ABSTRACT
The biogenic monoamine 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is an ancient intracellular signaling molecule widely distributed in all animals with nervous systems, and has been implicated in principal behaviors. Tryptophan hydroxylase (TRH) induces a highly specific catalytic reaction that converts L-tryptophan (tryptophan) to 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan (5-HTP) that is subsequently used as a substrate by aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (DDC) to form 5-HT. Five-HT is an ancient intracellular signaling molecule that is widely distributed in the animal kingdom and has been implicated in regulating the behaviors of animals with nervous systems. However, the role of TRH in Lepidoptera is not well understood. In this study, we cloned 1 667 bp cDNAs of Bombyx mori TRH (BmTRH), which contains a 1 632 bp open reading frame (ORF). Homology analysis revealed that BmTRH shared high amino acid identity with Homo sapiens TPH and Drosophila TRH (DmTRH). The high homology (70%) of BmTRH with DmTRH suggested that BmTRH could have a function similar to DmTRH. Gene expression analysis revealed that BmTRH was mainly expressed in head and central nervous (CNS). Moreover, immunohistochemistry and Western blotting analyses showed that BmTRH was detected only in larval nervous tissues. Taken together, our results indicate that BmTRH could likely function in the regulation of neural activities in B. mori. The transcripts of B. mori decarboxylase (BmDDC) and B. mori phenylalanine hydroxylase (BmPAH) whose proteins had TRH activity, were also expressed in the CNS tissues, indicating that unlike in Drosophila, two distinct mechanisms likely regulate 5-HT synthesis in silkworm.
Subject(s)
Animals , Amino Acid Sequence , Bombyx , Cloning, Molecular , DNA, Complementary , Insect Proteins , Phenylalanine Hydroxylase , Tryptophan HydroxylaseABSTRACT
Objective To investigate clinical effect and safety of eccentric reamer technique foraminoplasty during percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy for the treatment of lumbar lateral recess stenosis.Methods All of 45 cases diagnosed of lumbar lateral recess stenosis between Apr 2010 to Jun 2012 were analyzed in our study.Among these cases,28 cases were male and 17 were female.The age of enrolled cases was 39-62 years old and the average age was 49.23±23.96 years old.All the cases were one-level,25 cases in L4,5 and 20 cases in L5S1.All the patients underwent percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy.During surgery,eccentric reamer technique was applied for foraminoplasty.Perioperative data included surgical segment,surgical duration and blood loss during surgery.Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Visual analogue scale (VAS) for lower back and leg pain were recorded for the evaluation of surgical effect.All the data were recorded before surgery,1 day,1 month after surgery and final follow-up.Recurrent lumbar disc herniation,spinal canal hematoma,intervertebral disc infection,nerve root injury and post-operative dysthesia (POD) were recorded for complications.Results All the cases finished surgery and none of the cases was changed to other surgery method and no other electronic drill were used in these patients.Surgical duration was 45-76 min and average time was 61.23± 13.89 min.Blood loss during surgery was 10-25 ml and average blood loss was 15.02±4.33 ml.Post-operative hospitalization days were 1-3 days and 2.80±1.57 days.The follow-up time was 60-84 months and the average time was 73.23±8.47 months.ODI in one-day after surgery was 9.34±6.54％,significantly lower than 68.06±24.14％ before surgery and no statistically change had been observed in one-month after surgery and final follow-up.The VAS for lower back was 1.54±0.97 in one-day after surgery,significantly lower than 3.57±3.12 before surgery.The VAS for leg pain was 1.14±0.79 in one-day after surgery,significantly lower than 6.24±2.35 before surgery.During follow-up,1 case suffered from recurrent lumbar disc herniation (2.22％) and no intervertebral disc infection,spinal canal hematoma and POD was observed.Conclusion Eccentric reamer technique foraminoplasty in percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy is an effective and safe surgical method for the treatment of lumbar lateral recess stenosis.