Perceived stress of science and technology professionals in Zhejiang Province and its influencing factors / 预防医学

Objective To understand the perceived stress of science and technology professionals (STPs) and its influencing factors and to provide reference for targeted mental health promotion. Methods Totally 1 730 STPs in Zhejiang Province were recuited by typical sampling method and assessed with Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) . Chi-squared automatic interaction detector (CHAID) with decision tree analysis was conducted to clarify the factors which influenced the scores of each dimension on PSQ. Results Totally 1 730 questionnaires were issued and 1 552 were valid (88.55%) . The perceived stress of male STPs was higher than that of female STPs (P＜0.05) . CHAID with decision tree analysis indicated that age was the primary factor for the perceived stress of housing (F=52.306, P＜0.001) , workload (F=17.814, P＜0.001) , career development (F=57.028, P＜0.001), household income (F=68.573, P＜0.001) and other personal problems (F=13.936, P=0.001) ;gender was the primary factor for the perceived stress of social understanding (F=9.321, P=0.002) and social environment (F=10.738, P=0.001) ; occupation was the primary factor for the perceived stress of supporting parents and children (F=19.810, P＜0.001) ; education background was the primary factor for the perceived stress of on the scores of interpersonal relationship (F=13.936, P=0.001) . Conclusion Age, gender, occupation, and education background are the influencing factors for perceived stress of STPs in Zhejiang Province.

Angiotensin II increases ROS production in cardiac fibroblasts by inducing p22phox over-expression / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the changes in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) in rat cardiac fibroblasts exposed to angiotensin II (Ang II) treatment and explore the possible pathways that mediate ROS production.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In vitro cultured fetal rat cardiac fibroblasts treated with apocynin (APO, 100 micromol/L), Ang II (10(-7) mol/L), or APO+Ang II (10(-7) mol/L Ang II was added 1 h after 100 micromol/L APO), and the ROS levels and p22phox expression in the cells were detected using fluorescent microscope and immunohistochemistry, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the normal control cells, Ang II treatment of the cardiac fibroblasts resulted in significantly increased ROS production, the effect of which was inhibited by the application of APO. p22phox expression was hardly detected by immunohistochemistry in the control cells, but over-expressed in AngII-treated cells. APO substantially decreased the over-expression of p22phox induced by Ang II.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Ang II increases ROS production in fetal rat cardiac fibroblasts probably by inducing p22phox over-expression.</p>

Role of AT2 receptors on angiotensin II-induced tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 beta secretion in adult rat cardiac fibroblasts / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of AT2 receptors in the secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha (alpha-TNF) and interleukin 1 beta (IL1 beta) in adult rat cardiac fibroblasts.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Adult rat cardiac fibroblasts in in vitro culture were divided into control, Ang II, AngII + Losartan, and AngII + PD123319 groups with corresponding treatments. Radioimmunoassay was used to determine alpha-TNF and IL1 beta levels in the supernatant of the treated cardiac fibroblasts.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Ang II treatment resulted in significantly increased alpha-TNF and IL1 beta levels. Compared with AngII group, IL1 beta level was decreased by 69.1% and 78.7% and alpha-TNF by 58.7% and 65.9% after blocking AT1 and AT2 receptors, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>AT2 receptors are involved in alpha-TNF and IL1 beta secretions in cardiac fibroblasts.</p>

Alteration of signal transduction-associated gene expression in rat cardiac fibroblasts induced by blocking angiotensin II receptors / 生理学报

To investigate the molecular mechanism of angiotensin II (Ang II) receptor activation in adult rat cardiac fibroblasts, the expressions of cell signal transduction-associated genes were studied by using cDNA microarray. Cardiac fibroblasts of adult Sprague-Dawley rats (230~250 g) were isolated and cultured. The cells were divided into 4 groups: Ang II, Ang II + losartan, Ang II + PD123319, Ang II + losartan + PD123319. The expressions of Ang II receptors were studied by immunohistochemical staining. Total RNA was extracted and purified. After cDNA synthesis and biotin-16-dUTP labeling, the probes were denatured and hybridized with GEArray Q Series mouse G Protein-coupled Receptors Signaling Pathway Finder Gene Array (MM-025) containing 96 genes associated with 11 pathways. The arrays were scanned with a Uniscand1000 scanner and further analyzed with GEArray Analyzer software. RT-PCR was used to further confirm the results of gene microarray. The results of immunohistochemical staining showed that the expression of Ang II type 2 (AT2) receptor was evidently induced by Ang II stimulation when Ang II type 1 (AT1) receptor was blocked. The results of gene array indicated that blocking AT1 receptor changed 34 genes (more than 2 folds), 30 were down-regulated and 4 were up-regulated. The maximum change was not beyond 20 folds. The following 9 pathways were activated: cAMP/PKA, Ca2+, PKC, PLC, MAPK, PI-3 kinase, NO-cGMP, Rho, NF-kappaB pathways. Blockade of AT2 receptor caused 64 genes changing more than 2 folds (48 were down-regulated and 16 were up-regulated). Eleven pathways were basically activated. The change of the following 7 genes was over 30 folds: Cyp19a1 (37 folds), Il1r2 (42 folds), Cflar (53 folds), Bcl21 (31 folds), Pik3cg (278 folds), Cdkn1a (90 folds), Agt (162 folds). According to the activated extent, the signal transduction pathways in turn were PI-3 kinase, NF-kappaB and JAK-STAT pathways. Blocking both AT1 and AT2 receptors changed 46 genes more than 2 folds (36 were down-regulated and 10 were up-regulated). Eleven pathways were basically activated. The results of RT-PCR of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha confirmed the observations in gene microarray. Our results show that Ang II can induce a high expression of AT2 receptor in adult rat cardiac fibroblasts when AT1 receptor is blocked, and the signal mechanism of AT2 receptor is clearly different from that of AT1 receptor.