[The effects of leptin on neuron apoptosis in mice with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury].

Objective: To study the effect of leptin on neuron apoptosis in mice with cerebral ischemia injury.

Methods: Seventy-five male Kuming mice were randomly divided into 3 groups:sham, model and leptin intervention group, respectively. Focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury model in mice was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion.

FHL2 inhibits the Id3-promoted proliferation and invasive growth of human MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

Background: Id3 plays a key role in the progression of breast cancer. Previously, four and a half LIM protein (FHL2) was identified as a repressor of Id family proteins by interacting with them. This study aimed to investigate the effects of FHL2 on the transcriptional regulation and oncogenic activities of Id3 in human breast cancer cells.

Leptin administration alleviates ischemic brain injury in mice by reducing oxidative stress and subsequent neuronal apoptosis.

Background: Recent research has indicates that leptin plays a protective role in traumatic brain injury. We studied the protective effect of leptin on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by using mice transient focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury model.

Methods: The distribution of 125I-leptin in the mouse brain was assessed by radioimmunoassay method.

[The role of Leptin on neuron apoptosis in mice with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury].

Objective: To study the effect of Leptin on neuron apoptosis in mice with cerebral ischemia injury and its mechanism.

Methods: Seventy-five mice were randomly divided into three groups. Focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury model in mice was reproduced by middle cerebral artery occlusion for 2 hours followed by reperfusion.

MSCs: Biological characteristics, clinical applications and their outstanding concerns.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multi-potent adult stem cells harboring multi-lineage differentiation potential and immunosuppressive properties that make MSCs an ideal candidate cell type for immunomodulation and regenerative medicine. Currently, MSC-related researches and clinical trials have evoked exciting promise in a variety of disorders and tissue regeneration. However, it must be recognized that several critical potential problems have also emerged from current clinical trials, for example: (1) the indefinite association between the phenotypic characteristics and the biological functions of MSCs; (2) the lack of clinical data to support the long-term safety of MSCs; (3) the need for further clarification of multiple mechanisms of MSC transplant actions in vivo; and (4) the lack of comparability of MSC transplant efficacy.

[Effects of leptin on apoptosis of rat cerebral astrocytes with ischemia/hypoxia injury].

Objective: To investigate the effect of leptin on apoptosis of rat cerebral astrocytes with ischemia/ hypoxia injury and its mechanism.

Methods: The cerebral astrocytes with ischemic/hypoxia injury were induced in neonatal SD rats. The cellular viability of injury of astrocytes was detected by MTT assay.

[Protective effect of leptin against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice].

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of leptin against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice.

Methods: Mouse models of transient focal cerebral ischemia were established by occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery for 2 h followed by 24 h reperfusion. The infarct volume and neurological deficit scores following leptin treatment were determined using TTC staining and the Longa's score, respectively, to evaluate the protective effect of leptin against ischemic cerebral injury.

GC-rich promoter elements maximally confers estrogen-induced transactivation of LRP16 gene through ERalpha/Sp1 interaction in MCF-7 cells.

LRP16 gene has been characterized as an estrogen-responsive gene. One 1/2ERE/GC-rich site was previously identified to be indispensable for -676/-214 (region A) fragment within LRP16 regulatory region to confer E2 action. Here, we report that -213/-24 fragment (region B) has higher E2-responsiveness than that of region A in MCF-7 cells, but not in HeLa cells.

Induction of the LRP16 gene by estrogen promotes the invasive growth of Ishikawa human endometrial cancer cells through the downregulation of E-cadherin.

LRP16 was previously identified as an estrogen-induced gene in breast cancer cells. The responsiveness of LRP16 to estrogen and its functional effects in endometrial cancer (EC) cells are still unclear. Here, we show that the mRNA level and promoter activity of the LRP16 gene were significantly increased by 17beta-estradiol (E2) in estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha)-positive Ishikawa human EC cells.

[Epidermal growth factor receptor mutation in non-small cell lung cancer and breast cancer].

Somatic mutation in the tyrosine kinase (TK) domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is associated with the sensitivity of non-smal cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to TK inhibitor Gefitinib. Mutational analysis for EGFR exons 19 and 21 was performed in 75 NSCLC and 10 breast cancer patients. All patients had not received treatment of Gefitinib.

Prevalence of BK virus and JC virus in peripheral blood leukocytes and normal arterial walls in healthy individuals in China.

Several studies have demonstrated that BK virus (BKV) and JC virus (JCV) establish latent infection in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) of healthy individuals; however, the main populations studied are European. In this study, the prevalence of BKV and JCV DNA in PBLs from healthy adult individuals and umbilical cord blood from newborn children in China was detected by semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (snPCR) followed by restriction enzyme analysis. The results suggest that the healthy adult Chinese population harbors BKV and JCV DNA in peripheral leukocytes.