Bone formation is a complex developmental process involving the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to osteoblasts.Osteoblast commitment and differentiation are controlled through a multistep molecular pathway regulated by different transcription factors and signaling proteins,including Indian hedgehog,Runx2,Osterix (Osx),and Wnt pathway.Osx is an osteoblast-specific transcription factor required for bone formation.Osx was first discovered as a bone morphogenetic protein-2 inducible gene in mesenchymal stem cells.Osx knock-out mice lack bone completely,and cartilage is normal.This opens a new window to the whole field of how bone forms. The discovery that Osx inhibits Wnt pathway highlights the potential for novel feedback control mechanisms involved in bone formation.Several downstream targets of Osx during bone formation have been identified,including Satb2,vitamin D receptor and vascular endothelial growth factor as well as Dkk(1) and Sost.The delineation of the cascade of events leading to bone formation should provide a molecular basis for the development of new and specific anabolic therapeutic agents for bone deficit conditions,such as osteoporosis and osteonecrosis.This review summarizes the recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms of Osx effect on bone formation.Studies since the Osx discovery have provided convincing evidences to demonstrate that Osx is the master gene that controls osteoblast lineage commitment and the subsequent osteoblast differentiation and proliferation.

Objective To establish CNC(controlled not classified)area microbial database of pharmaceutical enterprises,conduct correlation analysis with microbial distribution in clean area to achieve good microbial control in the clean area,especially in the core aseptic operation area,and improve the sterility assurance level of pharmaceutical enterprises.MethodsThe CNC area of a manufacturing workshop from pharmaceutical enterprise was selected as the research object,the airborne microbe,settling microbe,personal and environmental surface microorganisms were sampled one by one in the CNC area according to the route of personnel and materials entering the clean area. After the microorganisms were cultured and purified,the 16S rRNA sequencing method was used to identify the strains. Microbiomeanalyst online analysis software was used for data analysis.ResultsThe number of microorganisms in the CNC area of pharmaceutical enterprises was large and the species were rich. A total of 4 080 microorganisms were collected,which distributed in 47 genera. Gram-positive bacteria accounted for 84. 4%,mainly belonging to Staphylococcus,Micrococcus,Microbacterium. Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 15. 6%,and the distribution of Acinetobacter was much higher than other gram-negative bacteria. The Alpha diversity index was used to characterize the richness of microbial populations. The richness of microbial populations of airborne microbe and settling microbe was the highest,followed by environmental surface microorganisms,and the microbial population richness of personnel surface microorganism was the lowest. The number of microorganisms in the personnel's hood and chest was relatively small,and the number of microorganisms in the personnel's soles of feet and hands was relatively large. There were relatively few types of microorganisms on the surface of personnel,and staphylococcus showed an absolute advantage. The microbial distribution in CNC area was correlated with the microbial distribution in Class B and C clean areas of the same production workshop. Most of the microorganisms collected in Class B and C clean areas were included in the microbial population in CNC area. Class B and C clean areas were similar to CNC area,both of which were dominated by Staphylococcus and Micrococcus. The distribution proportion of Acinetobacter in Class B and C clean areas decreased compared with that in CNC area.ConclusionThe CNC area microbial database of the pharmaceutical enterprises has been established and the microbial population that is easy to enter the clean area has been determined,providing reliable technical support for the good microorganism control in the clean area

Objective To investigate prognostic factors for gastric cancer patients with liver cirrhosis.Methods The clinicopathological data of 52 gastric caner patients with liver cirrhosis operated on between March 1994 and March 2006 were analyzed retrospectively and the prognostic factors were evaluated.Significant factors were then entered into a Cox regression analysis.Results The postoperative 1-3- and 5- year survival rates for these 52 patients followed up were 78％,44％ and 33％.Univariate analysis revealed that age,Borrmann type,histology timue typing,tumor size,pTNM stage,Child-pugh grade,postoperative complications,ascites,and albumin level were statistical significance for survival rate (P ＜ 0.05 ).Multivariate analysis demonstrated that pTNM stage,Child-pugh grade,ascites were independent prognostic factors affecting prognosis( P ＜ 0.05 ).The risk of Child-pugh grade is 3.005,the risk of pTNM is 1.594.Conclusions Compared with pathological disease stage of the gastric cancer,liver function affects more on the prognosis of cirrhotic gastric cancer patients undergoing gastrectomy.In Child-pugh grade B or C cases,postoperative liver dysfunction was the main concern.While those of Child-pugh grade A should undergo standard D2 gastrectomy.

Objective To observe the relationship between thyroid hormone levels and reduced pulmonary function in elderly male patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).Methods One hundred and ninety-five cases of elderly male patients with COPD hospitalized from Jan 2006 to Feb 2010 were enrolled.Thyroid function and lung function(FEV1(forced expiratory volume in 1 second),FEV1/FVC(forced vital capacity))were examined routinely.Pulmonary function was compared between normal group(with normal thyroid function)and lower group(with thyroid hypofunction),thyroid function was also compared in patients with different grade levels(mild,moderate,severe,very severe)of pulmonary function.Results FEV1 and FEV1/FVC in thyroid hypofunction group were significantly decreased compared to the normal group(t =3.582,2.981,respectively,P ＜ 0.01).There was significant difference on T3,FT3 in patients with different grade levels of pulmonary function(F =1.959,1.873,respectively,P ＜ 0.05),among them,T3,FT3 were significantly different between mild group and severe group(P ＜ 0.05),but there was no significant difference in other groups(P ＞0.05).T4、FT4 、TSH displayed no significant difference in all groups(P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Pulmonary function decreased obviously in elderly old male patients with COPD combined with thyroid hypofunction,and the lower level of thyroid hormone,the worse of pulmonary function.

BACKGROUND: The endothelial-mesenchymal transition is known to play a central role in the pathological process of heterotopic ossification. OBJECTIVE: To verify the inhibitory effect of SMAD7 on endothelial-mesenchymal transition such as myofibroblast transformation and to explore whether it is a potential target for heterotopic ossification.METHODS: A lentivirus overexpressing SMAD7 was contructed and the optimal titre and transfection efficiency in rat aortic endothelial cells were determined. The lentivirus was then injected into a rat model of Achilles tendon injury, while the controls were given the injection of normal saline. Expressions of endothelial and mesenchymal markers at the injured site were analyzed by quantitative PCR and western blot assay. The heterotopic ossification was observed radiologically and histologically.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Local injection of SMAD7-delivering lentivirus resulted in an upregulation of CD31 and VE-cadherin, and a downregulation of N-cadherin and vimentin, suggesting that the endothelial-mesenchymal transition is blocked due to local SMAD7 overexpression. The inhibitory effect became more evident at 10 weeks than at 6 weeks after modeling. Radiology and histological staining further confirmed that the ossified structures in the tendon tissue disappeared after injection of SMAD7-delivering lentivirus, as opposed to the control group. These data suggest that local overexpression of SMAD7 can prevent postoperative heterotopic ossification with no effect on wound healing.

BACKGROUND: DNA enzyme targeting early growth response factor 1 (Egr-1) mRNA (ED5) can inhibit expression of downstream target genes by specificaly inhibiting expression of early growth response factor 1. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of ED5 on the expression of plasma tissue factor after vascular baloon injury in rats and the mechanism of inhibiting neointimal hyperplasia. METHODS: Intimal injury models of the left carotid artery were made in rats. Then, ED5, MgCl2 and FuGene6 were injected into the injured vascular segment. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:At days 3, 7, 14, 21, the expression levels of Egr-1 and tissue factor in plasma were significantly down-regulated in the ED5 transfection group compared with the MgCl2 and FuGene6 groups (P < 0.01); and neointimal hyperplasia was significantly inhibited by ED5 at days 7, 14 and 21 after modeling (P < 0.01). ED5 may inhibit neointimal hyperplasia folowing baloon injury of rat common carotid artery through down-regulation of tissue factors.

Objective To investigate the association between M235T polymorphism of angiotensinogen (AGT) gene and cerebral infarction(CI) in Chinese.Methods AGT gene M235T polymorphism was examined in 75 cases with CI and 48 healthy controls by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).Results The frequencies of AGT gene T235 allele and 235TT genetype were 0.78 and 0.64 respectively,compared with those of the control group (0.604 and 0.375 respectively ),the difference was significant(? 2=8.82, P

Objective To increase the speed of thermoacoustic imaging, a deconvolution reconstruction (DR) algorithm is proposed for small-scale need detecting living beings, on the basis of deconvolution of thermoacustic imaging algorithm. Methods A new function was firstly constructed from the detected acoustic pressure function. Then, the distribution of electromagnetic wave absorption coefficient of the need detecting living beings could be reconstructed from this new function based on the deconvolution method. Computer simulation studies were carried out to compare the DR algorithm with the two popular algorithms: the time-domain reconstruction (TDR) and the filtered back projection (FBP). Results For small-scale need detecting living beings, the accuracy of DR was nearly equivalent to TDR and slightly better than FBP. However, DR was about 4 to 6 times faster than TDR and about 25 to 100 times faster than FBP under the simulation experiment condition. Conclusion DR is a fast and effective algorithm of thermoacoustic imaging for small-scale living beings.

There are plenty of haematopoietic stem cells in umbilical cord blood, which are regarded as important resources for transplantation therapy. There are some arguments on whether or not mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) exist in umbilical cord blood. Some researchers have such opinions that there exist a number of MSCs in umbilical cord blood as similar with one from bone marrow in many aspects. Others believe that the content of MSCs in umbilical cord blood is too low to expand in vitro. We summarized the data from last five years researches. On umbilical cord blood MSCs during last to help further research and application of this resource of MSCs.