BACKGROUND: Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs), characterized by great differentiation potential, strong proliferation ability and low immunogenicity, exert an immeasurable role in wound repair and vascular regeneration in ischemic tissues.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of intraventricularly injected UC-MSCs on expression of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in the myocardium of myocardial infarction rats.METHODS: 120 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were selected randomly, among which, 20 healthy rats were randomly selected as controls and the rest rats were subcutaneously injected with isoproterenol to establish the myocardial infarction model. Model rats were randomized into model group, UC-MSC supernatant group, UC-MSC low-dose group,middle-dose group and high-dose group, with 20 rats in each group. Twenty-four hours after modeling, normal saline,UC-MSC supernatant, UC-MSC suspensions containing 0.25×106, 1.0×106, 4.0×106 cells (2 mL) were injected intraventricularly into the rats in the corresponding groups, respectively. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF),end-systolic left ventricular volume (LVESV) and left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) were measured by echocardiography at 2 weeks after treatment. Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK) and pro-brain natriuretic peptide (Pro-BNP) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). At the end of the experiment, 10 rats were killed by dislocation and the cardiac specimens were taken. The myocardial infarct size was determined by nitroblue tetrazolium staining. The expressions of GM-CSF and TGF-β in the myocardium of rats in each group were determined by western blot method.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Higher LVEF levels and lower LVESV and LVEDV were found in the low-, middleand high-dose UC-MSC groups than the model group and UC-MSC supernatant group (P < 0.05). LVEF, LVEDV and LVEDV in the middle- and high-dose UC-MSC group were lower than those in the low-dose UC-MSC group (P < 0.05). (2)The levels of serum LDH, CK, Pro-BNP and myocardial tissue GM-CSF and TGF-β1 in the low-, middle- and high-dose UC-MSC group were significantly lower than those in the model group and UC-MSC supernatant group (P < 0.05).Compared with the low-dose UC-MSC group, the levels of serum LDH, CK, Pro-BNP and myocardial tissue GM-CSF and TGF-β1 were significantly lower in the middle- and high-dose UC-MSC groups (P < 0.05). (3) The myocardial infarct sizes of the low-, middle- and high-dose UC-MSC groups were significantly lower than those of the model and UC-MSC supernatant groups (P < 0.05), while the myocardial infarct sizes of middle- and high-dose UC-MSC groups were significantly lower than that of low-dose UC-MSC group (P < 0.05). To conclude, UC-MSCs can significantly reduce the expression of GM-CSF and TGF-β1 in the rat myocardium after myocardial infarction, effectively protect myocardial tissues, and improve cardiac function.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of management for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in stage Ⅰ at new rural cooperative medical facilities.Methods A quasi-experiment design was used for the evaluation of patients registering at Dongcun and Fangyuan subdistrict offices in Haiyang.And 79 COPD cases from Dongcun sub-district offices were selected into the management group while 76 cases from Fangyuan the control group.The measures at the new rural cooperative medical facilities included smoking-free publicity,avoiding a hazardous environment,application of influenza vaccines and training of patients and local general practitioners in essences of COPD prevention and treatment.Except for routine treatment,no special measures were taken for the control group.ResultsSixty-one patients in the management group and 60 in the control group completed a 3-year follow-up.Fifteen patients were smokers during their initial visits in the management group and 13 quitted smoking after a 3-year management.Meanwhile 19 patients were smokers during their initial visits in the control group and 3 of them quitted smoking within the same period.The decrement of BODE index between post-management at year 2&3 and between pre-management was higher in the management group versus the control group within the same period (P ＜ 0.01).The annual average frequencies of common cold,acute attack and physician consultation were obviously lower post-management at year 3 than those pre-management and the control group within the same period ( P ＜ 0.05 ).Lung functions of two groups deteriorated as compared with those 3 years before ( P ＜ 0.05).But no statistical difference existed between two groups (P ＞ 0.05).ConclusionThe management of COPD patients in stage Ⅰ at new rural cooperative medical facilities can improve their quality of life and reduce their frequencies of common cold,acute attack and physician consultation.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) on the stemness and epirubicin sensitivity of hepatoma cells. MethodsHepatoma cells were selected for experiment. HepG2 hepatoma cells transfected with HIF-1α overexpression plasmid were selected as experimental group, and those transfected with pcDNA3.1 empty plasmid were selected as control group; HepG2 cells alone were selected as HepG2 group. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of HIF-1α; Western blot was used to measure the protein expression of HIF-1α; flow cytometry was used to measure the expression of CD133 on the surface of hepatoma cells. The three groups of cells were treated with epirubicin at different concentrations (0, 6.25, 12.5, 25, and 50 μmol/L) for 24 hours; MTT assay was used to measure cell viability, and flow cytometry was used to measure apoptosis after treatment with epirubicin (50 μmol/L). A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups, and the t-test was used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsCompared with the HepG2 group and the control group, the experimental group had a significant increase in the mRNA expression of HIF-1α (both P＜0.001), and Western blot showed high expression of HIF-1α in the experimental group. The percentage of CD133 cells was 0.040%±0.003% in the HepG2 group, 0.030%±0.010% in the control group, and 20.110%±0.600% in the experimental group, and the experimental group had a significantly higher positive rate of CD133+ than the HepG2 group and the control group (both P＜0.001). At an epirubicin concentration of 25 and 50 μmol/L, the HepG2 group and the control group had significantly inhibited cell viability and a significantly lower cell viability than the experimental group (both P＜005). After the treatment with 50 μmol/L epirubicin for 48 hours, the experimental group had a significantly lower cell apoptosis rate than the HepG2 group (67.9%±2.5% vs 93.6%±1.5%, P＜0.001) and the control group (67.9%±2.5% vs 93.0%±1.2%, P＜0001). ConclusionHepG2 cells are successfully transfected with HIF-1α overexpression plasmid, and HIF-1α can increase the percentage of liver cancer stem cells and improve their resistance to epirubicin.

Objective:To explore the application and clinical significance of the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) molecular classification in endometrial cancer (EC).Methods:Sixty-six EC patients collected from December 2018 to March 2021 from Peking University People′s Hospital were categorized into four subgroups based on TCGA molecular classification tested by next generation sequencing. The correlation among four molecular subgroups and the clinical-pathological features including prognosis were analyzed.Results:(1) Clinical and pathological features: median age at diagnosis was 56 years (range: 24-78 years). The cases were distributed as follows: 3 (5%) cases DNA polymerase epsilon (POLE) ultra-mutated, 11 (17%) cases high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) including 2 Lynch syndrome, 42 (64%) cases low copy-number (CN-L) and 10 (15%) cases high copy-number (CN-H). There were significant differences among four subtypes in the combination of other tumors, tumor family history, surgical method, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO, 2009) stage, depth of muscle invasion and lymph vascular space invasion (all P<0.05). The proportions of patients in CN-H subgroup with advanced FIGO stage (stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ), deep muscle invasion and positive lymph-vascular space invasion were significantly increased. There were no significant differences in age, menopausal status, body mass index, metabolic syndrome-related complications, preoperative serum CA 125 and human epididymis protein 4 levels, tumor size, pathological grade (only endometrioid cancer), and lymph node metastasis among the 4 TCGA molecular types (all P>0.05). (2) Immuno-related molecular analysis: among 66 EC patients, 27 patients underwent immunohistochemical analysis of programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) protein, and 28 patients underwent tumor mutation burden (TMB) detection. POLE and MSI-H subgroups contained TMB than those in CN-L and CN-H ( P<0.05).(3) Prognosis: the median follow-up time was 10 months (range: 0-28 months). The progression-free survival rate of TCGA molecular types were 100% (POLE ultra-mutated), 100% (MSI-H), 98% (CN-L), and 80% (CN-H) respectively and had significant differences ( P=0.034). The overall survival were 100% (POLE ultra-mutated), 100% (MSI-H), 98% (CN-L), and 90% (CN-H) respectively, but there were not statistically significant difference ( P=0.361). POLE ultra-mutated and MSI-H subgroups had the best survival, while CN-H had the worst. Conclusion:TCGA molecular classification has feasibility and clinical value in clinical application of EC, which is helpful to identify the prognosis of patients.

Objective To detect the expressions of Matrix Metalloprotein-11 ( MMP-11 ) and Cathepsin-D(Cath-D),and investigate their relationship and prognostic significance. Methods The study included 95 cases′ clinical date and postoperative specimens of gastric adenocarcinoma ( North China University of Science and Technology Affiliated Hospital,2010. 01-2013. 12) as observation group,70 cases of normal gastric tissue(from observation group) as control group. Expressions of MMP-11 and Cath-D were detected by IHC methods in two groups. Results The positive rate of MMP-11 was 51. 6%( 49/95) in observation group,5. 7%(4/70)in control group(χ2＝38. 884,P＜0. 05). The positive rate of Cath-D was 73. 7%(70/95) in observation group,28. 6%(20/70) in control group(χ2＝33. 082,P＜0. 05). The positive rate of MMP-11 was correlated with metastasis and vascular invasion(χ2＝7. 193、15. 566,P＜0. 05). The positive rate of Cath-D was correlated with maximal diameter,lymph node metastasis,vascular invasion and proliferation index(χ2＝7.431、5.654、6.569、6.801,P＜0.05).There was positive relationship between MMP-11 and Cath-D in observation group(r＝0. 46,P＜0. 05). The expressions of MMP-11 and Cath-D were correlated with prognosis in gastric adenocarcinoma ( P＜0. 05) . Conclusion The higher expressions and synergistic effect of MMP-11 and Cath-D may promote the occurrence and development in gastric adenocarcinoma. The joint detection of MMP-11 and Cath-D may be helpful to predict the prognosis of gastric adenocarcinoma.

Objective:To evaluate the feasibility of indocyanine green fluorescence imaging technology applied in thyroid surgery to identify parathyroid gland.Methods:From Oct 2021 to May 2022, data of 42 patients undergoing thyroidectomy via gasless unilateral axillary approach in Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine were retrospectively analyzed. Cases using intraoperative fluorescence imaging technology(42 cases) were compared with conventional laparocopic approach.Results:The number of parathyroid glands dissected in the study group 1.57±0.61 was higher than that in the control group 0.56± 0.59 ( t=-5.472, P<0.05). The PTH value of the study group was (2.88±1.23)pmol/L on the first day after operation, which was higher than that of the control group (2.16±0.10)pmol/L ( t=-1.844, P<0.05). The blood parathyroid hormone value on the third day(3.22±1.31)pmol/L was higher than that of the control group (2.55±0.81) pmol/L ( t=-2.041, P<0.05). There were 2 cases of hypoparathyroidism in the study group, less than 5 cases in the control group, but there was no significant difference between the two groups( χ2=0.942, P>0.05). There was 1 case of hypocalcemia in the study group and 3 cases in the control group ( χ2=0.731, P>0.05). Conclusion:Using indocyanine green fluorescence imaging technology to identify parathyroid gland is feasible, simple, fast, safe and effective.

Objectives:To investigate the prevalence,clinical characteristics and risk factors of coronavirus disease-2019(COVID-19)in patients with pulmonary hypertension(PH). Methods:A questionnaire survey was conducted from December 30,2022 to January 6,2023 through the WeChat official account of the PH Patients Mutual Aid Organization.PH patients aged≥18 years from 26 province(municipality/autonomous region)were recruited to fill in the electronic survey questionnaire. Results:A total of 293 valid questionnaires were collected from PH patients.The mean age of patients was(40.6±12.7)years,and 226 patients(77.1%)of them were female.The vaccination rate was 59.7%(175/293),117 patients(39.9%)received three or more doses of vaccine,145 patients(49.5%)received inactivated vaccine.242 patients(82.6%)had COVID-19.The most common symptoms during infection were fever(85.5%),cough(77.7%),and fatigue(66.5%).10.7%of the patients had severe or critical COVID-19.Age(OR =1.057,95%CI:1.027-1.087,P<0.001)and comorbid pulmonary disease(OR=3.341,95%CI:1.215-9.184,P=0.019)were associated with severe or critical COVID-19.After adjusting for confounding factors,age was an independent risk factor for severe or critical COVID-19(OR=1.049,95%CI:1.019-1.080,P=0.001).Severe or critical COVID-19 was an independent risk factor for worsening heart failure in PH patients during COVID-19 pandemic(OR=10.522,95%CI:4.311-25.682,P<0.001). Conclusions:The immunization coverage of PH patients is insufficient.PH patients have a higher risk of developing severe or critical COVID-19 than general population.Ageing is an independent risk factor for severe or critical COVID-19,and the risk of worsening heart failure in PH patients with severe or critical COVID-19 is significantly increased during COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a self deep breathing training device which can improve lung function compliance and blood oxygen saturation. METHODS: The device consists of four parts:flow tube, measuring cylinder, mobile phone holder and meridian guidance audio-visual synthesis training software. The flow tube measures the flow rate of inhaled gas, the metering cylinder measures the total amount of inhaled gas, and the mobile phone rack is equipped with a mobile phone storing the meridian guidance audio-visual synthesis training software. RESULTS: The device is reasonable in structure and flexible in operation, which can meet the requirements of self deep inspiration training under the guidance of training module. CONCLUSIONS Deep inspiration training under the guidance of guidance training module can form "deep and slow" abdominal breathing, and then improve lung function.
Cell Phone ; Lung ; Meridians ; Software