The relationship between endoplasmic reticulum stress and its particular apoptosis way caspase-12 and apoptosis in renal cortex of diabetic rats / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expressions of 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) and Caspase-12 and their relationship with apoptosis in renal cortex of diabetic rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Uninephrectomized Wistar rats were used to induce diabetes by intraperitoneal injection of Streptozotocin (STZ 65 mg/kg). After 8 weeks, the expression and distribution of GRP78, Caspase-12, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were examined by immunohistochemistry. Flow cytometry was used to detect the levels of protein of GRP78 and Caspase-12. Apoptosis was evaluated by means of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated d-UDP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and Flow cytometry. Serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and 24-hour urine protein excretion were checked.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with those in normal control group, the numbers of apoptosis and the expression of GRP78, Caspase-12 in glomerular and tubular cells were much higher in the diabetic kidneys at 8 weeks. There was no significant difference between group A and group B.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress may play an important role in the development of diabetic nephropathy.</p>

Recent developments in mechanics of biological materials: A brief review / 医用生物力学

As a rapidly developing area in biomechanics, mechanics of biological materials aims to investigate the fundamental relationship between functions, properties, structures, and compositions of various natural biological materials at different length scales and the underlying physical mechanisms through experimental research and theoretical analysis, and to provide inspirations from the splendid living world for the biomimetic design of new materials. In this paper, some recent achievements, mainly made by Chinese scholars in this field, are briefly reviewed, including the stiffening and toughening mechanisms of such biological composites as nacres and horns, the relation between the surface wetting behavior and the micro/nanostructures, and some relevant biomimetic applications as well. The contents of seven invited papers published in this special issue are also introduced.