Aim: Gliomas represent the most frequent neoplasm of the central nervous system. Unfortunately, surgical cure of it is practically impossible and their clinical course is primarily determined by the biological behaviors of the tumor cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation of the stem cell markers Nestin and CD133 expression with the grading of gliomas, and to evaluate their prognostic value. Methods:The tissue samples consisted of 56 low-(WHO grade II), 69 high-(WHO grade III, IV) grade gliomas, and 10 normal brain tissues. The expression levels of Nestin and CD133 proteins were detected using SABC immunohistochemical analysis. Then, the correlation of the two markers' expression with gliomas' grading of patients and their prognostic value were determined.Results: Immunohistochemical analysis with anti-Nestin and anti-CD133 antibodies revealed dense and spotty staining in the tumor cells and their expression levels became significantly higher as the glioma grade advanced (p < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between the two markers' expression in different gliomas tissues (rs = 0.89). The low expression of the two markers significantly correlated with long survival of the glioma patients (p < 0.05). The survival rate of the patients with Nestin+/CD133+ expression was the lowest (p < 0.01), and the multivariate analysis confirmed that conjoined expression of Nestin+/CD133+ and Nestin-/CD133-were independent prognostic indicators of gliomas (both p < 0.01, Cox proportional hazard regression model). Conclusion:These results collectively suggest that Nestin and CD133 expression may be an important feature of human gliomas. A combined detection of Nestin/CD133 co-expression may benefit us in the prediction of aggressive nature of this tumor.

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Although conventional patch-clamp methods provide high information content, they are labor-intensive and suffer from low throughput and high overall cost. Several approaches for achieving high throughput electrophysiology are under development, among which microchip-based patch-clamp systems uniquely achieve a higher degree of miniaturization, faster perfusion and mixing, and lower reagent cost without losing information content. The goal of this study was to establish a benchmark for our biochip technology with 52 chips tested sequentially. We demonstrate that our microfabrication and processing technology is sufficiently mature to produce a consistent hole size. We further demonstrate high-quality planar whole-cell patch clamping with >75% overall success rate at achieving gigaohm seals, followed by stable whole-cell access lasting at least 15 min with access resistance (Ra) below 15 MOmega and membrane resistance (Rm) above 200 MOmega. These biochips are ideally suited for high throughput compound screening for ion channel targets.

Unintended inhibition of the cardiac potassium channel human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) is considered the main culprit in drug-induced arrhythmias known as torsades de pointes. Electrophysiology is the most reliable in vitro screening method for identifying potential cardiac hERG liabilities, but only the recent advent of planar electrode-based voltage clamp electrophysiology promises sufficient throughput to support the drug testing needs of most drug discovery programs. We have assessed the reliability of this new format of the voltage clamp technology in measuring the activity of small molecules on the hERG channel. Based on the results herein of a screening against a panel of well-characterized hERG-active and -inactive molecules, we demonstrate that planar electrode electrophysiology, utilizing the Sealchip and PatchXpress technology platform (AVIVA Biosciences Corp., San Diego, CA), is comparable to traditional electrophysiology based on glass micropipettes in its reliability and data content. The new technology will allow significantly higher throughput and more thorough testing of pharmaceutical compounds.

The porB1b genotype was found to be predominant in Shanghai. porB DNA sequence typing was sufficiently discriminatory for differentiating N. gonorrhoeae isolates and was congruent with epidemiological linkages. Novel porB sequences of N. gonorrhoeae and novel mutations of PorB proteins were identified.