Roles of histone acetyltransferase and histone deacetylase in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the roles of various cytokines, histone acetyltransferase (HAT) and histone deacetylase (HDAC) in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>BALB/C mice were randomly assigned to control, untreated asthma, hormone treatment and TSA treatment groups. Bronchial asthma was induced by intraperitoneal injections and atomization inhalation of ovalbumin (OVA) in the asthma, hormone treatment and trichostatin (TSA) treatment groups. The mice in the hormone treatment and TSA treatment groups were administered with dexamethasone 1.0 mg/kg and TSA 1.0 mg/kg respectively by an intraperitoneal injection 30 minutes before challenge of asthma. At 24 hours after the last challenge, IL-4, IL-8 and IFN- levels in serum were measured using ELISA, and activities of HAT and HDAC in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were determined by the enzyme linked immunofluorescence assay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The serum levels of IL-4 and IL-8 in the untreated asthma group were higher than in the control, hormone treatment and TSA treatment groups (P<0.05). There was no difference in the serum levels of IL-4 and IL-8 among the control, hormone treatment and TSA treatment groups (P>0.05). The activity of HDAC in the untreated asthma group was lower than in the control, hormone treatment and TSA treatment groups (P<0.05). Hormone treatment significantly decreased the activity of HAT compared with the untreated asthma group (P<0.05). There was no difference in the activities of HAT and HDAC among the control, hormone treatment and TSA treatment groups (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The decreased activity of HDAC leads to an increased secretion of inflammatory factors and thus induces asthma.</p>

Roles of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells and IL-33 in the pathogenesis of asthma in children / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the roles of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Treg) and IL-33 in the pathogenesis of asthma in children.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Flow cytometry was used to detect peripheral blood CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+)Treg proportion in CD4(+)T lymphocytes in.45 children with asthma, 50 children with wheezing caused by respiratory syncytial virus infection and 40 healthy children. Serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-33 were measured using ELISA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The level of peripheral blood CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+)Treg in the asthma group was significantly lower than in the wheezing and control groups (P<0.05). In contrast, serum levels of IL-33 in the asthma group was significantly higher than in the wheezing and control groups (P<0.05). Peripheral blood CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+)Treg level was negatively correlated with serum IL-33 level in the asthma group(r=-0.156, P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+)Treg may interact with IL-33 in the pathogenesis of childhood asthma.</p>

Abnormalities of meiotic recombination in Han Chinese azoospermic patients / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze defective homologous chromosomal recombination in Han Chinese azoospermic patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Testicular biopsy samples from 7 healthy controls and 7 Han Chinese azoospermic patients including 2 obstructive azoospermia (OA group) and 5 non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA group) were analyzed. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to categorize early stage cells at meiosis prophase and to analyze chromosome pairing and recombination of pachytene spermatocyte. Newly developed meiotic proteins antibodies (anti-SCP3, anti-synaptonemal complex proteins 3, anti-MLH1, anti-Mut-L Homolog 1, anti-CREST, chromosome centromere antibody) were used to identify synaptonemal complex (anti-SCP3), recombination sites (anti-MLH1) and centromere (anti-CREST), respectively. Staging of spermatocyte was determined according to SCP3 formation progression. Qualitative data were compared by a Chi-square test, and ANOVA was used to analyze quantitative data.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Respectively, 2346 and 2932 spermatocytes were categorized in the controls and azoospermic patients. The proportions of zygotene cells in both OA group and NOA group were significantly higher than that of the control group. Investigation of 1967 pachytene cells from the controls and 354 pachytene cells from azoospermic patients indicated that the mean MLH1 foci per pachytene cell of NOA group was statistically lower than that of the controls. Compared with the controls, incomplete synaptonemal complexes cells (containing gap and/or split) were significantly increased in the NOA group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Delayed meiosis prophase is relatively common in azoospermic patients, and changes in quantity and distribution of recombination foci may be the cause for spermatogenesis arrest in Han Chinese population.</p>