract and aceglutamide (SA) has been used clinically for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases such as cerebral embolism, hemorrhage, and mental deterioration. This study aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of SA injection in the recovery of peripheral innervations of diabetic mice.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The C57BL/6 male mice were divided into four groups: normal control group (n = 44), diabetic group (n = 44), diabetic + SA group (diabetic mice treated with SA injection, n = 44), and diabetic + SA + vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)1-BL group (diabetic mice treated with SA injection and VEGFR 1 blocking antibody n = 24). The streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice model and injured peripheral nerve mice model were built. The mice with injured peripheral nerves were intraperitonealy administered with SA injection for successive 21 days. The corneal sensitivity, number of corneal nerve fibers, and contents of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-B and various neurotrophic factors such as nerve growth factor (NGF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in corneal tissue of four groups were observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The diabetic group showed decreased number of corneal nerve fibers, compared with the control group (P = 0.002). And compared with the diabetic group, the diabetic + SA group showed a significant increase in the number of nerve fibers (P = 0.024) and the contents of VEGF-B, NGF, and GDNF in the cornea (all P < 0.05). However, when the diabetic mice were treated with the blocking antibodies specialized for VEGF-B receptor, the neutralization of VEGFR-1 completely abolished the increased expression of NGF and GDNF stimulated by SA injection.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>SA injection could reduce the nerve injury caused by diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and its protective effect might be associated with the promotion of the expressions of VEGF-B, NGF, and GDNF.</p>

Reversion the multidrug resistance of human breast carcinoma cells by RNA interference targeting HIF-1 alpha gene / 中华病理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To reverse the multidrug resistant (MDR) phenotype of human breast carcinoma cells by small hairpin RNA (shRNA) technique targeting hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha gene.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Small hairpin RNA (shRNA) eukaryotic expression vector targeting HIF-1alpha gene, named pSilencer-HIF, was constructed and transfected into MCF-7/ADR human breast cancer cells by liposome technique. Tumor cell livability (TCL) and Rhodamine 123 efflux assay were used to monitor the biological changes of the transfected cells. The mRNA and protein expression of HIF-1alpha and mdr-1 were investigated by RT-PCR and Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The successful construction of pSilencer-HIF plasmid was confirmed by DNA sequencing. HIF-1alpha mRNA and protein levels were significantly decreased in MCF-7/ADR cells after the transfection and there was a direct correlation between HIF-1alpha and mdr-1 expression. By comparing the cells transfected with control vector and the MCF-7/ADR cells transfected with pSilencer-HIF, a reduced TCL from 76% to 43%, and an increased Rhodamine 123 fluorescence intensity from 22.0% to 86.6% were observed.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>pSilencer-HIF-1alpha has been successfully constructed. The inhibition of HIF-1alpha expression through shRNA technique can significantly reverse the multidrug resistance phenotype of MCF-7/ADR cells.</p>

Reversal of multidrug resistance of MCF-7/ADR in nude mice by grape seed polyphenol / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the reversing effect of Grape seed polyphenol (GSP) on multidrug resistance of MCF-7/ADR cell in vivo.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The transplantable breast carcinoma cell line MCF-7/ADR model was established in BALB/C-nu/nu mice by subcutaneous implantation. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to investigate the changes of Pgp expression and apoptosis rate after different drug treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>GSP has some effect on inhibition of tumor growth (the rate of inhibition was 18.35%), and combined with adriamycin can significantly inhibit tumor growth in nude mice, 20 mg/kg GSP can effectively reverse the resistance of MCF-7/ADR cells to ADR in vivo, and the rate of inhibition was 54.64%. FCM results showed that the expression of Pgp was significantly decreased (32.03 +/- 2.09) After administration of GSP and ADR, there was distinct difference between it and control (55.13 +/- 2.12). The mean rate of apoptosis was 15.12% +/- 1.04%, and was significantly increased compared with control (9.07% +/- 0.43%), P < 0.05.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>GSP can effectively reversed the resistance of MCF-7/ADR cells in nude mice, the mechanism may be correlated with inhibition of Pgp expression and apoptosis.</p>

Methylation of mismatch repair gene (MMR) in primary hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华病理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the role of methylated mismatch repair (MMR) genes (hMLH1, hMSH2 and hMSH3) in the carcinogenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Samples of 38 cases of HCC along with their corresponding noncancerous tissues, 2 samples of donated normal tissue and 6 cell lines were collected and subject to the methylation-specific PCR (MSP) to examine promoter methylation status of MLH1, MSH2 and MSH3. Six tumor cell lines were analyzed before and after 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment. In addition, alterations of mRNA expression of MMRs were investigated by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>CpG island methylation of hMLH1 and hMSH2 was observed in 13.2% (5 of 38 samples) and 68.4% (26 of 38 samples) respectively in HCC, 2.6% (1 of 38 samples) and 55.3% (21 of 38) respectively in corresponding noncancerous tissues, but not in normal control tissues. Promoter methylation of the hMSH2 gene was present in 83.3% of cell lines tested (5/6), but none were observed for the hMLH1 gene. Promoter methylation of the hMSH3 gene was not identified in any tissue samples or cell lines. After 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment, hMSH2 methylation was induced or completely reversed, and its mRNA expression was increased in most cell lines.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Our results suggest that promoter hypermethylation of hMLH1 and hMSH2 genes is common in HCC. Particularly, there is a high frequency of methylation of hMSH2 in both cancer and noncancerous tissues, but not in normal control tissue. Therefore, hypermethylation of MMR genes, especially hMSH2, may be involved in the carcinogenesis of HCC and may serve as an early diagnostic marker for HCC. The close correlation between hMSH2 methylation and low expression of its mRNA suggests that hMSH2 methylation is an important pathway in the regulation of gene expression.</p>