Oxidative stress affects retinal pigment epithelial cell survival through epidermal growth factor receptor/AKT signaling pathway

AIM：To investigate the cross-talk between oxidative stress and the epidermal growth factor receptor（EGFR）/AKT signaling pathway in retinal pigment epithelial（ RPE） cells.METHODS：Human RPE cell lines（ARPE-19 cell） were treated with different doses of epidermal growth factor（EGF） and hydrogen peroxide（H2O2）.Cell viability was determined by a methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay.Cell proliferation was examined by a bromodeoxyuridine（Brd U） incorporation assay.EGFR/AKT signaling was detected by Western blot.EGFR localization was also detected by immunofluorescence.In addition,EGFR/AKT signaling was intervened upon by EGFR inhibitor（erlotinib）,PI3 K inhibitor（A66） and AKT inhibitor（MK-2206）,respectively.H2O2-induced oxidative stress was blocked by antioxidant N-acetylcysteine（NAC）.RESULTS：EGF treatment increased ARPE-19 cell viabili ty and proliferation through inducing phosphorylation of EGFR and AKT.H2O2 inhibited ARPE-19 cell viability and proliferation and also suppressed EGF-stimulated increase of RPE cell viability and proliferation by affecting the EGFR/AKT signaling pathway.EGFR inhibitor erlotinib blocked EGF-induced phosphorylation of EGFR and AKT,while A66 and MK-2206 only blocked EGF-induced phosphorylation of AKT.EGF-induced phosphorylation andendocytosis of EGFR were also affected by H2O2 treatment.In addition,antioxidant NAC attenuated H2O2-induced inhibition of ARPE-19 cell viability through all eviating reduction of EGFR,and phosphorylated and total AKT proteins.CONCLUSION：Oxidative stress affects RPE cell viability and proliferation through interfering with the EGFR/AKT signaling pathway.The EGFR/AKT signaling pathway may be an important target in oxidative stress-induced RPE cell dysfunction.

Intrauterine Intervention of Pulmonary Atresia at 26^th Gestational Week

To the Editor:Congenital heart diseases (CHDs)are the most common congenital structural anomalies in China.Most of them are curable after birth.However,some defects progress during fetal period,thus resulting in high neonatal mortality and morbidity. Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA/IVS)during fetal period is partly associated with right ventricle (RV)hypoplasia and its consequent hemodynamic deterioration,which limits the possibility of biventricular (BV)repair after birth.The 1-year survival of PA/IVS live births is around 70%,but the rate of BV outcome is around 30%.[1]

Effect of Pore Distribution on Melting Behavior of Paraffin in Fractal Metal Foam

An unsteady model of melting heat transfer in metal foam filled with paraffin is developed and numerically analyzed. In the model, the pore distribution of metal foam is described by Sierpinski fractal. By this fractal description,six types of metal foams with the identical porosity, different pore distributions are reconstructed. The effect of pores distribution on the heat transfer performance of the paraffin/copper foam composite is emphatically investigated. The solid-liquid distribution, the evolution of the melting front, the dynamic temperature response and the total melting time in these six fractal structures are all examined and analyzed. The results indicate that, the pores distribution has a significant impact on the melting heat transfer of the paraffin in the metal foam. When the first-level fractal pore is located near the heat source boundary, the thermal hysteresis effect of the paraffin on the solid matrix heat transfer is more significant. If the cross-sectional length of the pores along the normal direction of heat transfer is larger, the heat transfer barrier of the solid matrix is greater. It is favorable for the paraffin heat transfer when the pores specific surface area is larger.