Proteomic analysis of healthy and atretic porcine follicular granulosa cells.

Follicular atresia is initiated with the apoptosis of granulosa cells (GCs) after birth in mammals. The molecular mechanisms underlying GC apoptosis during follicular selection are unclear at present. The objective of this study is to identify the proteins and pathways that may be involved in porcine follicular atresia. Proteins isolated from GCs collected from healthy and atretic follicles were detected by tandem mass tag (TMT) protein labeling and LC-MS/MS. A total of 4591 proteins in the healthy follicle granulosa cell (HFGC) and atretic follicle granulosa cell (AFGC) groups were identified, and 399 differentially abundant proteins were found between the HFGC and AFGC groups; of which 262 proteins were significantly up-regulated and 137 proteins were significantly down-regulated. Differential protein enrichment analysis showed that proteins involved in proteolysis, protein destabilization, phagocytosis, and engulfment were more abundant in the AFGC group. Also, these proteins were mainly involved in the lysosome, phagosome, autophagy, and apoptosis pathways. Specially, PTGFRN is potential important regulated protein in the development of the antral follicle, and down-regulation of PTGFRN in GCs may lead to follicular atresia. Our study shows that the identified proteins and their related signaling pathways may play crucial roles during health follicle develop to atretic follicle. SIGNIFICANCE: Follicular atresia during 'selection' reduces the reproductive potential of sows. In this study, we found 399 proteins differentially abundant. between the HFGC and AFGC groups. These results establish a foundation for elucidating the mechanism of follicular atresia in swine.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) -2578C/A and -460C/T gene polymorphisms and lung cancer risk: a meta-analysis involving 11 case-control studies.

The aim of this meta-analysis is to generate large-scale evidence on whether common vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene polymorphisms (-2578C/A [dbSNP: rs699947] and -460C/T [dbSNP: rs833061]) are associated with lung cancer. A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and CBM databases was conducted to identify all eligible studies published before May 3, 2013. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with their corresponding confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to evaluate the strength of the association. Eleven case-control studies were included with a total of 3,861 lung cancer cases and 3,676 controls in this meta-analysis. For the VEGF -2578C/A polymorphism, the combined results showed that there exist highly significant risk factors for individuals carrying the A allele resulting in lung cancer, and the magnitude of this effect was similar in smoker patients and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients. Unlike the situation with the -2578C/A polymorphism, the VEGF -460C/T polymorphism is not associated with the risk of lung cancer in neither Asians nor Caucasians. However, when stratified according to smoking status and histological types of lung cancer, we found that the T allele (-460C/T) was associated with decreased lung cancer risk among nonsmoker patients and SCC patients. Our findings showed that the -2578C/A polymorphism may increase lung cancer risk, especially in smoker patients and SCC patients, whereas the -460C/T polymorphism may decrease lung cancer risk, especially in nonsmoker patients and SCC patients.

Prevalence, severity and risk factors of asthma, rhinitis and eczema in a large group of Chinese schoolchildren.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of information on the prevalence, severity and risk factors of asthma, rhinitis and eczema in Chinese children. OBJECTIVE: To establish baseline data for a major longitudinal study of factors affecting asthma, rhinitis and eczema in a large group of children from the industrialized city of Shijiazhuang, China. METHODS: We used the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire and studied 10 338 children, ages 6-18, from Shijiazhuang. RESULTS: The prevalence of childhood asthma, rhinitis and eczema is 1.2%, 13.5% and 11.8%, respectively. Boys had higher prevalence of these conditions than girls and younger children had higher prevalence of asthma and eczema but lower prevalence of rhinitis than older children. Breastfed children had lower prevalence of asthma and rhinitis, but not eczema, than non-breastfed children. Overweight children had higher prevalence of asthma and rhinitis than those who were not overweight. Children exposed to paternal smoking had higher prevalence of rhinitis and eczema than those not exposed; children exposed to pets had higher prevalence of asthma and rhinitis than those not exposed. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of asthma in this study group is low, but the prevalence of rhinitis is high, and could be considered a major public health problem. The prevalence of asthma, rhinitis and eczema is generally higher in boys and younger children generally have higher prevalence of asthma and eczema but lower prevalence of rhinitis. Exposure to pets is a risk factor for rhinitis, being overweight is a risk factor for asthma and rhinitis, and exposure to parental smoking is a risk factor for asthma, rhinitis and eczema in these children.

Prognostic value of HMGB3 expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

HMGB3 overexpression has been reported in a variety of human cancers. However, the role of HMGB3 in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. In this study, the HMGB3 expression was examined at mRNA and protein levels by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry in NSCLC tissues and adjacent non-cancerous tissues. Statistical analyses were applied to test the associations between HMGB3 expression, clinicopathologic factors, and prognosis. Western blotting and qRT-PCR showed that the expression levels of HMGB3 mRNA and protein were both significantly higher in NSCLC tissues than those in non-cancerous tissues. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that HMGB3 expression was significantly correlated with tumor grade, tumor size, clinical stage, and lymph node metastases. The results of Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that a high expression level of HMGB3 resulted in a significantly poor prognosis of NSCLC patients. Importantly, multivariate analysis showed that high HMGB3 expression was an independent prognostic factor for NSCLC patients. In sum, our data suggest that HMGB3 plays an important role in NSCLC progression, and that overexpression of HMGB3 in tumor tissues could be used as a potential prognostic marker for patients with NSCLC.

[Effect of selective phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors on nuclear factor kappa B, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-8 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in rheumatoid arthritis with interstitial lung disease].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of selective phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitors on nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) secreted by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis with interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD). METHODS: PBMCs isolated from 15 healthy volunteers (group A) and 20 patients with untreated active RA-ILD (group B) were cultured in vitro. PBMCs from healthy subjects were considered as normal control. PBMCs from RA-ILD patients were divided into four groups with different treatment: blank group (B1), theophylline group (B2), selective PDE4 inhibitor rolipram group (B3), and glucocorticoid group (B4) with dexamethasone. The expression of NF-κB was determined by immunocytochemical staining, and the levels of TNFα and IL-8 in the culture supernatant were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: (1) The activity of NF-κB and the levels of TNFα and IL-8 in group B1 were significant higher than that in group A (P < 0.01). Compared with group B1, three parameters above were similar to those in group B2 (P > 0.05), while group B3 and group B4 had significant decreased levels of three parameters (P < 0.01); IL-8 level in group B4 was significantly lower than that in group B3 (P < 0.05). (2) TNFα and IL-8 levels were positively correlated with NF-κB activity in group B (r = 0.902 and 0.735, P < 0.01 respectively). (3) The reduction of TNFα and IL-8 levels were positively correlated with reduction of NF-κB activity after intervention of rolipram in group B3 (r = 0.874, P < 0.01; r = 0.561, P < 0.05 respectively). CONCLUSION: NF-κB activation and proinflammatory cytokines were involved in the pathogenesis of RA-ILD. selective PDE4 inhibitors may inhibit the production of inflammatory cytokines by inhibiting the activity of the transcription factor NF-κB in PBMC, thus inhibiting the inflammatory reaction of RA-ILD.

[Determination of trace arsenic and mercury in antimony concentrates by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry].

A method for the determination of trace arsenic and mercury in antimony concentrates by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry was investigated. The method of dissolving sample and the effect of concomitant ion were studied. It was found that aqua regia can be used to dissolve the sample completely, with maximum quantities of dissolved arsenic and mercury. The interference of chemical elements in antimony concentrates was avoided by adding thiourea-Vc. The matrix of antimony was vaporized with tartaric acid during sample pre-treatment. Trace arsenic and mercury were determined in real samples. The detection limits of 0.220 ng x mL(-1) and 0.002 ng x mL(-1) were obtained, the relative standard deviations(RSD% = 11) are 1.47% and 0.52%, and the recoveries are 94.0%-103.0% and 98.7%-102.8% for As and Hg respectively. This method has proved rapid, accurate and highly sensitive.

[Study on epidemic trend and control policy of tuberculosis in Sichuan province].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate efficacy of tuberculosis control policy and provide scientific evidence for drawing up tuberculosis control program. METHODS: Data of the epidemiological survey for tuberculosis in Sichuan in 2000 were analyzed and part of the results were compared with that before. RESULTS: The prevalence of active pulmonary tuberculosis, the bacteriological positive prevalence and smear positive prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis in 2000 were 544/100 000, 250/100 000 and 144/100 000, respectively, decreased by 41.8%, 30.0% and 35.0% respectively in comparison with 1990, and the annual reduction rates were 5.3%, 3.5% and 4.2% respectively during the past 10 years. The mortality of tuberculosis and pulmonary tuberculosis was 24/100 000 and 22/100 000, respectively, decreased by 20.0% and 12.0% respectively in comparison with 1990. The prevalence of tuberculosis in minority area and mountainous area were higher than that in city, countryside and hills. 71% of infectious patients were newly detected, 33.3% of which were re-treatment cases. The economic status was found the key factor affecting the implementation of tuberculosis control. CONCLUSIONS: The modern tuberculosis control strategy, which mainly targeted infectious patients and advocated DOTS policy, is the guarantee of sustainable development of tuberculosis control, though the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis decreased slowly in Sichuan during the past 10 years.

[Determination of arsenic and selenium in the industrial sulphur].

In this paper, the method of determining arsenic and selenium in the industrial sulphur sample has been studied. Carbon tetrachloride-boromine was used to dissolve the sulphur sample in classical methods, which is complex and harmful, and a little arsenic and selenium will be lost. In this paper, nitric acid and perchloric acid were used to dissolve the sulphur sample, which was simple, and scarcely arsenic and selenium were lost. Under the selected conditions, determination of arsenic and selenium can be determined simultaneously by HG-ICP-AES. The determination limits of arsenic and selenium are 0.6 ng.mL-1 and 0.7 ng.mL-1, respectively, the relatively standard deviations(RSD) (n = 8) are 2.1% for arsenic and 1.9% for selenium, respectively, and the recoveries are 99.6% for arsenic and 101% for selenium, respectively, which was a very satisfying result.

[Determination of trace arsenic in sulfur by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry with La(NO3)3-Ni(NO3)2 matrix modifier].

In this paper, the decomposition method of sulfur and the determination of trace arsenic in sulfur by GFAAS with La(NO3)3-Ni(NO3)2 matrix modifier were studied in detail. The decomposition of sulfur with mixed acid HNO3-HClO4 by controlled temperature electrothermal method or pressure crucible method was efficient and safe. The sensitivity of the determination of arsenic with La(NO3)3-Ni(NO3)2 matrix modifier was higher than with Ni(NO3)2 or Mg(NO3)2 matrix modifiers. The detection limit was 0.034 microgram.mL-1 (k = 3). The analytical results of the sulfur samples were coincident with the results of determination by HG-ICP-AES. The adding recoveries were 97.5%-110% and the relative standard deviation was less than or equal to 2.1% (n = 4).