Thyroid hormone receptor subtype specificity for hormone-dependent neurogenesis in Xenopus laevis.

Thyroid hormone (T(3)) influences cell proliferation, death and differentiation during development of the central nervous system (CNS). Hormone action is mediated by T(3) receptors (TR) of which there are two subtypes, TRalpha and TRbeta. Specific roles for TR subtypes in CNS development are poorly understood.

Stressor and glucocorticoid-dependent induction of the immediate early gene kruppel-like factor 9: implications for neural development and plasticity.

Krüppel-like factor 9 (KLF9) is a thyroid hormone-induced, immediate early gene implicated in neural development in vertebrates. We analyzed stressor and glucocorticoid (GC)-dependent regulation of KLF9 expression in the brain of the frog Xenopus laevis, and investigated a possible role for KLF9 in neuronal differentiation. Exposure to shaking/confinement stressor increased plasma corticosterone (CORT) concentration, and KLF9 immunoreactivity in several brain regions, which included the medial amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, anterior preoptic area (homologous to the mammalian paraventricular nucleus), and optic tectum (homologous to the mammalian superior colliculus).

[Comparison between J-hook and micro-implant anchorage in the treatment of patients with bimaxillary protrusion].

Objective: To compare the difference between J-hook and micro-implant anchorage in the treatment of patient with bimaxillary protrusion.

Methods: Thirty patients with bimaxillary protrusion were divided into two groups (J-hook and micro-implant groups) and treated with MBT appliance. Four first premolars were extracted in all patients.

Programming neuroendocrine stress axis activity by exposure to glucocorticoids during postembryonic development of the frog, Xenopus laevis.

Exposure to elevated glucocorticoids during early mammalian development can have profound, long-term consequences for health and disease. However, it is not known whether such actions occur in nonmammalian species, and if they do, whether the molecular physiological mechanisms are evolutionarily conserved. We investigated the effects of dietary restriction, which elevates endogenous corticosterone (CORT), or exposure to exogenous CORT added to the aquarium water of Xenopus laevis tadpoles on later-life measures of growth, feeding behavior, and neuroendocrine stress axis activity.

Cancer gene therapy of adenovirus-mediated anti-4-1BB scFv in immunocompetent mice.

The use of immunostimulatory molecule genes aiming at enhancing anti-tumor immunity has emerged as a new approach to treat cancers. 4-1BB signaling, an important costimulatory pathway delivering a signal for T cell activation, survival and growth, has become one of the most promising targets for cancer immunotherapy. In this work, a recombinant nonreplicative adenovirus (Ad.

Distribution and corticosteroid regulation of glucocorticoid receptor in the brain of Xenopus laevis.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) play essential roles in physiology, development, and behavior that are mediated largely by the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Although the GR has been intensively studied in mammals, very little is known about the GR in nonmammalian tetrapods. We analyzed the distribution and GC regulation of GR in the brain of the frog Xenopus laevis by immunohistochemistry.

Intratumor injection of oncolytic adenovirus expressing HSP70 prolonged survival in melanoma B16 bearing mice by enhanced immune response.

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) possess potent antitumor ability to stimulate immune response. We postulated that intratumor injection of oncolytic adenovirus over-expressing HSPs might be able to exert antitumor activity by inducing antitumor immune response in immunocompetent hosts in addition to the oncolytic activity. In this study, two recombinant oncolytic adenoviruses, Ad.

Effects of interferon-alpha on rhesus monkeys: a nonhuman primate model of cytokine-induced depression.

Background: Interferon (IFN)-alpha is an innate immune cytokine that causes high rates of depression in humans and therefore has been used to study the impact of cytokines on the brain and behavior. To establish a nonhuman primate model of cytokine-induced depression, we examined the effects of IFN-alpha on rhesus monkeys.

Methods: Eight rhesus monkeys were administered recombinant human (rHu)-IFN-alpha (20 MIU/m(2)) or saline for 4 weeks in counterbalanced fashion, and videotaped behavior, as well as plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), were obtained at regular intervals to assess behavioral, neuroendocrine, immune, and neurotransmitter parameters.

Effects of larval exposure to estradiol on spermatogenesis and in vitro gonadal steroid secretion in African clawed frogs, Xenopus laevis.

Estrogen or eco-estrogenic chemicals can disrupt normal gonadal sex differentiation, causing intersex formation and feminization in amphibians. The cellular basis for estrogen-induced sex reversal is not well understood. In the present study, we investigated the concentration- and stage-dependent effects of estradiol (E(2)) exposure during the larval period on histological characteristics of gonadal sex differentiation and gonadal sex steroid secretion in vitro in the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.

Does ambulatory process of care predict health-related quality of life outcomes for patients with chronic disease?

Objective: The validity of quality of care measurement has important implications for practicing clinicians, their patients, and all involved with health care delivery. We used empirical data from managed care patients enrolled in west coast physician organizations to test the hypothesis that observed changes in health-related quality of life across a 2.5-year window reflecting process of care.

Clinical trials with oncolytic adenovirus in China.

Since the 1990s, oncolytic viruses were utilized to treat cancer patients from phase I to phase III. Oncolytic virus development in China has been keeping in step with that in other countries and even accelerated the process in some fields, especially in conducting clinical trials. H101 is one kind of oncolytic adenovirus with E1B-55KD and partial E3 deleted developed by Shanghai Sunwaybio.

Cytokine-effects on glucocorticoid receptor function: relevance to glucocorticoid resistance and the pathophysiology and treatment of major depression.

Glucocorticoids play an essential role in the response to environmental stressors, serving initially to mobilize bodily responses to challenge and ultimately serving to restrain neuroendocrine and immune reactions. A number of diseases including autoimmune, infectious and inflammatory disorders as well as certain neuropsychiatric disorders such as major depression have been associated with decreased responsiveness to glucocorticoids (glucocorticoid resistance), which is believed to be related in part to impaired functioning of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Glucocorticoid resistance, in turn, may contribute to excessive inflammation as well as hyperactivity of corticotropin releasing hormone and sympathetic nervous system pathways, which are known to contribute to a variety of diseases as well as behavioral alterations.

[Abscopal effect on metastatic tumor induced by oncolytic virus of H101 combining with local heating].

Background & Objective: The abscopal effect on the tumors is a distant antitumor activity induced by local treatments. The study was to observe the induction of abscopal effect by the combination of H101 oncolytic virotherapy with local heating.

Methods: Five patients with histologically confirmed, surgically unresectable metastatic malignant tumors (2 nasopharyngeal carcinomas, 1 pulmonary carcinoma, 1 parosteal sarcoma and 1 bladder carcinoma) that had definitely failed to the conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy or refused these therapies were enrolled in this experimental therapy.

Signal transduction by human herpesvirus 8 viral interleukin-6 (vIL-6) is modulated by the nonsignaling gp80 subunit of the IL-6 receptor complex and is distinct from signaling induced by human IL-6.

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) viral interleukin-6 (vIL-6) mediates signaling through the gp130 signal transducer but unlike human IL-6 (hIL-6) does not require the nonsignaling gp80 alpha subunit of the IL-6 receptor complex. By utilizing a gp80-refractory vIL-6 variant, vIL-6(R189L), we found that signal transduction, as measured by STAT1 and STAT3 activation and gp130 tyrosine phosphorylation in gp80+/gp130+ HEK293T cells, was modulated by gp80. Furthermore, the signaling and BAF-130 cell growth-promoting activities of vIL-6 and hIL-6 could be distinguished, and exogenous addition of soluble gp80 enhanced cell growth supported by vIL-6.

Early growth response gene-1 regulates hypoxia-induced expression of tissue factor in glioblastoma multiforme through hypoxia-inducible factor-1-independent mechanisms.

Hypoxia strongly up-regulates tissue factor and promotes plasma clotting by glioblastoma multiforme, but transcriptional mechanisms remain undefined. Here, we investigated the potential roles of early growth response gene-1 (Egr-1), Sp1, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), activator protein-1 (AP-1), and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) in the hypoxic regulation of tissue factor by glioblastoma multiforme cells in vitro. Hypoxia (1% O2) strongly induced Egr-1 mRNA within 1 hour and led to nuclear localization of Egr-1 protein.

The colloidal thyroxine (T4) ring as a novel biomarker of perchlorate exposure in the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis.

The purpose of this study was to determine if changes in colloidal thyroxine (T(4)) immunoreactivity can be used as a biomarker of perchlorate exposure in amphibian thyroid tissue. Larval African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) were exposed to 0, 1, 8, 93, and 1131 microg perchlorate/l for 38 and 69 days to cover the normal period of larval development and metamorphosis. The results of this study confirmed the presence of an immunoreactive colloidal T(4) ring in thyroid follicles of X.

What is the concordance between the medical record and patient self-report as data sources for ambulatory care?

Background: The validity of quality of care assessments relies upon data quality, yet little is known about the relative completeness and validity of data sources for evaluating the quality of care.

Objectives: We evaluated concordance between ambulatory medical record and patient survey data. Levels of concordance, variations by type of item, sources of disagreement between data sources, and implications for quality of care assessment efforts are discussed.

[Studies on the chemical constituents in herb of Lygodium japonicum].

Objective: To study the chemical constituents of Lygodium japonicum.

Method: Column chromatographic techniques were used for isolation and purification of chemical constituents of this plant and their structures were identified by spectroscopic analysis.

Result: Eight compounds were isolated and identified as tilianin (I), kaempferol-7-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (II), kaempferol (III), p-coumaric acid (IV), hexadecanoic acid 2, 3-dihydroxy-propyl ester (V), daucosterol (VI), beta-sitosterol (VII, and 1-hentriacontanol (VIII) respectively.

Determination of eleutheroside E and eleutheroside B in rat plasma and tissue by high-performance liquid chromatography using solid-phase extraction and photodiode array detection.

A HPLC method with photodiode array detection (PDA) was developed for the determination and a pharmacokinetic study of eleutheroside E (ELU E) and eleutheroside B (ELU B) in rat plasma and tissue following an eleutherococcus injection. The analysis was performed on a Kromasil C18 column, using water-acetonitrile as the gradient mobile phase and 0.8 mL/min flow rate.

Conditionally replicative adenovirus vector carrying TRAIL gene for enhanced oncolysis of human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Conditionally replicative adenovirus (CRAd) mediated tumor specific gene therapy based on transcriptional control is considered a new direction for the treatment of cancer. Our previous studies showed that an HS4 insulator increased the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) promoter-driven expression in the context of an adenovirus (Ad) vector, while retaining the highly specific gene expression in hepatoma cells in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we constructed two HS4-AFP promoter based CRAd vectors (Ad.

Investigation on the mechanism of exacerbation of myasthenia gravis by aminoglycoside antibiotics in mouse model.

To investigate the underlying mechanism of the exacerbation of myasthenia gravis by aminoglycoside antibiotics. C57/BL6 mice were immunized with acetylcholine receptor (AChR), extracted from electric organ of Narcine timilei according to Xu Haopeng's methods, in complete Fruends adjuvant (CFA) to establish experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG). EAMG mice were divided randomly into 5 groups: MG group, NS group and three antibiotics groups.

Chemoselective deprotection of cyclic N,O-aminals using catalytic bismuth(III) bromide in acetonitrile.

Cyclic N,O-aminals can be chemoselectively and efficiently deprotected using a catalytic amount of bismuth(III) bromide in acetonitrile at room temperature. This selectivity was also achieved in the presence of terminal O,O-acetal functionality. The susceptibility of various other groups to cleavage was also investigated.

Angiotensin-induced vasopressin release and activation of hypothalamic neuron in pre-term fetuses.

Our previous studies have shown that central administration of angiotensin II (ANG II) causes vasopressin release in the near-term fetus in utero as evidence that the hypothalamic-neurohypophysial system has relatively matured before birth. However, it is still unknown whether the vasopressin controlling centers have been functionally developed in younger fetuses. This study determined fetal plasma vasopressin levels and hypothalamic vasopressin neuron activity in the chronically instrumented pre-term ovine fetuses.

Inhibition of Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) enhances glucocorticoid receptor-mediated function in mouse hippocampal HT22 cells.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), including Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), promote inflammatory and proliferative responses to infection and other environmental stimuli including stress. Relevant to negative regulation of inflammatory pathways by glucocorticoids and the development of glucocorticoid resistance (observed in inflammatory disorders as well as certain neuropsychiatric disorders such as major depression), activation of JNK has been reported to inhibit glucocorticoid receptor (GR) function. In this study, the role of JNK pathways in modulating GR function was further investigated.

Development of AT(1) and AT(2) receptors in the ovine fetal brain.

This study determined the development of AT(1) and AT(2) receptors in the ovine fetal brain from preterm to term by utilizing Western blot for the receptor expression at the protein level, RT-PCR for the receptor mRNA, and immunostaining for the specific receptor immunoreactivity. The results demonstrated that AT(1) and AT(2) receptors developed in an increasing pattern from preterm to term gestational periods in the fetal sheep brain. Both AT(1) and AT(2) receptors have appeared in the major structures in the angiotensin-related central cardiovascular and body fluid controlling pathways at the 0.