Endothelial progenitor cells have self-replication and multi-differentiation potentials. They participate in the maintenance of vascular dynamics and physiological reconstruction. Though the research of endothelial progenitor cells has become a current hot spot, there are a series of unknown factors from the fields of the basic research to the clinical application. This article reviews the advances in research on endothelial progenitor cells,particularly the roles in ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

Objective To evaluate the effect of celastrol postconditioning on focal cerebral ischemiareperfusion (I/R) injury in rats.Methods Sixty-four Sprague-Dawle rats (32 males,32 females),weighing 250300 g,were randomized into 4 groups using a random number table (n =16 each):sham operation group (group S) ; celastrol control group (group S + C) ; focal cerebral I/R group (group I/R) ; celastrol postconditioning group (group I/R + C).Focal cerebral I/R were produced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) 0.3 ml/kg was injected intraperitoneally after shame operation in group S.Celastrol 3 mg/kg was injected intraperitoneally after shame operation in group S + C.DMSO 0.3 ml/kg was injected intraperitoneally at 5 min of reperfusion in group I/R.Celastrol 3 mg/kg was injected intraperitoneally at 5 min of reperfusion in group I/R + C.The neurologic deficit was scored at 5 min before reperfusion and 24 h of reperfusion.The infarct size was detected by TTC staining,and then the percentage of infarct size was calculated.The pathological changes in CA1 region of ischemic hippocampus were detected by HE staining.The activity of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase (NOX),content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and expression of NOX1 and NOX2 mRNA (by RT-PCR) in ischemic brain tissues were detected.Results Compared with S and S + C groups,the neurologic deficit scores,infarct size,percentage of infarct size,NOX activity and ROS content were significantly increased,and the expression of NOX1 mRNA and NOX2 mRNA was up-regulated in I/R and I/R + C groups (P ＜ 0.01).Compared with group I/R,the neurologic deficit scores,infarct size,percentage of infarct size,NOX activity and ROS content were significantly decreased,and the expression of NOX1 mRNA and NOX2 mRNA was down-regulated in group I/R+ C (P ＜ 0.01).There was no significant difference in the parameters mentioned above between group S and group S + C (P ＞ 0.05).The pathological changes in CAl region of ischemic hippocampus were significantly attenuated in group I/R + C (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion Postconditioning with celastrol can auenuate focal cerebral [/R injury in rats and inhibiton of oxidative stress response in brain tissues may be involved in the mechanism.

Objective To investigate the effects of EGB on hepatic fibrosis and expression of Activin A in rats with fibrosis.Methods From Oct.2004 to Apr.2005,the study was conducted in 30 adult male rats in the pepartment of Gastroenterology,the people's Hospital of Wuhan University.The rats were randomized into 3 groups:control group,model group and treatment group.Except the rats in the control group,others were induced to hepatic fibrosis by intraperitoneal injection of CCl_4 twice a week for 8 weeks.Those rats in the treatment group were intragastrically administered with EGB establish model of everyday.At the end of the 8th week,all rats were sacrificed.The samples of liver was staining with HE.The expression of Activin A was determined by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR.Results The grade of fibrosis in EGB-treated groups were lower than that in the model group(P

Objective A LC/MS/MS method is developed for determination of paraquat in biological tissue.Methods The samples were pretreated with solid phase extraction using Oasis WCX cartridges and separated with HPLC,paraquat could be identified by LC/MS/MS.Result Calibration curves were linear on injection of amounts ranging from 0.02～20?g/ml and the limit of detection was 10ng/ml(S/N≥3).Conclusion The described menthod was proved to be sensitive,rapid and accurate,it will be applied in identification and determination of paraquat in biological tissues.

Objective To evaluate the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism in the progression of renal diseases. Methods ACE gene polymorphism was analyzed in 77 patients with end stage renal failure (ESRF) and 150 normal control. Results The frequences of DD and DI genotype were significantly higher in ESRF patients than normal control (DD, 15.6% VS 6.0%, P

[Objective] To explore the counteractive mechanism of Tongmai Injection (IT) for excitotoxicity in rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion by observing the glutamic acid (Glu) content and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activity in rats cortex. [ Methods ] Rat models with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion were established by four-vessel occlusion. Glu content and NMDA receptor activity were examined by radioimmunoassay and the effects of TI on Glu and NMDA receptor were also observed. [ Results ] Glu content and NMDA receptor activity were both increased in the model group and TI could counteract the above changes. [Conclusion] Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion can induce excitotoxicity and TI can protect the cerebral cortex.

AIM:Activin A,a member of transforming growth factor superfamily,is the negative regulator factor in liver regeneration. In this study,the effects of extract of Ginkgo Biloba on hepatic fibrosis and the expression of Activin A in rats with cirrhosis were investigated. METHODS:The experiment was performed at in the Central Laboratory of Wuhan First Hospital from September 2005 to December 2006. ①Thirty-six male SD rats of(160?20) g were randomized into 3 groups:control group,model group and treatment group. ② Except the rats in the control group,others were intraperitoneally injected with 500 mL/L CCl4 for 8 weeks to establish models of hepatic fibrosis. Meanwhile,the extract treatment group was infused with the extract of Ginkgo Biloba(Chinese drugs preparation laboratory of Wuhan First Hospital,detected by Hubeu Wushi Medicine Industry Co.,Ltd. No. 02-391) daily for 8 weeks. ③After administration,all anesthetized rats were sacrificed. Blood samples were collected for the determination of liver function biochemical indexes. Liver tissue samples were used for histopathological examinations. The expression of Activin A was determined by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. RESULTS:All 36 rats were involved in the final analysis. ①The liver function in extract treatment group was significantly improved compared with that in model group. ②The grade of fibrosis in extract treatment group were remarkably lower than that in model group under light microscope. ③The positive staining of Activin A in treatment group was significantly reduced compared with model group. ④The expression of Activin A mRNA in extract treatment group was significantly reduced compared with model group. CONCLUSION:Extract of Ginkgo Biloba can effectively decrease the expression of Activin A in rats with hepatic fibrosis caused by CCl4,and lessen the degree of hepatic fibrosis.

Objective To investigate the correlations of serum adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (AFABP),adiponectin (APN) and A-FABP/APN ratio with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and its subtypes.Methods The consecutive patients with AIS (AIS group) of having complete data admitted within 24 hours of onset were enrolled,and at the same time,the healthy subjects of age,sex and body mass index matched with the AIS group were selected as a control group.The demographic characteristics and general clinical data of the AIS group and control group were collected.The serum A-FABP and APN levels were detected by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay.The patients in the AIS group were further divided into large artery atherosclerosis (LAA),small artery occlusion,(SAO),cardioembolism (CE),and stroke of other determined etiology (SOE) according to the TOAST classification criteria.Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between all factors and AIS and its subtypes.Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlations of the A-FABP and APN levels and the NIHSS scores.Results The serum A-FABP level (P =0.017) and A-FABP/APN ratio (P =0.002) in the AIS group were significantly higher than those in the control group,and the serum APN level was significantly lower than that in the control group (P =0.011).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the increased serum A-FABP level (odds ratio [OR] 1.48,95％ confidence interval [CI] 1.07-1.93; P =0.009) and the A-FABP/APN ratio (OR 1.59,95％ CI 1.10-2.34; P =0.002) as well as the decreased APN level (OR 0.36,95％ CI 0.14-0.65; P =0.011) were independently associated with AIS.And the A-FABP/APN ratio was better than the correlation of both separately.The serum A-FABP level and A-FABP/APN ratio in the LAA,SAO and CE groups were significantly higher than those in other subtype groups (all P ＜0.05),and the APN level was significantly lower than that in other subtype groups (P ＜0.05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the increased serum A-FABP level and A-FABP/APN ratio as well as the decreased APN level were independently associated with LAA,SAO and CE,and the A-FABP/APN ratio was better than the correlation of both separately.The baseline NIHSS score was positively correlated with the serum A-FABP level (r =0.236,P =0.019),it was negatively correlated with the serum APN level (r =0.307,P =0.002),and the correlation of the serum AFABP/APN ratio was higher than that of A-FABP or APN (r =0.326,P =0.001).Conclusions The increased serum A-FABP level and the decreased APN level may serve as the new risk factors for AIS,especially LAA,SAO and CE subtypes,and they can reflect the severity of AIS.

Objective: To observe the influence of sot alol on the QT dispersion in patients with atrioventricular accessory pathways u nderwent radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). Methods: Thirt y-six patients were divided into 2 groups by random. One was the drug group(18 cases) treated by RFCA， and sotalol 160 mg was orally administered and intracar diac electrophysiological study was performed every 30 min for 5 times. Th e other group(control group, 18 cases) only treated by RFCA.QTd,QTcd and QTLcd w ere measured before and after RFCA. Results: There was no signif icant difference with QT dispersion before and after RFCA in control group. When compared with before RFCA, QTd in patients administered sotalol was (30.9 ±14.3) ms vs (24.7±9.6) ms; QTcd(33.7±17.1) ms vs (25.2±10.1) ms; QT Lcd(30.8±14.1)ms vs (25.6±19.4) ms (P<0.05). Conclusion: Sotalol can slightly lower QT dispersion, which is beneficial for preventing malignant ventricular arrthythmia. It is safe in RFCA in pateints with accessory pathway.

Objective To investigate the effect of autologous bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) transplantation on neurological outcomes in cerebral ischernia in rats and its poss le mechanisms.Methods Autologous bone marrow-derived EPC was cultured in vitro and it was labeled with 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU).A middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was induced by the intraluminal suture method.The rats in a EPC group transplanted autologous EPC (106/ml/kg) via external jugular veins,those in a control group were injected with phosphate buffered saline (1 ml/kg),and those in a sham operation group (n =15)were not treated.The modified neurological severity score (mNSS) was used to observe the neurological changes of the rats.BrdU immunohistochemical staining was used to evaluate EPC proliferation and differentiation.Three-dimensional confocal image analysis was used to detect the vascular structure and density in cerebral ischemic areas.TUNEL staining was used to detect the apoptotio cells in ischernic brain tissue.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the concentration of plasma vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF).Results The mNSS in the EPC group was siginficantly lower than that in the control group (at day 8:6.43 ±0.69 vs.8.86 ±0.95,q =2.673,P=0.035; at day 14:4.55 ±0.89 vs.6.73 ± 1.06,q =5.360,P =0.035).The number of BrdU positive cells in the EPC group was significantly higher than that in the control group (42.2±5.76 vs.25.67±5.49,q=4.020,P=0.030).The capiilary diameter in the EPCgroup was significantly smaller than that in the control group (4.51 ± 0.21 μm vs.6.34 ± 0.24 μm,q =3.980,P =0.003); the density of blood vessels (212.64 ± 8.02/0.002 mm3 vs.153.60 ± 7.21/0.002 mm3; q =9.670,P =0.001 ) and the total surface area of microvessel (92 013 ± 5 132 μm2/0.002 mm3 vs. 71 366 ±4 538 μm2/0.002 mm3; q=4.180,P=0.014) were significantly higher or more than those in the control group.The number of apoptotic cells in the EPC group was significantly less than that in the control group (36.26 ± 6.91 vs.78.34 ± 7.21; t =-4.834,P =0.003).The plasma VEGF concentration in the EPC group was significantly higher than that in the control group (54.91 ± 5.71 pg/ml vs.13.81 ± 4.25 pg/ml,q =12.300,P=0.002).Conclusions Autologous EPC transplantation has a protective effect on ischemic brain tissue in rats.It may be associated with VEGF related angiogenesis and neuroprotection.It has an important application prospect in the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disease.