ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the changes and significance of serum hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels in children with benign infantile convulsions associated with mild gastroenteritis (BICE).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-two hospitalized children diagnosed with BICE were recruited to the observation group, and 46 children admitted due to acute gastroenteritis alone were recruited to the control group. Serum H2S levels were measured by a spectrophotometer.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The serum H2S level in the observation group was significantly lower than in the control group (28±12 μmol/L vs 45±10 μmol/L; P<0.01). The patients with a number of convulsions greater than or equal to two had significantly lower serum H2S levels than those with a number less than two (P<0.05). The number of convulsions was negatively correlated with serum H2S level in BICE patients (r=-0.485, P=0.001). When a convulsion exceeded 5 minues in duration, the duration was negatively correlated with serum H2S level (r=-0.736, P=0.004).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The reduction in endogenous H2S level might be one of the causes of convulsions in BICE patients. The degree of reduction in H2S level is associated with the number of convulsions and the duration of convulsion (when it exceeds 5 minues). Further investigation is needed to determine the clinical significance of these results.</p>
Subject(s)
Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Gastroenteritis , Blood , Hydrogen Sulfide , Blood , Seizures , BloodABSTRACT
The objective is to determine if Hsp70 is involved in the mechanism by which serum from burn rats induces apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. Cardiomyocytes in primary culture were assigned to the following groups: normal controls, normal rat serum, burn serum, burn serum plus empty vector control, and burn serum plus Hsp70 transfection. Each group, except normal controls, was cultured with the corresponding serum for 2 hours. The empty vector controls and the Hsp70 groups were transfected, respectively, with the empty vector or pcDNA3.1-Hsp70 recombinant plasmid 36 hours previously. Hsp70 protein levels were assessed by Western blot. Apoptotic cells were counted after Hoechst 33258 staining. Apoptosis of cardiomyocytes was also detected by the presence of "ladder" bands in agarose gels following electrophoresis of extracted DNA. Activation of caspase-3, -8, and -9 and Bid cleavage were assessed by Western blot. Hsp70 overexpression inhibited burn serum-induced apoptosis of cardiomyocytes; and burn serum-induced activation of caspases-3, -8, and -9; and Bid cleavage into tBid. Hsp70 inhibits burn serum-induced apoptosis by interfering with death receptor and mitochondrial pathways.
Subject(s)
Apoptosis , Burns/complications , Cell Membrane/drug effects , HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins/metabolism , Mitochondria/drug effects , Myocytes, Cardiac/pathology , Receptors, Death Domain/drug effects , Animals , Blotting, Western , Burns/blood , Burns/enzymology , Burns/physiopathology , Caspase 3/metabolism , Caspase 8/metabolism , Caspase 9/metabolism , DNA , Electrophoresis , Enzyme Activation , HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins/biosynthesis , HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins/pharmacology , Myocytes, Cardiac/enzymology , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Up-RegulationABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Chronic dermal ulcers are also referred to as refractory ulcers. This study was conducted to elucidate the therapeutic effect of laser on chronic dermal ulcers and the induced expression of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in wound tissues.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty patients with 84 chronic dermal ulcers were randomly divided into traditional therapy and laser therapy groups. Laser treatment was performed in addition to traditional therapy in the laser therapy group. The treatment efficacy was evaluated after three weeks. Five tissue sections of healing wounds were randomly collected along with five normal skin sections as controls. HSP70-positive cells from HSP70 immunohistochemical staining were counted and the gray scale of positive cells was measured for statistical analysis. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting were performed to determine the mRNA and protein expressions of HSF1 and HSP70.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The cure rate of the wounds and the total efficacy in the laser therapy group were significantly higher than those in the traditional therapy group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, respectively). Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the HSP70-positive cell count was significantly higher in laser therapy group than those in the traditional therapy group and controls (P < 0.01), and the gray scale of the cell signal was obviously lower than traditional therapy group and controls (P < 0.05). By contrast, the traditional therapy group and the control group were not significantly different. The RNA levels of HSF1 and HSP70 were higher in the laser therapy group by RT-PCR, but very low in normal skin and the traditional therapy group. The analysis on the gray scale of the Western blot bands indicated that the expression of HSF1 and HSP70 in the laser therapy group was significantly higher than in the traditional therapy group and the control group (P < 0.01), and the expression in the traditional therapy group was also higher than in the control group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Laser-aided therapy of chronic dermal ulcers plays a facilitating role in healing due to the mechanism of laser-activated endogenous heat shock protection in cells in wound surfaces.</p>