BACKGROUND:Engineered hepatic tissue is considered a promising strategy for healing acute liver failure. But, there are series of hindrances in the construction of engineered hepatic tissues, including acquisition of vital hepatocytes, choice of scaffolds and culture system, and nutrition supply. OBJECTIVE:To construct three kinds of engineered hepatic tissues in hope to screen the optimal one for transplantation in acute liver failure. METHODS:After purification, amplification, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were induced to differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells which were co-cultured with acellular amniotic membrane, DACRON PATCH cardiovascular surgical patch, biological surgical patch, respectively to construct three kinds of engineered hepatic tissues. After 3 days of culture, morphological and functional detections were performed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells with higher purity were successful y harvested by using density gradient centrifugation and adherent methods, and then the cells were differentiated into hepatocyte-like cells. In the three kinds of engineered hepatic tissues, hepatocyte-like cells were found to be combined with the biological surgical patch to the maximum extent, and their combination exhibited stronger ability of urea synthesis and albumin secretion, which provides experimental basis for treatment of acute liver failure.

Objective To explore the risk factors affecting prognosis of invasive fungal infection .Methods The clinical data of 208 hospitalized patients diagnosed with invasive fungal infection in Sun Yat-sen memorial hospital from 2007 to 2011 were reviewed . The factors affecting prognosis were determined by univariate and logistic regression analysis .Results The fatality rate of adult inpa-tient with invasive fungal infection was 21%.The univariate analysis showed that difference of seven indicators was significant between the survive group and death group:advanced age (over 60 years old), hospitalization time,fasting plasma glucose level, hypoalbumin-emia, using more than two kinds of broad spectrum antibiotic for more than two weeks , kinds of invasive operations , and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome ( MODS) .Binary logistic regression showed that the difference of five indicators was significant between the two groups:advanced age (over 60 years old), hypoalbuminemia, using more than two kinds of broad spectrum antibiotic for more than two weeks, kinds of invasive operations , and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome .Conclusions The indicators such as advanced age (over 60 years old), hypoalbuminemia, the use of more than two kinds of broad spectrum antibiotic for more than two weeks , kinds of invasive operations , and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome might be independent risk factors of death in patients with invasive fungal infection.Early medical intervention should be made in clinical work , in order to reduce fatality rate of patients with invasive fungal in-fection.

The present investigation reports the chemical composition of the Rhus typhina L. stem identified via mass spectrometry and NMR as gallic acid, 1-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, tryptophan, scopolin, methyl gallate, fustin, quercetin, rutin, and 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose. The antioxidant properties and the chemical composition contents of the R. typhina L. stem grown in different regions in China were de-termined. To determine the antioxidant activity, a total phenolic content analysis, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-pi-crylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity assay, ferric reducing antioxidant power assay, andβ-carotene linoleic acid model system were conducted. The results showed that the Rhus typhina L. stem possessed high antioxidant capacities due to its high phenolic content. The contents of the nine isolated compounds were determined by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. The calibration curves of the nine isolated compounds were linear within the concentration range and the average recoveries were high. The result showed that 1-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, gallic acid, methyl gallate, and 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose could be the compounds mainly responsible for the antioxidant capacity of the R. typhina L. stem. This reveals that the R. typhina L. stem is a good source of antioxidants.

A metabonomic approach involving an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography combined with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (UHPLC-FT-ICR-MS) was used to investi-gate the changes in the endogenous metabolites in the plasma of rats with yeast-induced pyrexia treated with Gegenqinlian decoction (GQLD), aspirin and itraconazole. The differences in the small molecule profiles of treatment using traditional Chinese medicine, etiological treatment and symptomatic treat-ment were elucidated. Thirty-six plasma metabolites were identified or putatively identified, and the effects of the three medicines on the thirty-six metabolites were studied. Their metabolic pathways indicated that GQLD, aspirin and itraconazole ameliorated the rats with yeast-induced pyrexia pre-dominantly by regulating the metabolisms of phospholipid, sphingolipid, fatty acid oxidation, fatty acid amides, amino acid and glycerolipid in vivo. The pharmacodynamics and metabonomic results showed that the three medicines exhibited the therapeutic effects on pyrexia by regulating the perturbations of multiple metabolisms. The study provided a scientific basis for an in-depth understanding of the ther-apeutic effects of GQLD, aspirin and itraconazole on rats with yeast-induced pyrexia.

The prevalence of stroke is increasing in China and the world,and cognitive impairment,as one of the most common complications of stroke,has attracted much attention of many researchers.Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) has severely affected patients' daily living ability,which has brought heavy burden to family and society.In addition,with the increasing of age,PSCI may even develop into dementia,so we need to give early diagnosis,early treatment and prevention to patients with PSCI.In this paper,the concept of PSCI,neuropsychological characteristics,screening scale and treatment are described to improve the staff awareness and management of PSCI.

Objective To explore the protective effect of erythropoietin(EPO) administrated by intranasal on cerebral ischemia reperfusion in rats with acute cerebral infarction reperfusion.Methods Total of 100 SD rats were divided into model control group,sham operation group,intraperitoneal administration group ([PEPO group),nasal saline group (INNS group) group,and nasal drug delivery group (INEPO group) with 20 in each group.The middle cerebral artery occlusion model of rat was established by thread embolism method and the NSS method was used to evaluate the neural behavior of rats.The expression of EPO in peripheral blood,cerebrospinal fluid and brain regions of rats were detected by Elisa.The vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) in brain was detected by immunofluorescence and then the density of newborn blood vessels in the brain was measured.Results Fifteen days after the operation,the NSS score of INEPO group(3.80± 1.61) was significantly lower than that of IPEPO group (11.53±2.11),and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.01).And the levels of EPO in blood,cerebrospinal fluid and different brain regions of rats in INEPO group were higher than that of INNS group(all P＜0.01).Compared with IPE-PO group,the level of EPO cerebrospinal fluid and different brain regions of rats in INEPO group increased obviously,the difference was statistically significant (all P＜0.01),and the EPO concentration of the olfactory bulb was the most obvious (INEPO group:(1 456.90 ± 128.22) pg/ml,IPEPO group:(426.11 ± 36.68)pg/ml,P＜0.01).Seventy-two hours after operation,the expression of CD31 in ischemic penumbra of rats of model control group (18.21 ± 3.45),INNS group (18.54 ± 2.58),IPEPO group (27.01 ± 2.13) and INEPO group(35.52±2.79)was increased compared with sham operation group (5.14± 1.28),and the difference was statistically significant (all P＜0.05).The expression of CD31 in IPEPO group and INEPO group was significantly higher than that in INNS group (P＜0.05).In INEPO group,the expression of CD31 increased significantly compared with that of IPEPO group (P＜0.05).Conclusion Nasal administration of EPO can effectively improve the neurological function of rats with ischemia-reperfusion,and increase the expression of CD31 in the brain tissue of rats.The effect of nasal administration is better than that of intraperitoneal administration.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect and mechanism of glucosides of chaenomeles speciosa (GCS) on ischemia/reperfusion-induced brain injury in mouse model. METHODS: Fifty 8-week C57BL/C mice were randomly divided into five groups with 10 in each group:sham group, model group, GCS 30 mg/kg group, GCS 60 mg/kg group and GCS 90 mg/kg group, and the GCS was administrated by gavage (once a day) for 14 d. HE staining was performed to investigate the cell morphology; the Zea-Longa scores were measured for neurological activity; TUNEL staining was performed to investigate the cell apoptosis; ELISA was used to detected the oxidative stress and inflammation; Western Blot was performed to investigate the key pathway and neurological functional molecules. RESULTS: Compared with the sham group, the brain tissues in model group were seriously damaged, presenting severe cell apoptosis, oxidative stress and inflammation, associated with increased NF-κB P65 and TNF-α levels as well as decreased myelin associate glycoprotein (MAG) and oligodendrocyte-myelin glycoprotein (OMgp)levels (all <0.01). Compared with the model group, the brain tissues in GCS groups were ameliorated, and cell apoptosis, oxidative stress and inflammation were inhibited, associated with decreased NF-κB P65 and TNF-α levels as well as increased MAG and OMgp levels (all <0.01), which were more markedly in GCS 60 mg/kg group. CONCLUSIONS GCS can inhibit the NF-κB P65 and TNF-α, reduce the oxidative stress and inflammation, decrease the cell apoptosis in mouse ischemia/reperfusion-induced brain injury model, and 60 mg/kg GCS may be the optimal dose.
Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; Brain Injuries ; drug therapy ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; Glucosides ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; NF-kappa B ; genetics ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Rosaceae ; chemistry ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics

Low targeting efficiency limits the applications of nanoparticles in cancer therapy. The fact that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) trapped in the lung after systemic infusion is a disadvantage for cell therapy purposes. Here, we utilized MSC as lung cancer-targeted drug delivery vehicles by loading nanoparticles (NP) with anti-cancer drug. MSC showed a higher drug intake capacity than fibroblasts. In addition, MSC showed predominant lung trapping in both rabbit and monkey. IR-780 dye, a fluorescent probe used to represent docetaxel (DTX) in NP, delivered MSC accumulated in the lung. Both MSC/A549 cell experiments and MSC/lung cancer experiments validated the intercellular transportation of NP between MSC and cancer cells. assays showed that the MSC/NP/DTX drug delivery system exerted primary tumor inhibition efficiency similar to that of a NP/DTX drug system. Collectively, the MSC/NP drug delivery system is promising for lung-targeted drug delivery for the treatment of lung cancer and other lung-related diseases.