The hazardous effects of tobacco smoking on male fertility.

The substantial harmful effects of tobacco smoking on fertility and reproduction have become apparent but are not generally appreciated. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4000 kinds of constituents, including nicotine, tar, carbonic monoxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals. Because of the complexity of tobacco smoke components, the toxicological mechanism is notably complicated.

Estradiol pretreatment attenuated nicotine-induced endothelial cell apoptosis via estradiol functional membrane receptor.

Cigarette smoking is highly associated with increased cardiovascular disease complications. The female population, however, manifests reduced cardiovascular morbidity. We define nicotine's effect upon human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), determine whether estradiol might ameliorate endothelial dysfunction via its membrane estrogen receptor (mER), and attempt to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

The role of Dby mRNA in early development of male mouse zygotes.

Ejaculated mammalian spermatozoa contain a complex yet specific population of mRNA. However, the possible roles that mRNA has in early zygotic and embryonic development remain unclear. We found that Dby mRNA is selectively retained in capacitated mouse spermatozoa, and is transferred into the oocyte during fertilization by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction even though no DBY protein expression is detected.

Nicotine induces cyclooxygenase-2 and prostaglandin E(2) expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Nicotine is a major component of cigarette smoking which may be involved in the progress of atherogenesis. In order to explain the mechanism of nicotine-induced endothelium dysfunction, we investigated the effects of nicotine on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Nicotine treatment increased the expressions of COX-2 at mRNA and protein level in a dose-dependent manner, following prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) release enhancement.

Modified PCR methods for 3' end amplification from serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) tags.

Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) is a powerful technique to study gene expression at the genome level. However, a disadvantage of the shortness of SAGE tags is that it prevents further study of SAGE library data, thus limiting extensive application of the SAGE method in gene expression studies. However, this problem can be solved by extension of the SAGE tags to 3' cDNAs.

Semi-nested PCR analysis of unknown tags on serial analysis of gene expression.

Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) is a powerful technique for studying gene expression at the genome level. However, short SAGE tags limit the further study of related data. In this study, in order to identify a gene, we developed a semi-nested PCR-based method called the two-step analysis of unknown SAGE tags (TSAT-PCR) to generate longer 3'-end cDNA fragments from unknown SAGE tags.

[Serial analysis of gene expression in parasitological research].

Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) is a powerful high-throughput experimental technique that allows rapid, quantitative analysis of global gene expression in eukaryotic organisms. A short sequence taq (10-14 bp), which is defined by an anchoring enzyme site at a fixed distance from polyA tail, contains sufficient information to identify mRNA transcript from which it originates. The taqs are ligated to obtain concatemers that are cloned into a plasmid vector for sequencing.

[Testosterone could induce a rapid rise in intracellular free Ca2+ concentration through binding to the membrane surface of bone marrow-derived macrophages].

Objective: To investigate the ways testosterone influences the murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) and how testosterone affects the function of BMMs after bound to their membrane surface.

Methods: BMMs were cultured in vitro, their total RNA and proteins isolated, and the expression of intracellular androgen receptor (AR) detected through RT-PCR and Western blotting. The binding site of testosterone (T) to the membrane surface of BMMs was observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy after T-BSA-FITC incubation.

Identification of the proteins related to cytochrome P450 induced by fenvalerate in a Trichoplusia ni cell line.

In order to reveal the metabolic reaction to the presence of fenvalerate mediated by P450 in insects, we used the trypan blue exclusion technique and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol)-2,5-diphenyltrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assay to assess the vitality of Trichoplusia ni (Tn) cells treated with fenvalerate, and observed dose- and time-dependent changes in total cellular P450s. In addition, two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) were used to identify the proteins involved in the fenvalerate reaction process. Finally, the cDNA of P450 fragments was cloned and real-time RT-PCR was performed.

[Study of effects of drugs on myocardial hypertrophy due to overload].

Objective: To study the relation of expression change of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), angiotensin II (Ang II), and endothelin-1 (ET-1), and the effect of imidapril on myocardial hypertrophy due to overload.

Methods: Sixty-three rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham operation (n=15), overload group (n=16), imidapril group (n=16), and Caweidiluo group (n=16). Hypertrophic myocardium was reproduced in rats by constricting abdominal aorta.

[Ultrastructural study on pharyngeal armature of seven species of sandflies in china by scanning electron microscopy].

Objective: To observe the ultrastructure of pharyngeal armature of 7 species of sandflies in China.

Methods: The pharyngeal armature of various sandflies were studied by scanning electron microscopy.

Results: The pharyngeal armature of sandfly consisted of pointed-teeth with various shape, number and arrangement among different species.

Effects of testosterone and 17-beta-estradiol on TNF-alpha-induced E-selectin and VCAM-1 expression in endothelial cells. Analysis of the underlying receptor pathways.

This study investigated the effects of testosterone and 17-beta-estradiol on tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-induced endothelial expression of E-selectin and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and the potential roles of hormone receptors involved in these actions. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were stimulated with TNF-alpha in the presence or absence of testosterone or 17-beta-estradiol, and the expression of E-selectin and VCAM-1 was investigated. As shown by Western blot analysis, co-administration with testosterone or 17-beta-estradiol increased the expression of E-selectin and VCAM-1 induced by TNF-alpha at 6 h and 3 h, respectively.