The relationship between platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 and paraquat-induced lung injury in rabbits

BACKGROUND:Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1(PECAM-1),also known as CD31,is mainly distributed in vascular endothelial cells.Studies have shown that PECAM-1 is a very significant indicator of angiogenesis,and has been used as an indicator for vascular endothelial cells.The present study aimed to explore the relationship between the expression of PECAM-1 and the degree of acute lung injury(ALI) and fibrosis in paraquat(PQ) induced lung injury in rabbits.METHODS:Thirty-six adult New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into three groups(12rabbits in each group) according to PQ dosage:8 mg/kg(group A),16 mg/kg(group B),and 32 mg/kg(group C).After PQ infusion,the rabbits were monitored for 7 days and then euthanized.The lungs were removed for histological evaluation.Masson staining was used to determine the degree of lung fibrosis(LF),and semi-quantitative immune-histochemistry analysis to determine the expression of PECAM-1.Pearson's product-moment correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between the expression of PECAM-1 and the extent of lung injuries expressed by ALI score and degree of LF.RESULTS:Rabbits in the three groups showed apparent poisoning.The rabbits survived longer in group A than in groups B and C(6.47±0.99 days vs.6.09±1.04 days vs.4.77±2.04 days)(P<0.05).ALI score was lower in group A than in groups B and C(8.33±1.03 vs.9.83±1.17 vs.11.50±1.38)(P<0.05),and there was statistically significant difference between group B and group C(P=0.03).LF was slighter in group A than in groups B and C(31.09%±2.05%vs.34.37%±1.62%vs.36.54%±0.44%)(P<0.05),and there was statistically significant difference between group B and group C(P=0.026).The PEACAM-1 expression was higher in group A than in groups B and C(20.31%±0.70%vs.19.34%±0.68%vs.18.37%±0.46%)(P<0.05),and there was statistically significant difference between group B and group C(P=0.017).Pearson's correlation analysis showed that the expression of PECAM-1 was negatively correlated to both ALI score(Coe=-0.732,P=0.001)and degree of LF(Coe=-0.779,P<0.001).CONCLUSIONS:The PECAM-1 expression significantly decreases in New Zealand rabbits after PQ poisoning,and the decrease is dose-dependent.The PECAM-1 expression is negatively correlated with ALI score and LF,showing a significant role in the development of lung injuries induced by PQ.

Study on the development and usage of a cardiopulmonary resuscitation time point recorder

BACKGROUND: To invent a novel cardiopulmonary resuscitation(CPR) time point recorder to synchronously and automatically record the time and to identify its effectiveness in humans.METHODS: A CPR time point recorder was invented after the doctors were familiar with the traditional Utstein recovery registration mode and mastered the registration time points required. The progress of CPR was simulated. The standard and correct times were recorded, and the doctors performing the recovery collected the data about the times using our CPR time point recorder or the memory registration mode.RESULTS: The deviation times were 21.4±24.7 seconds for the memory group and 3.57±4.58 seconds for CPR time point recorder group. The deviation of times increased signifi cantly depending on the increase of the operation items in the memory group. A similar phenomenon was found in the timer group but with a smaller difference(P<0.01).CONCLUSION: A CPR time point recorder could reduce the deviation of operate-time, especially after a long-time operation, and for procedures with more operating items, compared with the memory mode. It was a more advantageous and accurate method for the Utstein registration.

An active piggyBac-like element in Macdunnoughia crassisigna

In this paper, a highly conservedpiggyBac-like sequence, designated as McrPLE was cloned from a lepidopteran insect, Macdunnoughia crassisigna. It is 2 472 bp long in full length with a single open reading frame and encodes a 595 amino acid transposase. It shares identical terminal and sub-terminal repeats with T. ni IFP2 and is flanked by the typical TTAA target-site duplications. Alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that McrPLE had greater than 99.5% identity and appeared to be the closest one in phylogeny to IFP2 among the PLEs so far found in various species. Plasmid-based excision and transposition assay proved it was mobile in cell culture. Otherwise, McrPLE element and all other highly conserved IFP2 sequences reported previously were found to share three common nucleotide substitutions. This suggests that the original IFP2 may be a related variant of a predecessor element that became widespread. The existence of nearly identical piggyBac sequence in reproductively isolated species was thought also a strong indication of horizontal transmission, which raises important considerations for the stability and practical use ofpiggyBac transformation vectors.