围绝经期综合征舌苔脱落细胞凋亡调控蛋白与肝郁病理的相关性

通过研究围绝经期综合征舌苔脱落细胞调控蛋白与肝郁病理的相关性,为临床诊疗提供实验依据.本研究采用随机数字表法,选取50例健康妇女作为对照组,150例围绝经期综合征患者作为观察组,证素辨证计算肝郁积分,巴氏染色检测舌苔脱落细胞的成熟指数(MI)和成熟价值(MV),流式细胞仪检测舌苔脱落细胞凋亡指数,免疫组化检测舌苔脱落细胞调控蛋白.结果显示,围绝经期综合征肝郁积分明显高于健康妇女:肝郁病理改变,与舌苔脱落细胞MI的中层细胞数量呈正相关,与舌苔脱落细胞MI的表层细胞数量及MV呈负相关:肝郁病理改变,与舌苔脱落细胞凋亡指数、Fas、Bax的阳性率呈正相关,与舌苔脱落细胞中Bcl-2的阳性率呈负相关.提示肝郁病理是围绝经期综合征的核心病机之一,肝郁病理与舌苔脱落细胞的成熟度、凋亡指数及凋亡调控蛋白相关.     

结合奇偶测试的大规模集成电路征兆测试

征兆测试是一种高效简捷的电路测试方法。该文提出一种适用于大规模集成电路的测试方法——组合征兆测试法。利用这种方法,测试者可以通过穷举输入组合,使奇偶测试和征兆测试相结合,共同解决对大规模集成电路故障测试的难题。主要思想是:首先通过被测电路的奇偶性判断该电路的征兆测试法的可测性,对征兆测试法不可测的电路,引入高阶征兆测试的思想,使其成为高阶征兆测试法可测电路。结果表明:该方法在提高可测性的同时,还提高了电路征兆测试的测试效率和故障覆盖率。通过对一些基准电路和常用电路的测试验证了该方法的实用性。     

白斑综合征病毒对日本囊对虾仔虾免疫相关酶活性的影响

用含对虾白斑综合征病毒(WSSV)的病虾组织匀浆上清液对日本囊对虾(Marsupenaeus japonicus)仔虾进行攻毒,于0,6,12,24,36,48,72,96,144 h时间点取样,以研究WSSV对仔虾体内总蛋白含量、酸性磷酸酶(ACP)、碱性磷酸酶(AKP)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)和酚氧化酶(PO)活性的影响.结果表明:投喂感染后,与吞噬作用相关的水解酶ACP、AKP呈显著变化,于24 h时达到最大值;与氧化应激有关的SOD和PO也变化显著,分别于72和6 h达到最高值;ACP、AKP、SOD和PO均对病原反应敏感,可以作为WSSV入侵日本囊对虾的参考指标.     

基于贝叶斯网络的中医辨证系统

将贝叶斯网络运用于中医辨证系统的研究,以更加量化中医辨证诊断系统.通过将中医体系中的916个证候,51项证素及其构成的1700条证名构成中医辨证贝叶斯网络的节点集,初步建立起中医辨证数据库并通过网络学习,形成中医辨证贝叶斯网络结构及概率表.利用建立的贝叶斯网络中医辨证系统,进行数据计量分析、推理验证证候—证素—证名间的关系,其结果与中医专家经验有很高的吻合性,尽管其仍未能全面反映中医辨证的思维能力.所以贝叶斯网络是对中医辨证进行信息挖掘处理的一种较好方法,可应用于中医人工智能辨证系统的建立.     

Functions and pathologies of BiP and its interaction partners

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is involved in a variety of essential and interconnected processes in human cells, including protein biogenesis, signal transduction, and calcium homeostasis. The central player in all these processes is the ER-lumenal polypeptide chain binding protein BiP that acts as a molecular chaperone. BiP belongs to the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) family and crucially depends on a number of interaction partners, including co-chaperones, nucleotide exchange factors, and signaling molecules. In the course of the last five years, several diseases have been linked to BiP and its interaction partners, such as a group of infectious diseases that are caused by Shigella toxin producing E. coli. Furthermore, the inherited diseases Marinesco-Sj?gren syndrome, autosomal dominant polycystic liver disease, Wolcott-Rallison syndrome, and several cancer types can be considered BiP-related diseases. This review summarizes the physiological and pathophysiological characteristics of BiP and its interaction partners. Received 20 November 2008; received after revision 09 December 2008; accepted 12 December 2008     

The genomic basis of the Williams – Beuren syndrome

The Williams-Beuren syndrome is a genomic disorder (prevalence: 1/7,500 to 1/20,000), caused by a hemizygous contiguous gene deletion on chromosome 7q11.23. Typical symptoms comprise supravalvular aortic stenosis, mental retardation, overfriendliness and visuospatial impairment. The common deletion sizes range of 1.5–1.8 mega base pairs (Mb), encompassing app. 28 genes. For a few genes, a genotype-phenotype correlation has been established. The best-explored gene within this region is the elastin gene; its haploinsufficiency causes arterial stenosis. The region of the Williams-Beuren syndrome consists of a single copy gene region (~1.2 Mb) flanked by repetitive sequences – Low Copy Repeats (LCR). The deletions arise as a consequence of misalignment of these repetitive sequences during meiosis and a following unequal crossing over due to high similarity of LCRs. This review presents an overview of the Williams-Beuren syndrome region considering the genomic assembly, chromosomal rearrangements and their mechanisms (i.e. deletions, duplications, inversions) and evolutionary and historical aspects. Received 11 July 2008; received after revision 15 October 2008; accepted 16 October 2008     

Liver X receptors in cardiovascular and metabolic disease

Liver X receptors (LXRs) α and β are nuclear oxysterol receptors and metabolic sensors initially found to regulate cholesterol metabolism and lipid biosynthesis. Recent studies have elucidated the importance of LXR in the development of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. LXR agonists prevent development of atherosclerosis by modulation of metabolic as well as inflammatory gene expression in rodent models. Moreover, LXR activation inhibits hepatic gluconeogenesis and lowers serum glucose levels, indicating possible application of LXR activation in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. However, first-generation LXR agonists elevate hepatic and serum trigylceride levels, making subtype-specific agonists and selective LXR modulators rather than unselective LXR agonists a potential pharmacological strategy. This review summarizes the multiple physiological and pathophysiological implications of LXRs and observations that identify LXRs as potential targets for therapeutic interventions in human cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Received 30 August 2005; received after revision 10 October 2005; accepted 4 November 2005     

Activation and inactivation of thyroid hormone by deiodinases: Local action with general consequences

The thyroid hormone plays a fundamental role in the development, growth, and metabolic homeostasis in all vertebrates by affecting the expression of different sets of genes. A group of thioredoxin fold-containing selenoproteins known as deiodinases control thyroid hormone action by activating or inactivating the precursor molecule thyroxine that is secreted by the thyroid gland. These pathways ensure regulation of the availability of the biologically active molecule T3, which occurs in a time-and tissue-specific fashion. In addition, because cells and plasma are in equilibrium and deiodination affects central thyroid hormone regulation, these local deiodinase-mediated events can also affect systemic thyroid hormone economy, such as in the case of non-thyroidal illness. Heightened interest in the field has been generated following the discovery that the deiodinases can be a component in both the Sonic hedgehog signaling pathway and the TGR-5 signaling cascade, a G-protein-coupled receptor for bile acids. These new mechanisms involved in deiodinase regulation indicate that local thyroid hormone activation and inactivation play a much broader role than previously thought. Received 29 August 2007; received after revision 11 October 2007; accepted 16 October 2007     

ERK activation by Ca2+ ionophores depends on Ca2+ entry in lymphocytes but not in platelets, and does not conduct membrane scrambling

Rapid Ca²⁺-dependent phospholipid (PL) reorganization (scrambling) at the plasma membrane is a mechanism common to hematopoietic cells exposing procoagulant phosphatidylserine (PS). The aim of this research was to determine whether activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway was required for PL scrambling, based on a single report analyzing both responses induced by Ca²⁺ ionophores in megakaryoblastic HEL cells. Ca²⁺ ionophore-stimulated ERK phosphorylation was induced in platelets without external Ca²⁺, whereas exogenous Ca²⁺ entry was crucial for ERK activation in Jurkat T cells. In both cells, membrane scrambling only occurred following Ca²⁺ entry and was not blocked by inhibiting ERK phosphorylation. Furthermore, ERK proteins are strongly phosphorylated in transformed B lymphoblastic cell lines, which do not expose PS in their resting state. Overall, the data demonstrated that ERK activation and membrane scrambling are independent mechanisms. A. Arachiche, I. Badirou: These authors contributed equally to this work. Received 18 June 2008; received after revision 24 September 2008; accepted 1 October 2008     

Cardiolipin, the heart of mitochondrial metabolism

Cardiolipin is a unique phospholipid, which is almost exclusively localized in the mitochondrial inner membrane where it is synthesized from phosphatidylglycerol and cytidinediphosphate-diacylglycerol. After primary synthesis, the mature acyl chain composition of cardiolipin is achieved by at least two remodeling mechanisms. In the mitochondrial membrane cardiolipin plays an important role in energy metabolism, mainly by providing stability for the individual enzymes and enzyme complexes involved in energy production. Moreover, cardiolipin is involved in different stages of the mitochondrial apoptotic process and in mitochondrial membrane dynamics. Cardiolipin alterations have been described in various pathological conditions. Patients suffering from Barth syndrome have an altered cardiolipin homeostasis caused by a primary deficiency in cardiolipin remodeling. Alterations in cardiolipin content or composition have also been reported in more frequent diseases such as diabetes and heart failure. In this review we provide an overview of cardiolipin metabolism, function and its role in different pathological states. Received 16 January 2008; received after revision 26 February 2008; accepted 26 March 2008