Flow Cytometry Analysis of Cellular DNA Content of the Parotid Pleomorphic Adenoma

The nuclear DNA content in 42 cases of primary parotid pleomorphic adenoma (PPA) and 15 cases of recurrent PPA were analysed with flowcytometer (FCM) to study the correlation of the DNA index (DI), S% and cellular proliferous index (PI) with the biologic behaivor of the tumor. The results indicated that in a portion of pleomorphic adenoma, the nuclear DNA content had altered and possessed malignant potential before any evidence of malignancy could be found under lightmicroscope. The increase of S% and PI, which followed the course of tumor development, has a close relation with the capsular invasion and the recurrence. There was a significant difference on the DI, S%, PI as well as the incidence of heteroploid between the recurrent and the incipient tumor. A great portion of recurrent tumors, which still diagnosed as benign pathologically, was acually heteroploid.

Mechanism of Moxibustion Regulation on Cellular Apoptosis in Rat's Precancerous Lesion of Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective： To investigate the mechanism of moxibustion in regulating cellular apoptosis in rat＇s precancerous lesion of primary hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC）. Methods： Seventy-four rats were randomly allocated to normal group, model group and moxibustion group, and the diethylic nitrosamine （DEN） was used to establish HCC model. Moxibustion with moxa cone which is as big as a grain of wheat was performed on acupoint Zusanli （ST 36）, 3 cones for each acupoint and 0.5 mg for each cone, the treatment was given once a day, totally 16 weeks. Then the changes in the body weight, liver weight and thymus weight, a morphological change in the liver tissue and changes in γ-GT and GST were observed; Immunohistochemical staining method was adopted to observe the tendency of changes in relevant apoptosis genes such as C-myc, N-ras and mutant type P53, and the influence of moxibustion on cell cycle modulation genes such as cyclinD1, CDK4 and pl6. Results： Moxibustion could reduce the activities of γ-GT and GST in the blood, obviously decrease the protein expression of relevant apoptosis genes such as C-myc, N-ras and mutant type P53 and markedly inhibit the over-expression of relevant cell cycle modulation genes such as cyclinD1 and CDK4 and the mutation of cell cycle modulation gene pl 6. Conclusion： Moxibustion might play a certain role in relieving HCC precancerous lesion and its action mechanism might be related to the regulation on partial apoptosis genes.

Ultrastructural features of the hypopharyngeal glands in the social wasp Polistes versicolor （Hymenoptera： Vespidae）

The wasps of the genus Polistes have been considered the key to understanding the evolution of social behavior in Hymenoptera. Several studies have shown that the development of organized insect societies was accompanied by the evolution of structures like exocrine glands, which became specialized to perform specific functions. This article investigates the ultrastructural and cytochemical features of the hypopharyngeal glands of Polistes versicolor. These glands have been studied in depth in social bees, where they occur only in nurses and produce the royal jelly. Our results＇ revealed that these glands basically did not vary among individuals or between sexes. They are constituted by spherical cells, each with a large nucleus and well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum. Secretion vesicles are abundant, but lipid droplets were not observed, indicating that these glands may not have a role in pheromone synthesis. Acid phosphatase was detected in lysosomes, and also flee in the cytosol, but did not seem to be related with cell death. Thus, our results suggest that the hypopharyngeal glands ofP. versicolor may not have a specialized social role, but could produce digestive enzymes.