The source of seed cells has always been the major problem in cartilage tissue engineering.Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) have gradually become an optimal source of seed cells for cartilage engineering due to their high proliferative potential,multi-lineage differentiation potential and easiness to be obtained with minute trauma.The great challenge is how to get abundant BMSCs with a high purity and how to induce them in vitro into chondrogenic phenotype.This review aims to discuss the various strategies that can induce BMSCs chondrogenic differentiation in vitro so as to offer beneficial reference for constructing cartilage with BMSCs as seed cells.

Articular cartilage defects are commonly found in clinics. It is always a great challenge for the repair of cartilage defects due to the limited self-regeneration after injury. Tissue engineering,a newly emerging biotechnique to regenerate cartilage with chondrogenic potential cells and biodegradable scaffolds in vivo and in vitro,provides a promising method to solve the challenge in cartilage defects repair. To regenerate cartilage with favourable structure and function,it is essential to gain a deep insight into the biochemical structure,biomechanical property and their relationship of articular cartilage. This article gives an introduction to the biochemical structure,biomechanical property and their relationship of both native and tissue-engineered cartilage.

Objective To investigate the effects of 15-deoxy-?12,14-prostaglandin J2(15d-PGJ2) and DDP on the growth of human pulmonary carcinoma PLA-801D cells and the mechanisms of apoptosis.Methods The human pulmonary carcinoma PLA-801D cells were selected and added to each well of 96-well place and cultivated for 24 h.Then the cells were treated with different concentrations of 15d-PGJ2(0,5,10,20,40 and 80 ?g?L-1) or 15d-PGJ2 combined with DDP(3 mg?L) for 24 h.0 ?g?L-1 15d-PGJ2 group was control group.The morphological changes of cells were observed under inverted microscope.Microculture tetrazolium(MTT)dye was applied to detect the proliferation of the human pulmonary carcinoma PLA-801D cells treated with 15d-PGJ2 and DDP.Diphenylamine assay(DPA) was used to evaluate the activation.Flow cytometry assay(FCM) was used to detect the apoptosis proportion and the changes of cell cycle.Results When the human pulmonary carcinoma PLA-801D cells were treated with low-concentration 15d-PGJ2 alone(5,10 and 20 ?g?L-1),no significant difference was observed in the inhibitory rate of cell growth and the apoptotic indexes such as the apoptosis proportion,the percent of DNA fragmentation and the activity of caspase-3 compared with control group(P

Aim To investigate the effects of rosiglitazone(ROZ)combined with cisplatin(DDP)on the growth of transplanted lung adenocarcinoma in mice and the corresponding mechanism.Methods The human lung adenocarcinoma mode was established with A549 cell in nude mice.Twenty eight female Balb/c-nu mice with lung adenocarcinoma were randomly divided into seven groups.① control group;② low-dose DDP group(1 mg?kg-1);③ high-dose DDP group(4 mg?kg-1);④ low-dose ROZ group(10 mg?kg-1);⑤ high-dose ROZ group(30 mg?kg-1);⑥ low-dose DDP plus low-dose ROZ group;⑦ low-dose DDP plus high-dose ROZ group;all the mice were sacrificed at 48 h after the last injection.Subcutaneous tumor was subjected to histological examination.Expressions of PPAR?、PTEN and pAkt in tumor tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry.Results ① In every treatment group tumor growth was suppressed significantly.Intraperitoneal injection of low and high-dose DDP,low and high-dose ROZ,low-dose DDP plus low-dose ROZ and low-dose DDP plus high-dose ROZ group resulted in a significant inhibition of the growth of A549 cells in vivo compared with that of control group(P

ObjectiveTo determine whether simvastatin alleviates lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in patients with metabolic syndrome (MS) coexisting with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and explore an optimized scheme of treatment. MethodsFrom February to June in 2011,30 male subjects with MS and LUTS caused by BPH in out-patients and in-patients from geriatric department were recruited.The patients were randomly assigned to receive orally simvastatin (40 mg) and tamsulosin (0.2 mg) quaque noete as combination treatment group or only tamsulosin (0.2 mg,quaque nocte) as single treatment group for 8 weeks.International prostate symptoms score (IPSS),quality of life (QOL),maximum flow rate (MFR) and prostate volume (PV),liver enzymes,creatinine and routine urine test were monitored to evaluate the effectiveness and safety before and after the treatment.Results In the two groups,the significant differences were found in the levels of IPSS,QOL and MFR,while there was no difference in PV between pre-treatment and post-treatment.The scores of IPSS after treatment were (6.4 ± 4.4) in combination treatment group and(4.2±3.3)in single treatment group (P＜0.05),and there were significant difference in scores of IPSS before and after the treatment between two groups (P＜0.05),suggesting better improvement in combination treatment group than in single treatment group.In two groups,there were no adverse events,and no changes were found in liver and kidney function,muscle enzymes and routine urine test.Conclusions Combined tamsulosin and simvastatin treatment may alleviate LUTS caused by BPH and are well tolerated with no adverse events.

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of the sandwich method (medical glue +gelatin sponge+medical glue) in the repair of spinal dura mater to prevent the cerebrospinal fluid leakage.Methods From February 2007 to June 2011,54 patients with spinal subdural tumors underwent excision of tumor in our hospital.According to manner of repairing spinal dura mater,all patients were classified into two groups:routine group and sandwich group.There were 16 males and 7 females with an average age of 45.2±7.2 years in the routine group,while 19 males and 12 females with an average age of 44.2±6.4 years in sandwich group.In routine group,the spinal dura mater was repaired through running locked suture.In sandwich group,the spinal dura mater was repaired through running locked suture,painting medical glue around the dural incision,covering with gelatin sponge,and painting medical glue on the surface and margin of gelatin sponge successively.Results Compared with the routine group,the total volume of postoperative drainage in sandwich group decreased significantly on the very day,the first day,the second day,and the third day,and the incidence of cerebrospinal fluid leakage decreased significantly.Before discharge,hydrops happened in 3 cases in the routine group,and got well through aspiration,continuous pressure by sandbag,and prone position.Three months after operation,5 cases from the routine group got deep hydrops under the incision and no treatment was applied to them.There was no obvious abnormality in the sandwich group.Conclusion The sandwich method can improve the repair effect of spinal dura mater injury,reduce the volume of postoperative drainage,and decrease the incidence of cerebrospinal fluid leakage

Aim To study the pharmacokinetic char-acteristics of serial compounds that took the scutellarin and scutellarein as lead compounds by using the model of in vitro liver microsomes, and to screen compounds whose medicinal properties were superior to scutellarin and scutellarein. Methods The content of candidate compounds at different times by incubation system of rat liver microsome was determined using UPLC-MS/MS method. Candidate compounds that contained opti-mum T1/2 and CLint were screened. Enzyme kinetics and conversions of candidate compounds were com-pared with those of scutellarin and scutellarein. Re-sults The T1/2 and CLint were optimum of W11 com-pared with those of scutellarin and scutellarein; the Vmax, Km and CLint of compound W11 were (10.25 ±2.59 ) μmol · min-1 · g-1 , ( 4.64 ±0.24 ) μmol · L-1 and ( 2.29 ±0.23 ) L · min-1 · g-1; the Vmax , Km and CLint of scutellarin were (45.95±9.50) μmol · min-1 · g-1 , ( 10.19 ± 1.66 ) μmol · L-1 and (4.48±0.20) L·min-1 ·g-1; W11 might be me-tabolized into scutellarin and M1 ( a compound with mo-lecular weight of 577 after demethylating ) . Conclu-sion The pharmacokinetic properties of candidate compound W11 are better than those of scutellarin, and it could release scutellarin.

Objective To evaluate the contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in quantitative diagnosis of chronic renal insufficiency. Methods Correlation of CEUS indexes with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) detected by 99mTc-DTPA renography was examined. Thirty-three cases of clinical chronic renal insufficiency were enrolled in the study. They were 15 males and 18 females with average age of (43.33±6.78) years. After intravenous bolus injection of 1 ml SonoVue,CEUS of renal cortex blood perfusion was performed successfully, and a time-intensity curve (TIC)was created with PHILIPS iU22 system's QLAB software. A 148 to 222 MBq dose of 99mTc-DTPA was injected as a bolus from antecubital vein. Renal scintigraphic images were collected immediately and GFR was obtained. Results The significant correlation coefficients between GFR and CEUS quantitative indexes were as follows: rAUC (area under curve)=0.886 (P＜0.05), rA (slope rate of ascending curve, A) =0.804(P＜0.05). However, rDPI (derived peak intensity, DPI)=0.021 (P＞0.05), rTTP (time to peak, TTP) =0.043 (P＞0.05), rα (slope rate of descending curve,α)=0.039 (P＞0.05). Conclusion CEUS can precisely display the hemodynamic change of chronic renal insufficiency, which is well correlated with GFR by 99mTc-DTPA renography.

Objective To evaluate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in quantitative diagnosis of chronic kidney dysfunction(CKD) by comparing it with color Doppler imaging (CDFI). Methods Tirty-three cases (15 males and 18 females) of clinical confirmed CKD (stage Ⅲ～Ⅴ)were included. Forty-five healthy volunteers were performed as control group. CEUS and CDFI were performed on each patient. After intravenous bolus injection of 1ml SonoVue each side,CEUS of renal cortex blood perfusion was collected successively,and a time-intensity curve(TIC) was created with Philips iU22 system's QLAB software. Resistance index(RI) and peak systolic velocity(PSV) of renal partial arteries were also tested. Results Compared with normal kidney,CKD patients had delayed perfusion and decreased intensity. Changes of area under curve(AUC), derived peak intensity(DPI), slope rate of ascending curve(A)and time to peak(TTP) were statistically significant ( P ＜0. 05). Sensitivities of AUC,DPI,A and TTP in diagnosis of CKD (stage Ⅲ～Ⅴ ) were 91.2% ,84. 9% ,90.9% and 85.3%, their specificities were 95.4%,88.9% ,93.3% and 90.9%, their accuracies were 93.6%, 87. 2%, 92.3% and 88. 5%, respectively. The results of CEUS were better than RI in CDFI (sensitivity 70.4%, specificity 37. 8%, accuracy 52.2%).Conclusions CEUS can precisely display the hemodynamic change in CKD ( stage Ⅲ～Ⅴ ), and is more sensitive than CDFI.

AIM: To investigate the effect of neferine (Nef) on human gastric carcinoma cell line with multidrug resistance (MDR). METHODS: The cytotoxic effect of vincristine (VCR) was evaluated by MTT assay. The cell apoptosis induced by VCR was determined by flow cytometry, and the expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and multidrug-resistance-associated protein (MRP) in cells was examined by immunofluorescence flow cytometry. RESULTS: MTT assay showed that Nef at the concentration of 5 ?mol?L~(-1) to 10 ?mol?L~(-1) have no cytotoxicity to parent human gastric carcinoma cell line (SGC7901) and its VCR-resistant variant cell line (SGC7901/VCR). The IC_(50) value of VCR to SGC7901 cell line was 0.06 mg?L~(-1)and that of to SGC7901/VCR cell line was 2.32 mg?L~(-1), which indicated SGC7901/VCR cell line were 39 times more resistant to VCR in comparison with the parent SGC7901 cell line. After treatment with Nef at the concentrations of 2.5, 5 and 10 ?mol?L~(-1), the IC_(50) value of VCR to SGC7901/VCR cell line decreased to 0.34, 0.12 and 0.05 mg?L~(-1), respectively and those increased by 6.8-, 18.1- and 43.8- fold in the chemosensitivity, respectively. Flow cytometry showed that SGC7901/VCR cells were resistant to apoptosis induced by VCR. After 24 h treatment with Nef (2.5, 5 and 10 ?mol?L~(-1)) and VCR, the apoptosis of SGC7901/VCR cells increased, which indicated Nef could abolish resistance of SGC7901/VCR cells to VCR-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, the action of Nef was more potent than verapamil. The expression of P-glycoprotein and multidrug resistance associated protein was strongly positive in SGC7901/VCR cells, and the expression level of P-gp and MRP in SGC701/VCR cells was significantly down-regulated at 24 h after treatment with Nef (10 ?mol?L~(-1)). CONCLUSIONS: Nef can reverse MDR in multidrug-resistant human gastric carcinoma SGC7901/VCR cell line. Its mechanism might be associated with down-regulation of expression of P-gp and MRP in SGC7901/VCR cells.