Objective To explore the roles of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in microvessel angiogennesis, development and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods The expression and cellular distributions of VEGF in HCCs were investigated by immunohistochemical method, and the levels of total RNA and VEGF also were quantitatively analysed in HCCs and paracancerous tissues. Results The positive rates of VEGF were 63 9% in all HCCs, 78 3% in non-encapsuled HCCs, and 90 9% in HCCs with extra-hepatic metastasis, respectively. VEGF expression was not associated with tumor size and differentiation degree. The total RNA level in HCCs was significantly lower than that in paracancerous and distal paracancerous tissues (P

AIM: To assess the efficacy of cyanoacrylate adhesive in the management of large perforations of the maxillary sinus membrane during sinus lifts. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eight rabbits were used in the study. Sinus membrane perforation(about 1.5cm) was repaired with cyanoacrylate adnesive on one side of the maxillary sinus and the opppsite side was used as a control. Histological evaluation was performed 4 weeks after the operation. RESULTS: Histological studies showed normal healing of the sinus membrane across the site of previous perforation and no evidence of inflammation. CONCLUSION: Our results support the clinical use of cynoacrylate adhesive for repairing sinus membrane perforation.
Adhesives* ; Cyanoacrylates* ; Inflammation ; Maxillary Sinus ; Membranes* ; Rabbits

AIM: Several injectable materials have been used in the application of osteogenic bone substitute; however, nothing has won universal acceptance. This study was performed to investigate whether chitosan-alginate gel/MSCs/BMP-2 composites are potentially injectable materials for new bone formation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The composites were injected into the subcutaneous space on the dorsum of the nude mouse to investigate whether new bone would be tissue engineered in the mouse. The composites were examined histologically over a 12-week period. RESULTS: The composites implanted in the mouse were able to tissue engineer new bone, and the newly formed bone consisted of trabecular bone and calcified bone matrix. CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that chitosan-alginate gel/MSCs/BMP-2 composites have the potential to become real injectable materials for new bone formation.
Animals ; Bone Matrix ; Bone Regeneration ; Bone Substitutes ; Chitosan ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Osteogenesis* ; Tissue Engineering

A large number of viruses belonging to Genus Hantavirus in Family Bunyaviridae are etiologic agents for hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), or hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Hantaan (HTN), Seoul (SEO), Belgrade (BEL), Puumala (PUU) serotype viruses are well known causative agents for HFRS in Eurasian continent. Among those viruses Hantaan and Seoul serotypes are well known to cause HFRS in Korea, but there are some sporadic incidence by other than Hantaan or Seoul viruses. Recently we have developed the combined Hantaan-Puumala virus vaccine to prevent world-wide occurring HFRS. This combined vaccine is formalin inactivated, suckling mouse and suckling hamster brain extracts for Hantaan and Puumala viruses, respectively. Protein contents of this purified candidate vaccine is 27 microgram/ml, which contains 1,024 ELISA antigen units to each virus, but content of myelin basic protein which is causing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis is legs than 0.1 ng/ml. Thirty hamsters were given twice at one month interval intra-muscularly and bled on 30 days after each vaccination from retro-orbital sinus vein. Antibody titers were tested against 5 major serotype viruses, Hantaan, Seoul, Belgrade, Puumala and Sin Nombre viruses by IFA and PRNT. The mean IF antibody titers on 30 days after primary shot were 78.4, 68.8, 68.8, 37.9, and 15.6; mean neutralizing antibody titers were 65.4, 12, 6.1, 65.6 and 0.5 against Hantaan, Seoul, Belgrade, Puumala and Sin Nombre viruses, respectively. The mean IF antibody titers on 30 days after booster shot were 686.9, 567.5, 550.4, 516.3, and 430.9; and neutralizing antibody titers were 710.8, 41.9, 24.3, 409.9, and 1.6 against Hantaan, Seoul, Belgrade, Puumala and Sin Nombre viruses, respectively.
Animals ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Brain ; Bunyaviridae ; Cricetinae* ; Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Formaldehyde ; Hantavirus ; Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Leg ; Mice ; Myelin Basic Protein ; Puumala virus ; Seoul ; Seoul virus ; Sin Nombre virus ; Vaccination ; Veins

The role of cultured bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) in peripheral nerve regeneration was examined using an established rabbit peroneal nerve regeneration model. A 15-mm peroneal nerve defect was bridged with a vein filled with BMSCs (1 x 10(6)), which had been embedded in collagen gel. On the contralateral side, the defect was bridged with a vein filled with collagen gel alone. When the regenerated tissue was examined 4, 8 and 12 weeks after grafting, the number and diameter of the myelinated fibers in the side with the BMSCs were significantly higher than in the control side without the BMSCs. This demonstrates the potential of using cultured BMSCs in peripheral nerve regeneration.
Bone Marrow* ; Collagen ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells* ; Myelin Sheath ; Peripheral Nerves* ; Peroneal Nerve ; Regeneration* ; Transplants ; Veins

A possible role of hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 (HNF1) or HNF3, a predominant trans-acting factors of hepatic or pancreatic beta-cells, was examined on the tissue specific interdependent expression of glucokinase (GK) in liver, H4IIE, HepG2, HIT-T15 and MIN6 cell line. The tissues or cell lines known to express GK showed abundant levels of HNF1 and HNF3 mRNA as observed in liver, H4IIE, HepG2, HIT-T15 and MIN6 cells, whereas they were not detected in brain, heart, NIH 3T3, HeLa cells. The promoter of glucokinase contains several HNF3 consensus sequences and are well conserved in human, mouse and rat. Transfection of the glucokinase promotor linked with luciferase reporter to liver or pancreatic beta cell lines showed high interacting activities with HNF1 and HNF3, whereas minimal activities were detected in the cells expressing very low levels of HNFs. The binding of HNF1 or HNF3 to the GK promoter genes was confirmed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). From these data, we propose that the expression of HNF1 and/or HNF3 may, in part, contribute to the tissue specific expression of GK.
3T3 Cells ; Animal ; Blotting, Northern ; Cell Line ; Cell Nucleus/metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics/*physiology ; Genes, Reporter ; Glucokinase/*biosynthesis/*genetics ; Hela Cells ; Human ; Liver/metabolism ; Luciferase/metabolism ; Mice ; Models, Genetic ; Nuclear Proteins/genetics/*physiology ; Plasmids/metabolism ; Promoter Regions (Genetics) ; Protein Binding ; Rats ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Tissue Distribution ; Transcription Factors/genetics/*physiology ; Transcription, Genetic ; Transfection

The brief history of photodynamic therapy (PDT) research has been focused on photosensitizers (PSs) and light delivery was introduced recently. The appropriate PSs were developed from the first generation PS Photofrin (QLT) to the second (chlorins or bacteriochlorins derivatives) and third (conjugated PSs on carrier) generations PSs to overcome undesired disadvantages, and to increase selective tumor accumulation and excellent targeting. For the synthesis of new chlorin PSs chlorophyll a is isolated from natural plants or algae, and converted to methyl pheophorbide a (MPa) as an important starting material for further synthesis. MPa has various active functional groups easily modified for the preparation of different kinds of PSs, such as methyl pyropheophorbide a, purpurin-18, purpurinimide, and chlorin e6 derivatives. Combination therapy, such as chemotherapy and photothermal therapy with PDT, is shortly described here. Advanced light delivery system is shown to establish successful clinical applications of PDT. Phtodynamic efficiency of the PSs with light delivery was investigated in vitro and/or in vivo.
Chlorophyll ; Dihematoporphyrin Ether ; Family Characteristics ; Light ; Photochemotherapy ; Photosensitizing Agents ; Porphyrins ; Triazenes

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a common complication in obstetrics, affecting about 5% of women of childbearing age. An increase in the number of abortions results in escalation in the risk of miscarriage. Although concentrated research has identified numerous causes for RPL, about 50% of them remain unexplained. Pregnancy is a complex process, comprising fertilization, implantation, organ and tissue differentiation, and fetal growth, which is effectively controlled by a number of both maternal and fetal factors. An example is the immune response, in which T cells and natural killer cells participate, and inflammation mediated by tumor necrosis factor or colony-stimulating factor, which hinders embryo implantation. Furthermore, vitamin D affects glucose metabolism and inhibits embryonic development, whereas microRNA has a negative effect on the gene expression of embryo implantation and development. This review examines the causes of RPL from multiple perspectives, and focuses on the numerous factors that may result in RPL.
Abortion, Habitual ; Abortion, Spontaneous ; Colony-Stimulating Factors ; Embryo Implantation ; Embryonic Development ; Female ; Fertilization ; Fetal Development ; Gene Expression ; Glucose ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Metabolism ; MicroRNAs ; Obstetrics ; Pregnancy ; Proteomics ; T-Lymphocytes ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Vitamin D

BACKGROUND: Particulate matters (PM) when inhaled is known to induce pulmonary diseases including asthma and chronic bronchitis when inhaled. Despite the epidemiological proofevidence, the pathogenesis of PM-related pulmonary diseases is unclearremain poorly understood. METHODS: Primary alveolar macrophages were harvested from the SPF and inflammatory rats by bronchioalveolar lavage (BAL). The cultured primary alveolar macrophages were treated with the medium only, PM only (5~40 microgram/cm2), LPS (5ng/ml) only, and PM with LPS for 24 and 48 hours. The level of secreted nitric oxide (NO) was assayed from the cultured medium by using the Griess reaction. The cultured cells were utilized for the western blotting against the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) proteins. Immunocyto- chemical staining against the iNOS and NT-proteins were performed in cells that cultured in the Lab-Tek(R) chamber slide after treatments. RESULTS: The PM that utilizein this experiments induced NO formation with iNOS expression in the cultured SPF and inflammatory rats alveolar macrophages, by itself. When the cells were co-treated with PM and LPS, there was a statistically significant synergistic effect on NO formation and iNOS expression over the LPS effect. The cells from the sham control showed minimal immunoreactivity for the NT-proteins. Significantly higher quantities of NT-proteins were detected in the PM and PM with LPS co-treated cells than from the sham control. CONCLUSION: Increased iNOS expression and NO formation with increased NT-proteins formation might be involved in the pathogenesis of PM-induced lung injury.
Animals ; Asthma ; Blotting, Western ; Bronchitis, Chronic ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage ; Cells, Cultured ; Lung Diseases ; Lung Injury ; Macrophages, Alveolar* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; Nitric Oxide* ; Rats

Gracilis muscle, the most superficial to the adductor groups of muscles in the thigh, is widely used to make musculo-cutaneous flap because this muscle has several advantages; 1) Removal of the muscle does not elicit any functional deficit, 2) It is easy to make a flap, 3) It is able to make flaps of various sizes in according to the size of the wound. This study demonstrates the characteristics of the arterial supply of the gracilis muscle for flap. Total 102 thighs from 51 Korean cadavers (32 males/ 19 females), clinically normal and without deformity, were dissected and length and width of gracilis muscles were measured. The pattern of distribution of the arteries supplying the muscle were studied, and entering point of each arteries to the muscle were located in according to following point; A: Pubic tubercle, B: Medial condyle of femur and tibia on gracilis muscle. 1. The average width of gracilis muscle were 31.9 +/-8.1 mm. The length of female subjects was significantly shorter than that of male subjects. 2. Arteries supplying the gracilis muscle were obturator artery (11.0%), medial circumflex femoral artery (100%), first muscular branch of femoral artery (100%), second muscular branch of femoral artery (45.2%), third muscular branch of femoral artery (17.8%), and popliteal artery (9.6%). 3. Medial circumflex femoral artery had 1 -10 pedicles and divided into ascending, transverse and descending branches. The existence of ascending branches were 14.8%, the ascending and descending branches were 22.7%, the ascending, transverse and descending branches were 22.7%, the transverse and descending branches were 22.0%, and the only descending branches were 22.0%. 4. The frist muscular branch of femoral artery pierced the gracilis muscle at a distance which represented 61.9 +/-12.8% of the length from A to B. The external diameter were 1.4 +/-0.4 mm. 5. Obturator nerves reached the gracilis muscle at a distance which represented 29.0 +/-7.4% of the length from A to B. The maximum external width and length were 1.0 +/-0.4 mm and 59.7 +/-25.0 mm, respectively. In conclusion, the length and width of the gracilis muscle in Korean were different depending on gender. These data also provides the anatomical characteristics of the arterial supply of the gracilis muscle in Korean in clinical relevance with musculocutaneous flap
Arteries ; Cadaver ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Female ; Femoral Artery ; Femur ; Humans ; Male ; Muscles ; Myocutaneous Flap ; Obturator Nerve ; Popliteal Artery ; Thigh ; Tibia ; Wounds and Injuries