Objective:To observe the efficacy of microcapsules to prolong islet xenografts survival in mice.Methods:Human fetal pancreatic islets were isolated from the embryo which was obtained from legal abortion(gestational age 16～24 weeks) with collagenase and enclosed in semipermeable alginate BaCl 2 capsules.Diabetic BALB/ C mice induced with streptozotocin were divided into 3 groups.Each group had 7 mice.Then transplantation was performed.Results:Transplantation of 1000?100 encapsulated fetal islets into the peritoneal cavities of 7 BALB/ C mice restord normalglycemia for 78.4?21.27 days without immunosuppression.The second group of 7 diabetic mice received an equal number of uncultured pancreatic fragments.These unprotected xenografts were functional for only 7.43?3.42 days,but high mortality occured.There was significant differences between the two groups(P

The association of the polymorphisms of interleukin (IL)-1?, IL-4, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-? (TNF-?) gene with Hashimoto′s thyroiditis (HT) in Shandong population of China was investigated. The results showed that the frequency of the t allele in the promoter region of IL-4 at position -590 in HT group was significantly lower than that in control group (0.060 vs 0.155, P

Objective:To study the predictive value of the systemic immune inflammation index (SII) on the overall survival rate of patients after Whipple surgery for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Methods:The clinical data of patients with PDAC who underwent Whipple surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2017 were retrospectively analyzed, and the SII value was calculated. The best cut-off value of SII was 900, and all patients were divided into the low SII group (SII≤900) and the high SII group (SII>900) using 900 as the dividing point. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curves and the log-rank test was used. The overall survival of the two groups of patients were analyzed. The Cox risk regression model was used to perform univariate analysis of the various clinicopathological parameters, and multivariate analysis for the statistically significant indicators.Results:Of 135 patients enrolled into this study, there were 78 males and 57 females, aged 28.0-76.0 (56.6±8.8) years. There were 92 patients in the low SII group, aged (56.9±9.2) years with 53 males and 39 females; and 43 patients in the high SII group, aged (56.1±7.9) years, with 25 males and 18 females. The median survival of the low SII group and the high SII group were 32.7 months (95% CI: 28.4-37.0) and 24.4 months (95% CI: 21.4-27.4), respectively. The survival of patients with PDAC in the low SII group was significantly higher than that in the high SII group ( P<0.05). On univariate survival analysis, postoperative overall survival of patients with PDAC was significantly associated with high SII ( HR=2.047, 95% CI: 1.354-3.096), R 1 margin ( HR=2.595, 95% CI: 1.663-4.048), a positive rate of lymph node>20% ( HR=3.244, 95% CI: 1.888-5.573), and positive regional lymph node (N1) ( HR=3.061, 95% CI: 1.993-4.702), all P<0.05. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that high SII ( HR=1.672, 95% CI: 1.094-2.555), R 1 resection margin ( HR=2.167, 95% CI: 1.274-3.685), and a positive rate of lymph node>20% ( HR=2.631, 95% CI: 1.309-5.285) to be independent risk factors affecting overall survival ( P<0.05). Conclusion:SII was an independent prognostic factor available before surgery for patients with PDAC. It has some guiding significance in predicting overall survival in patients after Whipple surgery for PDAC.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway has been reported to play an important role in liver fibrosis. This study was designed to investigate whether mesoderm-specific transcript homologue (Mest), a strong negative regulator of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, could inhibit liver fibrosis. METHODS: pcDNA-Mest was transfected into hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and rats. Rats were randomly divided into four groups: normal group (normal saline), treatment group (pcDNA-Mest+CCl4), control group (pcDNA-neo+CCl4), and model group (normal saline+CCl4). Changes in liver pathology were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome staining. The levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, lactic dehygrogenase, hyaluronic acid, and laminin in the serum and hydroxyproline in the liver were detected by biochemical examination and radioimmunoassay, respectively. The expression and distribution of beta-catenin, alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), Smad3, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase type I were determined, and the viability of the HSCs was tested. RESULTS: Our data demonstrate that Mest alleviated CCl4-induced collagen deposition in liver tissue and improved the condition of the liver in rats. Mest also significantly reduced the expression and distribution of beta-catenin, alpha-SMA and Smad3 both in vivo and in vitro, in addition to the viability of HSCs in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: We found that Mest attenuates liver fibrosis by repressing beta-catenin expression, which provides a new therapeutic approach for treating liver fibrosis.
Animals ; Carbon Tetrachloride/toxicity ; Cells, Cultured ; Hepatic Stellate Cells/physiology ; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental/*physiopathology ; Male ; Proteins/*physiology ; Random Allocation ; Rats, Wistar ; Transfection ; Wnt Signaling Pathway/*physiology ; beta Catenin/metabolism

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of arthroscopic irrigation combined with surgical debridement in the treatment of shoulder infection after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Methods: Data of 4 post-operative infected patients [(male 3 cases, female 1 case; 55 years (51-61 years)] after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair who underwent arthroscopic irrigation combined with surgical debridement from January 2016 to June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Less than 1 month after surgery, swelling, pain in the surgical area occurred and all patients had fever, abscess and sinus. Hematology and radiology were conducted immediately after admission. Antibiotic treatment was applied, and adjusted according to the culture results timely. All patients underwent arthroscopic irrigation combined with surgical debridement. Antibiotics continued accordingly after the operation. Blood routine, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, X-ray, etc. were rechecked regularly to evaluate the symptomatic relief of the infection and prognosis. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score were used to evaluate shoulder function during the pre-operative and post-operative follow-up period. Results: The surgery was successfully completed in all 4 patients. One was treated with VSD for vacuum suction and the wound was closed one week later. The results of microbial culture showed that 2 cases were Mycobacterium tuberculosis positive, 1 case Pseudomonas aeruginosa positive, and 1 case was Staphylococcus aureus positive. After treatment, the shoulder sinuses of all patients were healed, without swelling, pain, etc. The follow-up time was 3, 4, 32, and 33 months, respectively. There was no recurrence of infection until the latest follow-up. The joint mobility and scores were better than the situation of preoperative. The VAS score and ASES score of 2 patients with early debridement (< 1 month duration of infected symptoms) were respectively improved significantly from 5 and 40, 6 and 23 before operation to 1 and 80, 1 and 73 respectively at the latest follow up. The VAS score and ASES score of other 2 patients (> 6 months duration of infected symptoms) were respectively improved from 6 and 28, 6 and 32 to 1 and 62, 2 and 65 respectively. All patients were satisfied with the results. Conclusion Early arthroscopic irrigation combined with surgical debridement is an effective method to treat the post-operative infections after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of serological indicators and evaluate the diagnostic value of a new established combined serological model on identifying the minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with compensated cirrhosis.Methods:This prospective multicenter study enrolled 263 compensated cirrhotic patients from 23 hospitals in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China between October 2021 and August 2022. Clinical data and laboratory test results were collected, and the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was calculated. Ammonia level was corrected to the upper limit of normal (AMM-ULN) by the baseline blood ammonia measurements/upper limit of the normal reference value. MHE was diagnosed by combined abnormal number connection test-A and abnormal digit symbol test as suggested by Guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis. The patients were randomly divided (7∶3) into training set ( n=185) and validation set ( n=78) based on caret package of R language. Logistic regression was used to establish a combined model of MHE diagnosis. The diagnostic performance was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve. The internal verification was carried out by the Bootstrap method ( n=200). AUC comparisons were achieved using the Delong test. Results:In the training set, prevalence of MHE was 37.8% (70/185). There were statistically significant differences in AMM-ULN, albumin, platelet, alkaline phosphatase, international normalized ratio, MELD score and education between non-MHE group and MHE group (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that AMM-ULN [odds ratio ( OR)=1.78, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.05-3.14, P=0.038] and MELD score ( OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.04-1.20, P=0.002) were independent risk factors for MHE, and the AUC for predicting MHE were 0.663, 0.625, respectively. Compared with the use of blood AMM-ULN and MELD score alone, the AUC of the combined model of AMM-ULN, MELD score and education exhibited better predictive performance in determining the presence of MHE was 0.755, the specificity and sensitivity was 85.2% and 55.7%, respectively. Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve showed that the model had good calibration ( P=0.733). The AUC for internal validation of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.752. In the validation set, the AUC of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.794, and Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed good calibration ( P=0.841). Conclusion:Use of the combined model including AMM-ULN, MELD score and education could improve the predictive efficiency of MHE among patients with compensated cirrhosis.