Multicolor Zinc(II)-Coordinated Hydrazone-Based Bistable Photoswitches for Rewritable Transparent Luminescent Labels.

Repeatable printing of invisible multicolor luminescence patterns with long retention times on transparent substrates is of significant importance, but it remains a formidable challenge. Here, two novel hydrazone-based on/off fluorescent photoswitches with decent emission quantum efficiencies, good reversible photoisomerization properties, and extremely long thermal half-lives, were designed and synthesized. Excitingly, X-ray crystallography data of both Z and E isomers of one hydrazone-based photoswitch were obtained.

Mas receptor activation attenuates allergic airway inflammation via inhibiting JNK/CCL2-induced macrophage recruitment.

Background: Defective absorption of acute allergic airway inflammation is involved in the initiation and development of chronic asthma. After allergen exposure, there is a rapid recruitment of macrophages around the airways, which promote acute inflammatory responses. The Ang-(1-7)/Mas receptor axis reportedly plays protective roles in various tissue inflammation and remodeling processes in vivo.

Metformin alleviates allergic airway inflammation and increases Treg cells in obese asthma.

Obesity increases the morbidity and severity of asthma, with poor sensitivity to corticosteroid treatment. Metformin has potential effects on improving asthma airway inflammation. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a key role in suppressing the immunoreaction to allergens.

Metformin Attenuates Cyclosporine A-induced Renal Fibrosis in Rats.

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of metformin in preventing cyclosporine A (CsA)-induced nephrotoxicity.

Methods: Three groups of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with vehicle, CsA, and CsA + metformin for 4 weeks following 1 week on low sodium diet, respectively. At the end of treatment, all animals were euthanized, and the samples of kidney, urine, and blood were collected for functional, morphological, and molecular biological evaluation.

Metformin inhibits TGF-beta 1-induced MCP-1 expression through BAMBI-mediated suppression of MEK/ERK1/2 signalling.

Aims: Metformin is a biguanide derivative widely used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recent evidence demonstrates that this anti-hyperglycaemic drug exerts renal protective effects, yet the mechanisms remain poorly understood. monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) has been recognized as a key mediator of renal fibrosis in chronic kidney diseases, including diabetic nephropathy.

A prospective clinical trial to compare the performance of dried blood spots prenatal screening for Down's syndrome with conventional non-invasive testing technology.

To evaluate, side by side, the efficiency of dried blood spots (DBSs) against serum screening for Down's syndrome, and then, to construct a two-tier strategy by topping up the fetal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) secondary screening over the high-risk women marked by the primary blood testing to build a practical screening tactic to identify fetal Down's syndrome. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven low-risk Chinese women, with singleton pregnancy, were enrolled for the study. Alpha-fetoprotein and free beta human chorionic gonadotropin were measured for the serum as well as for the parallel DBS samples.

Airway smooth muscle cells from ovalbumin-sensitized mice show increased proliferative response to TGFβ1 due to upregulation of Smad3 and TGFβRII.

Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the role of Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 signaling in the proliferation of airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs).

Background: TGF-β1 is an important cytokine in airway remodeling in asthma. However, results of studies focusing on the effect of TGFβ1 on proliferation of ASMCs are controversial.

DPP-4 (CD26) inhibitor sitagliptin exerts anti-inflammatory effects on rat insulinoma (RINm) cells via suppressing NF-κB activation.

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (CD26), a cell surface glycoprotein, is expressed by a variety of cells. It has been shown that dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (CD26) is involved in T cell activation. Nonetheless, its role in inflammatory effects in islet β cells has not been well investigated.

MEK1 and MEK2 differentially regulate human insulin- and insulin glargine-induced human bladder cancer T24 cell proliferation.

Background: Increased risk of bladder cancer has been reported in diabetic patients. This study was to investigate the roles of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) 1 and 2 in the regulation of human insulin- and insulin glargine-induced proliferation of human bladder cancer T24 cells.

Methods: In the absence or presence of a selective inhibitor for MEK1 (PD98059) or a specific siRNA for MEK2 (siMEK2), with or without addition of insulin or glargine, T24 cell proliferation was evaluated by cell counting kit (CCK)-8 assay.

[Relationship of adverse pregnancy outcomes and a high risk serum screen for Down syndrome in the second trimester].

Objective: To investigate the the relationship of a high risk serum screen for Down syndrome in second trimester and adverse pregnancy outcomes, and to evaluate the predictive value for adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: The tri-marker second trimester maternal serum screening for Down syndrome (alpha-fetoprotein, free beta-hCG and unconjugated estriol) was performed on the pregnant women at Peking Union Medical Hospital from January 2009 to January 2011. The cutoff valvue was 1/270.

Lipopolysaccharide-enhanced early proliferation of insulin secreting NIT-1 cell is associated with nuclear factor-kappaB- mediated inhibition of caspase 3 cleavage.

Background: Increased levels of plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS) have been found in obesity and diabetes patients. This study was to investigate the effect of LPS on pancreatic beta-cell viability and the involvement of caspase 3 in NIT-1 cell line.

Methods: Mouse insulinoma NIT-1 cells were treated with LPS for the indicated time and dose.

Cytogenetic and clinical analysis of 340 Chinese patients with primary amenorrhea.

Objective: To analyze the relationship between karyotypes and clinic features of patients with primary amenorrhea.

Methods: G banding was done for 340 patients with primary amenorrhea to facilitate individual chromosome identification, and if specific staining for certain portions of the chromosome was necessary, C banding was used. The clinical data were recorded by physical examination and ultrasound scanning.

Effective enrichment of prostate cancer stem cells from spheres in a suspension culture system.

Background: Stem-like prostate cancer cells are also called prostate cancer stem cells (PrCSCs). These rare cells are supposed to be highly tumorigenic and to be involved in maintenance of tumor homeostasis and mediation of tumor metastasis. Methods for sorting PrCSCs are mainly based on sorting cells with the marker (CD133(+)/CD44(+)) or side population cells.

miR-375 enhances palmitate-induced lipoapoptosis in insulin-secreting NIT-1 cells by repressing myotrophin (V1) protein expression.

Lipoapoptosis of pancreatic beta cells caused by elevated circulating free fatty acids (FFAs) has now been recognized to be a pivotal factor contributing to beta cellular dysfunction and beta-mass lose in type 2 diabetes. Although recent studies suggested an important role for the ceramide pathway in the late destructive phase of lipid overload in the pancreatic beta cells, the overall underlying mechanisms leading to lipoapoptosis, however, remained poorly understood. mir-375 was recently characterized to be a pancreatic islet-specific miRNA implicated in the regulation of insulin secretion and beta-mass turnover.

[Correlation of a disintegrin and metalloprotease 12 level in maternal serum during the first trimester with pregnancy outcome].

Objective: To explore the relationship between pregnant outcomes and the maternal serum level of a disintegrin and metalloprotease 12 (ADAM 12) in the first trimester.

Methods: From July 2007 to January 2008, the serum levels of ADAM 12 of 511 women in their first trimester (6 - 13 gestational weeks), who attended the clinics at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, were tested by Time-Resolved Fluorescence Immunoassay (TR-FIA), and the results and pregnant outcomes were analyzed.

Results: (1) The median levels of ADAM 12 at 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 weeks of gestation were 14.

[Second trimester maternal serum screening for Down's syndrome in mainland China: a multi-center prospective study].

Objective: To evaluate the performance characteristics of the second trimester double-marker test for the detection of fetal Down's syndrome in mainland China.

Methods: This prospective national multi-centered study used alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and free beta-subunit of human chorionic gonadotrophin (free beta-hCG) as the serum markers. From May 2004 to September 2006, 11 centers participated in the collection and analysis of maternal serum AFP and free beta-hCG between 14 and 20(+6) weeks of pregnancy.

[Effect of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha agonist on adipokines expression in rats fed with high-fat diet].

Objective: To explore the effect of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha ( PPAR-alpha) agonist fenofibrate on adipokines expression in high-fat diet fed SD rats and its relationship to insulin resistance (IR).

Methods: Rats were randomized into three groups (n = 10) : HD group, fed with high-fat diet; HDF group, fed with high fat diet and treated with fenofibrate; and control group, fed with normal diet. Animals were sacrificed after 4-week follow-up.

Inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases during chronic allograft nephropathy in rats.

Background: Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) belongs to the major causes of long-term kidney allograft failure. One of the histologic hallmarks of CAN is interstitial fibrosis, influenced by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that are controlling extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation. Whether MMPs affect the development and progression of CAN is not clear so far.

Effects of progesterone and selective oestrogen receptor modulators on chronic allograft nephropathy in rats.

Background: We recently demonstrated that oestrogens ameliorate the progression of chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN). In our present study, we investigated the role of progesterone and selective oestrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) in this process.

Methods: Female Fisher (F344) kidneys were orthotopically transplanted into intact or ovariectomized female Lewis recipients.

Protective effects of FTY720 on chronic allograft nephropathy by reducing late lymphocytic infiltration.

Background: Lymphocytic infiltration is obvious throughout early and late stages of chronic allograft nephropathy. Early infiltrating lymphocytes are involved in initial insults to kidney allografts, but the contribution of late infiltration to long-term allograft attrition is still controversial. Early application of FTY720 reduced the number of graft infiltrating lymphocytes, and inhibited acute rejection.

Apoptosis and treatment of chronic allograft nephropathy with everolimus.

Background: Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is responsible for most cases of late kidney allograft loss. However, no effective treatment is available so far. Everolimus (RAD) (40-O [2-hydroxyethyl] rapamycin) is a new immunosuppressive agent with antiproliferative and apoptosis-enhancing effects.

Opposite effects of testosterone and estrogens on chronic allograft nephropathy.

In the present study we investigated whether donor gender or the effects of sex hormones play the greater role in the development of chronic allograft nephropathy. Kidneys of male and female Fisher rats were orthotopically transplanted into castrated male Lewis recipients. Animals were treated with testosterone, estradiol, or vehicle and the kidneys were harvested 20 weeks after transplantation for histological, immunohistological, and molecular analysis.

Early application of Met-RANTES ameliorates chronic allograft nephropathy.

Background: Initial insults to kidney allografts, characterized by infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells, contribute to chronic allograft nephropathy. Chemokines such as RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed) are thought to be responsible for the recruitment and activation of infiltrating cells. The present study investigated whether early application of Met-RANTES, a chemokine receptor antagonist that blocks the effects of RANTES, can protect renal allografts from long-term deterioration.

Recipient age and weight affect chronic renal allograft rejection in rats.

Nephron doses and immune responses change with age. Therefore, age is a potential risk factor for graft survival after kidney transplantation. The aim of this study was to determine whether age-related differences are of importance for long-term outcomes after renal transplantation.