Lack of association of the S769N mutation in Plasmodium falciparum SERCA (PfATP6) with resistance to artemisinins.

The recent emergence of artemisinin (ART) resistance in Plasmodium falciparum in western Cambodia, manifested as delayed parasite clearance, is a big threat to the long-term efficacy of this family of antimalarial drugs. Among the multiple candidate genes associated with ART resistance in P. falciparum, the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase PfATP6 has been postulated as a specific target of ARTs.

Down-regulation of fecal miR-143 and miR-145 as potential markers for colorectal cancer.

Objective: To detect 4 MicroRNA (miRNA) in the stool samples of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients to determine whether these miRNAs could be biomarkers in CRC screening or treatment.

Methods: A retrospective comparison study was carried out in the Department of Colorectal Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China from September 2009 to March 2011. We detected 4 miRNAs (miR-143, miR-145, miR-21, and miR-106a) in the stool samples of 38 CRC patients and 13 healthy individuals.

TLR4 expression in normal gallbladder, chronic cholecystitis and gallbladder carcinoma.

Background/aims: Chronic inflammation is a risk factor for gallbladder carcinoma. The molecular mechanisms linking inflammation and gallbladder carcinogenesis are incompletely understood. Toll-like receptors are involved in inflammatory response and play an important role in the innate immune system by initiating and directing immune response to pathogens.

A selective and potent CXCR3 antagonist SCH 546738 attenuates the development of autoimmune diseases and delays graft rejection.

Background: The CXCR3 receptor and its three interferon-inducible ligands (CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11) have been implicated as playing a central role in directing a Th1 inflammatory response. Recent studies strongly support that the CXCR3 receptor is a very attractive therapeutic target for treating autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis, and to prevent transplant rejection. We describe here the in vitro and in vivo pharmacological characterizations of a novel and potent small molecule CXCR3 antagonist, SCH 546738.

RET mutational spectrum in Hirschsprung disease: evaluation of 601 Chinese patients.

Rare (RVs) and common variants of the RET gene contribute to Hirschsprung disease (HSCR; congenital aganglionosis). While RET common variants are strongly associated with the commonest manifestation of the disease (males; short-segment aganglionosis; sporadic), rare coding sequence (CDS) variants are more frequently found in the lesser common and more severe forms of the disease (females; long/total colonic aganglionosis; familial).Here we present the screening for RVs in the RET CDS and intron/exon boundaries of 601 Chinese HSCR patients, the largest number of patients ever reported.

Validating a firefly luciferase-based high-throughput screening assay for antimalarial drug discovery.

The emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum and recent detection of potential artemisinin-resistant strains in Southeast Asia highlight the importance of developing novel antimalarial therapies. Using a previously generated stable transgenic P. falciparum line with high-level firefly luciferase expression, we report the adaptation, miniaturization, optimization, and validation of a high-throughput screening assay in 384-well plates.

[The analyse of telephone follow-up affecting the compliance of sublingual desensitization treatment to allergic rhinitis patients].

Objective: To analyze the compliance of sublingual desensitization used in allergic rhinitis patients by telephone follow up, and to discuss the influencing factor associate with medicine pause.

Method: One hundred and thirty-two patients of allergic rhinitis were randomly divided into two groups, 53 cases was in the control group, 79 cases was in telephone follow up group for a period of 6 months of observation.

Result: Sublingual desensitization treatment for 6 months, 28/53 cases of control group were compliance, 25/53 cases were loss, and compliance rate was 52.

Differential expression profiles of the Hedgehog signaling pathway between microsatellite-stable and microsatellite-unstable colorectal cancers.

The present study aimed to investigate the expression of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway between microsatellite-unstable (MSI) and microsatellite-unstable (MSS) colorectal cancers (CRCs). A total of 61 samples of CRC tissue and corresponding blood samples were obtained from the surgical department of our hospital. The tissue samples were examined by immunohistochemistry using antibodies against Sonic Hh (SHH), Pathed (PTCH) and Gli1, and evaluated independently for protein expression by two pathologists blinded to clinical outcome.

Detection of circulating tumor cells in peripheral blood from patients with gastric cancer using piRNAs as markers.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of detecting circulating cancer cells in peripheral blood from gastric cancer patients using Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) as markers.

Design And Methods: Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze piR-651 and piR-823 levels in the peripheral blood of 93 patients with gastric cancer and 32 healthy volunteers. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate the diagnostic values.

[Metabolic pathway of polyamines in plants: a review].

Polyamine is an important physiological regulation substance functioning in a wide variety of biological processes, such as plant growth, development, senescence and adversity stress tolerance, which widely exist in all living organisms. Their biosynthetic pathways have already been revealed, and their physiological roles are being elucidated gradually. Previous work on polyamines biosynthetic deficiency mutants and various transgenic plants facilitates improved understanding of the important roles of polyamines and biosynthetic enzymes in plant growth and development.

Inflammatory Signals shift from adipose to liver during high fat feeding and influence the development of steatohepatitis in mice.

Background: Obesity and inflammation are highly integrated processes in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Molecular mechanisms underlying inflammatory events during high fat diet-induced obesity are poorly defined in mouse models of obesity. This work investigated gene activation signals integral to the temporal development of obesity.

MicroRNA-21 is a new marker of circulating tumor cells in gastric cancer patients.

The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has received great attention. MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) plays crucial roles in carcinogenesis and is considered as one of the most studied oncomiRNAs. We determined if miR-21 could be used a marker for the detection of CTCs in gastric cancer patients.

Different allele prevalence in the dihydrofolate reductase and dihydropteroate synthase genes in Plasmodium vivax populations from China.

Antifolate resistance in Plasmodium vivax is caused by point mutations in genes encoding dihydrofolate reductase (pvdhfr) and dihydropteroate synthase (pvdhps). In this study, we used direct sequencing to survey pvdhfr and pvdhps mutations in 122 clinical P. vivax isolates from a central and a southern province of China.

Malignant inguinal monophasic synovial sarcoma: report of a case and review of the literature.

Background: A synovial sarcoma (SS) is an aggressive soft tissue tumor that classically occurs in the extremities near, but rarely within large joints, in young adults. Variable symptoms and clinical manifestations may be encountered and a definite diagnosis should depend on pathological results. This poses certain difficulties in arriving at a prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

The MYST family histone acetyltransferase regulates gene expression and cell cycle in malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.

Histone lysine acetylation, normally associated with euchromatin and active genes, is regulated by different families of histone acetyltransferases (HATs). A single Plasmodium falciparum MYST (PfMYST) HAT was expressed as a long and a short version in intraerythrocytic stages. Whereas the recombinant PfMYST expressed in prokaryotes and insect cells did not show HAT activity, recombinant PfMYST purified from the parasites exhibited a predilection to acetylate histone H4 in vitro at K5, K8, K12 and K16.

[Biofeedback therapy for fecal incontinence in patients with mid or low rectal cancer after restorative resection].

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of biofeedback therapy for fecal incontinence in patients with mid or low rectal cancer.

Methods: Twenty-four patients with mid or low rectal cancer received biofeedback treatments after restorative resection and therapeutic efficacy was evaluated using anorectal manometry and Vaizey and Wexner scoring systems. Eighteen inpatients without defecating difficulties were selected as control group.

Kinetic assessment and therapeutic modulation of metabolic and inflammatory profiles in mice on a high-fat and cholesterol diet.

The kinetics of metabolic and inflammatory parameters associated with obesity were evaluated in a murine diet-induced obesity (DIO) model using a diet high in fat and cholesterol. Cellular infiltration and mediator production were assessed and shown to be therapeutically modulated by the PPARgamma agonist rosiglitazone. C57BL/6 mice were maintained on a 45% fat/ 0.

Xuebijing protects against lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury in rabbits.

Interleukin (IL)-23 has been identified as a member of the IL-12 cytokine family. It plays an important role in inflammation. To demonstrate the changes of IL-23 in acute lung injury (ALI) and investigate the protective effect of Xuebijing in ALI and the underlying molecular mechanism, ALI was induced by intravenous injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 750 microg/kg).

[Effect of viable Bifidobacterium supplement on the immune status and inflammatory response in patients undergoing resection for colorectal cancer].

Objective: To investigate the effect of preoperative use of viable Bifidobacterium supplement on the intestinal flora, immune status, inflammatory response and prognosis of patients undergoing colorectal cancer resection.

Methods: Sixty patients with colorectal cancer were randomized into treatment group (n=30) and control group (n=30). Patients in the treatment group received oral viable Bifidobacterium with routine enteral nutrition and patients in the control group received routine enteral nutrition alone.

Genome-wide nucleosome mapping of Plasmodium falciparum reveals histone-rich coding and histone-poor intergenic regions and chromatin remodeling of core and subtelomeric genes.

Background: Epigenetic modifications of histones and regulation of chromatin structure have been implicated in regulation of virulence gene families in P. falciparum. To better understand chromatin-mediated gene regulation, we used a high-density oligonucleotide microarray to map the position and enrichment of nucleosomes across the entire genome of P.

New prenylated flavanones from Erythrina abyssinica with protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitory activity.

As the insulin and leptin signaling pathway can be regulated by PTP1B, it has been suggested that compounds that reduce PTP1B activity or expression levels can be used for treating type 2 diabetes and obesity. In the course of our screening efforts on new PTP1B inhibitors, six new flavanones ( 1- 6) with dihydrofuran moiety and two known flavanones ( 7 and 8) were isolated from the stem bark of Erythrina abyssinica (Leguminosae). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic (including UV, CD, MS, 1D, and 2D NMR) and physicochemical analyses.

CCR2 and CXCR4 regulate peripheral blood monocyte pharmacodynamics and link to efficacy in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Background: CCR2 plays a key role in regulating monocyte trafficking to sites of inflammation and therefore has been the focus of much interest as a target for inflammatory disease.

Methods: Here we examined the effects of CCR2 blockade with a potent small molecule antagonist to determine the pharmacodynamic consequences on the peripheral blood monocyte compartment in the context of acute and chronic inflammatory processes.

Results: We demonstrate that CCR2 antagonism in vivo led to a rapid decrease in the number of circulating Ly6Chi monocytes and that this decrease was largely due to the CXCR4-dependent sequestration of these cells in the bone marrow, providing pharmacological evidence for a mechanism by which monocyte dynamics are regulated in vivo.

Preparation of albumin nanospheres loaded with gemcitabine and their cytotoxicity against BXPC-3 cells in vitro.

Aim: To optimize formulation methods for loading gemcitabine (GEM), the main drug against pancreatic cancer, into albumin nanoparticles for extended blood circulation and improved efficacy.

Methods: GEM was loaded into two sizes of disolvation-crosslinked bovine serum albumin nanoparticles, with a mean diameter of 109.7 nm and 405.

[Effect of Ginkgo biloba Pingchan Recipe on neuronal nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression in the brain of mouse models of Parkinson disease].

Objective: To study the effect of the Chinese compound prescription Ginkgo biloba Pingchan Recipe (GBPR) on experimental Parkinson disease (PD) in mice and explore the possible mechanism.

Methods: Male C57/BL6J mice were divided into normal control, PD model and treatment groups. PD model was established by intraperitoneal injection with 1-methl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin (MPTP) in the mice, and in the treatment group, GBPR was administered intragastrically after the injection.

Twin core photonic crystal fiber for in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometric sensing applications.

We will discuss fabrication of twin core photonic crystal fiber (TC-PCF) using the stack-and-draw method and its application for in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometers. The small difference in the effective indexes of the two core modes leads to interference fringes and the birefringence of the twin cores results in polarization-dependent fringe spacing. The strain sensitivity was negative and wavelength-dependent.