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Biomedical subjects

J Qian

Publications and source records attributed to J Qian.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

[Clinical analysis of 25 cases of malignant transformation of endometriosis of the ovary].

OBJECTIVE: To study clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment and prognostic factors of malignant transformation of endometriosis of the ovary. METHODS: From 1981 to 1999, a total of 25 patients with malignant transformation of endometriosis of the ovary were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The main symptoms were pelvic masses, abdominal pain, abdominal distension and abnormal vaginal bleeding or discharge. Histological type: of the 25 cases, 14 were endometrioid carcinomas, 2 were clear-cell carcinomas, 2 were adenoacanthoma, 1 was serous papillary adenocarcinomas, 6 were mixed epithelium tumor of ovary. The exact area of histologic transition from benign to malignant epithelium was observed in 25 patients. Stage: stage I 14, stage II 7, stage III 3, stage IV 1. The actual 5-year survival rate was 77.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The exact incidence and prevalence of malignant transformation in endomertriosis is unknown. Radical tumor resection combined with chemotherapy is the main therapeutic approach for malignant transformation of endometriosis of the ovary.

Adult↗

High-throughput screening for human collagenase 1 inhibitors.

AIM: To establish a high-throughput method for inhibitor screening using a recombinant collagenase catalytic domain. METHODS: Human collagenase 1 catalytic domain protein was expressed in E coli and used for screening a set of 2720 compounds in a high-throughput fashion. RESULTS: The screening was accomplished within 2 h and 10 min with consumption of each compound at 4 micrograms. Sixty-six compounds were identified with > 60% inhibitory activity at 20 mg/L, among which 44 compounds were confirmed by subsequent testing at multiple concentrations. The most potent compound showed an IC50 at 4.3 mumol/L, and there were total 15 compounds with IC50 less than 20 mumol/L. CONCLUSION: The high-throughput method using the recombinant collagenase is fast, effective and practical in identifying inhibitors.

Collagenases↗

[Prognostic factors of clinical curative effect for malignant obstructive jaundice].

OBJECTIVE: To explore prognostic factors for clinical treatment of patients with malignant obstructive jaundice. METHODS: 17 variables from 216 consecutive patients with malignant obstructive jaundice admitted from 1990 to 1997 were included for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The overall mortality was 19.9% (43/216), and the morbidity 37.5% (81/216). The morbidity of radical operation was higher than that of palliative operation (P < 0.01). There was a highly significant correlation between mortality, morbidity, ASA grade and duration of jaundice (P < 0.01). No correlation was seen between the mortality, type of operation and cause of jaundice. There was a highly significant correlation between the morbidity and the type of operation. CONCLUSIONS: The choice of operation in patients with malignant obstructive jaundice is radical operation. Early diagnosis and choice of treatment are essential to improving carative effect.

Adult↗

[Studies on schedules for human rabies immunization].

OBJECTIVES: To study the feasibility of interferon (INF) plus an immunization schedule of two dose-two dose-one dose (2 - 2 - 1) of rabies vaccine and a simple 2 - 2 - 1 schedule, and to explore immune regulation mechanism of INF. METHODS: For an IFN plus 2 - 2 - 1 schedule, 5.0, 5.0 and 2.5 I.U. of primary hamster kidney cell rabies vaccine (PHKCV) were injected on the 1st, 7th and 14th day, respectively, and 0.2 million I.U. of IFN-alpha on the 1st day simultaneously. For a simple 2 - 2 - 1 schedule, only 5.0, 5.0 and 2.5 I.U. PHKCV were injected on the 1st, 7th and 14th day, respectively. And, for controls, a routine schedule recommended by WHO was used. RESULTS: On the 7th day after immunization, their geometric mean titer (GMT) of antibody was 1.71, 1.57 and 1.21 for the above three schedule groups, respectively; on the 14th day, 62.77, 58.79 and 28.96; on the 45th day, 76.64, 72.90 and 62.22. Conversion rate of antibody was 85.00%, 61.11% and 65.00%, respectively on the 7th day, and was 100.00% for all on the 14th day. Proportion of those with protective antibody level was 10.00%, 0.00% and 0.00%, respectively for the three schedule groups, on the 7th day; 100.00%, 100.00% and 95.00%, on the 14th day; and was 100.00% for all on the 45th day. Proportion of those with antibody titer more than 1:1 was 55.00%, 33.33% and 20.00%, respectively, on the 7th day. Adverse reaction rate was 0.00% - 55.00%, without significant difference between three schedule groups. CONCLUSIONS: Lower dose of IFN could enhance the effect of immune response to rabies vaccine. IFN plus 2 - 2 - 1 rabies vaccine schedule was better than that of simple 2 - 2 - 1 schedule, while the later was better than the routine schedule.

Adolescent↗

[The mechanisms of inhibitory effect of bufalin on human leukemia cells].

OBJECTIVE: To study the mechanism of bufalin on human leukemia cell inhibition. METHODS: HL-60 cells were treated with bufalin at different concentrations. The growth inhibition was analysed by MTT assay, cell apoptosis by light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry, TUNEL labeling method and agarose gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: (1) Treatment of HL-60 cells with bufalin remarkably inhibited the cell growth, the IC(50) value of bufalin for HL-60 cells was 0.025 micromol/L. (2) Apoptosis of HL-60 cells could be efficiently induced by bufalin at concentration of 0.010 micromol/L or higher. (3) Bufalin induced apoptosis of HL-60 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. (4) With G(1) phase cells decreasing, S phase cells increased, and then apoptotic cells increased with a diminution of S phase cells. (5) Bufalin-induced apoptosis of HL-60 cells was inhibited by ZnCl(2), an inhibitor of endonuclease, but not by cycloheximide, an inhibitor of protein synthesis. CONCLUSION: Bufalin could efficiently induce apoptosis of HL-60 cells, especially the S phase cells.

Apoptosis↗

The treatment of lumbosacral instability by the Diapason system.

OBJECTIVE: To introduce a new internal fixation system of spine and its characteristics. METHODS: To review 16 patients with lumbosacral instability who were their clinical outcomes and radiographic evaluation. RESULTS: Fifteen patients gained complete recovery from their preoperative symptoms. One patient who had experienced two operations before and with problems of urinary and fecal incontinence and walking difficulty still had lower limb pain, muscle weakness and urinary incontinence after operation. There is no evidence of spine glide on X-ray, implant failure, neural complication or infection during follow up. CONCLUSION: Diapason system can achieve good early postoperative results with few complications and ease to use for lumbosacral instability.

Bone Screws↗

An integrated decoupler for capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection: application to analysis of brain microdialysate.

An approach to capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection (CE-EC) suitable for determination of dopamine in 1-min brain microdialysate samples is described. The CE-EC system includes an electrochemical detection cell that permits easy, precise, and permanent alignment of a carbon fiber microelectrode with a separation capillary (30-micron i.d., 75-cm length). Amperometric detection was performed at a constant applied potential of 600 mV with respect to a Ag/AgCl reference electrode. Decoupling of the electrophoretic current from the amperometric detector was accomplished with an integrated end-column decoupler prepared by etching the capillary outlet with HF. The decoupler produces baseline noise of 50 fA, or less, in the presence of 10-20-muA current in the separation capillary. The low baseline noise affords low mass (attomoles) and low concentration (nanomolar) detection limits for dopamine and 4-methylcatechol. A peak attributable to dopamine was identified in electropherograms of brain microdialysate samples obtained from anesthetized rats. Identification of the dopamine peak was confirmed by pharmacological methods. Dopamine was readily detected in 1-min brain microdialysate samples. The dopamine concentration in 1-min brain microdialysis samples was significantly altered by drug treatments and by brief electrical stimulation of dopaminergic axons.

Animals↗

Clinical significance of alterations of chromosome 8 in high-grade, advanced, nonmetastatic prostate carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Chromosome 8 alterations, including loss of 8p21-22 and gain of 8q24, are commonly observed in prostate carcinoma. We examined whether these alterations are associated with poor prognosis in prostate cancer. METHODS: We used dual-probe fluorescence in situ hybridization and DNA probes for 8p22 (lipoprotein lipase gene), centromere 8 (8cen), and 8q24 (c-myc gene) to determine the corresponding copy numbers in tumor samples from 144 patients with high-grade, advanced (stage III) prostate carcinoma. Cox models were used for multivariate analysis of systemic progression or patient death from prostate cancer. All statistical tests are two-sided. RESULTS: We classified the 8p22, 8cen, and c-myc copy number as normal, loss, and gain. An additional increase (AI) category of c-myc relative to the centromere copy number (i.e., overrepresentation and amplification of c-myc) was also used. Alterations of 8p22 were not statistically significantly associated with either systemic progression or patient death. Alterations of c-myc were associated with both systemic progression (P =.024) and patient death (P =.039); AI of c-myc showed the poorest outcome. We also evaluated the prognostic relevance of the combined 8p22-8cen-c-myc loci anomaly pattern for the following six patterns: normal-normal-normal, loss-any 8cen-normal, loss-gain-gain, gain-gain-gain, non-loss-any 8cen-AI, and loss-any 8cen-AI, where any 8cen is normal, loss, or gain of the chromosome 8 centromere. Patients with the loss-any 8cen-AI pattern had earlier systemic progression (P =.009) and earlier cause-specific death (P =.013) than did patients with other patterns. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that the loss-any 8cen-AI pattern was an independent risk factor for systemic progression (P<.001) and cause-specific death (P =.002). CONCLUSIONS: Genetic alterations of chromosome 8 appear to accumulate in parallel with the progression of prostate carcinomas. AI of the c-myc gene, especially with loss of 8p22, appears to be associated with poor patient prognosis.

Centromere↗

Activity-dependent modulation of K+ currents at presynaptic terminals of mammalian central synapses.

1. The activity-dependent regulation of presynaptic K+ currents at the CA3-CA1 synapse in the rat hippocampus was investigated during a train of evoked afferent action potentials. The waveforms of presynaptic compound action potentials (cAPs) and presynaptic Ca2+ transients ([Ca2+]pre,t) were measured with fluorescent voltage-sensitive and Ca2+-sensitive indicators in rat brain slices. 2. Under control conditions, presynaptic cAPs and the accompanying [Ca2+]pre,t displayed similar amplitudes for each stimulus, suggesting that there was no cumulative change of K+ and Ca2+ currents during the test train. However, when a subgroup of presynaptic K+ channels was blocked by a low concentration of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, 40 microM), a significant facilitation of the [Ca2+]pre,t was observed. 3. This phenomenon was not due to a direct action of 4-AP on presynaptic Ca2+ channels, but to cumulative suppression of the K+ conductance as indicated by the corresponding change in waveforms of the cAP and presynaptic fibre volley. The observed facilitation was not an artifact by virtue of increased fibre recruitment, nor was it related to the accumulation of extracellular K+; rather, it was dependent on Ca2+ influx and stimulation frequency. The time course of recovery from facilitation was closely related to the decay of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. 4. The facilitation was not blocked by a saturating concentration of 4-AP (8 mM) but was reduced during the application of the K+ channel blocker tetraethylammonium (TEA, 10 mM), implicating the involvement of TEA-sensitive K+ channels. Such activity-dependent suppression of presynaptic K+ conductance could lead to excessive transmitter release and might explain the hippocampal epileptiform activity that can be induced by application of 4-AP.

4-Aminopyridine↗

Upstream stimulatory factor regulates Pdx-1 gene expression in differentiated pancreatic beta-cells.

The homeobox gene Pdx-1 plays a key role in the development of the pancreas. In the adult, however, expression of the Pdx-1 gene is restricted to pancreatic beta-cells and endocrine cells of duodenal epithelium. Recently, the transcription factor, upstream stimulatory factor (USF), has been shown to bind in vitro to a mutationally sensitive E-box motif within the 5'-flanking region of the Pdx-1 gene [Sharma, Leonard, Lee, Chapman, Leiter and Montminy (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 2294-2299]. In the present study, we show that USF not only binds to the Pdx-1 gene promoter but also functionally regulates the expression of the Pdx-1 gene in differentiated pancreatic beta-cells. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of a dominant negative form of USF2 decreased binding of endogenous USF to the E-box element by approximately 90%. This reduction in endogenous USF binding led to a greater than 50% decrease in Pdx-1 gene promoter activity, which, in turn, resulted in marked reductions in Pdx-1 mRNA and protein levels. Importantly, the lower Pdx-1 protein levels led to a greater than 50% reduction in Pdx-1 binding activity to the A3 element on the insulin gene promoter, and a significant reduction in insulin mRNA levels. Overall, our results show that USF functionally regulates Pdx-1 gene expression in differentiated pancreatic beta-cells and provide the first functional data for a role of USF in the regulation of a normal cellular gene.

Animals↗

Localization of PS6K to chromosomal region 17q23 and determination of its amplification in breast cancer.

The application of comparative genomic hybridization to the analysis of genetic abnormalities in breast carcinoma has consistently revealed that chromosome region 17q22-24 is a frequent site of gene amplification in this type of cancer. As part of an examination of expressed sequence tags for novel amplified genes in this region, we identified PS6K amplifications in both breast tumor tissues and cell lines. PS6K was localized to 17q23 and encodes a serine-threonine kinase whose activation is thought to regulate a wide array of cellular processes involved in the mitogenic response including protein synthesis, translation of specific mRNA species, and cell cycle progression from G1 to S phase. Northern and Western analyses revealed that amplification of this gene was accompanied by corresponding increases in mRNA and protein expression, respectively. These data represent the first determination of a gene amplification within 17q22-24 in breast cancer and suggest an oncogenic activity for PS6K.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Mutation and expression analysis of the p73 gene in prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: p53 is the most highly mutated tumor suppressor gene in human cancers. Recently, p73, a first homologue of p53, was identified and considered to be an imprinted tumor suppressor gene. Thus, we analyzed the possible role of p73 in human prostate cancers. METHODS: We investigated the expression levels and expressed allelotypes and searched for mutations in the p73 gene in 27 primary prostate cancers with matched normal tissues as well as in four prostate cell lines. RESULTS: Allelic expression analysis using polymorphisms in exons 2 and 5 revealed that p73 is biallelically expressed in both normal and tumor tissues, suggesting that p73 is not imprinted in prostate tissues. Quantitative PCR demonstrated that p73 expression is the same in both normal and tumor prostate tissues. Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography and DNA sequencing revealed that there were no tumor-specific mutations in the p73 gene at the genomic level. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that alterations of p73, including mutations, changes in message abundance, and changes in allelic expression, are likely to be rare in early-stage prostate cancer, and that p73 could be a tissue-specific imprinting gene.

DNA Mutational Analysis↗

Prevalence of microvascular disease in patients with significant coronary artery disease.

Coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) measurement using intracoronary Doppler techniques has been increasing accepted for the assessment of physiological significance of epicardial stenosis and the functional changes after coronary interventions. However, large discrepancy exists concerning the acute changes of CFVR immediately after intervention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of microvascular dysfunction in patients with significant coronary artery disease. Intracoronary Doppler flow measurements were performed in a total of 212 patients who underwent coronary interventions because of significant epicardial stenosis using 0.014" Doppler flow wire (Cardiometrics, Inc, Mountain View, CA). Intracoronary bolus injection of adenosine (12 micrograms for the right coronary and 18 micrograms for the left coronary arteries) was used to induce hyperemic reaction. CFVR was registered as the ratio of average peak velocity during hyperemia (hAPV) to at baseline (bAPV). Successful coronary interventions either by percutaneous transluminal coronary balloon angioplasty (PTCA) or by stenting could significantly improve the CFVR. In 80 patients with PTCA, the bAPV elevated from 16.6 +/- 2.1 cm/s to 20.6 +/- 13.4 cm/s and hAPV from 30.1 +/- 15.9 cm/s to 45.2 +/- 17.7 cm/s (both p < 0.001) with PTCA and the CFVR increased from 1.94 +/- 0.78 to 2.58 +/- 0.87 correspondingly (p < 0.001). Significant elevation of coronary flow parameters were also found in 132 patients with subsequent stent implantation (bAPV from 15.3 +/- 6.7 cm/s to 18.7 +/- 9.1 cm/s, hAPV from 28.7 +/- 14.4 cm/s to 44.3 +/- 17.7 cm/s and CFVR from 1.90 +/- 0.70 to 2.59 +/- 0.87, all p < 0.001). Reduction of CFVR (< 3.0) after intervention still existed in 46 (61.3%) of 80 patients after PTCA and 88 (66.7%) of 132 patients after stenting. Moreover, CFVR < 3.0 were found in 50 (45.9%) of 109 reference vessels in patients with single vessel disease. Significant improvement of coronary flow velocity and coronary flow velocity reserve could be obtained after successful angioplasty. However, microvascualr dysfunction existed in a large proportion of patients either in normal reference vessels or in target vessels after interventions.

Adult↗

Fibro-osseous lesions involving the brain: MRI.

We present the MRI findings in two patients with "fibro-osseous lesions" involving the central nervous system. A left temporal lobe mass was present in one patient and an extra-axial mass at the skull base in the other. In both cases, calcification was present, with low signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images.

Adult↗

Fibro-osseous lesions of the central nervous system: report of four cases and literature review.

Fibro-osseous lesions, also reported as calcifying pseudoneoplasms of the neural axis, are uncommon lesions of the CNS. We report four additional cases: two extraaxial and two intraaxial, in patients ages 33, 47, 49, and 59 years at presentation. Fibro-osseous lesions involving the CNS demonstrate variable proportions of fibrous stroma, bone, palisading spindle to epithelioid to multinucleated cells in association with a highly distinctive, perhaps pathognomonic, chondromyxoid-like matrix often distributed in a nodular pattern. This histopathologically distinctive lesion can be seen in many regions of the neuraxis, often with a dural association, and most commonly along the vertebral column. It appears to be a slow-growing lesion and, with wide excision, the prognosis is excellent. The etiology remains unclear, but the preponderance of data favors a reactive rather than neoplastic process. If this putative pseudotumor is not recognized histopathologically, a neoplastic or infectious differential might result in inappropriate investigations and potentially harmful therapies.

Adult↗

Slow decay of the finite Reynolds number effect of turbulence.

The third-order structure function is used to study the finite Reynolds number (FRN) effect of turbulence, which refers to the deviation of turbulence statistics observed at finite Reynolds numbers from predictions of the Kolmogorov theories. It is found that the FRN effect decreases as CR(-mu)(lambda), when R(lambda) is high, and mu < or = 6/5. Here R(lambda) is the Taylor-microscale Reynolds number and C is a constant independent of R(lambda). From the exact spectral equations, the decay exponent mu and the constant C are determined for typical fully developed turbulent flows (freely decaying isotropic turbulence and shear flow turbulence), so that the quantitative prediction of the FRN effect is feasible.

Journal Article↗