AIM:To investigate the pathologic role of aldosterone and protective effect of aldosterone receptor antagonist on peritoneal fibrosis in peritoneal dialysis rats .METHODS:A peritoneal fibrosis rat model was established by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide ( at 1 d, 3 d, 5 d and 7 d, 0.6 mg/kg) and dialysate ( daily intraperitoneal injection of 4.25%dialysate, 100 mL/kg).At the same time, spironolactone (an aldosterone receptor antagonist , 100 mg? kg -1? d-1 ) was given to the model rats .After 4 weeks, the expression of aldosterone synthase CYP 11B2, 11β-hydrox-ysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2), mineralocorticoid receptor (MCR), and inflammatory factors were detected by immunohistochemistry , real-time PCR and Western blotting .RESULTS:The rat model of peritoneal fibrosis was suc-cessfully established .At the same time, the injury of mesothelial cells , deposition of collagen fibers and thickness of perito-neal were increased .Moreover , the infiltration of macrophages in the peritoneum/dialysate was increased .The level of al-dosterone and the expression of MCR , 11β-HSD2 and CYP11B2 in fibrotic peritoneum were obviously up-regulated as com-pared with normal rats .The expression of NF-κB/MCP-1 was also increased .However , treatment with spironolactone alle-viated peritoneal fibrosis and reduced the expression of NF-κB/MCP-1.CONCLUSION:Local aldosterone is involved in the process of peritoneal fibrosis via NF-κB/MCP-1 pathway.Spironolactone alleviates peritoneal fibrosis of peritoneal dial-ysis.

Objective To observe the change of six cytokines in mice infected with Echinococcus multilocularis as part of the study on immunological mechanism in the infection. Methods Mice were infected by abdominal inoculation of echinococcus protoscoleces. The change of serum level of the cytokines IL-2、IFN-?、TNF-?、IL-4、 IL-5 and IL-10 was determined by ELISA during the infection which lasted for 260 d. Results Compared with uninfected control, the levels of the cytokines all significantly increased in the 260 d. The level of IL-2 reached a peak after 80 d post-infection (p.i.), then decreased quickly after 140 d p.i., High level of TNF-? was detected after 40 d, compared to uninfected control, reached a peak at 100 d p.i., and decreased quickly after 140 d. The level of IFN-? reached a peak after 80 d p.i., and decreased slowly after 140 d p.i., The levels of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10 remained lower before 80 d, and increased sharply after 100 days. The levels of IL-4 and IL-10 reached peaks at 100 d p.i., and that of IL-5 at 140 d p.i. Conclusion The data suggest that the induction of Th2 antibody-mediated immunity (AMI) with a parallel expansion of Th1 cell-mediated inflammatory (CMI) responses are important mechanism of the host in defending against the metacestodes. Th1 CMI plays an important role at the early stage of infection, and Th2 AMI is important in the later stage of infection.

AIM:To explore the protective effect of fasudil hydrochloride against cisplatin (CP)-induced renal tubular epithelial cell apoptosis via Akt activation and PTEN inhibition .METHODS:Healthy male Sprague-Dawley ( SD) rats were randomly divided into control group , CP group and CP+fasudil group .All animals were sacrificed 96 h after in-jection of 0.9%saline or CP .Blood samples and kidney tissues were collected to evaluate levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (sCr) and morphological alteration of the kidneys , respectively.The apoptosis of renal tubular epithelium cells was detected by TUNEL.Protein levels of Rho-associated protein kinase 1 (ROCK1), PTEN and Akt were measured by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry .The protein level of p-Akt was analyzed by Western blotting . RESULTS:Compared with control group , the sCr and BUN levels , the expression of ROCK 1 and PTEN and TUNEL-posi-tive cells were increased , while the level of p-Akt was decreased in CP group and CP +fasudil group .The histological structure of the kidneys observed by PAS staining was developed marked structural damage in CP group (P<0.05).Com-pared with CP group, sCr level, the expression of ROCK1 and PTEN and TUNEL-positive cells were decreased, while the level of p-Akt was increased in CP+fasudil group (P<0.05).Very little structural damage was detected in fasudil-treated groups .CONCLUSION:Fasudil hydrochloride has a protective effect on CP-induced renal tubular epithelial cell apoptosis via Akt activation and PTEN inhibition 1.

Objective The aim is to observe the role and mechanism of estradiol ( E2 ) on the proliferation of rat hippocampal neural stem cells ( NSCs ) .Methods Twenty hippocampi from embryonic 17-day ( E17 ) SD rats were dissociated and plated into culture flasks with NSCs specific medium containing different concentrations of estradiol .The proliferation and the vitality of NSCs were detected by immunofluorescence against BrdU and MTT assay .The expression of estrogen receptors ( ERαand ERβ) was measured by immunofluorescence staining combined with Nestin double labeling . Results BrdU and MTT assay results showed that the cell number increased when the concentration of estradiol increased from 10 -10 to 10 -8 mol/L.The number of cell proliferation and the viability of cells were best at the concentration of 10 -8 mol/L compared to the other groups .However, when the estradiol concentration was increased from 10-8 to 10 -6 mol/L, the cell proliferative capacity declined gradually .Double immunofluorescence labeling showed that the two types of estrogen receptors ( ERαand ERβ) were expressed in the cultured hippocampal NSCs .Conclusion Estradiol promotes the proliferation of hippocampal NSCs in a certain concentration range , and ERαand ERβmay be involved in the estradiol-induced proliferation .

Objective Objectives: To introduce the technique of performing minimally invasive concomitant Cox Maze Ⅳ ablation procedure entirely by bipolar clamp through right lateral minithoracotomy for patients with atrial fibrillation(AF) associated with mitral valve diseases.Methods Sixty nine patients with mitral valve disease and long-standing persistent AF received minimally invasive Cox Maze Ⅳ ablation procedure combined with mitral valve surgery from June 2012 to January 2015.The etiology of mitral valve disease was rheumatic(41 cases) and degenerative(28 cases).Age at operation ranged from 52 to 71 years.There were 43 males and 26 females.AF duration ranged from 1.5 years to 13 years.Diameter of the left atrium ranged from 42 to 60 mm.Diameter of the left ventricle ranged from 43 to 66 mm.Left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) ranged from 0.45 to 0.67.Concomitant Maze Ⅳ ablation procedure was performed through right lateral minithoracotomy entirely by bipolar radiofrequency clamp.Results All patients successfully underwent this minimally invasive concomitant Maze Ⅳ ablation procedure and mitral valve surgery.The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was(130.3 ± 17.7) minutes.The mean aortic crossclamp time was(91.8 ± 12.7) minutes.No patient needed conversion to sternotomy during the surgery.There was no early death or pacemaker implantation in the perioperation.The average length of hospital stay was(9.8 ± 3.3) days.At discharge, 65 patients(65/69, 94.2％) maintained sinus rhythm.At a mean follow-up time of(21.0 ± 8.6) months, sinus rhythm was restored in 62 patients(62/69, 89.9％).Cumulative maintenance of normal sinus rhythm without AF recurrence at 2 years postoperatively was(85.1 ± 5.8)％.Conclusion The minimally invasive concomitant Maze Ⅳ ablation procedure performed entirely by bipolar clamp through right lateral minithoracotomy was a safe, feasible, and effective technique for patients with AF associated with mitral valve diseases.

ObjectiveTo investigate the correlation between femoral distal medial torsion and patellofemoral joint malalignment and analyze the causes of patellofemoral joint disorders,which provide the new theory with clinical treatment.MethodsFrom May 2007 to June 2009,124 knees(95 cases) with patellofemoral joint disorders were enrolled in this study randomly.Each knee was scanned with CT in dynamic 20° -30° knee flax position.Femoral distal medial torsion angle (FMTA),patellar congruence angle (CA) and patellar tilt angle(PTA) were measured.The correlation between FMTA and CA or PTA was analyzed.Results FMTA ＜ 5° in 25 knees,≥5° in 99 knees,6 knees with trochlear dysplasia who were excluded.FMTA in 93 knees was 16.06° ± 5.68°,CA was 16.40° ± 5.48° and PTA was 19.59° ± 3.32°.The positive correlation was found between FMTA and CA when FMTA ＞ 10°through scatter diagram analysis (r =0.709,P ＜ 0.05 ).The positive correlation was found between FMTA and PTA when FMTA ＞10°( r =0.652,P ＜ 0.05),the positive trend declined when FMTA ＞ 27°.ConclusionsFemoral distal medial torsion is an important risk factor of patellofemoral joint malalignment.When FMTA ＞ 10°,FMTA and CA,PTA has positive correlation,but the positive tend between FMTA and PTA declines when FMTA ＞ 27°.

Objective To summarize the preliminary experience of early anticoagulant therapy after endovascular stent graft exclusion for Stanford B type aortic dissection.Methods From June 2006 to June 2011,75 patients[ 65 males,10 fe males,mean age (59.1±13.5) years,range 22 -81 years ] under went endovascular stent-graft exclusion for Stafford B type aortic dissection in Shanghai Xinhua Hospital.Computed tomography angiography (CTA) was used to evaluate the lesions of aortic dissection before endovascular stent-graft exchusion.The descending thoracic aortic diameters were 22 mm to 42 mm [ mean (30.3±4.0) mm ].The distance from the breakage of dissection to the left vertebral artery(LSA)was longer than 1.5 mm in 29 cases,and shorter than 1.5cmin 46 cases.During the operation,left subclavian artery revascularization was per formed to patient,whose left vertebral artery was advantage and needs to be fully or partially covered From the second day after operation,asprin was given to patint,whose left subclavian artery was fully or partially coverd by endovascular stent-graft(no endoleak and residual distal tear).Early anticoagulant therapy lasted 3 months.The symptoms or signs about nervous system were observed in the early stage of postoperation,and the CTA was examined at postoperative 3 months.Results The operation succeeded in 75 patients.The diameters of aortic stent were 26mm to 46rmm[ mean(34.3±4.0) mm ].Left subclavian ar tery revascularization was carried out for 2 cases of all patients.The left subclavian artery was fully or partially coverd in 58 patients(fully covered in 19 cases,2/3 covered in 15 cases,1/2 covered in 24 cases),and 56 patints(no endoleak and residualdistal tear) were given anticoagulant therapy to prevent vertebral artery thrombosis.2 patients(2.7％)died in the early stage after operation.1 patient died of renal failure,1 patient died of dissection rupture,The duration of hospitalization was 4 to 19 days [ mean (7.9±3.5)days ].No neurological complications occurred in hospital.The follow-up period was 6 to 66 months.1 patient died during the follow-up,1 patient had recurrence of Stanford A type aortic dissection and was cured by ascending aorta and aortic arch replacement,1 patient had recurrence of Stanford B type aortic dissection and was cured by second endovascular stent-graft exclusion.All patients had no neurological complications,such as cerebral infarction and paraplegia.Concluslon Early anticoagulant therapy could safely and effectively prevent the neurological complications (such as cerebral infarction and paraplegia) related to vertebral artery thrombosis for Stanford B type aortic dissection patients whose left subclavian artery was fully or partially coverd by endovascular stent-graft.

Objective:To explore the changes of left ventricular remodeling after artificial chordae implantation and its effect on the recurrence of mitral regurgitation(MR).Methods:Clinical data of 141 patients with severe mitral regurgitation(Carpentier type Ⅱ) repaired by artificial chordae technique in our hospital from January 2010 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into significant regurgitation group(15 cases) and non- significant regurgitation group(126 cases) according to the presence or absence of moderate regurgitation by follow-up echocardiography. To observe the effect of left ventricular reverse remodeling(LVRR) on the recurrence of MR after artificial chordae implantation and analyze the risk factors.Results:All patients successfully underwent mitral valvuloplasty with artificial chordae. In the early postoperative period(30 days after operation), LVRR appeared in both groups(LVEDD and LVESD were significantly smaller than those before operation, P<0.05); LVRR was further enhanced(LVEDD and LVESD were further reduced, P<0.05) in non- significant regurgitation group at 1 year after operation, but left ventricular remodeling reoccurred in significant regurgitation group at 1 year after operation(LVEDD and LVESD increased compared with the early postoperative period, P<0.05). After 12-132 months’ follow-up, 15 patients had more than moderate MR. In the early postoperative period, 13 patients had more than mild MR, 8 of which evolved to more than moderate MR during follow-up. Cox regression showed that LVEDD≥65 mm( HR=5.573) and more than mild MR in the early postoperative period( HR=8.801) were the risk factors for the recurrence of MR after artificial chordae implantation. Conclusion:LVRR appeared in the early postoperative period, and the degree of LVRR further increased at 1 year after operation, but the patients with significant MR would reappear left ventricular remodeling. Early postoperative LVRR had a bad effect on the recurrence of MR after artificial chordae implantation, while further enhanced LVRR at 1 year after operation had little effect on the recurrence MR.

To investigate the potential role of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 in liver fibrosis during Echinococcus granulosus infection, 96 BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 2 groups, experimental group infected by intraperitoneal injection with a metacestode suspension and control group given sterile physiological saline. The liver and blood samples were collected at days 2, 8, 30, 90, 180, and 270 post infection (PI), and the expression of TGF-β1 mRNA and protein was determined by real-time quantitative RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. We also evaluated the pathological changes in the liver during the infection using hematoxylin and eosin (H-E) and Masson staining of the liver sections. Pathological analysis of H-E stained infected liver sections revealed liver cell edema, bile duct proliferation, and structural damages of the liver as evidenced by not clearly visible lobular architecture of the infected liver, degeneration of liver cell vacuoles, and infiltration of lymphocytes at late stages of infection. The liver tissue sections from control mice remained normal. Masson staining showed worsening of liver fibrosis at the end stages of the infection. The levels of TGF-β1 did not show significant changes at the early stages of infection, but there were significant increases in the levels of TGF-β1 at the middle and late stages of infection (P<0.05). RT-PCR results showed that, when compared with the control group, TGF-β1 mRNA was low and comparable with that in control mice at the early stages of infection, and that it was significantly increased at day 30 PI and remained at high levels until day 270 PI (P<0.05). The results of this study suggested that increased expression of TGF-β1 during E. granulosus infection may play a significant role in liver fibrosis associated with E. granulosus infection.
Animals ; Bile Ducts ; Echinococcus granulosus* ; Echinococcus* ; Edema ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Hematoxylin ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver* ; Lymphocytes ; Mice* ; RNA, Messenger ; Transforming Growth Factors ; Vacuoles

Objective:To explore the advantages, disadvantages, and precautions of clinically applying four types of non-trunk vessels as recipient vessels in the free flap transplantation for repairing peri-knee wounds.Methods:A retrospective analysis of the clinical data was conducted of 23 patients (12 males and 11 females) with peri-knee skin and soft tissue defects who underwent free anterolateral thigh flaps or free latissimus dorsi flaps. The patients were admitted to the Department of Traumatic Orthopedics, Wuxi 9th People’s Hospital, from January 2015 to December 2019. The patients were aged 20-72 years (mean 41.9). The wound size with vital tissue exposure was 18.0 cm×5.0 cm-42.0 cm×9.0 cm. Preoperative color Doppler and computerized tomography angiography techniques were used to assist in positioning and to measure the recipient vessels (including the descending genicular vessel, descending branch of the lateral femoral circumflex vessel, the medial sural vessel, and the medial inferior genicular vessel) and blood vessels in the donor area (including descending branches of lateral femoral circumflex vessels and thoracic dorsal vessels). The caliber was measured and verified by a soft ruler with a scale intraoperative. The measured values of the caliber were recorded in the preoperative and intraoperative. The color and texture of the two flaps and the healing of the donor sites were observed postoperatively. The conformance ratio of preoperative and intraoperative measured values of vessels in the donor and recipient areas (except for the only case of the medial inferior genicular vessel) was compared. SPSS 26.0 software was used for data analysis. The measurement data were showed as Mean±SD, and the comparison results were analyzed by paired t-test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:A total of 23 patients with skin and soft tissue defects around the knee were enrolled. The size of the tissue flap was 18.0 cm×5.0 cm-46.0 cm×9.0 cm. Twelve of 14 anterolateral thigh flaps anastomosed to the descending genicular vessel survived. The remaining two cases had a length of 6 cm and 4 cm necrosis at the distal flap, which was finally given skin-grafting and healed. One of the 12 survived flaps failed in limb salvage in Phase Ⅰ and was thus given flap reconstruction in Phase Ⅱ. Another case was given amputation due to serious infection of limbs, with incomplete ends of the survived flaps rotated and covered. In four cases anastomosed to the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral vessel, three anterolateral thigh flaps survived completely, and one distal latissimus dorsi flap had a length of 12 cm necrosis which was given debridement and Ilizarov bone transport for heal. Two anterolateral thigh flaps and two latissimus dorsi flaps anastomosed to the medial sural vessel survived completely, of which one anterolateral thigh flap had vein crisis which was later solved. The anterolateral thigh flap of 1 case anastomosed to medial inferior genicular vessels completely survived. The postoperative follow-up lasted 3-30 months with an average of 13.6 months. All the flaps have good color and textures with good incision heal at the donor site in Phase Ⅰ. There was no statistically significant difference in the preoperative and intraoperative measurement values of blood vessel caliber in the donor and recipient areas ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Four non-trunk peri-knee blood vessels can serve as recipient vessels of the free tissue flaps, and proper selection of the vessels can effectively improve the survival rate of the tissue flaps. The descending genicular vessel can serve as the recipient vessel for a priority, as with a superficial position, fixed dissection, simple positioning, and convenient intraoperative dissection.