Screening of differentially expressed genes during adipocyte differentiation by suppression subtractive hybridization technique / 浙江大学学报·医学版

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To screening differentially expressed genes related to adipocyte differentiation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Total RNA extracted from the preadipocyte cell line SW872 was taken as the Driver and the total RNA from the differentiated adipocytes SW872 as the Tester. Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was used to isolate the cDNA fragments of differentially expressed genes. The products of SSH were inserted into pGM-T vector to establish the subtractive library. The library was amplified through E.coli transformation and positive clones of the transformants were screened. Positive clones were sequenced. Nucleic acid similarity was subsequently analyzed by comparing with the data from GenBank.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were 135 white clones in the cDNA library, 64 positive clones were chosen randomly and sequenced and similarity search revealed 34 genes which expressed differentially in adipocyte differentiation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The subtracted cDNA library for differentially expressed in adipocyte differentiation has been successfully constructed and the interesting candidate genes related to adipocyte differentiation have been identified.</p>

Effect of early high fat diet on pancreatic β cellularity and insulin sensibility in young rats / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of early high fat diet on sugar metaboliam, insulin sensibility and pancreatic β cellularity in young rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty male weaned young rats were randomly fed with high fat diet (high fat group) and normal diet (control group). The body weight, viscus fattiness and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were measured after 3, 6 and 9 weeks. Serum insulin level was measured with radioimmunoassay. The ultrastructure of pancreas was observed under an electricmicroscope.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The high fat group had significantly higher body weight and visceral fat weight than the control group after 3 weeks. There were no significant differences in the FPG level between the two groups at all time points. The levels of fasting insulin and HOMAIR in the high fat group were significantly higher than those in the control group after 3, 6 and 9 weeks (P<0.01). Dilation of rough endoplasmic reticulum and mild swelling of mitochondria of islet β-cells were observed in the high fat group after 6 weeks.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Early high fat diet may induce a reduction in insulin sensitivity and produce insulin resistance in young rats. Endoplasmic reticulum expansion in β-cells may be an early sign of β-cell damage due to obesity.</p>

Dynamic expression of matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 8 in rat cervix / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To elucidate the relationship between collagen degradation and cervical ripening by detecting dynamic expressions of matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP-2) and 8 (MMP-8) in rat cervix.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>SPF rats were divided into 5 groups (n=6), namely non-pregnancy estrus interval group, gestational days 10, 16, and 19 groups, and immediately postpartum group. The wet weight of the cervix was measured and HE staining was used to display the general structure of the cervix. VG staining was applied to visualize the collagen fibers and muscular fibers. Immunohistochemistry was performed to observe the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-8 in the cervix.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>HE staining showed that the rat uterine cervix consisted mainly of fibroblasts and fibrous connective tissues. A small quantity of neutrophils could be seen in the cervix stroma of the rats immediately after immediately parturition, but not at the other time points. The wet weight of the antepartum cervix had increased, and a more obvious increase was seen in the wet weight of the cervix immediately after parturition. The collagen fibers of the cervix consisted of collagen fibers and smooth muscle fibers, and their proportions showed no significant variation at the time points around the parturition. Immediately after parturition, the collagen fibers and muscular fibers in the cervix became loosened as compared with that before parturition. MMP-2 expression was found in the cervical stroma but not in the squamous epithelium in nonpregnancy, term pregnancy, and immediately after parturition; the smooth muscle cells, vascular wall, and stromal fibroblasts showed positive expression of MMP-2. Enhanced intensity of MMP-2 staining was seen in term pregnancy and postpartum group in comparison with that in the other groups. MMP-8 expression was observed in the cervix of rats immediately after parturition, with scattered neutrophils positive for MMP-8 spotted in the stroma of the ripened cervix. MMP-8 expression was not detected in the other groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Ripened cervical fibrous tissue becomes loose and broken, and cervical ripening is accompanied by infiltration of neutrophils from exogenous vessels. These changes are particularly evident after parturition. MMP-2 and MMP-8 cooperate to degrade the cervical fibers, leading to cervical softening and expansion.</p>

Association between marital quality and hypertensive disorder in pregnancy / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the sociopsychological basis of hypertensive disorder in pregnancy (HDP) and explore a new pathway for etiological study of HDP.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A prospective investigation was conducted in 1154 women in second trimester pregnancy and 9 factors were surveyed using Olson marital quality questionnaire (ENRIC). The discrepancy between the norms and factor scores of ENRIC was analyzed, and the scores of ENRIC were compared between normal gravidas and patients with HDP. The correlation between ENRIC scores and the severity of the condition was also evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The score of the 1124 gravidas for marital satisfaction was significantly higher than the norm (P<0.05), but the scores for relationship with relatives and sexual life were significantly lower (P<0.05). The other 6 factors had similar scores with the norms (P>0.05). Patients with HDP had significantly lower scores for 7 factors than the normal gravidas (P<0.05), but had comparable scores for financial arrangement and sexual life (P>0.05). The severity of HDP was not found to associate with variation of the scores for the 9 factors (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Marital quality is an important social and psychological basis of HDP, and this study provides some evidence for the social and psychological investigation of the etiology of HDP.</p>

Effect and risk analysis of misoprostol in stimulating cervical maturity for post-term pregnancy / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the effect and risk of misoprostol for stimulating cervical maturity in women with post-term pregnancy negative for insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) in cervical secretion with modified Bishop score less than 3.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-one women with post-term pregnancy randomized into misoprostol group (n=37) and control group (n=34) received misoprostol placement at the posterior vaginal fornix and routine intravenous oxytocin infusion, respectively, to stimulate cervical maturity. Failure to respond to the treatment within the initial 24 h necessitated a repeated administration for no more than 3 times in all. Modified Bishop score was recorded and fetal heart monitored once every 24 h, and IGFBP-1 in the cervical secretion was detected at 24 and 48 h after drug administration.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The misoprostol group showed better effect of cervical maturity stimulation than the control group (P<0.001), and the positivity rates of IGFBP-1 24 and 48 h after drug administration were significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.01 and 0.001). The number of cases with indication for cesarean section was significant higher in the control group (P<0.001). There were no significant differences in postpartum hemorrhage, excessive uterine contraction, incidence of fecal contamination of the amniotic fluid or Apgar score of the newborn between the two groups (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Misoprostol is safe and effective for stimulating cervical maturity in women with post-term pregnancy who have modified Bishop score lower than 3 and are negative for IGPBF-1 in cervical secretion. Oxytocin is not advised for use in such gravida for stimulating cervical maturity. IGFBP-1 in cervical secretion may serve as an important index for evaluating the cervical maturity.</p>

Characteristics of uterine contraction and stages of labor under continuous epidural block anesthesia / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the characteristics of uterine contraction and stages of labor during delivery under continuous epidural block anesthesia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totaling 213 parturients in spontaneous labor under epidural block anesthesia with dilated cervical orifice of 3 cm were monitored for the contraction cycle, duration, intensity and curve types of uterine contraction, and recordings were made for 30 min before and 30, 60 and 120 min after the anesthesia took effect, respectively. The duration of the active phase in the first, second and third stages of labor was compared between 421 cases with anesthesia and 237 without anesthesia.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Significant difference was noted in the objective indexes of uterine contraction recorded after anesthesia had taken effect (P<0.05) in comparison with those before anesthesia, suggesting significantly attenuated uterine contraction after anesthesia, whereas these indexes underwent no significant further variation as compared between different time points after anesthesia (P>0.05). The average active phase in the first stage was significantly shorter in anesthesia group than that in the control group (P<0.05), but the average duration of the second and third stages of labor differed little between the two groups with appropriate use of oxytocin under strict monitoring (P>0.05). The rates of obstetric forceps utilization and use of oxytocin were higher in anesthesia group than in the control group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Epidural block anesthesia produces certain influences on uterine contraction and stages of labor during delivery, for which appropriate treatment measures may prove beneficial.</p>