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1. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of total removal of dietary inorganic phosphorus and reduced energy and protein, without and with phytase supplementation, on the performance, egg quality and bone composition of laying hens. 2. Lohmann pink-shell hens were randomly assigned at 56 weeks of age to 5 treatments for 20 weeks as follows: (1) a positive control (PC) with 155 g CP/kg, 11·09 MJ ME/kg, calcium (Ca) 3·40% and non-phytic phosphorus (NPP) 0·26%, (2) a negative control (NC1) diet based on PC diet with Ca decreased to 3·30% and NPP to 0·14%, (3) NC2 diet was formulated on the basis of NC1 diet with 152·7 g CP/kg, 10·90 MJ/kg, (4) NC1 and (5) NC2 supplemented with phytase (300 FTU/kg) each. 3. Feed intake, hen-day or hen-housed egg production, egg number per hen-housed, and final body weight were depressed with NC1 and NC2 diets, but restored by phytase inclusion. There were no significant differences between the dietary treatments for feed conversion efficiency, rates of cracked and broken eggs, egg-shell thickness or egg-shell strength. Mortality was significantly increased by NC2 diet without phytase. Tibia ash was significantly decreased by both NC1 and NC2 diets. Bone strength, and Ca and P contents in tibia ash were significantly increased by phytase inclusion in the NC1 diet. 4. In conclusion, the NC1 and NC2 diets significantly depressed performance and tibia quality, but the addition of phytase (300 FTU/kg) significantly improved performance and tibia integrity.

Background: The transplantation of isolated islets of Langerhans is nearing acceptance as treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Because the arterial and venous connections of the pancreas are disrupted during islet isolation, islets must be revascularized after transplantation., Objective: To observe whether increased numbers of vascular endothelial cells in islets can affect the angiogenesis and function of the grafts., Materials and Methods: Rats with streptozocin-induced diabetes were divided into 3 groups. The rats in group 1 received islet grafts under the capsule of the left kidney; rats in group 2 received combined vascular endothelial cell and islet transplants; and rats in group 3 served as controls. After the transplantation procedure, blood glucose and insulin concentrations were evaluated daily. Hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemical staining was used to detect expression of vascular endothelial growth factor antibodies in the diabetic rat kidneys. The mean microvascular density was also calculated., Results: At 3 days posttransplantation, blood glucose and insulin concentrations returned to normal in group 2, however, they declined only slightly in group 1, and moderate hyperglycemia was present. There was a significant difference in blood glucose and insulin concentrations between the 2 groups after 3 days (P < .05). The mean (SD) microvascular density in group 2 was markedly higher than that in group 1 (12.58 [1.81] vs 10.38 [0.97] P = .04)., Conclusion: This study suggests that concomitant transplantation of isolated islets with endothelial cells can prolong islet graft survival in diabetic rats., (2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: Pancreatic islet transplantation is an emerging therapy for type 1 diabetes. To preserve its function, transplanted islets must be revascularized because arterial and venous connections are disrupted during islet isolation. The current paradigm is that islet revascularization originates from the transplant recipient. This study was designed to test whether the function of isolated islets can be retained by co-culture with thoracic aorta endothelial cells in vitro., Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. The endothelial cells (ECs) were isolated from the thoracic aorta. The viability of the isolated islets was assessed by acridine orange/propidium iodide (AO/PI) double staining. The islets were either placed in standard cultures (group A) or in co-cultures with ECs (group B). Islet viablity was assessed by an insulin release assay., Results: The islets in group B exhibited normal morphology with >90% staining positive as detected by AO/PI with 7 days. Insulin release assays showed a significantly higher simulation index (SI) in group B compared with group A (P < .05) except on the first day., Conclusion: This study suggested that co-cultrue of freshly isolated rat islets with ECs improves postculture survival and islet function in vitro.

Objective: We sought to explore the adjunctive effects of Cordyceps sinensis (CS) in clinical renal transplantation., Materials and Methods: Patients (n = 202) were divided randomly by lottery into a treatment (n = 93) and a control group (n = 109). Patients in the treatment group were treated with CS 1.0 g 3 times a day in addition to the immunosuppressive regimen given to the control group. We compared patient and graft survivals, incidence, time and severity of acute rejection episodes, chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN), hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity, biochemistry parameters including indicators of liver and kidney functions, fats, proteinuria, dosages, and whole blood concentrations of cyclosporine (CsA)., Results: Patient and graft survival rates, serum creatinine (SCr), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were not significantly different between the 2 groups (P > .05). Serum uric acid (UA) and 24-hour urinary total protein (24-hour UTP) were significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group (P < .05). The incidences (11.83% vs 15.60%) and times to acute renal allograft rejection (23.48 +/- 7.22 vs 22.27 +/- 8.03 days posttransplantation) were not significantly different between the treated and control groups (P > .05). Patients receiving thymoglobulin antirejection therapy (3 cases) were fewer in the heated versus control group (13 cases; P = .014). The incidences of hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity in the treated group were 12.90% and 19.35%, significantly lower than 24.77% and 33.94% in the control group, respectively (P < .05). At 2 to 6 months posttransplantation, the CsA dosages in the treated group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < .05). The whole blood trough CsA concentrations in the treated group were significantly lower than those in the control group at 3 to 6 months posttransplantation (P < .05). The decreasing trends of the 2 aforementioned parameters in the treatment group were approximately linear among treated subjects compared with approximately quadratic in the control group (P < .05). The incidence of CAN in the treated group was 7.53%, which was significantly lower than 18.35% in the control group (P = .024). The 24-hour UTP level in CAN patients within the treated group was significantly lower than the control group after transplantation (P = .045). The differences in total bilirubin, SCr, serum UA, and total cholesterol levels among otherwise normal patients in the treated group were significantly lower than those among the control group (P < .05)., Conclusions: The use of CS may allow decreased dosages and concentrations of CsA causing fewer side effects without an increased risk of acute rejection. In addition, CS with reduced dose CsA may decrease proteinuria and retard CAN progression.

Background: B7/CD28 and CD40/CD40L have been well established as important costimulatory pathways. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA4) delivers negative signals to antigen-presenting cells to down-regulate proinflammatory responses and competitively inhibits the binding of B7 and CD28. Signals from the CD40/CD40L costimulatory pathway also play an important role in acute rejection of organ grafts., Methods: Recombinant adenoviruses Ad-sCD40LIg-IRES2-CTLA4Ig, Ad-CTLA4Ig, and Ad-sCD40LIg were constructed to express sCD40LIg and CTLA4Ig simultaneously or separately as described previously. Streptozocin-induced diabetic BALB/c mice were injected with recombinant adenovirus, receiving approximately 500 donor islets isolated from C57BL/6 mice under the left kidney capsule. Five groups were assigned according to the treatment: nontreated group, Ad-Shuttle-CMV-treated group, Ad-CTLA4Ig-treated group, Ad-sCD40LIg-treated group, and Ad-sCD40LIg-IRES2-CTLA4Ig-treated group. The islet graft mean survival time (MST) was evaluated in the present study., Results: Compared to the islet graft MST of the nontreated group (7.3+/-0.82 days) or Ad-Shuttle-CMV-treated group (7.2+/-1.47 days), the Ad-CTLA4Ig-treated and Ad-CD40LIg-treated islet graft survivals in recipients were 56.3+/-13.71 days (P<.01) and 47.3+/-15.64 days (P<.05), respectively. The islet graft MST was dramatically prolonged to 116.3+/-20.32 days in the Ad-sCD40LIg-IRES2-CTLA4Ig-treated group (P<.01)., Conclusion: Simultaneous blockade of the CD40/CD40L and B7/CD28 costimulatory pathways via coexpression of sCD40LIg and CTLA4Ig mediated by replication-defective adenovirus may be an acceptable method to induce immune tolerance.

In many GL-7ACA acylases, the first Ser residue at the N-terminal of beta-subunit is the catalytic center. In order to investigate relationship between the N-terminal structure and catalytic activities, peptide replacement and site-directed mutagenesis were performed at the N-terminal of beta-subunit of GL-7ACA acylase C130. When the N-terminal 8 amino acid residues of C130 were replaced by the corresponding sequence of penicillin acylases PAC and PGA, respectively, the first mutant B8PAC lost the activity of the acylase, and the second mutant B8PGA had lower activity with the K(m) value increasing from 0.44x10(-3)mol.L(-1) to 0.55x10(-3) mol.L(-1), and the k(cat) decreasing from 4.92 s(-1) to 1.64 s(-1). Although the substitution of Trp (beta4) by Tyr did not change the K(m) value, the k (cat) decreased to 2.29 s(-1). When the Trp was substitued by Leu, both the K ( m ) and k ( cat ) values decreased. Compared with the wild type, mutations of Ser (beta3) to Met, Ala and Cys caused decrease of K(m) values by 52.27%, 43.18% and 38.64%, respectively. Mutation of Asn (beta2) to Gln caused the K ( m ) value being increased by 5-fold, and k ( cat ) decreased by 10-fold. These results suggested that the N-terminal amino acid residues of beta-subunit in GL-7ACA acylase C130 are important for enzyme function.

The efficacy of broad-spectrum anthelmintics in current use was studied in Hengshan County, Hunan Province. The vermicides under study include albendazole (400mg, single dose), mebendazole composite (mebendazole 100 mg and levamisole 25mg bid x 3d), oxantel pyrantel pamoate composite (pyrantel pamoate 150 mg and oxantel pamoate 150 mg bid x 2d), and pyrantel pamoate composite (base 10 mg/kg, single dose). Therapeutic effect assessed 2 weeks after medication revealed Ascaris egg negative rates or cure rates (CR) of 97.5-100% for the former 3 regimens, and 80.9% for the latter one; while CR for hookworm infection were 95.4%, 78.6-100%, 96.7% and 83.3%, respectively. A follow-up survey pursued 4 weeks post treatment showed no significant difference in CR for the above regimens. Judging from CR in Trichuris trichiura infection, pyrantel pamoate composite was recommended as the drug of choice (89.3%), which was followed by mebendazole composite (64.6-83.8%) and albendazole (28.2-42.6%), whereas pyrantel pamoate was inefficacious. Obvious egg reduction rates were evidenced post application of the above drugs in trichuriasis treatment except pyrantel pamoate at single dose.