Identification of a high-efficiency baculovirus DNA replication origin that functions in insect and mammalian cells.

Unlabelled: The p143 gene from Autographa californica multinucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) has been found to increase the expression of luciferase, which is driven by the polyhedrin gene promoter, in a plasmid with virus coinfection. Further study indicated that this is due to the presence of a replication origin (ori) in the coding region of this gene. Transient DNA replication assays showed that a specific fragment of the p143 coding sequence, p143-3, underwent virus-dependent DNA replication in Spodoptera frugiperda IPLB-Sf-21 (Sf-21) cells.

Promotion of wound healing using adipose-derived stem cells in radiation ulcer of a rat model.

Background: Wound healing is a complex biologic process that involves the integration of inflammation, mitosis, angiogenesis, synthesis, and remodeling of the extracellular matrix. However, some wounds fail to heal properly and become chronic. Although some simulated chronic wound models have been established, an efficient approach to treat chronic wounds in animal models has not been determined.

Adipose-derived stem cells seeded on acellular dermal matrix grafts enhance wound healing in a murine model of a full-thickness defect.

Introduction: The promotion of wound healing using dermal substitutes has become increasingly widespread, but the outcomes of substitute-assisted healing remain functionally deficient. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) have been investigated widely in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, and they have the potential to enhance wound healing. In this study, we focused on investigating the effects and mechanism of ASCs combined with an acellular dermal matrix (ADM) to treat full-thickness cutaneous wounds in a murine model.

[Construction of a double functional recombinant strain of Pichia pastoris co-expressing phytase and mannanase and the enzymatic analyses].

Co-expression of phytase and mannanase in Pichia pastoris is a useful way to reduce the production cost in feedstuff industry. Based on the published DNA sequences of phytase gene and mannanase gene, primers were designed and genes phyA and man were cloned by PCR from Aspergillus terreus and the plasmid pHBM1201, respectively. Then the two fragments were treated and inserted into the same expression vector pHBM907C, which contains both the methanol-inducible promoter and the transcription terminator of the AOX1 gene, resulting the plasmid pHBM907C-phyA and the plasmid pHBM907C-man.

Importin alpha1 is involved in the nuclear localization of Zac1 and the induction of p21WAF1/CIP1 by Zac1.

Zac1, a novel seven-zinc-finger transcription factor, preferentially binds GC-rich DNA elements and has intrinsic transactivation activity. To date, the NLS (nuclear localization signal) of Zac1 has not been empirically determined. We generated a series of EGFP (enhanced green fluorescence protein)-tagged deletion mutants of Zac1 and examined their subcellular localization, from which we defined two NLSs within the DNA-binding (or zinc-finger) domain.

[Surgical treatment of anterior circulation aneurysm via pterion keyhole approach].

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of pterion keyhole approach with minimal invasion for treatment of the anterior circulation aneurysm.

Method: Aneurysm clipping through the pterion keyhole approach was performed in patients with anterior circulation aneurysms, including 9 with posterior communication artery aneurysms, 3 with middle cerebral artery aneurysms and 6 with anterior communication artery aneurysms, who were in stages I to III according to Hunt-Hess scale.

Result: All the aneurysms were clipped successfully.

[Experimental study of a biological dural graft in rabbits].

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a dural graft prepared using porcine membrane in duraplasty.

Methods: Eighteen New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into groups A (n=4), B (n=4), C (n=5), and D (n=5) sacrificed 3, 14, 30 and 90 d after duraplasty, respectively. Each animal underwent bilateral parietal craniectomy behind the coronal suture and beside the midline to expose the dura, which was cut on the right side and substituted with the dural graft.

[Origin and clinical significance of the vertebral arterial fenestration: report of a case].

Fenestration of the vertebral artery, different from duplication, is a rare vascular variation, which can be usually classified into extracranial, intracranial and extracranial-intracranial types. We report a case of extracranial fenestration detected by cerebral angiography, and analyze the embryologic pathogenesis and clinical significance of this variation.