Expression of high mobility group protein B1 in the lungs of rats with sepsis

BACKGROUND： Vibrio vulnifi cus inside the body could activate the NF-!B signaling pathwayand initiate the inflammatory cascade. The lung is one of the earliest organs affected by sepsisassociated with acute lung injury. High mobility group protein B1 （HMGB1） is an important late-actingpro-infl ammatory cytokine involving in the pathophysiology of sepsis. It is also involved in the injuryprocess in the lung, liver and intestine. There has been no report on the involvement of HMGB1 inVibrio vulnifi cus sepsis-induced lung injury.METHODS： Sixty rats were randomly divided into a normal control group （group A, n=10） anda Vibrio vulnificus sepsis group （group B, n=50）. Sepsis was induced in the rats by subcutaneousinjection of Vibrio vulnificus （concentration 6×108 cfu/mL, volume 0.1 mL/100g）） into the left lowerlimbs. The rats in group B were sacrifi ced separately 1, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after the infection.Their lungs were stored as specimens, lung water content was measured, and lung pathology wasobserved under a light microscope. The expressions of the HMGB1 gene and protein in the lungswere detected by RT-PCR and Western blot. Data were analyzed with one-way analysis of variance（ANOVA） and the LSD method for pair-wise comparison between the two groups. P〈0.05 wasconsidered statistically signifi cant.RESULTS： Compared to group A （0.652±0.177）, HMGB1 mRNA expression in the lungs ofgroup B was signifi cantly higher at 0 hour （1.161±0.358, P=0.013）, 24 hours （1.679±0.235, P=0.000）,and 48 hours （1.258±0.274, P=0.004） （P〈0.05）, and peaked at 24 hours. Compared to group A（0.594±0.190）, HMGB1 protein expression at 6 hours （1.408±0.567, P=0.026） after infection wassignificantly increased （P〈0. 05）, and peaked at 24 hours （2.415±1.064, P=0.000） after infection.Compared to group A （0.699±0.054）, lung water content was significantly increased at 6 hours（0.759±0.030, P=0.001）,12 hours （0.767±0.023, P=0.000）, 24 hours （0.771±0.043, P=0.000） and 48hours （0.789±0.137, P=0.000） after infection （P〈0.05）. Compared to group A, pathological changesat 12 hours in group B indicate marked pulmonary vascular congestion, interstitial edema andinfl ammatory infi ltration. Alveolar cavity collapse and boundaries of the alveolar septum could not beclearly identifi ed.CONCLUSION： Vibrio vulnifi cus sepsis can lead to injury in rat lungs, and increased HMGB1expression in lung tissue may be one of the mechanisms for injury from Vibrio vulnifi cus sepsis.

Expression pattern of BIM,BCL-6,and c-MYC in adult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Objective We aimed to evaluate the expression pattern of the genes BIM, BCL-6, and c-MYC in adult patients at initial diagnosis of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia(B-ALL).Methods Relative m RNA levels of BIM, BCL-6, and c-MYC in peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) from B-ALL patients were determined by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction(q RT-PCR) using SYBR Green dye. PBMCs from healthy volunteers served as a control. GAPDH was used as a reference gene.Results Relative expression of BIM, BCL-6, and c-MYC m RNA in B-ALL patients was significantly lower than in healthy controls(P < 0.05). Furthermore, this result was observed for both newly diagnosed B-ALL patients and those incomplete remission(CR)(P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the expression levels of BIM, BCL-6, and c-MYC between these B-ALL patient groups(P > 0.05). Spearman's rank correlation analyses revealed the expression level of BIM to be positively correlated with that of BCL-6 in B-ALL patients.Conclusion Expression of the genes BIM, BCL-6, and c-MYC is decreased in adult B-ALL patients. Moreover, the expression pattern of these genes may be similar in such patients at initial diagnosis and following CR. The expression characteristics of BIM, BCL-6, and c-MYC may constitute useful markers for the diagnosis of adult B-ALL.