Concentrations of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Maternal Blood, Placental Size, and Risk for Fetal Growth Restriction: A Nested Case-control Study / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

Objective@#To explore the effects of prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) on placental size and birth outcomes.@*Methods@#Based on the perspective Wenzhou Birth Cohort, this nested case-control study included 101 fetal growth restriction (FGR) and 101 healthy newborns. Maternal serum samples were collected during the third trimester and measured for PBDEs by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The basic information of mother-newborn pairs was collected from questionnaires, whereas the placental size and birth outcomes of newborns were obtained from hospital records.@*Results@#A total of 19 brominated diphenyle ether (BDE) congeners were detected in maternal serum samples. Higher concentrations of BDE-207, -208, -209, and ∑ @*Conclusion@#A negative association was found between PBDE levels in maternal serum and placental size and birth outcomes. Prenatal PBDE exposure may be associated with elevated risk of the incidence of FGR birth.

Air pollution network attention and its impact factors on basis of Baidu search indexes / 上海预防医学

Objective To investigate public network attention to air pollution and their desire to prevent haze. Methods Daily Air Quality Index(AQI) and PM2.5 concentration data and daily Baidu Index data were obtained in 31 provinces of China from January 1st, 2015 to December 31st, 2017.The Baidu indexes of air pollution and its protection were used to compose public′s network attention index for analysis on its spatial distribution in the 31 provinces and for linear regression research on air pollution, its protection and its network attention impact factors. Results With Baidu search index, it was noted that the network attention to air pollution was significantly higher than to air pollution protection.And a significant difference was found in the public network attention to air pollution between different provinces.It was found that education and consumption level of residents significantly affected public network attention to air pollution, while AQI and consumption level of residents significantly affected public network attention to air pollution hazards protection behaviors. Conclusions Even though the public has already paid high attention to air pollution, the awareness of air pollution hazards protection behaviors is still weak.Well-designed education campaigns are needed to enhance public awareness of air pollution and motivate the public to take actions to reduce pollution air exposure, especially in those provinces with a high AQI and PM2.5concentration.

Effect of Mono-2-ethyhexyl Phthalate on DNA Methylation in Human Prostate Cancer LNCaP Cells / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate whether mono (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) affects genomic DNA methylation and the methylation status of some specific genes such as patched gene (PTCH) and smoothened gene (SMO) in LNCaP cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>LNCaP cells were treated with MEHP (0, 1, 5, 10, and 25 μmol/L) for 3 days. An ELISA assay was preformed to detect genomic methylation, including 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) content. A pyrosequencing assay was applied to assess DNA methylation in PTCH and SMO gene promoters. The correlation between DNA methylation and gene expression was assessed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The proportion of cytosines with 5-mC methylation in LNCaP cells was significantly decreased by MEHP (1, 5, 10, and 25 μmol/L) in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.01). For genes in the Hedgehog pathway, there was no significant MEHP concentration-dependent difference in the DNA methylation of PTCH and SMO.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>MEHP might affect the progression of prostate cancer through its effect on global DNA methylation.</p>

Maternal Disononyl Phthalate Exposure Activates Allergic Airway Inflammation via Stimulating the Phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt Pathway in Rat Pups / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the effect of diisononyl phthalate (DINP) exposure during gestation and lacta- tion on allergic response in pups and to explore the role of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway on it.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Female Wistar rats were treated with DINP at different dosages (0, 5, 50, and 500 mg/kg of body weight per day). The pups were sensitized and challenged by ovalbumin (OVA). The airway response was assessed; the airway histological studies were performed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining; and the relative cytokines in phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and western blot analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was no significant difference in DINP's effect on airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) between male pups and female pups. In the 50 mg/(kg·d) DINP-treated group, airway response to OVA significantly increased and pups showed dramatically enhanced pulmonary resistance (RI) compared with those from controls (P<0.05). Enhanced Akt phosphorylation and NF-κB translocation, and Th2 cytokines expression were observed in pups of 50 mg/(kg·d) DINP-treated group. However, in the 5 and 500 mg/(kg·d) DINP-treated pups, no significant effects were observed.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>There was an adjuvant effect of DINP on allergic airway inflammation in pups. Maternal DINP exposure could promote OVA-induced allergic airway response in pups in part by upregulation of PI3K/Akt pathway.</p>

Development of a reference dose for BDE-47, 99, and 209 using benchmark dose methods / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

Eleven recently completed toxicological studies were critically reviewed to identify toxicologically significant endpoints and dose-response information. Dose-response data were compiled and entered into the USEPA's benchmark dose software (BMDS) for calculation of a benchmark dose (BMD) and a benchmark dose low (BMDL). After assessing 91 endpoints across the nine studies, a total of 23 of these endpoints were identified for BMD modeling, and BMDL estimates corresponding to various dose-response models were compiled for these separate endpoints. Thyroid, neurobehavior and reproductive endpoints for BDE-47, -99, -209 were quantitatively evaluated. According to methods and feature of each study, different uncertainty factor (UF) value was decided and subsequently reference doses (RfDs) were proposed. Consistent with USEPA, the lowest BMDLs of 2.10, 81.77, and 1698 µg/kg were used to develop RfDs for BDE-47, -99, and -209, respectively. RfDs for BDE-99 and BDE-209 were comparable to EPA results, and however, RfD of BDE-47 was much lower than that of EPA, which may result from that reproductive/developmental proves to be more sensitive than neurobehavior for BDE-47 and the principal study uses very-low-dose exposure.

Assessment of Exposure to Polybrominated Dipheny Ethers via Inhalation and Diet in China / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>This paper is to assess the current status of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) contamination in the environment in China and estimate the exposure to PBDEs in non-occupational populations.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 80 research papers published from January 2001 to October 2013 were selected. Geographic information system (GIS) was used in mapping PBDE concentrations and distributions in environmental media. Ni's model was applied to calculate ∑PBDE-intake via the intakes of contaminated food, water and air in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>BDE-209 was found to be the major PBDE congener in the environmental media and food in China. PBDE concentrations varied among different areas, among which the contamination in Guangdong Province was most serious. Daily intake of ∑PBDEs was 225.1-446.0 ng/d for adults in the Pearl River Delta, which was higher than the intake for those living in the Yangtze River Delta (148.9-369.8 ng/d).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Atorvastatin can attenuate LPS-induced TNF-α expression and production by activating HO-1 via the ERK and p38 MAPK pathways, suggesting that atorvastatin can be used in treatment of inflammatory diseases such as sepsis, especially in those with atherosclerotic diseases.</p>

Oxysophoridine suppresses the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma in mice: in vivo and cDNA microarray studies / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the in vivo effects of oxysophoridine on hepatocellular carcinoma in mice and to study the related mechanisms.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>C57BL mice were inoculated with mouse hepatoma H22 cells subcutaneously, then divided into 5 groups (14 per group), and treated with oxysophoridine (50, 100, or 150 mg/kg) or cisplatin (4 mg/kg) for 10 days. Inhibitory rate of tumor, body weight gain, and influence indices on internal organs (liver, spleen and thymus) were evaluated. The differentially expressed genes between the oxysophoridine-treated group, and the control group were analyzed using cDNA microarray and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) experiments.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the tumor weight of the control group (2.75±0.66 g), oxysophoridine significantly suppressed hepatocellular carcinoma growth in mice (P <0.01), with 0.82±0.36 g, 0.57±0.22 g, and 1.22±0.67 g for the tumor weight in the low, moderate, and high dose treatment group, respectively. The moderate dose led to the highest inhibitory rate, 79.3%. Observation of body weight gain and influence on three organs showed that compared with cisplatin, oxysophoridine produced fewer side effects in vivo. cDNA microarray and qRT-PCR showed that the most significant differentially expressed genes in the tumor samples of oxysophoridine-treated mice were mostly involved in regulating apoptosis, with the Tnfrsf11b (osteoprotegerin) gene being the most significantly affected.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Oxysophoridine was a promising compound for developing drugs against hepatocellular carcinoma, and its anti-hepatoma effect was probably related to osteoprotegerin activation.</p>

Experimental study on treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus with langchuang-3 granule / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the mechanism of action of Chinese drug Langchuang-3 Granule (LC-3) in treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through observing its effects on body weight (BW), antinuclear antibody (ANA), spleen index and thymus index in BXSB SLE model mice, as well as the deposition of immune complex in mice' renal glomeruli.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>SLE model mice were randomized into 4 groups: the control group (A), the LC-3 treated group (B), the Western drug treated group (C), and the LC-3 combined Western drug treated group (D). BW of mice was dynamically observed; spleen index (SI) and thymus index (TI) were measured by weighting method; serum anti-ANA level was detected by ELISA; IgG and complement C3 in renal glomeruli were analysed by direct immunofluorescence.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>BW of mice remarkably increased after treatment in Group B and D, showing a significant difference to that in Group A (P < 0.05). Lower TI level and higher SI level were found in the model mice. As compared with Group A, TI was higher in Group B and D, SI was lower in Group D, and both indices were lower in Group C (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Level of ANA decreased (converting from positive to negative) remarkably in all the three treated groups (P < 0.01). The fluorescence intensity of IgG and C3 in the renal tissue was weaker in Group B, C (both P < 0.05) and D (P < 0.01) than that in Group A.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Both LC-3 and Western medicine showed remarkable effects in treating SLE model mice, and the combination of the two could display an effect better than that of using either alone.</p>

Changes and analysis of peripheral white blood cells and lymphocyte subsets for patients with pandemic influenza A virus (H1N1) infection / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the characters and changes of peripheral white blood cells and lymphocyte subsets of patients with pandemic influenza A virus (H1N1) infection and to provide evidences for diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of influenza A (H1N1) infection.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Peripheral white blood cell parameters and the percentages of lymphocyte subsets in acute and recovery phases of 59 cases of influenza A virus (H1N1) infectious patients (42 mild cases and 17 severe cases) were investigated and analyzed, and compared respectively with those of 43 cases of healthy adults as control (HC) and 24 cases of general influenza A virus (no-H1N1) infectious using whole blood cell analysis and flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Peripheral white blood cell counts of mild cases decreased greatly but those of severe cases did not decrease significantly; the neutrophils of severe cases increased significantly in acute phase; similar to general influenza A virus (no-H1N1) infectious, the peripheral lymphocytes, CD3, CD4, CD8 and B cells of all patients with influenza A virus (H1N1) infection decreased greatly in acute phase and quickly recovered in recovery phase; NK and NKT cells absolute counts of severe cases decreased significantly in acute phase, and the decreasing extent of which were more than 20%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>There were similar characteristics of change in peripheral white blood cells and lymphocyte subsets between patients with pandemic influenza A virus (H1N1) infection and general pandemic A virus (No-H1N1); the great decrease of NK and NKT cells absolute counts may suggest the severe tendency of diseases.</p>

Impact of ambient air pollution on public health under various traffic policies in Shanghai, China / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the potential impact of ambient air pollution on public health under various traffic policies in Shanghai.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The exposure level of Shanghai residents to air pollution under various planned traffic scenarios was estimated, and the public health impact was assessed using concentration-response functions derived from available epidemiological studies.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Our results showed that ambient air pollution in relation to traffic scenarios had a significant impact on the future health status of Shanghai residents. Compared with the base case scenario, implementation of various traffic scenarios could prevent 759-1574, 1885-2420, and 2277-2650 PM10-related avoidable deaths (mean-value) in 2010, 2015, and 2020, respectively. It could also decrease the incidence of several relevant diseases.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our findings emphasize the need to consider air pollution-related health effects as an important impact of traffic policy in Shanghai.</p>

Levels of environmental endocrine disruptors in umbilical cord blood and maternal blood of low-birth-weight infants / 中华预防医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To monitor the biological levels of environmental endocrine disruptors (EDs, phthalates and surfactants) in the umbilical cord blood and maternal blood of low-birth-weight infants.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>All 30 umbilical cord blood samples and 21 maternal blood samples were collected from low-birth-weight infants. The concentration of four kinds of phthalates (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, DEHP; mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, MEHP; di-ethyl phthalate, DEP; di-n-butyl phthalate, DBP) and two kinds of surfactants (4-nonylphenol, 4-NP; octylphenol, OP) in these blood samples were measured by using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mean birth weight and birth length of low-birth-weight infants were (2158.48 +/- 125.06) g and (45.36 +/- 2.52) cm, respectively. The concentrations of DEP, MEHP, DBP, DEHP, 4-NP and OP were 18.90, 11.87, 7.67, 8.84, 1.51 and 2. 86 mg/L in maternal blood, and the detective rates were 86.7%, 63.3%, 60.0%, 63.3%, 56.7% and 66.7%, respectively. In umbilical cord blood, the concentrations of those EDs were 11.92, 9.94, 5.71, 5.20, 1.12 and 1.19 mg/L; the detective rates were 86.7%, 63.3%, 60.0%, 63.3%, 56.7% and 66.7%. No matter in maternal blood or in umbilical cord blood, the contents and detective rates of phthalates were higher than the surfactants. The concentration of MEHP was higher than its primer, DEHP. The contents of the target EDs in umbilical cord blood were less than those in the matched maternal blood. The percentages were 47.82% -84.05%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>People could be exposed to EDs from embryo period. And this should be paid attention by the related departments.</p>

Determination of cinnamic acid in rat plasma after oral administration of subing orally disintegrating tablets and study of its pharmacokinetics behavior / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To develop a RP-HPLC method for determination of cinnamic acid in rat plasma.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The plasma samples were acidified with acetic acid and extracted with chloroform. Cinnamic acid was separated on a Kromasil C18 column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) eluted with a mobile phase of methanol-acetonitrile-water-glacial acetic acid (25:20:55:0.3) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL x min(-1) and room temperature with UV detection at 278 nm, carbamazepine as internal standard.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The standard curve was linear over the range of 4.0 to approximately 400 ng x mL (-1) r = 0..99 9. The LOQ was 4.0 ng x mL(-1), the mean extraction recovery of the spiked samples at low, middle and high levels was 86.4%, while the mean method recovery was 100.3%. The RSD of intra-day and inter-day were both less than 6.0%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The method was sensitive, specific, accurate and precise, which was used to study the pharmacokinetic profile of cinnamic acid in rat plasma after oral administration of the Subing orally disintegrating tablets.</p>

A time series analysis of outdoor air pollution and preterm birth in Shanghai, China / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the relation between air pollution exposure and preterm birth in Shanghai, China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We examined the effect of ambient air pollution on preterm birth using time-series approach in Shanghai in 2004. This method can eliminate potential confounding by individual risk factors that do not change over a short period of time. Daily numbers of preterm births were obtained from the live birth database maintained by Shanghai Municipal Center of Disease Control and Prevention. We used the generalized additive model (GAM) with penalized splines to analyze the relation between preterm birth, air pollution, and covariates.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>We observed a significant effect of outdoor air pollution only with 8-week exposure before preterm births. An increase of 10 microg/m3 of 8-week average PM10, SO2, NO2, and O3 corresponded to 4.42% (95%CI 1.60%, 7.25%), 11.89% (95%CI 6.69%, 17.09%), 5.43% (95%CI 1.78%, 9.08%), and 4.63% (95%CI 0.35%, 8.91%) increase of preterm birth. We did not find any significant acute effect of outdoor air pollution on preterm birth in the week before birth.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Ambient air pollution may contribute to the risk of preterm birth in Shanghai. Our analyses also strengthen the rationale for further limiting air pollution level in the city.</p>

Interaction between ambient particles and ozone and its effect on daily mortality / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine the effect of particulate matter (PM) less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10) and ozone (O3) on daily mortality in Shanghai, China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A generalized additive model with penalized spline function was used to observe the acute effect of PM10 and O3 on daily mortality.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Higher PM10 significantly increased the effect of O3 on total mortality, and O3 also increased the effect of PM10 although the estimated increment was statistically insignificant.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our findings provide further evidence for the effect of PM10 and O3 on daily mortality.</p>

Randomized double-blinded and controlled clinical trial on treatment of HIV/AIDS by Zhongyan-4 / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the efficacy and safety of Zhongyan-4 (ZY-4, a Chinese herbal preparation worked out according to the therapeutic principle of supplementing qi, nourishing Yin, clearing heat and detoxication) in treating HIV/AIDS patients in the early or middle stage.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Adopted was randomized double-blinded and placebo-parallel-controlled method, with 72 HIV/AIDS patients randomly divided into the ZY-4 group (36 patients) treated with ZY-4 and the control group (36 patients) treated with placebo. The treatment course was six months. The index of CD(4)(+), CD(8)(+) counts, body weight, clinical symptom scoring were estimated at 4 time points (0, 1, 3 and 6 month in the course), and also the viral load before and after treatment. The whole course of observation was completed in 63 patients, 30 in the ZY-4 group and 33 in the control group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>CD(4)(+) count in the ZY-4 group got elevated by 7.70 +/- 150.96/mm(3) on average, while that in the control group lowered by 27.33 +/- 85.28/mm(3). Fifteen out of the 30 patients in the ZY-4 group had their CD(4)(+) count increased, which was evidently much higher than that in the control group (8/33, P < 0.05), suggesting that the efficacy of ZY-4 is superior to that of placebo in elevating CD(4)(+) count. Moreover, ZY-4 showed actions in elevating CD(45)RA(+) and CD(8)(+) count, reducing HIV virus load, improving clinical symptom/sign and increasing body weight of patients. No obvious adverse reaction was found in the clinical trial.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ZY-4 has an immunity-protective and/or rebuilding function in HIV/AIDS patients in the early and middle stage, and also shows effects in lowering viral load, increasing body weight and improving symptoms and signs to a certain degree.</p>

Phthalate exposure and human semen quality in Shanghai: a cross-sectional study / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To monitor the level of phthalates in human semen samples and to analyze the relationship between phthalate levels and semen parameters.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Concentrations of three kinds of commonly used phthalates (di-ethyl phthalate, DEP; di-n-butyl phthalate, DBP; di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, DEHP) were measured using reversed-phase HPLC. Semen parameters were measured by computer aided sperm analysis (CASA).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The three phthalates were detected in most of the biological samples, with median levels of 0.30 mg/L (0.08-1.32 mg/L) in semen specimens. There was a significant positive association between liquefied time of semen and phthalate concentrations of semen. The correlation coefficient was 0.456 for DEP, 0.475 for DBP, and 0.457 for DEHP, respectively. There was no significant difference between phthalate concentrations of semen and sperm density or livability, though the correlation coefficients were negative.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These results suggest that people who reside in Shanghai are exposed to phthalates, especially to DBP and DEHP. Although the level of phthalates is relatively mild, an association of phthalate levels and reduced quality of human semen has been shown in the present study.</p>

Application of DALYs in measuring health effect of ambient air pollution: a case study in Shanghai, China / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of ambient air pollution on human health and the subsequent disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost in Shanghai.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We used epidemiology-based exposure-response functions to calculate the attributable number of cases due to air pollution in Shanghai in 2000, and then we estimated the corresponding DALYs lost in Shanghai based on unit DALYs values of the health consequences.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Ambient air pollution caused 103,064 DALYs lost in Shanghai in 2000. Among all the health endpoints, premature deaths and chronic bronchitis predominated in the value of total DALYs lost.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The air pollution levels have an adverse effect on the general population health and strengthen the rationale for limiting the levels of air pollution in outdoor air in Shanghai.</p>

Influence of environmental factors on synthesis rate of hydrogen peroxide by Streptococcus oralis / 中华口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the influence of a broad range of environmental conditions on initial rates of hydrogen peroxide produced by Streptococcus oralis (S. oralis).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>For each rate measurement, 1 ml aliquots of 10(12) cells/L mid-logarithmic phase S. oralis in TSBY were centrifuged and respectively washed by phosphate buffer containing 0.01-10 mmol/L glucose or sucrose, phosphate buffer with 5.0-7.5 pH or Bis-Tris buffer containing 0.01-100 mmol/L Ca(2+), 0.01-100 mmol/L F(-) or 0.01-100 mmol/L HFPO(3)(-). After S. oralis was cultured in respective buffer for 10, 20 and 30 min at 37 degrees C, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in supernatant was assayed spectrophotometrically in 96-well micro-plate by ABTS-HRP at A(405).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Synthesis rate of hydrogen peroxide by S. oralis was 7.48 micromol/L per minute without carbohydrate, the synthesis rate of hydrogen peroxide by S. oralis increased with 0.01-10 mmol/L glucose and 0.01-10 mmol/L sucrose, but there was no statistically significant difference in synthesis rate among the carbohydrate groups. The rates of H2O2 synthesis were inhibited in the buffer at pH 5.0-6.0, compared with pH 7.0 (P < 0.05). Ca(2+) had little influence on the rate of H2O2 synthesis. IC(50) of H2O2 synthesis rates by S. oralis responded to FHPO(3)(-) and F(-) were 12.65 mmol/L and 1.90 mmol/L respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Environmental conditions may influence the synthesis rate of H2O2 by S. oralis.</p>

Association of vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms with the susceptibility to chronic periodontitis of Han nationality / 中华口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate association of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms with the susceptibility to chronic periodontitis (CP) of Han Nationality.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Buccal swabs from 166 patients with severe, moderate and mild CP respectively and 80 matched control individuals were collected. DNA was extracted from these buccal swabs using Chelex-100 method. VDR BsmI, ApaI, TaqI were tested with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The distribution of the genotypes and allele frequencies in the patient and control groups were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The frequency of VDR ApaI allele A was significantly higher among patients with CP than controls. Frequencies of VDR ApaI allele A were significantly higher in severe CP patients than in moderate CP and mild CP respectively. There was no significant difference in the genotype distribution or the allele frequencies of VDR BsmI and TaqI between the controls and CP patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>These data indicate that VDR ApaI allele A may be related to the susceptibility to CP in Han Nationality.</p>

Construction of the eukaryote expression vector of human soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor / 华西口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Human soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor (sTNFR) can interfere with the biological functions of interleukin-1, which may be appropriate to the treatment of periodontitis. The eukaryote expression vector of the human sTNFR gene must be constructed prior to conducting transgene therapy of periodontitis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Both sTNFR gene and plasmid pcDNA 3.1 (+) DNA were digested with Kpn I and Xho I. After purification, the two fragments were ligated by TakaRa DNA Ligation Kit (Ver 2.0). This recombinant DNA was then transformed into E. Coli Competent Cells JM109 and positive clones were selected on the LB agarose plate containing ampicillin (80 microg/ul).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Six single clones were indentified by double digestion with kpn I and xho I and two fragments with the size of 5.4 kb and 1.0 kb were produced as expected.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The sTNFR gene was successfully inserted into the eukaryote expression vector plasmid pcDNA 3.1 (+) by recombination technology in vitro.</p>