A novel approach to monitor intracellular degradation kinetics of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles by means of flow cytometry.

The intracellular degradation of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) is studied by means of flow cytometry (FACS). NPs are prepared with PLGA of two different ratios of the d,l-lactide and glycolide blocks: 85 : 15 and 65 : 35. PLGA molecules are labelled with rhodamine B.

Association between epidermal growth factor receptor gene copy number and ERCC1, BRCA1 protein expression in Chinese patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Mutation in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene may predict response to chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the correlation between EGFR gene copy status and protein levels of drug-resistant genes, such as excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC1) and breast cancer 1 (BRCA1), remains unclear. We retrospectively analyzed formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissues from 109 Chinese patients with NSCLC.

The unique surface molecules on intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes: from tethering to recognizing.

Interspersed among epithelial cells (ECs), intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) might be important constituents of the physiological and immunological barriers of the intestinal epithelial layer. IELs are composed of memory-effector T cell subtypes bearing the T cell receptor-γδ (TCRγδ) and TCRαβ. The intimate cell adhesion molecules- and tight junction proteins-mediated biological interactions between IELs and ECs ensure that IELs can reside within the intraepithelial compartment and survey large areas of the villus epithelium.

Design of hybrid multimodal poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) polymer nanoparticles for neutrophil labeling, imaging and tracking.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) incorporating quantum dots (QDs), superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and gold (Au) NPs for neutrophil labeling were fabricated via the w/o/w double emulsion method. QDs and SPIONs were entrapped in the PLGA core during emulsification while Au NPs were assembled on top of the PLGA NPs via electrostatic interactions. Transmission Electron Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CLSM) were applied to characterize the hybrid PLGA NPs.

Disturbance of intraepithelial lymphocytes in a murine model of acute intestinal ischemia/reperfusion.

Strategically located at the epithelial basolateral surface, intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) are intimately associated with epithelial cells and maintain the epithelial barrier integrity. Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced acute injury not only damages the epithelium but also affects the mucosal barrier function. Therefore, we hypothesized that I/R-induced mucosal damage would affect IEL phenotype and function.

The jagged-2/notch-1/hes-1 pathway is involved in intestinal epithelium regeneration after intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Background: Notch signaling plays a critical role in the maintenance of intestinal crypt epithelial cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of Notch signaling in the proliferation and regeneration of intestinal epithelium after intestinal ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to sham operation or I/R by occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) for 20 min.

High expression levels of class III β-tubulin in resected non-small cell lung cancer patients are predictive of improved patient survival after vinorelbine-based adjuvant chemotherapy.

The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency and predictive value of the expression of tumor microtubule components in patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer (R-NSCLC) subsequently treated with vinorelbine-based adjuvant chemotherapy. The expression of the microtubule components was evaluated in 85 R-NSCLC tumor samples using immunohistochemistry. All patients received vinorelbine-based chemotherapy.

Pure cultures and characterization of yak Sertoli cells.

The culture of primary Sertoli cells has become an important resource in the study of their function. However, their use is limited because of contamination of isolated cells with other testicular cells, mainly germ cells. The aim was to establish technique to obtain pure yak Sertoli cells as well as to study the growth kinetics and biological characteristics of Sertoli cells in vitro.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for stage I non-small cell lung cancer: long-term survival and prognostic factors.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcomes of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) major pulmonary resection in patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Of the 411 stage I patients, 318 (77.4 %) underwent complete VATS (c-VATS), while 89 (21.

An essential role for C5aR signaling in the optimal induction of a malaria-specific CD4+ T cell response by a whole-killed blood-stage vaccine.

The protective immunity induced by the whole-killed parasite vaccine against malarial blood-stage infection is dependent on the CD4(+) T cell response. However, the mechanism underlying this robust CD4(+) T cell response elicited by the whole-killed parasite vaccine is still largely unknown. In this study, we observe that immunization with Plasmodium yoelii-parasitized RBC lysate activates complement C5 and generates C5a.

[Role of cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP) in the regulation of intestinal epithelial barrier function under hypoxia].

Objective: To investigate the role of cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP) in the regulation of intestinal epithelial barrier function under hypoxia.

Methods: Intestinal epithelial barrier was established by Caco-2 monolayers. Cells were divided into four groups: normoxia (Nx), normoxia plus Forskolin(Nx+FSK), hypoxia(Hx), hypoxia plus SQ22536(Hx+SQ22536).

Effects of intraepithelial lymphocyte-derived cytokines on intestinal mucosal barrier function.

The mucosal surface of the gastrointestinal tract directly interacts with the mucosal lumen, which is continuously exposed to foreign antigens. Specialized intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), located between the basolateral surfaces of the epithelial cells, are important as the first line of defense against microbes as well as for their role in the maintenance of epithelial barrier homeostasis. Although IELs are mainly composed of T cells, they are phenotypically and functionally distinct from T cells in peripheral blood or the spleen.

Lipid layer engineering of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles to control their uptake and intracellular co-localisation.

Poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by an O/W emulsion-solvent evaporation method with polyethyleneimine (PEI) in the water phase as a stabiliser. Layer-by-Layer (LbL) assembly was used to engineer the surface of the NPs. Then, the multilayer coated PLGA NPs were further modified via self-assembly with lipid vesicles composed of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-choline (DOPC) and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-l-serine (DOPS) at different molar ratios: 65 : 35, 75 : 25, 85 : 15 and 95 : 5.

Divergent roles of amino acid residues inside and outside the BB loop affect human Toll-like receptor (TLR)2/2, TLR2/1 and TLR2/6 responsiveness.

TLR2 specifically recognizes a wide range of ligands by homodimerizing or heterodimerizing with TLR1 or TLR6. However, the molecular basis of the specific signalling transduction induced by TLR2 homodimerization or heterodimerization with TLR1 or TLR6 is largely unknown. In this study, we found three amino acid residues, two (663L and 688N) outside and one (681P) inside the BB loop, which were conserved in all of the TLRs, except for the TLR3 toll/IL-1R(TIR) domain.

Study of intracellular delivery of doxorubicin from poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles by means of fluorescence lifetime imaging and confocal Raman microscopy.

The intracellular delivery of Doxorubicin (Dox) from poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles stabilised with bovine serum albumin, in HepG2 cells, is studied via flow cytometry, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) and cell viability studies. Flow cytometry shows that the initial uptake of PLGA and Dox follow the same kinetics. However, following 8 h of incubation, the fluorescence intensity and cellular uptake of Dox decreases, while in the case of PLGA both parameters remain constant.

A case of thymic Langerhans cell histiocytosis with diabetes insipidus as the first presentation.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is an idiopathic group of reactive proliferative diseases linked to aberrant immunity, pathologically characterized by clonal proliferation of Langerhans cells. LCH rarely involves the thymus. We report a case of thymic LCH with diabetes insipidus as the first presentation, without evidence of myasthenia gravis and without evidenced involvement of the skin, liver, spleen, bones, lungs and superficial lymph nodes.

Effect of targeted silencing of hTERT mRNA by lentivirus-mediated siRNA on A549 lung cancer cells in vitro.

In our present study, we took advantage of the characteristics of RNA interference technology, which can efficiently, stably, and specifically silence target genes, and designed a small interfering RNA (siRNA) that could specifically target hTERT mRNA. We used a lentiviral vector (LV) to deliver the hTERT siRNA into telomerase-positive A549 lung cancer cells and investigated the effect of hTERT siRNA on the hTERT mRNA levels, hTERT protein levels, cell proliferation, and apoptosis in the lung cancer cells. The results from quantitative PCR, Western blotting, and the MTT assay showed that the expression levels of both hTERT mRNA and protein in the cells were significantly decreased and that the cell proliferation rate started to significantly slow down at 48 h after transfection with hTERT-LV.

RNAi targeting of hTERT gene expression induces apoptosis and inhibits the proliferation of lung cancer cells.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of RNAi-mediated reduction in human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression on apoptosis and lung cancer cell proliferation. A number of cell lines, including 95D, were used. hTERT mRNA levels were detected, and the RNA concentration was calculated.

[EGFR gene copy number, ERCC1 and BRCA1 protein expression and their relationship in non-small cell lung cancer].

Objective: To evaluate the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene copy number and the expression of ERCC1 and BRCA1 proteins in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the correlation between them.

Methods: The status of EGFR gene copy number was determined by in situ hybridization (FISH), and the expression of ERCC1 and BRCC1 proteins was examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The relationship of EGFR gene copy number with the expression of ERCC1 and BRCA1 and the clinical pathologic features were analyzed.

Effect of plasmid-mediated RNA interference targeting telomerase reverse transcriptase on lung cancer cells.

In the present study, a plasmid-mediated siRNA interference vector targeting the hTERT gene was constructed and stably transfected into H1299 lung cancer cells. Using real-time quantitative fluorescent PCR technology, western blotting and flow cytometry-based cell cycle profiling, the silencing effect of this vector and its inhibitory effect on proliferation in lung cancer cells were explored. Based upon the results of our previous study, a pair of siRNA sequences was selected, and a DNA template primer was designed and synthesized.

Heat shock protein-60 expression was significantly correlated with the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) in the clinical pathology of lung adenocarcinoma, and to explore whether the expression of HSP60 can act as an independent predictor for tumor relapse and prognosis after radical resection of lung adenocarcinoma.

Methods: Paraffin sections of lung adenocarcinoma tumor tissues were collected from 103 patients. Using immunohistochemistry, the expression levels of HSP60 in lung adenocarcinoma were detected.

The relationship between Bmi-1 and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lung squamous cell carcinoma.

This study aimed to investigate the expression of Bmi-1 in lung squamous cell carcinoma tissues and the relationship between Bmi-1 and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. RT-PCR and western blot analysis were performed to detect the expression of Bmi-1, E-cadherin, and Vimentin in 56 cases of lung squamous cell carcinoma tissues and adjacent normal tissues. The positive rates of Bmi-1, E-cadherin, and Vimentin mRNA expression in lung squamous cell carcinoma tissues were 73.

Long-term outcome and cost-effectiveness of complete versus assisted video-assisted thoracic surgery for non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: To compare the outcomes and costs of two methods of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) major pulmonary resection in patients with clinically resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Between January 2000 and December 2007, 1,058 patients with proven stages I-IIIA NSCLC underwent complete VATS (c-VATS) or assisted VATS (a-VATS) major pulmonary resection together with a systematic nodal dissection.

Results: The study cohort consisted of 736 men and 322 women.

[Video-assisted mini-thoracoscopy for complete resection of 28 cases of pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung].

Background And Objective: Video-assisted mini-thoracoscopy (VAMT) has been used for pulmonary lobectomy for 20 years, which has many merits including small wound, less pain and quick recovery. VAMT is the tendency of pectoral minimally invasive surgical treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of video-assisted mini-thoracoscopy (VAMT) for radical resection of pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung.