Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), multipotent stem cells, can replicate as undifferentiated cells and have the potential to differentiate into different lineages of mesenchymal tissues, including bone, cartilage,endothelial, neural, smooth muscle, skeletal myoblasts, and cardiac myocyte cells. The ischemia-induced death of cardiomyocytes results in scar formation and reduced contractility of the ventricle. Several preclinical and clinical studies have supported the notion that MSCs therapy may be used for cardiac regeneration.When transplanted into the infracted heart, MSCs prevent deleterious remodeling and improve recovery, but the mechanism is not clear. In this work,we review evidence and new prospects that support the use of MSCs in cardiomyoplasty.

OBJECTIVETo construct the recombinant adenovirus encoding antisense c-myc fragment and to investigate its effect on the chemotherapy sensitivity of osteosarcoma MG-63 cells to cisplatin.

METHODSThe recombinant adenovirus (Ad-Asc-myc) encoding antisense c-myc fragment was constructed by cloning c-myc cDNA of about 720 base pairs in a reverse direction into adenovirus vector, then undergoing recombination, amplifying and being complemented in vivo. The osteosarcoma MG-63 cells were transfected by the Ad-Asc-myc in vitro, and Wright staining, Acridine Orange staining, Western Blot, MTT, Flow Cytometry (FCM) were used to study cell morphology, expression of c-myc protein, tumor cell proliferation in vitro, apoptosis and cell cycle change.

RESULTSAd-Asc-myc encoding antisense c-myc fragment was obtained with the titer of 2 x 10(9) pfu/ml. Ad-Asc-myc down-regulated the expression of c-myc protein after transfected MG-63 cells for 48 h, combined with the treatment of 2.0, 5.0 microg/ml cisplatin for 2 h could inhibit tumor cells proliferation in vitro by 33.4% and 54.2% respectively, which were significantly difference compared with control recombinant adenovirus (Ad-LacZ) groups (P < 0.05). Acridine Orange staining and FCM analysis showed that Ad-Asc-myc could induce apoptosis of transfected cells, which was enhanced by the treatment of cisplatin cell. Cycle analysis showed that obvious G2/M phase arrested in transfected cells.

CONCLUSIONAd-Asc-myc increases the chemotherapy sensitivity of osteosarcoma MG-63 cells to cisplatin as well as induced apoptosis.

Adenoviruses, Human ; genetics ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; genetics ; Cisplatin ; pharmacology ; DNA, Antisense ; genetics ; Genes, myc ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Osteosarcoma ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc ; metabolism ; Recombination, Genetic ; Transfection ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical results of the treatment of severe infantile hemangioma with high-dose propranolol in Chinese.

METHODS56 cases with severe infantile hemangioma were treated with propranolol. Clinical evaluation, electrocardiography, and experimental examination of liver function and heart function were performed before treatment. The daily dose of propranolol was increased from 1 mg/kg at the first day to 1.5 mg/kg at the second day, and to 2 mg/kg at the third day. The propranolol was given twice a day. The treatment was lasted for six months. The patients were visited every month.

RESULTSThe lesion color was changed after 2-4 days of treatment in all the cases. All the lesions were dramatically improved after one month of treatment. The ulceration were healed, except one case. Until now, complete regression was achieved in 10 cases and marked improvement in 46 cases. Side effects were happened in 3 cases, including one case of abnormal liver function, one case of CK-MB increase and one case of continuous increase of CK-MB, LDH, ALT, GGT.

CONCLUSIONSHigh-dose Propranolol is very effective in the treatment of infantile hemangioma with minor side effects and short disease period. It might he used as the first-line treatment for infantile hemangioma.

China ; Female ; Hemangioma ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Propranolol ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in semen on human semen parameters and sperm DNA integrity.

METHODSWe detected HBV DNA in the semen samples of 153 HBsAg-seropositive patients by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and calculated the sperm nuclear DNA fragmentation index (DFI) by sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) assay. We compared the semen parameters between the HBV DNA-positive group (A, n = 43) and HBV DNA-negative group (B, n = 110) and analyzed the correlation of sperm DFI with the number of HBV DNA copies in the semen.

RESULTSHBV DNA was detected in 43 (28.1%) of the 153 semen samples. No statistically significant differences were observed in age, semen volume and sperm concentration between groups A and B (P >0.05). Compared with group B, group A showed significantly decreased sperm viability ([58.0 +/- 18.8]% vs [51.4 +/-17.1]%, P<0.05), progressively motile sperm ([29.6 +/- 13.3]% vs [24.5 +/- 10.1]%, P<0.05), average straight-line velocity ([23.7 +/- 4.0] microm/s vs [19.9 +/- 4.5 ] microm/s, P<0.01) and average path velocity ([26.5 +/- 7.0] microm/s vs [23.4 +/- 5.3] microm/s, P<0.01), but remarkably decreased sperm DFI ([19.3 +/- 8.0]% vs [24.2 +/- 9.4]%, P<0.01). The number of HBV DNA copies in semen exhibited a significant positive correlation with sperm DFI (r = 0.819, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONHBV DNA in semen is not significantly associated with the number of sperm, but may affect sperm viability, velocity and DFI. There is a load-effect relationship between the number of HBV DNA copies in semen and sperm nuclear DNA integrity.

Adult ; DNA Fragmentation ; DNA, Viral ; isolation & purification ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Semen Analysis ; Sperm Count ; Spermatozoa ; virology

BACKGROUND: Currently, there are few studies about prostaglandin E1 in the paracrine and migration of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of prostaglandin E1 in the paracrine and migration of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. METHODS: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells isolated from Sprague Dawley rats were cultured in vitro. Passage 3 cells were co-cultured with prostaglandin E1 at concentrations of 10 μg/L, and then culture supernatant was collected at 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours after co-culture. The level of vascular endothelial growth factor was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Effects of prostaglandin E1 on the migration of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were detected by Transwell assay and cell scratch assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: After treatment with prostaglandin E1 for 3 hours, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells began to secrete vascular endothelial growth factors, and the secretion level was peaked at 24 hours and then gradually decreased. Results from the Transwell assay and cell scratch assay showed that the migration ability of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells was significantly promoted by prostaglandin E1 (P < 0.05). Overall findings reveal that prostaglandin E1 promotes the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and enhances cell migration.

OBJECTIVE: Loneliness is a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. The present study examined whether the serum oxytocin level would interact with social support and buffers loneliness and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis activity in drug-naïve patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: Twenty-six patients with MDD (male:female = 3:23; mean age, 45.54 ± 12.97 years) were recruited. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale and self-reported Measurement of Support Function Questionnaire were administered. Serum oxytocin and cortisol levels were assessed using a commercial immunoassay kits. RESULTS: In MDD patients, a negative association was found between degrees of social support and loneliness (β = −0.39, p = 0.04). The interaction between social support and serum oxytocin level was negatively associated with loneliness (β = −0.50, p = 0.017) and serum cortisol level (β = −0.55, p = 0.020) after adjusting for age. Follow-up analyses showed that the association between higher social support and lower loneliness was observed only in the higher-oxytocin group (r = −0.75, p = 0.003) but not in the lower group (r = −0.19, p = 0.53). The significance remained after further adjusting for sex and depression severity. CONCLUSION: Low oxytocin level is a vulnerability factor for the buffering effect of social support for loneliness and aberrant HPA-axis activity in MDD patients.
Buffers ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Immunoassay ; Loneliness ; Oxytocin ; Risk Factors

Objective Cell cycle-associated protein 1 (Caprin-1) is closely related to the development and progression of cancer. This study aimed to explore the expression of Caprin-1 in the clinical glioma specimen and its influence on the biological char-acteristics of the glioma cell line. Methods Brain tissue specimens were collected from 29 glioma patients and 2 normal humans that died of accidental trauma. A stably transfected U251 cell line with overex-pressed Caprin-1 was established,and the U251 cells were transfected with the pEGFP-C1 plasmid (the negative control group), or the pEGFP-C1-Caprin-1 plasmid (the experimental group), or left un-transfected (the blank control group). The expressions of Caprin-1 mRNA and protein in the cells were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot, and the proliferation and migration of the cells exam-ined by scratch test and Transwell assay,respectively. Results The expression of Caprin-1 was upregulated with the increased grade of glioma,145.9±22.0,444.4±110.0,and 1661.0±54.5 in WHO gradeⅡ,Ⅲ,andⅣglioma,respectively,significantly higher than in the normal brain tissue (P<0.05). Both the mRNA and protein expressions of Caprin-1 were remarkably higher in the experimental group (1.70±0.19 and 1.07±0.09) than in the blank control(0.89±0.10 and 0.52±0.04) and negative control(0.98±0.08 and 0.58± 0.03) (P<0.05).The A value was also markedly higher in the former group(2.55±0.14) than in the latter two(1.40±0.06 and 1.35± 0.04) (P<0.01),and so were the count of migrated cells(526.00±42.19 vs 289.00±29.24 and 279.00±32.48,P<0.01) and the ex-pression of CyclinD1 (0.60±0.05 vs 0.13±0.03 and 0.15±0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion The expression of Caprin-1 in the U251 cells was upregulated with the increased WHO grade of glioma,and the overexpression of Caprin-1 accelerated the proliferation and mi-gration of the U251 cells.

Objective:To study the soil physical and chemical properties， microorganisms， and metabolites in different culture environments of Gastrodia elata， so as to provide scientific basis for subsequent cultivation of G. elata in multiple environments. Method:The tubersphere soil of G. elata cultured in different environments was collected for analyzing the soil nutrients， microbial numbers， and metabolite differences using the agrochemical method， plate-count method， and gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry （GC-TOF-MS）-based non-targeted metabonomic approach. Result:The analysis of soil physical and chemical properties revealed the highest soil moisture， pH， available potassium， and available phosphorus in the spinney and the highest electrical conductivity， total nitrogen， alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen， and organic matter in the pinewood. As demonstrated by the quantitative analysis of soil microorganisms， the cultivable microorganisms were bacteria， actinomycetes， and fungi， with the bacterial population and total microbial biomass in the spinney and the number of fungi and actinomycetes in the barren slope detected to be the largest. The ratio of bacteria to fungi （B/F value） in the pinewood was the highest， while that in the barren slope was the lowest. The results of metabonomic research demonstrated that the compositions and quantities of soil metabolites in the spinney （Z group）， pinewood （S group）， and barren slope （HD group） varied. Through comparisons between S and Z groups， between HD and Z groups， as well as between HD and S groups by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis （OPLS-DA）， 18， 35， and 24 differential metabolites were separately screened out， and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis yielded 5， 9， and 13 metabolic pathways. There existed a significant causal relationship of the soil physical and chemical properties and microbial numbers with the metabolites. Conclusion:The soil physical and chemical properties， microbial numbers， and metabolite changes differed significantly in different culture environments of G. elata， which were sorted by the suitability in a descending order as follows： spinney > pinewood >barren slope. The soil physical and chemical properties and microbial numbers are the crucial factors driving changes in soil metabolites， suggesting that regulating the soil physical and chemical characteristics and microbial characteristics in the culture environment is an important mechanism for maintaining the G. elata-soil-microbial symbiotic system.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protection of silymarin against the human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) apoptosis induced by serum deprivation and its underlying mechanism.

METHODSHuman umbilical cord MSCs were cultured in the absence of serum, and the silymain of different concentration (1-10 µg/ml) was added into the medium. MTT test was performed to observe the cell proliferation status. After being cultured for 72 hours, the cells were collected, and flow cytometry with Annexin-V-PI double-staining was used to detect the apoptotic cells from the control and silymarin-treated groups. Furthermore, the intracellular contents of BAX and BCL-2 were detected by Western blot for exploring the potential mechanism.

RESULTSThe silymarin promoted the proliferation of human UC-MSCs in a dose-dependent manner, reaching its maximal at a dose of 5 µg/ml. Moreover, silymarin could inhibit the serum deprivation-induced apoptosis of MSCs and, the inhibitory rate reached up to 30% when it was added at a concentration of 5 µg/ml. The content of intracellular BAX was obviously elevated after serum-deprivation treatment, and this increase could be blunted by the addition of silymarin. Meanwhile, the content of BCL-2 was not obviously changed.

CONCLUSIONThe silymarin can stimulate MSC growth and inhibit the apoptosis of MSCs probably by the mitochondria pathway.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; Culture Media, Serum-Free ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; drug effects ; Mitochondria ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Silymarin ; pharmacology ; Umbilical Cord ; cytology ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

In recent years, the clinical treatment of colorectal cancer(CRC) has made great progress, but chemoresistance is still one of the main reasons for reducing the survival rate of patients with colorectal cancer. Therefore, ameliorating chemotherapy resis-tance is an urgent problem to be solved. The purpose of this study was to investigate the regulatory role and related molecular mechanisms of hydroxysafflor yellow A(HSYA) in colorectal cancer cell proliferation, migration, and 5-fluorouracil(5-FU) chemoresistance. In this study, HCT116 and HT-29 cells were used as research subjects. Firstly, methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium(MTT) assay and colony formation assay were used to detect and analyze the effect of HSYA on the proliferation of CRC cells. Secondly, the effect of HSYA on the cell cycle in CRC cells was analyzed by cell cycle assay. Furthermore, the effect of HSYA on the migration of CRC cells was analyzed by wound-healing assay and Transwell assay. Based on the above, the influences of HSYA on 5-FU chemoresistance of CRC cells and related molecular mechanisms were explored and analyzed. The results showed that HSYA significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of CRC cells, and arrested the cell cycle in G_0/G_1 phase. In addition, HSYA significantly ameliorated the chemoresistance of CRC cells to 5-FU. The results of acridine orange staining and Western blot showed that the autophagy activity of CRC cells in the HSYA and 5-FU combined treatment group was significantly higher than that in the 5-FU single drug treatment group. As compared with the 5-FU single drug treatment group, the phosphorylation levels of protein kinase B(Akt) and mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR) in the HSYA and 5-FU combined treatment group were significantly reduced, indicating that the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in the combined treatment group was down-regulated in CRC cells. In conclusion, HSYA may upregulate autophagy activity through the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, thereby inhibiting the proliferation and migration of CRC cells and ameliorating the chemoresistance to 5-FU.
Humans ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Cell Line, Tumor ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism* ; Fluorouracil/pharmacology* ; Cell Proliferation ; Autophagy ; Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy*