BACKGROUND:Due to quantity and quality deficiencies, chondrocytes from microtia are difficult to act as seed cells to construct an ear cartilage scaffold with the normal human auricle size. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that auricular chondrocytes from microtia can promote chondrogenic differentiation and chondrogenesis of human adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) at non-chondrogensis sitein vivo, which is the preparatory work for preparation of human tissue-engineered auricle cartilage scaffold. METHODS: Human ADSCs at passage 3 and auricular chondrocytes at passage 2 were mixed at a ratio of 7:3 and 5.0×1010/L mixed cells were suspended in 0.2 mL of 30% Pluronic F-127, and then the mixture was injected subcutaneously into Balb/c nude mice as experimental group. Auricular chondrocytes or ADSCs at the concentration of 5.0×1010/L were mixed with 0.2 mL of Pluronic F-127 and injected respectively as positive and negative control groups. 1.5×1010/L auricular chondrocytes were mixed and injected as low-concentration chondrocyte control group. All specimens were collected at the 8th week post-injection. Newborn tissues in nude mice were taken out for morphological examination, wet weight measurement, determination of glycosaminoglycans, histological and immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The wet weight of specimens in the experimental group was over 80% of that in the positive control group, and the wet weight of specimens in the low-concentration chondrocyte control group was less than 30% of that in the positive control group. The average wet weight and glycosaminoglycan content were significantly higher in the experimental and positive control group than in the negative control and low-concentration chondrocyte control groups (P < 0.05). In all the groups except for the negative control group, mature cartilage lacunas could be observed by histological staining and collagen type Ⅱ could be detected for expression by immunohistochemistry to different extents. In the low concentration chondrocyte control group, cartilage lacunas were incompact and inhomogeneous, and the extracellular matrix was slightly stained. In the negative control group, mature cartilage lacunae and collagen type Ⅱ could not be detective. To conclude, auricular chondrocytes from microtia can promote chondrogenic differentiation and chondrogenesis of ADSCs at the non-chondrogenesis sitein vivo.

Superficial temporal fascia,which has various names,such as temporal fascia,temporoparietal fascia,epicranial aponeurosis and galeal extension,has been used to define the fascial layers of the temporal region.All these different names reflect an anatomical feature of the related fascia.This region exists superficial temporal vessels,the temporal branch of the facial nerve and the auriculotemporal nerve,so is very important in otoplasty.This paper reviews the progress of superficial temporal fascia application in otoplasty.

Objective To observe the effects of mizoribine(MZR)on renal tubular epithelial?mesenchymal transition(EMT)of mice which have been performed unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO),and study the mechanism of its anti?fibrosis of renal interstitial. Methods A total of 24 CD1 mice were randomly divided into sham group,UUO model group and MZR treatment group,with 8 mice in each group. The day before op?eration,mice of MZR treatment group had been given MZR 10 mg/kg/d lavage,those of sham group and UUO model group had been given equal saline lavage. Fourteen days after the operation ,blood was collected and serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen were measured;the obstruction kidneys were harvested for section,HE staining and Masson staining were employed to observe the changes of kidney pathological;the expression ofα?SMA and E?Cad in kidney with detected by immunohistochemical and Western blot method. Results Compared with sham group,serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen of mice in UUO model group and MZR treatment group were significantly elevated ,kidney pathological chang?es and the expression ofα?SMA in renal tissue were increased and that of E?Cad was reduced ,the differences were all statistically significant(P<0.05);compared with UUO model group,mice in MZR treatment group had different degree of improvements in serum creatinine,blood urea ni?trogen and kidney pathological changes ,the expression ofα?SMA in renal tissue was inhibited and that of E?Cad was increases ,and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05). Conclusion MZR may inhibit the development of renal tubular EMT in UUO mice ,thereby reduce the level of renal tubule interstitial fibrosis and improve renal function.

OBJECTIVETo explore the incidence, degree, and pattern of rib cartilage calcification in congenital microtia patients, in order to provide reference for harvesting the rib cartilage, sculpturing cartilage framework.

METHODSFrom Jun. 2013 to Nov. 2014, 383 patients (age range, 6-45 years) underwent CT scans of the chest. 11 patients with bony diseases or traumatic history were excluded. The remaining 372 patients were divided by age into four groups as 6-15, 16-25, 26-35, 36-45 years old. Twenty patients (10 male and 10 female) were selected by the order of patient identification number in each age group, thus selecting a total of 80 patients (40 male and 40 female). Retrospective study of CT scans of the chest in 80 patients and the incidence, degree, and pattern of cartilage calcification of the sixth to eighth ribs were noted. A chi-square test is conducted to test whether there are significant difference between the variables through the SPSS 19.0 software.

RESULTSOverall, 40.4% (194/480) cartilage was calcified; female patients (47.50%, 114/240) showed higher frequency of calcification than male patients (33.33%, 80/240, P = 0. 025). Calcification rates of all age groups are 1.7% (2/120), 46.7% (56/ 120), 49.2% (59/120), 64.2% (77/120). Calcification rate of 6-15 years group is lowest in all groups (P < 0.05) while other three groups have no statistical significance (P > 0.05). Calcification rates of the sixth and sevent rib cartilage were higher than those of the eighth rib cartilage in all age groups except 6-15 years group, who had a similar rate of all three ribs. Calcification rate of all three rib cartilage was significantly increased with age. Calcification rates of the amle's rib cartilage and the female's in all age groups are 3.3% (2/60) and 0.0% (0/60) (6-15 years): 33.3% (20/60) and 60.0% (36/60) (16-25 years): 40.0% (24/60) and 58.3% (35/60) (26-35 years), 56.7% (34/60) and 71.2% (43/60) (36-45 years). In 6-15 years group calcification rates of male and female had a similar rate, while female's rates were higher than male's rates in other three groups. Male and females mainly had the granular type of calcification [70.0% (56/80), 63.2% (72/114)].

CONCLUSIONSFemales who are over 16 years old should pay more attention to the possibility of middle-severe calcification before harvesting rib cartilage. These patients should take CT examination if necessary. In addition, the patients who had previous operation, or traumatic history, rib deformity, or spine deformity should select the CT examination.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Calcinosis ; diagnostic imaging ; epidemiology ; Cartilage Diseases ; diagnostic imaging ; epidemiology ; Child ; Congenital Microtia ; Costal Cartilage ; diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Factors ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of the expanded capsule on biomechanics of the transplanted autologous costal cartilage.

METHODSTen New Zealand white rabbits aged 3 months were involved and four 15 ml tissue expanders were implanted symmetrically on the back of each rabbit. After 1 month, expanded capsules were removed (experimental group) on the left side and were reserved (control group) on the right side. Meanwhile, the 6th and 7th costal cartilage without the perichondrium were taken out and each cartilage was divided into two pieces and put under the expanded capsule symmetrically. The cartilage at the upper sides and lower sides were taken out at 4 weeks and 8 weeks later, respectively. All the cartilages were sculptured for the demand of the machine text. The tension and compression property of the cartilages were assessed by the material testing machine (Instron 5967) and the results were analyzed statistically.

RESULTS8 weeks lateral, the average ultimate tension strength was (4. 954 + 2. 8) MPa in experimental group and (2.939 + 0.842) MPa in control group. The average compressive strength was (58.74 ± 13.77) MPa in experimental group, and (47.61 ± 11.41) MPa in control group. The biomechanics property of the cartilages in the experimental group is better than the control group, and the differences were statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONSRemoving the expanded capsule is benefical to maintain the biomechanics of autologous costal cartilage.

Animals ; Autografts ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Costal Cartilage ; physiology ; transplantation ; Humans ; Rabbits ; Ribs ; Tissue Expansion ; Tissue Expansion Devices

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical effect of the method by using an expanded post-auricular skin flap combined with autologous rib cartilage framework for correction of concha-type microtia.

METHODSThe operation were performed in three stages. The expander was implanted under post-auricular skin at the first stage and expanded skin flap was formed. At the second stage, the expander was taken out and the expanded skin flap was transferred with autologous rib cartilage framework and skin graft for correction of microtia. At the third stage, the reconstructed ear was revised and new concha was formed.

RESULTSFrom August 2008 to August 2011, 108 cases with 113 concha-type microtia were corrected by this method. All patients healed primarily and were followed up for 6 months to 3 years. The reconstructed ears had a good appearance and position, and were symmetric to ear on the healthy sides.

CONCLUSIONSUsing expanded post-auricular skin flap combined with autologous rib cartilage framework is a reliable method for concha-type microtia.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Cartilage ; transplantation ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Ear, External ; abnormalities ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Ribs ; Skin Transplantation ; methods ; Surgical Flaps ; Tissue Expansion ; methods ; Transplantation, Autologous ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective To provide original reference data for oral ecosystem research, Tibet minipigs, beagle dogs, rhesus monkey, New Zealand white rabbits and Wistar rats were selected to study their respective characteristics of oral microbial mmunities and compared with normal data of humans.Methods Total DNA was extracted from the specimens of oral microbial communities of Tibet minipigs, beagle dogs, rhesus monkey, New Zealand white rabbits and Wistar rats, and used to amplify 16S rRNA V4 fragments with labeled universal primers.The diversity and structure of microbial communities from those animals were compared with that of humans using BIPES and QIIME analysis after Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA V4 fragments.Results The richness of the oral microbial communities of humans and the five species of laboratory animals was significantly different (P <0.05).Different species of animals have their own unique oral flora, among which the oral flora of the monkey is the most similar to that of humans.Conclusions Among the five species of laboratory animals, the oral microbial communities of rhesus monkeys and humans have highest similarity. Specifically, the Fusobacterium and Porphyromonas levels of rhesus monkeys is most similar to those of humans.Our findings indicate that rhesus monkeys may be suitable animal model for studies of human oral microbial communities.Tibet minipigs may be suitable animal model for Proteobacteria studies, while beagle dogs may be appropriate for modeling of diseases related to Spirochaetes.

Objective To investigated cerebral structural connectivity and its relationship to neuroleptic-na?ve individuals with first episode early-onset schizophrenia using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) which could demonstrate the white matter integrity . Methods We recruited subjects with first episode DSM-Ⅳearly-onset schizophrenia who had never been exposed to antipsychotic medication(n=19) and sex ,age-matched healthy volunteers (n= 19) .All subjects received DTI and structural magnetic resonance imaging scans .Voxel-based analysis was performed to investigate brain regions fractional anisotropy (FA) values .Results Statistics revealed that schizophrenia patients showed significant FA reduction in left inferior frontal gyrus ,left temporal gyrus ,left occipital lobe and right middle temporal gyrus as compared to healthy subjects .Conclusion Deficits of white matter integrity in widespread brain regions of the first episode neuroleptic-na?ve early-onset schizophrenia patients .The presence of white matter abnormalities in the early-onset patients is suggestive of being related to the etilology of schizophrenia .

OBJECTIVETo investigate the characteristics and incidence of the thoracic deformities in patients with microtia.

METHODSIn Plastic Surgery Hospital, we conducted a retrospective study of the clinical and radiographical data of 300 patients with microtia from March 2013 to October 2014. Pearson χ2 test was used to analyze the relationship among deformities of ribs and spine, as well as microtia.

RESULTSA total of 78 (26.0%) patients were documented with rib deformities, 26 patients (8.7%) had spinal deformities, and 17 patients (5.7% )had both. The incidence of rib deformities in microtia I, II, and III was 7.1% (2/28), 26.7% (62/232) and 35.0% (14/40) respectively. The incidence of spinal deformities in microtia I, II, and III was 3.6% (1/28), 6.5% (15/232) and 25.0% (10/40 respectively. The patients with microtia III were found to have a higher incidence of ribs and spinal deformities than those with microtia II, patients with microtia II were found to have a higher incidence of ribs and spinal deformities than those with microtia I (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe incidence of ribs and spinal deformities is high in patients with microtia. The poorer one auricle developed, the higher the incidence of thoracic deformities.

Biomedical Research ; Congenital Microtia ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Incidence ; Retrospective Studies ; Ribs ; abnormalities ; Spine ; abnormalities

OBJECTIVETo investigate a novel method for the reconstruction of large vermilion defects.

METHODSBased on the size and shape of the defects, a buccinator myomucosal flap pedicled with the junction of buccinator and orbicularis oris in the oral commisure was designed and rotated to reconstruct the large vermilion defects. The upper bound of the flap is at least 1 cm away from the stensen's duct. The width is about 2.5-3.0 cm, and the length is as far as to arrive the raphe pterygomancibularis. The donate site is directly closed primarily. There is no need for secondary pedicle division.

RESULTSFrom July 2003 to April 2013, 14 cases with large vermilion defects was reconstructed with this method. No flap necrosis occurred with primary healing. 5 cases were followed up with an average follow up period of 1 year (0.5-3 years). The apprearance and function of the reconstructed vermilion were satisfactory without any apparent donor site defect. The patients were satisfied with both the functional and cosmetic results.

CONCLUSIONThe buccinator myomucosal flap is a simple and ideal method for reconstruction of large vermilion defects, especially for the defects closed to the commisure.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Facial Muscles ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lip ; surgery ; Male ; Mouth Mucosa ; surgery ; Surgical Flaps ; Young Adult