An antigenic recombinant serine protease from Trichinella spiralis induces protective immunity in BALB/c mice.

In this study, we report the cloning and characterization of a cDNA encoding a Trichinella serine protease gene (TspSP-1.3) from GenBank. The recombinant TspSP-1.3 protein (rTspSP-1.3) was expressed in an Escherichia coli expression system and purified with Ni-affinity chromatography. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that TspSP-1.3 was expressed at significantly higher levels in muscle larvae and adult worms than in newborn larvae. TspSP-1.3 was detected in excretory-secretory proteins of Trichinella spiralis with western blotting. Immunization with the rTspSP-1.3 antigen induced humoral immune responses, which manifested as elevated specific anti-rTspSP-1.3 IgG and IgE antibodies and a mixed Th1/Th2 response. To determine whether purified rTspSP-1.3 had good antigenicity and could be a vaccine candidate for the control of T. spiralis infection, we immunized BALB/c mice with rTspSP-1.3 and subsequently challenged the mice with T. spiralis larvae. The results showed that mice vaccinated with rTspSP-1.3 exhibited an average reduction in the muscle larvae burden of 39 % relative to the control group. These results suggest that TspSP-1.3 could be a novel vaccine candidate for controlling Trichinella infection.

Who is willing to donate their bodies in China? Perceptions, attitudes and influencing factors among citizens of Changsha.

Body donation has far-reaching significance for modern medical research and education. However, body donation in China lags far behind the demand. To assess the perception and attitude toward body donation, a survey of 2535 community residents was conducted in Changsha. The result showed that 89.5% of the respondents have heard about body donation through different sources, such as public media, medical college, and hospital. However, 61.8% of the respondents have limited knowledge of these body donation programs. The majority of respondents believed that body donation would contribute to researches in neuroanatomy, tumor biology, and ophthalmology, as well as anatomical education for medical students, and surgical training for clinicians/surgeons. Regarding the public's willingness to donate, 27.5% of respondents expressed a clear willingness. Further analysis revealed that people aged above 60 are less willing to donate. Compared with people having Confucianism funeral belief, those without the belief were 9.8 times more willing to donate. Furthermore, it was shown that respondents who had a good understanding of body donation were more willing to donate their bodies. Moreover, people thought body donation was beneficial to medical research and education were almost 10 times more willing to donate compared to those who thought it had no benefit. To promote body donation in China, greater efforts need to be made in promoting body donor programs and so increasing the public's perception toward body donation. Moreover, re-assessing and re-interpreting Confucianism beliefs regarding body donation also needs to be considered for future promotion of body donation in China and other East Asian countries.

Perceptions and Attitudes toward Brain Donation among the Chinese People.

Postmortem human brain donation is crucial to both anatomy education and research. The China Human Brain Banking Consortium was established recently to foster brain donation in China. The purpose of this study was to gain information about the public perception of and attitudes toward brain donation and to identify factors that may impact the willingness to participate in brain donation among the Chinese people. A specifically designed questionnaire was delivered to community residents in Changsha (the capital city of Hunan province) with a total of 1,249 completed forms returned and statistically analyzed. The majority of the participants considered that brain donation would help medical research and education, and 32.0% of respondents agreed that the brain donation would help change the traditional Chinese funeral belief in keeping the body intact after death. However, participants aged over 60 years old were less supportive of this concept. Among all participants, 63.7% stated that they were not knowledgeable about brain donation, while 26.4% explicitly expressed a willingness to participate in brain donation. Age, gender, monthly household income, and knowledge about brain donation significantly affected the willingness. Compared with other age groups, a higher proportion of participants aged over 60 years old preferred to be informed by a medical college. To promote brain donation in China, especially among the elderly, better communication of its medical benefits and a reinterpretation of the Confucius view of the human body should be provided. Efforts are also needed to provide appropriate forums and sources of brain donation information to targeted communities and society in general.

Evaluating phone camera and cloud service-based 3D imaging and printing of human bones for anatomical education.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of a phone camera and cloud service-based workflow to image bone specimens and print their three-dimensional (3D) models for anatomical education. DESIGN: The images of four typical human bone specimens, photographed by a phone camera, were aligned and converted into digital images for incorporation into a digital model through the Get3D website and submitted to an online 3D printing platform to obtain the 3D printed models. The fidelity of the 3D digital, printed models relative to the original specimens, was evaluated through anatomical annotations and 3D scanning. SETTING: The Morphologic Science Experimental Center, Central South University, China. PARTICIPANTS: Specimens of four typical bones-the femur, rib, cervical vertebra and skull-were used to evaluate the feasibility of the workflow. OUTCOME MEASURES: The gross fidelity of anatomical features within the digital models and 3D printed models was evaluated first using anatomical annotations in reference to Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy. The measurements of the deviation were quantised and visualised for analysis in Geomagic Control 2015. RESULTS: All the specimens were reconstructed in 3D and printed using this workflow. The overall morphology of the digital and 3D printed models displayed a large extent of similarity to the corresponding specimens from a gross anatomical perspective. A high degree of similarity was also noticed in the quantitative analysis, with distance deviations ≤2 mm present among 99% of the random sampling points that were tested. CONCLUSION: The photogrammetric digitisation workflow adapted in the present study demonstrates fairly high precision with relatively low cost and fewer equipment requirements. This workflow is expected to be used in morphological/anatomical science education, particularly in institutions and schools with limited funds or in certain field research projects involving the fast acquisition of 3D digital data on human/animal bone specimens or on other remains.

8­Gingerol regulates colorectal cancer cell proliferation and migration through the EGFR/STAT/ERK pathway.

8­Gingerol, which is extracted from ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), has been shown to possess antioxidant and anti­inflammatory properties. However, the antitumor effect of 8­gingerol has not been fully elucidated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of 8­gingerol against colorectal cancer (CRC). The results demonstrated that 8­gingerol significantly inhibited cell proliferation in CRC cell models. Treatment of CRC cells with 8­gingerol resulted in dose­dependent decreases in migration and invasion. The inhibitory effect of 8­gingerol on CRC cell growth was attributed to cell cycle arrest and increased apoptosis. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, the present study was the first to demonstrate that 8­gingerol acted as an inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling. 8­Gingerol inhibited CRC cell proliferation and migration by targeting the EGFR/signal transducer and activator of transcription/extracellular signal­regulated kinase pathway, and the effects of 8­gingerol depended on the expression of EGFR. Moreover, 8­gingerol reduced the effective dosage of 5­fluorouracil and, thereby, the toxicity of drug combination therapy. These data suggest that 8­gingerol may be a promising candidate for the development of novel anticancer agents against CRC.

Formalin-induced increase in P2X(3) receptor expression in dorsal root ganglia: implications for nociception.

1. ATP-gated P2X receptors in nociceptive sensory neurons participate in the transmission of pain signals from the periphery to the spinal cord. The effect of formalin on the expression of P2X(3) receptors in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) was characterized using molecular and immunological approaches and the patch-clamp technique. 2. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with 100 microL of 5% formalin in the planar surface of the hindpaw and were killed 30 min and 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h later for in vitro analyses. The expression and distribution of P2X(3) receptors in the lumbar spinal cord and in L5/L6 DRG were examined; 24 and 48 h after formalin injection, currents in neurons were examined using whole-cell patch-clamp recording. 3. Western blots showed that anti-P2X(3) antibody recognized a major monomer of approximately 64 kDa in DRG. Immunoreactivity for P2X(3) receptors was detected predominantly in the cytoplasm and plasma membrane of small (< 25 microm) and middle-sized (25-50 microm) DRG neurons. Expression of the P2X(3) transcript in the DRG was unchanged 30 min and 1 h after formalin injection, but increased after 12 h. There was no distinct change in P2X(3) immunostaining of the spinal cord lamina at 30 min or 1 h after injection, but after 24 h P2X(3) labelling increased. At 24 h after the formalin injection, currents in isolated small and middle-sized DRG neurons were increased by 1 micromol/L alpha,beta-methylene-ATP. These currents were completely inhibited by 1 micromol/L A-317491, a potent and selective P2X(3) receptor antagonist. 4. These data suggest that formalin injection leads to early upregulation of P2X(3) expression in the spinal cord and DRG and that this may be one of the mechanisms giving rise to nociception.

[Study on identification of aconiti by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry].

OBJECTIVE: The merhod of determination of traditional Chinese medicine of aconitum root has been established by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. METHODS: With optimized matrix of 2,5-Dihydroxy- benzoic acid for herbal extract, the identification of aconitum root by MALDI-TOF-MS has been conditioned. By comparison of mass spetra of various of aconitium root, their fingerprint mass-to-charge ratios were found to perform identification. With the characteristic mass-to-charge ratios, It was shown that the mass spectrum of raw aconitum roots were obviously different from that of processed aconitum roots. RESULTS: The raw radix aconiti could be differentiated from radix aconiti preparate by determination of MALDI-TOF-MS. CONCLUSION: The identifical method of aconitum root by MALDI-TOF-MS is rapid, precise and sensitive, it can be used in toxicological analysis of medical tangle and illegal medical practice.

Effects of total saponins of Panax notoginseng on immature neuroblasts in the adult olfactory bulb following global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion.

The main active components extracted from Panax notoginseng are total saponins. They have been shown to inhibit platelet aggregation, increase cerebral blood flow, improve neurological behavior, decrease infarct volume and promote proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells in the hippocampus and lateral ventricles. However, there is a lack of studies on whether total saponins of Panax notoginseng have potential benefits on immature neuroblasts in the olfactory bulb following ischemia and reperfusion. This study established a rat model of global cerebral ischemia and reperfusion using four-vessel occlusion. Rats were administered total saponins of Panax notoginseng at 75 mg/kg intraperitoneally 30 minutes after ischemia then once a day, for either 7 or 14 days. Total saponins of Panax notoginseng enhanced the number of doublecortin (DCX)(+) neural progenitor cells and increased co-localization of DCX with neuronal nuclei and phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding/DCX(+) neural progenitor cells in the olfactory bulb at 7 and 14 days post ischemia. These findings indicate that following global brain ischemia/reperfusion, total saponins of Panax notoginseng promote differentiation of DCX(+) cells expressing immature neuroblasts in the olfactory bulb and the underlying mechanism is related to the activation of the signaling pathway of cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein.