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Objective@#To investigate the role of long non-coding RNA double homeobox A pseudogene 9 (DUXAP9) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and to evaluate the expression level, molecular function and mechanism of DUXAP9 in HNSCC cells.@*Methods@#Differential expression of lncRNAs between normal and tumor tissues in HNSCC tissues were screened using lncRNA microarray, the expression level of DUXAP9 in HNSCC tissues and its relationship with prognosis were analyzed in the TCGA database. The expression levels of DUXAP9 in HNSCC tissues and cell lines were detected using qRT-PCR. The function in HNSCC cells after DUXAP9 silencing was evaluated using the CCK-8 assay, wound healing assay, Transwell migration assay and subcutaneous xenograft assay in nude mice. Changes in the transcription and translation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells after DUXAP9 silencing were detected using qRT-PCR and Western blot.@*Results@#lncRNA microarray results showed that, compared to adjacent normal tissues, DUXAP9 was abnormally upregulated in HNSCC tissues. Analysis from TCGA database showed that, compared to HNSCC patients with low DUXAP9 expression, HNSCC patients with high DUXAP9 expression had poorer survival. The relative expression of DUXAP9 in HNSCC tissues and 4 HNSCC cell lines increased compared to paired adjacent normal tissues as detected using qRT-PCR. Silencing DUXAP9 significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and expression of EMT-related genes in HNSCC cells. The silencing of DUXAP9 significantly inhibited subcutaneous tumorigenesis of the HNSCC cell line CAL27 in nude mice.@* Conclusion@#Silencing DUXAP9 significantly inhibited the proliferation of HNSCC cells and subcutaneous xenografts in nude mice. DUXAP9 may mediate the migration of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells via the EMT pathway.
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Objective@#To analyze changes of school canteen construction and canteen meal provision in surveilled schools after the initiation of the National Nutrition Improvement Program for Rural Compulsory Education Student (NNIPRCES), therefore to provide data basis for improving efficacy of school canteen meals.@*Methods@#From 2012 to 2017, among the 699 trial counties in 22 provinces under NNIPRCES, at least 10% of elementary schools and middle schools with each food supply model (canteen meals, enterprise meals, and family meals) were randomly selected in each county in each year. Questionnaire survey was conducted to collect school canteen construction and meal provision information. The sample size were around 8 000 to 11 000 schools every year.@*Results@#From 2012 to 2017, the proportion of schools that have canteens only, have both canteen and dining room, as well as those have canteen and dining room with tables and chairs significantly increased with years(χ 2=3 043.95, 6 383.85, 6 731.17, P<0.01). The proportion of schools having canteen increased from 59.5% in 2012 to 87.0% in 2017. The proportion of schools with canteen providing breakfast, lunch or dinner varied across years(χ 2=51.85, 144.96, 189.19, P<0.01). The varieties of food groups of three meals all significantly increased during 2012, 2014 and 2017(χ 2=702.30, 892.38, 550.55, P<0.01). The canteen construction indicators, proportion of canteens providing three meals, and food groups included in three meals all significantly differed between elementary schools and middle schools, also between schools of central area and western area(P<0.05). The changing patterns with year were significantly different in elementary schools and middle schools, and in schools of central area and western area(P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#After the implementation of NNIPRCES, canteen construction and food variety in canteen meals significantly improved during 2012 to 2017. However, there are still gaps between changes of canteen construction and canteen meal provision. It is necessary to overcome obstacles to further increase the proportion of schools with canteen offering meals and the variety of food of meals.
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Objective@#To investigate the changes of school absenteeism among students received Nutrition Improvement Program for Rural Compulsory Education Student (NIPCES), and to provide basic data for further nutritional health improvement for rural students.@*Methods@#Among 699 NIPCES monitored counties among 22 provinces across western and central China, 10%-30% of elementary and junior high schools were randomly selected as monitoring schools within each stratification according to the food supply pattern (school canteen, company and mix) in each county, school absenteeism information were collected and analyzed from 2012 to 2017.@*Results@#The total rate of student absenteeism was 26.0 per 10 000. From 2012 to 2016, it dropped from 30.8 per 10 000 to 23.4 per 10 000 year by year, but it increased again in 2017(28.2 per 10 000). The rate of school absenteeism in the western region (29.4 per 10 000) was higher than that in the central region (21.5 per 10 000); The sick leave rate (15.0 per 10 000) of primary school students was higher than that of junior high school students (13.4 per 10 000), and the rate of personal leave absences (16.9 per 10 000) of junior high school students was higher than that of elementary school students(9.9 per 10 000); the absentees rate in mixed-food supply schools (28.5 per 10 000) was higher than that in canteen food supply schools(26.4 per 10 000), the latter was higher than that of company food supply schools(25.0 per 10 000). The rate of sick leave absenteeism was highest in December(18.4 per 10 000), and the rate of personal leave absenteeism in June was highest(14.6 per 10 000).@*Conclusion@#The rate of school absenteeism among students in the NIPCES area showed an overall downward trend year by year. The absentee rate of students varies by regions, grade, food supply patterns and school locations.
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Objective@#To analyze the prevalence of stunting among students received subsidies of the National Nutrition Improvement Program for rural Compulsory Education Students (NNIPRCES) during 2012-2017.@*Methods@#By using the data from 2012-2017 NNIPRCES survey, students aged 6-15 with valid height records were included. Stunting was defined according to the Screening Criteria of Malnutrition for School Age Children and Adolescents (WS/T 456—2014). To explore the association of the risk of stunting between different regions, gender or age groups in rural students.@*Results@#The prevalence of stunting among students aged 6-15 who received subsidies of NNIPRCES during 2012-2017 were 8.0%, 7.9%, 6.9%, 6.5%, 6.0% and 5.3%, declined by 2.7, 1.8, 4.0 percentage points in average, as well as in central and western region, respectively. The prevalence of stunting declined with 2.7 percentage points for boys and ,2.9 percentage points for girls. The prevalence of stunting declined most at the age of 13, with 4.0 percentage points.@*Conclusion@#The prevalence of stunting of students has declined after the implementation of NNIPRCES from 2012 to 2017. However, the total prevalence of stunting was still high and the development was unbalanced between central and western region, which requires more target intervening strategies to improve the nutritional status of students.
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Objective@#To evaluate temporal trend in food supply among pilot schools involved in the National Nutrition Improvement Program for Rural Compulsory Education Students (NNIPRCES).@*Methods@#Ten percent of pilot schools were randomly selected and asked to report the information on food supplies. Daily intake of energy, carbohydrates and protein for each student were calculated and compared with the reference value in Nutrition Guidelines of School Meals (WS/T 554-2017).@*Results@#Energy and protein supply increased among those pilot schools. The supply of energy increased from 1 566.5 kcal in 2012 to 1 927.4 kcal in 2017, protein increased from 49.0 g to 61.0 g. The energy ratio of fat increased from 31.9% to 34.9%, while energy ratio of carbohydrate decreased significantly (F=83.38, 128.36, 20.27 and 17.28, all P<0.05). The proportion of reasonable energy supply from carbohydrate and fat in 2017 were 17.5% and 26.8%, respectively.@*Conclusion@#The supply of energy and macronutrients in the pilot areas were unreasonable, more measures including dietary guide and monitoring need to be adopted to improve students nutrition status among rural areas.
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Objective@#To analyze the usage of catering software and the creation of recipes by schools, as part of the Nutrition Improvement Program for Rural Compulsory Education Students (NIPRCES) 2013-2017.@*Methods@#In each county of the 699 trial counties across 22 provinces in central and western area of China under the NNIPRCES, no less than 10% of primary and junior middle schools were randomly selected according to their catering mode (i.e., school feeding, food packages, and family feeding). School questionnaires were used to collect information concerning the schools and the creation of recipes.@*Results@#From 2013 to 2017, the utilization rate of catering software was 11.7%, 8.0%, 17.8%, 16.9%, and 14.0%, respectively with significant differences(χ 2=345.09，P<0.01). The creators of school-meal recipes included schools, the Education Bureau, hospitals and colleges, the centers of disease prevention and control. Differences were observed in the proportion of recipe creators across school type, area, and catering mode, while annual trends also varied (P<0.01), as indicated by the following proportions: 74.9%, 20.0%, 3.7%, 1.3%, respectively. Food safety was identified as the main factor that needs to be considered when creating school recipes, the proportions of which were 58.0%, 78.4%, 70.6%, and 87.4% from 2014 to 2017.@*Conclusion@#From 2013 to 2017, the utilization rate and the frequency of catering software were both relatively low, and recipe creation was in need of professional guidance. It is necessary to strengthen the popularization of catering software and improve the nutritional knowledge and skills of canteen workers to ensure the quality of school meals.
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Objective@#To evaluate snack consumption and the influencing factors associated with student participation in the Nutrition Improvement Program, and to provide a scientific basis for improving the program.@*Methods@#Among the 50 monitoring counties that implemented the Compulsory Education Student Nutrition Improvement Program, two primary schools and two junior schools were randomly selected according to different food supply patterns (i.e., school, company, and mix). This study randomly selected one or two classes from each grade, which ranged from grade 3 to grade 9. A questionnaire, which addressed snack consumption and choice, was distributed to 27 374 students.@*Results@#The findings revealed that 14.0% of students from poor rural areas in central and western regions consumed snacks two or more times per day, and 21.6% of students spent 3 yuan or more on snacks each day. The top three choices of snacks included fruit and vegetables (50.6%), biscuits and bread (50.1%), and puffed food (40.0%). Students who had mothers who worked outside the home, parents who worked outside the home, who consumed corporate meals, and who had access to a small shop on campus were more likely to consume snacks one or more times per day(OR=1.35，1.19，1.11，1.51，P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#The phenomenon of snack consumption among primary and middle school students from poor rural areas in central and western regions is common, and the selection of unhealthy snacks was identified as a problem. A health education system with comprehensive support and guidance from individuals, families, schools, and society should be established to guide students to opt for healthier snacks.
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Objective: The aim of this study is to develop a predictive model for identifying true negatives among nonspecific benign results on computed tomography-guided lung biopsy. Materials and Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study. Between December 2013 and May 2016, a total of 126 patients with nonspecific benign biopsy results were used as the training group to create a predictive model of true-negative findings. Between June 2016 and June 2017, additional 56 patients were used as the validation group to test the constructed model. Results: In the training group, a total of 126 lesions from 126 patients were biopsied. Biopsies from 106 patients were true negatives and 20 were false-negatives. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were identified a biopsy result of “chronic inflammation with fibroplasia” as a predictor of true-negative results (P = 0.013). Abnormal neuron-specific enolase (NSE) level (P = 0.012) and pneumothorax during the lung biopsy (P = 0.021) were identified as predictors of false-negative results. A predictive model was developed as follows: Risk score = −0.437 + 2.637 × NSE level + 1.687 × pneumothorax - 1.82 × biopsy result of “chronic inflammation with fibroplasia.” The area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.78 (P < 0.001). To maximize sensitivity and specificity, we selected a cutoff risk score of −0.029. When the model was used on the validation group, the area under the ROC curve was 0.766 (P = 0.005). Conclusions: Our predictive model showed good predictive ability for identifying true negatives among nonspecific benign lung biopsy results
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Objective@#To analyze the height changes among children who had received subsidies of the National Nutrition Improvement Program for Rural Compulsory Education Students (NNIPRCES) by comparing data from the year of 2012 and 2017.@*Methods@#Among 699 counties where NNIPRCES was implemented, at least 10% of elementary schools and primary middle schools with different food supply modes (school canteen meals, company meals, and mix meals) in the county were selected randomly. Forty students from one or two classes from each grade (grade 1 to grade 9) were randomly selected, to ensure equal proportion of boys and girls in each grade were surveyed, data on height from 1 655 793 students measured in 2012 were compared with 1 419 281 students measured in 2017. Height was measured by metal height pole within 0.1 cm accuracy.@*Results@#From 2012 to 2017, the average increase of height in boys and girls aged 6-15 years was 1.9 and 2.0 cm, respectively. Among them, maximum increment was found in boys at the age of 13 years and in girls at the age of 12 years, respectively, which was 3.0 and 2.8 cm. The average increase in boys from the central and western region was 2.1 and 2.2 cm, respectively, while increase in girls from the central and western region was both 2.2 cm. Compared with the results from 2012, height of boys with the 5th, 50th and 95th height percentiles in 2012 increased by 1.7, 2.0 and 2.1 cm, respectively in 2017, while the increase in girls was 2.1, 2.0 and 2.2 cm, respectively. The average increment of western students with the 5th and 95th height percentiles was higher than those of students from the central region.@*Conclusion@#The average height of students has increased after the implementation of NNIPRCES. However, the development was unbalanced between the central and western region, which requires more targeted intervening strategies to improve the nutritional status of students.
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Objective@#To investigate milk consumption and associated factors in the national pilot counties of Nutrition Improvement Programme for Rural Compulsory Education Students (NIPRCES) in 2016, and to provide basic data for milk consumption improvement.@*Methods@#Two primary and middle schools in each county were selected randomly from 50 key monitoring counties in 22 provinces in NIPRCES by three food supply modes (school-based, company-based, and others). Then 1 or 2 classes in each grade were selected randomly from grade 3 or above and junior schools. A total of 25 948 students were collected, milk consumption and related factors were investigated through student questionnaires.@*Results@#Among the students surveyed, the proportion of students drank 1 to 3 packs of milk every week was highest (45.4%), only 29.1% students drank 4 or more packets of milk per week. The proportion of children in grades 3 and 4 who drank 4 or more packets of milk per week (35.7%) was higher than that of children in grades 5 and 6 (31.8%) and junior school (22.5%)(P<0.01). The proportion of boys who drank 4 or more packs of milk per week (30.7%) was higher than girls (27.5%) (P<0.01). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that boys, primary school students in grades 3 to 6, non-resident students, students with both parents or one parent at home, students who had more meals per day, students who had breakfast every day, students who took snacks or drank beverages once or more per day, students who drank 4 or more cups of boiled water were more likely to drink 4 or more packs of milk each week.@*Conclusion@#Students in poor rural areas in China lack access to milk. It is recommended that targeted measures should be taken to encourage and promote rural students to drink enough milk.
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Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to be associated with dermis process during burn wound healing. This study aimed to investigate the role of lncRNA X-inactive specific transcript (XIST) in human skin fibroblasts (HSF) and extracellular matrix (ECM) as well as the regulatory network of XIST/microRNA-29b-3p (miR-29b-3p)/collagen 1 alpha 1 (COL1A1). Methods: The wound samples were collected from 25 patients with deep partial thickness burn at day 5 after burn. The thermal injured model was established using HSF cells. The expressions of XIST, miR-29b-3p and COL1A1 were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot. ECM synthesis, cell proliferation and migration were detected by western blot, cell counting kit-8 and trans-well assays, respectively. The interaction between miR-29b-3p and XIST or COL1A1 was explored by bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay. Results: The expressions of XIST and COL1A1 were enhanced but miR-29b-3p expression was decreased after thermal injury. XIST overexpression promoted ECM synthesis, cell proliferation and migration in thermal injured HSF cells. However, XIST knockdown played an opposite effect. miR-29b-3p overexpression inhibited ECM synthesis, cell proliferation and migration, which was reversed by XIST. COL1A1 silence suppressed ECM synthesis, cell proliferation and migration by miR-29b-3p targeting. Moreover, COL1A1 up-regulation weakened the effect of XIST silence on ECM synthesis and HSF cell function. Conclusion: XIST promoted ECM synthesis, cell proliferation and migration by sponging miR-29b-3p and targeting COL1A1 in HSF cells after thermal injury, indicating the promoting role of XIST in wound healing.
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OBJECTIVE To determine the characterization, anti-tumor efficacy and pharmacokinetics of bufalin- loaded PEGylated liposomes compared with bufalin entity. METHODS Bufalin- loaded PEGylated liposomes and bufalin- loaded liposomes were prepared reproducibly with homogeneous particle size by the combination of thin film evaporation method and high pressure homogenization method. The particle size and zeta potential of the liposomes were determined by dynamic light scattering technique. The direct imaging of morphology of liposomes was charactered by transmission electron microscope. The content of bufalin in liposomes was analysed by HPLC method. The entrapment efficiency and the particle size was applied to assess the stability profile, after storage at 4℃ on day 0, 7, 15, 30 and 90. The in-vitro release behaviours of bufalin from liposomes were conducted using dialysis bag technique at 37℃. In-vitro cytotoxicity studies were carried out using MTT〔3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide〕assay on several kinds of tumor cell lines including SW620, PC-3, MDA-MB-231, A549, U251, U87 and HepG2. In-vivo pharmacokinetic study of bufalin liposomes was evaluated by HPLC method. RESULTS Their mean particle sizes were 127.6 nm and 155.0 nm, mean zeta potentials were 2.24 mV and - 18.5 mV, entrapment efficiencies were 76.31% and 78.40% , respectively. In- vitro release profile revealed that the release of bufalin in bufalin- loaded PEGylated liposomes was slower than that of bufalin-loaded liposomes. The cytotoxicity of blank liposomes has been found within acceptable range, whereas bufalin-loaded PEGylated liposomes showed enhanced cytotoxicity to U251 cells compared with bufalin entity. In-vivo pharmacokinetics indicated that bufalin-loaded PEGylated liposomes could extend eliminate half-life time of bufalin in plasma in rats. CONCLUSION The results suggested that bufalin-loaded PEGylated liposomes improved the solubility and increased the drug concentration in plasma.
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The amino acid contents of five floral sources Chinese honeys (jujube, rape, chaste, acacia, and lungan) were measured using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The results showed that proline was the main amino acid in most of the analyzed samples. Phenylalanine presents at the highest content in chaste honey samples, and the total amino acid contents of chaste honeys were also significantly higher than those of other honey samples. Based on the amino acid contents, honey samples were classified using chemometric methods (cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), and discriminant analysis (DA)). According to the CA results, chaste honeys could be separated from other honeys, while the remaining samples were correctly grouped together when the chaste honey data were excluded. By using DA, the overall correct classification rate reached 100%. The results revealed that amino acid contents could potentially be used as indicators to identify the botanical origin of unifloral honeys.
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The amino acid contents of five floral sources Chinese honeys (jujube, rape, chaste, acacia, and lungan) were measured using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The results showed that proline was the main amino acid in most of the analyzed samples. Phenylalanine presents at the highest content in chaste honey samples, and the total amino acid contents of chaste honeys were also significantly higher than those of other honey samples. Based on the amino acid contents, honey samples were classified using chemometric methods (cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), and discriminant analysis (DA)). According to the CA results, chaste honeys could be separated from other honeys, while the remaining samples were correctly grouped together when the chaste honey data were excluded. By using DA, the overall correct classification rate reached 100%. The results revealed that amino acid contents could potentially be used as indicators to identify the botanical origin of unifloral honeys.
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the clinical efficacy and the change of airway responsiveness to Chinese medicine (CM) in treating cough variant asthma (CVA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety-four patients who had confirmed the diagnosis of CVA were selected and randomly assigned to the treatment group and the control group by the blocked randomization method. The ratio of the two groups was 2:1. The treatment group had 63 patients that were treated by CM, lost in 10 cases, 53 patients had finished the trial. The control group had 31 patients that were treated by montelukast tablets and theophylline, lost in 5 cases, 26 patients had finished the trial, two weeks as one therapeutic course. The syndrome efficacy, cough efficacy, symptom score and the airway responsiveness between two groups were observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The comparison of the syndrome efficacy: the total effective rate of the treatment group was 90.57% and the control group was 76.92%, and the two groups were significantly different (P<0.05). The comparison of the cough efficacy: the total effective rate of the treatment group was 98.11% and the control group was 80.77%, and the two groups were also significantly different (P<0.05). Syndrome scoring and cough scoring were all significantly lowered, but the airway responsiveness was not significantly lowered.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The treatment of CM could ease the cough, improve the syndrome, and shows obvious advantages compared with the control group, which is worthy of extensive clinical application.</p>
Subject(s)
Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Cough , Drug Therapy , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Therapeutic Uses , Respiratory System , Pathology , Syndrome , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
A dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine strategy could reduce the risk of recurrence and improve the survival of breast cancer patients. However, while therapy-induced apoptosis of hepatocellular and colorectal carcinoma cells can enhance maturation and antigen presentation of DCs, whether this effect occurs in breast cancer is currently unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effect of doxorubicin (ADM)-induced apoptotic MCF-7 breast cancer cells on the activation of DCs. ADM-induced apoptotic MCF-7 cells could effectively induce immature DC (iDC) maturation. The mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of DC maturity marker CD83 was 23.3 in the ADM-induced apoptotic MCF-7 cell group compared with 8.5 in the MCF-7 cell group. The MFI of DC co-stimulatory marker CD86 and HLA-DR were also increased after iDCs were treated with ADM-induced apoptotic MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, the proliferating autologous T-lymphocytes increased from 14.2 to 40.3% after incubated with DCs induced by apoptotic MCF-7 cells. The secretion of interferon-γ by these T-lymphocytes was also increased. In addition, cell-cell interaction between apoptotic MCF-7 cells and iDCs, but not soluble factors released by apoptotic MCF-7 cells, was crucial for the maturation of iDCs. These findings constitute a novel in vitro DC-based vaccine strategy for the treatment of breast cancer by ADM-induced apoptotic MCF-7 cells.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Antibiotics, Antineoplastic/pharmacology , Apoptosis/drug effects , Breast Neoplasms/immunology , Cancer Vaccines/immunology , Dendritic Cells/immunology , Doxorubicin/pharmacology , Analysis of Variance , Coculture Techniques , Dendritic Cells/cytology , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Interferon-gamma , Lymphocyte ActivationABSTRACT
In this study,a novel technique for the preparation of 125I-5-trimethylstannyl1-(2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl) urail (FIAU) was developed,125I-FIAU biodistribution profile was detected in Kunming mice and the possibility of using FTAU radio-labeling for reporter gene imaging was explored.5-trimethylstannyl-l-(2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl) urail.(FTAU) was labeled with radioiodine (125I).A rotary evaporation method was used to remove excess methanol.The reactant was purified through a Sep-Pak C18 reversal phase column.The radiochemical purity and in vivo stability were determined using silica gel thin layer chromatography (TLC).The biodistribution of 125I-FIAU in Kunming mice was also detected.The results showed that 125I-FIAU could be radiolabeled effectively with FTAU,with mean labeling rate being (81±0.38)％ (n =5).The mean radiochemical purity of (98.01±0.40)％ (n=5) was achieved after a reversal phase Sep-park column purification.125I-FIAU was stable when incubated in normal human serum or in saline at 37℃,with a radiochemical purity ＞96％ during a 0.5-24 h time period.Biological experiments exhibited rapid clearance of 125I-FIAU from the blood pool.125I-FIAU was mostly excreted by kidneys.125I-FIAU in myocardium dropped conspicuously after 8 h and there was hardly retention at 24 h.We were led to concluded that the new method of radioiodinization of FTAU for the preparation of 125I-FIAU is easy,highly effective and stable in vivo.The biodistribution of 125I-FIAU in Kunming mice showed it can serve as an imaging probe for myocardial reporter genes.
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The 15-mer oligonucleotide sequence was synthesized, aminolinked (sense and antisense phosphodiester) and conjugated with S-Acetyl-NHS-MAG3 by a N-hydroxy-succinimide derivative. The purified MAG3-DNA was radiolabeled with 99mTc by transchelation from sodium tartrate and free 99mTc was separated by gel filtration. The radiolabeled antisense and sense probes were injected intravenously in mammary tumor-bearing KM mice(1×106 cells,6 days post inoculation).Biodistribution was studied and the mice were imaged.Essentially complete conjugation was achieved by reverse-phase Sep-Pak C18 chromatography analysis.The MAG3-DNA was labeled with 99mTc at room temperature and neutral pH, with a mean labeling efficiency of 80.11 percent (s.d=2.96 percent , N=4). After labeling, the stability of the DNA in saline or serum was retained as determined by reverse-phase Sep-Pak C18 chromatography analysis, except a shift at 30 min in serum incubation which might suggest a short time serum protein binding. The labeled antisense DNA still remained the ability to hybridize with its complementary DNA. The pharmacodynamics of 99mTc labeled c-myc probes (antisense and sense) in mammary tumor-bearing KM mice did not change with the time postinjection. The highest accumulation of label was in the liver first, with the kidney and small bowel next. The injected activity localized in the lesion as early as 30min and reached a saturation value at 4hr. The accumulation of radioactivity in the tumor was lower at all time points in animals receiving the blocking oligonucleotides or sense probes. All images obtained with 99mTc-MAG3-c-myc antisense probes showed specific accumulation of radioactivity at the site of tumor. Radiolabel rapidly accumulates at the site of tumor and remains associated with the site even though circulation levels of radioactivity have greatly diminished. The tumor was readily evident since 45min and reached the highest tumor-to-muscle ratio at 4hr. The quite encouraging result was obtained at 20hr to 22hr when the background activity was diminished sufficiently. Positive imaging was not obtained in case of control group (in which non-conjugated, non-labeled antisense oligonucleotides were administered 2hr before the radiolabeled antisense probes were injected) and of sense group. Conclusion The 99mTc labeled antisense probe may provide a sensible and specific tool for noninvasive imaging of c-myc oncogene mRNA for a variety of malignant tumors at an earlier stage