Noise-induced hearing loss is a common cause of acquired hearing loss in the adult population. Acoustic overstimulation causes cochlear damage through mechanical stress to the tissue. Consequently, complex molec-ular changes are initiated, and these changes lead to morphological and biological alterations in the cochlea, which in turn compromise the cochlear function and cause hearing loss. In the past 10 years, there have been significant advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of noise-induced hearing loss. These advances are attributed, in part, to the development of high-throughput technologies for the global analyses of molecular changes. In this review, we briefly describe the newly developed methods for investigating the mo-lecular responses of the cochlea to acoustic trauma and the knowledge generated from these studies. We also discuss the strengths and limitations of each technique and the major challenges to investigate cochlear degen-eration following acoustic injury.

大鼠肾缺血/再灌注损伤不同时相Fas、FasL蛋白表达及意义

AIM:To study the relationship between the expression of Fas/FasL protein and apoptosis in rats after renal ischemia/reperfusion. METHODS:Establish the models of renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat and SABC immunohistochemical methods were used to detect the changes of expression of Fas/FasL protein. Pathomorphological changes in renal ischemia/reperfusion injury were observed.RESULTS:The expression of Fas/FasL proteins was negative in the sham operated group.Fas/FasL proteins were increased in renal in ischemia/reperfusion group,and gradually upregulated with the duration of ischemia or reperfusion and peaked at 72 h of reperfusion.The expression of Fas/FasL proteins was stronger in 60 min ischemia group than 30 min ischemia group and they were mainly expressed in renal tubule.We observed local necrosis and inflammatory cells infiltration around infracted area in ischemia/reperfusion group by HE dyeing methods.And the necrosis area was mainly occurred around proximal convoluted tubule. CONCLUSIONS:These findings suggested that Fas/FasL proteins were over expressed after ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats renal.And Fas/FasL system was involved in the process of renal ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Molecular biology is an exciting, rapidly expanding field, which has enabled enormously greater understanding of the biology of diseases and malfunctions in many fields. It chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interrelationship of DNA, RNA and protein synthesis and how these interactions are regulated. Since the introduction of molecular biology into modern science, numerous other fields have been enabled to go "molecular". Advanced molecular biological techniques showed us new avenue towards finding answers to the questions asked for decades. The first part of this article described the history of molecular biology.It started as a joined discipline of other areas of biology, i.e. genetics and biochemistry in the 1930s and 1940s, and enjoyed its classical period and became institutionalized in the 1950s and 1960s. Major molecular techniques manipulating proteins, DNA and RNA were introduced and their mechanisms were concisely illustrated. The current knowledge of molecular biology and their applications in orthodontic and oral and maxillofacial surgery, i.e. osteoclast differentiation and function, regulation of tooth movement, mechanotransduction/cell-signalling, bone fracture healing, oral cancer as well as craniofacial/dental anomalies and distraction osteogenesis were discussed. Although the problems of introducing molecular technologies are still substantial, it is anticipated that the future of medicine/dentistry will be "molecular": molecular prevention, molecular diagnosis and molecular therapy.