[Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms of CDH13 gene with metabolic syndrome among ethnic Han Chinese].

OBJECTIVE To assess the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the T-cadherin (CDH13) gene with metabolic syndrome (MS) among ethnic Han Chinese.METHODS Genotypes of 6 SNPs(rs11646213, rs12596316, rs3865188, rs12444338, rs12051272, and rs7195409) of the CDH13 gene among 453 patients with MS and 526 controls were determined with a TaqMan method, and their association with MS was assessed. RESULTS For 5 SNPs (rs11646213, rs3865188, rs12444338, rs12051272, and rs7195409), no difference was found in allelic and genotypic frequencies of the CDH13 gene between the two groups.

Alginate oligosaccharide indirectly affects toll-like receptor signaling via the inhibition of microRNA-29b in aneurysm patients after endovascular aortic repair.

Endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) is often followed by aneurysm recurrence. Alginate oligosaccharide (AOS) has potential antitumor properties as a natural product while the related mechanisms remain unclear. Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling is associated with inflammatory activity of aneurysm and may be affected by miR-29b.

Deletion variant rs35153737 in TOR1A is associated with isolated dystonia in a Southwestern Chinese Population.

Background: TOR1A plays a very important role in early-onset isolated dystonia. Studying the association between the common variants of this gene and dystonia can help us understand the connection between TOR1A mutations and this disease.

Methods: The TOR1A exon 5 was sequenced in 223 isolated dystonia patients and 210 age-adjusted controls.

Combination of Permanent Interstitial I-Seed Brachytherapy and Surgery for the Treatment of Large Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

The treatment methods available for large primary hepatocellular carcinomas (diameter >5 cm) are inadequate. Here, we report the successful management of 80 cases of large hepatocellular carcinoma, using a combination of custom-designed permanent interstitial iodine-125 seed brachytherapy and palliative surgery. Patients were enrolled in the study between 2011 and 2014.

Experimental study of sucralfate intervention for paraquat poisoning in rats.

Objective: This study explored the effects of sucralfate intervention as a novel treatment for paraquat (PQ) poisoning in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.

Methods: After PQ poisoning, the SD rats were randomly divided into the PQ control group (treated with normal saline), the sodium bicarbonate (SB) treatment group, and the sucralfate (LTL) treatment group. Then, the rats were administered normal saline, sodium bicarbonate solution, or sucralfate suspension as an intervention by gastric lavage.

[Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells modulated the inflammatory response by regulating the expression of IL-4 and RAGE products in the rats with MODS].

Objective: To investigate the underlying mechanism of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) modulating the inflammatory response during the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), especially the expression of inflammatory cytokines, which will provide new theoretical and experimental basis of MODS in clinic.

Methods: BMSC of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat (female, 4 weeks) was extracted and cultivated, and the 4th passage were used in experimental study. According to the random number table, 60 female SD rats were divided into three groups (n = 20 per group): sham group, MODS group, BMSC group.

[Effect of pregnant rat adipose-derived stem cells on repair of acute liver injury].

Objective: To assess the effect of pregnant rat adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) on repair of acute liver injury.

Methods: ADSCs were isolated from 18-week pregnant Sprague Dawley rats and were identified by flow cytometry. Twenty Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into groups A, B, C, and D ( =5); rats in group A were not treated as normal controls; rats in groups B, C, and D were injected intraperitoneally with CCl to establish the acute liver injury model.

Efficacy of PARP inhibition in Pde6a mutant mouse models for retinitis pigmentosa depends on the quality and composition of individual human mutations.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), an inherited blinding disease, is caused by a variety of different mutations that affect retinal photoreceptor function and survival. So far there is neither effective treatment nor cure. We have previously shown that poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP) acts as a common and critical denominator of cell death in photoreceptors, qualifying it as a potential target for future therapeutic intervention.

Prolonged secretion of cortisol as a possible mechanism underlying stress and depressive behaviour.

Stress is associated with the onset of depressive episodes, and cortisol hypersecretion is considered a biological risk factor of depression. However, the possible mechanisms underlying stress, cortisol and depressive behaviours are inconsistent in the literature. This study examined the interrelationships among stress, cortisol and observed depressive behaviours in female rhesus macaques for the first time and explored the possible mechanism underlying stress and depressive behaviour.

Social correlates of the dominance rank and long-term cortisol levels in adolescent and adult male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

A common pattern in dominance hierarchies is that some ranks result in higher levels of psychosocial stress than others. Such stress can lead to negative health outcomes, possibly through altered levels of stress hormones. The dominance rank-stress physiology relationship is known to vary between species; sometimes dominants show higher levels of glucocorticoid stress hormones, whereas in other cases subordinates show higher levels.

Autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation to treat thromboangiitis obliterans: preliminary results.

Objective: To investigate the efficiency of autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT) to treat severe the lower limbs ischemia caused by thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO).

Patients And Methods: From April 2007 to December 2014, a total of 64 patients with TAO (80 affected limbs) received APBSCT at our hospital. The treatment effect was evaluated by subjective indicators including pains and cold sensation of the affected limbs, combined with objective indicators including claudication distance, ankle brachial index (ABI), transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO2) and skin temperature.

Association study of polymorphisms in miRNAs with T2DM in Chinese population.

Accumulated evidence indicates that microRNA (miRNA or miR) is involved in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Several studies have shown that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in miRNAs are associated with T2DM in Caucasian populations. The association studies of miRNA's SNPs with T2DM in Asian are rarely reported, and there are distinct genetic differences between Caucasian and Asian populations.

The first observation of seasonal affective disorder symptoms in Rhesus macaque.

Diurnal animals are a better model for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) than nocturnal ones. Previous work with diurnal rodents demonstrated that short photoperiod conditions brought about depression-like behavior. However, rodents are at a large phylogenetic distance from humans.

A spontaneous depressive pattern in adult female rhesus macaques.

Non-human primates offer unique opportunities to study the development of depression rooted in behavioral and physiological abnormalities. This study observed adult female rhesus macaques within social hierarchies and aimed to characterize the physiological and brain abnormalities accompanying depressive-like behavior. The behaviors of 31 female rhesus macaques from 14 different breeding groups were video recorded, and the footage was analyzed using the focal animal technique.

Interactions Between Targeted Ultrasound Contrast Agents With Anti-Human Interleukin 8 Monoclonal Antibody and Activated Endothelial Cells.

The study aimed to explore the role of interleukin 8 (IL-8) in atherosclerotic plaques and develop a new method for the evaluation of endothelial function by assessing the interactions between the injured endothelial cells and the targeted ultrasound agent that carried anti-human IL-8 monoclonal antibody. Anti-human IL-8 monoclonal antibodies were associated to the shells of SonoVue microbubbles by covalent conjugation technology. The specific interaction between the microbubbles and the normal or injured endothelial cells was observed using an inverted microscope.

Assessment of fibrosis during the development of fatty liver in rabbits using real-time shear-wave elastography.

Nonalcoholic and alcoholic rabbit models of fatty liver were established by feeding on high-fat diet and alcohol, respectively, and fatty liver stiffness at different pathological stages was assessed with real-time shear-wave elastography (SWE), so as to investigate the fibrosis process during the development of fatty liver. The fatty liver stiffness of rabbit in nonalcoholic and alcoholic groups was higher than that in the control group, and that in alcohol group was higher than that in the nonalcoholic group (P<0.01).

Amplitude of sensory nerve action potential in early stage diabetic peripheral neuropathy: an analysis of 500 cases.

Early diagnosis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy is important for the successful treatment of diabetes mellitus. In the present study, we recruited 500 diabetic patients from the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University in China from June 2008 to September 2013: 221 cases showed symptoms of peripheral neuropathy (symptomatic group) and 279 cases had no symptoms of peripheral impairment (asymptomatic group). One hundred healthy control subjects were also recruited.

The comparison of methods to identify the presence of fibrocytes in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded archival cardiac tissue with coronary heart disease.

The purpose of this study was to find the optimal technical approach to identify the presence of fibrocytes in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded archival cardiac tissue with CHD (coronary heart disease). Using the coexpression markers CD45 and αSMA, the presence of fibrocytes was examined by three different methods, including double immunohistochemistry staining, combination labeling of immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence and double immunofluorescence labeling. Double immunohistochemistry staining was very difficult to identify the CD45(+)/αSMA(+) fibrocytes.

Evaluation of fatty liver fibrosis in rabbits using real-time shear wave elastography.

The aim of the present study was to detect the elastic modulus (stiffness) of the livers of rabbits with non-alcoholic and alcoholic fatty liver disease using real-time shear wave elastography (SWE), and to investigate the fibrosis development process in the formation of fatty liver. The stiffness of the fatty livers in rabbit models prepared via feeding with alcohol or a high-fat diet were measured using a real-time SWE ultrasound system and a 4-15-MHz linear array probe, and the liver stiffness was compared with the pathological staging of the disease. The stiffness of the liver was positively correlated with the degree of pathological change in fatty liver disease (P<0.

Intraocular lens implantation for patients with coloboma of the iris.

The aim of this study was to analyze the techniques for intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in patients with coloboma of the iris. A retrospective cohort study was used to analyze the degree of iris coloboma and the characteristics of the crystalline lens in 56 patients with iris coloboma. The patients with a lesser degree of coloboma of the iris and an intact lens capsule were treated by iris suture and IOL implantation into the posterior chamber.

Meta-analysis of the MDM2 T309G polymorphism and gastric cancer risk.

Background: Mdm2 binds to the amino-terminus of p53 to induce its degradation and a single nucleotide polymorphism in the MDM2 promoter region (T309G) has been reported to increase the risk of several carcinomas, such as gastric cancer. However, the results of published studies to analyze the association between MDM2 T309G and gastric cancer havve often conflicted.

Methods: To better illustrate the filiation between MDM2 T309G and gastric cancer, we performed a meta-analysis.

Effects of iodine-125 seeds on the methylation of SFRP and P16 in colorectal cancer.

The current study investigated the effects of iodine-125 seeds on the gene methylation of SFRP and P16 in colorectal cancer. Mouse models of human colorectal cancer were randomly divided into an experimental group (n=25) and a control group (n=25). The control group was implanted with blank seeds (0 MBq) and the experimental group with iodine-125 seeds (14.

Assessment of atherosclerotic plaques in the rabbit abdominal aorta with interleukin-8 monoclonal antibody-targeted ultrasound microbubbles.

In this study, we aimed to prepare a neovascularization-relevant inflammatory cytokine-targeted ultrasound contrast agent and apply it in the ultrasound imaging of atherosclerotic plaque. An interleukin-8 (IL-8) monoclonal antibody was conjugated to SonoVue microbubbles using the N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate cross-linking method. Then, a prepared IL-8-targeted contrast agent was used for contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) to detect rabbit abdominal aorta atherosclerotic plaque and to investigate the imaging characteristics of atherosclerotic plaque with the contrast agent.