Effects of All-trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA) against Bacterial Infection in Chickens

In order to investigate the effects of all-trans retinoic acid （ATRA） against bacterial infection in chickens, 35 3-day-old AA broiler chickens were fed adaptively for two days and randomly divided into five groups, including Escherichia coli experimental group （ group 1 ）, Escherichia coli control group （group 2）, blank control group （ group 3 ）, PasteureUa experimental group （ group 4）, and PasteureUa control group （ group 5 ）. At 5 days of age, the chickens in group 1 and group 4 were drenched with 5 p.mol/kg ATRA for seven consecutive days according to their weight; the chickens in group 2, group 3 and group 5 were drenched with an equal volume of dimethyl sulfoxlde （DMSO）. The clinical symptoms and weight changes in each group were observed and recorded. Seven days later, the chickens were euthanized and dissected to determine the immune organ indexes. The results showed that there were significant differences in body weight between ATRA-administrated chickens and non-administrated chickens after bacterial infection （P 〈 0.05 ） ; moreover, the immune organ indexes of ATRA-administrated chickens exhibited significant differences compared with control group （P 〈 0.05 ）, indicating that ATRA could promote the development of immune organs of poultry, thereby enhancing the body immunity against bacterial infection.

All-trans retinoic acid upregulates VEGF expression in glioma cells in vitro

All-trans retinoid acid （ATRA） is one of the most potent and most thoroughly studied differentiation inducers that induce the differentiation and apoptosis of glioma cells. However, the effect of ATRA on angiogenesis of glioma re- mains poorly understood. We examined the effect of ATRA on the expression of vascular endothelial growth fac- tor （VEGF） in different glioma cell lines and investigated the underlying mechanism, intending to partially reveal the effects of ATRA on angiogenesis of glioma. Glioma cells were treated by ATRA at 5 and 10 μmol/L. The VEGF mRNA transcript levels were determined by real-time RT-PCR and the protein levels of VEGF in glioma cells were evaluated by Western blotting assays. Moreover, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α （HIF-la） mRNA expression was analyzed by using real-time RT-PCR. After treatment with 5 and 10 μmol/L ATRA, the VEGF mRNA tran- script levels in glioma cells increased remarkably, compared with that in the control group, and the relative protein expression of VEGF was also up-regulated. Meanwhile, the HIF-la mRNA expression also increased. ATRA in- creases the expression of VEGF in glioma cells at both transcriptional and translational levels.

Apoptosis of Human Pancreatic Carcinoma Cells Induced By All-Trans Retinoic Acid and Interferon

Objective： To investigate the apoptosis of human pancreatic carcinoma PC3 cells induced by the combination of all-trans retinoic acid （ATRA） with interferon alpha （IFN-α）. Methods： PC3 cells were treated with ATRA and IFN-α. The inhibitory rate of PC3 cell proliferation was detected using MTT method. Cellular apoptosis was determined with flow cytometry. The percentage of PC3 cell apoptosis was assayed using TUNEL methods. Results： ATRA and IFN-α could inhibit cellular proliferation and induces cellular apoptosis of PC3 cells. The inhibitory effect was stronger when the ATRA and IFN-α were combined as a therapy. Conclusion： ATRA inhibits the proliferation of PC3 cells and induce the apoptosis of PC3 cells. The combination of IFN-α with ATRA may enhance these effects on PC3 cells.

ATRA对雏鸡抗细菌感染作用的研究

为了研究全反式维甲酸(all-trans retinoic acid,ATRA)对雏鸡抗细菌感染的作用,试验选择3日龄AA肉雏鸡35只,适应性喂养2 d,随机分为5组,即大肠杆菌试验组(1组)、大肠杆菌对照组(2组)、空白对照组(3组)、巴氏杆菌试验组(4组)、巴氏杆菌对照组(5组),5日龄时1,4组雏鸡按体重分别灌服5μmol/kg ATRA,连续灌服7 d;同时2,3,5组雏鸡分别灌服等量的二甲基亚砜(DMSO),观察各组雏鸡临床症状并记录体重变化。7 d后剖检,测定免疫器官指数。结果表明:经细菌感染后,口服ATRA的雏鸡与未口服ATRA的雏鸡体重变化差异显著(P<0.05),而口服ATRA雏鸡的免疫器官指数与对照组相比差异显著(P<0.05)。说明ATRA能够促进家禽免疫器官的发育,进而提高机体免疫力,对抗细菌感染。