Objective To observe the clinical effect and comfortable degree of the mode of super hair removal. Methods The mode of super hair removal was used to depilate the hair nearby the hair line, cheeks, upper lip, beard, ventrum, areola of breast, axillary cavity, extremities, bikini area and so on. The total number of sites was 1 000. Some sites that were especially susceptible to pain, for example, upper lip and buccal region, were smeared with compound lidocaine cream for 1 hour at least before treatment. Results Hairs in the areas of extremities, ventrum, back and axillary cavity generally needed 4 to 5 times to eradicate, and the patients had no evident discomfortableness; hairs near to the upper lip and lower mandible generally needed 5 to 7 times to reach the effect which the patient was content, and anesthetics was indispensable, or the patients would present discomfortableness. Conclusions The mode of super hair removal is more effective, quicker and more comfortable in comparison with conventional methods. Therefore, it deserves to be spread.

This study was aimed to explore clinical effect on treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) of cold-dampness syndrome by the combination of Wen-Jing San-Han Tong-Luo (WJSHTL) decoction and acupuncture. A total of 88 RA patients were selected and randomly divided into the control group and the treatment group. All 44 cases in the control group were orally administrated with diclofenac sodium, sulphasalazine (SASP) and methotrexate (MTX). All 44 cases in the treatment group were treated with the combination of WJSHTL decoction and acupuncture on the ba-sis of western medication the same as the control group. Each group was treated for three months. Improvements of clinical symptoms, body signs and laboratory indexes were observed. The results showed that clinical symptoms, body signs and laboratory indexes were greatly improved in the comparison before and after treatment in both groups with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Compared to the control group, the treatment group had no statistical significance in the improvement of rest pain, swelling numbers and index, tenderness numbers and index, morning stiffness time, liver and kidney function. Compared with the control group, the treatment group had more obvious advantages in the improvement of joint function, hand grip strength, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) decreasing, C-reactive protein (CRP) and rheumatoid factor (P< 0.05). It was concluded that compared with single western medication, the combi-nation of WJSHTL decoction and acupuncture with western medication had certain advantages in the improvement of joint function of RA and management of patient's disease condition.

OBJECTIVETo observe the changes in expression of microRNA-203 and P63 in human epidermal stem cells and KCs, and to investigate their effects and significance in the epidermal proliferation and differentiation.

METHODS(1) Five normal foreskin tissue specimens were collected from 5 patients by circumcision in Department of Urinary Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from March to June in 2013. Then single cell suspension was obtained by separating epidermis with trypsin digestion method. The cells were divided into quick adherent cells and non-quick adherent cells by type IV collagen differential adherent method. The biological characteristics of cells were observed by inverted phase contrast microscope immediately after isolation and on post culture day (PCD) 3. The expression of CD29, keratin 19, keratin 1, and keratin 10 was identified by immunocytochemical staining. The expression of microRNA-203 and mRNA of P63 was determined by real-time fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR. The protein expression of P63 was determined by Western blotting. Data were processed with t test and Pearson correlation analysis.

RESULTS(1) Immediately after isolation, quick adherent cells were small, round, and dispersed uniformly. On PCD 3, the cells adhered firmly, and they grew in clones. Immediately after isolation, non-quick adherent cells appeared in different shapes and sizes, and dispersed unevenly. On PCD 3, the cells adhered precariously and did not show clonal growth. Quick adherent cells showed positive expression of CD29 and keratin 19, while non-quick adherent cells showed positive expression of keratin 1 and keratin 10. Quick adherent cells were identified as epidermal stem cells, and non-quick adherent cells were identified as KCs. (2)The expression level of microRNA-203 in epidermal stem cells (0.74 ± 0.20) was lower than that in KCs (3.66 ± 0.34, t =16.582, P <0.001). The mRNA expression level of P63 in epidermal stem cells (4. 16 ± 0.28) was higher than that in KCs (2.90 ± 0.39, t =5. 850, P =0.001). The protein expression level of P63 in epidermal stem cells (1.42 ± 0.05) was higher than that in KCs (0.73 ± 0.03, t =26.460, P <0. 001). (3) The expression level of microRNA-203 was in significantly negative correlation with the expression levels of mRNA and protein of P63 (with r values respectively - 0. 94 and -0.98 , P values below 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe expression levels of microRNA-203 and P63 in human epidermal stem cells and KCs were significantly different, which might be related to the different characteristics of proliferation and differentiation of the cells.

Cell Differentiation ; Cells, Cultured ; Epidermis ; cytology ; growth & development ; Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental ; Humans ; Integrin beta1 ; Keratin-10 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Keratin-19 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Keratinocytes ; Male ; Membrane Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism

Objective To screen differentially expressed genes in hyperplastic scar to explore the pathogenesis of hyperplastic scar and identify new therapeutic targets. Methods Three pairs of surgical specimens of hyperplastic scar and adjacent normal skin tissues were collected to investigate the differentially expressed genes in hyperplastic scar using Agilent gene oligonucletide microarray and clustering analysis. DAVID Bioinformatics Resources6.7 was used for GO analysis and pathway analysis. Results and Conlcusion Distinctly different gene expression profiles were found between hyperplastic scar tissues and normal skin tissues. Compared with normal skin tissue, hyperplastic scar tissues showed 3142 up-regulated and 2984 down-regulated genes by two folds and 28 up-regulated and 44 down-regulated genes by 5 folds after repeating the experiment once; after repeating the experiment twice, 3004 genes were found up-regulated and 3038 down-regulated by 2 folds and 25 up-regulated and 38 down-regulated by 5 folds in hyperplastic scars. In all the 3 specimens, 1920 genes were up-regulated and 1912 down-regulated by 2 folds and 18 up-regulated and 29 down-regulated by 5 folds. The dysregulated genes in hyperplastic scar were involved in cell cycles, cell proliferation, immune response and cell adhesion (CDKN1C, CDKN2A, CTNNA3, COL6A3, and HOXB4) and in signaling pathway of focal adhesion, TGF-beta signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway, cell cycle, and tumor-associated pathways (TGFβ1, CDKN1C, CDKN2A, CDC14A , ITGB6, and EGF).

Objective To screen differentially expressed genes in hyperplastic scar to explore the pathogenesis of hyperplastic scar and identify new therapeutic targets. Methods Three pairs of surgical specimens of hyperplastic scar and adjacent normal skin tissues were collected to investigate the differentially expressed genes in hyperplastic scar using Agilent gene oligonucletide microarray and clustering analysis. DAVID Bioinformatics Resources6.7 was used for GO analysis and pathway analysis. Results and Conlcusion Distinctly different gene expression profiles were found between hyperplastic scar tissues and normal skin tissues. Compared with normal skin tissue, hyperplastic scar tissues showed 3142 up-regulated and 2984 down-regulated genes by two folds and 28 up-regulated and 44 down-regulated genes by 5 folds after repeating the experiment once; after repeating the experiment twice, 3004 genes were found up-regulated and 3038 down-regulated by 2 folds and 25 up-regulated and 38 down-regulated by 5 folds in hyperplastic scars. In all the 3 specimens, 1920 genes were up-regulated and 1912 down-regulated by 2 folds and 18 up-regulated and 29 down-regulated by 5 folds. The dysregulated genes in hyperplastic scar were involved in cell cycles, cell proliferation, immune response and cell adhesion (CDKN1C, CDKN2A, CTNNA3, COL6A3, and HOXB4) and in signaling pathway of focal adhesion, TGF-beta signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway, cell cycle, and tumor-associated pathways (TGFβ1, CDKN1C, CDKN2A, CDC14A , ITGB6, and EGF).

OBJECTIVETo screen differentially expressed genes in hyperplastic scar to explore the pathogenesis of hyperplastic scar and identify new therapeutic targets.

METHODSThree pairs of surgical specimens of hyperplastic scar and adjacent normal skin tissues were collected to investigate the differentially expressed genes in hyperplastic scar using Agilent gene oligonucletide microarray and clustering analysis. DAVID Bioinformatics Resources 6.7 was used for GO analysis and pathway analysis.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONDistinctly different gene expression profiles were found between hyperplastic scar tissues and normal skin tissues. Compared with normal skin tissue, hyperplastic scar tissues showed 3142 up-regulated and 2984 down-regulated genes by two folds and 28 up-regulated and 44 down-regulated genes by 5 folds after repeating the experiment once; after repeating the experiment twice, 3004 genes were found up-regulated and 3038 down-regulated by 2 folds and 25 up-regulated and 38 down-regulated by 5 folds in hyperplastic scars. In all the 3 specimens, 1920 genes were up-regulated and 1912 down-regulated by 2 folds and 18 up-regulated and 29 down-regulated by 5 folds. The dysregulated genes in hyperplastic scar were involved in cell cycles, cell proliferation, immune response and cell adhesion (CDKN1C, CDKN2A, CTNNA3, COL6A3, and HOXB4) and in signaling pathway of focal adhesion, TGF-beta signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway, cell cycle, and tumor-associated pathways (TGFβ1, CDKN1C, CDKN2A, CDC14A , ITGB6, and EGF).

Cicatrix ; genetics ; Cluster Analysis ; Computational Biology ; Down-Regulation ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Signal Transduction ; Transcriptome ; Up-Regulation

Objective:To explore the effects and mechanism of rat epidermal stem cells (ESCs) that were treated with exogenous vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on the healing of deep partial-thickness burn wounds in rats.Methods:ESCs were isolated and cultured from the trunk skin of a 3-month-old female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat. The third passage of cultured cells in the logarithmic growth phase was used in experiments (1)-(3). (1) The cells were routinely cultured in keratinocytes-specified serum-free medium (K-SFM) (the same routine culture condition below). The morphology of cells cultured for 3 and 5 days was observed under the inverted optical microscope. (2) After 24 hours in routine culture, the expression of cell surface markers CD44, CD45, CD11b, and CD11c was detected by flow cytometer, with triplicate samples. (3) Four batches of cells were collected, and each batch was divided into VEGF group or blank control group according to the random number table. The cells in blank control group were routinely cultured, while the cells in VEGF group were cultured in K-SFM containing VEGF in the final mass concentration of 10 ng/mL. The protein expressions of cytokeratin 19 (CK19) and CK10 in cells cultured for 10 days were detected by Western blotting. The Nanog mRNA expression in cells cultured for 0 (immediately), 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 day (s) was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The absorbance value was detected with cell counting kit-8 in cells cultured for 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 days. The clone number of more than 50 cells was observed and counted under the optical microscope in cells cultured for 10 days, and the cell colony formation rate was calculated. Three samples at each time point was analysed. (4) Thirty-six 3-month-old SD rats (either male or female) were used for the study, and two deep partial-thickness burn wounds (10 mm in diameter) were created in each rat by pressing a 100 ℃ electric iron plate on symmetric dorsal side. According to the random number table, the injured rats were divided into VEGF+ ESCs group, ESCs alone group, and blank control group, with 12 rats and 24 wounds in each group. From 0 (immediately) to 2 day (s) after injury, 20 μL phosphate buffer solution (PBS) was injected into each wound in the three groups in one time, once a day, with the solution in VEGF+ ESCs group containing 0.8×10 6 cells/mL of ESCs treated by 10 ng/mL VEGF for 10 days, the solution in ESCs alone group containing 0.8×10 6 cells/mL of ESCs without any treatment, and the solution in blank control group being PBS only. On post first injection day (PFID) 0 (immediately), 3, 7, and 14, three rats from each group were taken respectively according to the random number table for wound healing assessment, and the wound healing rates on PFID 3, 7, and 14 were calculated. The mice at each time point were sacrificed with wound tissue harvested for histology, and the skin structure was observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Data were statistically analyzed with independent sample t test, analysis of variance for factorial design, least significant difference test, and Bonferroni correction. Results:(1) By day 3 in culture, cells distributed in slowly-growing clusters. By day 5, the clusters were large and round, in which the cells mainly with large and round nuclei and little cytoplasm were observed. The above results were consistent with the morphological characteristics of ESCs. (2) The positive expression rate of CD44 was (94.3±1.2) %, and the expressions of CD45, CD11b, and CD11c were negative. The cells were confirmed as ESCs. (3) Compared with those of blank control group, the protein expression of CK19 in the cells of VEGF group was significantly increased after 10 days in culture ( t=3.756, P<0.05), while the protein expression of CK10 was significantly decreased ( t=3.149, P<0.05). Compared with those of blank control group, the Nanog mRNA expression in the cells cultured for 0 and 2 day (s) and absorbance values of the cells cultured for 2 and 4 day (s) were not significantly changed in VEGF group ( t=0.58, 0.77, 0.53, 3.02, P>0.05), while the Nanog mRNA expression in the cells cultured for 4, 6, 8, and 10 days and absorbance values of the cells cultured for 6, 8, and 10 days were significantly increased in VEGF group ( t=6.34, 5.00, 5.58, 4.61, 5.65, 10.78, 15.51, P<0.01). After 10 days in culture, the cell colony-forming rate in VEGF group was (56.4±1.3) %, significantly higher than (31.5±1.3) % of blank control group ( t=13.96, P<0.01). (4) The burn wounds of rats in the three groups were confined to the superficial dermis of the skin on PFID 0. On PFID 3, normal skin tissue at wound margins slightly contracted in the rats of VEGF+ ESCs group, which was earlier than that in the other two groups. On PFID 7, the newly generated epidermis covered most parts of the rat wounds in VEGF+ ESCs group, and some of the epithelium crawled around the rat wounds in ESCs alone group, but no obvious epithelialization was observed in the rat wounds in blank control group. On PFID 14, the rat wounds in VEGF+ ESCs group were basically healed, while some parts of the rat wounds were unhealed in ESCs alone group, and most parts of the rat wounds were unhealed in blank control group. On PFID 3, the wound healing rates of rats in the three groups were similar ( P>0.05). On PFID 7 and 14, the wound healing rates of rats in ESCs alone group, respectively (26.0±2.0) % and (64.4±4.7) %, were obviously higher than (12.4±1.1) % and (29.1±3.3) % of blank control group ( P<0.01), all of which were obviously lower than (41.0±2.4) % and (91.3±3.5) % of VEGF+ ESCs group ( P<0.01). On PFID 3, infiltration of a large number of inflammatory cells were observed in the rat wounds in VEGF+ ESCs group, which was earlier than those in the other two groups. On PFID 7, a large number of endothelial cells were observed in the rat wounds in VEGF+ ESCs group, while proliferation of a few endothelial cells were observed in the rat wounds in ESCs alone group, and a large number of inflammatory cells infiltrated the rat wounds in blank control group. On PFID 14, the newly generated epidermal cells covered nearly all the rat wounds in VEGF+ ESCs group and most parts of the rat wounds in ESCs alone group, while a large number of endothelial cells were observed and the newly generated epidermal cells covered some parts of the rat wounds in blank control group. Conclusions:ESCs of rats treated with exogenous VEGF can promote the healing of deep partial-thickness burn wounds in rats, which may be related to VEGF′s roles in promoting the proliferation of ESCs and reducing its differentiation level, so as to maintain the potency of stem cells.