CERKL attenuates blue light-induced oxidative stress in human retinal pigment epithelial cells by activating the SIRT1/E2F1 axis / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM:To investigate whether ceramide kinase-like protein(CERKL)alleviates oxidative stress injury of retinal pigment epithelial(RPE)cells induced by blue light via activating the silent information regulator 1(SIRT1)/E2F transcription factor 1(E2F1)axis. METHODS:Cultured human retinal pigment epithelial-19(ARPE-19)cells were irradiated with blue light to observe the morphological changes, and the expression of CERKL was detected by PCR and Western blot. ARPE-19 cells were transfected with siRNA-CERKL and pcDNA3.1-CERKL respectively. After exposure to blue light, cell viability was determined by MTT assay, apoptosis was detected by TUNEL assay, content of oxidative stress markers and the expression of SIRT1/E2F1 axis was analyzed. Then siRNA-SIRT1 was transfected into ARPE-19 cells, and the oxidative stress damage of ARPE-19 cells under blue light irradiation was detected again.RESULTS:ARPE-19 cells gradually contracted into spheres and appeared vacuoles after exposure to blue light. Blue light irradiation led to the increase of CERKL expression level(P<0.05), meanwhile, the rate of cell viability was decreased(P<0.05), the rate of the apoptosis was increased(P<0.05), contents of reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine were increased(P<0.05). Silence of CERKL aggravated this phenomenon, while up-regulation of CERKL could alleviate this change(P<0.05). Up-regulation of CERKL also activated the expression of SIRT1 and promoted the deacetylation of E2F1(P<0.05). Silencing SIRT1 could reverse the alleviating effect of up-regulating CERKL on oxidative stress injury of ARPE-19 cells induced by blue light(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: CERKL can reduce oxidative stress damage of ARPE-19 cells induced by blue light via activating SIRT1 expression and promoting the deacetylation of E2F1.

Correlation between regional cerebral blood flow and degree of brain tissue injury of interictal epileptic activity in patients with epilepsy / 中华核医学杂志

Objective To explore the correlation between the change of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and brain tissue injury from interictal epileptic activity in patients with epilepsy. Methods Fortyeight patients with epilepsy and 30 healthy persons were included in the styudy from which the serum S100β protein levels were determined by double antibody sandwich ELISA method. SPECT rCBF imaging was performed in all patients. The visal and semi-quantitative analyses were used to analyze the epileptic foci.SPSS 11.0 was applied for variance and linear correlation analyses. Results Serum S-100β in patients with interictal epileptic activity was significantly higher than that in control group ((0.572 ± 0. 163) μg/Lvs (0.218 ±0. 134) μg/L, t =9.96, P <0.01). According to epilepsy control criteria, 20 cases achieved complete control (CC), 18 cases acheived partial control (PR). However, 10 cases got no improvement,whose serum S-100β protein ((0. 809 ±0. 056) μg/L) and the percentage change of rCBF ((0. 337 ±0. 060) %) were significantly higher than those of CC ((0.443 ± 0. 083) μg/L, (0.035 ± 0.038) %) and those of PC ((0.585 ±0. 108) μg/L, (0. 187 ±0.075)%), F=56. 740, 92. 316, P <0.01. There were high correlation between serum S-100β and the percentage change of rCBF in epilepsy patients (r =0. 887,P<0.01). Conclusion Serum S-100β protein assay combined with rCBF on SPECT imaging can make semi-quantitative diagnosis of epilepsy and help evaluate the brain damage from interictal epileptic activity.

Effect between felodipine plus irbesartan and felodipine plus metoprolol regimen on the sexual function in young and middle-aged women with hypertension / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the effects between felodipine plus irbesartan and felodipine plus metoprolol regimen on blood pressure and the sexual function in young and middle-aged hypertensive women.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In this prospective, randomized, parallelized, controlled and fixed combined therapy trial, 99 female patients (aged 18 to 60) with grade 1 and grade 2 hypertension (BP ≥ 140/90 mm Hg and < 179/109 mm Hg, 1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) were assigned to felodipine 5 mg q.d + irbesartan 150 mg q.d (F + I group, n = 49) and felodipine 5 mg q.d + metoprolol 47.5 mg q.d (F + M group, n = 50) group. Target blood pressure was < 140/90 mm Hg. The female sexual function index (FSFI) questionnaire, levels of serum estradiol and testosterone were assessed. Female sexual dysfunction was defined as a FSFI score of less than 25.5. Patients were followed up for 24 weeks.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The rate of achieving blood pressure goal between 2 groups was similar at the 4th, 8th, 12th and 24th weeks respectively (42.9% vs. 62.0% at 4th week, 89.8% vs. 90.0% at 8th week, 93.9% vs. 94.0% at 12th week, 98.0% vs. 96.0% at 24th week, P > 0.05). Compared to baseline, scores for the items related to "desire" and "arousal" were significantly improved (P < 0.05), the level of the serum estradiol was significantly elevated [(50.3 ± 37.4) pg/L vs. (54.4 ± 10.8) pg/L before menopause, (18.4 ± 2.9) pg/L vs. (20.2 ± 3.1)pg/L after menopause, P < 0.05] and the level of the serum testosterone was significantly decreased [(722.8 ± 277.1) ng/L vs. (650.0 ± 156.0) ng/L before menopause, (841.2 ± 279.3) ng/L vs. (761.9 ± 197.8) ng/L after menopause, P < 0.05] in the F + I group, while scores for the items related to "sexual desire" and "lubrication" were statistically reduced (P < 0.01), the concentration of the serum estradiol was significantly reduced [(57.4 ± 9.7) pg/L vs. (51.1 ± 12.1) pg/L before menopause, (19.8 ± 2.3) pg/L vs. (17.8 ± 3.3) pg/L after menopause, P < 0.01] and the level of the serum testosterone was significantly increased [(775.6 ± 217.8) ng/L vs. (886.0 ± 186.4) ng/L before menopause, (812.5 ± 311.3) ng/L vs. (914.4 ± 300.2) ng/L after menopause, P < 0.01] in the F + M group. FSFI score was negatively correlated with age and systolic blood pressure levels.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>felodipine plus irbesartan or metoprolol for 24 weeks equally reduced blood pressure and the former regimen is superior to the latter on sexual function improvement in this patient cohort.</p>

The study of ictal brain SPECT during seizures induced by clonidine and sleep-deprivation in patients with epilepsy / 中华核医学杂志

Objective To evaluate the feasibility and clinical value of combined clonidine and sleep-deprivation induced seizures for ictal brain SPECT imaging in patients with epilepsy. Methods Fiftytwo epilepsy patients were given oral clonidine plus sleep-deprivation to induce seizures with video-electroencephalogram (VEEG) monitoring. Forty-seven patients were selected as control group, whose seizures were induced by sleep-deprivation only. 99Tcm-ethylcysteinate dimer (ECD) was injected within 30 s since a clinical sign and/or a typical EEG discharge of epilepsy was recognized. Brain SPECT was performed 30 min after 99TcmECD injection. X2-test was performed by using software SPSS 10. 0. Results One to two hrs after oral intake of clonidine plus sleep-deprivation, 75% (39/52) patients were induced seizures, including 92.3% (36/39) with subclinical seizures and 7.7% (3/39) with clinical seizures. Ictal brain SPECT localized the lesions with high uptake of 99Tcm-ECD in 37 (94.9%) patients. In control group, 38.3% ( 18/47) were induced epileptic seizures, including 77.8% (14/18) with subclinical seizures and 22.2% (4/18) with clinical seizures. The induction rate of epileptic seizures in clonidine plus sleep-deprivation group was significantly higher than that of control group (X2 = 13.614, P ＜ 0.01 ). However, there was no significant difference in clinical seizures between the two groups (X2 = 1.253, P ＞ 0.05 ). Conclusions The combination of oral intake of clonidine and sleep-deprivation could increase the induction rate of epileptic seizures and it is effective for epilepsy SPECT imaging.