β-Catenin Deletion in Regional Neural Progenitors Leads to Congenital Hydrocephalus in Mice / 神经科学通报·英文版

Congenital hydrocephalus is a major neurological disorder with high rates of morbidity and mortality; however, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Reproducible animal models mirroring both embryonic and postnatal hydrocephalus are also limited. Here, we describe a new mouse model of congenital hydrocephalus through knockout of β-catenin in Nkx2.1-expressing regional neural progenitors. Progressive ventriculomegaly and an enlarged brain were consistently observed in knockout mice from embryonic day 12.5 through to adulthood. Transcriptome profiling revealed severe dysfunctions in progenitor maintenance in the ventricular zone and therefore in cilium biogenesis after β-catenin knockout. Histological analyses also revealed an aberrant neuronal layout in both the ventral and dorsal telencephalon in hydrocephalic mice at both embryonic and postnatal stages. Thus, knockout of β-catenin in regional neural progenitors leads to congenital hydrocephalus and provides a reproducible animal model for studying pathological changes and developing therapeutic interventions for this devastating disease.

cGAS guards against chromosome end-to-end fusions during mitosis and facilitates replicative senescence

As a sensor of cytosolic DNA, the role of cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) in innate immune response is well established, yet how its functions in different biological conditions remain to be elucidated. Here, we identify cGAS as an essential regulator in inhibiting mitotic DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair and protecting short telomeres from end-to-end fusion independent of the canonical cGAS-STING pathway. cGAS associates with telomeric/subtelomeric DNA during mitosis when TRF1/TRF2/POT1 are deficient on telomeres. Depletion of cGAS leads to mitotic chromosome end-to-end fusions predominantly occurring between short telomeres. Mechanistically, cGAS interacts with CDK1 and positions them to chromosome ends. Thus, CDK1 inhibits mitotic non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) by blocking the recruitment of RNF8. cGAS-deficient human primary cells are defective in entering replicative senescence and display chromosome end-to-end fusions, genome instability and prolonged growth arrest. Altogether, cGAS safeguards genome stability by controlling mitotic DSB repair to inhibit mitotic chromosome end-to-end fusions, thus facilitating replicative senescence.

Regulatory effects of sphingosine kinase-2 on astrocyte function and EAE progression in mouse model / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective:To investigate the regulatory effects of sphingosine kinase-2 (SphK2) on the function of activated astrocytes and the progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice.Methods:Primary mouse astrocytes were isolated from wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice and sphk2 gene knock-out ( sphk2 -/-) mice and stimulated in vitro with interleukin 17 (IL-17). Real-time PCR was used to measure the expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines at mRNA levels. Western blot and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT3). An EAE mouse model was constructed using myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 35-55 (MOG 35-55) polypeptide. Western blot was used to detect the expression of GFAP and p-STAT3 at protein level and real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines at mRNA level in spinal cords. Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) and Luxol fast blue (LFB) staining were used to observe the changes in inflammatory cell infiltration and demyelination in spinal cords. Results:Compared with the WT group, the phosphorylation of STAT3 was obviously reduced in in vitro activated mouse astrocytes of sphk2 -/- mice, and the expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines including monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), TNF-α and IL-6 at mRNA level was also significantly decreased. Compared with the WT EAE group, changes in the above-mentioned cytokines and relative proteins in sphk2 -/- EAE mice in vivo were similar to those in vitro. Moreover, inflammatory cell infiltration and demyelination were significantly reduced in spinal cords of sphk2 -/- EAE mice. However, no significant difference in in vitro or in vivo GFAP expression was observed between WT and sphk2 -/- mice. Conclusions:SphK2 might regulate the function of reactive astrocytes through STAT3 molecular pathway, thereby regulating the production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and participating in the pathological process of EAE.

Inhibition of p53 and/or AKT as a new therapeutic approach specifically targeting ALT cancers

While the majority of all human cancers counteract telomere shortening by expressing telomerase, ~15% of all cancers maintain telomere length by a telomerase-independent mechanism known as alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). Here, we show that high load of intrinsic DNA damage is present in ALT cancer cells, leading to apoptosis stress by activating p53-independent, but JNK/c-Myc-dependent apoptotic pathway. Notably, ALT cells expressing wild-type p53 show much lower apoptosis than p53-deficient ALT cells. Mechanistically, we find that intrinsic DNA damage in ALT cells induces low level of p53 that is insufficient to initiate the transcription of apoptosis-related genes, but is sufficient to stimulate the expression of key components of mTORC2 (mTOR and Rictor), which in turn leads to phosphorylation of AKT. Activated AKT (p-AKT) thereby stimulates downstream anti-apoptotic events. Therefore, p53 and AKT are the key factors that suppress spontaneous apoptosis in ALT cells. Indeed, inhibition of p53 or AKT selectively induces rapid death of ALT cells in vitro, and p53 inhibitor severely suppresses the growth of ALT-cell xenograft tumors in mice. These findings reveal a previously unrecognized function of p53 in anti-apoptosis and identify that the inhibition of p53 or AKT has a potential as therapeutics for specifically targeting ALT cancers.

Exploration of an integrated system of digital imaging medical records of a hospital / 中华医院管理杂志

Objective To explore the integration of the digital imaging medical records system and the hospital information system ( HIS), for a hospital-wide information platform for digital medical records management. Methods All the medical records were classified as " to copy and not to copy" by sampling, and an item corresponding table was developed for both HIS medical record files and imaging records copying types. The imaging copying system for paper-based medical records only covers those must-copy ones, while those medical record files without need to be copied were directly transcoded via the interface to the imaging medical records system from the HIS system. This makes digital imaging medical records complete. Results The digital imaging medical record system is thus integrated, and the cost of making imaging medical records was sizably reduced without compromising the quality and integrity of medical records. Conclusions Imaging medical records produced by copying paper-based ones are integrated with those directly sent via the interface to the imaging medical records system, forming complete digital imaging records, at a much lower cost.

IL-22 alleviates hydrogen peroxide-induced hepatocarcinoma cell damage through activating autoph-agy / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To investigate the role of interleukin-22 (IL-22)-regulated autophagy in hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 )-induced hepatocarcinoma cell damage. Methods HepG2 cells were transfected with pEGFP-LC3 and then cultured in RPMI 1640 medium free of fetal bovine serum (FBS) or containing 1％ or 10％ FBS. These cells were pretreated with rapamycin or an autophagy inhibitor (3-MA) and then stimulated with recombinat human IL-22 (rhIL-22). GFP-LC3 puncta formation and autophagy signaling ac-tivation were measured. MTT assay was performed to detect cell viability. Results rhIL-22 significantly promoted GFP-LC3 puncta formation and LC3-Ⅱ expression in HepG2 cells treated with different stimulation protocols. The autophagy pathway inhibitor, 3-MA, dramatically suppressed the rhIL-22-activated autophagy signals. rhIL-22 attenuated H2 O2-mediated HepG2 cell death and that could be inhibited by 3-MA. Conclu-sion IL-22 promoted the activation of autophagy signaling pathways and alleviated H2 O2-mediated HepG2 cell damage.

Effects of cyclin-dependent kinase 9 ( CDK9) on lytic replication of Kaposi′s sarcoma-associated her-pesvirus ( KSHV) / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To investigate the role of cyclin-dependent kinase 9 ( CDK9) in regulating lytic replication of Kaposi′s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus ( KSHV) .Methods Percentages of red fluores-cent protein (RFP) positive cells were counted after treating and stimulating iSLK .219 cells with FIT-039, a CDK9 specific inhibitor , and doxycycline ( Dox ) , respectively , or transfecting and stimulating them with CDK9 siRNA (si-CDK9) and Dox, respectively.Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the expres-sion of KSHV genes at mRNA level in TREx-K-Rta BCBL-1 cells treated with FIT-039 or transfected with si-CKD9 in the presence of Dox.Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay was used to examine the enrich-ment of RNA polymerase Ⅱ( RNA PolⅡ) and phosphorylated CTD-S2 of RNA PolⅡon the PAN promot-er in TREx-K-Rta BCBL-1 cells treated with FIT-039.Results Both FIT-039 intervention and CDK9 knockdown dramatically deceased the percentage of RFP-positive iSLK.219 cells and suppressed the expres-sion of ORF50, PAN and K2 in TREx-K-Rta BCBL-1 cells at mRNA level.Furthermore, FIT-039 signifi-cantly inhibited the enrichment of RNA Pol Ⅱand phosphorylated CTD-S2 of RNA Pol Ⅱon the PAN pro-moter in TREx-K-Rta BCBL-1 cells.Conclusion CDK9 is involved in regulating the lytic replication of KSHV through promoting the phosphorylation of CTD-S2 of RNA Pol Ⅱ.

Application of Diagnosis Related Groups evaluation index in performance management system of hospitals / 中华医院管理杂志

Objective To explore the use of Diagnosis Related Groups(DRGs)evaluation index in performance management system of hospitals.Methods The performance evaluation system was built based on medical business volume index,efficiency indicators,cost control indexes,drug control indexes, medical quality and medical safety indexes,by means of extracting the home page of hospital discharge records from 2009 to 2013 and grouping automatically with the“BJ-DRGs”group-maker.Results The operation evaluation indexes of the hospital have seen great progress since advent of the DRGs evaluation indexes.Conclusion Introduction of DRGs has scored great success in the performance appraisal system of the hospital.

The Effects of 14-3-3 Phosphorylation Induced by JNK on Ischemic Brain Injury in Rats / 天津医药

Objective To investigate the effects of 14-3-3 phosphorylation (p-14-3-3) induced by C-Jun N-termi-nal kinase (JNK) on ischemic brain injury in rats. Methods Twenty rats were divided into 4 groups:sham operation group, ischemia-reperfusion group, SP600125 group and solvent control group. The rat model of cerebral ischemia was established. The p-14-3-3, the binding of 14-3-3 and Bax and the protein expression of Bax in cytoplasm and mitochondria in hippo-campal CA1 region were detected by immunoprecipitation (IP) and immunoblotting 12-hour after ischemia-reperfusion in four groups. Results Compared with the sham operation group, protein expression levels of p-14-3-3 in cytoplasm and Bax in mitochondria were significantly increased, the binding of 14-3-3 and Bax was significantly decreased in ischemia-re-perfusion group, solvent control group and SP600125 group. The protein expressions of p-14-3-3 and Bax were significantly lower in SP600125 group than those of ischemia-reperfusion group and solvent control group. The binding of 14-3-3 and Bax was significantly higher in SP600125 group than that of ischemia-reperfusion group and solvent control group (P <0.05). Conclusion 14-3-3 phosphorylation induced by JNK plays important effects on ischemic brain injury in rats.

Role of glutamate receptor-6 in kainate-induced epilepsy in rats / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

Objective To study the molecular mechanism of glutamate receptor-6 (GluR6) in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. Methods Seizure model of SD rats was induced by intraperitoneal injection of kainate (KA). Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting were performed to examine the interactions of GluR6 and MLK3 with PSD95 at various time points after KA injection. The effect of Tat-GluR6-9c on the MLK3 phospharylation induced by kainate was observed with immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. Results The assembly of GluR6 and MLK3 with PSD95 was induced after KA hippocampal CA3 region, and bagan to decrease one day later. Pretreatment after KA injection in CA3 region (P<0.05). Conclusion KA induces the assembly of the GluR6-PSD95-MLK3 signaling module and subsequently activates MLK3, which ultimately results in brain injury.

Ultrasound-mediated PTEN gene inhibit invasion and metastasis of human ovarian carcinoma SKOV3 cell lines / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective To determine the transfection of PTEN gene in human ovarian carcinoma SKOV3 cells by ultrasound mediating and contrast agent′s enhancing, and to explore the mechanism of PTEN gene inhibiting the tumor cells′ invasion. Methods After addition of PTEN gene and 5 ?l lipofectamine,human ovarian carcinoma SKOV3 cells on 6-well plates were explored to ultrasound for 60 s in the presence(200 ?l) of ultrasound agent. The invasiveness of transfected cells was measured quantitatively by Matrigel invasion assays(Transwell chamber) after 48 h. Results The invasiveness of SKOV3 cells transfected by ultrasound-mediated PTEN gene was significantly declined compared with that of the controls. Conclusions The transfection of PTEN gene into SKOV3 cell can inhibit their invasion.The gene transfection can be enhanced by ultrasound and contrast agent,which may be expected to be a new means of clinical gene therapy.