Pre-irradiation with low-dose C-12(6+) beam significantly enhances the efficacy of AdCMV-p53 gene therapy in human non-small lung cancer

The combination of ionizing radiation and gene therapy has been investigated. However, there are very few reports about the combination of heavy-ion irradiation and gene therapy. To determine if the pre-exposure to low-dose heavy ion beam enhances the suppression of AdCMV-p53 on non-small lung cancer (NSLC), the cells pre-irradiated or non-irradiated were infected with 20, 40 MOI of AdCMV-p53. Survival fraction and the relative biology effect (RBE) were determined by clonogenic assay. The results showed that the proportions of p53 positive cells in C-12(6+) beam induced AdCMV-p53 infected cells were more than 90%, which were significantly more than those in gamma-ray induced AdCMV-p53 infected cells. The pre-exposure to low-dose 12C6+ beam significantly prevented the G(0)/G(1) arrest and activated G(2)/M checkpoints. The pre-exposure to C-12(6+) beam significantly improved cell to apoptosis. RBEs for the C-12(6+)+ AdCMV-p53 infection groups were 30%-60%,20% -130% and 30%-70% more than those for the C-12(6+)_irradiated only, AdCMV-p53 infected only, and gamma-irradiation induced AdCMVp53 infected groups, respectively. The data suggested that the pre-exposure to low-dose C-12(6+) beam significantly promotes exogenous p53 expression in NSLC, and the suppression of AdCMV-p53 gene therapy on NSLC.

Adenovirus-mediated p53 gene transfer sensitizes hepatocellular carcinoma cells to heavy-ion radiation

Background. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether adenovirus-mediated p53 transfer could sensitize hepatocellular carcinoma to heavy-ion irradiation. Methods. HepG2 cells were preexposed to a C-12(6+) beam, and then infected with replication-deficient adenovirus recombinant vectors containing human wild-type p53 (AdCMV-p53) (C-12(6+) irradiation + AdCMV-p53 infection). The survival fraction was determined by clonogenic assay. The cell cycle, cell apoptosis, and p53 expression were monitored by flow cytometric analysis. Results. p53 expression in C-12(6+) irradiation + AdCMV-p53 infection groups was markedly higher than that in C-12(6+) irradiation only groups (P < 0.05), suggesting that the preexposure to the C-12(6+) beam promoted the expression of exogenous p53 in HepG2 cells infected with AdCMV-p53 only. The G(1)-phase arrest and cell apoptosis in the C-12(6+) irradiation + AdCMV-p53 infection groups were significantly more than those in the C-12(6+) irradiated groups (P < 0.05). The survival fractions of the C-12(6+) irradiation + AdCMV-p53 infection groups decreased by 30%-49% compared with those of the C-12(6+) beam-irradiated only groups (P < 0.05). Conclusions. Adenovirus-mediated p53 gene transfer can promote G(1)-phase arrest and cell apoptosis, thus sensitizing hepatocellular carcinoma cells to heavy-ion irradiation.

High-efficiency transfer and expression of AdCMV-p53 in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells induced by low-dose carbon-ion radiation

Objective To investigate whether the irradiation with C-beam could enhance adenovirus-mediated transfer and expression of p53 in human hepatocellular carcinoma. Materials and methods HepG2 cells were exposed to C-beam or gamma-ray and then infected with replicationdeficient adenovirus recombinant vectors containing human wild-type p53 or green fluorescent protein, respectively. The transfer efficiency and expression level of the exogenous gene were detected by flow cytometric analysis. Cell survival fraction was detected by clonogenic assay. Results The transfer frequency in C-beam or gamma-irradiated groups increased by 50-83% and 5.7-38.0% compared with the control, respectively (P < 0.05). Compared with C-beam alone, p53 alone, and gamma-ray with p53, the percentages of p53 positive cells for 1 Gy C-beam with p53 increased by 56.0-72.0%, 63.5-82.0%, and 31.3-72.5% on first and third day after the treatments, respectively (P < 0.05). The survival fractions for the 2Gy C-bearn and AdCMV-p53 infection groups decreased to similar to 2%. Conclusion C-beam irradiation could significantly promote AdCMV-green fluorescent protein transfer and expression of p53.

辐射联合p53基因转导对人黑色素瘤细胞系生物学效应的研究

恶性黑色素瘤具有早期高度转移潜能，尽管常常检测到野生型p53基因，却对常规放化疗高度抗拒，因此，寻求有效治疗黑色素瘤的方法十分重要。本文就如何将放射治疗与基因治疗有机结合、外源性p53对不同p53状态的黑色素瘤细胞生长抑制和辐射增敏作用，以及外源性P53蛋白对不同传能线密度（LET）射线辐照诱导肿瘤细胞死亡途径的影响做了一些粗浅研究。 首先，采用复制缺陷的重组腺病毒载体(AdCMV-p53)介导人野生型p53基因转染1 Gy X-射线预辐照的黑色素瘤细胞系A375(wt p53)和WM983a(mu p53)，RT-PCR检测mRNA水平，流式细胞仪测定细胞周期阻滞及外源性P53蛋白表达情况,克隆形成率测定辐射后细胞存活率。用携带报道基因的复制缺陷重组腺病毒载体AdCMV-GFP（绿色荧光蛋白）作为对照。结果显示1 Gy X-射线辐照可明显增加AdCMV-p53对A375和WM983a细胞系的基因转导效率，转导的外源性野生型P53可在两种细胞中高效表达，并诱导细胞周期G1期阻滞；单纯转导p53对A375(wt p53)细胞无明显诱导凋亡和生长抑制效应，但可部分诱导WM983a(mu p53)细胞凋亡；而转导p53基因48小时后给予X-射线辐射，两种细胞克隆存活率较其对照组均明显减低；外源性p53基因对WM983a(mu p53)细胞的辐射增敏作用较A375(wt p53)细胞明显。这些结果表明小剂量辐射既可有效增加腺病毒介导的p53转导，又不会对患者产生明显副作用。而且，外源性野生型p53可明显增加黑色素瘤细胞系A375(wt p53)和WM983a(mu p53)的辐射敏感性。提示p53是基因治疗黑色素瘤较好的侯选基因，也为临床上放疗联合基因治疗恶性黑色素瘤提供了实验室依据。 其次，观察了外源性P53蛋白对不同传能线密度（LET）射线辐照诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡和坏死的影响，并探讨其可能的机理。人黑色素瘤细胞系A375（wild-type p53）经携带人野生型p53基因的腺病毒载体（AdCMV-p53）感染后分别给予X-射线和碳离子束照射，采用克隆形成法测定细胞辐射敏感性，Hoechst33258和吖啶橙-溴化乙锭双染，荧光显微镜下观察细胞凋亡和死亡。结果发现：（1）高LET射线辐照时，A375细胞和转导人野生型p53基因的A375细胞（A375/p53）的辐射敏感性没有明显差异；（2）虽然辐射诱导细胞凋亡比例的增加依赖于LET，但是无论高LET或低LET，外源性P53蛋白均可有效诱导细胞凋亡。（3）高LET射线辐照时，A375细胞的坏死细胞明显高于A375/p53细胞。提示尽管高LET射线辐射对A375和A375/p53细胞的存活无明显影响，但是对细胞凋亡的诱导却部分依赖于P53蛋白的功能，提示P53蛋白可能在调节细胞死亡类型中发挥重要作用。这对临床应用高LET射线辐射联合p53基因治疗恶性黑色素瘤有一定参考意义

p53基因转导联合重离子辐射引起小鼠黑色素瘤细胞生长抑制及其机制的探讨

为了将放射治疗与基因治疗有机结合起来以寻求有效治疗恶性黑色素瘤的方法，采用了AdCMV-p53（AdCMV-GFP）转染B16细胞联合重离子（或X－射线）辐照的方法，观察辐射对基因转移效率的影响、外源性P53蛋白对重离子辐照诱导肿瘤细胞生长抑制和辐射增敏作用，以及外源性P53蛋白对重离子辐照诱导肿瘤细胞内蛋白表达的变化，现将本工作结果总结如下： 1.重离子照射可增加腺病毒载体介导p53基因转导效率，而且先转染后辐照法比先辐照后转染法能更显著的地增加基因转导效率。这样在最大限度提高基因转导效率的基础之上，同时又可以减少病毒使用量及辐照剂量。 2.p53基因转导联合重离子辐照能明显抑制细胞生长，诱导细胞凋亡，促进G0/G1期细胞阻滞。说明外源性野生型p53基因导入联合辐照可增加黑色素瘤细胞系B16的辐射敏感性。 3.重离子照射比X-射线照射能更明显增加腺病毒载体介导p53基因转导效率和G0/G1期细胞所占比例，可能是由于两种射线能量沉积的方式不同造成的。 4.重离子辐照联合p53基因转导诱导B16细胞中细胞信号通路发生变化，使得P53和P21表达明显增多，同时MDM2表达随时间而减少。推测导入的p53基因联合重离子辐照改变细胞内信号通路，从而诱导细胞凋亡和细胞周期阻滞

碳离子束联合p53腺病毒重组体转染对肿瘤细胞生物学效应研究

肿瘤是严重威胁人类生命健康的常见病、多发病，不仅病因复杂、发生发展异常迅速，而且到目前为止，发病机理不完全清楚，尚无适应范围广和有特异疗效的治疗方法。因此，肿瘤治疗方法的探索依然是医学、生物学及其相关学科研究的热点。肿瘤的重离子治疗和基因治疗是近年来发展起来的新的肿瘤治疗方法。但它们同样或多或少存在一些不足。在肿瘤治疗方法的探索中，将两种或两种以上理化特性或生物学作用原理不尽相同的现有治疗方法有机结合，充分利用各自优势，取长补短，使治疗效果叠加，对肿瘤发挥协同或相加抑制作用。本研究将重离子辐射与p53腺病毒重组体(AdCMV-p53)转染有机结合，探讨了重离子辐射联合p53基因转导对肿瘤细胞的生物学作用及其可能机理。在低剂量γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53/GFP转染HT-29和PC-3细胞研究基础上，我们用不同剂量的AdCMV-p53/GFP转染经0.5 Gy、1.0 Gy、2.0 Gy 12C6+束/γ射线预辐射处理的人非小细胞肺癌(H1299细胞系，nullp53)，人肝癌细胞(HepG2细胞系，wtp53)和人宫颈癌细胞(Hela细胞系，wtp53，wtp53低水平表达)。用流式细胞分析法检测肿瘤细胞绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)、p53蛋白表达水平和细胞周期。DAPI染色后用荧光显微镜检测细胞凋亡。用RT-PCR检测外源性p53转录。用Western Blot检测外源性p53、MDM2和p21蛋白表达。用克隆形成法测定肿瘤细胞存活。通过与γ辐射联合腺病毒重组体转染组比较，观察了12C6+ 辐射联合腺病毒重组体转染对肿瘤细胞外源性p53蛋白表达、细胞周期阻滞、细胞凋亡和细胞增殖的影响。结果显示，12C6+ 辐射对AdCMV-GFP转染H1299、HepG2和Hela细胞的诱导作用明显强于γ辐射(p<0.05)。与γ辐射诱导AdCMV-GFP转染组相比，0.5 Gy 12C6+束辐射联合20 MOI AdCMV-p53转染组H1299细胞GFP阳性率增加约50% (其GFP阳性率提高到约90%)。0.5 Gy、1.0 Gy 12C6+辐射联合40 MOI AdCMV-p53转染组HepG2细胞GFP阳性率增加约44%(其阳性率分别达56.6%和76.4%)。0.5 Gy、1.0 Gy 12C6+ 束辐射联合40 MOI AdCMV-p53转染组Hela细胞GFP阳性率分别增加37.8%和50%(其阳性率分别达43.4%和59.8%)。12C6+ 辐射对AdCMV-p53转染H1299、HepG2和Hela细胞外源性p53蛋白表达的增强作用明显强于γ辐射(p<0.05)。12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组各种细胞p53阳性率明显高于其它处理组同种细胞p53阳性率(p<0.05)。转染后第5天，γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组3种细胞p53阳性率均降至对照水平。转染后第13天，12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组3种细胞p53阳性率仍高达6－44%。12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染H1299细胞G0/G1、G2/M期细胞所占比例明显高于其它处理组G0/G1、G2/M期细胞所占比例(p<0.05)。与γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组相比，12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组G0/G1期细胞增加6－36%，G2/M期细胞增加了13－86%。12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染HepG2细胞G0/G1期细胞所占比例明显高于其它处理组G0/G1期细胞所占比例(p<0.05)；转染后第5天，1.0、2.0 Gy 12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组G2/M期细胞所占比例明显高于γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组G2/M期细胞所占比例(p<0.05)。各12C6+束辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染Hela细胞G0/G1和G2/M期细胞所占比例均明显高于单纯12C6+ 辐射组和γ射线辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组G0/G1和G2/M期细胞所占比例(p<0.05)。各12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染H1299、HepG2和Hela细胞凋亡率明显高于等剂量12C6+ 单纯辐射和等剂量γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组细胞凋亡率(p<0.05)。与等剂量单纯12C6+辐射和等剂量γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组相比，12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染H1299细胞凋亡率分别增加8.0－66.0%和9.3－63.5%；12C6+束辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染HepG2细胞凋亡率分别增加0.8－32.7%和4.5－27.1%； 12C6+束辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染Hela细胞凋亡率分别增加4.8－30.7%和3.1－22.7%。低剂量12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染细胞存活率明显低于其它处理组同种细胞存活率(p<0.05)。结果提示，低剂量碳离子辐射对腺病毒重组体转染肿瘤细胞和靶细胞内外源p53蛋白表达的促进作用明显强于低剂量γ辐射。碳离子辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染通过促进外源性p53转导、靶细胞外源性p53蛋白表达、细胞周期阻滞和细胞凋亡等增强对肿瘤细胞的抑制。碳离子辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染对肿瘤细胞生物学作用与肿瘤细胞内在p53基因状态有关。总之，我们的研究表明，低剂量碳离子辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染，可通过促进腺病毒重组体对肿瘤细胞的转染、增强靶细胞外源性p53蛋白稳定表达及其由此而诱发的细胞周期阻滞与细胞凋亡等有效抑制肿瘤细胞。在临床上，碳离子辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染有望在提高肿瘤治疗效果的基础上，进一步降低碳离子辐射与AdCMV-p53转染的各自临床用量，减少碳离子辐射的毒副作用，降低AdCMV-p53转染的潜在生物危险性

Demulsification of emulsions exploited by enhanced oil recovery system

Experimental data are presented to show the influence of the enhanced oil recovery system's components, alkali, surfactant, and polymer, on the demulsification and light transmittance of the water separated from the emulsions. Among which, the effects of surfactants, polyoxyethylene (10) alkylphenol ether (OP-10) and sodium petroleum sulfonate (CY-1) on emulsion stability, are the strongest of any component, the effects of polymer, hydrolytic polyacrylamide (HPAM) 3530S, on emulsion stability are the weakest. This research also suggests a possible emulsion minimization approach, which could be implemented in refineries utilizing microwave radiation. Compared with conventional heating, microwave radiation can effectively enhance the demulsification rate by an order of magnitude and increase the light transmittance of the water separated from the emulsions. The demulsification efficiency may reach 100% in a very short. time under microwave radiation.

Concentrations of alkyphenol polyethoxylates entering UK estuaries

Concentrations of the weakly oestrogenic degradation products of alkylphenol polyethoxylate (APE) surfactants (nonylphenol, octylphenol, nonylphenol monoethoxylate and nonylphenol diethoxylate) were measured in water and sediments from British rivers and estuaries collected during 1994 and 1995. In addition, a series of samples of tissues of wild fish from the River Aire, and from a laboratory dosing experiment were analysed for alkylphenols, to assess the degree of bioaccumulation of these compounds. Measurable concentrations of APE residues were recorded in the River Aire (15–76 μg/l total extractable alkylphenols), the River Mersey (6–11 μg/l) and the Tees estuary (up to 76 μg/l). These levels exceed, or are close to, the no observed effect concentration for the induction of vitellogenesis in caged trout (5–20 μg/l total extractable alkylphenols), and may be sufficient to exert an oestrogenic effect on fish populations in these areas. A sediment sample from Bingley on the River Aire contained 15 μg/g (dry weight) nonylphenol, and concentrations in sediments from the Tees and Mersey estuaries exceeded 1 μg/g. These rivers receive a variety of trade waters via sewage treatment works (STW) effluents containing significant concentrations of APE. Elsewhere, concentrations in water and sediments were near or below limits of detection and biological effects are unlikely, suggesting that any oestrogenic effects observed in sewage outfalls and rivers not directly impacted by APE-containing trade-waters may be caused by other chemicals. Analysis of samples of trout muscle taken from a tank dosed at 65 μg/l nonylphenol indicated a bioaccumulation factor of between 90 and 125 after 3 weeks exposure. Samples of wild fish from the River Aire contained up to 0.8 μg/g nonylphenol in the muscle, a tissue bioaccumulation factor of approximately 50 relative to measured concentrations in water samples. A series of fish samples taken from offshore for food quality assurance purposes contained no detectable levels of APE residues (0.05–0.1 μg/g nonylphenol).

土壤干旱胁迫下沙棘休眠、萌芽期内源激素变化及外源GA_3的调节

研究了２年生中国沙棘（Ｈｉｐｐｏｐｈａｅ ｒｈａｍｎｏｉｄｓ）在土壤干旱胁迫下苗木含水量、内源激素水平与萌芽率关系以及萌芽关键期喷施外源ＧＡ３的作用。结果表明：土壤干旱胁迫使冬季休眠与春季萌芽期苗木含水量、内源ＧＡ１／３降低，内源ＡＢＡ明显提高，ＧＡ１／３ＡＢＡ下降，达到萌动所需的调控阈值的时间延迟，重度干旱下苗木萌芽延迟约２５ｄ，且萌芽后的枝生长十分缓慢；中度干旱下苗木萌芽延迟１０ｄ，萌芽后生长亦有所抑制。喷施８０ｍｇ／Ｌ外源ＧＡ３溶液可有效提高重度干旱下苗木内源ＧＡ１／３，降低ＡＢＡ含量，使ＧＡ１／３／ＡＢＡ提高，促进苗木提早萌芽及萌芽后生长；在适宜水分及中度干旱下，沙棘苗木外施ＧＡ３对萌芽及其生长作用不明显。

Effects of soil type on leaching and runoff transport of rare earth elements and phosphorous in laboratory experiments

Through leaching experiments and simulated rainfall experiments, characteristics of vertical leaching of exogenous rare earth elements (REEs) and phosphorus (P) and their losses with surface runoff during simulated rainfall in different types of soils (terra nera soil, cinnamon soil, red soil, loess soil, and purple soil) were investigated. Results of the leaching experiments showed that vertical transports of REEs and P were relatively low, with transport depths less than 6 cm. The vertical leaching rates of REEs and P in the different soils followed the order of purple soil > terra nera soil > red soil > cinnamon soil > loess soil. Results of the simulated rainfall experiments (83 mm h(-1)) revealed that more than 92% of REEs and P transported with soil particles in runoff. The loss rates of REEs and P in surface runoff in the different soil types were in the order of loess soil > terra nera soil > cinnamon soil > red soil > purple soil. The total amounts of losses of REEs and P in runoff were significantly correlated.

Effects of pH on the Interactions and Conformation of Bovine Serum Albumin: Comparison between Chemical Force Microscopy and Small-Angle Neutron Scattering

The conformation of bovine serum albumin (BSA), as well as its interactions with negatively charged mica surfaces in saline solutions of different pH values, have been studied by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and chemical force microscopy (CFM), respectively. A new approach to extract the contribution of elementary interactions from the statistically averaged force-extension curves through self-consistent fitting was proposed and used to understand the effects of pH on the interactions and conformation of BSA in saline solutions. When pH increases, the SANS results reveal that the sizes of BSA molecules increase slightly, while the statistical analysis of the CFM results shows that the averaged pull-off force for the elongation monotonously decreases. The decrease of pull-off force with the increase of pH results from the decrease in the strength of hydrogen bonding and the number of interaction pairs, as well as the slight increase of the strength of van der Waals interaction. When pH approaches the isoelectric point (pI) of BSA, results from both SANS and CFM suggest a loss of long-range interactions in BSA molecules. Our results also suggest that the force-extension curve is mainly contributed by the van der Waals interaction. The combination of SANS and CFM provides new insight to understand the interactions and conformation of BSA molecules

Microchip Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography Based on One Functionalized Ionic Liquid and Its Excellent Performance on Proteins Separation

Herein, one water-soluble functionalized ionic liquid (IL), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dodecanesulfonate (BAS), was designed, investigated and successfully applied to microchip micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) construction. It possessed the properties of both IL and surfactant. A fairly stable pH value similar to 7.4, which was fit to pH values of general biological buffers, was nicely placed at the optimum concentration of 20 mM BAS solution. While applying BAS solution as running buffer in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidic systems, significantly enhanced electroosmotic flow (8-fold) and resolutions between analytes were obtained than that using other supporting electrolytes or surfactants.

Polyol-Mediated Synthesis of PbS Crystals: Shape Evolution and Growth Mechanism

An interesting shape evolution of. PbS crystals, that is, from cubes to (truncated) octahedra and finally to stable star-shaped multipods with six arms along the < 100 > directions is first realized via a facile polyol-mediated reaction between lead acetate and sulfur powder in the absence of surfactants. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) techniques were employed to characterize the samples. We elucidate the important parameters (including reaction temperature and sulfur sources) responsible for the shape-controlled synthesis of PbS crystals.

Template-free, surfactantless route to fabricate In(OH)(3) monocrystalline nanoarchitectures and their conversion to In2O3

In this work, a one-dimensional microrod-based three-dimensional flowerlike indium hydroxide (In(OH)(3)) structure was fabricated, without any templates or surfactants, using a well-known hydrothermal approach at a non-high temperature. In2O3 with similar morphology was formed by annealing In(OH)3 precursors and was characterized by Raman spectrum and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum in detail.