[Analyses of pathogenic factors and clinicopathological characteristics of vocal leukoplakia]

Objective: To investigate the pathogenic factors of vocal leukoplakia and its clinical and pathological features. Methods: Eighty-one patients with vocal cord leukoplakia who underwent surgery between February 2010 and December 2016 and 160 volunteers without pharyngeal symptoms designed as controls were included in this case control study. The clinicopathological characteristics of 81 patients were summarized and analyzed synthetically. Results: There was statistical significance in reflux symptom index(RSI), reflux finding score(RFS), smoking index, and drinking index between case group and control group(Z=-5.35, -4.82, -4.76, -2.44, P<0.05). The voice-using duration per day in case group was significantly longer than that of control group.There was no statistical significance in hospital anxiety and depression scale for anxiety(HADA) scores、hospital anxiety and depression scale for depression(HADD) scores between case group and control group(P>0.05). In 42 patients who received 24-hour dual probe pH monitoring the prevalence of pathologic LPR was 42.8%. In 81 patients, 39(48%)patients were pathologically diagnosed as squamous cell hyperplasia, 18(22%)patients as mild dysplasia, 12(15%)sides as moderate dysplasia , 10(12%)patients as severe dysplasia and 2(2%)patients as carcinoma in-situ. The average age of high-risk pathological vocal leukoplakia was significantly higher than that of low-risk leukoplakia(t=-2.73, P<0.01). The propotion of speckled leukoplakia in high-risk leukoplakia was significantly higher than that of low-risk leukoplakia(χ(2)=23.81, P<0.01). There was no statistical significance between high-risk leukoplakia and low-risk leukoplakia in the prevalence of pathologic LPR(P>0.05). The bilateral lesions, speckled leukoplakia were more likely to relapse(χ(2)=4.27, 12.17, P<0.05). The more serious the pathology, the more likely it was to relapse (Z=-2.168, P=0.03). There was no statistical significance between recurrence group and non-recurrence group in the prevalence of pathologic LPR(P>0.05). Conclusions: LPR, smoke constitute the risk factors of vocal cord leukoplakia. Drinking, voice abuse are related to vocal cord leukoplakia. Senile, speckled leukoplakia are more likely to be malignancy. A speckled leukoplakia, bilateral leukoplakia, severe pathological degree are important factors to predict recurrence.

[Survival time of HIV/AIDS death cases after antiretroviral therapy and related factors in Henan province, 2003-2015]

Objective: To analyze and investigate the survival time of dead HIV/AIDS patients after antiretroviral therapy (ART) and related factors in Henan province. Methods: The database of national integrated management system of HIV/AIDS was used to collect the information of dead patients who received ART between January 2003 and December 2015. Software SPSS 23.0 was used to analyze the survival time of dead patients and related factors. Result: A total of 6 267 AIDS patients died after ART and the average survival time was 23.85 months (Q(R): 6.87-50.46 months). Within 6 months, 7-12 months and 13-24 months after ART, the numbers of dead patients were 1 441 (23.00%), 652 (10.40%) and 1 052 (16.79%), respectively. The number of dead cases decreased after 24 months of ART. The number of AIDS-related deaths was 5 085 (81.1%); and 799 (12.7%) deaths were due to other causes, in which 179 (2.9%) were caused by accidents and 109 (1.7%) were caused by suicides. The differences in annual composition ratio of death causes during 2003-2015 had significance (χ(2)=864.27, P<0.01). Twelve months, 36 months, 60 months and 120 months after ART, the survival ratios were 66.59%, 36.62%, 19.24% and 0.64% respectively. Compared with patients infected through blood donation, the HR of the patients infected through sexual transmission was 1.602 (95%CI: 1.483-1.732). Compared with patients with initial level of CD(4)(+)T lymphocyte ≥350 unit/μl, the HR of patients with initial level of CD(4)(+)T lymphocyte<50 unit/μl was 2.320 (95%CI: 2.119-2.539). Compared with patients receiving second line ART, the HR of patients receiving no second line ART was 3.312 (95%CI: 3.083-3.558). Conclusion: The AIDS related deaths mainly occurred in the first six months after ART. As the increase of duration of ART, the death rate decreased. Sexual transmission, low initial level of CD(4)(+)T lymphocyte and receiving no second line ART were the risk factors for the deaths of HIV/AIDS patients.

Comprehensive Dissection of Metabolic Changes in Albino and Green Tea Cultivars

Albino tea cultivars are special mutants of tea plants with white or yellow leaf color. In this study, three albino tea cultivars, including 'Anji Baicha', 'Huangjinya', and 'Baijiguan', and two green tea cultivars, 'Longjing 43' and 'Fuding Dabaicha', were applied to metabolite profiling by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Multivariate analyses revealed significantly different metabolite phenotypes in leaves among albino cultivars and green cultivars. The differential metabolite-related pathways included galactose metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis. For the young leaves of albino cultivars, the sugar (sorbitol and erythrose) and amino acid (mainly proline, isoleucine, ornithine, aspartic acid, threonine, and valine) concentrations increased, whereas gallocatechin and epigallocatechin gallate concentrations decreased. These results reveal the divergence in metabolic profiling between tea plant cultivars with different leaf colors. With the development of leaves, the concentrations of flavonoids increased largely in the older leaves of albino cultivars.

[Application of neuroendoscope combined with minimal-access for elderly patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia in enhanced recovery after surgery of microvascular decompression]

Objective: To explore the value of neuroendoscope and minimal-access in enhanced recovery after surgery of microvascular decompression (MVD) for treatment elderly patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN). Methods: The clinical data of 62 elderly patients with ITN who undergoing neuroendoscope-assisted minimal-access microvascular decompression were analyzed retrospectively, including operative data and follow-up results. Results: In 62 cases, the effective rate was 96.8%, with 88.7% complete cure and 8.1% little residual pain. Sixty successful cases were followed-up for an average of 61 months.Three cases recurred within 3 years after operation.Eight cases had complications after MVD. Conclusions: There was no serious complications that could be ascribed to old age and the operative result was satisfactory compared with younger age cases.Endoscope and minimal-access can help shorten operation time, raise the effectiveness of MVD, reduce postoperative recurrence rate, and enhanced recovery after surgery for elderly patients.

[Source Analysis, Spatial Distribution and Pollution Assessment of Heavy Metals in Sewage Irrigation Area Farmland Soils of Longkou City]

Farmland soils in sewage irrigation area at Longkou City were collected, soil pH together with the heavy metal content were tested. Taking 70 soil points as the study object, this paper investigated the source of heavy metals in this area based on the correlation analysis and PCA of multivariate statistical analysis theory. We studied the spatial variation and distribution characteristics about heavy metals using both the theory of geostatistics and GIS spatial interpolation method. At last, the heavy metal pollution was evaluated in the way of Nemerow Index and improved fuzzy evaluation method. It turned out that, 9 kinds of heavy metal elements in the soil of research area had a certain degree of enrichment, among them the average of Cd was 3.06 times as high as the background value, and its enrichment was most severe. The result of Nemerow Index showed that, the values of comprehensive pollution index of Cu, Cd and Pb respectively were 7.06, 6.10 and 5.54, and they all belonged to high levels of pollution. According to the results of correlation analysis and principal component analysis, Cu, Zn together with Pb, Cd were mainly affected by human factors, sewage irrigation was their common pollution factor, the pollution sources for the first two heavy metals included excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agricultural production and the accumulation of long time, whereas pollution from northern coal mining and coal gangue piled up as well as plating, machinery manufacturing and other industrial pollution were the pollution sources of the latter two elements. Other elements (Co, Cr, Mn, Ni and As) were mainly influenced by natural factors such as parent material. Comprehensive evaluation results showed that, among the 70 points, 13 points had moderate pollution,23 points belonged to light pollution, 28 points were at alert level, 6 points were in the safe range. From the perspective of spatial distribution,high value areas of heavy metal contents were mainly concentrated in towns of Zhuyouguan and Xufu. This showed that, sewage irrigation caused a certain degree of heavy metal pollution to local soil.

Clinical characteristics of fetal and neonatal outcomes in twin pregnancy with preeclampsia in a retrospective case-control study: A STROBE-compliant article

The aim of our study was to compare the clinical characteristics of fetal and neonatal outcomes in twin pregnancies between women with preeclampsia (PE) and those with normotension in a Chinese population.There were 143 preeclamptic women and 367 normotensive women with twin pregnancies included in this retrospective case-control study. The baseline characteristics and perinatal outcomes were collected and compared between the groups. Multiple logistic regression and linear regression were used to assess the correlations between PE and the outcomes.Significant increases were observed in the frequencies of preterm delivery (OR = 2.75, P < 0.001), iatrogenic preterm birth (OR = 3.52, P < 0.001), and IUGR (OR = 2.94, P = 0.001) in the PE group, and the PE group had more than a 2-fold risk of adverse neonatal outcomes. Preeclamptic twin neonates had lower birth weights (β = -147.34, P = 0.005; β = -169.47, P = 0.001). The comparison on the discordance of intertwin weight was not significantly different.Twin pregnancies with PE are associated with worse perinatal outcomes. The adverse outcomes of preeclamptic twin pregnancies may be associated with lower birth weights rather than the discordance of the intertwin weight, which requires further confirmation. The results may provide helpful references for better clinical assessments, evaluations of prognosis, and a deeper understanding of preeclamptic twin pregnancies.

Biochemical and transcriptomic analyses reveal different metabolite biosynthesis profiles among three color and developmental stages in 'Anji Baicha' (Camellia sinensis)

BACKGROUND

The new shoots of the albino tea cultivar 'Anji Baicha' are yellow or white at low temperatures and turn green as the environmental temperatures increase during the early spring. 'Anji Baicha' metabolite profiles exhibit considerable variability over three color and developmental stages, especially regarding the carotenoid, chlorophyll, and theanine concentrations. Previous studies focused on physiological characteristics, gene expression differences, and variations in metabolite abundances in albino tea plant leaves at specific growth stages. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating metabolite biosynthesis in various color and developmental stages in albino tea leaves have not been fully characterized.

RESULTS

We used RNA-sequencing to analyze 'Anji Baicha' leaves at the yellow-green, albescent, and re-greening stages. The leaf transcriptomes differed considerably among the three stages. Functional classifications based on Gene Ontology enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses revealed that differentially expressed unigenes were mainly related to metabolic pathways, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms. Chemical analyses revealed higher β-carotene and theanine levels, but lower chlorophyll a levels, in the albescent stage than in the green stage. Furthermore, unigenes involved in carotenoid, chlorophyll, and theanine biosyntheses were identified, and the expression patterns of the differentially expressed unigenes in these biosynthesis pathways were characterized. Through co-expression analyses, we identified the key genes in these pathways. These genes may be responsible for the metabolite biosynthesis differences among the different leaf color and developmental stages of 'Anji Baicha' tea plants.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study presents the results of transcriptomic and biochemical analyses of 'Anji Baicha' tea plants at various stages. The distinct transcriptome profiles for each color and developmental stage enabled us to identify changes to biosynthesis pathways and revealed the contributions of such variations to the albino phenotype of tea plants. Furthermore, comparisons of the transcriptomes and related metabolites helped clarify the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the secondary metabolic pathways in different stages.

Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants: problems, progress, and prospects

Medicinal plants are globally valuable sources of herbal products, and they are disappearing at a high speed. This article reviews global trends, developments and prospects for the strategies and methodologies concerning the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plant resources to provide a reliable reference for the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. We emphasized that both conservation strategies (e.g. in situ and ex situ conservation and cultivation practices) and resource management (e.g. good agricultural practices and sustainable use solutions) should be adequately taken into account for the sustainable use of medicinal plant resources. We recommend that biotechnical approaches (e.g. tissue culture, micropropagation, synthetic seed technology, and molecular marker-based approaches) should be applied to improve yield and modify the potency of medicinal plants.

Decreased miR-452 expression in human colorectal cancer and its tumor suppressive function

MicroRNA-452 (miR-452) is dysregulated in some human malignancies, and is correlated with tumor progression. However, its expression and function in human colorectal cancer (CRC) remain unclear. The aim of our study was to explore the effects of miR-452 in CRC tumorigenesis and development. Using reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, we detected miR-452 expression in CRC cell lines and primary tumor tissues. We also examined the association between miR-452 expression and clinicopathological factors. We then investigated the effects of miR-452 on the biological behavior of CRC cells. miR-452 expression was significantly downregulated in CRC compared with the adjacent noncancerous tissues. A low level of miR-452 was associated with larger tumor size, deeper invasion depth, and advanced TNM stage. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified decreased miR-452 expression as an independent factor predicting poor prognosis for CRC patients. In addition, in vitro functional analysis showed that overexpression of miR-452 in HCT116 cells reduced cell proliferation, promoted cell apoptosis, and inhibited cell invasion and migration. These findings indicate that miR-452acts as a tumor suppressor in CRC, and would serve as a novel molecular therapeutic agent for the treatment of the disease.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Tea Plant Responding to Drought Stress and Recovery

Tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is an economically important beverage crop. Drought stress (DS) seriously limits the growth and development of tea plant, thus affecting crop yield and quality. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of tea plant responding to DS, we performed transcriptomic analysis of tea plant during the three stages [control (CK) and during DS, and recovery (RC) after DS] using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Totally 378.08 million high-quality trimmed reads were obtained and assembled into 59,674 unigenes, which were extensively annotated. There were 5,955 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) among the three stages. Among them, 3,948 and 1,673 DEGs were up-regulated under DS and RC, respectively. RNA-Seq data were further confirmed by qRT-PCR analysis. Genes involved in abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene, and jasmonic acid biosynthesis and signaling were generally up-regulated under DS and down-regulated during RC. Tea plant potentially used an exchange pathway for biosynthesis of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and salicylic acid under DS. IAA signaling was possibly decreased under DS but increased after RC. Genes encoding enzymes involved in cytokinin synthesis were up-regulated under DS, but down-regulated during RC. It seemed probable that cytokinin signaling was slightly enhanced under DS. In total, 762 and 950 protein kinases belonging to 26 families were differentially expressed during DS and RC, respectively. Overall, 547 and 604 transcription factor (TF) genes belonging to 58 families were induced in the DS vs. CK and RC vs. DS libraries, respectively. Most members of the 12 TF families were up-regulated under DS. Under DS, genes related to starch synthesis were down-regulated, while those related to starch decomposition were up-regulated. Mannitol, trehalose and sucrose synthesis-related genes were up-regulated under DS. Proline was probably mainly biosynthesized from glutamate under DS and RC. The mechanism by which ABA regulated stomatal movement under DS and RC was partly clarified. These results document the global and novel responses of tea plant during DS and RC. These data will serve as a valuable resource for drought-tolerance research and will be useful for breeding drought-resistant tea cultivars.

Identification and expression profiling of the auxin response factors (ARFs) in the tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) under various abiotic stresses

Auxin response factor (ARF) proteins are a multigene family of regulators involved in various physiological and developmental processes in plants. However, their modes of action in the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) remain largely unknown. In this study, we identified 15 members of the tea ARF gene family, using the public information about C. sinensis, both in our laboratory, as well as in other laboratories, and analyzed their phylogenetic relationships, conserved domains and the compositions of the amino acids in the middle region. A comprehensive expression analysis in different tissues and organs revealed that many ARF genes were expressed in a tissue-specific manner, suggesting they have different functions in the growth and development processes of the tea plant. The expression analysis under three forms of auxin (indole-3-acetic acid, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, naphthylacetic acid) treatment showed that the majority of the ARF genes were down-regulated in the shoots and up-regulated in the roots, suggesting opposite action mechanisms of the ARF genes in the shoots and roots. The expression levels of most ARF genes were changed under various phytohormone and abiotic stresses, indicating the ARF gene family plays important roles in various phytohormone and abiotic stress signals and may mediate the crosstalk between phytohormones and abiotic stresses. The current study provides basic information for the ARF genes of the tea plant and will pave the way for deciphering the precise role of ARFs in tea developmental processes and breeding stress-tolerant tea varieties.

Differential Metabolic Profiles during the Albescent Stages of 'Anji Baicha' (Camellia sinensis)

'Anji Baicha' is an albino tea cultivar with white shoots at low air temperature and green shoots at high air temperature in early spring. The metabolite contents in the shoots dynamically vary with the color changes and with shoot development. To investigate the metabolomic variation during the albescent and re-greening stages, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with multivariate analysis were applied to analyze the metabolite profiles in the different color stages during the development of 'Anji Baicha' leaves. The metabolite profiles of three albescent stages, including the yellow-green stage, the early albescent stage, and the late albescent stage, as well as the re-greening stage were distinguished using principal component analysis, revealing that the distinct developmental stages were likely responsible for the observed metabolic differences. Furthermore, a group classification and pairwise discrimination was revealed among the three albescent stages and re-greening stage by partial least squares discriminant analysis. A total of 65 differential metabolites were identified with a variable influence on projection greater than 1. The main differential metabolic pathways of the albescent stages compared with the re-greening stage included carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms and the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. Compared with the re-greening stage, the carbohydrate and amino acid metabolic pathways were disturbed during the albescent stages. During the albescent stages, the sugar (fructofuranose), sugar derivative (glucose-1-phosphate) and epicatechin concentrations decreased, whereas the amino acid (mainly glycine, serine, tryptophan, citrulline, glutamine, proline, and valine) concentrations increased. These results reveal the changes in metabolic profiling that occur during the color changes associated with the development of the albino tea plant leaves.

Diversity and antimicrobial activity of endophytic fungi isolated from Cephalotaxus hainanensis Li, a well-known medicinal plant in China

About 1051 endophytic fungi were isolated from leaves, branches, barks and stems of Cephalotaxus hainanensis Li from four sites in Hainan, China. The fungi were identified as 21 genera by morphology and ITS sequences. One dominant species was Phomopsis quercella in Hainan Tropical Botanical Garden and Bawangling Nature Reserve, with relative frequency of 42·06 and 34·88% respectively. Another dominant species was Colletotrichum boninense in Wuzhishan and Jianfengling Nature Reserves, with relative frequency of 36·84 and 46·97% respectively. Among the selected 21 endophytic fungi, 17 strains (80·95%) had activity against at least one pathogenic bacteria, and 14 strains (66·67%) exhibited activity against at least one fungal pathogens. Neonectria macroconidialis showed strong inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus (inhibition zone being 20 mm), Bacillus subtilis (14 mm) and Streptococcus agalactiae (28 mm). Xylaria sp. showed strong inhibition against Escherichia coli (20 mm), Rhizoctonia solani (20 mm) and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (17 mm). Verticillium bulbillosum showed great activity against Strep. agalactiae (32 mm) and Fusarium oxysporum (22 mm). These endophytic fungi showed potentials in medicine development.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Endophytic fungi from medicinal plants are an important source of novel and viable drugs. Cephalotaxus hainanensis Li is well known for leukaemia treatment and its endophytic fungi were isolated to investigate the diversity and antimicrobial activity. It was found that Ce. hainanensis Li had rich endophytic fungi, and some fungi showed strong antimicrobial activity against certain pathogens. These fungi can be used in medicine development.

Global transcriptome and gene regulation network for secondary metabolite biosynthesis of tea plant (Camellia sinensis)

Background

Major secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, caffeine, and theanine, are important components of tea products and are closely related to the taste, flavor, and health benefits of tea. Secondary metabolite biosynthesis in Camellia sinensis is differentially regulated in different tissues during growth and development. Until now, little was known about the expression patterns of genes involved in secondary metabolic pathways or their regulatory mechanisms. This study aimed to generate expression profiles for C. sinensis tissues and to build a gene regulation model of the secondary metabolic pathways.

Results

RNA sequencing was performed on 13 different tissue samples from various organs and developmental stages of tea plants, including buds and leaves of different ages, stems, flowers, seeds, and roots. A total of 43.7 Gbp of raw sequencing data were generated, from which 347,827 unigenes were assembled and annotated. There were 46,693, 8446, 3814, 10,206, and 4948 unigenes specifically expressed in the buds and leaves, stems, flowers, seeds, and roots, respectively. In total, 1719 unigenes were identified as being involved in the secondary metabolic pathways in C. sinensis, and the expression patterns of the genes involved in flavonoid, caffeine, and theanine biosynthesis were characterized, revealing the dynamic nature of their regulation during plant growth and development. The possible transcription factor regulation network for the biosynthesis of flavonoid, caffeine, and theanine was built, encompassing 339 transcription factors from 35 families, namely bHLH, MYB, and NAC, among others. Remarkably, not only did the data reveal the possible critical check points in the flavonoid, caffeine, and theanine biosynthesis pathways, but also implicated the key transcription factors and related mechanisms in the regulation of secondary metabolite biosynthesis.

Conclusions

Our study generated gene expression profiles for different tissues at different developmental stages in tea plants. The gene network responsible for the regulation of the secondary metabolic pathways was analyzed. Our work elucidated the possible cross talk in gene regulation between the secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways in C. sinensis. The results increase our understanding of how secondary metabolic pathways are regulated during plant development and growth cycles, and help pave the way for genetic selection and engineering for germplasm improvement.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1773-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

YM155 down-regulates survivin and XIAP, modulates autophagy and induces autophagy-dependent DNA damage in breast cancer cells

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to determine the potency and molecular mechanism of action of YM155, a first-in-class survivin inhibitor that is currently under phase I/II clinical investigations, in various drug-resistant breast cancers including the oestrogen receptor positive (ER(+) ) tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer and the caspase-3-deficient breast cancer.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

The potency of YM155 in SK-BR-3, MDA-MB-231, MCF7 and its tamoxifen-resistant sublines, TamR6, TamR7, TamR8, TamC3 and TamC6, were determined by MTT assay. Western blot analysis, flow cytometric analysis, reverse transcription-PCR, fluorescent microscopy and comet assay were used to determine the molecular mechanism of action of YM155 in different breast cancer cell lines.

KEY RESULTS

YM155 was equally potent towards the parental ER(+) /caspase-3-deficient MCF7 breast cancer cells and its tamoxifen-resistant sublines in vitro. The ER(-) /HER2(+) SK-BR-3 breast cancer cells and the triple-negative/caspase-3-expressing metastatic aggressive MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were also sensitive to YM155 with IC50 values in the low nanomolar range. Targeting survivin by YM155 modulated autophagy, induced autophagy-dependent caspase-7 activation and autophagy-dependent DNA damage in breast cancer cells. Interestingly, YM155 also induced XIAP degradation and the degradation of XIAP might play an important role in YM155-induced autophagy in breast cancer cells.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

YM155 is a potent survivin inhibitor that has potential for the management of various breast cancer subtypes regardless of the expression of ER, HER2 and caspase-3. Importantly, this study provides new insights into YM155's molecular mechanism of action and therapeutic potential in the treatment of tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer.

Increased expression levels of E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18 and 19 observed in preeclampsia were not correlated with disease severity

INTRODUCTION

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disorder and placental factor(s) contribute to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Turnover of villous trophoblast is affected by impaired placental perfusion in preeclampsia. Expression and localisation of cadherins and cytokeratins are involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. However, studies describing the associations between cadherins and cytokeratins in preeclampsia are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, cytokeratin 18 and cytokeratin 19 in placentae from women with preeclampsia in order to determine whether their expression differs with disease severity.

METHODS

29 preeclamptic placentae and 25 normotensive placentae were included in this study. The expression of E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18, cytokeratin 19 andN-cadherin was quantified by immunohistochemistry and western blotting.

RESULTS

E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18 and cytokeratin 19 were expressed predominantly in the syncytiotrophoblast of the placenta and the expression of E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18 and cytokeratin 19 was significantly increased in preeclampsia compared to normotensive pregnancies. However, there was no significant difference in expression between severe preeclampsia and mild preeclampsia. In addition, there was no difference in the expression of N-cadherin between preeclampsic and normotensive pregnancies.

DISCUSSION

Our data demonstrated increased expression of E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18 and cytokeratin 19 in the syncytiotrophoblast of preeclamptic placentae, but this increase was not correlated with disease severity.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggests that E-cadherin and cytokeratins are involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.

Two different classes of vector beams that have the same paraxial approximation

It is observed that there exist two different classes of vector light beams that have the same first-order paraxial approximation. They are characterized by the axial and transverse orientations of a constant unit vector that comes from the constraint of transversality condition. Their vectorial structures in the nonparaxial regime and angular momentum properties are compared.

[Salvia miltiorrhiza as medicinal model plant]

Research on medicinal model organism is one of the core technologies to promote the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The research progress of Salvia miltiorrhiza as medicinal model plant is summarized in this paper. The genome of S. miltiorrhiza is small and its life cycle is short, as well as this plant can be stably genetically transformed. Because S. miltiorrhiza possesses the important medicinal and economic values, recently the transcriptome and genome of S. miltiorrhiza have been significantly recovered. The research prospect of S. miltiorrhiza as medicinal model plant in TCM was discussed, including biosynthesis of active components and their genetic regulation, relationship between quality of TCM and ecological environments, and selective breeding of good quality lines. Furthermore, as medicinal model plant, the construction of mutant library for S. miltiorrhiza, the genome map with high quality, and the functional genome should be investigated. Accompanying modern investigation of life sciences, the platform for medicinal model plant, S. miltiorrhiza, will be promoted to be established. It is important to develop the ethnopharmacology and new drugs around the world.

Fabrication of nanocrystalline SnO₂ using electron stimulated oxidation

Fabrication of nanocrystalline SnO₂ using electron stimulated oxidation was investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy. SnO₂ nanocrystals ranging from several to dozens of nanometers were transformed from single crystalline tin under 200 keV electron irradiation. This process includes crystallization of the surface amorphous SnO₂ layer and oxidation of the inner tin crystal substrate. On stimulation by electron irradiation, newly formed SnO₂ is supposed to act as a catalyst to oxidize the tin atoms underneath with lattice oxygen, and then be re-oxidized by absorbed oxygen from the residual gas of the microscope. This provides a new method to fabricate nanocrystalline SnO₂ materials and structures.

[Cloning and expression analysis of a key device of HMGR gene involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis of Panax ginseng via synthetic biology approach]

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A reductase (HMGR), the first enzyme of mavalonic acid pathway, is one of the key devices involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis based on synthetic biology approach. The open reading frame of a novel HMGR gene from Panax ginseng (PgHMGR2) was cloned and analyzed in this study. PgHMGR2-encoding protein showed 71.6% sequence similarity to a P. ginseng HMGR in GenBank. The full-length cDNA sequence of PgHMGR2 containing 1 770 bp, which encodes 589 amino acids, was cloned by RT-PCR strategy from P. ginseng. The bioinformatic analysis showed that PgHMGR2-encoding protein contained two transmembrane regions and the HMG_CoA_reductase domain, without signal peptide. The protein sequence of PgHMGR2 had the highest sequence similarity (99%) with Panax quinquefolius HMGR (GenBank accession No. ACV65036). The expression level of PgHMGR2 was the highest in flower based on a real-time PCR analysis, followed by leaf and root, and the lowest was in stem. The result will provide a foundation for exploring the molecular function of PgHMGR2 involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis based on synthetic biology approach in P. ginseng plants.

Reduced expression of survivin, the inhibitor of apoptosis protein correlates with severity of preeclampsia

INTRODUCTION

Preeclampsia is a major complication of pregnancy affecting maternal and fetal health. Although the pathogenesis of preeclampsia is unclear, it is believed that trophoblast apoptosis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia during pregnancy. Survivin is a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family that uniquely promotes trophoblast proliferation. In this study we investigated the alteration of survivin levels during pregnancy and compared the survivin protein and mRNA between preeclampsia and normal pregnancy.

METHODS

The mRNA level of survivin in first, second and third trimester placentae was measured by Real-time PCR. The expression of survivin in preeclamptic placentae (including severe and mild preeclampsia) and in age-matched normal placentae was measured by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA levels of survivin in preeclamptic or normal placentae were measured by Real-time PCR.

RESULTS

The mRNA level of survivin was significantly reduced throughout gestation. The mRNA level of survivin in preeclamptic placentae was significantly reduced compared to that in normal placenta. The mRNA level of survivin in severe preeclamptic placentae was further significantly reduced compared to that in mild preeclamptic placentae. In addition, survivin was expressed on syncytiotrophoblasts and cytotrophoblasts and the expression of survivin was significantly decreased in preeclamptic placenta compared to that in normal placenta (p=0.01). Furthermore the expression of survivin in severe preeclamptic placentae was significantly lower than that in mild preeclamptic placentae.

CONCLUSION

Our current data suggests lower placental expression of survivin may be associated with the severity of preeclampsia.

Characterization of vector diffraction-free beams

It is observed that a constant unit vector denoted by I is needed to characterize a complete orthonormal set of vector diffraction-free beams. The previously found diffraction-free beams are shown to be included as special cases. The I-dependence of the longitudinal component of diffraction-free beams is also discussed.

Development and application of an indirect immunohistochemical method for the detection of duck plague virus vaccine antigens in paraffin sections and localization in the vaccinated duckling tissues

The objective of the present study was to develop and apply a streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase labeling system of indirect immunohistochemistry (SP-IHC) to detect antigenic distribution and localization regularity of duck plague virus (DPV) vaccine antigens in paraformaldehyde-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues of experimentally vaccinated ducklings. Male New Zealand rabbits were immunized with purified DPV antigens, which were engaged by a combination of differential centrifugation and sucrose-density gradient ultracentrifugation. The rabbit anti-DPV polyclonal antibodies were purified and used as the primary antibodies. Forty-eight 28-d-old DPV-free Pekin ducklings were subcutaneously inoculated with attenuated DPV vaccine in the immunization group and sterile PBS in the control group. The tissues were collected at sequential time points between 4 h and 18 wk postvaccination (PV) and were prepared for SP-IHC observation. The presence of DPV-specific antigens was first observed in the liver and spleen at 12 h PV; in the bursa of Fabricius, thymus, Harderian gland, esophagus, and intestinal tract at 1 d PV; and in the heart, lung, kidney, pancreas, and brain at 3 d PV. The positive staining reaction could be detected in the vaccinated duckling tissues until 18 wk PV, and no positive staining cells could be observed in the controls. The highest levels of positive staining reaction were found in the liver, spleen, bursa of Fabricius, thymus, and intestinal tract, whereas a few DPV vaccine antigens were distributed in the heart, pancreas, and esophagus. The target cells had a ubiquitous distribution, especially in the mucosal epithelial cells, lamina propria cells, macrophages, hepatocytes, and lymphocytes, which served as the principal sites for antigen localization. These findings demonstrated that SP-IHC was a reliable method for detecting antigenic distribution and localization regularity of DPV vaccine antigens in routine paraffin sections. The present study may be useful for describing proliferation and distribution regularity of DPV vaccine in the vaccinated duckling tissues and enhance further studies and clinical application of attenuated DPV vaccine.