Role of surfactant protein C in neonatal genetic disorders of the surfactant system: A case report.

Rationale: Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) refers to the symptoms of progressive dyspnea and respiratory failure in newborns shortly after birth. The clinical and genetic characteristics of patients with neonatal RDS have not been extensively reported.

Patient Concerns: A infant was in critical condition with repeated paroxysmal blood oxygen decline.

Design of pH-sensitive peptides from natural antimicrobial peptides for enhancing polyethylenimine-mediated gene transfection.

Background: Poor endosomal release is a major barrier of polyplex-mediated gene transfection. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are commonly used to improve polyethylenimine (PEI)-mediated gene transfection by increasing endosomal release. In the present study, we designed novel pH-sensitive peptides that highly enhance transfection efficiency compared to their parent peptides.

Design of an α-helical antimicrobial peptide with improved cell-selective and potent anti-biofilm activity.

AR-23 is a melittin-related peptide with 23 residues. Like melittin, its high α-helical amphipathic structure results in strong bactericidal activity and cytotoxicity. In this study, a series of AR-23 analogues with low amphipathicity were designed by substitution of Ala1, Ala8 and Ile17 with positively charged residues (Arg or Lys) to study the effect of positively charged residue distribution on the biological viability of the antimicrobial peptide.

[The study on reversing mechanism of multidrug resistance of K562/A02 cell line by curcumin and erythromycin].

Objective: To investigate the effects of curcumin (Cur) and erythromycin (EM) on multidrug resistance (MDR) reversal of K562/A02 cell line and their mechanism.

Methods: MTT assay was employed to determine the sensitivity of Cur, EM-treated K562/A02 cells to adriamycin (ADM). Flow cytometry was used to measure intracellular mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of daunorubicin (DNR).