BACKGROUND:Hematopoietic stem cel transplantation has therapeutic effects on many diseases, but its application has some limitations, such as cel harvesting and age-limited number of cels.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the application value of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels in hematopoietic stem cel transplantation for sensitized and non-sensitized BALB/c mice.
METHODS: Bone marrow cels derived from BALB/c mice were isolated and culturedin vitro to harvest mesenchymal stem cels using adherent method. The cel surface markers were detected by flow cytometry. A murine model of sensitization was established by transfusion of alogeneic spleen cels. Mesenchymal stem cels labeled with green fluorescent dye were transplanted into non-sensitized and sensitized recipient mice, and the homing of mesenchymal stem cels in vivowas monitored at different time points post transplantation. Additionaly, under irradiation pretreatment, sensitized BALB/c mice under irradiation were subjected to combined transplantation of alogeneic bone marrow cels and syngeneic mesenchymal stem cels. Survival rate of BALB/c mice was monitored daily.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: At 48 hours after transplantation, mesenchymal stem cels in sensitized and non-sensitized recipients were homing to the spleen and bone marrow, respectively. In the experiment of hematopoietic stem cel transplantation, the sensitized recipients died at 12-15 days after combined transplantation, with a median of 14 days; however, the sensitized recipients only undergoing alogeneic bone marrow cel transplantation had a survival median of 13 days. These findings indicate that the transplanted mesenchymal stem cels in sensitized recipients are mainly homing to the spleen and bone marrow, but the combination transplantation cannot enhance the transplantation of alogeneic hematopoietic stem/progenitor cels in sensitized recipients.

Objective To observe the effect of low-frequency, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation ( rTMS) at different frequencies on the cognitive function of traumatic brain injury patients with a history of epilepsy. Methods Sixty traumatic brain injury patients were randomly divided into a 0. 5 Hz group, a 1. 0 Hz group and a control group, each of 20. In addition to routine drug therapy and cognition training, the control group was given fake stimulation, the 0.5 Hz group was treated with 0.5 Hz rTMS, and the 1.0 Hz group was provided with 1.0 Hz rTMS for 4 weeks, eleven times per week. Before and after treatment, the cognitive function of all three groups was assessed using the Montreal cognitive assessment ( MOCA) , the Rivermead behavior memory test ( RBMT) and a symbol can-cellation test. The number of patients reporting headache or epilepsy during the treatment period was also counted. Results During the treatment, there was no headache case in any of the groups, and no significant difference was found in the occurrence of seizures. After the treatment, all of the measurements in all 3 groups had improved signifi-cantly. The average MOCA and RBMT scores in the 1.0 Hz group were all significantly better than those in the control group, but there was no significant difference between the 0.5 Hz group and the control group. The symbol cancella-tion test efficiency of the 1. 0 Hz group was not significantly better than that of the 0. 5 Hz and control groups. Conclusions Repeated 1.0 Hz transcranial magnetic stimulation can significantly improve cognition after traumatic brain injury among patients with a history of epilepsy without increasing the risk of seizures.

Objective To observe the effect of different ways of balloon catheter dilation techniques on cricopharyngeal achalasia and its mechanisms.Methods Thirty patients with deglutition disorder after brain stem infarction,whose cricopharyngeal achalasias were proven by videofluoroscopic swallowing study(VFSS),were randomly divided into three groups: No.14 conventional catheter group A,No.14 modified bicavitary silica-gel catheter group B and No.22 conventional catheter group C with 10 cases in each group,respectively.All the patients of 3 groups received multiple times corresponding balloon catheter dilatation per nasal or per os(No.22 conventional catheter group C only per os).Results After an average of 30 d of balloon catheter dilatation,the level of dysphagia and VFSS evaluation of all patients improved significantly(P ＜ 0.05).However,the No.14 conventional catheter group A and No.22 conventional catheter group C improved to a greater extent than No.14 modified bicavitary silica-gel catheter group B(P ＜ 0.05).The saccule perimeter,saccule diameter and saccule intracapsular pressure of No.14 conventional catheter group A and No.22 conventional catheter group C increased significantly(P ＜ 0.05)when compared to those of No.14 modified bicavitary silica-gel catheter group B,but there was no significant diffference beween No.14 conventional catheter group A and No.22 conventional catheter group C(P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The balloon catheter dilation technique can significantly improve swallowing function of deglutition disorders patients with cricopharyngeal achalasia after brain stem infarction,which is related positively to saccule diameter and saccule intracapsular pressure.

Objective To observe the influence of transplanting neural stem cells (NSCs) on angiogenesis in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI).Methods The Allen's method was used to create SCI models in sixty adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.They were then randomly classified into a control group which received injections of phosphate buffered solution (PBS) and an NSC group which received injections of NSCs via the tail vein,with 30 rats in each group.Another group of 30 similar rats without SCI received injections of NSCs via the tail vein as the normal group.Each rat was evaluated before transplantation and at days 7 and 14 post-transplantation using the Basso,Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scale for testing hindlimb function.After sacrifice,the distribution of yon Willebrand factor (vWF) in both groups was determined by immunofluorescence,and Western blotting was used to detect vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein.Results The average BBB score of the normal group was 21 at every time point.Before transplantation,the BBB scoresof the control and NSC groups were both 0,however they increased over time.At day 7 post-transplantation,the BBB scores showed no significant difference between the control group and the NSC group.At day 14 post-transplantation,the average BBB score of the NSC group was significantly higher than that in the control group.At days 7 and 14,the counts of vWF-positive cells in the normal group were significantly higher than in the control and NSC groups.VEGF protein expression in the normal group was significantly lower than in the NSC and control groups.Conclusions NSC transplantation may promote angiogenesis after spinal cord injury and improve motor function by inducing the expression of VEGF.

Objective To explore the change of the pre-swallow peak pressure of upper esophageal sphincter (UES) in patients with post-stroke cricopharyngeal achalasia,and investigate the effect of pre-swallowing peak UES pressure on swallowing function by quantitative analysis.Methods Fifty-seven stroke patients with cricopharyngeal achalasia were recruited and divided into balloon dilation group,combined training group and routine swallowing training group with 19 patients in eachp.All the three groups accepted routine swallowing training.In addtion,the routine swallowing training group and balloon dilation group accepted larynx elevation training and balloon dilation training,respectively,while the combined training group accepted larynx elevation training and balloon dilation training simultaneously.The pre-swallow peak UES pressure was measured by using PC polygraph high rate gastrointestinal dynamical detection system (PC Polygraf HR,CTD-synectics,Sweden) before and after 8 weeks of treatment.The swallowing function was assessed using swallowing function classification and water swallowing test.Results Before treatment,there was no significant difference among the 3 groups in terms of the pre-swallow peak UES pressure,swallowing function classification,water swallowing test and VFSS (P ＞ 0.05).After treatment,pre-swallow peak UES pressure,swallowing function classification,water swallowing test and VFSS of the balloon dilation group and combined training group improved significantly compared with those before treatment (P ＜ 0.05),and the improvement in the combined training group was to a significantly better extent than in the balloon dilation group(P ＜O.05).Conclusion Balloon dilation and larynx elevation training plus routine swallowing training can increase pre-swallow peak UES pressure,decrease the UES resting pressure of stroke patients with cricopharyngeal achalasia,which is of great importance for their recovery.

Objective To explore the application of videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) in the treatment of dysphagia post-stroke. Methods Eighty patients were assigned into control and treatment groups. Both groups accepted routine drug treatments and physical therapy, and all patients underwent VFSS on the 1 st and 28th day of the study. The patients in the treatment group accepted weekly VFSS in addition, and their swal-lowing training schedules were formulated according to the VFSS assessment results. Water drinking tests and de-glutition disorders were adopted to assess the patients' swallowing function before and after therapy. Results In treatment group, where the therapy schedule was adjusted using VFSS every week, the adjustment proportion at the 2nd, 3rd and 4th week was 20.6% , 40.7% and 15.8% , respectively. Before treatment there was no difference between the two groups with regard to water drinking, deglutition or VFSS scores. After training the water drinking and deglutition results and the time for iodine to transit the oral cavity and pharynx all improved significantly in both groups. The improvements in the treatment group were significantly greater than in the con-trol group. Conclusions Swallowing training based on videofluoroscopic assessment can significantly alleviate post-stroke dysphagia.

Objective To assess the effect of stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) on the migration of neural stem cells and recovery of lower limb function after spinal cord injury (SCI).Methods A modified version of Allen's method was used to establish a SCI model in each of 96 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats.They were then randomly divided into group A which received an injection of phosphate buffer solution,group B which received an injection of neural stem cells,group C which received a combination of SDF-1 and neural stem cells,and group D which received AMD3100 and neural stem cells 7 days after the modeling.The functioning of the hind limbs of all of the rats was assessed on the 7th,14th,21st and 28th day after the modeling.The rats were then sacrificed and frozen sections of their spinal cords were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and marked with CM-Dil under fluorescent light.Results An accumulation of fluorescing cells were observed in spine cords from both group B and C,with the counts of group B [(23.6 ±3.7),(18.9 ±5.6)and(15.2 ±4.3) respectively] at the day 14,21 and 28 after modeling significantly smaller than those of group C [(27.4 ± 4.7),(20.4 ± 5.2) and (18.3 ± 3.9) respectively].During the same period of time,the average BBB scores of groups B and C were significantly better than those of groups A and D.Moreover,the average score of group C was significantly higher than group B's at all time points.Conclusions Transplanted neural stem cells can migrate to the injured site,surviving and differentiating to promote the recovery of limb function in rats with spinal cord injury.SDF-1 can promote that migration and proliferation.Moreover,CXCR4 receptor's antagonist AMD3100 can significantly hinder neural stem cells' migration to the injured site on the spinal cord.

Objective To observe the surface electromyographic characteristics of the bilateral submen-tal muscles in dysphagia secondary to unilateral brainstem stroke. Methods A total of 25 subjects were recrui-ted. There were 8 stroke patients with dysphagia secondary to a left brainstem stroke and 7 stroke patients with dysphagia secondary to a right brainstem stroke. There were also 10 healthy controls matched in age and gender. The duration and peak amplitude of the submental muscle when swallowing 5 ml of warm water were recorded u-sing a surface electromyograph. Results The average amplitude of the left submental muscle in patients with a left brainstem stroke was significantly longer than that of those with a right brainstem stroke, but no significant differences in average duration were observed. Conversely, the amplitude of the right submental muscle in pa-tients with a right brainstem stroke was significantly longer than that of those with left brainstem stroke, but again there were no significant differences in duration. No significant differences were observed among the healthy con-trols. The amplitude and duration of both the affected and healthy sides of the patients were of course significantly longer or stronger than those of the healthy controls. Conclusion The swallowing function of the bilateral sub-mental muscles may be impaired among unilateral stroke survivors with dysphagia. The damage on the affected side is more severe than on the opposite side.

Objective To investigate the correlation between the types of constitution in TCM and the sleep status in the PLA Navy divers. Methods Eighty-nine PLA Navy divers who performed 10m diving professional training were selected. Constitution in TCM was classified and determined by the standardized standard Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire, sleep status was evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results 62.9% of Navy divers were the mild constitution in TCM. The eight kinds of the biased constitution in TCM are ranked with yang deficiency, phlegm-dampness, dampness-heat, qi deficiency, yin deficiency, blood stasis, qi stagnation and special intrinsic quality. Among 78 Navy divers with good sleep quality, there were 49 divers (72.1%) with the mild constitution in TCM and 19 (27.9%) with the biased constitution in TCM. Among 21 Navy divers with poor sleep quality, there were 7 divers (33.3%) with the mild constitution in TCM (accounting for) and 14 (66.7%) with the biased constitution in TCM. For Navy divers with poor sleep quality, the sleep quality scores were positive correlated with the blood stasis constitution in TCM (r=0.481,P<0.05). Conclusion Sleep status is correlated with the types of the constitution in TCM, and regulating constitution in TCM can improve sleep quality in PLA Navy divers.

Objective To examine the molecular mechanism involved in astrocyte migration induced by magnetic stimulation (MS),and the role of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) in migration.Methods Astrocytes were isolated from the cortical tissues of 2-3 day old Sprague-Dawley rats and divided into a stimulus group given MS and a control group without MS.The stimulus group was further divided into an experimental group and a control group,with the former pre-stimulated with 10 μmol/ml U0126 for 30 minutes and no pre-stimulation for the latter.The cells in the experimental group were also randomly divided into siRNA and HMGB1-siRNA transfection groups to examine the role of HMGB1 in astrocyte migration induced by MS.The SiRNA group was transfected with HMGB1 siRNA.Western blotting was used to detect any effect of MS on HMGB1 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2).The migration of astrocytes was detected using the scratch assay.Results MS (10 Hz) can promote the phosphorylation of ERK,increase the migration of astrocytes and the expression of HMGB1.After the U0126 treatment and transfection with HMGB1 siRNA,the effects of MS on expression of HMGB1 and migration of astrocytes decreased significantly.Conclusions Magnetic stimulation-mediated migration of astrocytes via activation of the ERK pathway phosphorylation and autocrine of HMGB1.