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10.3969/j.issn.1008-9691.2013.03.017

BACKGROUND:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have been induced to differentiate into cardiomyocyte-like cells in vitro.OBJECTIVE:To explore the association between GATA-4, Nkx-2.5 and α-myosin heavy chain (α-MHC) expression and cell morphological changes and structure formation in the process of BMSCs differentiation into cardiomyocyte-like cells.METHODS:By using myocardial lysate, BMSCs were induced to differentiate into cardiomyocytes.Immunocytochemistry staining was used to detect cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and connexin43, for the identification of cardiomyocytes. In the process of directional differentiation, RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of GATA-4,Nkx2.5 and α-MHC.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:During the directional differentiation of BMSCs, the cells were changed from long fusiform to short rod, forming protrusions that were interconnected to form mesh-like, bamboo-like or myotube-like structure. When the cells were interconnected like a bamboo, cTNT and connexin43 positive cells were visible, and then the number of positive cells increased with the presence of myotube-like structure. RT-PCR results showed that during the induced directional differentiation of BMSCs, GATA-4, Nkx2.5 and α-MHC mRNA levels increased continuously. When interconnected cells formed a mesh-like structure, GATA-4 expression reached the peak and then kept a high level. When adjacent cells were fused into a myotube-like structure, α-MHC reached the peak. Additionally, the expression of Nkx2.5presented a time-dependent increase trend. Overall, during the induced differentiation of BMSCs into cardiomyocyte-like cells, the expression of cardiomyocyte specific genes, characterized by temporality and spatiality, is related to the changes of cell morphology and special structure formation.

Objective:To examine the differences of local functional connectivity in male and female children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and analyze the correlation of local functional connectivity with severity of clinical symptoms in ASD children.Methods:In the International Autism Brain Imaging Exchange Database, resting-state functional MR imaging (rs-fMRI) and T1WI data were extracted from 72 children with ASD (36 male and 36 female) and 72 normal controls (36 male and 36 female) who met the inclusion criteria at 5 sites. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) method was used to evaluate the local functional connectivity of the 4 groups. A covariance analysis (gender and diagnosis as factors; age, total intelligence quotient, and head movement parameters as concomitant variables) was used to find out the differences of ReHo in the 4 groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the correlation between ReHo values with significant differences in covariance analysis and revised autism diagnostic interview (ADI-R) scale scores in children with ASD.Results:(1) Regarding the main effect of diagnosis, significantly decreased ReHo values in the right posterior cerebellar lobe, and significantly increased ReHo values in the left anterior central gyrus and the left precuneus of the ASD children were noted as compared with those in the normal controls (GRF calibration, voxel level: P<0.01, cluster level: P<0.05); regarding the main effect of gender, the male subjects had significantly higher ReHo value in the right middle temporal gyrus, and significantly lower ReHo values in the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left precuneus, the right angular gyrus, and the right supramarginal gyrus than the female subjects (GRF calibration, voxel level: P<0.01, cluster level: P<0.05); interaction effect (diagnosis×gender) results showed that there was significant difference in ReHo values of the left middle frontal gyrus among the 4 groups (GRF calibration, voxel level: P<0.01, cluster level: P<0.05). (2) The results of Pearson correlation analysis showed that the ReHo value in the right middle temporal gyrus was positively correlated with the verbal performance scores measured by ADI-R scale ( r=0.387, P=0.026), and the ReHo value in the right posterior cerebellar lobe was positively correlated with the social dimensionality scores ( r=0.364, P=0.037) in male patients with ASD; the ReHo value in the right supramarginal gyrus was negatively associated with the social dimensionality scores ( r=-0.395, P=0.031), and the ReHo value in the left middle frontal gyrus was negatively associated with the repetitive behavior scores in female patients with ASD ( r=-0.398, P=0.029). Conclusion:There are brain regions with abnormal local functional connectivity in ASD children, and there are differences in local functional connectivity between male and female patients with ASD, which may be the brain functional basis of the differences in the clinical manifestations of male and female patients with ASD, and local functional connectivity in some brain regions is related to the severity of clinical symptoms of the children with ASD.

Anticoagulants ; therapeutic use ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Heparin ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute ; complications