[Research Progress on the Role of Berberine in Hematologic Malignancies and Its Related Mechanisms --Review]

Berberine, a traditional Chinese medicine, is an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from the rhizome of Coptis chinensis. It has anti-inflammatory and antidiarrheal effects and is commonly used in the treatment of infections and gastrointestinal diseases. In recent years, studies have found that berberine can play a wide range of anti-cancer effects in the treatment of leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, etc. In hematologic malignancies, berberine can induce autophagy, promote apoptosis, regulate cell cycle, inhibit inflammatory response, cause oxidative damage to cancer cells and interact with miRNA to inhibit the proliferation, migration and colony formation of cancer cells. This paper will review the role and related mechanisms of berberine in hematological malignancies.

[Comparative analysis of metagenomic and 16S rDNA sequencing in gut microbiota of healthy elderly]

Objective: To explore the differences in subsequent analysis between metagenomic and 16Sr DNA sequencing in compositionally characterizing gut microbiota of healthy elderly. Methods: By using a panel study design, five monthly repeated measurements were performed among 76 healthy older people in Jinan City, Shandong Province. Their fecal samples were collected, and genomic DNA was extracted and analyzed through metagenomic and 16Sr DNA sequencing to compare the composition and diversity of gut microbiota. The correlation between species abundance and α diversity was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis, and the correlation between species abundance and β diversity was determined by Procrustes analysis. Results: The age of 76 participants was (65.07±2.75), and the body mass index was (25.03±2.40) kg/m². There were 38 males and 38 females. A total of 345 fecal samples were obtained from five monthly repeated measurements. Compared with 16S rDNA sequencing, metagenomic sequencing showed more annotated species at each level. The difference in the number of two sequencing species increased with the decrease of the level. Although there were significant differences in species richness between the two sequencing methods. Their species richness was highly correlated at both phylum (r=0.88, P<0.001) and genus (r=0.77, P<0.001) levels. Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the common dominant species. Gut microbiota diversity analysis further showed that there was a significantly positive correlation between α diversity (r=0.70, P<0.001) and β diversities (M²=0.84, P<0.05) in the two groups. Conclusion: The annotation efficiency of metagenomic sequencing is much higher than that of 16S rDNA sequencing. The two sequencing methods are consistent in phylum abundance as well as α diversity.

[Effects of metabolic surgery on islet function in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes]

Type 2 diabetes is a high-profile global public health problem, particularly in Asia. The young age of onset, low body mass index, and early appearance of pancreatic islet dysfunction are characteristics of Asian patients with T2DM. Metabolic surgery has become the standard treatment for T2DM patients and can significantly improve T2DM through a variety of mechanisms including modulation of energy homeostasis and reduction of body fat mass. Indeed, restoration of islet function also plays an integral role in the remission of T2DM. After metabolic surgery, islet function in Asian T2DM patients has improved significantly, with proven short-term and long-term effects. In addition, islet function is an important criterion and reference for patient selection prior to metabolic surgery. The mechanism of islet function improvement after metabolic surgery is not clear, but postoperative anatomical changes in the gastrointestinal tract leading to a number of hormonal changes seem to be the potential cause, including glucagon-like peptide-1, gastric inhibitory polypeptide, peptide YY, ghrelin, and cholecystokinin. The authors analyzed the current retrospective and prospective studies on the effect of metabolic surgery on the islet function of Asian T2DM patients with a low BMI and its mechanism, summarized the clinical evidence that metabolic surgery improved islet function in Asian T2DM patients with a low BMI, and discussed its underlying mechanism. It is of great significance for realizing personalized and precise treatment of metabolic surgery and further improving its clinical benefits.

[Analysis on poor efficacy factors in the treatment of recurrent/refractory B-cell lymphoma with CD19 CAR-T cells]

Objective: To investigate the factors influencing the efficacy of CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells in the treatment of patients with relapsed refractory B cell lymphoma and to provide evidence for further improvement of CAR-T efficacy. Methods: A total of 34 patients with relapsed and refractory B-cell lymphoma were recruited from the Department of Hematology of Tianjin First Central Hospital from February 2017 to January 2019. All patients received CD19 CAR-T cell therapy. These patients were evaluated for efficacy, factors with poor efficacyand adverse effects. Results: The overall response rate was 58.8% (20/34) and the complete remission rate was 41.2% (14/34) after infusion of CD19 CAR-T cells in 34 patients with relapsed refractory B cell lymphoma. According to the efficacy of CAR-T cells, patients were divided into two groups, 20 in the effective group and 14 in the poorly effective group. The median am ount of CD19 CAR-T cell infusions in these two groups were 8.6 (5.0-12.7)×10(6)/kg and 9.7 (5.8-15.0) × 10(6)/kg, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.654). The percentage of CD19 CAR-T cells in the effective group and the poorly treated group was 10.28% (3.92%-44.16%) and 4.05% (0.92%-28.63%), respectively.The effective group had a higher proportion of CAR-T cells than the poorly treated group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.371).The presence of massive mass was an unfavorable factor affecting the efficacy of CD19 CAR-T cells and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.001). Logistic regression multivariate analysis showed that the characteristics of massive tumors were still independent prognostic factors for poor efficacy of CD19 CAR-T cells (P=0.005, OR=0.039). Of all 34 patients, there were 70.6% (24/34) who showed varying degrees of adverse reactions after the infusion of CD19 CAR-T cells, mainly cytokines release syndrome (CRS). The median time of occurrence of fever was on the third day after infusion (0-11th) day. 16 patients were with grade 1 CRS, 7 with grade 2, and 1 with grade 3. After glucocorticoids and support treatment, they all showed improvements. Conclusions: CD19 CAR-T cell therapy has achieved a certain effect in CD19(+)B cell lymphoma, but has poor efficacy on some patients. Large mass tumors may be an adverse factors to CAR-T cell treatment.

[Construction and identification of mouse model with conditional knockout of p75 neurotrophin receptor gene in epidermal cells by Cre-loxP system]

Objective: To construct and identify a mouse model with conditional knockout (cKO) of p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR-cKO) gene in epidermis cells by Cre-loxP system. Methods: Five p75NTR(flox/flox) transgenic C57BL/6J mice (aged 6-8 weeks, male and female unlimited, the age and sex of mice used for reproduction were the same below) and five keratin 14 promotor-driven (KRT14-) Cre(+ /-) transgenic C57BL/6J mice were bred and hybridized via Cre-loxP system. Five p75NTR(flox/+) ·KRT14-Cre(+ /-) mice selected from the first generation of mice were mated with five p75NTR(flox/flox) mice to obtain the second generation hybrids. After the second generation mice were born 20-25 days, the parts of the mice tail were cut off to identify the genotype by polymerase chain reaction method. Four p75NTR gene complete cKO mice (6 weeks old) and 4 wild-type mice (6 weeks old) were selected and sacrificed respectively. The abdominal skin tissue and brain tissue were excised to observe the expression of p75NTR in the two tissue of two types of mice by immunohistochemical staining. The abdominal skin tissue of two types of mice was obtained to observe the histomorphological changes by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Results: (1) Twenty second generation mice were bred. The genotype of 4 mice was p75NTR(flox/flox)·KRT14-Cre(+ /-)(p75NTR(-/-)), i. e. p75NTR gene complete cKO mice; the genotype of 5 mice was p75NTR(flox/+) ·KRT14-Cre(+ /-), i. e. p75NTR gene partial cKO mice; the genotype of 5 mice was p75NTR(flox/flox)·KRT14-Cre(-/-), and that of 6 mice was p75NTR(flox/+) ·KRT14-Cre(-/-), all of which were wild-type mice. (2) The expression of p75NTR was negative in skin epidermis tissue of p75NTR gene complete cKO mice, while numerous p75NTR positive expression was observed in skin epidermis tissue of wild-type mice. Abundant p75NTR positive expression was observed in brain tissue of both wild-type mice and p75NTR gene complete cKO mice. (3) There was no abnormal growth of skin epidermis tissue in both wild-type mice and p75NTR gene complete cKO mice, with intact hair follicle structure. Conclusions: Applying Cre-loxP system can successfully construct a p75NTR-cKO mice model in epidermis cells without obvious changes in skin histomorphology.

[Efficacy and safety of CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cells for the treatment of 22 patients with B-cell lymphoma]

目的

探讨CD19 CAR-T治疗B细胞淋巴瘤的疗效及安全性。

方法

评估2017年2月1日至2018年7月1日CD19 CAR-T治疗22例B细胞淋巴瘤患者的疗效及不良反应情况。

结果

22例患者输注CD19 CAR-T后，总体完全缓解（CR）率为45.5%，部分缓解（PR）率为31.8%，总有效率为77.3%。其中12例复发难治患者9例有效，2例达CR，7例PR；10例微小残留病（MRD）阳性患者，8例MRD转阴。全部患者外周血中均检测到CD19 CAR-T细胞在体内增殖，复发难治患者与MRD阳性患者T细胞增殖的达峰时间分别为治疗后第4.5（1~12）天和治疗后第12（5~19）天，外周血CAR-T细胞分别占总的T淋巴细胞的4.02%（2.23%~28.60%）和10.10%（3.55%~24.74%）。MRD转阴患者持续缓解，中位随访8（3~18）个月均未复发，且此组患者有3例联合PD-1抗体治疗，均达CR。复发难治患者中，7例CAR-T治疗后达PR患者疗效保持时间为1.5~6.0个月，PD-1表达率为25.7%~55.3%，5例CAR-T治疗无效患者PD-1均高表达；共有3例患者联合应用PD-1抗体，其中2例有效；2例CAR-T治疗后达CR患者中1例行异基因造血干细胞移植，另1例随访12个月仍持续缓解。22例患者输注CAR-T细胞后14例发生不同程度的细胞因子释放综合征（CRS），其中9例为1级CRS，4例为2级CRS，其中1例复发难治患者发生3级CRS，经糖皮质激素、IL-6抗体治疗后CRS得到控制。治疗有效的17例患者中14例发生CRS，治疗无效的5例患者均未发生CRS。难治复发患者发生CRS的严重程度高于MRD阳性患者。

结论

CD19 CAR-T在CD19⁺ B细胞淋巴瘤中取得了疗效。CAR-T联合免疫检查点抑制剂的应用能够更好地提高疗效，CAR-T细胞治疗可作为复发难治患者的挽救治疗，清除B细胞淋巴瘤的MRD效果更好且不良反应小。

[Advances in the research of dermabrasion in burn wounds]

The process of burn wounds healing includes the removal of necrotic tissue, the hyperplasia of granulation tissue and epithelialization. The removal of necrotic tissue is the first step in dealing with burn wounds. Although there are a variety of adjuvant drugs for removing necrotic tissue, surgical debridement is still the main way of debridement of burn wounds. Surgical debridement of burn wounds includes escharectomy, tangential excision and dermabrasion. Escharectomy and tangential excision have been widely used in clinical practice, while dermabrasion has not been known to the majority of burns colleagues. This article summarizes the clinical application and progress of dermabrasion in burn wounds.

[Application of high-frequency ultrasound in dermabrasion of patients with deep partial-thickness burns]

Objective: To investigate the application of high-frequency ultrasound in dermabrasion of patients with deep partial-thickness burns. Methods: Twenty-six patients with deep partial-thickness burns conforming to the study criteria were hospitalized in our unit from March 2015 to March 2016. Patients were all performed with dermabrasion. The structure of skin tissue and blood flow signals of uninjured side and wounds before dermabrasion, and those of wounds immediately post dermabrasion and on post dermabrasion day (PDD) 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, and 21 were detected with high-frequency ultrasound, and the percentage of blood flow signals was calculated. According to the results of comparison between percentage of blood flow signals of wounds and that of normal skin before dermabrasion, patients were divided into no significant decrease group (NSD, n=19) and significant decrease group (SD, n=7). Wound healing time of patients in two groups was recorded. Data were processed with analysis of variance of repeated measurement, LSD test, t test and Chi-square test. The correlation between the percentage of blood flow signals of wounds before dermabrasion and wound healing time of 26 patients were analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. Results: (1) Epidermis of normal skin of patients in two groups before dermabrasion showed continuous smooth linear hyperecho, which was stronger than that of dermis, and boundary of dermis and subcutaneous tissue showed stronger discontinuous linear echo than that of dermis, which gradually transited to subcutaneous tissue. In group NSD, epidermis of wound of patients before dermabrasion showed intermittent rough linear echo, which was weaker than that of normal skin epidermis, and there was no obvious abnormity of boundary between dermis and subcutaneous tissue. Immediately post dermabrasion and on PDD 1, no linear hyperecho of epidermis was observed, showing complete attrition of epidermis, and the echo of dermis and subcutaneous tissue had no obvious change as compared with that before dermabrasion, with flat surface of dermis and partly abraded superficial-dermis but relatively well preserved dermal tissue in whole. The epidermis showed discontinuous linear hyperecho, and epidermis was discontinuously regenerated on PDD 3 and 5. Partial continuous linear hyperecho was detected in the epidermis, showing partial continuous regeneration of epidermis on PDD 7 and 10. The regenerated epidermis was thicker than normal skin epidermis and showed rough linear hyperecho with non-uniform thickness on PDD 14. The regenerated epidermis was thicker than normal skin epidermis and showed rather smooth linear hyperecho with uniform thickness on PDD 21. In group SD, the structure of epidermis and dermis of wound of patients before dermabrasion, immediately post dermabrasion, and on PDD 1 was similar to that in group NSD, but the echo of boundary of dermis and subcutaneous tissue was weakened in different degrees. There was no linear hyperecho of epidermis, showing no epidermis was regenerated on PDD 3 and 5. Intermittent regeneration of epidermis appeared on PDD 7 and 10 with intermittent linear hyperecho. Partial continuous linear hyperecho was detected in the epidermis, showing partial continuous regeneration of epidermis on PDD 14 and 21. (2) The percentages of blood flow signals of wounds of patients in group NSD before dermabrasion, immediately post dermabrasion, and on PDD 1 were (3.1±1.3)%, (6.5±2.0)%, and (5.3±1.9)% respectively, higher than those in group SD [(0.9±1.1)%, (3.5±1.3)%, and (3.6±0.9)% respectively, P<0.05 or P<0.01]. The percentages of blood flow signals of wounds of patients in two groups were similar at the other time points (with P values above 0.05). Compared with the percentage of normal skin in the same group [(3.2±0.7)%], the percentages of blood flow signals of wounds of patients in group NSD were significantly increased immediately post dermabrasion and on PDD 1 (with P values below 0.01) but had no significant change at the other time points (with P values above 0.05). The percentage of blood flow signals of wounds of patients before dermabrasion in group SD was significantly lower than that of normal skin in the same group [(2.8±0.6)%, P<0.01]. The percentage of blood flow signals of wounds of patients in group SD was close to that of normal skin in the same group at each time point post dermabrasion (with P values above 0.05). (3) The wound healing time of patients in group NSD was (16.2±2.5) d, lower than that in group SD [(30.9±2.9) d, t=12.67, P<0.01]. There was obvious negative correlation between the percentage of blood flow signals of wounds before dermabrasion and wound healing time of 26 patients (r=-0.77, P<0.01). Conclusions: High-frequency ultrasound is a good way to observe the imaging features of wounds in patients with deep partial-thickness burns before and after dermabrasion, and it can provide objective imaging evidence for the performance of dermabrasion in patients with deep partial-thickness burns.

Impaired response to chemical irritation of the urinary tract in mice with disruption of the preprotachykinin gene

Previous studies demonstrated that acute irritation of the lower urinary tract (LUT) induces the expression of the immediate early gene, c-fos, in lumbo-sacral spinal cord neurons "J. Neurosci. 12 (1992) 4878" "Am. J. Physiol. 265 (1993) 326" "Somatosens. Mot. Res. 15 (1998) 5". This effect was mediated in part by activation of capsaicin-sensitive bladder afferents "Am. J. Physiol. 265 (1993) 326". Here we investigate the role of preprotachykinin gene products (neurokinin A and substance P) in the response to bladder irritation in urethane-anesthetized mice. Acute irritation of the LUT (intravesical acetic acid) induced smaller numbers of Fos-positive neurons in the spinal cord of mice with a mutated preprotachykinin gene than in wild type mice. Increased Fos expression following LUT irritation or a sham operation in wild type mice was also significantly reduced by pretreatment with the NK2 antagonist, MEN 11420, but Fos expression in mutant mice was not altered by the antagonist. During cystometrograms, a significantly higher percentage (83%) of mutant mice exhibited urinary retention and overflow incontinence as compared to wild type controls. These findings suggest an involvement of tachykinins and NK2 receptors in the response to chemical irritation of the LUT in mice and also suggest that tachykinins contribute to the regulation of normal reflex bladder activity.

[Detection of differentially expressed genes in hepatocellular carcinoma using DNA microarray]

Large scale gene expression profiles between normal hepatocytes and hepatocellular carcinomas are detected with high throughput microarray. DNA microarrays were made by spotting PCR products of 4,096 human cDNAs onto a specially treated glass slides. The probes were prepared by labelling normal tissue mRNA and cancer tissue mRNA with Cy3-dUTP and Cy5-dUTP separately through reverse transcription. The arrays were then hybridized against the cDNA probe mixture and the fluorescent signals were scanned. The obtained data were analyzed from 4 repeated experiments. There are 903 genes of which the average ratios between Cy3 signal and Cy5 signal are greater than 3.0. These genes identified through this approach are potential candidates for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis and therapy.

Development of Female Contraceptive Vaccine Through DNA Inoculation of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Beta Subunit (hCGß)

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) has been considered as a primary target molecule for a contraceptive vaccine by the World Health Organization because of its physiological and temporal specificity. hCG is an essential factor for the successful implantation and establishment of early pregnancy. For a decade, the most advanced works in development of a contraceptive vaccine have been concentrated on polypeptide based vaccines targeted directly against hCG. Although many studies have reached the stage of clinical testing using a number of prototype vaccines based on different parts of hCG molecule, their efficacy has been disappointing (1-4).

[GnRH receptor and the regulation of its gene expression]

The function of GnRH(gonadotropin-releasing hormone, LHRH) is mediated by GnRH receptor (GnRHR). The study on GnRHR is one of the highlights in neuroendocrinology and reproductive biology. The latest study of GnRHR, including molecular structure of GnRHR, regulation of GnRHR gene expression, distribution of GnRHR, the regulation of GnRHR by peptide and steroid hormone, as well as signal transduction mediated by GnRHR, are reviewed in the present article. Studies on GnRHR will make great contribution to the understanding of the regulation of reproduction and its action for therapy of malignant tumor.

Primary afferent tachykinins are required to experience moderate to intense pain

The excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate coexists with the peptide known as substance P in primary afferents that respond to painful stimulation. Because blockers of glutamate receptors reliably reduce pain behaviour, it is assumed that 'pain' messages are mediated by glutamate action on dorsal horn neurons. The contribution of substance P, however, is still unclear. We have now disrupted the mouse preprotachykinin A gene (PPT-A), which encodes substance P and a related tachykinin, neurokinin A. We find that although the behavioural response to mildly painful stimuli is intact in these mice, the response to moderate to intense pain is significantly reduced. Neurogenic inflammation, which results from peripheral release of substance P and neurokinin A, is almost absent in the mutant mice. We conclude that the release of tachykinins from primary afferent pain-sensing receptors (nociceptors) is required to produce moderate to intense pain.

[The synthetic fragment of rabbit blastocyst peptide2 and its physiological significance relevant to the mechanism of implantation]

The amino acid sequence of purified rabbit blastocyst peptide2 (RBP2) was analyzed. It contains 54 amino acids and it's sequence from aa4 to aa34 is the same as the N-terminal sequence of uteroglobin. An active antigenic region consisting of 15 aa residues (aa20-aa34) of the RBP2 was selected and designated as a synthetic peptide fragment (SPF). The effect of SPF on lymphocyte proliferation was analyzed by immunocytochemical assay detecting BrdU incorporation in the cellular DNA. The results indicated that no obvious inhibitory effect of SPF on T cell proliferation at concentrations ranging from 80 to 320 micrograms/ml was observed, while RBP2 at the concentrations ranging from 20 to 160 micrograms/ml had a significant effect in a dose dependent manner, suggesting that the immuno-suppressive effect of SPF is less than that of RBP2. We have also observed that SPF at concentrations ranging from 45 to 180 micrograms/ml inhibited PGF2 alpha secretion in a dose dependent manner. On the other hand, the 3H-leucine incorporation of rabbit endometrium was enhanced by SPF (180 micrograms/ml) and this action was blocked by addition of protein inhibitory agent, actidine.

Modulation of interferon secretion by concanavalin A and interleukin-2 in first trimester placental explants in vitro

The human placenta has been demonstrated to be a site of interferon (IFN) production. We report here that early human placental explants in vitro release both type I (IFN-alpha and -beta) and type II (IFN-gamma) immunoreactive IFN. The mitogen concanavalin A (Con A) stimulated immunoreactive (ir-) IFN-gamma secretion in both a dose- and time-dependent manner, but had no significant effect on either ir-IFN-alpha or -beta release. The enhancement of ir-IFN-gamma secretion by Con A, at 2-20 micrograms/ml, was significant at 1 h and persisted until 24 h, but was not significant at 48 h. A high dose of recombinant human interleukin-2 (IL-2) stimulates the release of all three types of ir-IFNs, suggesting that interaction of IL-2 with its receptor might be one cause of the constitutive production of placental IFNs. The patterns of response to Con A and IL-2 were different from those of lymphocytes, providing indirect evidence suggesting that the source of these IFNs might not be lymphocytic. Taken together, these results indicate that first trimester human placental explants in vitro produce both type I and type II IFNs, the major IFN produced depending on the inducer. IL-2 may be one of the physiological inducers of placental IFNs.

A study of protein and glycoprotein syntheses in pre-implantation mouse embryos using mini-2D-electrophoresis, video densitometer scanning and computer-image analysis

In the present study, proteins and glycoproteins of mouse embryos at 2-cell, morula and blastocyst stages were analyzed. The techniques of 35S-Met incorporation, ConA antiserum-precipitating ConA-binding proteins, mini-2D-electrophoresis, fluorography, video densitometer scanning and the computer-image system were used for analyses. Results of the investigations indicated that proteins and glycoproteins were synthesized by the embryos in a gradual increase manner from 2-cell to blastocyst. A relatively large amount of glycoproteins was synthesized during the morula and blastocyst stages. Two specific small glycoproteins respectively with molecular weights about 6500 and 9000 and PIs at 5.0 and 6.5 were apparently synthesized in the blastocyst but not in the 2-cell or the morula.

[Variation of WGA and PNA binding glycoproteins in early pregnant rabbit uterine fluid]

The qualitative and quantitative changes of two kinds of lectin (WGA, PNA) binding glycoproteins in early pregnant rabbit uterine fluid (D4-D12) were measured by Western blot and Video densitometer scanning methods. During peri-implantation stage (D6, D7 and D9), there are two WGA binding glycoproteins with MW about 42 kd, 28 kd and a PNA binding glycoprotein with MW 75 kd. It is suggested that the three proteins are stage-specific glycoproteins in rabbit uterine fluid in the course of implantation.

Variations of lectin-binding glycoproteins in early pregnant rabbit embryo

In the present study, the quantitative and qualitative changes of three kinds of lectin-binding glycoproteins of early pregnant rabbit embryos (D4-D12) were analyzed. The technique of Western blot, as well as video densitometer scanning and its analytic software was used for analysis. Results found that there were five specific lectin-binding glycoproteins in Day 4 to Day 6 blastocyst fluids: one ConA-binding glycoprotein about 70 kD, two WGA-binding glycoproteins respectively about 42 kD and 25 kD and two PNA-binding glycoprotein respectively about 180 kD and 75 kD. They disappeared immediately after implantation. It is demonstrated that there are stage-specific glycoproteins in rabbit blastocyst fluid which might be relevant to the recognition of pregnancy and implantation.

The biological function of rabbit blastocyst peptides (RBPs)

The inhibitory effect of rabbit blastocystic peptides (RBPs) on lymphocyte transformation was studied by the method of measuring the incorporation of 3H-thymidine into DNA. The results indicated that RBPs inhibited PHA-stimulated rat and human lymphocyte transformation in vitro. In the concentration ranging from 40 to 200 micrograms/2.5 ml, the inhibition was dose-dependent. No obvious inhibitory action was found with hCG (16-128) IU/2.5 ml), progesterone (250 ng-1 microgram/2.5 ml) and pregnant rabbit serum. It was further demonstrated that RBPs at a higher dosage (200 micrograms/ml) was inhibitory to PGF2 alpha secretion. On the other hand, the 3H-leucine incorporation of rabbit endometrium was enhanced by these peptides, and this action could be blocked by the addition of actidine.

Isolation and characterization of the specific peptides from rabbit blastocyst at peri-implantation stage with emphasis on their physiological significance relevant to the mechanism of implantation

The secretory materials from the uterine flushings of the pregnant, non-pregnant and pseudopregnant rabbits were analysed by the method of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The results demonstrated that there are three specific peptides in the pregnant uterine flushings with molecular weights of 3000, 4500 and 6000. No correspondent peptides were found in non-pregnant and pseudopregnant uterine flushings. The peptides were also isolated and identified from the blastocystic fluid. At least 4 peaks of small peptides were shown by high pressure liquid chromatography. The range of their isoelectrophoretic points is between pH 4.0-5.5 Concavalin A (Con A) affinitive electrophoresis indicated that they are glycopeptides in nature. The LH-RH A is able to exert inhibitory effects on the synthesis of these peptides. Their possible physiological function has been discussed.

Identification and characterization of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) receptors in the endometrial tissue of pregnant rats

The mechanisms by which LH-RH or its agonists inhibit decidua formation and terminate pregnancy in rats are not clear. Evidence so far accumulated indicates that the gonadotropic releasing hormone or its analogues may act directly on the uterus. If this is the case, then we would be able to identify LH-RH receptors in the endometrial tissue. The results presented here demonstrate that the homogenate preparation of rat endometrial tissue bound 125I-LH-RH with an affinity constant of Ka = 1.3 X 10(8) M-1. The binding capacity was measured as 236 fmole/mg protein. It was found that the binding is highly specific, because no binding was observed in a variety of non-target tissues, such as liver, kidney and muscle. Competitive binding with TRH, P substance and bradykinin did not occur under our experimental condition. It was of particular interest to note that Day 3 of pregnancy is a critical time showing a higher binding activity. The significance of work is discussed.

Direct inhibition of testicular steroidogenesis and gonadotrophin receptor levels by [(imBzl)-D-His6, Pro9-NEt]GnRH and [D-Trp6, Pro9-NEt]GnRH, potent agonists of GnRH

The effects of [(imBzl)-D-His6, Pro9-NEt]GnRH and [D-Trp6, Pro9-NEt]GnRH on testicular function in rats was evaluated. In adult rats the administration of 0.01, 0.1 or 10 micrograms of either agonist induced rapid increases in serum LH, FSH and testosterone (T) levels which started to decline within several hours. Both agonists caused a decrease in testicular LH and FSH receptor concentrations. The testicular FSH receptor concentration started to decline earlier than the LH receptor concentration but, both reached their lowest levels by day 2 after the administration of the agonists. The recovery of FSH receptor content was slower than that of LH. The extrapituitary effects of the 2 agonists were investigated in immature hypophysectomized animals. Administration of hCG (5 IU daily) to hypophysectomized rats for 5 days caused an increase in serum T levels. Concomitant administration of either of the agonists (10 micrograms) inhibited the steroidogenic action of hCG. Administration of the agonists alone caused a reduction in testicular LH receptor concentration in hypophysectomized rats. Treatment of the hypophysectomized rats for 0-4 days suggested that the direct antitesticular action of the agonists requires 1-2 days to become evident.