Synthesis and evaluation of (S)-2-ethoxy-3-phenylpropanoic acid derivatives as insulin-sensitizing agents.

A series of (S)-2-ethoxy-3-phenylpropanoic acid derivatives were synthesized and their insulin-sensitizing activities were evaluated in 3T3-L1 cells. Compounds 1b and 1d exhibited more potent insulin-sensitizing activity than rosiglitazone.

[Mutation analysis of 12S rRNA and tRNA-Ser(UCN) genes in a large Chinese family with maternally inherited nonsyndromic hearing loss by intermarriage].

Objective: To identify the possible mutation at possible sites in different mitochondrial genes that leads to hearing loss in a large Chinese pedigree.

Methods: Blood samples from a Hunan pedigree were obtained with informed consent. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes using kit.

[Clinical evaluation of four cytokines in serum and prostatic fluid in chronic abacterial prostatitis].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between four cytokines in serum and prostatic fluid and chronic abacterial prostatitis (CAP).

Methods: The levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were detected in 86 patients with CAP [CAP I (n = 60), WBC > or = 10/HP; CAP II (n = 26, WBC < 10/HP)], and 20 healthy males as control by ELISA.

Results: IL-2, IL-8 and TNF-alpha in serum and prostatic fluid, and IL-4 in serum in patients with CAP I were markedly higher than those in the control, respectively (P < 0.

[A family with nonsyndromic hearing impairment caused by intermarry].

Deafness is the most prevalent sensory system impairment in human, about 70 % of genetic deafness belongs to nonsyndromic hearing impairment. It was estimated that the total number of genes involved in nonsyndromic hereditary deafness was over 100. So far, approximate 80 loci have been mapped to human chromosome, and 23 genes have been identified.

Effect of melatonin on the generation of nitric oxide in murine macrophages.

In the present investigation, the effects of melatonin on the generation of nitric oxide in stimulated murine macrophages were studied by electron paramagnetic resonance techniques, and the underlying mechanisms were discussed. Upon stimulation with lipopolysaccharide/interferon-gamma, macrophages generated a high concentration of nitric oxide. Melatonin pretreatment significantly inhibited the generation of nitric oxide.

Molecular pathology of skin carcinogenesis due to arsenicalism from coal-burning.

Arsenicalism has been observed throughout the world and has become an urgent public health concern. The authors explored the mechanism of carcinogenesis of inorganic arsenic in patients with arsenicalism from coal-burning pollution. The 68 subjects were divided into 3 groups--carcinoma, precarcinoma, and common-on the basis of pathological diagnosis.