Plasma SCF/c-kit Levels in Patients with Dipper and Non-Dipper Hypertension

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between peripheral plasma stem cell factor (SCF)/c-kit levels and the types of dipper and non-dipper hypertension in hypertensive patients.Methods This cross-sectional study included newly diagnosed hypertensive patients who underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitor (ABPM) between January 2009 and 2012 in Jiangning city. Patients were divided into the dipper group and the non-dipper group according to ABPM measurements. The levels of SCF and its receptor c-kit, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in peripheral blood were measured via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The serum levels of glucose and lipid were examined as well. The levels of SCF/c-kit were compared between the dippers and the non-dippers; and their correlation with 24-hour mean systolic blood pressure (MSBP), 24-hour mean diastolic blood pressure (MDBP), TNF-αand IL-6 were investigated using linear regression analyses statistically.Results A total of 247 patients with newly diagnosed hypertension were recruited into the study, including 116 non-dippers and 131 dippers. The levels of peripheral plasma SCF were higher in non-dipper group (907.1±52.7 ng/L vs. 778.7±44.6 ng/L; t=2.837, P<0.01), and the levels of c-kit were higher in non-dipper group too (13.2±1.7 μg/L vs 9.57±1.4 μg/L; t=2.831, P<0.01). Linear regression analysis revealed that SCF/ckit levels were significantly positively correlated with MSBP, MDBP, plasma TNF-α, and IL-6 levels (all P<0.01).Conclusions Peripheral plasma SCF/c-kit levels are higher in patients with non-dipper hypertension than those with dipper one, and significantly correlate with 24-hour MSBP, 24-hour MDBP, serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels.

Colloidal Virus Particles with Hierarchical Nanomorphology and Facile Biosurface Modification

Aiming to the enormous requirement for the epidemic defense researches,we designed and constructed a spherical colloidal virus particle(CVP)to mimic nature virus in morphology,physical,chemical and biological characteristics,via coating spiky protein on col-loidal nanoparticles(CNPs)core with bulge hierarchical nanomorphology.The novel virus-like surface nanoparticles can easily be synthesized.The physical,chemical nature and the formation mechanism of the prepared CVPs were characterized and discussed.The synthesized CVPs are similar in size and envelope thickness to common natural viruses.It was demonstrated that the diameter of CVPs is about 238±12 nm,including an 8 nm thickness protein crown with bulges of 33 nm in average width.The CVPs with an isoelectric point of 4.5,meets the native virus property of negative charge under neutral condition.The protein crown enhances the roughness remarkably from 10 nm(CNPs)to 22 nm(CVPs)determined by atomic force microscopy.Thanks to the biomimetic rough morphology,the CVPs show greatly superior cellular uptake performance compared to CNPs,ovalbumin(OVA)and smoothed col-loidal particles(SCPs).The formation mechanism of protein crown with specific thickness can be attributed to the electrostatic in-teraction,protein's flexible structure and specific wettability.These results indicate that the as-prepared artificial virions mimic na-ture viruses in multi-dimension,in terms of size,surface rough morphology,surface negative charge and glycoprotein envelope composition.The synthetic colloidal virus particles pave a facile way toward engineering virus particles substitute for virus-related diseases prevention,diagnostics and cellular delivery vectors.