Objective To investigate the impact of carotid atherosclerotic plaque on short-term outcomes of cardioembolic stroke due to non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF).Methods A total of 288 patients with acute cerebral embolism due to NVAF were recruited in this study.All patients underwent carotid ultrasonography screening to estimate carotid intima-medium thickness (IMT) and atherosclerotic plaque.The short-term outcomes were assessed.The correlation between carotid atherosclerotic plaque and short-term outcomes of cardioembolic stroke due to NVAF were determined by partial correlation analysis.Results Among the 288 patients,carotid atherosclerosis occurred in 202 cases (70.1％) of the patients,poor outcomes in 113 cases (39.1％),worsening neurological function in 43 cases(14.9％),and stroke recurrence in 24 cases(8.3％).Carotid atherosclerosis plaque was positively associated with neurological worsening (r =0.247,P =0.000) and poor outcomes (r=0.139,P=0.018).The use of aspirin was negatively correlated with both neurological worsening (r=-0.235,P=0.000) and recurrence of stroke (r=-0.177,P=0.003).The use of statin was negatively correlated with recurrence of stroke (r =-0.223,P =0.000),neurological worsening (r=-0.147,P=0.013) and poor outcomes (r=-0.286,P=0.000).Conclusions Carotid atherosclerotic plaque is an independent predictive factor for poor short-term outcomes of cardioembolic stroke due to NVAF,and the aggressive management for carotid plaque can improve the poor short-term outcomes.

Objective To investigate the immune modulation effect of lymphocytes co-cultured with human cord blood derived-multipotent stem cells(CB-SCs) and to explore their therapeutic potential for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) model mice.Methods CB-SCs were isolated from human cord blood.Lymphocytes were isolated from spleens of AD model mice.The lymphocytes were co-cultured with CB-SCs or cultured alone for 72 h.AD model mice were divided into experimental group and control group randomly,and then the experimental group mice were administrated with lymphocytes co-cultured with CB-SCs and control group were administrated with lymphocytes cultured alone by caudal vein injection.Then,the behavior experiment was carried out.The CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Tregswere detected by flow cytometry.The protein expression of TNF-αand IL-10 in peripheral blood was detected by ELISA,The mRNA expression of TNF-α and IL-10 in brain tissue was detected by PCR.The amyloid-β(Aβ)plaques were detected by immunohistochemistry.Results 1)There was spatial learning and memory improvement on experimental group.2)The Aβ plaques of experimental group decreased.3)The percentage of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Tregs in peripheral blood and IL-10 level in plasma were higher in experimental group(P<0.05).The pro-inflammatory cytokines,TNF-α level in plasma of experimental group was lower than that in the control group(P<0.001).4)The mRNA expression of IL-10 in brain was higher in experimental group as compared to those in the control group(P<0.05),and the mRNA expression of TNF-α of experimental group was lower than that in the control group(P<0.05).Conclusions The lymphocytes co-cultured with CB-SCs have immunotherapeutic effect in AD model mice,which is mainly displayed with increased proportion of Tregs and enhanced anti-inflammatory function of Tregs.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotential progenitors of connective tissues and bone marrow stroma as well, which implies the modulatory function of MSCs in hematopoiesis. To clarify the contributions of MSCs to hematopoiesis, the methods for isolation and expansion of MSCs were established and long-term bone marrow cultures were performed using irradiated MSCs as the feeder layer. The results here showed that CD34(+) cells from cord blood formed hematopoietic foci adherent to the monolayer. Furthermore, colony-forming cells remained in the coculture of 5 weeks, indicating the maintenance of long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-IC). Flow cytometry analysis showed that about 1% of the hematopoietic cells in the culture were positive for CD34 and around 15% were CD41a-positive. It is clear that MSCs maintain LTC-IC in vitro and promote differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors especially into megakaryocytic lineage. The preliminary results here demonstrate that MSCs residing in the bone marrow might be a crucial cellular component in the hematopoietic microenvironment.