Objective To determine the biomechanical properties of anterior cruciate ligament allograft reconstructing posterior cruciate ligament in rabbits. Methods Based on the study of anatomy and biomechanics of normal rabbit cruciate ligaments, anterior cruciate ligament allografts were employed to reconstruct the posterior cruciate ligament in rabbits. The sterilized fresh-frozen allograft of bone-anterior cruciate ligament-bone were prepared and reserved for more than 14 days under -80 ℃. Twenty-four skeletally matured New Zealand white rabbits underwent a posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction on one knee randomly, the opposite knee was served as the paired control. Rabbits were sacrificed at 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks respectively. Evaluations of the reconstructions and contralateral controls included the geometric, structural and material properties and rupture site. Results The mean length of the grafts at 52 weeks was 101% of the control (P=0.90), the cross-sectional area was 142%; the maximum load at 52 weeks was 83% of the control, the maximum elongation was 72%, the stiffness was 92%; the maximum stress at 52 weeks was 58% of the control, the maximum strain was 72%, and the modulds was 65%; the rupture site was all at the body part of the graft. The geometric, structural and material properties of the graft were gradually similar to those of the normal posterior cruciate ligament with the elapse of the time. Conclusion The biomechanical properpies of graft with similar material properties to normal posterior cruciate ligament following posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in rabbits was favourable. The similar material properties of graft to normal posterior cruciate ligament play the very important roles in the posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression and role of Interleukin-33 (IL-33) and ST2 in the nasal polyps of human Eosinophilic and non-Eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (ECRS and non-ECRS). METHOD: IL-33 and ST2 protein expression in nasal polyps of ECRS and non-ECRS as well as in seemingly normal mucosa of the inferior turbinate tissue was investigated by immunohistochemical staining and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of IL-33 and ST2 was assessed by realtime polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 27 subjects with ECRS, 33 subjects with non-ECRS, and 11 control subjects. RESULT: (1) The ST2 was found both in nasal polyps of ECRS and non-ECRS,especially in ECRS, yet hardly found in the normal mucosa of the inferior turbinate tissue; (2) The expression of ST2 mRNA in nasal polyps of ECRS was higher than that in non-ECRS and normal inferior turbinate tissue, and the difference was both prominent in statistics (P<0.01); (3) The expression patterns of IL-33 at both mRNA and protein levels were not significantly different among the three groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION The IL-33 and its receptor ST2 were both expressed in human nasal polyps including ECRS and non-ECRS, meanwhile the expression patterns of ST2 at both mRNA and protein levels were significantly higher in nasal polyps of ECRS. The current study suggests that IL-33 and its receptor ST2 may play important roles in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, especially in ECRS through the increased expression of ST2 in Eosinophils as a hypothesis.
Chronic Disease ; Eosinophils ; immunology ; Humans ; Interleukin-1 Receptor-Like 1 Protein ; Interleukin-33 ; metabolism ; Nasal Mucosa ; metabolism ; Nasal Polyps ; immunology ; RNA, Messenger ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; metabolism ; Rhinitis ; immunology ; Sinusitis ; immunology ; Turbinates ; metabolism

Objective:To investigate the effect of perforin-mediated cytotoxicity in primary influenza virus infection.Methods:Perforin-deficient and wild-type C57BL/6 mice were infected intranasally with influenza virus A/PR/8/34. Pulmonary viral growth was determined at various days after infection by pfu experiment. Perforin-mediated apoptotic degeneration was observed by Immunohistochemical staining. LDH-release method was used for detection of specific CTL and NK cell activity from spleen cells.Results:Mice deficient in the perforin gene showed an increased virus growth and prolonged virus shedding. The appearance of apoptotic degeneration in virally infected lung cells was delayed in perforin-deficient mice. The cytolytic activities of natural killer cells and virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes were significantly lower than that of wild-type mice.Conclusion:Perforin plays a critical role in the host defense system against primary influenza virus infection.

Objective To study the radioprotective effects of ultra-small carbon quantum dots (CQDs) in mice in vivo,and to reveal the protective mechanism,as well as to study the body immune response to CQDs and the toxicity in vivo.Methods Mice were injected with different concentrations of CQDs solution.Mice models of systemic radiation injury were constructed by high dose gamma rays radiation.The 30-days survival rate,bone marrow DNA,femoral bone marrow nucleated cells (BMNC),tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured to evaluate the radioprotective effects of CQDs,and to investigate the possible protective mechanism.The toxicity of CQDs in vivo was studied by measuring the changes of body weight,liver index and spleen index before and after injections of CQDs in mice.Results CQDs showed obvious radioprotective effects on mice in vivo.Compared with the control group,the 30-days survival rate of irradiated mice treated with CQDs increased from 0％ to 40％.CQDs could effectively reduce the hematopoietic system damages caused by radiation,and increase the level of bone marrow DNA,femur BMNC,liver and lung SOD,as well as reduce the production of MDA in liver and lung.The results of immunological reaction tests showed that CQDs had less toxicity in vivo and did not trigger the body immune response.Conclusions CQDs has tremendous application prospects in the field of radiation protection.This study can provide new ideas for the application of new nano-materials in medical field.

Objective:To study the activity of APC in early phase infection by detection of the differentiation of Th0 cells from TG mice Methods:Detection of IFN ? and IL 4 by cytokine ELISA Identification of the phenotype of T cells from culture wells by FACS Results:Infected APC induced the T cells of TG mice to differentiate into Th1 cells, uninfected APC induced it into Th2 cells IL 4 and IL 12 influenced the effect of APC on the differentiation of T cells Conclusion:Infection and added cytokines influenced the presenting function of APC

The poly ester-amide (PEA) nanofiber membrane was prepared by electrospinning and the surface topography of nanofiber membrane was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was found that with the increasing of spinning fluid concentration from 10% to 20%, the diameter of prepared fibers was increased from 180 nm to 305 nm. The chemical structure of PEA was detected by infrared spectrum, which showed that electrospinning had no significant effect on PEA. X-ray diffraction spectrogram and differential scanning calorimetry revealed that the crystallinity of PEA was decreased after electrospinning. Mechanical property test demonstrated that the mean breaking strength and elongation at break of PEA nanofiber membrane with (0.50±0.05) mm thickness were (1.00±0.18) MPa, and (18.20±2.86)%, respectively. MTT results showed that the endothelial cells proliferated actively on the PEA nanofiber membrane, and presented good adhesive and growth status.

Objective To investigate the immunologic enhancement of Porphyra polysaccharide. Methods Porphyra polysaccharide in different dosages (0.025,0.050,0.150g?kg~(-1)) were injected intraperitoneally into the immunosuppressive mice induced by cyclophosphamide for 7d. On day 8,the cytotoxic activity of NK cells,the levels of interferon-?(IFN-?)and nitric oxide (NO)in the cultured supernatants of spleen cells were determided. Results The cytotoxic activity of NK cell,the levels of IFN-? and NO produced by cultured spleen cells from the group of mice treated with 0.150g?kg~(-1) of Porphyra polysaccharide were higher than those from model group. Conclusion Porphyra polysaccharide could enhance immunological functions to a certain degree in immunosuppressive mice.

Objective To investigate the effects of polysaccharide from Porphyra on spleen cell function in immunosuppressive mice. Methods The polysaccharide at dosages 0.025, 0.050 and 0.150g?kg~ -1 was injected intraperitoneally for 7 days in the immunosuppressive mice induced by cyclophosphamide. On day 8, the splenic lymphocytic proliferation and activity of TNF were determined. Results The splenic lymphocytic proliferation and cytotoxicity of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) of the group treated with 0.150g?kg~ -1 of porphyra polysaccharide were higher than those of model group. Conclusion Polysaccharide from Porphyra could promote splenic lymphocytic proliferation and raise the level of TNF.

Objective To investigate the effect of cogl410 on brain edema around lesion foci after traumatic brain edema (TBI) in mice and possible mechanism.Methods APOE-knockout TBI mice (n =130) were divided into cog1410 group and saline group according to the random number table,with 65 mice per group.Several time points (0,1,3,5,and 7 days) after TBI,13 mice were sacrificed in each group.TBI was induced with controlled cortex injury to the mice.A single injection of cog1410 solution or saline was administered via the caudal vein in 30 minutes after TBI.Levels of aquaporin-4 (AQP-4) around the lesion tissues were measured using the Western blot and q-PCR methods.Brain water content was determined by the dry-wet weight method.Results Brain water content in cog1410 group and saline group increased after TBI,reached the peak at day 3 [(81.184 ±0.009)％ vs (84.184 ± 0.014) ％] and normalized at day 7 [(76.018 ± 0.003) ％ vs (77.790 ± 0.012) ％] (P ＜ 0.05).There were almost no changes in AQP-4 mRNA expression in saline group after TBI.Whereas in cog1410 group,AQP-4 mRNA was greatly down-regulated at day 3 (0.278 ±0.014),increased greatly at days 5 and 7 after TBI (1.744 ± 0.014,1.782 ± 0.003) (P ＜ 0.05).Level of AQP-4 protein in saline group was increased at day 1 (0.491 ±0.060),reached the peak (0.605 ±0.099),and gradually returned to the preinjury level at days 5 and 7 (0.434 ± 0.042,0.358 ± 0.034).By contrast,level of AQP-4 protein in cog1410 group revealed no notable changes at day 1,slight increase at day 3,significant increase at day5 (1.079±0.090),and apeak at day7 (1.247±0.210) (P＜0.05).Conclusion cog1410 can significantly alleviate brain edema around the lesion foci of mice with TBI,as may be achieved by altering the mRNA and protein levels of AQP-4.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have found that electroacupuncture can delay articular cartilage degeneration mediated by JAK-STAT signaling pathway through upregulating the expression level of transforming growth factor β1 as well as mRNA expression levels of STAT3, Smad3 and LepR. In the meanwhile, electroacupuncture can inhibit the mRNA expression of p38 and Fas mRNA mediated by MAPK signaling pathways, further inhibiting the apoptosis of chondrocytes. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of electroacupuncture on the degeneration of articular cartilage in rats with knee osteoarthritis based on Ras-Raf-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 signaling pathway. METHODS:120 male healthy Sprague-Dawley rats aged 2 months olds were selected and randomly divided into normal, model, 15-minite electroacupuncture and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups (n=30 per group). The rats in the latter three groups received the intra-articular injection of 4% papain bilaterally, and the remaining rats received no intervention. At 2 weeks after modeling, the latter two groups were respectively given 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture, five times weekly for consecutive 12 weeks. The morphology of the cartilage was observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining, the expression level of interleukin-1β in the synovium was detected by ELISA assay, and the protein expression levels of Ras, Raf, MEK1/2, ERK1/2, C-MYC, C-FOS, and C-JUN were detected by western blot analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that: in the model group, the cartilage surface was rough, the cartilage layer became thinner, and the cartilage structure was damaged with incomplete tidal line; in the 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups, the cartilage structure was complete with clear layers and complete tidal line. ELISA showed that the expression level of interleukin-1β in the model group was significantly higher than that in the normal group (P< 0.01), and the level in the 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups was significantly lower than that in the model group (P < 0.05). Western blot assay found that compared with the normal group, the protein expression levels of Ras, Raf, MEK1/2, ERK1/2, C-MYC, C-FOS, and C-JUN were increased in the model group. However, all above protein levels except ERK1/2 in the 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups were significantly lower than those in the model group (P < 0.01,P < 0.05). To conclude, electroacupuncture inhibits the degeneration of articular cartilage in osteoarthritisvia Ras-Raf-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 signaling pathway and downregulating the expression level of interleukin-1β.