In this study, a novel polyurethane membrane, modified by superfine silk-fibroin powder, was prepared for small-diameter vascular grafting. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and histological examination were applied to evaluate histocompatibility of this polyurethane membrane. The polyurethane membrane was compared with polytetrafluoroethylene material. A pseudomembrane and gap formed between polytetrafluoroethylene and the surrounding tissues, and no cells infiltrated or grew into the polytetrafluoroethylene material. On the contrary, superfine silk-fibroin powder/polyurethane blend membrane merged tightly with the surrounding tissues without gaps, and cells infiltrated and grew into the material. Moreover, the negative effects of superfine silk-fibroin powder/polyurethane blend membrane on cells were less than those of its polytetrafluoroethylene counterpart. Our findings indicated that the superfine silk-fibroin powder/polyurethane blend membrane has better histocompatibility than polytetrafluoroethylene membrane. It is concluded that the superfine silk-fibroin powder/polyurethane blend membrane is a promising biomaterial for small-diameter prosthesis.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the biomechanical effects of intracellular changes on the voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) on trigeminal ganglion neuron (TRGN).

METHODSTRGN cells were acutely isolated from the neonatal SD rats. The voltage-dependent currents of the VGSCs on these neurons were elicited and analyzed by whole-cell patch-clamp recordings and the intracellular anisotonicity stimuli was established by adjusting the content of pipette solution. The effects of hypo-(260 mOsm) and hypertonic (350 mOsm) osmolarity on the activation and inactivation kinetics of VGSCs on TRGN were evaluated, compared with the normal intracellular environment.

RESULTSThe results demonstrated that intracellular hypotonic stimuli could influence both the activation and inactivation characteristics of VGSCs currents, including the membrane potential at half inactivation (V0.5) of the G-V and inactivation curves had obvious statistics significance (P<0.05) between hypotonicity (260mOsm) and isotonicity (306mOsm). However, only inactivation properties changed under intracellular hypertonic effects, including inactivation rate and k value.

CONCLUSIONIt suggests that the kinetics of VGSCs on TRGN can be modulated both by intracellular hypo- and hypertonic with different characteristics.

Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; Membrane Potentials ; Neurons ; Osmolar Concentration ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sodium Channels ; Trigeminal Ganglion

ibility than polytetrafluoroethylene mem-brane. It is concluded that the superfine silk-fibroin powder/polyurethane blend membrane is a prom-ising biomaterial for small-diameter prosthesis.

Objective To determine the occurrence and clinical characteristics of ectopic pituitary adenoma (EPA) in China.Methods The study are done by searching systematically and comprehensively on major Chinese and English medical literature databases and conference papers before 2015,which are only limited to collected,summarized,sorted and analyzed EPA cases that reported by Chinese authors in English or Chinese occurred in China.Results ① Among the 86 Chinese articles and 27 English articles related to ectopic pituitary adenoma (EPA) gathered by the author,except for cases that have been confirmed as repeated reports,a total of 73 EPA cases were found.Of 70 cases with complete data,31 were male cases,accounting for 44.29％;39 were female cases,accounting for 55.71％;the ratio is 1:1.3.The frequency of EPA occurrence according to the location of the lesion,from high to low in turn,was sphenoid sinus (31 cases,42.47％),nasopharynx (7 cases,9.59％),suprasellar region (7 cases,9.59％),clivus (5 cases,6.85％),followed by the third ventricle,sphenoid sinus/clivus,nasal cavity,and the temporal lobe of the brain,with the same incidence of 4.11％.According to the functional properties of EPA,the frequency of different secreting hormones adenoma was PRL-ma(21 cases,28.77％),NF-ma (21 cases,28.77％),ACTH-ma (15 cases,20.55％),GH-ma (10 cases,13.70％),TSH-ma (2 cases,2.74％) and FSH-ma (1 cases.1.37％).Three cases of EPA were uncertain in their property due to lack of information.The incidence of PRL and nonfunctional tumors was the highest,which was different from what was reported in other countries.Among them,one case of EPA was in pineal region and one in parapharyngeal space,which was even more rare and were never reported abroad.(② Except for 3 cases with incomplete medical records,15 out of 70 cases of EPA were accompanied by empty sella,accounting for 21.43％,among which 11 (73.33％) cases involved the sphenoid sinus,and 3 (20％) cases involved clivus.The sphenoid sinus and clivus cases together accounted for 93.33％.(③ 29 out of the 69 cases of EPA with complete record were invasive pituitary adenomas,accounting for 42.03％ and including 1 case of pituitary adenocarcinoma,which accounted for 1.45％.(④ All cases were treated with surgery as the first choice,and some of them were treated with radiotherapy or drug therapy.Conc lusion Ectopic pituitary adenoma is extremely rare.By the end of 2015,the total number of cases reported in China is only 73,which are mostly located in the sphenoid sinus,suprasellar region and nasopharynx.In the functional classification,the most common types are still PRL adenoma and nonfunctional adenoma as in situ pituitary adenoma.42.03％ of EPA adenomas are invasive.Surgical resection of EPA is the first choice and some cases can be treated with radiotherapy and drug therapy.

To find out which biomaterial had the best biocompatibility, we compared the acute phase reaction of common biomaterials preparing for vascular grafts with the material of polyurethane modified by silk fibroin (SF-PU(1:1)). After transplanted the materials of dacron, polyterafluoroethylene (e-PTFE), polyurethane (PU), SF-PU(1:1) in rat muscle for one week, we studied the influence of different biomaterials on the histocompatibility by using rat acute toxicity test, test of local reaction in muscle, tissue section staining, WBC and PLT count. As a result, dacron had the worst histocompatibility. The other biomaterials had slight local inflammatory reaction. The WBC and PLT was nearly the same with the blank except dacron. e-PTFE, pure PU and SF-PU(1:1) had the better histocompatibility than traditional dacron. Especially SF-PU(1:1) had the best histocompatibility. Because of the better physical properties and histocompatibility of SF-PU( 1:1), the prospect of preparing small-diameter vascular grafts with SF-PU was cheerful.
Acute-Phase Reaction ; Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation ; instrumentation ; Female ; Fibroins ; chemistry ; Implants, Experimental ; Macromolecular Substances ; chemistry ; Male ; Materials Testing ; methods ; Muscle, Skeletal ; physiology ; Polyurethanes ; chemistry ; Prosthesis Design ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

ObjectiveTo explore the possible mechanism of Yupingfeng Granules （玉屏风散） in preventing and treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） from the perspective of “lung-gut axis”. MethodsThirty-two male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal group，model group， roxithromycin group and Yupingfeng Granules group， with 8 rats in each group. Except for the normal group， the rat model of COPD was prepared by intratracheal instillation of lipopolysaccharide （LPS） combined with smoking for 12 weeks. Since the fifth week of modeling，the roxithromycin group and the Yupingfeng Granules group were given 31.5 mg/（kg·d） and 1.575 g/（kg·d） of corresponding drugs respectively by gavage，and normal group and model group were given 10 ml/（kg·d） physiolo-gical saline. Sample was collected 24 hours after the last administration. The pathological changes of lung tissue were observed using HE staining； Ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry （UHPLC-QTOFMS） was used to detect the differential metabolites in alveolar lavage fluid （BALF） in all groups but roxithromycin group；16S rDNA sequencing technology was used to detect the changes of intestinal flora， and the association analysis was conducted between the differential metabolites and the differential flora. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the model group showed an increase in goblet cells in the small bronchial wall， disappearance of the smooth muscle layer of the bronchial wall， and infiltration of inflammatory cells； compared with the model group， roxithromycin group showed slight alveolar interstital edema， and obviously reduced inflammatory cell， while no obvious alveolar interstital edema was observed in the Yupingfeng Granules group， showing a small amout of inflammatory cell infiltration. The results of the BALF differential metabolite screening showed that compared with the normal group， 12 substances were upregulated and 19 substances were downregulated in the model group； compared with the model group， 37 substances in the Yupingfeng Granules group were upregulated and 43 substances were downregulated KEGG analysis yielded a total of 2 metabolic pathways， glycerophospholipid metabolism， and unsaturated fatty acid biosynthetic metabolism； compared with the model group， choline， acetylcholine， glycerol-3-phosphate， glycerophosphate choline， palmitic acid， and arachidonic acid showed an upward trend， while stearic acid and docosahexaenoic acid showed a downward trend in Yupingfeng Granules group （P＜0.05）. The results of the intestinal flora showed that， there are 80 different species between the normal group and the model group， and 65 different species between the model group and Yupingfeng Granules group. Among the top 5 species with relative abundance levels，compared with the model group， the level of Prevotella_9，Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005，Ruminiclostridium_6 increase，and Lactobacillus，Bacteroides decrease（P＜0.05）.The results of the correlation analysis showed that， in the normal and model groups， arachidonic acid was negatively correlated with Oribacterium（r=-0.753，P＜0.01）； in the Yupingfeng Granules group and model group， stearic acid and Bacteroides（r=0.788）， Mycobacterium（r=0.826），［Eubacterium］_Ruminantium_Group（r=0.770） was positively correlated（P＜0.01）， Arachidic acid was negatively correlated with Roseiarcus（r=-0.779）， glycerol-3-phosphate was negatively correlated with Desulfovibrio（r=-0.758）， Arachidonic acid was negatively correlated with Oribacterium（r=-0.753）， and Palmitic acid was negatively correlated with Pseudolabs（r=-0.750，P＜0.01）. ConclusionYupingfeng Granules can affect the metabolism of BALF and the flora structure of intestinal microorganisms， and regulating the balance of “lung-gut axis” may be one of the mechanisms of Yupingfeng Granules in treatment of COPD.