Protective effects of ferulic acid against ionizing radiation-induced oxidative damage in rat lens through activating Nrf2 signal pathway

AIM: To examine the protection of ferulic acid(FA) against ionizing radiation(IR)-induced lens injury in rats, as well as the underlying mechanisms.METHODS: FA(50 mg/kg) was administered to rats for 4 consecutive days before they were given 10 Gy γ-radiation, as well as for 3 consecutive days afterward. Two weeks after radiation, the eye tissues were collected. Histological alterations were evaluated by hematoxylineosin staining. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was utilized to assess the activities of glutathione reductase(GR) and superoxide dismutase(SOD), as well as the levels of glutathione(GSH) and malondialdehyde(MDA) in the lenses. The protein and m RNA levels of Bcl-2, caspase-3, Bax, heme oxygenase-1(HO-1), and glutamatecysteine ligase catalytic subunit(GCLC) were quantified using Western blot and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, respectively. With nuclear extracts, the nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor(Nrf2) protein expressions in the nuclei were also measured.RESULTS: Rats exposed to IR showed lens histological alterations which could be alleviated by FA. FA treatment reversed apoptosis-related markers in IR-induced lens, as evidenced by lower levels of Bax and caspase-3 and higher level of Bcl-2. Furthermore, IR induced oxidative damage manifested by decreased GSH level, increased MDA level, and decreased SOD and GR activities. FA boosted nuclear translocation of Nrf2 and increased the expressions of HO-1 and GCLC to inhibit oxidative stress, as evidenced by an increase in GSH, a decrease in MDA, and an increase in GR and SOD activities.CONCLUSION: FA may work well in preventing and treating IR-induced cataract through promoting the Nrf2 signal pathway to attenuate oxidative damage and cell apoptosis.

Expression and prognostic value of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 in node-negative breast cancer

Objective:To investigate the expressions of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1), C-erbB-2, VEGF and Ki-67 by immunohistostaining and then to evaluate the prognostic value of PAI-1 in node-negative breast cancer. Methods:The study included a retrospective series of 62 female patients with axillary lymph node-negative breast cancer. Expressions of PAI-1, C-erbB-2, VEGF and Ki-67 were determined by immunohistostaining on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections from these patients after a median follow-up of 69 months (range 22–117 months). Correlations with well known clinicopathologic factors were assessed and multivariate survival analyses were performed. Results: High PAI-1 level was positively associated with high histologic grade of the tumors. Disease-free survival (DFS) was significantly shorter for the patients with moderate to intensive expression of PAI-1 than for those with negative (χ2 = 25.46, P < 0.001; χ2 = 23.07, P < 0.001) to mild expression (χ2 = 19.75, P < 0.001; χ2 = 17.40, P < 0.001). Although on univariate analysis of the prognostic factors, tumor size, location of primary tumor and age as well as expressions of PAI-1, VEGF and Ki-67 were all significantly prognostic factors for DFS (P < 0.05), PAI-1 was the only independent prognostic factor on multivariate analysis (P<0.0001; hazard ratio [HR], 4.041; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.928–8.468). Conclusion: These results of the current study indicate that intermediate or high expression of PAI-1 represents a strong and independent unfavorable prognostic factor for the de-velopment of recurrence or metastases in axillary node-negative breast cancer.

Eye Model for Inspecting the Image Quality of IOLs

Purpose:To inspect and compare the image quality of an aspheric intraocular lens(IQ,Alcon)with those of conventional monofocal silicone and acrylic intraocular lens and multifocal intraocular lens(Array).Methods:The IOLs were tested in the eye model,which was designed to be optically equivalent to the theoretical eye model.The eye model is a combination of a spherical photographic lens with 35 mm focal length(IOL put in a water cell)and a charge coupled device(CCD)camera.The images constructed by the lenses are observed on a monitor of personal computer and the contrasts of the images are analyzed by using commercial image processing software.SHARP value is used to measure and estimate image definition.Results:The images constructed by changing the diameter of aperture stop and IOL.Observed by this eye model,the image definition of aspheric intraocular lens(IQ,Alcon)is better than others.Discussion:The proposed eye model is useful for testing functional vision and for inspecting the differences of intraocular lens.