Gene expression dynamics during diabetic periodontitis

Diabetes impairs the resolution of periodontal inflammation. We explored pathways altered by inflammation in the diabetic periodontium by using ligatures to induce periodontitis in type-2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats. Ligatures were removed after 7 days, and rats were then treated with TNF inhibitor (pegsunercept) or vehicle alone and euthanized 4 days later. RNA was extracted from periodontal tissue, examined by mRNA profiling, and further analyzed by functional criteria. We found that 1,754 genes were significantly up-regulated and 1,243 were down-regulated by pegsunercept (p < 0.05). Functional analysis revealed up-regulation of neuron-associated and retina-associated gene clusters as well as those related to cell activity and signaling. Others were down-regulated by TNF inhibition and included genes associated with host defense, apoptosis, cell signaling and activity, and coagulation/hemostasis/complement. For selected genes, findings with microarray and rt-PCR agreed. PPAR-α was investigated further by immunohistochemistry due to its anti-inflammatory function and was found to be up-regulated in the gingiva during the resolution of periodontal inflammation and suppressed by diabetes. The results indicate that diabetes-enhanced inflammation both up- and down-regulates genes involved in cellular activity and cell signaling, while it predominantly up-regulates genes involved in the host response, apoptosis, and coagulation/homeostasis/complement and down-regulates mRNA levels of neuron, retina, and energy/metabolism-associated genes.

Effects of intravitreal injection of KH902, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor decoy, on the retinas of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

AIMS

KH902 is a fusion protein that can bind vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placental growth factor (PlGF) through its binding ligand taken from the domains of VEGF receptor 1 and VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2). This study was to investigate the effects of intravitreal injection of KH902 on the retinas of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

METHODS

Two weeks after induction of diabetes, the left eyes of diabetic rats in each group received an intravitreal injection of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), Avastin or KH902 solution, respectively. Four weeks after intravitreal injection, retinal electrophysiological function and the integrity of inner blood retinal barrier (iBRB) were measured by electroretinogram and Evans blue perfusion. The protein levels of VEGF signal pathway were assayed by western blot. The expression and distribution of claudin-5 and occludin were analysed by double immunofluorescent staining under confocal microscope. The expression of VEGFR2 and PlGF was measured by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

Four weeks after intravitreal injection, KH902-treated rats had better retinal electrophysiological function, less retinal vessel leakage and lower levels of VEGFR2, PI3K, AKT, p-AKT, p-ERK and p-SRC than PBS or Avastin-treated rats. The distribution of claudin-5 and occludin in the retinal vessels of diabetic rats treated by KH902 was smoother and more uniform than those of diabetic rats treated by PBS or Avastin. The expression of PlGF and VEGFR2 in KH902-treated rats was decreased compared with those in PBS or Avastin-treated rats.

CONCLUSIONS

KH902 could improve retinal electrophysiological function and inhibit the breakdown of iBRB by inhibiting the expression of VEGFR2, PlGF and PI3K, and the activation of SRC, AKT and ERK.

Effects of semen processing on the generation of reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial membrane potential of human spermatozoa

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of semen processing on the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in spermatozoa, and to develop reliable indexes for the evaluation of sperm quality during sperm preparation. Swim-up and density gradient centrifugation methods were used to separate semen in oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT), leucocytospermia (LC) and normozoospermia groups. Levels of ROS and MMP were measured by flow cytometry. Before preparation, the patients with abnormal semen parameters had a lower MMP and higher ROS, and there was a negative correlation between MMP and ROS. The levels of MMP and ROS increased significantly, especially ROS produced by swim-up. A significant difference was found between the correlation of MMP and total normal motile sperm count after preparation in the OAT group. The level of ROS was associated with the amount of white blood cells in the LC group. The MMP can be used as an objective index to evaluate the sperm quality of OAT patients, and the combination of MMP and ROS can be used to assess the efficiency of sperm preparation in LC patients. These findings can guide selection of the ideal sperm separation technique for different sperm samples.

Effects of overtraining on skeletal muscle growth and gene expression

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of overtraining on skeletal muscle growth and growth-related gene expression. The rats of overtraining group (OT) and overtraining recovery group (OTR) were subject to 11 experimental weeks of overtraining protocol. It was found that the absolute gastrocnemius muscle wet weight of the OT group was significantly lower than that of the sedentary group (23.6%, P<0.01). Serum creatine kinase was significantly higher in the OT and OTR groups than the sedentary group. CD68, CD163, MyoD, myogenin, IL-1β, TNF-α, IGF-I and MGF mRNA did not change in the OT group as compared with the sedentary group. IL-6 and TGF-β1 mRNA in the OT group increased significantly as compared with the sedentary group (2.17 fold and 1.78 fold, respectively; P<0.01). IL-10 mRNA decreased significantly in the OT group (63%, P<0.01) and the OTR group (77%, P<0.01) compared to the sedentary group. COX-2 mRNA decreased significantly in the OT group (60%, P<0.01) and the OTR group (69%, P<0.01) from the sedentary group. uPA mRNA in the OT group was significantly lower than that in the sedentary group (32%, P<0.01). These data suggest that inflammatory cytokines, COX-2 and uPA may play roles in the inhibition of skeletal muscle growth induced by overtraining.

Ruthenium(IV) porphyrin catalyzed phosphoramidation of aldehydes with phosphoryl azides as a nitrene source

[Ru(IV)(por)Cl(2)] (por = porphyrin dianion) can efficiently catalyze nitrene insertion into aldehyde C-H bonds with phosphoryl azides as a nitrene source to give N-acylphosphoramidates in good to high yields.

Clinicopathological significance of cyclooxygenase-2 and cell cycle-regulatory proteins expression in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

The aim of this study was to examine the expression of the molecular markers cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), Ki-67, cyclin A, and p27 in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), to ascertain the relationship of these makers with the clinicopathological significance of the patients, and to assess the additional prognostic value of the expression profile of these proteins for ESCC patients. The expression levels of COX-2, Ki-67, cyclin A, and p27 proteins of a series of primarily resected ESCC samples were determined by immunohistochemistry method. Clinicopathological and molecular factors affecting survival were analyzed by multivariate analysis. A total of 78 specimens were included in this study. Expression of COX-2 was observed in 43 (55.1%) cases, and high levels of expression of Ki-67, p27, and cyclin A were observed in 57 (73.0%), 33 (42.3%), 43 (55.1%) cases, respectively. The results of univariate survival analysis indicated that more advanced tumor stage, lymph node involvement, systemic dissemination, the levels of expression of COX-2, Ki-67, cyclin A, and p27 were associated with survival (all P-value < 0.05). Multifactorial survival analysis revealed that only lymph node involvement, over-expression of cyclin A, and low p27 expression were associated with the survival of the patients (hazard ratios = 2.83, 4.7, 2.9, respectively; P= 0.025, 0.042, 0.005, respectively). Among the molecular markers assessed, the expression of cell proliferation markers cyclin A and p27 are independent prognostic factors in patients with ESCC, whereas neither COX-2 nor Ki-67 is of independent prognostic value.

Ex vivo expansion of natural killer cells with high cytotoxicity by K562 cells modified to co-express major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related protein A, 4-1BB ligand, and interleukin-15

A large number of natural killer (NK) cells with high function are expected to generate especially in tumor adoptive immunotherapy. Here K562 cells were genetically modified to co-express major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related protein A (MICA), 4-1BB ligand, and IL-15, called K562-MICA-4-1BBL-IL-15. The modified K562 cells not only promoted activation, proliferation, and survival of NK cells, but also enhanced NK cell cytotoxicity. In long-term culture tests, K562-MICA-4-1BBL-IL-15 cells stimulated NK cell to expand mean 550 folds in 24-day culture and to cover from 14.8% of total peripheral blood monoclonal lymphocytes on day 1 to 86.7% on day 24. Prevalent NK cells after expansion enhanced the ability of killing targets and producing interferon gamma (IFN-γ), and kept high expression of activating receptors. The results indicated that K562-MICA-4-1BBL-IL-15 cells would be developed for expansion of NK cells ex vivo and may have important implications for clinical immunotherapy.

Interleukin-17 and interleukin-23 in patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis

OBJECTIVE

To analyse the concentration of interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-23 in serum and ex vivo culture supernatant of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) compared with healthy controls (HC).

METHODS

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to analyse the concentration of IL-17 and IL-23 from 25 patients with PM, 21 patients with DM, and 12 HC in serum or ex vivo culture supernatant of PBMCs following stimulation ex vivo with anti-CD3/CD28 for 72 h.

RESULTS

The levels of IL-23 increased in the serum and culture supernatant of patients with PM and patients with DM compared with HC. By contrast, concentrations of IL-17 in supernatants from patients with PM and DM were not significantly higher than those from HC. We subdivided the group of DM and PM patients into those with early disease versus those with established disease and found that the levels of IL-17 and IL-23 were much higher in early stage compared to established disease.

CONCLUSION

We have demonstrated that stimulated PBMCs from DM and PM patients produce increased levels of IL-23 as compared to HC. IL-17 and IL-23 levels are increased in early as compared to established disease. This provides further evidence that IL-17/IL-23 may play a crucial role in autoimmune diseases.

Effect of alloying additions on the hydrogen-induced grain boundary embrittlement in iron

Using ab initio density functional theory calculations, we have investigated the influence of Mo, V and Pd on the H-induced grain boundary embrittlement in Fe. We find that, in the high impurity concentration systems, all of the three alloying elements facilitate H embrittlement at the Σ3 (111) [Formula: see text] grain boundary in Fe. The calculated binary effects of the H-X (X = Mo, V, Pd) couples are 0.063, 0.074 and 0.040 eV, respectively. On the other hand, in the large unit cell with low impurity concentration, both Mo and V can facilitate H embrittlement, and the binary effects of pairs are 0.152 and 0.164 eV, respectively. While Pd reduces the H embrittlement on the cohesion of the Fe grain boundary with the binary effect of - 0.1 eV. The H-X (X = Mo, V, Pd) interactions are interpreted by electronic structure analyses.

Co-expression of CD147 (EMMPRIN), CD44v3-10, MDR1 and monocarboxylate transporters is associated with prostate cancer drug resistance and progression

Background:

The aim of this study is to seek an association between markers of metastatic potential, drug resistance-related protein and monocarboxylate transporters in prostate cancer (CaP).

Methods:

We evaluated the expression of invasive markers (CD147, CD44v3-10), drug-resistance protein (MDR1) and monocarboxylate transporters (MCT1 and MCT4) in CaP metastatic cell lines and CaP tissue microarrays (n=140) by immunostaining. The co-expression of CD147 and CD44v3-10 with that of MDR1, MCT1 and MCT4 in CaP cell lines was evaluated using confocal microscopy. The relationship between the expression of CD147 and CD44v3-10 and the sensitivity (IC₅₀) to docetaxel in CaP cell lines was assessed using MTT assay. The relationship between expression of CD44v3-10, MDR1 and MCT4 and various clinicopathological CaP progression parameters was examined.

Results:

CD147 and CD44v3-10 were co-expressed with MDR1, MCT1 and MCT4 in primary and metastatic CaP cells. Both CD147 and CD44v3-10 expression levels were inversely related to docetaxel sensitivity (IC₅₀) in metastatic CaP cell lines. Overexpression of CD44v3-10, MDR1 and MCT4 was found in most primary CaP tissues, and was significantly associated with CaP progression.

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that the overexpression of CD147, CD44v3-10, MDR1 and MCT4 is associated with CaP progression. Expression of both CD147 and CD44v3-10 is correlated with drug resistance during CaP metastasis and could be a useful potential therapeutic target in advanced disease.