Wnt/b-Catenin Promotes the Osteoblastic Potential of BMP9 Through Down-Regulating Cyp26b1 in Mesenchymal Stem Cells

BACKGROUND@#All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) promotes the osteogenic differentiation induced by bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9), but the intrinsic relationship between BMP9 and ATRA keeps unknown. Herein, we investigated the effect of Cyp26b1, a critical enzyme of ATRA degradation, on the BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and unveiled possible mechanism through which BMP9 regulates the expression of Cyp26b1. @*METHODS@#ATRA content was detected with ELISA and HPLC–MS/MS. PCR, Western blot, and histochemical staining were used to assay the osteogenic markers. Fetal limbs culture, cranial defect repair model, and micro–computed tomographic were used to evaluate the quality of bone formation. IP and ChIP assay were used to explore possible mechanism. @*RESULTS@#We found that the protein level of Cyp26b1 was increased with age, whereas the ATRA content decreased. The osteogenic markers induced by BMP9 were increased by inhibiting or silencing Cyp26b1 but reduced by exogenous Cyp26b1. The BMP9-induced bone formation was enhanced by inhibiting Cyp26b1. The cranial defect repair was promoted by BMP9, which was strengthened by silencing Cyp26b1 and reduced by exogenous Cyp26b1. Mechanically, Cyp26b1 was reduced by BMP9, which was enhanced by activating Wnt/b-catenin, and reduced by inhibiting this pathway. b-catenin interacts with Smad1/5/9, and both were recruited at the promoter of Cyp26b1. @*CONCLUSIONS@#Our findings suggested the BMP9-induced osteoblastic differentiation was mediated by activating retinoic acid signalling, viadown-regulating Cyp26b1. Meanwhile, Cyp26b1 may be a novel potential therapeutic target for the treatment of bone-related diseases or accelerating bone-tissue engineering.

Establishment and validation of clinical prediction model for steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome in children / 中华儿科杂志

Objective: To identify the clinically relevant factors of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) in children and establish a predictive model followed by verifying its feasibility. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed in a total of 111 children with nephrotic syndrome admitted to Children's Hospital of ShanXi from January 2016 to December 2021. The clinical data of general conditions, manifestations, laboratory tests, treatment, and prognosis were collected. According to the steroid response, patients were divided into SSNS and steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) group. Single factor Logistic regression analysis was used for comparison between the 2 groups, and variables with statistically significant differences were included in multivariate Logistic regression analysis. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the related variables of children with SRNS. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), the calibration curve and the clinical decision curve were used to evaluate its effectiveness of the variables. Results: Totally 111 children with nephrotic syndrome was composed of 66 boys and 45 girls, aged 3.2 (2.0, 6.6) years. There were 65 patients in the SSNS group and 46 in the SRNS group.Univariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the 6 variables, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, suppressor T cells, D-dimer, fibrin degradation products, β2-microglobulin, had statistically significant differences between SSNS and SRNS groups (85 (52, 104) vs. 105 (85, 120) mm/1 h, 18 (12, 39) vs. 16 (12, 25) nmol/L, 0.23 (0.19, 0.27) vs. 0.25 (0.20, 0.31), 0.7 (0.6, 1.1) vs. 1.1 (0.9, 1.7) g/L, 3.1 (2.3, 4.1) vs. 3.3 (2.7, 5.8) g/L, 2.3 (1.9,2.8) vs. 3.0 (2.5, 3.7) g/L, χ2=3.73, -2.42, 2.24, 3.38, 2.24,3.93,all P<0.05), were included in the multivariate Logistic regression analysis. Finally, we found that 4 variables including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, suppressor T cells, D-dimer and β2-microglobulin (OR=1.02, 1.12, 25.61, 3.38, 95%CI 1.00-1.04, 1.03-1.22, 1.92-341.04, 1.65-6.94, all P<0.05) had significant correlation with SRNS. The optimal prediction model was selected. The ROC curve cut-off=0.38, with the sensitivity of 0.83, the specificity of 0.77 and area under curve of 0.87. The calibration curve showed that the predicted probability of SRNS group occurrence was in good agreement with the actual occurrence probability, χ2=9.12, P=0.426. The clinical decision curve showed good clinical applicability. The net benefit is up to 0.2. Make the nomogram. Conclusions: The prediction model based on the 4 identified risk factors including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, suppressor T cells, D-dimer and β2-microglobulin was suitable for the early diagnosis and prediction of SRNS in children. The prediction effect was promising in clinical application.

Mechanisms and research progress of targeted therapies on regulation of autophagy by natural compounds from traditional Chinese medicine / 药学学报

Autophagy is an important physiological process that can degrade cell components and maintain cell homeostasis, divided into three types including macroautophagy, microautophagy and chaperon-mediated autophagy generally, and macroautophagy is the most common form. Autophagy can affect the progression of a variety of diseases, such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, heart-related diseases, and autoimmune diseases, etc. However, autophagy can promote or inhibit diseases in different circumstances because of the dual roles of autophagy. Therefore, targeted regulating autophagy may be a potential treatment plan for diseases in specific stages of disease development. Now, with the development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) resources and the deepening of researches on the modern utilization of TCM, many active compounds from TCM have been discovered that can target autophagy to exert pharmacological activity. Most of the natural compounds activate or inhibit autophagy by affecting the classical PI3K/AKT/mTOR autophagy pathway. In addition, some compounds can also affect autophagy through MAPKs signaling pathways such as MEK/ERK, JNK and p38MAPK. These active compounds exert various biological activities by regulating autophagy, including anti-tumor, inhibiting neurodegenerative diseases, protecting cardiomyocytes, and relief of inflammatory response. In this review, we summarized the active compounds in TCM that affect autophagy by targeting different signaling pathways and their mechanisms of regulating autophagy, also introduced the effects of active compounds on diseases after affecting autophagy. Finally, this paper summarized and prospected the development of targeted autophagy for the treatment of diseases by TCM compounds, hoping to provide clues for subsequent exploration and research.

Identification of Chemical Constituents in Caulis of Erycibe schmidtii by UPLC-Q-Exactive Focus-MS/MS / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To rapidly recognize and identify the chemical constituents in caulis of Erycibe schmidtii by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q-Exactive Focus mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Exactive Focus-MS/MS). Method:Taking 80% methanol extract of E. schmidtii caulis as the test solution, the chemical constituents in caulis of E. schmidtii were analyzed and identified. Thermo Accucure aQ C18 column (2.1 mm×150 mm, 2.6 μm) was used for chromatographic separation with the mobile phase of methanol (A)-0.1% formic acid solution (B) for gradient elution (0-12 min, 5%-25%A; 12-20 min, 25%-30%A; 20-28 min, 30%-38%A; 28-40 min, 38%-42%A). Positive and negative ion monitoring modes and heated electrospray ion source (HESI) were used for mass spectrographic analysis. The scanning range was m/z 80-1 200. Result:A total of 42 chemical constituents from caulis of E. schmidtii were identified, including 12 coumarins, 14 chlorogenic acids, 1 tropane alkaloid, 1 amide and 14 esterified glycosides. Conclusion:Chemical constituents in caulis of E. schmidtii can be quickly and fully identified by UPLC-Q-Exactive Focus-MS/MS. Among them, 11 compounds are unambiguously identified by comparing with reference standards, 31 compounds are reported for the first time in this herb, 2 compounds are reported for the first time in Erycibe plants. This paper can provide the important basis for study on pharmacodynamic material base and substitute development of E. schmidtii caulis.

Systematic review and Meta-analysis on efficacy and safety of berberine for dyslipidemia / 中国中药杂志

To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of berberine in the treatment of dyslipidemia. In this review, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMbase, and Medline(OVID) were retrieved from database establishment to January, 2019 in any language. Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) of berberine with or without lipid-lowering drugs vs placebo, without drugs or lipid-lowering drugs only in treatment of dyslipidemia were collected. Data extraction and paper quality assessment were conducted according to the Cochrane Handbook. Then RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta-analysis. A total of 25 trials were included, covering 3 042 cases, including 1 552 cases in the experimental group and 1 490 cases in the control group. The clinical heterogeneity of the included trials was relatively high, and the methodological quality of most trials was generally low, with bias in terms of random sequence generation, allocation hiding, blind method and result data. Interventions were divided into different subgroups for analysis. Meta-analysis suggested that use berberine alone or along with lipid lowing drugs could reduce TC, TG, LDL-C levels and increased HDL-C levels with statistically significant difference as compared with control group. As compared with control group, there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse events. No severe adverse effects were reported in all trials. Berberine has good efficacy and safety in the treatment of dyslipidemia. Due to the quality limitations of the included trials, the above conclusions need to be further verified by high-quality, large sample size and multi-center clinical trials.

Clinical value of serum amyloid A detection in the diagnosis of infective endophthalmitis / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

@#AIM:To investigate the clinical value of serum amyloid A(SAA)in the diagnosis of infectious endophthalmitis. <p>METHODS:A total of 270 patients admitted to the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from June 2016 to March 2019 were collected, including 116 patients with infectious endophthalmitis as the experimental group and 154 non-infectious patients as the control group. The levels of SAA was detected by colloidal gold immunochromatography. Variables were compared and diagnostic value was measured by using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.<p>RESULTS:The median levels of SAA in experimental group and control group were 14.98mg/L and 2.56mg/L, respectively,the difference between the two groups was statistically significant(<i>P</i><0.001); the median levels of CRP and WBC had statistic difference between two groups, respectively(<i>P</i><0.001). The area under the ROC curve of SAA, CRP and WBC for diagnosis of infectious endophthalmitis were 0.772, 0.638 and 0.618 respectively. The optimal cut-off value corresponding to the maximum value of Youden index was 6.975mg/L by SAA, the sensitivity was 63.79% and the specificity was 84.42%.<p>CONCLUSION: SAA combined with CRP and WBC can improve the diagnostic efficacy of infective endophthalmitis. SAA can provide useful reference information for the assistant diagnosis of infectious endophthalmitis, which is worthy of clinical application.

Technical specification for re-evaluation of post-marketing clinical effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine (first draft) / 中国中药杂志

The post-marketing re-evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a crucial stage for drug evaluation. Due to the particularity of TCM, it is necessary to re-evaluate the effectiveness of certain Chinese medicines by studying and collecting the studies on safety of long-term/extensive populations under actual clinical application, in order to verify the effectiveness of post-marketing TCM. However, there is an absence in technical specifications for relevant clinical trials on re-evaluation of effectiveness at present. As a consequence, the preliminary technical specifications were drafted in this article, focusing on several perspectives related to the re-evaluation of post-marketing clinical effectiveness of TCM, including ethical protection, research plan formulation, real-world research methods, randomized controlled trial methods, research methods of clinical pharmacological mechanism, sublimation method of TCM theory and so on. The objective of writing this article is to provide general methodological guidance for the re-evaluation of TCM post-marketing effectiveness, so that the process and results of post-marketing re-evaluation of TCM can be more scientific and reasonable.

Clinicopathologic study of adenosarcoma with sarcomatous overgrowth of the uterine / 临床与实验病理学杂志

Purpose To investigate the clinicopathologic characteristtics, immunophenotype and differential diagnosis of uterine adenosarcoma with sarcomatous overgrowth. Metheds The clinicopathological data of 4 cases of uterine adenosarcoma with sarcomatous overgrowth were collected, the histopathologic and immunohistochemical features were investigated, and the rele-vant literatures were also reviewed. Results All of tumors were arised from the endometrium with complains of postmenopausal vaginal bleeding or prolonged menstrual period. There is a poly-poid nodular in the uterine cavity with a pedicle or no pedicel, or rough endometrium. On the cut surface, the tumor was fish-like without distinct from the surrounding tissue. Light microsco-py show the tumors were composed of benign glands and malignant mesenchymal components, the sarcomatouscomponents ac-counted for over 25％. In 4 cases, 2 cases had heterologous com-ponent of rhabdomyosarcoma. The component of sarcomatous were positive for vimentin and CD10. The heterologous component of rhabdomyosarcoma were positive for desmin, MyoDl, and Myogenin.3 cases were died at in 5, 10, and 19 months after operation, 1 patient was disease free survival for 3 months. Conclusion Uterine adenosarcoma with sarcomatous overgrowth has a bad prognosis.

Etiology analysis of blindness and low vision in Yanta distrist of Xi'an city / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

@#AIM: To investigate the leading causes of blindness and low vision in Yanta district of Xi'an city in 2015. <p>METHODS:Totally 340 cases of vision impaired patients who were authenticated in our hospital in 2015 were analyzed in this research.<p>RESULTS: The leading causes of blindness and low vision were high myopia(24.7%), glaucoma(13.5%), diabetic retinopathy(11.8%), macular degeneration(9.7%)and keratopathy(5.3%). <p>CONCLUSION: The most important reasons of visual disability in Yanta district of Xi'an city were high myopia, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Since all the causes are avoidable, a planned prevention is highly recommended to decrease the prevalence of avoidable blindness.

Clinical value of C - reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and white blood cell count in patients with ocular syphilis / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM:To explore the clinical value of combined detection of C-reactive protein ( CRP ) , erythrocyte sedimentation rate ( ESR) and white blood cell ( WBC) count in patients with ocular syphilis. METHODS:Dates of CRP, ESR, WBC, TPPA and RPR of 51 ophthalmopathy patients caused by syphilis and 50 normal control from Jan. 2012 to Dec. 2015 in eye hospital were recruited and analyzed statistically. RESULTS:The positive rates of CRP, ESR and WBC of oculopathy patients were 16%, 18% and 39%, respectively, which were higher than those in the control group. In patients group, the positive rate of ESR was higher than CRP and WBC. There were no obvious relationships between RPR titers and positive ratios of CRP, WBC and ESR. CONCLUSION: The blood level of CRP, WBC and ESR may have certain help in estimating and monitoring condition of patients with ocular syphilis.

Progress in the study of multidrug and toxin extrusion proteins / 药学学报

Mammal multidrug and toxin extrusion proteins (MATEs) play an important role in the transport of organic cations in the body. MATEs mediate the final excretion step for multiple organic cation drug used clinically and important endogenous substances. This article reviews the discovery, type, gene coding and polymorphism, body distribution, classification of substrates and inhibitors and their research method of MATEs. The article also discusses the major research significance of MATEs with examples.

Role of endoplasmic reticular stress in aortic endothelial apoptosis induced by intermittent/persistent hypoxia / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Accumulated evidence shows that hypoxia can induce endothelial apoptosis, however the mechanism is still unknown. We hypothesized whether intermittent or persistent hypoxia could induce endoplasmic reticular stress, leading to endothelial apoptosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-four 8-week male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were divided into three groups: normoxia (NC) group, intermittent hypoxia (IH) group and persistent hypoxia (PH) group. TUNEL staining was performed to detect aortic arch endotheliar apoptosis, and immunohistochemistry for BIP, CHOP and caspase12 to test protein expression; human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) of the line ECV304 were cultured (with or without taurodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) 10 mmol/L, 100 mmol/L) and divided into four groups: NC group (20.8% O2 for 4 hours), PH1 group (5% O2 for 4 hours), PH2 group (5% O2 for 12 hours) and IH group (20.8% O2 and 5% O2 alternatively for 8 hours). Annexin V-fluorescein-isothiocyanate/propidium iodide flow cytometry was used to assess apoptosis in each group. The expressions of GRP78, CHOP and caspase12 were detected by real-time quantitative reverse-transcription PCR. Result Intermittent and persistent hypoxia could increase the rate of endothelium apoptosis and the expressions of GRP78, CHOP and caspase12 compared with the control, induction by intermittent hypoxia was slightly higher than persistent hypoxia. In the HUVEC experiment, TUDCA significantly reduced apoptosis and the expressions of GRP78, CHOP and caspase12.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Hypoxia, especially intermittent, can induce endothelial cell apoptosis possibly through endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway, which can be attenuated by taurodeoxycholic acid.</p>

Ang II type 1 receptor expression in rat aorta exposed to chronic intermittent hypoxia: effects of p38MAPK and ERK1/2 signaling / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Obstructive sleep apnea is a frequent medical condition consisting of repetitive sleep-related episodes of upper air ways obstruction and can lead to hypertension. Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1R) played important roles in hypertension since it binds with Ang II, controlling salt-water and blood pressure homeostasis. This study explores rat aorta AT1R expression during intermittent hypoxia (IH) and the signaling pathways involved.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A rat model and a cell model used a BioSpherix-OxyCycler A84 system and a ProOx C21 system respectively. The arterial blood pressure was recorded by a Nihon Kohden Polygraph System. Immunohistochemic was used to focus and analyze the expression of AT1R in rat aorta. Real-time PCR and Western blotting were used to explore the signaling pathways that participated in AT1R expression.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In this study, we found that chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) induced AT1R transcription which increased the blood pressure in rat aorta compared to normoxia and to sustained hypoxia. The AT1R protein expression in the aorta was similar to the real-time PCR results. We explored the signaling mechanisms involved in the AT1R induction in both rat aorta and the aortic endothelial cells by real-time PCR and Western blotting. Compared to normoxia, CIH increased ERK1 mRNA transcription but not ERK2 or p38MAPK in the aorta; whereas sustained hypoxia (SH) upregulated ERK2 but not ERK1 or p38MAPK mRNA. In cells, IH induced AT1R expression with ERK1/2 phosphorylation but reduced p38MAPKs phosphorylation, whereas SH induced only ERK1/2 phosphorylation. The ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059 attenuated the IHinduced AT1R increase but the p38MAPK inhibitor SB203580 did not.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Our results indicate that CIH induced the elevation of rat blood pressure and aorta AT1R expression. Moreover, AT1R expression in IH and sustained hypoxia might be regulated by different signal transduction pathways, highlighting a novel regulatory function through ERK1/2 signaling in IH.</p>

Association of MMP14 gene polymorphisms and osteoporosis in Zhuang men from Baise region of Guangxi / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the association between membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase gene (MT1-MMP, MMP14) polymorphisms and osteoporosis in Zhuang men from Baise region of Guangxi.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Genotypes of 5 loci (rs1003349, rs3751488, rs2269213, rs2236303 and rs743257) of MMP14 gene in 301 Zhuang men were determined with single base extension methods, and bone mineral density (BMD) at left calcaneus was evaluated with quantitative ultrasound with measured values of broadband ultrasonic attenuation (BUA). The subjects were divided according to BMD into osteoporosis group, osteopenia group and normal bone density group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All selected loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P> 0.05). By multiple linear stepwise regression analysis, polymorphisms of the five loci were not associated with BUA. But a significant higher risk of osteoporosis was found in individuals with MMP14 rs1003349 GT genotype (vs. GG genotype; P<0.05) and rs2236303 CC and CT genotypes (vs. TT genotype; P<0.05). Genetic linkage between rs1003349 and rs2236303 was also discovered (D'= 0.839, r(2) = 0.458, P<0.01). Compared with the normal bone density group, the frequency of a G-T haplotype of rs1003349 and rs2236303 was significantly lower in the osteoporosis group (P<0.05). And the risk of osteoporosis for individuals with G-C and T-C haplotypes was 2.556 (95% CI: 1.029-6.349, P = 0.038) and 5.111 (95% CI: 1.341-19.485, P = 0.011) compared with G-T haplotype.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Polymorphisms of rs1003349 and rs2236303 loci of MMP14 gene are associated with the susceptibility of osteoporosis in Zhuang men in Guangxi. G-C and T-C haplotypes for loci rs1003349 and rs2236303 may increase the disease risk.</p>

Study on the effect of cardioplegia induced by kalium-verapamil-propranolol in different temperatures on the function of immature rat heart / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the appropriate temperature of the kalium-verapamil-propranolol (KVP) cardioplegia by observation of the effect on the function of the immature rat heart.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Isolated hearts from immature rats were perfused by Langendorff method, and assigned to 1 of the following 5 groups (n = 6-8): control, continuously perfused for 170 min at 36 degrees C, normal temperature, normal perfused for 20 min, changed to perfuse with KVP for 3 min then no perfusion 87 min (ischemia 90 min), followed by 60 min reperfusion. 3 groups of low temperature, perfused for 15 min, cool down to 32 degrees C, 28 degrees C and 24 degrees C especially in 5 min, and at 20th min. heart rate (b/min), tension (g), contraction force (g), peak systolic velocity (dT/dt(max)), peak diastole velocity (dT/dt(max)), coronary flow (Drop/min) were monitored during the whole perfusion.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared to control group, the heart tension increased after 50 min KVP ischemia. The protection of KVP in normal temperature (36 degrees C) was better than lower temperature (32 degrees C, 28 degrees C, 24 degrees C) such as reducing bad contraction, keeping normal myocardium tension,recovering heart rate, recovering the fuction of contraction force and protecting the coronary flow.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The KVP cardioplegia in normal temperature has the better effect than that in hypothermia to protect the immature heart.</p>

Cost-effectiveness of diagnostic approaches to vasovagal syncope / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Syncope is a common clinical problem with multiple causes. Vasovagal syncope (VVS) is by far the most frequent cause of syncope in children and adolescents. The traditional diagnostic approach to VVS of children and adolescents is based on a series of tests to exclude all other causes, which is complex and time and medical resource consuming. Attempts have been made to develop a new cost-effective diagnostic approach to avoid these problems. This study aimed to compare the economic effectiveness and diagnostic value of the traditional diagnostic approach to VVS of children with a new diagnostic approach.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and eighteen children diagnosed as VVS were divided into two groups according to the different diagnostic approaches. The diagnostic value of the two diagnostic approaches was then analyzed. Meanwhile, the costs of hospitalization, diagnostic testing and hospital stay were determined. Data were evaluated by the cost-minimization analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The diagnostic value of the new diagnostic approach was similar to that of the traditional diagnostic approach (56.57% vs. 53.91%, P = 0.697). However, the cost of hospitalization per patient by the new diagnostic approach was (1507.08 ± 144.63) Yuan (RMB) which was less than that of the traditional diagnostic approach (2603.64 ± 208.19) Yuan. The costs of diagnostic tests per patient by the new diagnostic approach was (1256.04 ± 109.14) Yuan and by the traditional approach (2175.22 ± 153.32) Yuan.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compared to the traditional diagnostic approach to diagnose VVS in children and adolescents, the new diagnostic approach is of a good economic value, and it should be popularized in clinical practice.</p>

CatSper and sperm hyperactivation / 中华男科学杂志

Elevation of sperm Ca2+ seems to be responsible for an asymmetric form of motility called hyperactivation, which is first seen near the time of fertilization. CatSper family proteins are putative cation channels expressed exclusively in the membranes of the sperm flagellum. Hyperactivation requires CatSper proteins, which presumably serve as the route of entry for Ca2+ that operates directly on the flagellar axoneme to increase waveform asymmetry. In this article, the structure of mouse CatSper, the role it plays in sperm hyperactivation and the unsolved problems are described.

A multi-center study of hemodynamic characteristics exhibited by children with unexplained syncope / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Syncope is common in children and adolescents, with 15% estimated to have had at least one syncopal episode by age 18. In recent years, an increasing number of children, especially girls at their school age, have developed unexplained syncope. The mechanism of an unexplained syncope exhibited by children is incompletely studied; the association between different hemodynamic patterns and clinical features is also not clear. The aim of the study was to investigate the hemodynamic patterns of children with unexplained syncope and to examine the clinical relevance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Two hundred and eight children [87 boys, 121 girls, aged 3 - 19 years, mean (11.66 +/- 2.72) years] were selectively recruited from May 2000 to April 2006 when they presented syncope as their main complaint at the Multi-center Network for Childhood Syncope in Beijing, Hunan Province, Hubei Province, and Shanghai of China. All of the patients underwent head-up tilt tests; data were analyzed using SPSS version 10.0 for Windows. Continuous variables were expressed as the mean +/- standard deviation. Dichotomous variables were compared through a chi(2) test. A value of P < 0.05 (two sided) was regarded as statistically significant.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The age distribution of children with syncope was approximately normal. Head-up tilt tests was positive in 155 children, and the incidence of positive response of the baseline head-up tilt test for diagnosing unexplained syncope was 50.48%. The sensitivity value and diagnostic value of sublingual nitroglycerin head-up tilt test were both 74.52%. The hemodynamic pattern was normal in 53 children. The 155 children, who were positive in head-up tilt tests, showed signs of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (60, 28.8%), the vasoinhibitory pattern (72, 34.6%), the cardioinhibitory pattern (5, 2.4%), and the mixed pattern (18, 8.7%). The gender distribution between the two age groups (age < 12 years vs age > or = 12 years) was not different (P > 0.05). The distribution of hemodynamic patterns between the children of the two age groups (age < 12 years vs age > or = 12 years), and the children with different complaints (dizziness vs syncope) was significantly different (P < 0.05), while the distribution between the children of different sexes and different lasting time of syncope (< or = 5 minutes vs > 5 minutes) was not significantly different (P > 0.05). Different hemodynamic patterns were differentiated by differing syncope inducements, presymptoms, and complicated symptoms during and after syncope.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The tested girls were more prone when compared with the boys to have unexplained syncope, and the peak age was around twelve years old. The incidence of positive response of head-up tilt tests was also relatively higher for the girls. The distribution of hemodynamic patterns for different ages was different. For children with unexplained syncope, we should use head-up tilttests to distinguish the hemodynamic patterns in order to adopt rational therapeutic measures.</p>

Combination products: a new model of medical devices / 中国医疗器械杂志

A combination product is a new model of the medical product that incorporates at least two of the regulated component categories of device, drug, or biological product into one product. It has become a new hot point within the development of devices and drugs, and has brought about a new opportunity for device and drug industries and a new challenge for administration too. In the paper, the properties of combination products are summed up and the impact on device and drug industries are discussed.

Comparative study on in vitro stationary culture system or superfusion culture system of cow mammary tissue / 生物工程学报

Dairy cow mammary tissue was cultured in superfusion system or stationary system, and the influence of these two methods in the activity and ultrastructure of tissue was investigated according to LDH vigor, trypan blue dying, agrose gel electrophoresis, transmission microscope observation. The results showed that the mammary tissue cultured in superfusion system could keep normal tissue activity and ultrastructure within 12-60 h in DMEM plus 10% calf serum, while mammary tissue stationary culture could keep normal tissue activity and ultrastructure within 60-108 h. Both culture systems had some advantages and disadvantages.