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Interphase chromosomes form distinct spatial domains called chromosome territories (CTs). The arrangement of CTs is non-random and correlated with cellular processes such as differentiation. The purpose of this study is to provide some behavior information of CTs during lymphocyte EBV-infection, which is thought to be a general extra-biological model. Three-dimensional fluorescence in situ hybridization (3D-FISH) was performed on human lymphocytes every 24 h over 96 h periods in EBV-infection. Chromosomes 17 and 18 were selected as target territories for similar size and different gene density. The data indicate that the radial position of territories 17 was altered with time, whereas territories 18 showed relative stable localization. The relative CT volume of CTs 18 to 17 also changed with infection. Our study is the first to examine the timely changes of chromatin positioning and folding in EBV-lymphocyte infection. Dynamic changes in position and folding status of target chromosomes reflected an impact of EBV infection on genome stability.

Studies on the polymorphisms of Xeroderma Pigmentosum Group D (XPD) have shown inconclusive trends in the risk of bladder cancer. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of XPD single nucleotide polymorphisms in bladder cancer susceptibility. We performed a meta-analysis on all available studies, which included 5,368 and 6,683 XPD Lys(751)Gln cases and controls and 3,220 and 4,391 Asp(312)Asn cases and controls, respectively. Overall, Significant risk effects of Lys(751)Gln genotype was found under recessive model contrast [Gln/Gln vs. (Gln/Lys + Lys/Lys)] [P = 0.04, OR = 1.12; 95% CI (1.01, 1.26)], and subtle but insignificantly increased risks between Lys(751)Gln and bladder cancer were observed under allele contrast (Gln vs. Lys) and homologous contrast (Gln/Gln vs. Lys/Lys) in all subjects. The (751)Gln allele had no significant effect on bladder cancer in all subgroups (Asian, Caucasian and USA). Significant risk effects of Asp(312)Asn polymorphism on bladder susceptibility were observed in all subjects under all genetic contrasts, however, stratified analyses showed that the (312)Asn allele showed different risk effects in USA and Caucasian. The Gln/Gln genotype acts as a risk factor in its association with bladder cancer, and the effect of Lys(751)Gln polymorphism on bladder susceptibility should be studied with larger, stratified population; the (312)Asn allele has an important role in the etiology of bladder cancer whereas the ethnic background should be carefully concerned in further studies.

Ultrasound (US)-mediated microbubble destruction is recognized to have considerable potential for gene delivery, whereas, there is few report of its effect on enhancing liposomal transfection. In this study, we used pIRES2-EGFP/hES containing human endostatin (hES) cDNA as target gene to test the hypothesis that US exposure with microbubbles could improve liposomal transfection, and to investigate the possibility of intracellular delivery of ES gene using this method. Under the controlled US exposure condition with microbubbles, the plasmid:liposome was transferred into COS-7 cells. The transfection rate, the expression of endostatin and the inhibition effect of transfection-endostatin on endothelial cells were assessed. The results revealed that US-mediated microbubble destruction together with liposome could significantly enhance gene transfection without obvious cell damage. By this means, endostatin gene could be efficiently transferred into COS-7 cells and expressed. The transfection-endostatin could inhibit endothelial proliferation and migration, which suggests that the non-viral method might be useful in anti-angiogenesis therapy in the future.