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Biomedical subjects

A Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to A Zhang.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Mg2+ modulates membrane lipids in vascular smooth muscle: a link to atherogenesis.

Epidemiological studies associate low dietary magnesium intake with an increased incidence of ischemic heart disease and sudden cardiac death. We have used proton-magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) techniques and Mg2+-selective electrodes to monitor changes in lipid extracts of aortic and cerebrovascular smooth muscle as extracellular ionized magnesium ion concentration ([Mg2+]o) is lowered. We have found that, within the pathophysiological range of Mg2+ concentrations, fatty acid chain length and double bond content are progressively reduced as [Mg2+]o is lowered. In contrast, the plasmalogen content is progressively increased. A concomitant decrease in fatty acid chain length and double bonds indicates oxidation of double bonds resulting in truncation of the fatty acids. A decrease in lipid oxidation in the presence of elevated Mg2+ could contribute to the apparent protective role of increased Mg2+ intake on vascular function in humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Molecular cytogenetic identification of four X chromosome duplications.

Four cases with previously unidentified X-chromosome abnormalities were studied by standard cytogenetic techniques and FISH in order to demonstrate the origin of the extra segment on the abnormal X chromosomes. All cases were identified as X-chromosome duplications by using a chromosome-specific painting probe. Application of appropriate locus-specific DNA probes as an adjunct to GTG- and RBG-banding proved useful in defining the breakpoints and the extent of the duplications. Although the duplicated X chromosome in female cases was selectively inactivated, as demonstrated by its late-replicating pattern, abnormal clinical findings were manifested in 3 female patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

High-resolution detection of PCR products from a microsatellite marker using a nonradioisotopic technique.

We report a safe, rapid, and economical method for polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based genotype analysis using a microsatellite marker specific for the human chromosome 18 locus, D18S53. This method does not involve radioisotopes and makes use of ethidium bromide fluorescence to detect PCR products. Our method enables direct analysis and easy detection of PCR products on nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels. The genotyping using this method can be scaled up to 100 samples at one time by adding a step of "double loading" of samples in a single sequencing size gel. We could resolve PCR products and DNA fragments, differing in size by only 2 bp, in the range of 150-200 bp by a 7% nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel. This technique can be applied for population-based genomic screening and linkage analysis.

Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel↗
PubMed1997

Genomic DNA from mice: a comparison of recovery methods and tissue sources.

Our aim is to identify an extraction method and the source of mouse tissue(s) that could allow a high-resolution genomic scan from a living mouse. We compared and optimized two methods for yield, purity of DNA, and their use in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of DNA extracted from different mouse tissues. In addition to whole blood, tissue samples from the brain, liver, testis, and tail were included in this study. The Rapid Method (RM) is preferable for the whole blood samples and testis and brain tissue samples because it is quicker, less toxic, and more cost-effective than the proteinase K method (PM). For liver the PM produced higher yields of DNA with less degradation than the RM. For tail tip, the PM produced a higher yield of DNA, but the RM resulted in a higher yield of PCR product. From a living mouse, a tail snip generated a sufficient amount of DNA for several hundred PCRs but not a complete genomic scan. We suggest that the RM can be used to extract genomic DNA for a complete genomic scan which requires either testicular tissues or repeated blood samples from the suborbital sinus over several months without sacrificing the animal.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Prospective study of early detection for primary liver cancer.

PURPOSE: To determine whether repeated screening can lead to early detection of primary liver cancer (PLC) and in turn to an improved clinical result. METHODS: In this randomized controlled study, Shanghai urban residents aged 35-55 years and with serum evidence of HBV infection or chronic liver disease were eligible for recruitment. Using cluster sampling, these subjects were allocated into two groups-the screening group and the control group: there were 8109 subjects in the screening group and 9711 in the control group. Subjects in the screening group were tested with serum AFP and real-time ultrasound every 6 months. One to four rounds of screening were completed. Liver cancer was treated according to stage at diagnosis. RESULTS: All subjects enrolled were followed up and classed at the end-point as alive without liver cancer, alive with liver cancer, dead from liver cancer, or dead from another cause. The mean follow-up was 1.2 years; total follow-up was 12,038 person-years in the screening group and 9,573 person-years in the control group. We detected 38 patients with PLC in the screening group and 18 patients with PLC in the control group. In the patients in the screening group 76.8% of patients were at a subclinical stage, and 70.6% of them underwent resection, the 1- and 2-year survival rates being 88.1% and 77.5%, respectively. However, in the control group, none of the patients was at a subclinical stage when diagnosed, none of them underwent resection, and none of them survived over 1 year. The lead time was estimated at 0.45 years. The cost of detecting PLC at an early stage was RMB 12,600 (US$1,500). CONCLUSION: The study proved that screening the high-risk population for PLC with a serum AFP test and real-time ultrasound examination can detect patients in the early stages, increase the resection rate and prolong the survival time. It is therefore recommended that screening for PLC be advocated in any high-risk area.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Extracellular Mg2+ regulates intracellular Mg2+ and its subcellular compartmentation in fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

Effects of extracellular magnesium ions ([Mg2+]o) on intracellular free Mg2+ ([Mg2+]i) and its subcellular distribution in single fission yeast cells, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, were studied with digital-imaging microscopy and an Mg2+ fluorescent probe (mag-fura-2). Using 0.44 mM [Mg2+]o, [Mg2+]i in yeast cells was 0.91 +/- 0.08 mM. Elevation of [Mg2+]o to 1.97 mM induced rapid (within 5 min) increments in [Mg2+]i (2.18 +/- 0.11 mM). Lowering [Mg2+]o to 0.06 mM, however, exerted no significant effects on [Mg2+]i (0.93 +/- 0.14 mM), at least for periods of up to 30 min. Irrespective of the [Mg2+]o used, the subcellular distribution of [Mg2+]i remained heterogeneous, i.e. where the sub-plasma membrane region > cytoplasm > nucleus. [Mg2+] in all three subcellular compartments increased significantly, two- to threefold, concomitant with [Mg2+] when placed in 1.97 mM [Mg2+]o. We conclude that [Mg2+]i in fission yeast is maintained at a physiologic level when [Mg2+]o is low, but intracellular free Mg2+ rapidly rises when [Mg2+]o is elevated. Like most eukaryotic cells, yeast may have a Mg2+ transport system(s) which functions to maintain gradients of Mg2+ from the outside to inside the cell and among its subcellular compartments.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Effects of cholinergic and alpha-adrenergic agonists on the monovalent ion content of rat submandibular gland acinar cells studied by X-ray microanalysis.

The effects of cholinergic and alpha-adrenergic stimulation (in vivo and in vitro) on the monovalent ion content of rat submandibular gland acinar cells were evaluated at the subcellular level by X-ray microanalysis. Fragments of glands or enzymatically dispersed acini were slam-frozen and cut into ultrathin cryosections. Spectra were collected from secretory granules, nucleus, the basal cytoplasm containing endoplasmic reticulum and the apical cytoplasm identified between secretory granules. No significant changes in Na and Cl content were observed after the isolation of acini, but the K concentration decreased compared with cells from in situ glands. The Cl and K content in all four compartments studied decreased significantly after cholinergic stimulation both in vivo and in vitro but in a more restricted fashion after alpha-adrenergic stimulation. Our findings indicate that: (1) the physiological mechanisms regulating the monovalent ion composition of submandibular cells are relatively well preserved in isolated acinar cells; (2) the results from in vivo experiments are in good agreement with those from in vitro experiments; and (3) the effects of cholinergic and alpha-adrenergic stimulation on the K+ and Cl- efflux at the subcellular level are similar but the response is generally less with alpha-adrenergic stimulation.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗
PubMed1997

Inhibitory effects of jasmine green tea epicatechin isomers on free radical-induced lysis of red blood cells.

Jasmine green tea is an excellent source of natural polyphenol antioxidants including mainly (-) epicatechin (EC), (-) epicatechin gallate (ECG), (-) epigallocatechin (EGC) and (-) epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). The present study was to test our hypothesis that ingestion of jasmine tea would protect red blood cell (RBC) membrane from free radical-induced oxidation if jasmine tea epicatechin isomers could be absorbed and circulated in blood. When incubated with RBC suspension, all four epicatechin isomers purified from jasmine tea exhibited a strong protection for RBC membrane to hemolysis induced by 2,2'-azo-bis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH), an azo free radical initiator. The inhibitory effect was dose-dependent at the concentrations of 2.5 microM to 40 microM. The fatty acid analysis revealed that all four epicatechin isomers significantly prevented loss of arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) in RBC incubated under the same conditions. Although the in vitro antioxidative activity of EGCG and ECG was more effective than EGC and EC, the latter two isomers were more important in vivo in scavenging free radicals. This was because only EGC and EC instead of EGCG and ECG were circulating in blood stream after a gavage-dose of 100 mg jasmine tea GTP mixture. In fact, ingestion of jasmine tea GTP extracts was associated with a significant decrease in susceptibility of RBC to hemolysis in rats.

Amidines↗
PubMed1997

Purification, identification, concentration and bioactivity of (Z)-7-dodecen-1-yl acetate: sex pheromone of the female Asian elephant, Elephas maximus.

In their natural ecosystems, adult male and female Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, live separately. For several weeks prior to ovulation, female elephants release a substance in their urine which elicits a high frequency of non-habituating chemosensory responses, especially flehmen responses, from male elephants. These responses occur prior to, and are an integral part of, mating. Using bioassay-guided fractionation, quantitatively dependent on these chemosensory responses, a specific sex pheromone was isolated and purified by an alternating series of organic and/or aqueous extractions, column chromatography, gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. Using primarily 1H-proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of the urine-derived pheromone and its dimethyl disulfide derivative, we determined the structure of the active compound to be (Z)-7-dodecen-1-yl acetate (Z7-12:Ac). Concentrations of Z7-12:Ac in the female urine increased from non-detectable during the luteal phase to 0.48 microgram/ml (0.002 mM) early in the follicular phase and to 33.0 micrograms/ml (0.146 mM) just prior to ovulation. Bioassays with commercially available authentic synthetic Z7-12:Ac, using 10 Asian male elephants at several locations in the US, demonstrated quantitatively elevated chemosensory responses that were robust during successive tests, and several mating-associated behaviors. Bioassays with Z7-12:Ac with adult male elephants dwelling in more natural social situations in forest camps in Myanmar revealed some differing contextual pre-mating behavioral components. The remarkable convergent evolution of this compound suggests that compounds identified in mammalian exudates that are also present in pheromone blends of insects should be re-evaluated as potential mammalian chemosignals.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

[Study on antimutagenic effect of lanthanum carbonate in CA test, UDS test and MN test].

Antimutagenic effect of Lanthanum carbonate [La2 (CO3)3] has been evaluated by means of unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) test, chromosomal aberration (CA) test in vitro human embryofibroblast (HEF) and micronucleus (MN) test in mouse bonemarrow polychromatic erythrocyte (PCE) induced by four different mutagens, i.e., short wave ultraviolet (UV), hydrochloric acid nitrogen mustard (NH2HCl), arsenic sodium oxide (NaAsO2) and cyclophosphamide (CP). The results of this study indicated that the antimutagenic effect of La2(CO3)3 was obvious in multiple antimutagenic systems in which mutation was induced by UV, NH2HCl and CP, but the effect of La2(CO3)3 on the decrease of CA frequencies induced by NaAsO2 had no statistical significance.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

[Detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in renal biopsied tissues from patients with HBV related glomerulonephritis using molecular biology techniques].

The purpose of this study was to determine the pathogenesis of hepatitis B virus (HBV) related glomerulonephritits. Measurement of HBV DNA was performed in paraffin-embedded renal biopsied tissues from 20 patients with HBV related glomerulonephritis by using in situ hybridization (ISH) with digoxigenin-labelled probe and in situ polymerase chain reaction (IS-PCR). HBV DNA staining was detected in 17 out of 20 patients (85%) with probe of full-length HBV DNA and in 14 out of 17 patients (82.35%) with a probe of S + C segments of HBV DNA. 17 out of 20 patients (85%) were also positive by IS-PCR assay. HBV DNA positive particles were diffusely distributed in glomerular capillary loops, mesangial areas, renal tube, and they were mainly in the presentation of cytoplasm-nucleus and nucleus. The distribution of HBsAg detected by immunohistochemical technique (LSAB assay) coincided with that of HBV DNA. It is suggested that renal lesions due to HBV are not only the results of immunologic response, but also the outcome of direct invasion of HBV to this organ. Our study provided new evidence on the molecular mechanism level for the research of the pathogenesis in HBV related glomerulonephritis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

[Initial experience of 878 patients with operative gynecologic laparoscopy].

OBJECTIVE: To recommend the operative laparoscopic techniques for gynecology. METHODS: Proper application of the technical skills was described on the basis of 878 operations performed laparoscopically. These skills were divided into three groups: level I endocoagulation in 124 cases; level II pretied ligature placement and aquadissection in 653 cases; level III electrosection, electrocoagulation and knottying, suturing in 101 cases. RESULTS: A total of 866 operations were completed laparoscopically without major intraoperative complications. Twelve cases were converted to laparotomy due to difficulties. The mean operating time for level I, level II and level III group was 49 minutes, 77 minutes and 171 minutes respectively. The incidence of febrile mobidity for level I, level II and level III group was 0.0%, 4.8% and 33.3% respectively. There was one case of postoperative haemorrhage associated with infection in the level III group. However, no major post-operative complications occurred in the level I-II group and the clinical outcome including the overall patients satisfaction was good. CONCLUSION: Mastery of operative laparoscopic techniques step by step along with the degree of surgical difficulty is madatory, and can deliver optimal clinical outcome hopefully. It will also help to expand the use of operative gynecologic laparoscopy in a safe and effective way.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

[The value of blood sedimentation test in early diagnosis of amniotic fluid embolism].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the value of peripheral blood sedimentation in early diagnosis of amniotic fluid embolism. METHOD: The contents of amniotic fluid were detected with blood sedimentation test in 15 cases of amniotic fluid embolism and 100 cases of normal pregnant women. RESULTS: The contents of amniotic fluid including particles of vernix caseasa, lanugo hair and epithelium cells were found in serum of amniotic fluid embolism cases but not found in cases of normal pregnant women. CONCLUSION: It suggested that the blood sedimentation test would be valuable for early diagnosis of amniotic fluid embolism.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Exposure of piglet coronary arterial muscle cells to low alcohol results in elevation of intracellular free Ca2+: relevance to fetal alcohol syndrome.

Chronic exposure of cultured piglet neonatal coronary arterial smooth muscle cells to low concentrations of ethanol (46-115 mg/dl) for 7 days resulted in concentration-dependent elevation in intracellular free Ca2+ ions ([Ca2+i); these rises (22-56%) in [Ca2+]i were not reversible upon short-term exposure to normal, Ca2(+)-containing physiological salt solution. These findings help to provide a rational basis for why ethanol can result in the well-known fetal alcohol syndrome, including cardiac defects and in-utero death.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

FGF and stress regulate CREB and ATF-1 via a pathway involving p38 MAP kinase and MAPKAP kinase-2.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) activates a protein kinase cascade in SK-N-MC cells that regulates gene expression at a cyclic-AMP response element (CRE) by stimulating the transcriptional activity of CREB. The activation of CREB is prevented by a dominant negative mutant of Ras and triggered via the same site (Ser133) that becomes phosphorylated in response to cyclic AMP and Ca2+. However, the effect of FGF is not mediated by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, TPA-sensitive isoforms of protein kinase-C, p70S6K or p90rsk (all of which phosphorylate CREB at Ser133 in vitro). Instead, we identify the FGF-stimulated CREB kinase as MAP kinase-activated protein (MAPKAP) kinase-2, an enzyme that lies immediately downstream of p38 MAP kinase, in a pathway that is also stimulated by cellular stresses. We show that MAPKAP kinase-2 phosphorylates CREB at Ser133 in vitro, that the FGF- or stress-induced activation of MAPKAP kinase-2 and phosphorylation of CREB and ATF-1 are prevented by similar concentrations of the specific p38 MAP kinase inhibitor SB 203580, and that MAPKAP kinase-2 is the only detectable SB 203580-sensitive CREB kinase in SK-N-MC cell extracts. We also show that transfection of RK/p38 MAP kinase in SK-N-MC cells, but not transfection of p44 MAP kinase, activates Gal4-CREB-dependent transcription via Ser133. These findings identify a new growth factor and stress-activated signaling pathway that regulates gene expression at the CRE.

Activating Transcription Factor 1↗
PubMed1996

Acute cocaine results in rapid rises in intracellular free calcium concentration in canine cerebral vascular smooth muscle cells: possible relation to etiology of stroke.

Effects of cocaine on intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in cultured canine cerebral vascular smooth muscle cells were studied using digital imaging microscopy and the calcium molecular fluorescent indicator, fura-2. Acute treatment of cerebral vascular smooth muscle cells with cocaine HCl, from a low concentration of 10(-9) M up to 10(-5) M, induced significant increases of [Ca2+]i. Irrespective of the changes in [Ca2+]i, the subcellular distribution of [Ca2+]i appeared heterogeneous in both normal and cocaine-treated cells. These results suggest that cocaine induces cerebral vasospasm by a rapid elevation of [Ca2+]i in vascular smooth muscle cells; these ionic events could play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of cocaine-induced cerebral ischemia and stroke.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Extracellular Mg2+ modulates intracellular Ca2+ in acutely isolated hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells of the guinea-pig.

Using digital imaging microscopy and fluorescent probes, isolated hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons of the guinea-pig were used to examine the roles of [Mg2+]o in regulation of [Ca2+]i and [Mg2+]i. Low extracellular Mg ([Mg2+]o) (0.3 mM) significantly increased [Ca2+]i compared to 1.2 and 4.8 mM [Mg2+]o. In contrast, [Mg2+]i levels remained relatively constant, irrespective of alterations of [Mg2+]o. The sustained rise in [Ca2+]i induced by low [Mg2+]o was reduced 70% by 1 microM verapamil and 42% by 1 mM Ni2+, and completely abolished by 5 mM Ni2+. The data suggest that [Mg2+]o regulates [Ca2+]i in hippocampal neurons, probably by modulating Ca2+ entry via voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels, which may play important roles in epileptogenesis, memory, learning and brain trauma. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that intracellular Mg2+ concentration does not follow passively the concentration of Mg2+ in the extracellular solution.

Animals↗