AIM： To investigate a dual labeling technique, which would enable real-time monitoring of transplanted em- bryonic stem cell （ESC） kinetics, as well as long-term tracking. METHODS： Liver damage was induced in C57/...AIM： To investigate a dual labeling technique, which would enable real-time monitoring of transplanted em- bryonic stem cell （ESC） kinetics, as well as long-term tracking. METHODS： Liver damage was induced in C57/BL6 male mice （n = 40） by acetaminophen （APAP） 300 mg/kg administered intraperitoneally. Green fluores- cence protein （GFP） positive C57/BL6 mouse ESCs were stained with the near-infrared fluorescent lipophilic tracer 1,1-dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindotricarbo- cyanine iodide （DiR） immediately before transplantationinto the spleen. Each of the animals in the cell therapy group （n = 20） received 5 x 106 ESCs 4 h following treatment with APAP. The control group （n = 20） re- ceived the vehicle only. The distribution and dynamics of the cells were monitored in real-time with the IVIS lumina-2 at 30 rain post transplantation, then at 3, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h, and after one and 2 wk. Immunohisto- chemical examination of liver tissue was used to identify expression of GFP and albumin. Plasma alanine amino- transferase （ALT） was measured as an indication of liver damage.RESULTS： DiR-stained ESCs were easily tracked with the IVIS using the indocyanine green filter due to its high background passband with minimal background autofluorescence. The transplanted cells were confined inside the spleen at 30 min post-transplantation, gradu- ally moved into the splenic vein, and were detectable in parts of the liver at the 3 h time-point. Within 24 h of transplantation, homing of almost 90% of cells was confirmed in the liver. On day three, however, the DiR signal started to fade out, and ex vivo IVIS imaging of different organs allowed signal detection at time-points when the signal could not be detected by in vivo imag- ing, and confirmed that the highest photon emission was in the liver （P 〈 0.0001）. At 2 wk, the DiRsignal was no longer detectable in vivo; however, immuno- histochemistry analysis of constitutively-expressed GFP was used to provide an insight into the distribution of the cells. GFP ＋ve cells were detected in tissue sections resembling hepatocytes and were dispersed throughout the hepatic parenchyma, with the presence of a larger number of GFP ＋ve cells incorporated within the sinu- soidal endothelial lining. Very faint albumin expression was detected in the transplanted GFP ＋re cells at 72 h; however at 2 wk, few cells that were positive for GFP were also strongly positive for albumin. There was a significant improvement in serum levels of ALT, albumin and bilirubin in both groups at 2 wk when compared with the 72 h time-point. In the cell therapy group, serum ALT was significantly （P = 0.016） lower and al- bumin （P = 0.009） was significantly higher when com- pared with the control group at the 2 wk time-point;however there was no difference in mortality between the two groups. CONCLUSION： Dual labeling is an easy to use and cheap method for longitudinal monitoring of distribu- tion, survival and engraftment of transplanted cells, and could be used for cell therapy models.展开更多
AIM： To determine whether alteration of the mito- chondria DNA （mtDNA） copy number and its oxidative damage index （mtDNA△CT） can be detected by analysis of peripheral blood cells in hepatitis C virus （HCV）- in...AIM： To determine whether alteration of the mito- chondria DNA （mtDNA） copy number and its oxidative damage index （mtDNA△CT） can be detected by analysis of peripheral blood cells in hepatitis C virus （HCV）- infected patients. METHODS： This study enrolled two groups of pa- tients aged 40-60 years： a control group and an HCV- infected group in Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Changhua Christian Hospital. Patients with co-infection with hepatitis B virus or human im- munodeficiency virus, autoimmune disease, malignant neoplasia, pregnancy, thyroid disease, or alcohol con- sumption 〉 40 g/d were excluded. HCV-infected pa- tients who met the following criteria were included： （1） positive HCV antibodies for 〉 6 mo; （2） alanine aminotransferase （ALT） levels more than twice the upper lim- it of normal on at least two occasions during the past 6 mo; and （3） histological fibrosis stage higher than F1. The mtDNA copy number and oxidative damage index of HCV mtDNA （mtDNA△CT） were measured in periph- eral blood leukocytes. The association between mtDNA copy number and mtDNA△CT was further analyzed using clinical data. RESULTS： Forty-seven normal controls （male/female： 26/21, mean age 50.51 ± 6.15 years） and 132 HCV- infected patients （male/female： 76/61, mean age 51.65 ± 5.50 years） were included in the study. The geno- types of HCV-infected patients include type 1a （n = 3）, type 1b （n = 83）, type 2a （n = 32）, and type 2b （n = 14）. Liver fibrosis stages were distributed as follows： F1/F2/F3/F4 = 1/61/45/25 and activity scores were A0/ A1/A2/A3 = 7/45/55/25. There were no age or gender differences between the two groups. HCV-infected pa- tients had higher hepatitis activity （aspartate transami- nase levels 108.77 ± 60.73 vs 23.19 ± 5.47, P 〈 0.01; ALT levels 168.69 ± 93.12 vs 23.15 ± 9.45, P 〈 0.01） and lower platelet count （170.40±58.00 vs 251.24 ± 63.42, P 〈 0.01） than controls. The mtDNA copy num- ber was lower in HCV-infected patients than in controls （173.49 vs 247.93, P 〈 0.05）. The mtDNA△CT was higher in HCV-infected patients than in controls （2.92 vs 0.64, P 〈 0.05）. To clarify the clinical significance of these results in HCV-infected patients, their association with different clinical parameters among HCV-infected pa- tients was analyzed. A negative association was found between mtDNA copy number and elevated aspartate transaminase levels （r = -0.17, P 〈 0.05）. Changes in mtDNA copy number were not associated with HCV RNA levels, HCV genotypes, liver fibrosis severity, or inflammatory activity in the liver biopsy specimen. How- ever, a correlation was observed between mtDNA△CT and platelet count （r = -0.22, P 〈 0.01）, HCV RNA level （r = 0.36, P 〈 0.01）, and hepatitis activity （r = 0.20, P = 0.02）. However, no difference in the change in mtDNA△CT was observed between different fibrosis stages or HCV CONCLUSION： Oxidative stress and mtDNA dam- age are detectable in patient＇s peripheral leukocytes. Increased leukocyte mtDNA△CT correlates with higher HCV viremia, increased hepatitis activity, and lower platelet count.展开更多
AIM: To determine serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, and to assess their correlation with demographic and clinical findings in healthy bl...AIM: To determine serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, and to assess their correlation with demographic and clinical findings in healthy blood donors. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed in 934 male blood donors, aged 18 to 68 years, who consecutively attended Tehran blood transfusion service in 2006. All participants were seronegative for HBV or HCV infections, non alcohol users, and all underwent a standard interview and anthropometric tests. Clinical and biochemical parameters including AST, ALT, and GGT activities were determined. Patients taking drugs known to cause hepatic fat deposition were excluded. For AST, ALT, and GGT variables, we used 33.33 and 66.66 percentiles, so that each of them was divided into three tertiles. RESULTS: Mean AST, ALT, and GGT activities were 25.26 ± 12.58 U/L (normal range 5-35 U/L), 33.13 ± 22.98 (normal range 5-35 U/L), and 25.11 ± 18.32 (normal range 6-37 U/L), respectively. By univariate analyses, there were significant associations between increasing AST, ALT, or GGT tertiles and age, body weight, body mass index, and waist and hip circumferences (P < 0.05). By multiple linear regression analyses, ALT was found to be positively correlated with dyslipidemia (B = 6.988, P = 0.038), whereas ALT and AST were negatively correlated with age. AST, ALT, and GGT levels had positive correlation with family history of liver disease (B = 15.763, P < 0.001), (B = 32.345, P < 0.001), (B =24.415, P < 0.001), respectively.CONCLUSION: Although we did not determine the cutoffs of the upper normal limits for AST, ALT, and GGT levels, we would suggest screening asymptomatic patients with dyslipidemia and also subjects with a family history of liver disease.展开更多
Effects of two doses of the anti-diabetic drug, metformin （MF）, on hormonal and metabolic levels of serum of non-diabetic male Wistar rats with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine （DMH）-induced colon tumor adenocarcinomas were ...Effects of two doses of the anti-diabetic drug, metformin （MF）, on hormonal and metabolic levels of serum of non-diabetic male Wistar rats with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine （DMH）-induced colon tumor adenocarcinomas were studied. Carcinogenesis in the animals was also observed. Rats with DMH-induced colon adenocarcinomas had elevated levels of serum glucose, insulin, insulin- like growth factor-l, total cholesterol, triglycerides, catalase, malonic dialdehyde, glycated hemoglobin, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase and decreased hemoglobin. Treatment with two doses of MF normalized maiority of these changes in DMH-treated rats, whereas the drug was ineffective in rats without DMH treatment. The only exception was the decreased triglyceride levels in MF-treated rats. A 100 mg/kg dose of MF increased DMH-induced exophytic colon carcinomas and decreased endophytic tumors compared with untreated rats. Moreover, both MF doses increased DMH-induced and highly differentiated tumors and decreased the invasiveness of colon carcinomas compared with rats provided with DMH and water. Therefore, effects of MF on metabolic homeostasis are critical for preventing colon cancer.展开更多
AIM： To screen for genes related to metabotropic re- ceptors that might be involved in the development of chronic hepatitis. METHODS： Assessment of 20 genes associated with metabotropic receptors was performed in li...AIM： To screen for genes related to metabotropic re- ceptors that might be involved in the development of chronic hepatitis. METHODS： Assessment of 20 genes associated with metabotropic receptors was performed in liver speci- mens obtained by punch biopsy from 12 patients with autoimmune and chronic hepatitis type B and C. For this purpose, a microarray with low integrity grade and with oligonucleotide DNA probes complementary to target transcripts was used. Evaluation of gene expression was performed in relation to transcript level, correlation between samples and grouping of clinical parameters used in chronic hepatitis assessment. Clini- cal markers of chronic hepatitis included alanine and aspartate aminotransferase, ~,-glutamyltranspeptidase, alkaline phosphatase and cholinesterase activity, levels of iron ions, total cholesterol, triglycerides, albumin, glucose, hemoglobin, platelets, histological analysis of inflammatory and necrotic status, fibrosis according to METAVIR score, steatosis, as well as anthropometric body mass index, waist/hip index, percentage of adi- pose tissue and liver size in ultrasound examination. Gender, age, concomitant diseases and drugs were also taken into account. Validation of oligonucleotide microarray gene expression results was done with the use of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction （qRT-PCR）. RESULTS： The highest （0.002 〈 P 〈 0.046） expres- sion among genes encoding main components of metabotropic receptor pathways, such as the a subunit of G-coupled protein, phosphoinositol-dependent pro- tein kinase or arrestin was comparable to that of an- giotensinogen synthesized in the liver. Carcinogenesis suppressor genes, such as chemokine ligand 4, tran- scription factor early growth response protein 1 and lysophosphatidic acid receptor, were characterized by the lowest expression （0.002 〈 P 〈 0.046）, while the factor potentially triggering hepatic cancer, transcrip- tion factor JUN-B, had a 20-fold higher expression. The correlation between expression of genes of protein kinases PDPK1, phosphoinositide 3-kinase and protein kinase A （Spearman＇s coefficient range： 0.762-0.769） confirmed a functional link between these enzymes. Gender （P = 0.0046） and inflammation severity, mea- sured by alanine aminotransferase activity （P = 0.035）, were characterized by diverse metabotropic receptor gene expression patterns. The Pearson＇s coefficient ranging from -0.35 to 0.99 from the results of qRT-PCR and microarray indicated that qRT-PCR had certainlimitations as a validation tool for oligonucleotide mi- croarray studies. CONCLUSION： A microarray-based analysis of hepa- tocyte metabotropic G-protein-related gene expression can reveal the molecular basis of chronic hepatitis.展开更多
基金Supported by Citadel Capital Scholarship Foundation,EgyptDr. Leslie Borthwick/Ms. Anita Holme,Charitable Research Fund East and North Herts NHS TrusHertfordshire,United Kingdom
文摘AIM： To investigate a dual labeling technique, which would enable real-time monitoring of transplanted em- bryonic stem cell （ESC） kinetics, as well as long-term tracking. METHODS： Liver damage was induced in C57/BL6 male mice （n = 40） by acetaminophen （APAP） 300 mg/kg administered intraperitoneally. Green fluores- cence protein （GFP） positive C57/BL6 mouse ESCs were stained with the near-infrared fluorescent lipophilic tracer 1,1-dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindotricarbo- cyanine iodide （DiR） immediately before transplantationinto the spleen. Each of the animals in the cell therapy group （n = 20） received 5 x 106 ESCs 4 h following treatment with APAP. The control group （n = 20） re- ceived the vehicle only. The distribution and dynamics of the cells were monitored in real-time with the IVIS lumina-2 at 30 rain post transplantation, then at 3, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h, and after one and 2 wk. Immunohisto- chemical examination of liver tissue was used to identify expression of GFP and albumin. Plasma alanine amino- transferase （ALT） was measured as an indication of liver damage.RESULTS： DiR-stained ESCs were easily tracked with the IVIS using the indocyanine green filter due to its high background passband with minimal background autofluorescence. The transplanted cells were confined inside the spleen at 30 min post-transplantation, gradu- ally moved into the splenic vein, and were detectable in parts of the liver at the 3 h time-point. Within 24 h of transplantation, homing of almost 90% of cells was confirmed in the liver. On day three, however, the DiR signal started to fade out, and ex vivo IVIS imaging of different organs allowed signal detection at time-points when the signal could not be detected by in vivo imag- ing, and confirmed that the highest photon emission was in the liver （P 〈 0.0001）. At 2 wk, the DiRsignal was no longer detectable in vivo; however, immuno- histochemistry analysis of constitutively-expressed GFP was used to provide an insight into the distribution of the cells. GFP ＋ve cells were detected in tissue sections resembling hepatocytes and were dispersed throughout the hepatic parenchyma, with the presence of a larger number of GFP ＋ve cells incorporated within the sinu- soidal endothelial lining. Very faint albumin expression was detected in the transplanted GFP ＋re cells at 72 h; however at 2 wk, few cells that were positive for GFP were also strongly positive for albumin. There was a significant improvement in serum levels of ALT, albumin and bilirubin in both groups at 2 wk when compared with the 72 h time-point. In the cell therapy group, serum ALT was significantly （P = 0.016） lower and al- bumin （P = 0.009） was significantly higher when com- pared with the control group at the 2 wk time-point;however there was no difference in mortality between the two groups. CONCLUSION： Dual labeling is an easy to use and cheap method for longitudinal monitoring of distribu- tion, survival and engraftment of transplanted cells, and could be used for cell therapy models.
基金Supported by Changhua Christian Hospital,99-CCH-IPR-12
文摘AIM： To determine whether alteration of the mito- chondria DNA （mtDNA） copy number and its oxidative damage index （mtDNA△CT） can be detected by analysis of peripheral blood cells in hepatitis C virus （HCV）- infected patients. METHODS： This study enrolled two groups of pa- tients aged 40-60 years： a control group and an HCV- infected group in Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Changhua Christian Hospital. Patients with co-infection with hepatitis B virus or human im- munodeficiency virus, autoimmune disease, malignant neoplasia, pregnancy, thyroid disease, or alcohol con- sumption 〉 40 g/d were excluded. HCV-infected pa- tients who met the following criteria were included： （1） positive HCV antibodies for 〉 6 mo; （2） alanine aminotransferase （ALT） levels more than twice the upper lim- it of normal on at least two occasions during the past 6 mo; and （3） histological fibrosis stage higher than F1. The mtDNA copy number and oxidative damage index of HCV mtDNA （mtDNA△CT） were measured in periph- eral blood leukocytes. The association between mtDNA copy number and mtDNA△CT was further analyzed using clinical data. RESULTS： Forty-seven normal controls （male/female： 26/21, mean age 50.51 ± 6.15 years） and 132 HCV- infected patients （male/female： 76/61, mean age 51.65 ± 5.50 years） were included in the study. The geno- types of HCV-infected patients include type 1a （n = 3）, type 1b （n = 83）, type 2a （n = 32）, and type 2b （n = 14）. Liver fibrosis stages were distributed as follows： F1/F2/F3/F4 = 1/61/45/25 and activity scores were A0/ A1/A2/A3 = 7/45/55/25. There were no age or gender differences between the two groups. HCV-infected pa- tients had higher hepatitis activity （aspartate transami- nase levels 108.77 ± 60.73 vs 23.19 ± 5.47, P 〈 0.01; ALT levels 168.69 ± 93.12 vs 23.15 ± 9.45, P 〈 0.01） and lower platelet count （170.40±58.00 vs 251.24 ± 63.42, P 〈 0.01） than controls. The mtDNA copy num- ber was lower in HCV-infected patients than in controls （173.49 vs 247.93, P 〈 0.05）. The mtDNA△CT was higher in HCV-infected patients than in controls （2.92 vs 0.64, P 〈 0.05）. To clarify the clinical significance of these results in HCV-infected patients, their association with different clinical parameters among HCV-infected pa- tients was analyzed. A negative association was found between mtDNA copy number and elevated aspartate transaminase levels （r = -0.17, P 〈 0.05）. Changes in mtDNA copy number were not associated with HCV RNA levels, HCV genotypes, liver fibrosis severity, or inflammatory activity in the liver biopsy specimen. How- ever, a correlation was observed between mtDNA△CT and platelet count （r = -0.22, P 〈 0.01）, HCV RNA level （r = 0.36, P 〈 0.01）, and hepatitis activity （r = 0.20, P = 0.02）. However, no difference in the change in mtDNA△CT was observed between different fibrosis stages or HCV CONCLUSION： Oxidative stress and mtDNA dam- age are detectable in patient＇s peripheral leukocytes. Increased leukocyte mtDNA△CT correlates with higher HCV viremia, increased hepatitis activity, and lower platelet count.
文摘AIM: To determine serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, and to assess their correlation with demographic and clinical findings in healthy blood donors. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed in 934 male blood donors, aged 18 to 68 years, who consecutively attended Tehran blood transfusion service in 2006. All participants were seronegative for HBV or HCV infections, non alcohol users, and all underwent a standard interview and anthropometric tests. Clinical and biochemical parameters including AST, ALT, and GGT activities were determined. Patients taking drugs known to cause hepatic fat deposition were excluded. For AST, ALT, and GGT variables, we used 33.33 and 66.66 percentiles, so that each of them was divided into three tertiles. RESULTS: Mean AST, ALT, and GGT activities were 25.26 ± 12.58 U/L (normal range 5-35 U/L), 33.13 ± 22.98 (normal range 5-35 U/L), and 25.11 ± 18.32 (normal range 6-37 U/L), respectively. By univariate analyses, there were significant associations between increasing AST, ALT, or GGT tertiles and age, body weight, body mass index, and waist and hip circumferences (P < 0.05). By multiple linear regression analyses, ALT was found to be positively correlated with dyslipidemia (B = 6.988, P = 0.038), whereas ALT and AST were negatively correlated with age. AST, ALT, and GGT levels had positive correlation with family history of liver disease (B = 15.763, P < 0.001), (B = 32.345, P < 0.001), (B =24.415, P < 0.001), respectively.CONCLUSION: Although we did not determine the cutoffs of the upper normal limits for AST, ALT, and GGT levels, we would suggest screening asymptomatic patients with dyslipidemia and also subjects with a family history of liver disease.
基金supported in part by a grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research(Grant No.14-04-01653)
文摘Effects of two doses of the anti-diabetic drug, metformin （MF）, on hormonal and metabolic levels of serum of non-diabetic male Wistar rats with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine （DMH）-induced colon tumor adenocarcinomas were studied. Carcinogenesis in the animals was also observed. Rats with DMH-induced colon adenocarcinomas had elevated levels of serum glucose, insulin, insulin- like growth factor-l, total cholesterol, triglycerides, catalase, malonic dialdehyde, glycated hemoglobin, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase and decreased hemoglobin. Treatment with two doses of MF normalized maiority of these changes in DMH-treated rats, whereas the drug was ineffective in rats without DMH treatment. The only exception was the decreased triglyceride levels in MF-treated rats. A 100 mg/kg dose of MF increased DMH-induced exophytic colon carcinomas and decreased endophytic tumors compared with untreated rats. Moreover, both MF doses increased DMH-induced and highly differentiated tumors and decreased the invasiveness of colon carcinomas compared with rats provided with DMH and water. Therefore, effects of MF on metabolic homeostasis are critical for preventing colon cancer.
文摘AIM： To screen for genes related to metabotropic re- ceptors that might be involved in the development of chronic hepatitis. METHODS： Assessment of 20 genes associated with metabotropic receptors was performed in liver speci- mens obtained by punch biopsy from 12 patients with autoimmune and chronic hepatitis type B and C. For this purpose, a microarray with low integrity grade and with oligonucleotide DNA probes complementary to target transcripts was used. Evaluation of gene expression was performed in relation to transcript level, correlation between samples and grouping of clinical parameters used in chronic hepatitis assessment. Clini- cal markers of chronic hepatitis included alanine and aspartate aminotransferase, ~,-glutamyltranspeptidase, alkaline phosphatase and cholinesterase activity, levels of iron ions, total cholesterol, triglycerides, albumin, glucose, hemoglobin, platelets, histological analysis of inflammatory and necrotic status, fibrosis according to METAVIR score, steatosis, as well as anthropometric body mass index, waist/hip index, percentage of adi- pose tissue and liver size in ultrasound examination. Gender, age, concomitant diseases and drugs were also taken into account. Validation of oligonucleotide microarray gene expression results was done with the use of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction （qRT-PCR）. RESULTS： The highest （0.002 〈 P 〈 0.046） expres- sion among genes encoding main components of metabotropic receptor pathways, such as the a subunit of G-coupled protein, phosphoinositol-dependent pro- tein kinase or arrestin was comparable to that of an- giotensinogen synthesized in the liver. Carcinogenesis suppressor genes, such as chemokine ligand 4, tran- scription factor early growth response protein 1 and lysophosphatidic acid receptor, were characterized by the lowest expression （0.002 〈 P 〈 0.046）, while the factor potentially triggering hepatic cancer, transcrip- tion factor JUN-B, had a 20-fold higher expression. The correlation between expression of genes of protein kinases PDPK1, phosphoinositide 3-kinase and protein kinase A （Spearman＇s coefficient range： 0.762-0.769） confirmed a functional link between these enzymes. Gender （P = 0.0046） and inflammation severity, mea- sured by alanine aminotransferase activity （P = 0.035）, were characterized by diverse metabotropic receptor gene expression patterns. The Pearson＇s coefficient ranging from -0.35 to 0.99 from the results of qRT-PCR and microarray indicated that qRT-PCR had certainlimitations as a validation tool for oligonucleotide mi- croarray studies. CONCLUSION： A microarray-based analysis of hepa- tocyte metabotropic G-protein-related gene expression can reveal the molecular basis of chronic hepatitis.
