Importing, caring, breeding, genotyping, and phenotyping a genetic mouse in a Chinese university.

The genetic manipulation of the laboratory mouse has been well developed and generated more and more mouse lines for biomedical research. To advance our science exploration, it is necessary to share genetically modified mouse lines with collaborators between institutions, even in different countries. The transfer process is complicated. Significant paperwork and coordination are required, concerning animal welfare, intellectual property rights, colony health status, and biohazard. Here, we provide a practical example of importing a transgenic mice line, Dynamin 1 knockout mice, from Yale University in the USA to Perking University in China for studying cell secretion. This example including the length of time that required for paper work, mice quarantine at the receiving institution, and expansion of the mouse line for experiments. The procedure described in this paper for delivery live transgenic mice from USA to China may serve a simple reference for transferring mouse lines between other countries too.

Effect of cocaine on ion channels and glutamatergic EPSCs in noradrenergic locus coeruleus neurons.

The locus coeruleus (LC) is an important brainstem area involved in cocaine addiction. However, evidence to elucidate how cocaine modulates the activity of LC neurons remains incomplete. Here, we performed whole recordings in brain slices to evaluate the effects of cocaine on the sodium (Na(+)), potassium (K(+)), calcium (Ca(2+)) channels, and glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the locus coeruleus neurons. Local application of cocaine significantly and reversibly reduced the spontaneous firing rate but did not affect action potential amplitude, rising time, decay time, or half width of noradrenergic locus coeruleus neurons. Moreover, cocaine attenuated the sodium current but did not affect potassium and calcium currents. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents were reduced by neuropeptide galanin but not cocaine. All those data demonstrate that cocaine has inhibitory effect on the spontaneous activities and sodium current in locus coeruleus neurons. Therefore, neuromodulation of sodium channel in locus coeruleus neurons may play an important role in drug addiction.

Anka and anka pigment production.

This study was conducted to determine the time-dependent changes of solid-state fermentation of rice with Monascus purpureus to produce anka and anka pigments. Growth of the fungus occurred prior to the synthesis of anka pigments. A steady increase in the yield of pigments occurred between the 5th and 15th days. After 15 days, growth of the fungus on rice substrate ceased and the yield of yellow anka pigments remained constant; however, orange anka pigments were reduced with a decreasing rate of 3.6 mg/g anka/day.

[Photodynamic effect of hematoporphyrin on cell organs].

Seminiferous epithelial cells of mouse testis were treated with hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD)-light in vitro. After HPD-light treatment, the changes within cells in early stage of prophase were observed. Examination with EM showed that 30 min after HPD-light treatment, the mitochondria were aggregated and vesiculated, the nucleus showed an irregular outline and a sign of chromatolysis; the other organelles showed no significant changes at this time. The results suggest that both mitochondria and nucleus are susceptible to HPD-light treatment. Three hours after HPD-light treatment, many of multi-nucleated spermatids appeared and they all contained deformed nuclei. This fact suggests that cytokinesis was inhibited by this treatment, and the chromatin of metaphase were also damage.

Mechanism of development of asymmetric septal hypertrophy in patients with essential systemic hypertension.

In order to understand the mechanism of development of asymmetric septal hypertrophy (ASH) in hypertension, 290 patients with essential hypertension (HT) were examined echocardiographically. Out of them 84 cases of advanced left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) [37 cases of symmetric hypertrophy (HT-SH group) and 47 cases of ASH (HT-ASH group)] were compared in their clinical and echocardiographic findings with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). In the 290 HT cases, the highest systolic pressure in each patient's history was found to correlate with left ventricular (LV) posterior wall thickness (PWT), but not with the septal wall thickness (IVST). There were no differences in LV thickness (IVST + PWT) among patients in the HT-ASH, HT-SH and HCM groups. While the HCM group patients showed no significant differences in IVST and PWT from those in the HT-ASH group, they did have greater IVST and smaller PWT than HT-SH group patients. The rapid filling rate (RFR) was also not much different in the HCM and HT-ASH groups, but was significantly lower in the HCM group than in the HT-SH group. Furthermore, HT-ASH group patients has a milder degree of hypertension and a higher incidence of familial occurrence of HCM than did those in the HT-SH group. After treatment for HT, the HT-SH group showed a significant decrease in wall thickness during long-term observation, while the HT-ASH and HCM groups, failed to exhibit such changes. Moreover, the degree of myocardial disarrangement in the HT-ASH group did not differ significantly from that in the HCM group. These results suggested that LVH in HT is related not only to pressure load but also to genetic factors similar to that in HCM.

[Pathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathy: a study based on comparison of the clinical features with other related conditions].

To investigate the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), we studied 28 patients with DCM by echocardiography and endomyocardial biopsy, and compared their findings with those of 34 patients including eight with myocarditis, seven with alcoholics, 12 with hypertensives and seven patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. All 12 patients in the hypertensive group had congestive heart failure without accompanying high blood pressure, and prominent dilatation and uniform wall motion abnormality of the left ventricle observed echocardiographically on admission. After medical management, both heart failure and the echocardiographic abnormalities gradually resolved. Those in the alcoholic group had larger left ventricles and uniform wall motion abnormality compared to those in the other groups. The myocarditis and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy groups had smaller left ventricles, non-uniform wall motion and larger % myocardial fibrosis. Both ventricles in the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy group were thicker than those of the other three groups. Each patient with DCM had individual echocardiographic abnormalities, which could be categorized as two subsets depending on the degree of left ventricular dilatation and uniformity of the wall motion. The one was characterized by a prominently dilated left ventricle and uniform wall motion abnormality similar to the alcoholic group, and the other had less marked left ventricular dilatation and heterogeneous wall motion abnormality similar to the myocarditis group. From these findings, it was suggested that there are common factors to specific myocardial disease in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of DCM, and thus, DCM might include many subsets of different etiologies.

Uriniferous pseudocyst: computed tomographic findings.

The computed tomographic (CT) scans of nine consecutive patients with proved uriniferous pseudocyst (UP) were analyzed retrospectively. Analysis disclosed perirenal space tumefaction in seven patients, tumefaction outside the perirenal space in two patients, cystlike uniformity of attenuation (with specific exceptions) in all nine patients, contrast medium-opacified urine extravasating into the UP in three patients, contrast material within the dependent portion of the UP in one patient, anterior and superior displacement of the kidney in seven patients, hydronephrosis in all nine patients, and associated findings suggesting the underlying cause of UP in five patients. Although these CT findings appear to be quite specific, consideration of this uncommon entity in the CT differential diagnosis requires knowledge of its reported causes, the patient's medical history, and the clinical presentation.

Computed tomography of renal infarction: clinical and experimental observations.

Acute renal infarction is rarely diagnosed before death despite fairly characteristic clinical and radiographic features. Definitive radiologic diagnosis of renal infarction often requires invasive procedures such as retrograde pyelography and angiography. The characteristic CT findings in three patients with proven renal infarction are reported. In these patients a CT rim sign was seen: a higher-attenuation subcapsular rim surrounded renal parenchyma of lower attenuation on contrast-enhanced scans. The appearance of renal infarction varies with both the extent and age of infarction. To assess these variables, segmental, major, and total renal infarcts were created in a series of six dogs; CT scans were obtained within 2 hr after infarction, and 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks later. In all animals the ischemic and subsequently infarcted areas were seen on the initial examination as regions of low attenuation compared to the enhanced kidney. The low-attenuation areas markedly diminished by 2 weeks after infarction. CT should be useful in the prompt and noninvasive diagnosis of renal infarction.

Ultrasonographic demonstration of inferior vena caval invasion.

Whenever a liver neoplasm is seen ultrasonographically, an effort should be made to visualize the veins within the liver as well as the inferior vena cava for tumor extension. Valuable information can be obtained by the demonstration of this finding which may radically alter the further work-up and treatment of the patient.

Role of respiration in effecting transfusion at cesarean section.

The transfer of blood from placenta to baby (placental transfusion) was examined in 29 full-term babies delivered by elective Cesarean Section. Events surrounding the delivery were carefully monitored using a stopwatch. Residual placental blood volume (RPBV) and change in hematocrit (Hct) were measured. In 13 infants held above the level of the placenta, the mean RPBV was significantly greater, and the change in Hct significantly lower, than in 16 infants held below the level of the placenta. Increasing duration of respiration resulted in increasing amounts of placental transfusion, even in those babies held just above the placenta. These results indicate that there are separate effects of gravity and respiration which facilitate a placental transfusion at Cesarean Section.

The role of adenosine triphosphate, chalones, and specific proteins in controlling tumor growth fraction.

During growth of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells in vivo, the proportion of cells in the S phase of the proliferative cell cycle decreases in a manner analogous to the decreasing growth fraction often associated with the growth of solid tumors. An examination of biochemical parameters that might regulate the growth fraction of Ehrlich ascites tumors by causing accumulation of cells in G1-G0 shows that (a) the tumor progresses from an aerobic to an anerobic state as it approaches the plateau phase of growth, as indicated by lactate dehydrogenase content, but cellular adenosine triphosphate content remains constant; (b) tumor-specific growth inhibitors (chalones) are not detectable in cell-free ascites fluid from plateau-phase tumors; (c) electrophoretically identifiable soluble proteins isolated from tumor cells that have been exposed to labeled amino acids in vivo are qualitatively identical during early and late tumor growth; and (d) ornithine decarboxylase activity increases in a bimodal fashion in the first 10 hr after transplantation of 10(7) cells and then declines rapidly during the first few days of growth. The second (and larger) of the two ornithine decarboxylase increases coincides with the surge of cells from G1-G0 into S phase, suggesting that this enzyme, or the polyamines that it synthesizes, may play a role in controlling the growth fraction of this cell population.