Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; Female ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; cytology ; Hepatocytes ; cytology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C

OBJECTIVETo screen the transforming growth factor, beta-induced (TGFBI) gene mutation in three Chinese families with autosomal dominant corneal dystrophy.

METHODSAnalysis of the TGFBI gene mutations was performed by direct sequencing of the whole coding regions and exon-intron boundaries of the TGFBI gene in all affected members from the three families.

RESULTSThree kinds of TGFBI gene mutations, R124C and H626R were detected in the patients of the two lattice conneal dystrophy families, and R124H was detected in the Avellino corneal dystrophy family.

CONCLUSIONTGFBI gene mutations are the underlying molecular mechanism of the pathogenesis for corneal dystrophy. The R124 and H626 are the hot spots of TGFBI gene mutation in this disease.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Corneal Dystrophies, Hereditary ; genetics ; pathology ; Corneal Stroma ; pathology ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Family Health ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mutation ; Pedigree ; Transforming Growth Factors ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo explore etiology, clinical manifestation and immunological changes of infectious pneumonia of neonates in Chengdu area.

METHODSSerum specimens were collected from 111 infants with infectious pneumonia. Eight viral and mycoplasmal specific serum IgM antibodies were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); C reactive protein (CRP), total IgG and its subclasses, IgA and IgM were determined by rate scattered nephelometry; T lymphocyte subpopulations were detected by biotin-streptavidin-peroxidase method, and clinical and other laboratory data were analyzed.

RESULTS(1) Etiological agents: specific serum IgM antibodies were positive in 40 of 111 cases (36.0%) with pneumonias. All the 30 control infants were negative for the specific serum IgM antibodies. Among 111 infants with infectious pneumonia, 20.7% had single viral or mycoplasmal infection, 40.5% had bacterial infection, 15.3% had viral and mycoplasmal infection with bacterial infection; 23.4% had infection with unknown agents. (2) The most common clinical manifestations were tachypnea and cyanosis. The next were cough, milk choking, rales, retractions of the supraclavicular, intercostal and subcostal areas. Roentgenographic examination commonly revealed vague opacities, increased density and patchy infiltration. (3) Immune status: (1) CD(3), CD(4) cell counts of infants with pneumonias were lower than those of the controls while their serum IgA, IgM concentrations were higher than those of the control. (2) The CD(3) and CD(4) cell counts of the group with bacterial infection were lower than those of the control group. (3) The serum IgA concentration of the group with viral and mycoplasmal infection was higher than those of the control group and the group with unknown infection. (4) The serum IgM concentration of the group with bacterial infection was higher than those of the control group. (5) There were no significant differences in CD(8) cell counts, CD(4)/CD(8), concentration of serum IgG and IgG(1 - 4) between pneumonia group and the control group, and among various infectious groups and the control.

CONCLUSIONPathogens of neonatal infectious pneumonia in Chengdu area included single viral or mycoplasmic infection or bacterial infection, viral and mycoplasmal infection with bacterial infection, and unknown infection. Immunological changes of newborn infants suffered from infectious pneumonia included declined CD(3) and CD(4) cell counts, particularly in bacterial infection.

Antibodies, Bacterial ; blood ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Bacterial Infections ; complications ; C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin M ; blood ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Pneumonia ; diagnosis ; etiology ; immunology ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets ; immunology ; metabolism ; Virus Diseases ; complications

OBJECTIVETo establish a rat model of full-thickness skin defect to receive bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for wound repair.

METHODSA full-thickness skin defect measuring 4 cmx4 cm in 36 F344 rats, which were divided into 3 groups with the wound covered with alloskin graft, acellular dermal matrix, or petrolatum gauze. In vitro cultured BMSCs in the 5th passage were transplanted into the skin defect, and the time of wound dressing dissociation and number of transplanted Brdu-positive cells in the wound were observed 14 days later.

RESULTSThe alloskin graft resulted in significantly longer time before dressing dissociation, with greater number of Brdu-positive cells in the wound than the other two wound dressings (P<0.001). The acellular dermal matrix showed better effect than petrolatum gauze in terms of the dressing dissociation time and the viable transplanted cell number in the wound.

CONCLUSIONAlloskin graft can be ideal for covering the wound surface to protect the transplanted BMSCs in rats.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Dermis ; transplantation ; Female ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred F344 ; Rats, Wistar ; Skin ; injuries ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Wound Healing ; physiology

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection is the main complication after posterior lumbar surgery, which not only increases the patient's hospitalization time, financial burden and physical pain, but also increases the difficulty for the clinical medical staff, delays the recovery of postoperative patients, even leads to deaths. Therefore, it is important to analyze the factors related to the infection of the surgical site after posterior lumbar surgery. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the risk factors of the surgical site infection after lumbar posterior approach in China. METHODS: Studies about the surgical site infection after lumbar posterior approach were retrieved by computer. The quality of the studies was evaluated by reading the full text. Heterogeneity was analyzed using RevMan 5.3 software. Meta analysis was used to analyze the combined effect. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Totally 20 studies with 423 cases of surgical site infection and 13 995 cases of non-infection were included. (2)Meta-analysis univariate analysis results:body mass index ≥ 27 kg/m2[OR=3.82,95%CI(2.47,5.91),P<0.000 01],age ≥ 60 years [OR=1.99,95%CI(1.44,2.76),P<0.000 1],intraoperative blood loss ≥ 300 mL[OR=3.98,95%CI(2.50,6.33),P<0.000 01],subcutaneous fat thickness[MD=5.35,95%CI(3.58,7.12),P<0.000 01],number of segments ≥ 3[OR=3.83,95%CI(2.02,7.26),P<0.000 1],operation time ≥180 minutes[OR=2.96,95%CI(2.06,4.27),P<0.000 01],preoperative serum protein<35 g/L[OR=2.37,95%CI(1.63,3.46),P<0.000 01],and diabetes[OR=2.88,95%CI(2.22,3.74),P<0.000 01]were risk factors for surgical site infection after lumbar posterior approach.(3)Multivariate analysis results:body mass index ≥ 27 kg/m2[OR=3.21,95%CI(1.97,5.22),P<0.000 01],subcutaneous fat thickness[MD=5.35,95%CI(3.58, 7.12),P<0.000 01],preoperative serum protein<35 g/L[OR=3.73,95%CI(2.30,6.04),P<0.000 01],and diabetes[OR=3.35,95%CI(1.75,6.42), P=0.003]were independent risk factors for surgical site infection after lumbar posterior surgery.(4)Results showed that body mass index ≥27 kg/m2, subcutaneous fat thickness, preoperative serum protein < 35 g/L, and diabetes are independent risk factors for surgical site infection after lumbar posterior approach in China. Due to the number of cases of surgical site infection and its methodological quality during the study, the above conclusions still need to be confirmed by more large-scale, high-quality studies to provide reliable evidence for perioperative management.

OBJECTIVESTo investigate the possibilities of an association between the degrees of HBV suppression with nucleoside treatments at week 24 and week 52 in hepatitis B patients and to find a useful predictor for treatment efficacy.

METHODSIn this phase III, double-blind, multicenter trial, we compared the efficacy of telbivudine treatment with lamivudine treatment in 332 Chinese compensated chronic hepatitis B patients. The patients were randomly assigned to a daily 600 mg telbivudine treatment group or daily 100 mg lamivudine group for 24 weeks. They were then categorized into 4 groups according to their serum HBV DNA levels (copies/ml) at week 24: a PCR-undetectable group (< 300 copies/ml); a QL- < 10(3) copies/ml group; a 10(3)-<10(4) copies/ml group; and a > or = 10(4) copies/ml group. The treatments were continued as they previously had been for another 28 weeks and the patients serum HBV DNA levels were examined again.

RESULTSAt week 52, mean reductions of serum HBV DNA were significantly greater in the telbivudine-treated patients than in the lamivudine-treated group (6.2 log10 vs 5.4 log10, t = 3.6, P < 0.01). Viral resistance was twice as common in lamivudine-treated patients compared to those receiving telbivudine. Telbivudine was well-tolerated with an adverse event profile similar to that of lamivudine. The lower the HBV DNA level achieved at week 24, the higher HBV DNA non-detectable by PCR. ALT normalization and HBeAg seroconversion achieved at week 52, and viral resistance at week 48 decreased parallel to the degree of HBV DNA inhibition.

CONCLUSIONHBV DNA PCR-undetectable at week 24 in nucleoside-treated hepatitis B patients suggests a better efficacy at week 52 and lower viral resistance at week 48. The degree of suppression of HBV at week 24 may be used as a predictor of 1-year outcome.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; DNA, Viral ; blood ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Lamivudine ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nucleosides ; therapeutic use ; Pyrimidinones ; therapeutic use ; Thymidine ; analogs & derivatives ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) exhibit two types of discharge activities: simple spike (SS) and complex spike (CS). Previous studies found that noradrenaline (NA) can inhibit CS and bidirectionally regulate SS, but the enhancement of NA on SS is overwhelmed by the strong inhibition of excitatory molecular layer interneurons. However, the mechanism underlying the effect of NA on SS discharge frequency is not clear. Therefore, in the present study, we examined the mechanism underlying the increasing effect of NA on SS firing of PC in mouse cerebellar cortex in vivo and in cerebellar slice by cell-attached and whole-cell recording technique and pharmacological methods. GABA_A receptor was blocked by 100 µmol/L picrotoxin in the whole process. In vivo results showed that NA significantly reduced the number of spikelets of spontaneous CS and enhanced the discharge frequency of SS, but did not affect the discharge frequency of CS. In vitro experiments showed that NA reduced the number of CS spikelets and after hyperpolarization potential (AHP) induced by electrical stimulation, and increased the discharge frequency of SS. NA also reduced the amplitude of excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) of parallel fiber (PF)-PC and significantly increased the paired-pulse ratio (PPR). Application of yohimbine, an antagonist of α2-adrenergic receptor (AR), completely eliminated the enhancing effect of NA on SS. The α2-AR agonist, UK14304, also increased the frequency of SS. The β-AR blocker, propranolol, did not affect the effects of NA on PC. These results suggest that in the absence of GABA_A receptors, NA could attenuate the synaptic transmission of climbing fiber (CF)-PC via activating α2-AR, inhibit CS activity and reduce AHP, thus enhancing the SS discharge frequency of PC. This result suggests that NA neurons of locus coeruleus can finely regulate PC signal output by regulating CF-PC synaptic transmission.
Action Potentials/physiology* ; Animals ; Cerebellar Cortex/metabolism* ; Cerebellum/metabolism* ; Mice ; Norepinephrine/pharmacology* ; Purkinje Cells/metabolism* ; Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2/metabolism* ; Receptors, GABA-A/metabolism*

Fentanyl as a synthetic opioid works by binding to the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) in brain areas to generate analgesia, sedation and reward related behaviors. As we know, cerebellum is not only involved in sensory perception, motor coordination, motor learning and precise control of autonomous movement, but also important for the mood regulation, cognition, learning and memory. Previous studies have shown that functional MORs are widely distributed in the cerebellum, and the role of MOR activation in cerebellum has not been reported. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of fentanyl on air-puff stimulus-evoked field potential response in the cerebellar molecular layer using in vivo electrophysiology in mice. The results showed that perfusion of 5 μmol/L fentanyl on the cerebellar surface significantly inhibited the amplitude, half width and area under the curve (AUC) of sensory stimulation-evoked inhibitory response P1 in the molecular layer. The half-inhibitory concentration (IC
Animals ; Cerebellum ; Evoked Potentials ; Fentanyl/pharmacology* ; Interneurons ; Mice ; Physical Stimulation