Dithiocarbazate-copper complex loaded thermosensitive hydrogel for lung cancer therapy via tumor in situ sustained-release

The Pluronic F127 thermosensitive hydrogels containing copper complex 3 were constructed, which could delay A549 tumor xenograft growth effectively with lower systemic toxicity.

A retrospective study on the preventive effect of statin after carotid artery stenting

This retrospective study appraised the preventive effect of statin after carotid artery stenting (CAS).Records were extracted for 100 patients with CAS surgery indicator, aged between 20 and 75 years old, and treated for statin. The cohort study included treatment group (statin and routine treatment) and control group (routine treatment), each group 50 patients. Outcomes consisted of degree of nerve defect (as measured by National Institute of Health Stroke Scale), lipid profiles (mg/dL), and CAS complications within 30 days after surgery.After treatment, there were no significant differences in National Institute of Health Stroke Scale, lipid profiles, and mortality rate between 2 groups. However, significant differences in total cholesterol (mg/dL, P = .03), low-density lipoprotein (mg/dL, P = .01), transient ischemic attack (P = .03), ischemic stroke (P = .04), and cardiac complications (P = .03) were identified within 30 days after CAS between 2 groups.The results of this study showed that prior statin treatment may be effective for the prevention of CAS complications.

[Evaluation of the electrode position by CBCT following cochlear implantation]

Objective: To observe the position of the electrode in the cochlea following cochlear implantation by cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods: Twenty-five children who received cochlear implantation and CBCT examinations in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery from the Second Hospital of Shandong University between January 2016 and December 2017 were selected. There were 15 males (17 ears) and 10 females (10 ears). The age ranged from 0.5 to 7.0 years old, with a median age of 1.6 years. 23 patients with unilateral implantation and two patients with bilateral implantation. The implants were all Med-El standard 12-electrode contact arrays. The CBCT was used to determine the position of the electrode in the cochlea, the distance between the electrode contacts and modiolus, and intracochlear insertion length of the electrode arrays. SPSS Statistics, version 22.0 was used for data processing and statistical analysis. Results: CBCT images could clearly demonstrate the structure of round window, oval window, modiolus, osseous cochlear duct, osseous spiral lamina, and electrodes. The electrode arrays of all the children were fully implanted into the cochlea. 26 of the electrode arrays were located in the scala tympani and one of them was inserted into the scala vestibular. The mean intracochlear insertion length of the electrode arrays was 30.23 (95%CI, 30.04-30.71) mm. The distance between the electrode contacts and modiolus gradually increased at the 1-4th electrode contacts and reached the maximum at the 4th electrode contacts with an average of 1.10 mm (95%CI, 1.02 to 1.18 mm), and then gradually decreased from the 5th electrode contacts. Conclusions: CBCT can clearly show cochlear fine structures and therefore accurately assess the electrode position following cochlear implantation.

Apatinib for treating advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma after failed chemotherapy: A case report and literature review

RATIONALE

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) originates from the secondary branch of the bile duct and the intrahepatic bile duct epithelial cells, and is a rare pathological type of primary liver cancer. Recently, apatinib has been successfully used for a variety of malignancies.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 23-year-old female was noted with intermittent right upper abdominal distension, abdominal pain, and vomiting after eating for more than 1 month. The enhanced CT scan revealed multiple intrahepatic lesions, portal vein and right branch tumor emboli were present.

DIAGNOSIS

Combined with the patient's medical history and pathology and immunohistochemistry, the diagnosis was confirmed as locally advanced unresectable ICC (cT4N1M1, Stage IVB).

INTERVENTIONS

The disease progressed after six cycles of gemcitabine plus capecitabine chemotherapy. She received oral apatinib treatment since September 30, 2017. Due to related adverse reactions, the patient could not tolerate the treatment, and the subsequent reduction therapy was given.

OUTCOMES

On April 11, 2018, the review of CT evaluation suggested that the disease was progressed. Hence, in this patient, apatinib as second-line treatment for advanced ICC showed a progression-free survival with 6 months.

LESSONS

Apatinib as second-line treatment for advanced ICC is effective, and the adverse effects are tolerable. However, the efficacy and safety of apatinib in the treatment of ICC need to be further confirmed by large sample of prospective randomized controlled trials.

Physicochemical, Rheological and Sensory Properties of Different Brands of Sesame Pastes

The chemical characteristics, rheological properties and sensory evaluation of nine different brands of the sesame pastes were investigated. The sesame pastes showed a significant difference for the crude fat, protein, crude fibre, total sugars, total ash, moisture content, and acid values (p < 0.05). The fat content ranged from 51.80% to 61.56%, and the protein content varied between 16.08% and 18.97%. All sesame paste samples are pseudoplastic materials. The flow indexes lied between 0.67 and 0.81 for the tested sesame pastes (p > 0.05). The consistency coefficient of the different sesame paste brands varied significantly (p < 0.05), ranging from 4.48 to 24.21 Pa・sⁿ, indicating that the consistency coefficient is a more sensitive parameter for measuring the flow behaviour of foodstuff. The areas of the hysteresis loops of the white-sesame paste of "Haoweisi" brand and the black-sesame paste of "A Yimeng couple" brand were higher than the other sesame pastes, indicating that these two samples were difficult to be restored to their original structures and such restoration required a longer time. Both Storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G″) of the sesame pastes increased with increasing frequency, and G' values were greater than the G″ values, exhibiting the typical properties of the viscoelastic solid, the results may provide the valuable reference for choosing the sesame pastes as the spreadable butters or salad dressings, and for further processing.

Complete mitochondrial genome of Goniurosaurus luii (Squamata, Eublepharidae)

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Goniurosaurus luii has been determined in the present paper. The genome was 16,519 bp in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and 1 control region (CR). Its gene composition and order was similar to most other Squamate reptiles. The overall base composition of the genome in descending order was 34.11% A, 26. 01% C, 27.43% T, and 12.45% G, with a slight AT bias of 61.54%. CR was located between the tRNA-Pro and tRNA-Phe genes and was 1147 bp in length, some tandem repeat sequences and conserved elements (CSB2-3) were found in the control region.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Teratoscincus roborowskii (Squamata: Gekkonidae)

The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome of Teratoscincus roborowskii was sequenced here. It was determined to be 16,644 base pairs in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and a control region. The 22 tRNA genes could be folded into the typical cloverleaf structure described for vertebrate mitochondrial tRNAs. The base composition of the heavy strand was 30.33% A, 30.35% C, 14.65% G and 24.67% T. The control region was located between the tRNA-Pro and tRNA-Phe genes and is 1248 bp in length and some tandem repeat sequences were found in it.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Papilio polytes (Lepidoptera Papilionidae)

The complete sequence mitochondrial genome of Papilio polytes was determined using long PCR and conserved primers walking approaches. The genome was 15,260 bp in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and 1 control region (CR). The gene composition and order of P. polytes were similar to other lepidopteran species. All protein-coding genes begin with ATG and ATT as initiation codon except COI using CGA. 8 genes (ATP8, ATP6, ND3, ND5, ND4L, ND6, Cytb and ND1) ended with TAA and TAG stop codon, the remaining five genes had incomplete stop codon T. The overall base composition of the genome in descending order was 39.51% A, 11.86% C, 40.75% T and 7.88% G, with a A + T bias of 80.26%. CR is located between the 12S rRNA and tRNA-Met genes and is 439 bp in length, with an AT content of 83.37%.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Papilio bianor (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), and its phylogenetic position within Papilionidae

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Papilio bianor was determined in the present paper. The complete mtDNA from P. bianor was 15,358 base pairs in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and a control region. The P. bianor genes were in the same order and orientation as the completely sequenced mitogenomes of other lepidopteran species. To determine the phylogentic position of P. bianor with related species within Papilionidae, the Bayesian phylogenetic tree was reconstructed with the concatenated nucleotide dataset of the 13 protein-coding genes. The phylogenetic trees confirmed that P. bianor and four species of Papilionidae clustered into a clade, and shared a close relationship with Papilio maraho. Meanwhile, the molecular phylogenetic trees also confirmed that Papilionidae is a monophyletic group, and Pieridae is closely related with Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the Spilornis cheela (Falconiformes, Accipitridae): comparison of S. cheela and Spizaetus alboniger

Here, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of Spilornis cheela (Falconiformes, Accipitridae), which is considered as endemic raptor species and listed in the second category of National Key Protected Wild Animals in China. The genome is 18,291 bp in size. Its gene arrangement pattern was identical with that of Spizaetus alboniger. We compared the mitochondrial genome of S. cheela with that of S. alboniger. Nucleotide sequence similarity between the two whole mitochondrial genomes was 84.34%, and the relatively low similarity seems to indicate that the two species are distinctly separated on the species level. The information on the mitochondrial genome comparison of the two species is discussed in detail in this paper.

[The role of nitric oxide in ethylene-induced stomatal closure in Vicia faba L]

The effects of nitric oxide (NO) and ethylene on Vicia faba L. stomatal movement were studied. The results showed that NO donor SNP (sodium nitroprusside) 10 micromol/L and ethylene 0.04% could induce stomatal closure distinctly and they could promote stomatal closure when treated together. When treated with AVG (an inhibitor of ethylene synthesis), c-PTIO (a specific scavenger of NO) and NaN(3) (an inhibitor of NR), the effects of NO- and ethylene-induced stomatal closure were inhibited but the inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) had little effect. We presumed that there was coordinative effect between NO and ethylene in regulation of stomatal closure; ethylene could induce stomatal closure by regulating the production of nitrate reductase (NR)-dependent NO.

Nonopsonic phagocytosis of Lactobacilli by mice Peyer's patches' macrophages

The ingestion of lactobacilli is of great importance for the probiotic effect of host gut Peyer's patches (PPs) macrophages. The present study is in time focus on the investigation of the factors determining the ingestion of lactobacilli by PPs macrophages. Physicochemical properties of cell surface and adhesive property of nine Lactobacillus strains were examined in the present work. The association of the bacteria with PPs macrophage was checked with macrophage monolayers on coverslips. The influence of lactobacilli on macrophages phagocytic capacity was also investigated with a neutral red uptake assay in vitro. The results show that the macrophages could ingest lactobacilli in a strain dependent manner, and the most ingested strain is L. plantarum Lp6 compared to other tested strains, which displayed strain specific enhancement on the phagocytic activity of PPs macrophages. And there is no correlation between the physicochemical or adhesive properties of the cell surface and the ingestion. The association of L. plantarum Lp6 with PPs macrophage could be decreased by Protease K treatment. Surface proteins of L. plantarum Lp6 could promote the ingestion of fluorescent latex beads by PPs macrophages. In conclusion, the hydrophobicity of the cell surface might not be the key factor determining the association of lactobacilli with PPs macrophages. Cell surface proteins are the media for the binding L. plantarum Lp6 to macrophages.

Characterization of a cDNA coding for an extracellular calmodulin-binding protein from suspension-cultured cells of Angelica dahurica

In order to characterize a specific extracellular 21-kDa calmodulin-binding protein (named: ECBP21) from Angelica dahurica L. suspension-cultured cells, the cDNA coding for the protein has been cloned. Here, Southern blot analysis shows that there are at least two copies of ECBP21 gene in Angelica genome. Using truncated versions of ECBP21 and synthetic peptide in CaM binding assays, we mapped the calmodulin-binding domain to a 16-amino acid stretch (residues 200-215) at the C-terminal region. The ECBP21 was localized in the cell wall area by the immunogold electron microscopy and by GFP labeling method. These results define ECBP21 as a kind of an extracellular calmodulin-binding protein (CaMBP). Furthermore, using Northern blot analysis, we examined the expression dynamics of ecbp21 during the incubation of Angelica suspension-cultured cells and the treatments with some growth regulators. The above studies further provide the molecular evidence for the existence of the gene coding for extracellular CaMBPs and imply a possible role for ECBP21.

Creatine kinase: the characteristics of the enzyme regenerated from the thio-methylated creatine kinase reflect a differentiation in function between the two reactive thiols

The activity of S-thiomethyl-modified creatine kinase is due to regeneration of the free thiol (Hou and Vollmer, Biochim Biophys Acta (1994) 1205, 83-88). Characteristics of enzyme regenerated from the S-thiomethyl-modified creatine kinase are reported in the present study. The intrinsic fluorescence of the regenerated enzyme is similar to that of the native enzyme in the presence or absence of the dead-end complex. Regenerated CK (rCK) with full activity has only one reactive thiol. The rate constant of the rCK-reactive thiol reacting with DTNB is close to that of the slow phase of the reactive thiols of the native enzyme. If the IAM-modified rCK is treated with the same method as that for obtaining the rCK, the thiol-methylated reactive thiol of the rCK is reduced to a free SH and a regenerated enzyme, RCK, is produced with about 10% of the rCK activity. Therefore, the different roles of the two reactive thiols of creatine kinase may stem from the characteristics of the rCK, which suggests that only one of the two reactive thiols is related to the activity of the enzyme and the slower phase thiol (the first SH) in the modification reaction with DTNB is directly related to the enzymatic activity, while the faster phase thiol (the second SH) assists the first SH. This compensatory mechanism is proposed in the present study to interpret the dispute on the reactive SH role in the enzymatic catalysis.

The activity of S-thiomethyl modified creatine kinase is due to the regeneration of free thiol at the active site

Creatine kinase modified by S-methyl methanethiosulfonate and devoid of reactive thiol group has been reported to retain about 18-40% of the activity of the native enzyme. It has now been found that during the reaction catalyzed by the modified enzyme the rate increases with time and if the reaction is allowed to continue sufficiently long, the enzyme eventually recovers full activity. The presence of substrates is not required for the reactivation as suitable dilution after removal of MMTS in excess leads to complete reactivation of the MMTS modified enzyme with the simultaneous regeneration of reactive thiol per each dimeric molecule as shown by determinations with DTNB and IAN. The addition of MMTS during the course of reactivation again inactivates the reactivated enzyme. The activity recovery is therefore due to the regeneration of reactive thiol and it appears that the active-site thiols are essential for the activity of rabbit muscle creatine kinase.

Increased thermal stability of proteins in the presence of naturally occurring osmolytes

Organisms and cellular systems which have adapted to stresses such as high temperature, desiccation, and urea-concentrating environments have responded by concentrating particular organic solutes known as osmolytes. These osmolytes are believed to confer protection to enzyme and other macromolecular systems against such denaturing stresses. Differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) experiments were performed on ribonuclease A and hen egg white lysozyme in the presence of varying concentrations of the osmolytes glycine, sarcosine, N,N-dimethylglycine, and betaine. Solutions containing up to several molar concentrations of these solutes were found to result in considerable increases in the thermal unfolding transition temperature (Tm) for these proteins. DSC scans of ribonuclease A in the presence of up to 8.2 M sarcosine resulted in reversible two-state unfolding transitions with Tm increases of up to 22 degrees C and unfolding enthalpy changes which were independent of Tm. On the basis of the thermodynamic parameters observed, 8.2 M sarcosine results in a stabilization free energy increase of 7.2 kcal/mol for ribonuclease A at 65 degrees C. This translates into more than a 45,000-fold increase in stability of the native form of ribonuclease A over that in the absence of sarcosine at this temperature. Catalytic activity measurements in the presence of 4 M sarcosine give kcat and Km values that are largely unchanged from those in the absence of sarcosine. DSC of lysozyme unfolding in the presence of these osmolytes also results in Tm increases of up to 23 degrees C; however, significant irreversibly occurs with this protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A comparison of denaturation and inactivation rates of creatine kinase in guanidine solutions

Both the denaturation, as followed by UV absorbance and fluorescence changes, and inactivation of creatine kinase in guanidine solutions have been found to be first order reactions. In 3 M guanidine, at 30 degrees C, the inactivation rate constant was found to be 5.9 sec-1 and the denaturation rate constant 1.9 sec-1. At lower guanidine concentrations, the inactivation rate constants were only little affected whereas the denaturation rate constants decreased markedly, being of the order of 0.04 in 1 M and 0.004 in 0.5 M guanidine. The kinetics of the inactivation reaction in 0.5 M guanidine was found to be in agreement with a combination of two first order reactions. The enzyme lost activity first by a fast reaction with a rate constant only slightly lower than the rate constant in 3 M guanidine followed by a slower reaction with a rate constant of 0.003 sec-1. In 0.3 M guanidine, very little change in either UV absorbance or in fluorescence was observed, but, in sharp contrast, the enzyme lost considerable activity by a fast reaction and this was followed by a slower reaction of inactivation. Even after prolonged denaturation in 0.5 and 0.3 M guanidine, residual activities of 3.4% and 30% remained respectively. The above results suggest a very fragile active site although dissociation of the dimer and reversible guanidine inhibition may also contribute to the initial rapid inactivation. It is also to be noted that the multiphasic courses of inactivation at lower guanidine concentrations seem to suggest the presence of partly active intermediates during denaturation.

Conformational changes of creatine kinase during guanidine denaturation

The conformational changes of creatine kinase during denaturation by different concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride have been studied by fluorescence and ultraviolet difference spectroscopic methods. At low concentrations of guanidine, less than 1 M, the denatured minus native difference spectra showed two negative peaks at 281 and 287 nm, whereas the fluorescence emission increased markedly with its maximum red-shifted from 337 to 345 nm. Control experiments showed that guanidine also increased the emission of ionized tyrosine at 345 nm. With the increase of concentrations of guanidine, both negative peaks at 281 and 287 nm increased in magnitude to reach maximal values at 3 M guanidine and at this time a small peak appeared at 292 nm. The fluorescence maximum was further red-shifted to 355 nm, whereas the emission intensity of the main peak decreased and a small shoulder appeared at 310 nm when the guanidine concentration increased from 1 to 3 M. Further increase in guanidine concentration produced little further change either in UV absorption or in fluorescence. From the above results, it seems that, in the native enzyme. Trp residues are partly buried and partly exposed and some of the Tyr residues are in ionized state. Guanidine below 1 M does not expose the buried Trp residues nor affects significantly the microenvironments of the ionized Tyr residues. At 3 M guanidine, Trp residues are exposed and the ionization state of Tyr residues is also affected. At this concentration, the peptide chain seems to be fully unfolded as evidenced by the fact that 5 M guanidine produces little further change in both UV absorption and fluorescence.