Biomedical subjects

J M Li

Publications and source records attributed to J M Li.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMed1994

[Study on puji ointment in treating 628 cases with second and third-degree burns and its decrustative effect].

The treatment of second and third-degree burns in small range with Puji ointment (PJO) application showed an obvious advantage over conventional medicine in ceasing exudate, antihydropism and decrustation (P < 0.01). Experiments on rabbits with third-degree burns treated by PJO with vaseline gauze as control revealed that the pH of the tested animal group became neutral more quickly than the control group, and the same as the healing of burns (P < 0.01). PJO application was found to be markedly effective in reducing exudate, antihydropism, preventing infection and speeding up healing. It also demonstrated that the specific decrustative function existed on third-degree burns in small size.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Retrograde coronary sinus perfusion provides non-homogeneous myocardial blood flow.

The ability of retrograde cardioplegia to protect the right ventricle has been questioned. Canine myocardial circulation was assessed by infusing colored microspheres through the coronary sinus. The relative flow index (RFI), a normalized measure of tissue blood flow, was determined for 76 sections of myocardium. Three distinct flow regions were evident from these measurements. A paucity of blood flow through some basal sections of the right ventricle (RFI = 0.23 +/- 0.19) was found to be significantly different (p < 0.005) from regions of the heart with normal flow (RFI = 1.12 +/- 0.06). Sections from the right ventricular apex demonstrated augmented flow (RFI = 3.72 +/- 1.18). These data indicate that retrograde coronary perfusion provides nonuniform flow and under some conditions may provide inadequate perfusion to portions of the right ventricle.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Whole-cell patch clamp measurements and berberine inhibition of hyperpolarization-activated inward current in rabbit sinoatrial node cells.

Single rabbit sinoatrial node (SAN) cells were isolated by means of an enzymatic dispersion procedure and used for the whole-cell patch clamp experiment. At a holding potential of -40 mV, a time- and voltage-dependent inward current, I(f), was activated at different hyperpolarization potentials from -60 mV to -110 mV. The current-voltage relation curve showed that I(f) was activated at potential more negative than -40 mV. Five min after treatment by CsCl 2 mmol.L-1-containing Tyrode solution, I(f) was almost completely blocked. At a hyperpolarization potential of -110 mV, I(f) was reduced from 1.7 +/- 0.2 nA of the control to 1.2 +/- 0.4 nA after superfusing with Tyrode solution containing berberine (Ber) 1 mumol.L-1 for 5 min. And it was difficult to wash out this action. Ber also had inhibitory effects on other currents to a certain extent. The results indicate that I(f) is a Cs(+)-sensitive current and that the negative chronotropic effect of Ber may be due to the inhibition of I(f) that functions as an important pacemaking modulator for the spontaneous depolarization of SAN tissue.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1993

Experimental femoral vein reconstruction with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts seeded with endothelial cells.

The effect of endothelial cell seeding on the patency of small-caliber expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) grafts used for venous replacements in a canine experimental model was evaluated. Grafts were implanted bilaterally in 12 dogs as femoral vein interpositions. In each animal, one graft was seeded with enzymatically derived homologous endothelial cells which had been cultivated for 3 days in vitro before implantation, whereas the contralateral graft was not seeded. In five dogs, venography was performed at 2 weeks, and grafts were then excised. In the remaining seven dogs, venography was performed at both 2 and 4 weeks, with graft excision at 4 weeks. Graft patency at 2 weeks for seeded grafts was 75% (nine of 12) compared with only 33% (four of 12) for unseeded grafts (P < 0.02). There were no new episodes of thrombotic occlusion between 2 and 4 weeks. Five dogs with thrombus in the control graft did not develop thrombus in the contralateral seeded graft. Furthermore, each dog with a patent control graft had no thrombus in the seeded graft. It is concluded that the early patency of seeded ePTFE grafts is superior to that of unseeded ePTFE grafts in the femoral vein.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Reversal of the orientation of an integral protein of the mitochondrial outer membrane.

The NH2-terminus of the signal-anchor sequence of an integral, bitopic protein of the outer mitochondrial membrane was extended both in amino acid length (from 11 to 38 amino acids) and net charge (from +4 to +8)--changes that confer on the NH2-terminus characteristics of a strong matrix-targeting signal. The protein was inserted into the outer membrane but in an inverted orientation (Ncyto-Cin). These findings suggest that, in common with other membrane systems, the orientation of a protein in the outer mitochondrial membrane can be determined by a signal that causes retention of the NH2-terminus on the cytosolic side of the membrane.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Protein sorting between mitochondrial outer and inner membranes. Insertion of an outer membrane protein into the inner membrane.

The amino terminal 29 amino acids of the outer mitochondrial membrane protein of yeast, OMM70 (MAS70), consisting of the targeting and membrane anchor domains, has been fused to a reporter protein, dihydrofolate reductase. The hybrid protein, designated pOMD29, was efficiently imported into the outer membrane of rat heart mitochondria by a process dependent on ATP and proteinase-sensitive components on the surface of the organelle, and in which the orientation of the native protein was retained. To determine if the protein translocation machinery of the inner membrane is also capable of recognizing and inserting pOMD29, direct access to the intermembrane space was provided to pOMD29 by selectively rupturing the mitochondrial outer membrane by osmotic shock. In this system, the outer membrane binding site for matrix-destined precursor proteins can be bypassed, and efficient import restored to proteinase-pretreated mitochondria. pOMD29 was imported into the inner membrane of osmotically-shocked mitochondria, mediated by protein components. The outer membrane orientation of pOMD29 was conserved when inserted into the inner membrane but, unlike the outer membrane, import into the inner membrane required delta psi. We conclude that the protein translocation machinery of the mitochondrial inner membrane is capable of recognizing and inserting a protein whose topogenic information otherwise results in insertion of the protein to the outer membrane. The significance of these findings for sorting of proteins between the mitochondrial inner and outer membranes is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Relation of the site of acute myocardial infarction to the most severe coronary arterial stenosis at prior angiography.

To determine whether the site of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) can be predicted on the basis of a previous coronary angiogram, 184 consecutive angiograms obtained between March 1972 and August 1990 in 92 patients who had undergone coronary angiography both before and after AMI without intervening bypass surgery or angioplasty were evaluated. Median time between the first coronary angiography and AMI was 26 months (range 1 to 144). On the first angiogram, most patients (89%) had 1- or 2-vessel disease, and 56 (61%) had an abnormal ventriculography. Seventy-two segments (78%) responsible for a future AMI were not significantly stenosed. On the second angiogram, AMI was related to the previously most stenotic segments in only 29 patients (32%). For these patients, median time between first coronary angiography and AMI was slightly shorter (22 vs 28 months; p = 0.04). The severity of the narrowing on the first angiogram was a poor predictor of subsequent AMI. It is concluded that in a selected, medically treated cohort, AMI is frequently related to a segment that was not the most stenotic one or was not even significantly stenosed at previous angiography, particularly with a long interval between the first angiogram and AMI.

Aged↗

PubMed1992

A signal-anchor sequence selective for the mitochondrial outer membrane.

pOMD29 is a hybrid protein containing the NH2-terminal topogenic sequence of a bitopic, integral protein of the outer mitochondrial membrane in yeast, OMM70, fused to dihydrofolate reductase. The topogenic sequence consists of two structural domains: an NH2-terminal basic region (amino acids 1-10) and an apolar region which is the predicted transmembrane segment (amino acids 11-29). The transmembrane segment alone was capable of targeting and inserting the hybrid protein into the outer membrane of intact mitochondria from rat heart in vitro. The presence of amino acids 1-10 enhanced the rate of import, and this increased rate depended, in part, on the basic amino acids located at positions 2, 7, and 9. Deletion of a large portion of the transmembrane segment (amino acids 16-29) resulted in a protein that exhibited negligible import in vitro. Insertion of pOMD29 into the outer membrane was not competed by import of excess precursor protein destined for the mitochondrial matrix, indicating that the two proteins may have different rate-limiting steps during import. We propose that the structural domains within amino acids 1-29 of pOMD29 cooperate to form a signal-anchor sequence, the characteristics of which suggest a model for proper sorting to the mitochondrial outer membrane.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Duck hepatitis B virus infection and duck hepatocellular carcinoma.

To study the relationship between duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) infection and duck hepatocellular carcinoma (DHCC), histological examination and DHBV DNA hybridization were performed in 875 ducks from three flocks in Qidong County. Among them, 34 suffered from hepatoma, including 23 hepatocellular carcinoma, 8 cholangiocarcinoma and 3 hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma. Of the 34 ducks with hepatoma 27 were positive for DHBV DNA in the liver and/or serum. DHBV DNA was demonstrated in neoplastic nodules of 22 ducks. Southern blot analysis showed that 13 cases were of the integrated pattern of DHBV DNA in neoplastic nodules. The paratumor tissues of 14 ducks with massive tumor were analysed at the same time. Five cases showed integrated pattern, 4 cases free pattern and the other 4 cases both integration and free pattern of DHBV DNA. The hybridization pattern of DHBV DNA in tumor nodule was different from that in paratumor regions in 11 cases and identical in 3 cases. DHBV antigen was positive in 13 tumor nodules and 21 paratumor tissues in the 34 ducks with hepatic tumor by both victoria blue and orcein stain methods. Advanced liver diseases were found in 30 out of the 34 ducks with hepatoma, including 12 cirrhosis and 18 chronic active hepatitis. In southern blot analysis of 122 DHBV DNA positive Qidong ducks without hepatoma, only free pattern of DHBV was seen, while 44 control ducks from Changchun were negative for DHBV DNA. Neither hepatic tumor nor liver diseases were seen in the control ducks. The results suggest that hepatocellular carcinoma in ducks is similar to that in human HCC. They have a high frequency of viral DNA integrated into the host genome and a liver disease background.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

High-dose heparin suppresses platelet alpha granule secretion.

Platelet degranulation has been implicated in the pathophysiology of acute arterial thrombosis, intimal hyperplasia, and atherogenesis. Most previous studies that examined the effect of heparin on platelet function have used platelet aggregometry. These studies have resulted in contradictory data and, by the nature of the assay, reveal no information with regard to platelet degranulation. In contrast, flow cytometry allows accurate quantification of the extent of platelet degranulation by measurement of the platelet surface binding of a GMP-140 specific monoclonal antibody (S12). GMP-140 is only expressed on the platelet surface after platelet alpha granule release. In the present study increasing concentrations of heparin were added to whole blood anticoagulated with sodium citrate. Platelets were activated with a panel of agonists, and the extent of platelet degranulation was quantified by whole blood flow cytometry. Heparin concentrations as high as 100 units/ml were found to suppress platelet alpha granule release induced by either a thromboxane A2 analog (U46619) or a combination of adenosine diphosphate and epinephrine. Heparin suppressed alpha granule release induced by thrombin both in whole blood and in washed platelets. The addition of heparin after platelet activation had no effect on S12 binding. In summary, heparin in high concentrations is a potent inhibitor of platelet degranulation, an action that is unrelated to its effect on the coagulation cascade. Although the heparin concentrations used in this study exceed those used clinically by a factor of 10 or more, future studies of heparin fractions may allow the separation of the anticoagulant and antiplatelet properties of the molecule and allow the administration of an agent that selectively suppresses platelet degranulation without the humoral anticoagulant effect.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

PubMed1992

Precoating expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts alters production of endothelial cell-derived thrombomodulators.

Although the use of extracellular matrix proteins to precoat small-caliber vascular grafts before endothelial cell seeding has been shown to improve cell attachment, proliferation, and adherence, the effect of precoating on the thrombomodulatory properties of the seeded cells is unknown. The use of vascular prostheses lined with confluent endothelial cell monolayers expressing optimal thromboresistant properties may enhance patency rates. In this study human saphenous vein endothelial cells were seeded onto expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) graft material, both unmodified and precoated with fibronectin, type I collagen, or fibronectin and type I collagen (fibronectin/type I collagen). After 3 days of in vitro cultivation, endothelial cell production of prostacyclin, tissue plasminogen activator, and plasminogen activator inhibitor was evaluated under basal conditions and after stimulation with arachidonate or thrombin. Production of tissue plasminogen activator by endothelial cells cultured on fibronectin-ePTFE was significantly greater compared with production by endothelial cells grown on noncoated or fibronectin/type I collagen-ePTFE under basal conditions (p values less than 0.01 and less than 0.05, respectively) and in response to thrombin (p values less than 0.002 and less than 0.003, respectively). Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 production was not detected in any of the four experimental groups. Endothelial cells cultured on fibronectin-ePTFE also synthesized significantly more prostacyclin than endothelial cells grown on type I collagen- or fibronectin/type I collagen-ePTFE, under basal conditions (p values less than 0.02 and less than 0.01, respectively) and in response to arachidonate (p values less than 0.03 and less than 0.002, respectively) and thrombin (p values less than 0.003 and less than 0.002, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Blood Vessel Prosthesis↗

PubMed1992

Antithrombotic activity of verapamil.

The antithrombotic activity of verapamil (Ver) was assessed in an arterial thrombosis model and an ex vivo thrombosis model. Ver 2 and 4 mg.kg-1 ip markedly prolonged the time of thrombotic occlusion in rat carotid artery induced by electric stimulation. The weight of thrombus formed ex vivo was reduced by Ver 0.2 mg.kg-1 iv. However, Ver showed no effects on blood viscosity.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase in pea (Pisum sativum L.). Identification of an unusual metal-binding domain in the plant enzyme.

Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALA dehydratase) catalyzes the second step of tetrapyrrole synthesis leading to the formation of heme and chlorophyll in higher plant cells. Antibodies elicited against spinach leaf ALA dehydratase were used to immunoscreen lambda gt11 cDNA libraries constructed from etiolated pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaf poly(A)+ RNAs. A set of overlapping cDNAs was characterized that encode the pea enzyme. The predicted amino acid sequence of the pea ALA dehydratase is similar to those reported for other eukaryotic and prokaryotic ALA dehydratases. The pea enzyme has an active site domain centered on lysine that is highly conserved in comparison to other known ALA dehydratases. Consistent with the previously reported requirement of Mg2+ for catalytic activity by plant ALA dehydratases, the pea enzyme lacks the characteristic Zn(2+)-binding domain present in other eukaryotic ALA dehydratases, but contains a distinctive metal ligand-binding domain based upon aspartate. Northern blot analyses demonstrated that ALA dehydratase mRNA is present in leaves, stems, and to a lesser extent in roots. Steady state levels of mRNA encoding ALA dehydratase exhibit little or no change during light-induced greening.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1991

Improved accuracy in the determination of field-flow fractionation elution volumes.

Conventional operation of field-flow fractionation (FFF) systems involves carrying out the analysis at a constant flow of carrier; the flow is temporarily interrupted after injection of a sample in order to permit its equilibration under the applied field. Retention is calculated as the ratio of elution times for a non-retained species and the sample of interest, respectively. Such time-based retentions are only valid if the flow-rate is precisely known at all times during the run. The peristaltic pumps often used with FFF equipment are shown to have an output which varies unpredictably in time. Furthermore, initiation of flow after relaxation is shown to result in significant periods of transient behaviour while the system adjusts to the operating pressure. These and other variations in flow-rate can be eliminated as sources of error by basing the retention measurement on effluent weight, rather than on time. For this purpose, an electronic balance is interfaced with the system's computer, so that detector response/effluent weight data pairs are continuously monitored during the course of the FFF analysis.

Chemical Fractionation↗

PubMed1991

Isolation and characterization of developmentally regulated sea urchin U2 snRNA genes.

Genes encoding the U2 snRNA have been isolated from the sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Lytechinus variegatus. Representatives of tandemly repeated gene sets have been isolated from both sea urchin species and a unique U2 gene has also been isolated from L. variegatus. The sequence of the U2 snRNA encoded by the tandemly repeated genes differs in two nucleotides between S. purpuratus and L. variegatus. The unique U2 gene from L. variegatus encodes the same U2 RNA as the tandemly repeated genes. There is a change in the U2 genes expressed between morula and pluteus embryos as judged by a change in the U2 RNA sequence in S. purpuratus embryos. The tandemly repeated genes were expressed at a higher rate in blastula than in gastrula stage relative to the single-copy gene, when the two genes were injected into sea urchin zygotes.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Translocation mechanism of cardiac Na-Ca exchange.

In single cardiac ventricular cells of guinea pig, we have studied the ionic translocation mechanism of the electrogenic Na-Ca exchange, that is, whether Na and Ca ions countercross the membrane simultaneously or consecutively. The dose-response relations between the external Ca ([Ca]o) and the outward Na-Ca exchange current were measured at three different internal Na concentrations ([Na]i) in the absence of external Na. Hyperbolic regression curves and Hanes-Woolf linear plots of the dose-response relation revealed that apparent Km values for external Ca (K'mCao) decrease progressively as [Na]i decreases. The ratio of K'mCao to apparent Imax value (I'max) showed a slight increasing tendency as [Na]i decreased. We previously interpreted the data as consistent with the simultaneous mechanism but without statistical analysis. Here we performed careful statistical analysis, which indicated that the K'max/I'max values were not significantly different among the different [Na]i at most of the potentials. This result suggests that Na-Ca exchange is likely to be a consecutive mechanism.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

[Sodium nitroprusside in treating acute high-altitude pulmonary edema].

Sodium nitroprusside (NP) alone Was given to the 39 cases with acute high-altitude pulmonary edema (AHPE). 33 of them (84.6%) fully recovered and 6 (15.38%) obviously improved in 72 hours. The total efficacy was 100%. There was obvious improvement in the cardiac pumping and contractile function as well as total peripheral resistance. The mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP) decreased from 52.22 +/- 7.51mmHg to 25.13 +/- 10.36mmHg in 3 to 5 hours after the first dose. Strophanthin K was given to another 11 cases with AHPE, But none fully recovered or obviously improved. During the 72 hours of treatment, 4 improved slightly, 4 showed no therapeutic effect and 3 became worse. The heart rate was reduced obviously and cardiac contractile function strengthened while the cardiac pumping function and total peripheral resistance had no change. Vasodilator therapy is a new method for AHPE treatment and this study shows that the NP is an ideal drug in treating AHPE and that dilation of the small pulmonary arteries by NP may explain its efficacy.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Particle characterization in centrifugal fields. Comparison between ultracentrifugation and sedimentation field-flow fractionation.

A ten-component mixture of polystyrene latex particles in the 67-1220 nm size range was subjected to analysis by analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) and sedimentation field-flow fractionation (SdFFF) using programmed and constant fields. The AUC analysis of the mixture yielded diameter values in good agreement with data determined on the separate components; the relative amounts of each component in the mixture were likewise closely reproducing the sample's known composition. Diameters determined by SdFFF, either in a constant- or programmed-field mode, were in good agreement with the AUC for particles smaller than about 500 nm. For the sample's larger components, however, particularly the programmed mode showed diameter values smaller than expected. In addition, field programming resulted in incomplete recoveries of the larger particles, leading to more or less distorted mass distributions for the complex sample. The observed discrepancies, which are thought to result from events at the analytical wall in the FFF channel, suggested a protocol for accurate sizing, as opposed to fingerprinting, of samples with broad size distribution. By tracking sizes and amounts of the different components at different but constant field strengths, and retaining as analytically valid only those data recorded in a retention range from five to about thirty column volumes, it was possible to determine sizes and amounts in good agreement with known parameters for the sample. Unlike the AUC procedure, SdFFF produces fractions of a high degree of uniformity, which lend themselves to a secondary analysis, e.g. by electron microscopy, as shown in the study.

Centrifugation↗