Repair of the large skin and vessel defect of upper arm with free anterolateral thigh flap / 中华整形外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore an effective method for repairing the large skin and vessel defect of upper arm.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The large skin defect was repaired by the free anterolateral thigh flap. The vessel defect was reconstructed with the end branch of descending branch from lateral femoral circumflex artery, or the large muscular branch through bridge-like vascular anastomosis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Since 2003, 5 cases were treated. All the flaps survived completely with a soft tissue texture. They were followed up for 8-24 months. The cosmetic and functional results were both satisfactory with less morbidity in the donor sites. The blood supply of the flap and the end of extremities was not affected by weather.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Anterolateral thigh flap is very suitable for large skin and vessel defect of upper arm.</p>

Transurethral enucleation of the prostate for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia in patients less than 50 years old / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the therapeutic effect of transurethral enucleation of the prostate for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia in patients below 50 years of age.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twelve patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia patients (mean age 48.2 years, range 46-49 years) underwent transurethral enucleation of the prostate. The middle lobe and two lateral lobes were enucleated with the preprosthetic sphincter and anterior fibromuscular stroma preserved during the operation. The patients were followed up to evaluate the lower urinary tract symptoms and sexual activity after the surgery.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The 12 patients were followed up for 3 to 6 months. The symptoms of lower urinary tract obstruction were improved obviously after the surgery, and the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) decreased from 24±5.1 to 8.8±1.4 and peak urine flow rate (Qmax) increased from 8.1±4.2 ml/s to 20.1±4.2 ml/s at 3 months postoperatively. All the 12 cases had residual urine (12-44 ml) preoperatively, but after the surgery, only 4 still had residual urine of less than 30 ml. All the patients had normal erection function postoperatively, and 10 had normal ejaculation; the other 2 patients recovered normal ejaculation 3 and 5 months after the operation, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Transurethral enucleation can alleviate the low urinary tract obstruction symptom and improve the sexual function by avoiding preprosthetic sphincter injury in relatively young patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.</p>

Effect of terbutaline on sodium transport in alveolar type I and type II cells / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effect of terbutaline on sodium transport in rat alveolar type I (ATI) and type II (ATII) cells of rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The whole cell currents were recorded from ATII cells isolated from rat lungs perfused with or without amiloride (inhibitor of epithelial sodium channel) and ZnCl(2) (inhibitor of cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channel) in the whole cell recording mode using the patch-clamp technique. The effect of terbutaline on the currents was examined.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The main currents recorded from ATII cells were amiloride-sensitive and Zn(2+)-sensitive. The amiloride-sensitive and Zn(2+)-sensitive current shared a similar proportion (P>0.05). Both currents could be significantly increased by terbutaline (P<0.05), and the proportion of amiloride-sensitive current was 1.7 times that of Zn(2+)-sensitive current (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>There are functional epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) and cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channels (CNG) on freshly isolated ATII cells, both serving as the main channels for sodium transport. Terbutaline increases the absorption of alveolar fluid primarily by increasing sodium transport of ENaC and CNG on ATI and AT II cells.</p>

Laparoscopic radical cystectomy and detenial sigmoid colon orthotopic neobladder reconstruction for bladder tumor in a 3-year-old boy / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To present a case of laparoscopic radical cystectomy and detenial sigmoid colon orthotopic neobladder reconstruction for bladder tumor in a child.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A 3-year-old boy with bladder rhabdomyosarcoma underwent laparoscopic radical cystectomy and detenial sigmoid colon orthotopic neobladder reconstruction. The bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy and cystectomy were performed laparoscopically, and removal of the mobilized specimens and urinary diversion operation were managed through enlarged abdomen incision. The urinary diversion procedure included construction of the detenial sigmoid pouch, bilateral stented antiflux implantation of the ureters in the pouch and orthotopic anastomosis of the neobladder with the urethra.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total operative time was 6 h, and the laparoscopic procedure lasted for about 3.5 h. The intraoperative blood loss was 50 ml, and 200 ml concentrated red blood cell transfusion was used for the safety of the patient. Six dissected lymph nodes in each pelvic side and the surgical margins of the ureter and urethra were all free of tumor invasion. Bowel peristalsis recovered 3 days after the operation, and the pelvic drainage and the neobladder drainage tubes were removed on day 7 and 14, respectively. The urethral catheter and ureteral stents were removed 25 days after the operation. The daytime urine control and micturition recovered 1 week after the operation. The neobladder capacity was about 110 ml, with residual urine volume of 10 ml and peak flow rate of 12 ml/s after 5 months. No perioperative complications occurred such as water-electrolyte and metabolic acid-base balance disorders, urinary leakage, reflux or bowel obstruction.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Laparoscopic radical cystectomy is minimally invasive, reduces intraoperative blood loss and allows rapid postoperative recovery, and can be a promising approach to management of bladder rhabdomyosarcoma in children.</p>

Advances in sesquiterpene synthases cyclases of Artemisia annua / 生物工程学报

Artemisinin,a new and a very potent antimalarial drug, is produced by the plant Artemisia annua L. with a very low yield ranging from 0.01% to 0.8% on a dry-weight basis. This makes artemisinin an expensive drug. Several studies reported chemical synthesis of the artemisinin, but none of them seems a viable economical alternative compared with the isolation of artemisinin from the plant. Hence, a higher artemisinin concentration in the plant is necessary for cheap antimalarial drug production. Many types of cyclic sesquiterpenes in Artemisia annua have been characterized to date, each derived from the common cyclic precursor FDP in a reaction catalyzed by a sesquiterpene synthase. Sesquiterpene synthases are widely regarded as the rate-determining regulatory enzymes in the pathways they participate, and a number of sesquiterpene synthases have been cloned from Artemisia annua up to now. This report is a brief review on the following sesquiterpene synthases: epi-cedrol synthase, amorpha-4,11-diene synthase, beta-caryophyllene synthase, (E)-beta-farnesene synthase, germacrene A synthase, as well as a new sesquiterpene synthase whose function remains largely unknown. The report is of help for a better understanding of metabolic engineering of Artemisia annua.

Sodium transport and its regulation of acutely isolated alveolar type II cells / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the sodium current of acutely isolated alveolar type II cells and its regulation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>After isolation the AT II cells, the whole cell sodium current were recorded in 5 hours with patch-clamp in whole-cell mode, and the effect of amiloride and terbutaline on the current was investigated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The amiloride-sensitive current of AT II cells were recorded, which could be obviously stimulated by terbutaline.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acutely isolated AT II cells can be valuable for studying electrophysiological characteristics of sodium channels even under pathological conditions.</p>

Sodium transport of alveolar type II cells in oleic acid-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the changes of sodium transport of alveolar type II cells in oleic acid-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>After isolation of the AT II cells as ARDS model induced by oleic acid, the whole cell sodium current was recorded in 5 h with patch-clamp in whole-cell mode. The effect of beta2-agonist terbutaline on the current was also examined.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The sodium currents recorded from AT II cells in ARDS were smaller than that of the control cells, but the current could be stimulated to increase obviously by terbutaline.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>AT II cells can actively transport sodium ion even under conditions of ARDS, but this capacity can not match that of the control cells. Terbutaline can obviously stimulate the sodium current.</p>

Aquaporin and Na+ transport of alveolar type II cells in rats with oleic acid-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the capacity of active water and sodium transport of alveolar type II (AT II cells in rats with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>AT II cells were isolated and purified from rats with ARDS, and the distribution of aquaporin-1 (AQP-1) on the cells was observed by immunocytochemistry, immunoelectron microscopy and Western blotting. The sodium currents were detected by patch-clamp technique in whole-cell recording mode.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Immunocytochemistry showed staining for AQP-1 in rat AT II cells, and immunoelectron microscope demonstrated the presence of AQP-1, which was decreased as shown by Western blotting in comparison with the control group. The whole-cell currents were also decreased, but remained sensitive to terbutalin treatment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The capacity of active water and sodium transport is damaged, but not totally lost in AT II cells of ARDS rats. Terbutalin can increase the currents even if in pathological conditions. AQP-1 and sodium transport of AT II cells play an important role in pulmonary liquid clearance.</p>

Effect of rhIL-2 in inhalant form on experimental respiratory tract infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae in mice / 药学学报

<p><b>AIM</b>To determine the protective effect of recombinant human interleukin-2 (rhIL-2) in inhalant form on experimental respiratory tract infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae in mice.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Mice were infected with the method of nasal intubation drip. During infection, mice were given rhIL-2 by sc injection and the method of nasal intubation drip. There were normal group, vehicle group, model group, rhIL-2 groups and gentamicin group. In the end, the pathological changes in the lung were observed. The survival time and the mortality within a week of each group were recorded. The total protein content, the albumin content, the activity of alkaline phosphatase and the activity of lactic dehydrogenase of broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were dertermined and compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Symptoms of Klebsiella pneumoniae were remarkably relieved because of rhIL-2 administration. The total protein content, the albumin content, the activity of alkaline phosphatase and the activity of lactic dehydrogenase of BALF were less than those in the vehicle group and the model group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Inhalation of rhIL-2 can alleviate the pathological changes in the lung after infection. At the same dose, it could be seen that the effect of rhIL-2 in inhalant form was better than that of the injection.</p>