BACKGROUND:Some studies have focused on bone marrow mesenchymalstem cells (BMSCs) combined with allograft bone or artificial bone substitute materials for bonedefect repair. But there is no report on BMSCs combined with Bio-oss for repair of rabbit skull defects as yet.OBJECTIVE:To observe the effect ofBMSCs combined with Bio-oss in repairing skull defects in rabbits.METHODS:BMSCs from male rabbits were isolated, cultured, and used as seed cells. In the skull of the female rabbits,three full-thickness bone defects with the same external diameter of 6 mm were made by a ring bone drill. Ninety-six female rabbits were randomly divided into four groups, and given Bio-oss/BMSCs in combination group, Bio-oss alone in Bio-oss group, BMSCs implantation in BMSCs group, and no intervention in blank group. All the implant surfaces were covered with guided tissue regeneration membrane.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The osteogenic effect in the combination group was better than that in the other three groups, and the Bio-oss group showed better osteogenesis in comparison with BMSCs and blank groups. But there was no significant difference between the BMSCs and blank groups. These findings indicate that the combined use of BMSCs as seed cells and Bio-oss as a scaffold material exerts overt osteogenic effects in rabbit skull defect area, which provides a new idea for the clinical treatment of bone defects.

Objective To investigate the effect of acupuncture on cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in the hippocampus of aged rats during global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion ( I∕R ) . Methods Ninety-six clean-grade healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 17-22 months, weighing 440-580 g, were divided into 3 groups ( n=32 each) using a random number table method: sham operation group ( group S), global cerebral I∕R group (group I∕R) and acupuncture group (group AP). Global cerebral I∕R was induced by 4-vessel occlusion method described by Pulsinelli in group I∕R and group AP. Baihui and Feng-chi were stimulated for 14 consecutive days before ischemia in group AP. Four rats were sacrificed at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days of reperfusion, and brains were removed for determination of neuronal apoptosis by TUNEL. Four rats were sacrificed at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days of reperfusion, and brains were removed for determination of the expression of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), tumor necrosis factor-α ( TNF-α) and interleukin-1β ( IL-1β) in the hippocampal CA1 region by Western blot. The apoptosis rate was calculated. Results Compared with group S, the apoptosis rate of hippocam-pal neurons was significantly increased, and the expression of α7nAChR, ChAT, TNF-α and IL-1β was up-regulated at each time point of reperfusion in I∕R and AP groups ( P<0. 05) . Compared with group I∕R, the apoptosis rate of hippocampal neurons was significantly decreased, the expression of α7nAChR and ChAT was up-regulated, and the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β was down-regulated at each time point ofreperfusion in group AP (P<0. 05). Conclusion The mechanism by which acupuncture mitigates global cerebral I∕R injury may be related to activating cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in the hippocampus of aged rats.