Purpose To optimize the preparation of NC-1900 loaded MePEG-PLA nanoparticles (NPs). Methods MePEG-PLA copolymers of different molecular weight synthesized by solvent poly-merization method were used to prepare NC-1900 loaded MePEG-PLA NPs by double emulsion/solvent evaporation method.Orthogonal experimental design and multiple regressions were used to optimize the preparation method with nanoparticle size and NC-1900 encapsulation efficiency (EE) as res-ponse variables.NPs were characterized by particle size and Zeta potential detector and transmission electron microscope.The leakage of NC-1900 from NPs was evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) detection. Results MePEG3000-PLA44800 NPs prepared according to the optimized conditions had a mean diameter of (77 ± 11) nm and EE of (21.4 ± 0.1) %.Only 5% and 15% of NC-1900 were leaked in pH 7.4 PBS and blank plasma at the end of 48 h,respectively. Conc-lusions The optimized MePEG3000-PLA44800 NPs is a favorable carrier for NC-1900.

Background Elevated intraocular pressure leads to the loss of retinal ganglion cells and vigorous reaction of retinal glial cells.The expression of nestin in retinal glial cells secondary to hypertention and its significance are unclear.ObjectiveThis study aim to investigate the expression of nestin in retinal glial cells (RGCs) in ocular hypertention rats.Methods The ocular hypertention models were established by cauterizing the limbus-draining veins in the right eyes of 42 SD rats,and a conjunctival incision in the left eyes of the rats served as the sham group.The intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured with the Tono-Pen XL tonometer.The number of RGCs in the rats with ocular hypertention was counted.The expression of the nestin protein in RGCs was semi-quantitatively analyzed using Western by immunochemistry.Double immunofluorescence was carried out to evaluate the the confocal laser scaning microscope.Results Significant differences were found in the IOP between the model group and the sham group at various time points (P＜0.05).In 1 week to 3 weeks after operation,the number of RGCs significantly declined in the model group compared with the sham group (P＜0.05).Immunochemistry showed that from 2 hours through 1 week after operation,the expression of nestin was gradually enhanced in the model group in comparison with the sham group.Western blot revealed that the expression of the nestin protein reflected a similar tendency to that of immunofluorescence.The increased introcular pressure as manifested by the induced expression of nestin.Immunoelectron microscopy also confirmed the induced expression of nestin especially at their end-feet suggests a potential neuroprotective mechanism in neuronal degeneration.Nestin may be a useful biomarker for retinal injury study.

The non-human primates have been profoundly being used to study the human reproductive models .It is the prerequisites to set up the operating rooms including hardware and software on reproductive experiments and transgenic manipulation.Thus, Combined with the practice of our center , both the construction and the associated problems about the IVF-ET operating rooms were discussed in this paper .It will provide some help for the related researches .

ObjectiveTo investigate the in vivo biological performance of 5 porous bioceramic scaffolds,which were bioglass,β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP),hydroxyapatite (HA),β-calcium silicate (β-CS) and α-CS,implanted in rabbit dorsal muscle.MethodsThe 5 porous bioceramic scaffolds were fabricated by adding pore-forming materials and sintering,and then were investigated by X-ray diffraction,porosity mensuration and biomechanics test.The scaffolds were implanted into rabbit dorsal muscle for 4,8,12,16 weeks,respectively.The samples were analyzed by X-ray,Micro-CT,histological analysis,scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS).The expression of bone morphogenetic protein(BMP-2) and BMP-7 in the muscle in touch with bioceramic scaffolds were also investigated by polymerase chain reaction(PCR).ResultsThe characteristic analysis of 5 scaffolds showed that the sequence of compressive strength was bioglass＞α-CS＞β-CS＞β-TCP＞HA,the sequence of elasticity modulus was α-CS＜β-TCP＜HA＜β-CS＜bioglass.It was confirmed by X-ray,Micro-CT and histological analysis that the sequence of biodegradability was β-CS＞α-CS＞β-TCP＞bioglass＞HA.The histological observation showed no new bone formation in five scaffolds.A Ca-P layer was formed in the surface of bioglass,α-CS and β-CS,which suggested their in vivo bioactivity.After 16 weeks,the expression of BMP-2 and BMP-7 was found only in β-CS.Conclusion The porous calcium silicate scaffold,which was promising for bone tissue engineering,was with good in vivo bioactivity and biodegradability,without in vivo osteoinductivity.

Background: Mature oocytes at the metaphase II status (MII-stage oocytes) played an important role in assisted reproductive technology in non-human primates. Objectives: In order to improve the proportion of MII-stage oocytes retrieval, three different superovulation protocols were performed on 24 female cynomolgus monkeys. Methods: All the monkeys received once-daily injection of follicle-stimulating hormone (25 international unit [IU]) on day 3 of the menstruation, 3-day intervals, twice daily for 8–12 days until the time of human chorionic gonadotropin (1,500 IU) injection, on the 14–17th day of menstruation collecting oocytes. The difference between protocol I and protocol II was that 0.1 mg the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist was injected on day 1 of the menstruation, while the difference between personalized superovulation protocol and protocol II was that oocytes could be collected on the 14–17th day of menstrual cycle according to the length of each monkey. Results: The total number of oocytes harvested using the personalized superovulation protocol was much higher than that using protocol I (p < 0.05), and the proportion of MII-stage oocytes was significantly greater than that from either superovulation protocol I or II(p < 0.001 and p < 0.01 respectively), while the proportion of immature oocytes at the germinal vesicle was less than that from superovulation protocol I (p < 0.05). Conclusions The personalized superovulation protocol could increase the rate of MII-stage oocytes acquired, and successfully develop into embryos after intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and eventually generated fetus.

OBJECTIVE The 5-HT2A receptor is the major target of classic hallucinogens.Both DOM(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine)and lisuride act at 5-HT2A receptors,and lisuride shares comparable affinity with DOM and acts as a partial agonist at 5-HT2A recep-tors.However,not like DOM,lisuride lacks hallucinogenic properties.Impulsive decision-making refers to the prefer-ence for an immediate small reinforcer(SR)over a delayed large reinforcer(LR).The current study aims to compare the effects of DOM and lisuride on impulsive decision-making and further to investigate the possible receptor mechanisms responsible for the actions of the two drugs.METHODS Impulsive decision-making was evaluated in male Sprague-Dawley rats by the percent-age of choice for the LR in delay discounting task(DDT).Delay to the LR changed in an ascending order(0,4,8,16,and 32 s)across one session.RESULTS DOM(0.3 and 0.5 mg·kg-1)increased impulsive decision-making,and the effects of DOM(0.5 mg·kg-1)was blocked by the 5-HT2A receptor antagonist ketanserin(1.0 mg·kg-1)rather than the 5-HT2C receptor antagonist SB-242084(1.0 mg·kg-1).Contrarily,lisuride(0.1,0.3 and 0.5 mg·kg-1)decreased impulsive decision-making.The effects of lisu-ride(0.3 mg·kg-1)were not antagonized by ketanserin(1.0 mg·kg-1),selective 5-HT1A antagonist WAY-100635(1.0 mg·kg-1)or selective dopamine D4 receptor antagonist L-745870(1.0 mg·kg-1),but were attenuated by the selec-tive dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist tiapride(40 mg·kg-1).CONCLUSION DOM and lisuride have contrasting effects on impulsive decision-making via distinct recep-tors.DOM-induced increase of impulsivity is mediated by the 5-HT2A receptor,while lisuride-induced inhibition of impulsivity is regulated by the dopamine D2/D3 receptor.

Objective:To study the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) activity and its clinical characteristics in patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). Methods:From January 2016 to August 2017, patients with HFRS who were hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University were routinely tested by EBV serology, and were divided into two groups according to their presence or absence of EBV infection, namely EBV active group and non-EBV active group. The clinical data between the two groups were compared and analyzed by SPSS 18.0.Results:A total of 188 HFRS patients were enrolled, including 73 cases in EBV active group and 115 cases in non-EBV active group. The EBV active rate of HFRS patients was 38.83% (73/188). The incidences of lumbago [57.53% (42/73) vs 42.61% (49/115)], abdominal pain [42.47% (31/73) vs 20.00% (23/115)], skin and mucosa congestion [57.53% (42/73) vs 39.13% (45/115)], and conjunctiva edema [50.68% (37/73) vs 28.70% (33/115)] in EBV active group were significantly higher than those in non-EBV active group (χ 2 = 3.983, 11.008, 6.083, 9.239, P < 0.05). There were 10, 7 and 43 patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) stage 1, 2 and 3 in EBV active group and 5, 13 and 53 patients in non-EBV active group. Degree of AKI in EBV active group was higher than that in non-EBV active group, and the difference was statistically significant (χ 2 = 12.615, P < 0.05). In EBV active group, the proportion of patients whose renal function recovery over 15 days [23.29% (17/73)] and white blood cell count [11.26 (3.39 ~ 54.23) × 10 9/L] were significantly higher than those in non-EBV active group [6.96% (8/115), 10.03 (2.91 ~ 66.99) × 10 9/L], and the differences were statistically significant (χ 2 = 10.330, Z = - 2.003, P < 0.05). Conclusion:HFRS patients may cause latent EBV activity, complicate their clinical features, cause severe renal damage and prolong the recovery time of renal function.

Objective: To investigate the prognostic effect of tumour-infiltrating immune cell, including CD8⁺ T cell, regulatory T-cell (Treg) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) on pancreatic patients. Methods: This study retrospectively collected the data of 80 patients who were histologically diagnosed of pancreatic cancer and underwent classical R0 surgical resection at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from January 2010 to May 2012. All patients survival were followed up until the cut-off date of January 2015. Clinicopathological features including immunohistochemical staining of FOXP3, CD8 and CD33 were reviewed as indice for evaluating the prognosis of pancreatic patients.The prognostic effect of tumour-infiltrating immune cells were analysed by Kaplan-Meier and Log-rank test. Multiple-factor analysis was conducted with the Cox regression model. The correlation between tumour-infiltrating immune cells and clinicopathological features was analysed by χ² test. The C57BL/6 mouse model was used to evaluate the efficacy of Treg and MDSC depletion therapy in vivo. Student′s t-test was applied to assess the difference of the tumour volume, Ki-67 positive rate and CD8⁺ T-cell infiltration proportion between depletion group and control group. Results: Eventually, 80 patients were included and no patient was lost during the follow-up period. The median follow-up time was 33.2 months (7.4-59.9 months). Patients with high level of tumour-infiltrating CD8⁺ T cells had longer overall survival (OS) time ((21.6±11.9)months vs. (13.6±7.4)months, χ²=4.647, P = 0.031) than those with low level of tumour-infiltrating CD8⁺ T cells. Tumor infiltration FOXP3⁺ cells were strongly associated with reduced OS((20.9±8.5)months vs.(13.4±8.8)months, χ²=10.528, P=0.001), reduced relapse free survival (RFS) ((15.2±9.0)months vs. (9.5±8.8)months, χ²=6.288, P=0.012) and larger tumor size(χ²=4.073, r=0.226, P=0.044). The high intratumoural MDSC group showed a significantly shorter OS((23.5±11.8)months vs. (13.8±7.6)months, χ²=5.724, P=0.017), RFS((17.9±11.3)months vs. (10.2±7.5)months, χ²=7.430, P=0.006) and more advanced N stage (χ²=4.714, r=0.243, P=0.030) than the low intratumoural MDSC group. Multivariate Cox analysis revealed that pTNM (P=0.008), tumour-infiltrating Treg density (P=0.009) and intratumoural MDSC density (P=0.034) were independent and negative prognostic factors for OS; pTNM(P=0.003) and tumour-infiltrating MDSC level(P=0.018) were independent and negative factors for RFS. The experiment in vivo revealed that Treg and MDSC depletion therapy significantly decreased tumour volume in the C57BL/6 mouse model of subcutaneous tumours((1 396.3±442.5)mm³ vs. (3 356.9±533.5)mm³, t=4.986, P=0.018). Tumour Ki-67 positive rate significantly decreased (23%±5% vs. 55%±10%, t=3.130, P=0.011) in Treg and MDSC depletion group, whereas, the proportion of tumour-infiltrating CD8⁺ T cells significantly increased in depletion groups (3.25%±0.69% vs. 0.76%±0.25%, t=3.393, P=0.007). Conclusions Tumour-infiltrating Treg, MDSC level and pTNM stage are independent prognostic factors for patients with pancreatic cancer. Treg and MDSC depletion therapy can significantly retard tumour growth and increase the level of tumour-infiltrating CD8⁺ T-cells in the C57BL/6 mouse model of subcutaneous tumours.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint disorder, is a major reason of disability in adults. Accumulating evidences have proved that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs)-carried exosomes play a significant therapeutic effect on OA. However, the precise regulatory network remains unknown. METHODS: OA and normal cartilage samples were acquired from patients, and chondrocytes were exposed to IL-1b to conduct a cellular OA model. Exosomes prepared from BMSCs were identified using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cell viability was determined with CCK-8 assay. Inflammatory injury was assessed by LDH and inflammatory factors (TNF-a and IL-6) using corresponding ELISA kits, respectively. Ferroptosis was evaluated by GSH, MDA and iron levels using corresponding kits, and ROS level with DCFH-DA. The expressions of genes/proteins were determined with RT-qPCR/western bolt. RNA immunoprecipitation and luciferase activity assay were conducted for testing the interactions of small nucleolar RNA host gene 7 (SNHG7)/ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1) and miR-485-5p. RESULTS: The expressions of SNHG7 and FSP1 were both reduced in IL-1b-induced chondrocytes and OA cartilage tissues, and there was a positive correlation between them in clinical level. Moreover, SNHG7 was enriched in BMSCsderived exosomes (BMSCs-Exos) and could be internalized by chondrocytes. Functional analysis illustrated that BMSCsExos administration repressed inflammatory injury, oxidative stress and ferroptosis in IL-1b-induced chondrocytes, while these changes were reinforced when SNHG7 was overexpressed in BMSCs-Exos. Notably, FSP1 silencing in chondrocytes abolished the beneficial effects mediated by exosomal SNHG7. CONCLUSIONS Exosomal SNHG7 released from BMSCs inhibited inflammation and ferroptosis in IL-1b-induced chondrocytes through miR-485-5p/FSP1 axis. This work suggested that BMSCs-derived exosomal SNHG7 would be a prospective target for OA treatment.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint disorder, is a major reason of disability in adults. Accumulating evidences have proved that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs)-carried exosomes play a significant therapeutic effect on OA. However, the precise regulatory network remains unknown. METHODS: OA and normal cartilage samples were acquired from patients, and chondrocytes were exposed to IL-1b to conduct a cellular OA model. Exosomes prepared from BMSCs were identified using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cell viability was determined with CCK-8 assay. Inflammatory injury was assessed by LDH and inflammatory factors (TNF-a and IL-6) using corresponding ELISA kits, respectively. Ferroptosis was evaluated by GSH, MDA and iron levels using corresponding kits, and ROS level with DCFH-DA. The expressions of genes/proteins were determined with RT-qPCR/western bolt. RNA immunoprecipitation and luciferase activity assay were conducted for testing the interactions of small nucleolar RNA host gene 7 (SNHG7)/ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1) and miR-485-5p. RESULTS: The expressions of SNHG7 and FSP1 were both reduced in IL-1b-induced chondrocytes and OA cartilage tissues, and there was a positive correlation between them in clinical level. Moreover, SNHG7 was enriched in BMSCsderived exosomes (BMSCs-Exos) and could be internalized by chondrocytes. Functional analysis illustrated that BMSCsExos administration repressed inflammatory injury, oxidative stress and ferroptosis in IL-1b-induced chondrocytes, while these changes were reinforced when SNHG7 was overexpressed in BMSCs-Exos. Notably, FSP1 silencing in chondrocytes abolished the beneficial effects mediated by exosomal SNHG7. CONCLUSIONS Exosomal SNHG7 released from BMSCs inhibited inflammation and ferroptosis in IL-1b-induced chondrocytes through miR-485-5p/FSP1 axis. This work suggested that BMSCs-derived exosomal SNHG7 would be a prospective target for OA treatment.