ABSTRCT AIM:To verify the effect of polygona-tum polysaccharide(PSP)combined with TGF-β3 in inducing the differentiation of rat tendon-derived stem cells(TDSCs)into chondrocytes by activating the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway.METHODS:TDSCs were extracted from rat tail tendons using enzyme digestion,purified,passaged,and identified via flow cytometry.TDSCs were treated with different concentrations of PSP,and the optimal growth con-centration was determined using the CCK-8 assay.TDSCs were divided into four groups:PSP,TGF-β3,PSP+TGF-β3,and Control for differentiation induc-tion.Chondrogenic differentiation was evaluated using morphological observations,toluidine blue staining,immunofluorescence staining,and West-ern blot analysis to detect COLⅡ,SOX9,and AGG.Western blot was also used to measure the expres-sion levels of Smad2 and p-Smad2 to evaluate the activation of the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway after chondrogenic induction.RESULTS:Flow cytometry analysis showed that TDSCs highly expressed CD90 and CD29,while CD11b and CD45 expression was low.The CCK-8 assay indicated that 5 μmol/L PSP was the optimal intervention dose.Toluidine blue staining revealed that the blue staining area in the PSP,PSP+TGF-β3,and TGF-β3 groups was larger compared to the Control group.Immunofluores-cence analysis demonstrated that COLⅡ expression was significantly increased in the PSP,TGF-β3,and PSP+TGF-β3 groups,with the highest expression in the PSP+TGF-β3 group(P＜0.05).Western blot analy-sis showed that the levels of p-Smad2/Smad2,COLⅡ,SOX9,and AGG were elevated in the PSP,TGF-β3,and PSP+TGF-β3 groups,with the highest ex-pression in the PSP+TGF-β3 group(P＜0.05).Compared to the Control group,the TGF-β3 and PSP groups also showed significantly increased expression(P＜0.05).CONCLUSION:PSP promotes the proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of TDSCs,possibly by activating the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway.

ABSTRCT AIM:To verify the effect of polygona-tum polysaccharide(PSP)combined with TGF-β3 in inducing the differentiation of rat tendon-derived stem cells(TDSCs)into chondrocytes by activating the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway.METHODS:TDSCs were extracted from rat tail tendons using enzyme digestion,purified,passaged,and identified via flow cytometry.TDSCs were treated with different concentrations of PSP,and the optimal growth con-centration was determined using the CCK-8 assay.TDSCs were divided into four groups:PSP,TGF-β3,PSP+TGF-β3,and Control for differentiation induc-tion.Chondrogenic differentiation was evaluated using morphological observations,toluidine blue staining,immunofluorescence staining,and West-ern blot analysis to detect COLⅡ,SOX9,and AGG.Western blot was also used to measure the expres-sion levels of Smad2 and p-Smad2 to evaluate the activation of the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway after chondrogenic induction.RESULTS:Flow cytometry analysis showed that TDSCs highly expressed CD90 and CD29,while CD11b and CD45 expression was low.The CCK-8 assay indicated that 5 μmol/L PSP was the optimal intervention dose.Toluidine blue staining revealed that the blue staining area in the PSP,PSP+TGF-β3,and TGF-β3 groups was larger compared to the Control group.Immunofluores-cence analysis demonstrated that COLⅡ expression was significantly increased in the PSP,TGF-β3,and PSP+TGF-β3 groups,with the highest expression in the PSP+TGF-β3 group(P＜0.05).Western blot analy-sis showed that the levels of p-Smad2/Smad2,COLⅡ,SOX9,and AGG were elevated in the PSP,TGF-β3,and PSP+TGF-β3 groups,with the highest ex-pression in the PSP+TGF-β3 group(P＜0.05).Compared to the Control group,the TGF-β3 and PSP groups also showed significantly increased expression(P＜0.05).CONCLUSION:PSP promotes the proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of TDSCs,possibly by activating the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of Shuotong ureteroscope combined with flexible ureteroscope in the treatment of 2-3 cm lower calyceal calculi, and analyze the influencing factors.Methods:A total of 102 patients with lower calyceal calculi were treated in the Second People′s Hospital of Yulin from February 2019 to December 2022, and they were divided into the observation group and the control group, with 51 cases in each group. The patients of the observation group were treated with Shuotong ureteroscope combined with flexible ureteroscope, while the patients of the control group were treated with flexible ureteroscope. According to whether the stones were completely removed after operation, all patients were divided into non-stone removal group ( n=13) and stone removal group ( n=89). The operation time, hospitalization time, lithotripsy time, intraoperative blood loss, complication rate and stone clearance rate were compared between the observation group and the control group. Generalized Estimation Equation was used to analyze and evaluate the effects of treatment time, treatment scheme and their interaction on visual analogue scale (VAS), white blood cell (WBC), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), blood creatinine (Cr), hemoglobin (HGB) and procalcitonin (PCT). Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression were used to analyze the risk factors of stone removal rate. Nomogram model was constructed based on risk factors and evaluate the model. Results:Compared with the control group, operation time [(118.72±9.61) min vs (136.65±11.27) min], hospitalization stay [(6.43±1.12) d vs (10.29±2.23) d] and the lithotripsy time [ (51.23±10.38) min vs (56.62±11.43) min] of the observation group were shorter, and the amount of intraoperative blood loss [(128.52±10.20) mL vs (157.53±15.31) mL] were significantly less than those of the control group ( P< 0.05). The results of Generalized Estimation Equation analysis showed that treatment time, treatment regimen and their interaction had significant effects on WBC, HGB, BUN, Cr, PCT and VAS ( P< 0.05). Compared with the control group, the incidence of complications (5.88% vs 19.61%) of the observation group was lower and the stone clearance rate ( 94.12% vs 80.39%) was significantly higher than those in the control group ( P< 0.05). The mode of operation, infundibulopelvic angle(IPA), caliceal pelvic height (CPH) and the maximum diameter of stones were all influencing factors of stone removal rate in patients with 2-3 cm lower calyceal calculi. The nomogram model constructed in this study has good differentiation, calibration and clinical practicability, and can better identify high-risk patients with incomplete removal of 2-3 cm lower calyceal calculi. Conclusions:Shuotong ureteroscope combined with flexible ureteroscope is a safe, effective method for the treatment of 2-3 cm lower calyceal calculi. It has the advantages of simple operation, less intraoperative bleeding, less postoperative complications and high stone clearance rate. IPA, CPH, the maximum diameter of calculi and the mode of operation were all independent factors affecting the stone clearance rate of 2-3 cm lower calyceal calculi. The nomogram model constructed in this study can well identify the high-risk patients with incomplete clearance of 2-3 cm lower calyceal calculi.

Objective To estimate effective and organ doses to prostate cancer patients result ing from the whole-body 18F-Choline,11C-Choline and 68Ga-PSMA PET-CT examinations.Methods A total of 150 prostate cancer patients who underwent PET-CT scanning from May 2017 to June 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.They were divided into three groups,each with 50 patients,according to the type of positron radiopharmaceuticals injected.All patients used the same PET-CT scan protocol.PET component dose was calculated by using OLINDA/EXM (version 1.1) software which was based on the MIRD method.The CTDI values were measured by the standard CT phantoms and computed by ImPACT (version 1.0.4) CT,and ImPACT was used for dose calculation from CT.The tissue weighting factors according to ICRP Report 103 were used for effective dose calculation.Results The effective dose and organ equivalent dose from 18F/11C-Choline and 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT examinations were estimated.The voltage and current of Topogram scan were 120 kV and 35 mA,respectively,as well as 120 kV and (135.6±9.4) mA for low-dose CT scan.The injected activity of 18 F-Choline,11 C-Choline and68Ga-PSMA was (279.2±13.2),(350.2±39.9) and (186.8±19.4) MBq,respectively.The effective dose was (5.0±0.2),(1.6±0.2) and (3.0±0.3) mSv,respectively (F=837.0,P＜0.001).The CT effective dose was (11.4±0.2) mSv.The total effective dose for three groups were (16.4±0.3),(13.0±0.3) and (14.4±0.4) mSv,respectively.The mean organ equivalent doses were statistically significantly different among groups (F=381.2-1 637.7,P＜0.001).The highest organ equivalent dose was to kidney for18F-Choline and68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT scans and thyroid for11 C-Choline PET/CT scan.Conclusions The effective dose to the prostate cancer patients who underwent PET-CT scanning was from 13.0 to 16.4 mSv,with vast majority of these doses coming from CT scans.The lowest radiation dose to the patients was caused by 11C-Choline PET-CT examination,suggesting that it would be a potential prostate cancer PET radiotracer.

BACKGROUND:A novel biodegradable Mg-Zn alloy has been designed,in which the density and the Young's modulus are proximal to human bone,at the same time,it depletes the toxicity of aluminium and rare earth element in commercial magnesium alloys.OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the cytocompatibility of biodegradable Mg-Zn alloy.DESIGN,TIME AND SETTING:Contrast study was performed in the central laboratory of the Sixth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University between November 2007 and March 2008.MATERIALS:The Mg-6wt%Zn was prepared by School of Materials Science and Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University,with the density was 1.82 g/cm3 and the Young's modulus was 44 GPa.L-929 cells for cytocompatibility test were provided by Chinese Academy of Science Type Culture Collection.Ten male New Zealand rabbits were employed in the hemolysis test.METHODS:The Mg-Zn alloy extraction medium was prepared by serial dilutions with fresh medium to 10%,50% and 100%.The experiments were carried out in a 96-well tissue-culture plate.Simple DMEM culture solution was taken as negative controls,while DMEM culture solution supplemented with 0.64% phenol served as positive controls.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Relative proliferation rate of L-929 cells was determined at 2,4 and 7 days with MTT assay.The cytotoxicity of Mg-Zn alloy was evaluated according to ISO 10993-5:1999.The L-929 cell morphology and growth at 2,4 and 7 days were determined under inverted microscope.Based on ISO 10993-4:2002,hemolysis in vitro was evaluated through measuring erythrocyte lysis and ferrohemoglobin freeing degree with indirect contact method.RESULTS:The number of L-929 cells increased significantly and the morphology was not changed.The growth and morphology of cells in different Mg-Zn extraction medium had no difference from negative control group.Cytotoxicity test showed that biodegradable Mg-Zn alloy did not have obvious toxicity on L-929 cells,and the cytotoxicity of these extracts was in grade 0-1.Hemolysis test suggested that the Mg-Zn alloys did not have obvious hemolysis reaction,and the hemolysis index was 3.4%,which was less than the national standard (5%).CONCLUSION:The Mg-Zn alloys do not have obvious cytotoxicity and hemolysis reaction,which demonstrate that Mg-Zn alloys have good cytocompatibility.

Vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM - 1) is a member of immunoglobulin superfamily. The principal ligand for VCAM - 1 is integrin ?4|?1/VLA - 4(very late antigen 4). In recent years, VCAM - 1 was found to be expressed on macrophages and dendritic cells, but little is known about its identity on these professional antigen presenting cells (APC). In the present study we analyzed VCAM - 1 expression on macrophages by fluorescence - activated cell sorting (FACS) and found that VCAM- 1 was constitutively expressed on macrophages and its expression level was up-regulated by soluble tumor associated antigen (TAA: freeze - thaw lysates of FBL - 3 tumor cells) and TNF - a. In macrophages and allogenic T cells mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) assays, we observed that blocking VCAM - 1/VLA - 4 interaction with anti - VCAM - 1 or anti - VLA - 4 mAbs caused significant inhibition of the proliferative response and inhibition of IL - 2 production. These findings suggest that VCAM - 1 on macrophages not only allows for increased cell-to-cell contact through adhesive interaction but also plays a role in the costimulation of T cells via its interaction with VLA-4.

In the present study, the expression of MHC class I molecule and ICAM - 1 on the surface of B16 melanoma cells were observed, and their roles in the induction of CTL were investigated. The results showed that both MHC class I and ICAM - 1 expression increased after IL-2, IL-4, or IL-6 gene transfection. The splenocyte CTL activity was enhanced significantly after in vivo immunization with cytokine gene - transfected B16 melanoma cells. The CTL induction was partly inhibited by anti-ICAM-1 mAb and was completely abolished by anti-MHC class I mAb. These results suggested the increased immunogenicity of IL-2,IL-4 or IL-6 gene-transfected B16 melanoma cells may be related to the upregula-tion of ICAM-1 or MHC class I molecules after cytokine gene transfection.