Objective To investigate the effect of recombinant antisense Vim retrovirus on Vim gene expression of injured astrocytes(AST).Methods The injured AST in vitro was established and divided into two groups: experiment and control.After transfected with retrovirus carrying antisense complementary DNA(cDNA) for vimentin,vimentin gene expression of injured astrocytes was investigated by immunocytofluoresence,RT-PCR and Western blotting.Results The processes of the injured astrocytes transfected by retrovirus became retracted.Transfection of antisense vimentin retrovirus into injured astrocytes also inhibited the growth of astrocytes and decreased the expression of vimentin at both transcription and translation level.Conclusion Retrovirus carrying vimentin antisense cDNA could inhibit effectively the growth and vimentin gene expression of injured astrocytes in vitro.

Objective To improve the safety of surgery,the application of indocyanine green fluorescein(ICG)angiography in intracranial aneurysm surgery was investigated.Methods Fifty cases of intracranial aneurysms were retrospectively analyzed.All the patients were received ICG angiography before and after intracranial aneurysm clipping.The efficiency of the surgery was evalu-ated with CT angiography(CTA)and(or)digital subtraction angiography(DSA).The postoperative follow-up was conducted using Glasow outcomes score(GOS).Results Of the 50 patients,3 cases of aneurysmal neck remnant,one case of parent arteries steno-sis,one case of nearby branch stenosis and two cases of “false-negative”were observed after ICG angiography.The clips were adjus-ted until the satisfactory blood flew was restored.Postoperative CTA and(or)DSA confirmed the results of intraoperative ICG an-giography.Of the 40 patients underwent follow-up,GOS score was 5 in 30 cases,4 in 7 case,3 in 2 case and 2 in 1 case.Conclusion ICG angiography is a useful way to assess the clipping of aneurysms,blood flew of parent arteries and nearby branches during the aneurysm surgery.It could raise the safety of surgery and further improve the clinical outcomes of intracranial aneurysms.

Objective To determine the effect of deferoxamine administration on autophagy in a rat model of blast-induced brain injury.Methods Thirty-nine male SD rats were allotted to shamoperated group,injury group and deferoxamine group with 13 rats in each,according to the random number table.Feeney's method was applied to establish the model.Deferoxamine group received deferoxamine of 100 mg/kg intraperitoneally.Sham-operated and injury group were injected with saline intraperitoneally.All treatments were started two hours postinjury at 12 hour interval for up to 28 days.Hemoglobin,rectal temperature,blood glucose and mortality were detected at 1,3,7,14 and 28 days.Morris water maze was conducted.Rats were killed later for detecting the brain defect volume and level of Beclin 1 at the site of injury.Results There were no significant differences among the three groups with respect to hemoglobin,rectal temperature and blood glucose (P ＞ 0.05).Mortality in injury versus deferoxamine groups did not differ significantly (P ＞ 0.05).Volume of defected brain in deferoxamine group was (115.35 ± 13.70) mm3,smaller than (209.99 ± 16.70) mm3 in injury group (P ＜ 0.05).In Morris water maze test,the time spent in the searching the platform and latency to reach the platform were improved in deferoxamine group compared to those in injury group [(3.13 ± 0.35) vs (2.13 ± 0.64);(36.15 ± 26.63) s vs (110 ± 47.34) s respectively] (P ＜ 0.05).Both immunohistochemisty and western blot showed dramatically increased level of Beclin 1 after injury,but treatment with deferoxamine significantly reduced the Beclin 1 expression.Conclusion Level of Beclin 1 is significantly upregulated after blast-induced brain injury in rats,resulting in elevated autophagy postinjury,but the treatment with deferoxamine is neuroprotective possible by lessening autophagy damage.

Objective To establish rat model of impact spinal cord injury, observe the pathological changes of the model and assess its stability, reproducibility and consistency. Methods Moderate and severe spinal cord injury (SCI) models were established by using modified weight drop device. The pathological and functional changes after SCI were observed by means of BBB scoring, electrophysiology,immunohistochemistry and electronic microscopy so as to estimate the reproducibility of rat models and their consistency with severity of SCI. Results Locomotion and nerve impulse transduction along the spinal cord measured by motorial and sensory evoked potentials recovered gradually over time after SCI.However, the recovery rate of moderate SCI group was better than that of severe SCI group. Histological and immunohistochemical experiments showed that the glial scar as well as cavity were formed after SCI.Whereas, compared with moderate SCI group, the injury of severe SCI group was severer, with less spared tissue. Electronic microscopic observation displayed that hemorrhage, edema, neutrophilic granulocytic infiltration and chromatin margination of glia arose at day 1 after SCI. Vacuolization of mitochondria, degeneration of axon with edema could be seen at 2 weeks after injury. Degeneration of myelin and deposition of collagen fibril emerged at 8 weeks postinjury. Conclusions The rat models of impact SCI established in this study can distinguish the graded injury, and significantly correlate with the behavioral,electrophysiological and pathological outcomes, which indicates that the models possess good stability, reproducibility and consistency. Glial scar with cavity marked by GFAP or Vimentin is the pathological hallmark after SCI, and thereby GFAP or Vimentin can be used as a marker for demarcate the border of glial scar.

Objective To observe the effect of splenectomy on mortality and brain water content of rats with brain injury so as to explore novel way for better clinical management of patients with severe traumatic brain injury. Methods Adult male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups, ie, sham operation on brain and spleen (Group A, n = 23), experimental brain trauma & sham operation on spleen (Group B, n =48) and experimental brain injury & splenectomy (Group C, n = 47). Modified Feeney' s method was used to create the animal model of experimental brain trauma, Longa' s scale was applied to evaluate the neurologic defect. Mortality within seven days following brain injury was calculat-ed. In the meantime, the brain water content was detected at days 1 (n = 8), 2 (n = 8), 3 (n = 8) and 7 (n = 7) after brain injury in each group, Results No statistical difference of Longs' s scale was found between Group B and Group C (P > 0.05). The mortalities within seven days after brain injury were 0%, 35.42 and 14.89% in Groups A, B and C respectively, with statistical difference between groups (P<0.05). The brain water content of Groups B and C at days 1, 2, 3 and 7 were (81.98±0.35)% & (81.78±0.41)%, (82.58±0.63)% & (81.81±0.48)% (P<0.05),(82.54±0.54)% & (81.52±0.84)% (P<0.05) and (81.50±0.41)% & (81.21±0.36)% (P>0.05) respectively. Conclusion Splenectomy can effectively reduce brain water content and significantly decrease mortality in rata with brain injury.