[Development of noroviruses].

Noroviruses (NVs) were one of the new borne viruses, which was found firstly in the Unit States of America in 1972 and reported in China in 1995. The main food-borne viral pathogens affect people badly and cause the epidemic acute gastroenteritis in all kinds of people. And to this day, however, no cell lines and animal models have been found, which has hampered the study of these viruses.

[Evaluation on effects of chromogenic medium in rapid detection of Coliform and Escherichia coli].

Objective: To evaluate the detective efficacy of Chromogenic Coliform and Escherichia Coli Agar (CCEA).

Methods: A new chromogenic medium CCEA prepared by Huankai laboratory was used to compare with a classical medium of violet red bile agar (VRBA), and other two Chromogenic media Agar I and Agar II by detecting separately 11 reference strains, thirteen sterile samples with Coliform or E.coli and other four samples, and the accordant rates of detection were observed.

Losartan attenuates ventilator-induced lung injury.

Background: Accumulating evidence shows that angiotensin II (ANG II) can be generated locally in the lung tissue and may have autocrine and/or paracrine actions on the cellular level. In addition, ANG II precursor, angiotensinogen, as well as ANG II type 1 receptor (AT(1)), are also expressed in the lung tissue. Recent studies revealed that ANG II promoted acute lung injury induced by acid aspiration or sepsis, and that ANG II receptor blockade had a protective effect against acute lung injury.

Ebselen reduces nitration and restores voltage-gated potassium channel function in small coronary arteries of diabetic rats.

Small coronary arteries (SCA) from diabetic rats exhibit enhanced peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) formation and concurrent impairment of voltage-dependent potassium (K(v)) channel function. However, it is unclear whether ONOO(-) plays a causative role in this impairment. We hypothesized that functional loss of K(v) channels in coronary smooth muscle cells (SMC) in diabetes is due to ONOO(-) with subsequent tyrosine nitration of K(v) channel proteins.

Development of a virus concentration method and its application for the detection of noroviruses in drinking water in China.

A new procedure for the concentration of nonoviruses from water samples has been developed. This procedure (calcium flocculation-citrate dissolution method) uses the following steps: virus flocculation formed by treatment with 1 M CaCl2 and 1 M Na2HPO4, virus release by sodium citrate dissolution (0.3 M Na citrate, pH 3.

[Activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in ventilator-induced lung injury in rat].

Objective: To study the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and the expression of inflammatory cytokines in ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) in rat.

Methods: Thirty healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into three group (A, B, C group, n=10 per group). Mechanical ventilation was instituted in all the groups.

Rapid detection of noroviruses in fecal samples and shellfish by nucleic acid sequence-based amplification.

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) method of detecting noroviruses in artificially and naturally contaminated shellfish. We used 58 fecal samples that tested positive for noroviruses with electron microscopy (EM) to develop an NASBA assay for these viruses. Oligonucleotide primers targeting the polymerase coding region were used to amplify the viral RNA in an isothermal process that resulted in the accumulation of RNA amplicons.

New synthesis of a porous Si/TiO2 photocatalyst: testing its efficiency and stability under visible light irradiation.

TiO(2) nanoparticles were directly coupled with porous silicon and this novel composite material shows very strong photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Rhodamine B with high photochemical stability under visible light irradiation.

The antimelanoma immunocytokine scFvMEL/TNF shows reduced toxicity and potent antitumor activity against human tumor xenografts.

The immunocytokine scFvMEL/TNF, a fusion protein composed of human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and a single-chain Fv antibody (scFv) scFvMEL targeting the melanoma gp240 antigen, demonstrates impressive cytotoxic effects against human melanoma cell lines in vitro. Pharmacokinetic studies of 125I-scFvMEL/TNF in BALB/c mice showed that the construct clears from the circulation with a terminal-phase half-life of 17.6 hours after intravenous administration.

[Study on Rotavirus detection by nucleic acid sequence based amplification].

Rotavirus is one of the major cause of the viral gastroenteritis throughout the world. A nucleic acid sequence-based amplification(NASBA) technique for the detection of rotavirus in faecal specimens was developed and compared to the RT-PCR technique. Primers were designed according to the high conserved region of VP7 gene.

Dual optical and nuclear imaging in human melanoma xenografts using a single targeted imaging probe.

Introduction: Dual-labeled imaging agents that allow both nuclear and optical imaging after a single injection would be advantageous in certain applications. In this study, we synthesized and characterized a dual-labeled RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) peptide and compared nuclear and optical images obtained with this agent.

Methods: 111In-DTPA-Lys(IRDye800)-c(KRGDf) composed of both the 111In chelator diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) and the near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye IRDye800 (excitation/emission, 765/792 nm) was synthesized.

Convenient solid-phase synthesis of diethylenetriaminepenta-acetic acid (DTPA)- conjugated cyclic RGD peptide analogues.

Solid-phase synthesis of radiometal chelator-conjugated peptides can facilitate the creation of radioactive peptide libraries to be utilized in high throughput in vivo screening of targeted nuclear-imaging agents. In this study, a new diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) derivative, 1-(p-succinamidobenzyl)- DTPA penta-t-butyl ester [DTPA(But)(5)-Bz-NH-SA], and its precursor molecule, 1-(p-aminobenzyl)- DTPA penta-t-butyl ester (DTPA(But)(5)-Bz-NH(2)), were applied to the solid-phase synthesis of DTPA-conjugated cyclic peptides containing the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif with high efficiency. The resulting conjugates, DTPA-Bz-NH-SA-c(Lys-Arg-Gly-Asp-phe) [DTPA-Bz-NH-SA-c(KRGDf)] and DTPA-Bz-NHc( Glu-Arg-Gly-Asp-phe) [DTPA-Bz-NH-c(KRGDf)], demonstrated similar in vitro biologic activities as their corresponding parent peptides.

Imaging dose-dependent pharmacokinetics of an RGD-fluorescent dye conjugate targeted to alpha v beta 3 receptor expressed in Kaposi's sarcoma.

Dynamic fluorescence images were obtained from xenografts bearing a subcutaneous human Kaposi's sarcoma (KS1767) immediately following the intravenous injection of an integrin-receptor targeting Cy5.5-c(KRGDf) at a dose ranging from 0.75 to 6 nmol/mouse.

[Study on rotavirus detection with single-tube seminested RT-PCR method in shellfish].

Being a foodborne virus, Rotavirus was often carried by shellfish. At the present, RT-PCR was the most effective method of Rotavirus detection in shellfish, but its sensitivity was low because of low levels of virus contamination and PCR inhibitors in shellfish. So contaminated shellfish experimentally in laboratory, and imitated the natural environment to concentrate Rotavirus, then detected by the developed single-tube seminested RT-PCR.

[Study of rat beta-defensin-2 gene and protein expression in ventilator-associated pneumonia].

Objective: To study the changes in the expression of rat beta-defensin-2 (RBD-2) gene in the lung tissue with P. aeruginosa (PA) pneumonia following tracheal mechanical ventilation (MV), and to evaluate the pathogenesis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Methods: A total of 58 normal healthy Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing between 280 and 320 g, were randomly divided into the control group and the conventional MV group (CMV).

Enhanced oxidative stress impairs cAMP-mediated dilation by reducing Kv channel function in small coronary arteries of diabetic rats.

We have shown that short-term exposure of rat small coronary arteries (RSCAs) to high glucose enhances superoxide (O2-*) formation and impairs cAMP-mediated dilation by reducing voltage-gated K+ (Kv) channel function. However, it is not clear whether the impairment also occurs in diabetes mellitus (DM), where alternate mechanisms could mask or aggravate vasodilator dysfunction. RSCAs were isolated from control and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Probing for integrin alpha v beta3 binding of RGD peptides using fluorescence polarization.

Integrin alpha(v)beta(3) is an adhesion molecule involved in tumor invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis. There is substantial interest in developing novel agents that bind to integrin alpha(v)beta(3). Here we report the synthesis and characterization of a fluorescent integrin alpha(v)beta(3) probe and its use in a nonradioactive, simple, sensitive fluorescence polarization (FP) assay to quantify binding to integrin alpha(v)beta(3).

Near-infrared optical imaging of integrin alphavbeta3 in human tumor xenografts.

In vivo optical imaging is potentially useful for evaluating the presence of tumor markers that are targets of molecular medicine. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of integrin alphavbeta3-targeted peptide cyclo(Lys-Arg-Gly-Asp-Phe) [c(KRGDf )] labeled with fluorescence dyes with wavelength spanning from the visible/near infrared (Cy5.5) to the true near infrared (IRDye800) for optical imaging.

Synthesis and characterization of poly(L-glutamic acid) gadolinium chelate: a new biodegradable MRI contrast agent.

Most currently evaluated macromolecular contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are not biodegradable. The goal of this study is to synthesize and characterize poly(l-glutamic acid) (PG) gadolinium chelates as biodegradable blood-pool MRI contrast agents. Two PG chelates of gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) were synthesized through the use of difunctional and monofunctional DTPA precursors.

Imaging taxane-induced tumor apoptosis using PEGylated, 111In-labeled annexin V.

Unlabelled: 99mTc-Labeled annexin V has been used for the imaging of tumor apoptosis induced by chemotherapy. However, owing to the short half-life of annexin V, multiple injections of the radiotracer are necessary to capture the peak apoptotic activity. In this study, we evaluated the imaging properties of an (111)In-labeled, long-circulating annexin V.

Improved radiolabeling of PEGylated protein: PEGylated annexin V for noninvasive imaging of tumor apoptosis.

We have developed a one-step procedure to introduce both polyethylene glycol (PEG) and the metal chelator diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) to proteins through a heterofunctional PEG precursor. The PEG precursor contains DTPA at one end and an amine-reactive isothiocyanate (SCN-) functional group at the other end. It was obtained as lyophilized powder and could be stored at 4 degrees C for several months.

mda-5: An interferon-inducible putative RNA helicase with double-stranded RNA-dependent ATPase activity and melanoma growth-suppressive properties.

Human melanoma cells can be reprogrammed to terminally differentiate and irreversibly lose proliferative capacity by appropriate pharmacological manipulation. Subtraction hybridization identified melanoma differentiation-associated gene-5 (mda-5) as a gene induced during differentiation, cancer reversion, and programmed cell death (apoptosis). This gene contains both a caspase recruitment domain and putative DExH group RNA helicase domains.