miR-133 inhibits pituitary tumor cell migration and invasion via down-regulating FOXC1 expression.

Many studies have shown that microRNA (miR)-133 functions as a tumor suppressor in a variety of metastatic cancers, including breast cancer, gastric cancer, and liver fibrosis. However, the influence of miR-133 on pituitary tumor malignancy has not yet been reported. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of miR-133 in pituitary tumor cell migration and invasive ability and the molecular mechanisms involved. Our findings suggest that in pituitary adenoma cell lines, through direct targeting and negative control of forkhead box C1 (FOXC1), miR-133 can inhibit pituitary adenoma cell migration and invasion. In addition, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition can be induced by miR-133. Additionally, a negative correlation was found between FOXC1 and miR-133 expression when comparing their expression levels between cancerous tissue and adjacent normal tissue. This suggests that miR-133 can inhibit cell migration and invasion by directly targeting FOXC1, implying that miR-133 could be a potential therapeutic target for treatment of invasive pituitary adenoma.

Temporal expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in peritoneal macrophages of rats and effects of panax notoginseng saponins.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the temporal expression pattern of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and effects of panax notogensing saponins (PNS) in peritoneal macrophages of rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Phagocytosis function of peritoneal macrophages was measured by chicken red blood cell phagocytosis assay in vitro. Expression of COX-2 mRNA and protein, PGE(2) and PGD(2) production were determined with real-time PCR, Western blotting and radioimmunoassay, respectively. RESULTS: Phagocytosis function of macrophages increased significantly after stimulation and reached peak during 2-3h. Expression of COX-2 mRNA and its protein increased markedly after stimulation and reached the first peak at 2 h and 3h, respectively; and then decreased to reach a minimum at 24h. The second peak appeared at 36h. PNS (50, 100, 200 mg/kg) increased the phagocytosis function obviously at 2h, decreased the expression level of COX-2 and PGE(2) production at 2 h and elevated COX-2 expression and PGD(2) production at 36 h, respectively. CONCLUSION: COX-2 expression in peritoneal macrophages has a double-hump feature after stimulation. PNS enhanced phagocytosis, inhibiting COX-2 expression at an early stage and elevating it at a later stage.

Lead distribution in blood and organs of mice exposed to lead by vein injection.

To study lead (Pb) distribution in organs and blood in the case of Pb poisoning, mice were firstly exposed to Pb as 0.1 mL or 0.2 mL of lead nitrate solution (0.1 mg/mL) by vein injection every other day. Then, after metabolic absorption, the Pb level in the blood and organs of the mice was measured using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The resulting data showed that 93% of Pb in blood was accumulated in red cells, but this percentage slightly decreased with increasing exposure time and injection volume. For other target organs, the highest Pb level was in the kidney, followed by the liver, spleen, heart and lung, and was lowest in the brain. Moreover, the Pb level in the heart and brain is in a growth trend at all times for 0.1 mL and 0.2 mL of Pb injection exposure in 15 days, while the growth trend of Pb in other target organs become slow for 0.2 mL of injection after exposure Pb 11 days.

On-column amperometric detection in capillary electrophoresis with an improved high-voltage electric field decoupler.

An improved fabrication method for a decoupler for on-column amperometric detection in capillary electrophoresis (CE) is described. The decoupler is fabricated by etching one side-wall of the capillary with hydrofluoric acid after the polymer coating had been etched by laser, then the etched hole is sealed with adhesive. The steady time, electric conductivity efficiency and performance are investigated. On-column amperometric detection by CE of para-substituted phenols was carried out by coupling with a carbon-fiber microelectrode (10-microm diameter) and a practical small electrochemical detection cell.

A reproducible, simple, and sensitive high-performance capillary electrophoresis method for simultaneous determination of capreomycin, ofloxacin and pasiniazide in urine.

Separation and determination of capreomycin (Cp), ofloxacin (Oflx) and pasiniazide (Ipa) in urine by high-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) with 280 nm detection have been studied systematically. The calibration lines were linear in the range of 0.5 approximately 50 mg 1(-1), and the detection limits (S/N = 3) were 0.15, 0.20 and 0.10 mg 1(-1) for Cp, Oflx and Ipa, respectively. The recoveries for these materials from urine were higher than 93.5%. The accuracy and intra- and inter- day reproducibility of Cp, Oflx and Ipa were determined with satisfactory results. This method was successfully used for determining Cp. Oflx and Ipa in human urine.

[Investigation on electrochemical behavior of emodin and its application].

Emodin showed a second-order derivative reduction wave with peak potential of -0.75 V (SCE) by single sweep oscillopolarography using H3BO3-Na2B4O7 (pH 8.50) as base solution. The peak height of emodin is proportional to the concentration in the range of 1.42 x 10(-7)-5.7 x 10(-6) mol.L-1 and 7.1 x 10(-6)-7.1 x 10(-5) mol.L-1, respectively. The detection limit is 0.7 x 10(-7) mol.L-1. It can be employed for the determination of emodin in Rheum officinale Baill with satisfaction. The electrochemical behavior of emodin was studied and the electrode reaction mechanism was proposed. In addition, it was found that emodin, aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, rhein and physcion can scavenge superoxide anion radical produced by the autoxidation of pyrogallol. The scavenging activity is in the order: emodin > aloe-emodin > chrysophanol > rhein > physcion.

Separation of five antipyretic analgesics by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography.

The derivatives of antipyrine and phenylbutazone are important antipyretic analgesics commonly used in clinical medicine. Although high performance liquid chromatography has been the conventional method used for the analysis of these drugs, in recent years capillary electrophoresis was validated to be a useful method in the analysis of antipyretic analgesics. However, there has been no report on the separation of antipyrine (AP), 4-aminoantipyrine (4-AAP), aminopyrine (APY), dipyrone (DIP) and phenylbutazone (PHE) in the literature. In this paper, a micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatographic (MECC) separation method was described for the five antipyretic analgesics.

Effect of freeze-thaw cycles on serum measurements of AFP, CEA, CA125 and CA19-9.

AFP, CEA, CA125 and CA19-9 are commonly used serum tumour markers (TMs) in clinical practice, although their quantification by immunoassay may be influenced by pre-analytical sample handling. Though the effect of repetitive freeze-thaw cycles is generally recognized, it is not clear in detail. The present study measured (CLIA) these TMs in serum samples freshly separated and after each of five freeze-thaw cycles, in which the samples were frozen at -40 degrees C for 10 months at cycle 4 and 2 h at other cycles. Statistical analysis with the General Linear Model for Repeated Measures revealed significant decreases in the measurements of the four TMs, with the least decrease of 6.8 % for CA125 and the most decrease of 18.2 % for CA19-9 after the last cycle, and an overwhelming single cycle decrease of mean 7.7 % at cycle 4 for AFP, CEA and CA125, of 7.5 % and 9.3 % at cycles 4 and 5 for CA19-9. So it seems that measurements of AFP, CEA and CA125 are more readily affected by long-term frozen storage compared with frequent freezing-thawing, while CA19-9 is relatively unstable under both conditions.

[Application of capillary electrophoresis in the analysis of pesticides].

Capillary electrophoresis has proved to be a suitable microseparation technique for the analysis of a wide variety of chiral and achiral pesticides. In this paper, the applications and developments in the field of pesticide separation by HPCE are reviewed with 50 references, including different operating models and chiral agents. Furthermore, the advantage and trend of development are also pointed out.

Comparison of high-performance capillary electrophoresis and liquid chromatography on analysis of zinc 5-aminosalicylate dihydrate and related materials.

Separation and determination of zinc 5-aminosalicylate dihydrate (ZASA) and related materials by high-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) and liquid chromatography (HPLC) have been studied systematically. The R.S.D. of peak time and area and detection limits of materials were lower in HPLC compared to HPCE. HPCE and HPLC were used for determining ZASA and related materials in crude and treated ZASA using acid and heat, and similar results with both techniques showed the principal impurities in the crude ZASA were 5-aminosalicylic acid (ASA) and salicylic acid (SA), the compounds from ZASA decomposing under conditions of acid and heat were ASA, p-aminophenol and 5-benzeneazosalicylic acid.

Comparison of high performance capillary electrophoresis and liquid chromatography for the determination of acyclovir and guanine in pharmaceuticals and urine.

High-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were developed and applied to the determination of acyclovir (ACV) and guanine (G) in pharmaceuticals. The comparison study showed that two methods gave comparable results in linear range, recovery and reproducibility. HPCE was used for the determination of ACV and G in urine; the recovery was better than 81.3% and the RSD was less than 4.4%.