BACKGROUND:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is progressive respiratory disease characterized by airflow limitation.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the therapeutic effect of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cel transplantation in rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
METHODS:Sixty healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, model and treatment groups (n=20 per group). Rat models of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were made in the model and treatment group, while no treatment was done in the control group. After modeling, rats in the treatment group were given tail vein injection of CM-Dil-labeled adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cel s, and rats in the model and control groups given the same amount of normal saline. Rat pulmonary ventilation function, inflammatory factor level and pathological changes of the lung were detected at 14 days after cel transplantation.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:After modeling, reduced lung function was found in rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but the cel transplantation significantly improved this reduction (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, significantly reduced indexes were visible in the treatment group (P<0.05), including the total number of white blood cel s, the number of macrophages and neutrophils, levels of interleukin-8, tumor necrosis factorαand C-reactive protein in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid as wel as serum level of malondialdehyde, while serum superoxide dismutase activity was increased significantly in the treatment group (P<0.05). In the treatment group, emphysema-like changes were mitigated and CM-Dil-labeled adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cel s were capable of homing to the lung tissue of rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and survived. Al these findings show that adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cel transplantation can improve lung function of rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and reduce inflammatory response, which has for certain some therapeutic effects.

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of glucagon-like peptid-1 (GLP-1) against cardiac microvascular endothelial cell (CMECs) injured by high glucose. Methods: CMECs were isolated and cultured. Superoxide assay kit and dihydroethidine (DHE) staining were used to assess oxidative stress. TUNEL staining and caspase 3 expression were used to assess the apoptosis of CMECs. H89 was used to inhibit cAMP/PKA pathway; fasudil was used to inhibit Rho/ROCK pathway. The protein expressions of Rho, ROCK were examined by Western blot analysis. Results: High glucose increased the production of ROS, the activity of NADPH, the apoptosis rate and the expression level of Rho/ROCK in CMECs, while GLP-1 decreased high glucose-induced ROS production, the NADPH activity and the apoptosis rate and the expression level of Rho/ROCK in CMECs, the difference were statistically significant (. P<0.05). Conclusions: GLP-1 could protect the cardiac microvessels against oxidative stress and apoptosis. The protective effects of GLP-1 are dependent on downstream inhibition of Rho through a cAMP/PKA-dependent manner, resulting in a subsequent decrease in the expression of NADPH oxidase.

OBJECTIVE: To study the association of serum levels of trace elements with core symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS: From September 2018 to September 2019, an investigation was performed for 1 020 children with ASD and 1 038 healthy children matched for age and sex in the outpatient service of grade A tertiary hospitals and special education institutions in 13 cities of China. Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) were used to assess the core symptoms of the children with ASD. The inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to measure serum levels of trace elements magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc. RESULTS: The children with ASD had significantly lower serum levels of magnesium, copper, and zinc than the healthy children ( CONCLUSIONS The serum levels of magnesium and zinc may be associated with core symptoms in children with ASD, which requires further studies. The nutritional status of trace elements should be monitored for children with ASD in clinical practice.
Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Child ; China ; Copper/analysis* ; Humans ; Trace Elements/analysis* ; Zinc