转氨酶升高的故事

小王是农场职工,男,30岁,平素身体健康,很少看病。近3个月来因慢性咽炎,常服用四环素、红霉素,一月前体检化验发现谷丙转氨酶轻度增高(50单位/升,正常6～37),其它各项均正常,被诊为“肝炎”。除了继续间断服“两素”外,又加用了数种保肝药。但每周化验转氨酶总在50～60之间,为此闷闷不乐。刚好李教授去场医院会诊其它病人,小王的情况被提出来了。

Cloning of Glutamate Dehydrogenase cDNA from Chlorella sorokiniana and Analysis of Transgenic Tobacco Plants

A full_length cDNA has been cloned encoding nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate_specific glutamate dehydrogenase (NADP_GDH) from Chlorella sorokiniana with the RT_PCR method. The complete nucleotide sequence of NADP_GDH gene had 94% homology to the previously reported one . The NADP_GDH gene was constructed into a vector highly expressed in plants. The specific activity of NADP_GDH in transformants was detected, but not in the control plants. All transformed shoots on MS medium containing lower concentration of nitrogen and the transformed seedlings grown in lower concentration of nitrogen vermiculite had higher growth rate and more leaves than the control plants. Transformed leaf discs cultured on MS medium containing different nitrogen concentrations had more chlorophyll contents compared to the controls. These results suggested that exogenous NADP_GDH may enhance the absorption and utilization to ammonium in plants. The increased weight of transformed leaf discs cultured on medium supplemented with different concentrations of phosphinothricin (PPT) was more than that of control discs. 0.5 μg/mL PPT could be used as a selecting drug instead of kanamycin to develop the transformants. These results suggested that the NADP_GDH gene might be used as a new selecting gene in the future research of plant gene engineering.

马洛替酯治疗晚期血吸虫病22例的临床观察

马洛替酯(malotilate)是目前治疗肝病的新药,为探索该药对改善晚期血吸虫病(以下简称晚血)症状、体征的疗效。我站从1991年来先后试用马洛替酯糖衣片治疗晚血22例,收到了一定效果,现报告如下。

长期饲喂碘复合物后蛋鸭各组织含碘量测定以及碘对蛋鸭甲状腺等功能影响的研究

本研究试验对饲喂一年左右碘复合物后蛋鸭的甲状腺和肝功能以及高嗜碘组织器官对碘的承受力进行了测定。经研究查明,以含100ppm碘量的饲料,给蛋鸭连续饲喂一年左右,对蛋鸭是安全的.一、研究目的高碘蛋对人的高血压、糖尿病等疾病有迟效性疗效,已为医学家所证实。吃高碘蛋还可防制地方性甲状腺肿。

A convenient synthesis of 1-alkyl-5-amino-6-phenylethyluracils as potential non-nucleoside HIV-1RT inhibitors

1-Alkyl-5-amino-6-phenylethyluracils （1a, 1b） were synthesized as potential non-nucleoside HIV-1RT inhibitors. A convenient synthetic procedure was developed for the preparation of 1-alkyl-5-amino or 5-aminosubstituted-6-phenylethyluracils, which were synthesized in three or four steps from 6-methyluracil in good yield. The development of a one-pot reaction that simultaneously removed the benzyl protection group and reduced the nitro group greatly improved the yield of the synthesis. Compounds 1a and 1b are analogs of MKC-442, which is an efficient inhibitor of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, 1a and 1b were tested for their inhibition of HIV-1RT, and moderate activity was found for 1a.

Noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis with combined serum aminotransferase/platelet ratio index and hyaluronic acid in patients with chronic hepatitis B

AIM： To construct a noninvasive assessment model consisting of routine laboratory data to predict significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B （CHB）. METHODS： A total of 137 consecutive patients with CriB who underwent percutaneous liver biopsy were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were divided into two groups according to their aminotransferase （ALT） level. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value （PPV）, negative predictive value （NPV）, the likelihood ratio （LR） of aminotransferase/platelet ratio index （APRI） ≥ 1.5 or 〈 1.5 in combination with different hyaluronic acid （HA） cut-off points were calculated for the presence of moderate to severe fibrosis/cirrhosis （fibrosis stages 2 and 4） and no to mild fibrosis/cirrhosis （fibrosis stages 0 and 1）. RESULTS： The APRI correlated with fibrosis stage in CriB patients. The APRI ≥1.5 in combination with a cut-off HA cut-off point 〉 300 ng/mL could detect moderate to severe fibrosis （stages 2-4） in Crib patients. The PPV was 93.7%, the specificity was 98.9%. The APRI 〈 1.5 in combination with different HA cut-off points could not detect no to mild fibrosis in CHB patients. CONCLUSION： The APRI ≥ 1.5 in combination with a HA cut-off point 〉 300 ng/mL can detect moderate to severe fibrosis （stages 2-4） in Crib patients.

Biochemical characteristics of neonatal cholestasis induced by citrin deficiency

AIM:To explore differences in biochemical indices between neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency (NICCD) and that with other etiologies. METHODS:Patients under 6 mo of age who were referred for investigation of conjugated hyperbiliru-binaemia from June 2003 to December 2010 were eligible for this study. After excluding diseases affecting the extrahepatic biliary system, all patients were screened for the two most common SLC25A13 mutations; the coding exons of the entire SLC25A13 gene was sequenced and Western blotting of citrin protein performed in selected cases. Patients in whom homo-zygous or compound heterozygous SLC25A13 mutation and/or absence of normal citrin protein was detected were defined as having NICCD. Cases in which no specific etiological factor could be ascertained after a com-prehensive conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia work-up were defined as idiopathic neonatal cholestasis (INC). Thirty-two NICCD patients, 250 INC patients, and 39 infants with cholangiography-confirmed biliary atresia (BA) were enrolled. Laboratory values at their first visit were abstracted from medical files and compared. RESULTS:Compared with BA and INC patients, the NICCD patients had significantly higher levels of total bile acid (TBA) [all measures are expressed as median (inter-quartile range):178.0 (111.2-236.4) μmol/L in NICCD vs 112.0 (84.9-153.9) μmol/L in BA and 103.0 (70.9-135.3) μmol/L in INC, P = 0.0001]. The NICCD patients had significantly lower direct bilirubin [D-Bil 59.6 (43.1-90.9) μmol/L in NICCD vs 134.0 (115.9-151.2) μmol/L in BA and 87.3 (63.0-123.6) μmol/L in INC, P = 0.0001]; alanine aminotransferase [ALT 34.0 (23.0-55.0) U/L in NICCD vs 108.0 (62.0-199.0) U/L in BA and 84.5 (46.0-166.0) U/L in INC, P = 0.0001]; aspartate aminotransferase [AST 74.0 (53.5-150.0) U/L in NICCD vs 153.0 (115.0-239.0) U/L in BA and 130.5 (81.0-223.0) U/L in INC, P = 0.0006]; albumin [34.9 (30.7-38.2) g/L in NICCD vs 38.4 (36.3-42.2) g/L in BA and 39.9 (37.0-42.3) g/L in INC, P = 0.0001]; glucose [3.2 (2.0-4.4) mmol/L in NICCD vs 4.1 (3.4-5.1) mmol/L in BA and 4.0 (3.4-4.6) mmol/L in INC, P = 0.0014] and total cholesterol [TCH 3.33 (2.97-4.00) mmol/L in N ICCD vs 4.57 (3.81-5.26) mmol/L in BA and 4.00 (3.24-4.74) mmol/L in INC, P = 0.0155] levels. The D-Bil to total bilirubin (T-Bil) ratio was significantly lower in NICCD patients [all measures are expressed as median (inter-quartile range):0.54 (0.40-0.74)] than that in BA patients [0.77 (0.72-0.81), P = 0.001] and that in INC patients [0.74 (0.59-0.80), P = 0.0045]. A much higher AST/ALT ratio was found in NICCD patients [2.46 (1.95-3.63)] compared to BA patients [1.38 (0.94-1.97), P = 0.0001] and INC patients [1.48 (1.10-2.26), P = 0.0001]. NICCD patients had significantly higher TBA/D-Bil ratio [3.36 (1.98-4.43) vs 0.85 (0.72-1.09) in BA patients and 1.04 (0.92-1.14) in INC patients, P = 0.0001], and TBA/TCH ratio [60.7 (32.4-70.9) vs 24.7 (19.8-30.2) in BA patients and 24.2 (21.4-26.9) in INC patients, P = 0.0001] compared to the BA and INC groups. CONCLUSION:NICCD has significantly different bio- chemical indices from BA or INC. TBA excretion in NICCD appeared to be more severely disturbed than that of bilirubin and cholesterol.

Dynamic tracking of stem cells in an acute liver failure model

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.

Antifi brotic effects of green tea on in vitro and in vivo models of liver fibrosis

AIM: To examine the protective effect of green tea extract (GT) on hepatic fi brosis in vitro and in vivo in dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced rats.METHODS: HSC-T6, a rat hepatic stellate cell line, was used as an in vitro assay system. Cell proliferation, collagen content, and type 1 collagen expression were examined in activated HSC-T6 cells. Collagen was determined by estimating the hydroxyproline content. In rats with DMN-induced hepatic fi brosis, serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase concentrations, liver hydroxyproline and lipid peroxides were determined. Pathologic changes were examined by hematoxylin & eosin staining.RESULTS: GT administration prevented the development of hepatic fibrosis in the rat model of DMN-induced liver fi brosis. These results were confi rmed both by liver histology and by quantitative measurement of hepatic hydroxyproline content, a marker of liver collagen deposition. Accordingly, inhibition of proliferation, reduced collagen deposition, and type 1 collagen expression were observed in activated HSC-T6 cells following GT treatment. These results imply that GT reduced the proliferation of activated HSC and down regulated the collagen content and expression of collagen type 1, thereby ameliorating hepatic fibrosis.CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that greentea administration can effectively improve liver fibrosis caused by DMN, and may be used as a therapeutic option and preventive measure against hepatic f ibrosis.

Celiac disease:Prevalence,diagnosis,pathogenesis and treatment

Celiac disease(CD) is one of the most common diseases,resulting from both environmental(gluten) and genetic factors [human leukocyte antigen(HLA) and nonHLA genes].The prevalence of CD has been estimated to approximate 0.5%-1% in different parts of the world.However,the population with diabetes,autoimmune disorder or relatives of CD individuals have even higher risk for the development of CD,at least in part,because of shared HLA typing.Gliadin gains access to the basal surface of the epithelium,and interact directly with the immune system,via both trans-and para-cellular routes.From a diagnostic perspective,symptoms may be viewed as either "typical" or "atypical".In both positive serological screening results suggestive of CD,should lead to small bowel biopsy followed by a favourable clinical and serological response to the gluten-free diet(GFD) to confirm the diagnosis.Positive anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody or antiendomysial antibody during the clinical course helps to confirm the diagnosis of CD because of their over 99% specificities when small bowel villous atrophy is present on biopsy.Currently,the only treatment available for CD individuals is a strict life-long GFD.A greater understanding of the pathogenesis of CD allows alternative future CD treatments to hydrolyse toxic gliadin peptide,prevent toxic gliadin peptide absorption,blockage of selective deamidation of specific glutamine residues by tissue,restore immune tolerance towards gluten,modulation of immune response to dietary gliadin,and restoration of intestinal architecture.

Diagnosis in bile acid-CoA:Amino acid N-acyltransferase deficiency

Cholate-CoA ligase （,EEL） and bile acid-CoA： amino acid N-acyltransferase （BAAT） sequentially mediate bile-acid amidation. Defects can cause intrahepatic cholestasis. Distinction has required gene sequencing. We assessed potential clinical utility of immunostaining of liver for CCL and BAAT. Using commercially available antibodies against BAAT and CCL, we immunostained liver from an infant with jaundice, deficiency of amidated bile acids, and transcription-terminating mutation in BAAT. CCL was normally expressed. BAAT expression was not de- tected. Immunostaining may facilitate diagnosis in bile- acid amidation defects.

Intrahepatic and peripheral T-cell responses in genotype 1b hepatitis C virus-infected patients with persistently normal and elevated aminotransferase levels

AIM： To evaluate whether the cytokine responses in liver and serum differ in chronic hepatitis C patients with normal and high alanine aminotransferase （ALT） levels. METHODS： Thirty-three （16 with normal ALT level as group 1 and 17 with elevated ALT level as group 2） patients infected with genotype lb hepatitis C virus （HCV） were examined. Liver infiltrating lymphomononuclear cells （LILMCs） were isolated from liver biopsy by collagenase type 1 and stimulated with phytohemagglutinin and interleukin 2 （IL-2）. IL-10, IL-12, interferon gamma （IFN-γ） and tumor necrosis factor alpha （TNF-α were determined in serum and LILMCs by ELISA. RESULTS： Serum cytokine levels were similar in both groups （P〉0.05）. Stimulated IFN-γ and TNF-α levels in LILMCs were increased in both groups. IL-12 and IL-10 levels stimulated with IL-2 were higher in group 1 than in group 2 （P = 0.023）. Histological activity index （HAI） and stage had a negative correlation with TNF-α and IFN-γ levels in group 2. CONCLUSION： Increased T-helper type 2 （Th2） cytokine response may regress inflammatory and biochemical activity. Progression of histological abnormalities in persons with elevated ALT probably depends on insufficient Th2 cytokine response, which does not balance Th1 cytokine response.

Alanine and aspartate aminotransferase and glutamine-cycling pathway:Their roles in pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome

Although new research technologies are constantly used to look either for genes or biomarkers in the prediction of metabolic syndrome(MS),the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of this complex disease remains a major challenge.Interestingly,Cheng et al recently investigated possible pathways underlying MS by high-throughput metabolite profiling in two large and well characterized community-based cohorts.The authors explored by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry the plasma concentrations of 45 distinct metabolites and examined their relation to cardiometabolic risk,and observed that metabolic risk factors such as obesity,insulin resistance(IR),high blood pressure,and dyslipidemia were associated with several metabolites,including branched-chain amino acids,other hydrophobic amino acids,tryptophan breakdown products,and nucleotide metabolites.In addition,the authors found a significant association of IR traits with glutamine,glutamate and the glutamineto-glutamate ratio.These data provide new insight into the pathogenesis of MS-associated phenotypes and introduce a crucial role of glutamine-cycling pathway as prominently involved in the development of metabolic risk.We consider that the hypothesis about the role of abnormal glutamate metabolism in the pathogenesis of the MS is certainly challenging and suggests the critical role of the liver in the global metabolic modulation as glutamate metabolism is linked with aminotransferase reactions.We discuss here the critical role of the "liver metabolism" in the pathogenesis of the MS and IR,and postulate that before fatty liver develops,abnormal levels of liver enzymes,such as alanine and aspartate aminotransferases might reflect high levels of hepatic transamination of amino acids in the liver.

Decreased mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid and increased oxidative damage in chronic hepatitis C

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.

Preparation of 6-APA by Enzymatic Bioconversion in an Emulsion Liquid Membrane Reactor

Production of 6-aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA) by hydrolysis using penicillin acylase (PA) was studied as a model of an enzymatic emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) process. The loss of PA activity was examined for various membrane compositions (organic solvent, surfactant, carrier). The effects of some experimental variables on the stability of emulsion were investigated. It was found that the choice of organic solvent greatly affected the stability of the emulsion. Increasing the concentration of the carrier in the membrane phase increases the transfer rate of substrate and products but also has a destabilizing effect on the emulsion. The recovery of 6-APA obtained by a di-carrier system (N263-N1923) was much higher than those when either of the di-carriers was used separately. The whole process was controlled both by the enzymatic reaction rate and by the transfer rate of the substrate and the products, however, the ratio of them could be changed by varying the composition of the system. For an optimum condition, it was obtained that the recovery ratio of 6-APA was over 80% and the conversion of benzyl penicillin (PG) was up to 90% in the external phase after 30 minutes. Meanwhile, the breakage percentage of the emulsion was less than 2%.

Metformin prevents hormonal and metabolic disturbances and 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon carcinogenesis in non-diabetic rats

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.

Intrahepatic expression of genes related to metabotropic receptors in chronic hepatitis

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.

MOLECULAR CLONING AND SEQUENCING OF A cDNA ENCODING PARTIAL PUTATIVE MOLT-INHIBITING HORMONE FROM PENAEUS CHINENSIS

Total RNA was extracted from eyestalks of shrimp Penaeus chinensis . Eyestalk cDNA was obtained from total RNA by reverse transcription. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) was initiated using eyestalk cDNA and degenerate primers designed from the amino acid sequence of molt inhibiting hormone from shrimp Penaeus japonicu s. A specific cDNA was obtained and cloned into a T vector for sequencing. The cDNA consisted of 201 base pairs and encoding for a peptide of 67 amino acid residues. The peptide of P. chinensis had the highest identity with molt inhibiting hormones of P. japonicus . The cDNA could be a partial gene of molt inhibiting hormones from P. chinensis . This paper reports for the first time cDNA encoding for neuropeptide of P. chinensis .

Protective effects of C-phycocyanin on alcohol-induced acute liver injury in mice

Excessive alcohol consumption leads to liver disease. Extensive evidence suggests that C-phycocyanin(C-PC), a chromophore phycocyanobilin derived from Spirulina platensis, exerts protective eff ects against chemical-induced organ damage. In this study, we investigated whether C-PC could protect against ethanol-induced acute liver injury. Serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase(AST), triglyceride(TG), total cholesterol(CHOL), low-density lipoprotein(LDL), liver homogenate malondialdehyde(MDA), superoxide dismutase(SOD) content were measured, and pathological examination of liver sections were examined. C-PC showed obvious inhibitory eff ects on serum ALT, AST, TG, CHOL, LDL and MDA, and SOD content significantly increased in the liver. The structure of hepatic lobules was clear, liver sinus returned to normal, and liver cell cords were arranged in neat rows. Cloudiness, swelling, inflammatory cell infiltration and spotty necrosis of liver cells were significantly reduced. Therefore, C-PC can significantly protect against ethanol-induced acute liver injury.

Seasonal Variations in Serological Profiles and Growth Status of Farmed and Wild Clarias gariepinus （Burchell, 1822） Obtained from Asaba, Nigeria

Seasonal variations in serological profiles and growth status of farmed and wild Clarias gariepinus were investigated. Serological profiles of Clarias gariepinus can be an effective tool for proper monitoring of stress induced by management practices in intensive fish culture, which may elicit devastating effect on fish. Spectrophotometry procedures were used to analyze serum parameters of Clarias gariepinus. No different seasonal patterns were observed for mean values of albumin, total protein, urea, cholesterol, glucose and alanine amino-transferase. However, aspartate amino-transferase showed different seasonal pattern. Levels of cholesterol and alanine amino-transferase were highly significant in farmed and wild fish, separately. Juvenile fish had high level of urea irrespective of season. Seasonal variations in water quality parameters were observed except for pH which had no seasonal pattern. The growth exponential shows b-values between -0.048 and 7.434 for Clarias gariepinus. Adult female and juvenile fish from the wild had the highest b-value and the least b-value, separately. In this study, b-values were higher in the wild fish than the farmed fish. The condition factor for Clarias gariepinus ranged from 0.422 to 0.698, and was observed to be high in juvenile fish. With a condition factor less than 1, fish may not be doing well, probably due to environmental stress. Some serological parameters varied according to season and environment of fish. Thus, serological profile of fish is an effective and sensitive tool to monitor fish response to stress factors in the environment.