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Biomedical subjects

Y M Zhu

Publications and source records attributed to Y M Zhu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Interleukin-8/CXCL8 is a growth factor for human lung cancer cells.

Interleukin-8/CXCL8 (IL-8) is a chemokine and angiogenic factor. Recently, IL-8 was identified as an autocrine growth factor in several human cancers. Here, we investigated the expression and function of IL-8 in lung cancer cells. The expressions of IL-8 and its receptors, CXCR1 and CXCR2, were examined in a panel of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines. Using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we found that all NSCLC cell lines tested produced modest or high levels of IL-8 (up to 51 ng ml(-1) 10(6) cells(-1)). Expression of CXCR1 and CXCR2 was found by RT-PCR and flow cytometry in two out of three cell lines. In contrast, SCLC cell lines produced very low or undetectable levels of IL-8, but expressed CXCR1 and CXCR2. We next investigated whether IL-8 could act as an autocrine growth factor in two NSCLC cell lines (H460 and MOR/P) expressing both IL-8 and its receptors. We found that cell proliferation was attenuated by anti-IL-8 neutralising antibody to 71 and 76% in H460 and MOR/P, respectively (P<0.05). Exogenous IL-8 significantly stimulated cell proliferation in four SCLC cell lines tested in a dose-dependent fashion. Cell proliferation was increased by between 18% (P<0.05) and 37% (P<0.05). Stimulation of cell proliferation by IL-8 was also demonstrated by analysis of proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression and cell cycle in H69 cells. Furthermore, we investigated which receptor(s) mediated the mitogenic function of IL-8 in lung cancer cells. We found that cell proliferation was significantly reduced by anti-CXCR1 antibody but not by anti-CXCR2 antibody. In conclusion, IL-8 can act as an autocrine and/or paracrine growth factor for lung cancer cells, and the mitogenic function of IL-8 in lung cancer is mediated mainly by CXCR1 receptor.

Autocrine Communication↗
PubMed2002

[The application of magnetic resonance imaging transfer to the study of multiple sclerosis patients: review and analysis of literature].

The purpose of this review of the literature is to analyze the contribution of magnetization transfer (MT) imaging techniques in understanding the various characteristics of multiple sclerosis. MT imaging allows contrast augmentation by use of magnetization transfer contrast. MT imaging allows lesion characterization by means of quantification of the degree of signal loss due to magnetization transfer contrast by a magnetization transfer ratio. It is used as an indicator of tissue destruction; in particular, to demyelination. Both applications of MT imaging in multiple sclerosis are studied in this review, as well as the methodological and technical limitations.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

Synthesis and anti-HIV activity of oleanolic acid derivatives.

Thirteen oleanolic acid derivatives were prepared and evaluated for anti-HIV activity in H9 lymphocytes. Saturating the C(12)-C(13) double bond and converting the C(17)-carboxyl group to an aminomethyl group led to compounds 13-15 and 19-20, respectively, which showed improved anti-HIV activity. Compound 15 was the most potent derivative with EC(50)=0.0039 microg/mL and TI=3570.

Anti-HIV Agents↗
PubMed2001

Molecular cytogenetic characterization and clinical relevance of additional, complex and/or variant chromosome abnormalities in acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by typical morphological manifestation, t(15;17) translocation and active response to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in the great majority of patients. However, a subset of APL cases may present atypical phenotypic, cytogenetic or molecular features at different stages of the disease. The biological and clinical significance of these features sometimes remains obscure. In this study, 284 APL patients were cytogenetically analyzed and precise diagnosis was performed according to the molecular cytogenetic results. Twenty-six APL patients were identified as having additional, complex and/or variant chromosomal abnormalities at diagnosis or at relapse, 16 of them being further analyzed using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) or chromosome painting (CP). Interestingly, some of these chromosomal aberrations were found to be associated with atypical morphology and/or drug response, indicating a genotype-phenotype correlation. Analysis of the complex karyotype may also allow a better understanding of the levels of cellular origin of the leukemogenesis. Examination of the remission induction and survival data showed that the presence of the additional/complex chromosome abnormalities was related to the prognosis in both primarily diagnosed and relapsed patients in this series.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Feasibility and clinical significance of real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay of PML-RARalpha fusion transcript in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

INTRODUCTION: To study the relationship between the expression level of the PML-RARalpha fusion transcripts and the clinical status and efficiency of the therapy in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patients, we applied a very sensitive and specific real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) system to quantify the dose of PML-RARalpha fusion transcripts in a series of APL patients at distinct disease stages. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 31 APL patients (19 males and 12 females; aged from 8 to 74 years) from eight hospitals in Shanghai were analysed. Real-time Quantitative RT-PCR was used to measure the normalized dose (DoseN) of PML-RARalpha fusion transcripts. RESULTS: A wide range of PML-RARalpha DoseN above 1 x 10(3) was noted in 25 newly diagnosed patients. PML-RARalpha DoseN was significantly decreased after remission induction with ATRA, ATRA/chemotherapy or As2O3 and further reduced after consolidation. The fact that all patients with long disease free survival had a constantly low PML-RARalpha DoseN below 2 x 10(2) and a higher level predicted impending relapse suggests that this value could serve as a 'threshold' for molecular remission. PML-RARalpha DoseN was also of prognostic value in a group of relapsed patients, since good response to As2O3 reinduction was accompanied by a remarkable reduction of fusion transcript level, whereas patients with high PML-RARalpha Dose(N) after the second CR tended to relapse again rapidly. CONCLUSION: These results confirm that real-time RT-PCR assay for PML-RARalpha transcripts in APL patients is useful in reflecting leukemic burden, assessing response to treatment and indicating the ultimate clinical outcome or curability of disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Human airway smooth muscle cells secrete vascular endothelial growth factor: up-regulation by bradykinin via a protein kinase C and prostanoid-dependent mechanism.

Bronchial vascular remodeling is an important feature of the pathology of chronic asthma, but the responsible mechanisms and main sources of angiogenic factors are unclear. Here we report that human airway smooth muscle cells express vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)121, 165, 189, 206 splice variants and secrete VEGF protein constitutively. VEGF protein secretion was increased by the proinflammatory asthma mediator bradykinin through post-transcriptional mechanisms. Bradykinin-induced VEGF secretion was dependent on the B2 bradykinin receptor, activation of protein kinase C, and generation of endogenous prostanoids. This is the first report that bradykinin can increase VEGF secretion in any biological system and the first to show that airway smooth muscle cells produce VEGF. Our results suggest a novel role for human airway smooth muscle in contributing to bronchial mucosal angiogenesis in chronic asthma by secretion of VEGF and suggest a wider role for mesenchymal cell products in mediating angiogenesis in inflammatory and allergic diseases.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Synthesis and antimalarial activity of artemisinin derivatives containing an amino group.

In search of water-soluble artemisinin derivatives that are more stable than sodium artesunate, over 30 derivatives containing an amino group (compounds 3-5) were synthesized and tested in mice. All products tested (except 5a and 5b) are the beta isomers. These basic compounds combined with organic acids (oxalic acid, maleic acid, etc. ) to yield the corresponding salts. Generally, the maleates have better solubility in water than the corresponding oxalates. The aqueous solutions of these salts can be kept at room temperature for several weeks without any discernible decomposition. Compounds 3f, 3h, and 3r are much more active against P. berghei than artesunic acid by oral administration and therefore were further tested in monkeys. However, their oral efficacies are poorer than that of artesunic acid against P. knowlesi in rhesus monkeys. It is interesting to note that 3f, 3h, and 3r showed much lower efficacies against P. berghei when they were administered subcutaneously than orally.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2000

Automated segmentation of multiple sclerosis lesions in multispectral MR imaging using fuzzy clustering.

A method is presented for fully automated detection of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) lesions in multispectral magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Based on the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) algorithm, the method starts with a segmentation of an MR image to extract an external CSF/lesions mask, preceded by a local image contrast enhancement procedure. This binary mask is then superimposed on the corresponding data set yielding an image containing only CSF structures and lesions. The FCM is then reapplied to this masked image to obtain a mask of lesions and some undesired substructures which are removed using anatomical knowledge. Any lesion size found to be less than an input bound is eliminated from consideration. Results are presented for test runs of the method on 10 patients. Finally, the potential of the method as well as its limitations are discussed.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2000

Targeting remodeling in respiratory inflammation.

Chronic asthma causes considerable morbidity, mortality and utilization of healthcare resources. The fact that asthma still causes such problems despite the widespread use of anti-inflammatory treatment suggests that new approaches are needed. Airways in chronic asthma are characterized by considerable remodeling which affects a number of structures, particularly airway smooth muscle and changes in airway smooth muscle thickness may be one of the most important determinants of bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Here we suggest new approaches that might be used to target smooth muscle remodeling in asthma.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

[Epidemiology of dental caries and periodontal diseases in middle school students in Suzhou City].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of dental caries and periodontal diseases in middle school students at the ages of 11 to 13 and 15 to 17. METHODS: Dental caries and periodontal diseases were assessed strictly by "national survey table of dental caries and periodontal diseases for school students". RESULTS: The study group consisted of 20 581 students. The percentage of dental caries, DMFT and DMFS in students 11 to 13 years of age were 23.6%,0.40 and 0.54, respectively. The corresponding results were 29.76%, 0.64 and 0.87 for students 15 to 17 years of age, respectively. The percentage of gingivitis and dental calculus in students 11 to 13 years were 75.33% and 35.86%, respectively. The corresponding values in students 15 to 17 years of age were 73.1% and 44.91%, respectively. Female students have significantly few gingivitis and dental calculus than male students in both groups. CONCLUSION: Compared with the students at the same ages in other cities, students in Suzhou city have low percentage of dental caries and periodontal diseases.

English Abstract↗
PubMed1999

Microsatellite instability and p53 mutations are associated with abnormal expression of the MSH2 gene in adult acute leukemia.

Microsatellite instability (MSI) and p53 mutations have been reported to occur in a significant proportion of patients with therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (AML). MSH2 is one of the genes involved in DNA mismatch repair to maintain fidelity of genomic replication, and defects of MSH2 are directly involved in MSI in hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal tumors and other human tumors. We have examined the expression of MSH2 protein by Western blotting in 43 adult leukemia samples, including 42 AML and 1 acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) using the antibody MSH2 (Ab-1) (Calbiochem, La Jolla, CA). Abnormal expression of MSH2 protein was found in 14 of 43 (32.6%) cases; a control antibody to actin was always positive. Of the 14 patients that had abnormal expression of MSH2, 2 had therapy-related acute leukemia and 9 were elderly patients (>60 years of age). Expression of MSH2 mRNA was further examined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Deletion of MSH2 mRNA was found in 1 of 14 cases with deficient MSH2 protein expression. This group of patients was also screened for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the MSH2 locus using a panel 4 microsatellite markers (D2S367, D2S288, D2S391, and D2S2294). LOH was found in 5 of 11 cases examined. There was no evidence of LOH in 14 patients with normal MSH2 expression who were examined using the same markers. Functional evidence for defective DNA mismatch repair in leukemic cells lacking MSH2 as manifest by MSI was found in 7 of 11 cases studied. Mutations of the p53 gene in these 43 samples were also investigated by direct sequencing of full-length p53 cDNA. Mutations of p53 were found in 6 of 43 cases, including 5 of the 14 (35.7%) cases that did not express MSH2 protein. In contrast, mutation of p53 was only found in 1 of 29 (3.4%) cases with normal MSH2 protein expression (chi2 = 5.720, P <.02). These results suggest that abnormalities of DNA mismatch repair due to defective MSH2 expression could play a key role in leukemogenesis, in particular in AML arising in elderly patients or secondary to previous chemotherapy.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1999

Mechanisms of relapse in acute leukaemia: involvement of p53 mutated subclones in disease progression in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Mutations of the p53 tumour suppressor gene are infrequent at presentation of both acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), being found in between 5-10% of AML and 2-3% of ALL. Here we have studied the frequency of detection of p53 mutations at relapse of both AML and B-precursor ALL. In those patients with detectable mutations at relapse we investigated whether the mutation was detectable at presentation and was thus an early initiating event or whether it had arisen as a late event associated with relapse. Bone marrow samples from 55 adults and children with relapsed AML (n = 41) or ALL (n = 14) were analysed for p53 gene alterations by direct sequencing of exons 5-9. For samples where a p53 mutation was found at relapse, analysis of presentation samples was carried out by direct sequencing of the exon involved, or by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) if the mutation could not be detected using direct sequencing. A p53 mutated gene was found at relapse in seven out of 55 cases. The frequency was higher in relapsed ALL (four out of 14 cases; 28.6%) compared to AML (three out of 41 cases; 7.3%). In five out of the seven cases presentation samples were available to study for the presence of the mutation. In two out of two AML patients the p53 mutation was detectable in the presentation sample by direct sequencing. In three ALL patients analysis of presentation material by direct sequencing showed a small mutant peak in one case, the other two being negative despite the sample analysed containing > 90% blast cells. However in both of these patients, the presence of p53 mutation was confirmed in the presentation sample using allele-specific PCR. In one of these patients the emergence of a subclone at relapse was confirmed by clonality analysis using IgH fingerprinting. Our results confirm that in ALL p53 mutations are present in a proportion of patients at relapse. Furthermore cells carrying the mutation are detectable at presentation in a minor clone suggesting that p53 mutations in ALL may be a mechanism contributing to disease relapse.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Fusion of cine magnetic resonance and contrast-enhanced first-pass magnetic resonance data in patients with coronary artery disease: a feasibility study.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The left ventricle (LV) myocardial wall contractibility can be evaluated using cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a qualitative or quantitative manner. Meanwhile, myocardial perfusion can be assessed using contrast-enhanced first-pass MRI. The authors propose a method of automatically fusing the complementary information from these two cardiac MRI modalities into one single image, from which a match or mismatch between contraction and perfusion could be extracted. METHODS: The authors developed a registration algorithm based on the combined use of the global affine transformation and intrinsic landmarks to match images from the same sequence or from two imaging sequences. Contraction and perfusion information was fused by combining a myocardial contour image and a parametric image of the slope of the intensity-time curve, respectively. The fusion paradigm was applied to four patients' data as a demonstration of feasibility of the proposed approach and as a preliminary evaluation. RESULTS: Cine MR and contrast-enhanced MR images were well aligned. The contractibility of the LV was displayed by the myocardial contour image. The parametric slope image was consistent with the known coronary artery status of each patient. The combined contraction-perfusion representation of the LV showed the correspondence between regional LV contraction and myocardial perfusion at a one slice level. CONCLUSIONS: Left ventricle contraction and myocardial perfusion can be represented conjointly in one single fused image. The fusion paradigm should be evaluated for a larger number of patients to evaluate the clinical relevance of this approach in assessing coronary artery disease.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1997

Bcl-x(L) is heterogenously expressed by acute myeloblastic leukaemia cells and is associated with autonomous growth in vitro and with P-glycoprotein expression.

The cells from approximately 70% patients with acute myeloblastic leukaemia exhibit autonomous growth characteristics in vitro, which have been associated with a poor response to therapy. We have previously shown that leukaemic cells with autonomous growth characteristics express high levels of bcl-2 and are relatively resistant to apoptosis. As bcl-x(L) is a bcl-2-related gene with anti-apoptotic activity which also confers resistance to cytotoxic drugs we have studied its expression in AML in relation to cellular growth characteristics and to the expression of P-glycoprotein. Cells from 15 patients were studied. Immunoblotting demonstrated bands at 31 kDa corresponding to bcl-x(L) from the cells of all patients. Bcl-x(S) was not detected in any sample. Using standardised, quantitative flow cytometry, bcl-x(L) expression ranged from 0.25 x 10(5) to 4.24 x 10(5) bound FITC molecules, (median 1.35 x 10[5]). AML blasts with autonomous growth in vitro expressed more bcl-x(L) (median 1.76 x 10[5]) than those which did not (median 0.86 x 10(5), P=0.01). Quantitative bcl-x(L) expression strongly correlated with that of P-glycoprotein, also measured by quantitative flow cytometry using the MRK16 antibody (r=0.95, P < 0.001), but not with MRPr1. These results provide a further explanation for the poor prognosis associated with autonomous in vitro growth of AML blasts and illustrate that these cells may coexpress different modalities of resistance to cytotoxic drug therapy involving both anti-apoptotic pathways (bcl-x(L), bcl-2) and classic multidrug resistance (MDR1). The implication of these findings is that the use of agents to reverse MDR1 function in AML may be unsuccessful in the absence of strategies to reduce resistance to apoptosis.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗
PubMed1997

Bcl-2 expression in acute myeloblastic leukaemia: relationship with autonomous growth and CD34 antigen expression.

The bcl-2 gene encodes a mitochondrial protein that inhibits the onset of apoptosis induced by growth factor withdrawal or cytotoxic agents. Using quantitative flow cytometry and expressing bcl-2 levels as the number of molecules of equivalent soluble fluorochrome (MESF) per cell, we have shown that bcl-2 protein expression in the blast cells from patients with acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML) is heterogeneous, but not related to FAB type. The blast cells from AML patients with the capacity to grow and survive autonomously in vitro were found to have higher bcl-2 MESF values than those that were dependent upon exogenous growth factors. We have previously reported that the blast cells from 70% of AML patients exhibit autonomous growth and autocrine growth factor production in vitro and that this has been shown to be an important indicator of poor prognosis in AML. High bcl-2 expression has also been associated with a low complete remission rate and poor survival in AML. In the patients whose blast cells exhibited autonomous growth, neutralisation of endogenous GM-CSF resulted in down-regulation of bcl-2 protein, whereas in blast cells from patients whose cells proliferated only in the presence of added growth factors, incorporation of recombinant human (rh) GM-CSF in the culture media resulted in up-regulation of bcl-2. Because CD34 positivity has been reported as another indicator of poor prognosis in AML, we compared bcl-2 expression in cases of CD34 positive AML, CD34 negative AML and CD34 positive normal bone marrow cells. Bcl-2 was found to be strongly expressed on the CD34+ normal bone marrow cells. The blast cells from CD34+ AML patients expressed significantly higher bcl-2 levels than CD34- AML patients. In five cases of CD34+ AML, the bcl-2 levels were determined on purified CD34+ and CD34- blast cell populations. The CD34+ blast cells were found to express significantly higher bcl-2 levels compared with the CD34-blast cells. Our data would suggest that quantification of bcl-2 in AML blast cell may be useful as a prognostic indicator in AML.

Acute Disease↗