BACKGROUND: Mechanical load is crucial for the degeneration of chondrocytes and the development of osteoarthritis. Clematis chinensis can improve the inflammatory microenvironment of osteoarthritis, but its effect on mechanical load-induced degeneration of chondrocytes has not been elucidated. OBJECTIVE: To study the effect and mechanism of the extracts of Clematis chinensis on the degenerative changes of chondrocytes induced by intermittent cyclic mechanical tension (ICMT) in vitro. METHODS: Chondrocytes of the rabbit knee joint were isolated by type II collagenase digestion method and identified by Alcian blue staining. There were five groups in the experiment: Blank group, ICMT group, high-, medium- and low-dose Clematis chinensis groups. There was no intervention in the blank group, and the other groups were subjected to ICMT (10% tensile strength, 0.5 Hz, 8 hours per day, for a total of 2 days) for inducing chondrocyte degeneration. Three Clematis chinensis groups were concurrently given 0.5, 1, 2 g/L extracts of Clematis chinensis, respectively. The intervention time was 48 hours. Cell counting kit-8 assay was used for detection of chondrocyte proliferation. FITC-phalloidin staining was used for observation of cytoskeleton morphology. Real-time quantitative PCR and western blot assay were used for determination of collagen type II, matrix metalloproteinase 13, and transforming growth factor β at protein and gene levels, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Compared with the blank group, the cytoskeleton of chondrocytes stimulated by ICMT was long- stretched, the proliferation activity of chondrocytes decreased, and the expressions of collagen type II and transforming growth factor β were down-regulated, while the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 13 was up-regulated. (2) Compared with the ICMT group, the extract of Clematis chinensis could promote the proliferation of chondrocytes, up-regulate the expressions of transforming growth factor β and collagen II, and down-regulate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 13 in a concentration-dependent manner. To conclude, the extract of Clematis chinensis can inhibit the catabolism of chondrocyte induced by ICMT through regulating the expression of transforming growth factor β, promote the synthesis of extracellular matrix of chondrocytes, and maintain the phenotypic stability of chondrocytes.

Neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) manifested as constipation and fecal incontinence often occurs after spinal cord injury (SCI).NBD affects patients' quality of life and is an urgent clinical problem to be solved.The mechanism of NBD is related to central and autonomic nervous system dysfunction,intestinal nervous system dysfunction,changes in intestinal microorganism composition and abnormal content of neurotransmitters.The evaluation method of NBD is mainly based on scoring and imaging,which lacks unified criteria,and the treatment method for NBD is the combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine.The author summarizes the mechanism,evaluation method,treatment and nursing of NBD in order to provide new insight into these aspects to improve clinical efficacy.

Objective:To observe the short-term efficacy of 3D-printed custom-made hemipelvic prosthesis in the treatment of primary malignant bone tumors of the pubis.Methods:From June 2017 to May 2019, a total of 5 patients with pubic primary malignant tumor received type Ⅲ hemipelvectomy and reconstruction with a 3D-printed custom-made hemipelvic prosthesis at Department of Orthopedics, West China Hospital. They were 3 males and 2 females with an average age of 36.3 years (range, from 26 to 46 years). Of them, 3 underwent resection of the upper pubic ramus and 2 resection of both pubic rami. All their tumors were chondrosarcomas, with one case of Enneking stage Ⅱa and 4 cases of Enneking stage Ⅱb. Preoperative CT/MRI image fusion was used to determine the tumor-free resection margin, design guide templates for osteotomy and prosthesis, and simulate surgical procedures. A total of 5 3D-printed custom-made hemipelvic prostheses were designed, including 3 ones with an intramedullary stem to preserve partial pubis and 2 ones with a non-intramedullary stem not to preserve the pubis. The functional recovery was assessed by Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scores. The prosthetic position and osseointegration were evaluated by imaging examination. Oncological outcomes and complications were recorded.Results:R0 resection and precise reconstruction were accomplished in all patients. Their intraoperative blood loss ranged from 300 to 3, 700 mL (mean, 1, 680 mL), operation time from 180 to 430 min (mean, 294 min), and follow-up time from 13 to 29 months (mean, 20.6 months). All the 5 patients were alive with no evidence of disease or tumor recurrence. The functional MSTS scores at the final follow-up ranged from 29 to 31 (mean, 29.8). One male patient complained of erectile dysfunction. Fretting wear around the prosthetic stem was found in 3 patients while bone wear on the normal pubic side in 2. Osseointegration was observed in all patients with no complications like deep infection, prosthesis dislocation, prosthetic or screw breakage.Conclusion:Since 3D-printed custom-made hemipelvic prostheses can result in fine short-term efficacy for pubic primary malignant bone tumors, they may be a reliable method to reconstruct pelvic malignant tumors.

Objective To investigate the relationship between systemic immune-inflammation index(SII),red blood cell distribution width(RDW),albumin(ALB)ratio(RAR)and severity of disease and respiratory failure in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(AECOPD).Methods A total of 110 patients with AECOPD were divided into the severe group(n=37)and the non-severe group(n=73).They were also divided into the respiratory failure group(n=26)and the non-respiratory failure group(n=84)according to whether they had respiratory failure.Platelet count(PLT),neutrophil count(NEU),lymphocyte count(LYM),RDW,ALB,SII and RAR were compared between different groups.Multiple Logistic regression method was used to analyze influencing factors of severe and concurrent respiratory failure.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were plotted to analyze the predictive value of indicators for severe condition and respiratory failure.Results Compared with the non-severe group,there were increased NEU,SII,RDW and RAR,and decreased PLT and LYM in the severe group(P＜0.05).Compared with the non-respiratory failure group,there were increased NEU,SII,RDW and RAR,and decreased LYM and ALB in the respiratory failure group(P＜0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that increased SII and RAR were independent risk factors for severe condition or respiratory failure in patients with AECOPD.ROC curves indicated that the area under the curve(AUC)of SII combined with RAR for predicting severe condition and respiratory failure in patients with AECOPD were 0.882(0.806-0.935)and 0.908(0.837-0.954),both of which were higher than those of SII or RAR alone(P＜0.05).Conclusion Combination of SII and RAR can effectively help to evaluate the condition and the occurrence of respiratory failure in patients with AECOPD.

Objective:To investigate the biological effects of acute high-dose radon exposure on mice.Methods:BALB/c male mice aged 6 to 8 weeks were exposed once in an HD-3 ecological radon chamber with an average radon concentration of 7 × 10 5 Bq/m 3 for 10 h. Mice were weighed, their lung tissues and blood samples were collected at 1, 2 and 3 months after exposure. Control groups were set up at the three time points with four mice in each group. For these mice, the lung tissue pathology was observed using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining method, routine blood tests were conducted using a hematology analyzer and the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the serum and lung tissues were measured using corresponding assay kits. Results:The HE staining result revealed that compared to the control groups, the experimental groups exhibited thickening of alveolar walls and increased infiltration of granulocyte, whose degrees, however, reduced over time and displayed no significant difference at 3 months after exposure. There was no significant difference in body weight or blood routine between the experimental and control groups. The detection result revealed decreased SOD levels in the lung tissues at 2 months after exposure, which were (11.34 ± 1.03) U/mgprot and (9.75 ± 0.71) U/mgprot, respectively for the control and experimental groups ( t = 2.54, P < 0.05). The MDA levels in lung tissue increased at 1 month after exposure, which were(2.30 ± 0.24) and (2.77 ± 0.29) nmol/mgprot, respectively for the control and experimental groups ( t = 2.49, P < 0.05). At 3 months after exposure, the SOD and MDA levels differed insignificantly between the control and experimental groups ( P > 0.05). Conclusions:After acute high-dose radon exposure, the mice suffered damage to the lung tissue, with changes in their oxidative stress indicators being detected. However, these effects gradually diminished at 3 months after exposure. Additionally, acute high-dose radon exposure did not give rise to significant changes in the body weight or routine blood result of the mice.

After the articular cartilage injury, the metabolic level is increased during the progressive degeneration, the chondrocytes secrete a variety of inflammatory factors, and the original cell phenotype is gradually changed. For a long time, a large number of researchers have done a lot of researches to promote anabolism of chondrocytes and to maintain the stability of chondrocyte phenotype. There are many molecular signaling pathways involved in the process of promoting cartilage repair. This review focuses on the key signaling molecules in articular cartilage repair, such as transforming growth factor-beta and bone morphogenetic protein, and reveals their roles in the process of cartilage injury and repair, so that researchers in related fields can understand the molecular mechanism of cartilage injury and repair widely and deeply. Based on this, they may find promising targets and biological methods for the treatment of cartilage injury.
Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ; physiology ; Cartilage, Articular ; growth & development ; injuries ; Chondrocytes ; physiology ; Humans ; Regeneration ; Signal Transduction ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; physiology

As a kind of mechanical effector cells, chondrocytes can produce a variety of physical and chemical signals under the stimulation of multiaxial load
Apoptosis ; Cells, Cultured ; Chondrocytes ; Stress, Mechanical