Objective:To observe the effect of electroacupuncture(EA)combined with oriented conductive bio-protein hydrogel(OCBH)on the recovery of nerve function in rats with complete spinal cord injury(SCI)and to explore its effect and mechanism on the formation and changes of glial scars.Methods:A total of 72 female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into groups according to the treatment received.A rat model of complete SCI was constructed using a spinal cord transection.Behavioral assessments,hematoxylin-eosin(H&E)staining,immunofluorescence staining,and Western blotting were performed at a fixed period after the operation.Results:The material group and the material+EA group obtained better results in the behavioral as-sessments(all P＜.05)and the H&E staining.In the immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting,the GFAP protein was expressed more and denser in the material group and the material+EA group than in the model group,and the density of the GFAP expression in the material+EA group was lower at week 12 than in the material group(all P＜.05).The expression of complement C3 in the model,material,and material+EA groups decreased in turn.Some inflammatory factors and the NF-kB signaling pathway showed similar results in the Western blotting(all P＜.05).The expression of the GDNF protein in the material+EA group was significantly higher than that in the model group and the material group(both P＜.01).Conclusion:EA combined with OCBH can promote the recovery of motor functions after SCI by facili-tating the formation of glial scars in the early stage,preventing the further spread of an inflammatory response that would affect the activation of A1/A2 astrocytes and change the morphology of glial scars at the spinal cord-material interface in its late stage.

Objective:To explore the application value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound with SonoLiver software including quantitative analysis and dynamic vascular pattern (DVP) in the intraoperative diagnosis of glioma.Methods:SonoLiver software was used to analyze the contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) process of 252 cases with different grades of gliomas in General Hospital of Southern Theatre Command of PLA from 2006 to 2016. Among them, 144 were in the low-grade gliomas (LGG) group and 108 were in the high-grade gliomas (HGG) group. The quantitative parameters included maximum intensity (IMAX), time to peak (TTP) and mean transit time (mTT). The images of each CEUS were obtained, and the microvessel density (MVD) of corresponding pathology was compared, so as to analyze their correlations and characteristics.Results:There were significant differences in IMAX, TTP and mTT between the CEUS parameters of gliomas with different grades. IMAX in HGG group was significantly higher than that in LGG group( P<0.001), while TTP was shorter ( P=0.017) and mTT was longer( P=0.030). By correlation analysis between MVD and the CEUS parameters, MVD was positively correlated with IMAX ( r s=0.736, P<0.001) and mTT( r s=0.184, P=0.003), but negatively correlated with TTP( r s=-0.186, P=0.003). Compared with DVP images, the tumor areas of LGG group were mainly warm and black colors with small spots of cool-colored areas, and most of the surrounding areas were more obvious black areas. In HGG group, the tumor areas were mainly warm colors. Most of which were scattered in patchy cold colors areas, and the surrounding black areas were less ( P<0.05). There were significant differences in differentiating gliomas boundary before and after using DVP technique ( P<0.05). After using DVP, the boundary of glioma was clearer and more discernible. The discernibility of HGG group was up to 99%, and that of LGG group reached 97%. Conclusions:SonoLiver software can effectively and quantitatively analyze the CEUS parameters of gliomas with different grades, and its DVP images can directly reflect the contrast perfusion characteristics of gliomas, providing a new way to distinguish the boundary of gliomas and a new imaging method for the differential diagnosis of high and low grades of gliomas.

Objective To investigate the protective effect of dexamethasone on hearing loss induced by canalwall-down mastoidectomy.Methods A total of 76 patients (76 ears) were randomized to dexamethasone group and non dexamethasone group with 38 patients in each group.For dexamethasone group,gelfoam soaked with dexamethasone (5 mg/ml) was topically applied to the round window niche at the end of the surgery,and dexamethasone was administrated intravenously at the dosage of 5 mg/50 kg immediately after the surgery.While for non-dexamethasone group,dexamctbasone was not used.The pure-tone audiograms were performed before mastoidectomy and 90 days after the surgery.Absolute bearing change was defined as the difference in hearing thresholds in decibels before and after the surgery.Results The changes of bone conduction thresholds in dexamethasone group were 8.3± 3.9 dB at 6 kHz,11.3±5.2 dB at 8 kHz,and 10.1±7.2 dB for HPTA (4-6-8 kHz high tone average).As in non-dexamethasone group,the changes of bone conduction thresholds were 13.7±4.6 dB at 6 kHz,25.1±5.4 dB at 8 kHz,19.3±9.7 dB for HPTA.There were significant differences in the changes of bone conduction thresholds between dexamethasone and non dexamethasone groups at frequencies of 6 kHz (P=0.039),8 kHz (P=0.007) and HPTA (P=0.009).Conclusion The results demonstrated that application of dexamethasone significantly reduced sensorineural high frequencies (6 kHz and 8 kHz) hearing loss after canal-wall down mastoidectomy,thus the use of dexamethasone is recommended.

Objective To study the protective effects of salvia miltiorrhiza on acute acoustic trauma (AAT) showed by temporary threshold shifts (TTS) induced by impulse noise.Methods A total of 62 male soldiers from a boot camp were randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group,each with 31 persons.The experimental group was treated with salvia miltiorrhiza,and the control group with placebo.Salvia miltiorrhiza was taken orally at the dosage of 780 mg each time,three times a day for 3 consecutive days before the live fire training and 1 day after the live fire training.The pure tone thresholds of right ears of these two groups were measured and compared 72 hours before live fire training and 6 hours after the live fire training.Results The puretone averages at 0.5,1 and 2 kHz of the right ears of the experimental group and the control group before live fire training were 16.32±6.12 dB and 16.21±5.42 dB,respectively,and the averages at 4,6 and 8 kHz were 14.22±5.16 dB and 14.89±5.38 dB,respectively.There were no significant differences between the 2 groups(P＞0.05).The PTAs of the right ears of the experimental group and the control group 6 hours after live fire training were 21.88±5.71 dB and 21.66±6.62 dB,respectively(P＞0.05),while the HPTAs were 25.89 ± 7.97 dB and 39.75 ± 7.84 dB,respectively(P＜0.01).There were significant differences in TTS between the two groups at 4,6 and 8 kHz(P＜ 0.01).Conclusion Salvia miltiorrhiza can reduce TTS at high frequencies induced by AAT.It has a potential preventive effect on AAT.

Objective To investigate the potential value of VEGF-C targeted ultrasmall superparamagnetic particles of iron oxide (USPIO)molecular probe in specific detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)in a rat model using MRI.Methods The targeted probe was synthesized by conjugating VEGF-C antibody with amino modified USPIO.Cell counting kit-8 assay was conducted to as-certain the probe’s effect on the growth of HepG2 cells.Rat models with HCC were divided into two groups (targeted group with VEGF-C-USPlO and a contrast with USPIO)with 3 rats for each group at random.Pre-and post-contrast enhanced MR imaging with different time points of 0.5,1 and 1.5h was performed with an injection into caudal vein.The signal intensities of the tumor on T2 WI and T2 * WI were measured,and the differences of the signal intensities between pre-and post-enhancements or between both groups were analyzed.The iron particles within the tumors in two groups were confirmed by Prussian blue iron staining.The ex-pression of VEGF-C in HCC was proved by immunohistochemistry.Results The signal intensities of HCC on T2 WI and T2 * WI af-ter VEGF-C-USPI0 injection were decreased obviously with a minimum value at 1 h ,indicating a significant difference (P <0.05). However,those in USPIO group were decreased less without statistical differences (P >0.05).Statistical differences in signal inten-sity on T2 * WI after enhancement between both groups were also showed (P <0.05).Prussian blue staining results showed more iron particles within the tumor tissues in VEGF-C-USPI0 group,whereas less ones in USPIO group.Immunohistochemical results showed that VEGF-C was over expressed in cytoplasm and membrane.Conclusion VEGF-C-USPI0 molecular probes can initiatively target to the liver cancer in rat models with expressed VEGF-C,which may help to achieve the specific MR imaging of HCC,indica-ting a potential of the metastasis.

Aim To elucidate the therapeutic effect of ginsenosides, berberine and jasminoidin after given a-lone or treatment with combination on the focal cerebral ischemia rats and study the compatibility mechanism. Methods We determined 12 endogenous amino acids in serum of rats after cerebral ischemia over 12 hours with RRLC-QQQ to evaluate the integrated role of YQJD at the dosage of 25 mg·kg-1 and 5 mg·kg-1 . Generally accepted methods were used, including be-havior test, One-Way AVONA, PLS-DA, as well as PCA to evaluate the injury induced by focal cerebral is-chemia. Results The score of neurological deficits and the level of five amino acids, namely Glu, Asp, Met, Hcy, Phe in the combination of ginsenosides, berberine and jasminoidin group in the dosage of 25 mg ·kg-1 and 5 mg·kg-1 significantly decreased (P<0. 05, P<0. 01) compared to those of model group. For another, the largest contribution group in the three principal components of PC1 , PC3 , PC4 at the dosage of 25 mg/kg and the six principal components PC1 ~PC5, PC7 in 5 mg·kg-1 was the combination of gin-senosides, berberine, jasminoidin group. Conclusions The results suggest that the efficacy of the combina-tion of ginsenosides, berberine and jasminoidin is su-perior to the combination of two or any single compo-nent, which can significantly improve the metabolic disorder of the endogenous amino acid after cerebral is-chemia. And it could be speculated that ginsenosides may play a more important role than berberine and jas-minoidin in regulating the level of amino acid metabo-lism.

We performed this research mainly to explore the effect of bone sialoprotein (BSP) silence by siRNA on the adhesion ability to bone matrix of bone-seeking breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231BO). Also we aimed to provide experimental data for prevention and treatment of breast cancer bone metastasis by targeting BSP. We explored the effects of BSP gene silence on characteristics of bone-seeking breast cancer cells: proliferation by MTS[3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium, inner salt] assay, bone adhesion ability by a mouse bone adhesion model in vitro, morphology of the cells by SEM, and secretion of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL) by ELISA kits. We performed intra-cardiac injection in nude mice to explore bone metastatic ability of different cell lines. The results showed that knockdown of BSP significantly inhibited the proliferation of MDA-MB-231BO cells and their adhesion to bone matrix. We also observed bone destruction caused by bone resorption around some adhering cells. The appearances of the cells changed in BSP gene silenced group, and the secretion of TGF-beta1 and RANKL decreased. The results showed BSP gene silence can partial inhibition bone metastasis of breast cancer cells in nude mice by X-ray assay and hematoxylin-eosin staining. Based on our research, siRNA-mediated BSP silencing can inhibit proliferation and adhesion to bone matrix of bone-seeking breast cancer cells and change their surface structure, thus inhibits their bone metastatic ability.
Animals ; Bone Matrix ; metabolism ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Adhesion ; Female ; Gene Silencing ; Humans ; Integrin-Binding Sialoprotein ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; genetics ; prevention & control ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

BACKGROUND: There are some studies proposing cell membrane may be one of target cell regions for electromagnetic biological effects. However, reports responsible for cellular membrane permeability and cellular biological effects after electromagnetic irradiation are few. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the correlations of low-power millimeter wave irradiation to cellular membrane permeability and apoptosis of HL60.DESIGN: Controlled experiment.SETTING: Thus study was performed at the Medical Experimental Central Laboratory, Guangzhou General Hospital,Guangzhou Military Area Command of Chinese PLA between November 2006 and April 2007. MATERIALS: The human leukemic cell lines HL60 were kindly provided by Medical Experimental Center of Guangzhou Military Area Command of Chinese PLA and HD-413.2HPSG 100 millimeter wave irradiation generator was developed by Xi'an Hengda Microwave Technology Development Company, China. METHODS: HL60 cells were irradiated by millimeter wave at frequency of 41.32 GHz and mean power density of 2 mW/cm2, and divided into five groups according to the irradiation time (0, 15, 30, 45, 60 minutes groups).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Lanthanum tracing was used to observe intracellular and extracellular lanthanum particles distribution and evaluate the change of cellular membrane permeability; ultrastructure and morphological characteristics of HL60 cells were observed through an transmission electron microscope; Quantitative analysis of apoptotic cells was performed by in situ marking method. RESULTS: In the 45 and 60 minutes groups, a small amount of lanthanum particles in the cytoplasm, swollen mitochondria, expanded rough endoplasmic reticulum, and obvious apoptosis were detected by ultrastructure observation. TUNEL staining showed, compared with the 0 minute control group, the apoptosis rate showed a trend of elevation in all the irradiation groups, particularly in the 45 and 60 minutes groups. CONCLUSION: Low-power millimeter wave irradiation on HL60 cells can lead to an increase in cellular membrane permeability of HL60, which may be one of the primary causes for promoting apoptosis and producing other biological effects.

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can not only differentiate into multiple nonhematopoietic cell lineages, but seek out damaged tissues and repair them as well. Hence, they were largely studied for their potential clinical use. However, their biological characteristics have not been fully discovered. OBJECTIVE: To compare the biological characteristics of BMSCs of different species cultured in vitro, in order to provide basis for the clinical research of stem cell therapy.DESIGN: Randomized controlled observation was designed.SETTING: Medical Research Department of General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Area.MATERIALS: The experiment was performed in Medical Research Department of General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Area from June 2004 to July 2005. Thirty SD rats weighing (160±20) g, aged 35 to 40 days, 30 Kunming mice weighing (16.0±2.0) g, aged about 40 days, 8 New Zealand white rabbits weighing (2.0±0.2) kg, aged 80 to 90 days and 10 healthy volunteers (25-32 years old) were selected. All the animals were of clean grade, which were purchased from the Animal Center of Southern Medical University.METHODS: The BMSCs of mice and rats were prepared according to the protocol developed in the Caplan laboratory, while those of rabbits and human were isolated from bone marrow suspension obtained by iliac puncture.The morphology of BMSCs was observed by light microscope and transmission electron microscope. Cell growth curve was tested by MTT. Expression of Stro-1 was analyzed by immunofluorescence cytochemistry and flow cytometry. To evaluate the specific response of BMSCs to osteogenic supplements(10 nmol/L dexamethasone, 10 mmol/L β-glycerophosphate,and 50 mg/L ascorbic acid), the activity of alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity was tested by a commercial kit. Expression of osteocalcin was examined by immunocytochemistry and hydroxyapatite crystals were shown by von Kossa staining. Adipogenic differentiation was evaluated by estimating percent of cells containing Oil Red-O- stained oil droplets.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① Morphological observation and growth situation of BMSCs. ② Expression of Stro-1: BMSC marker. ③ Differentiation in osteogenic medium.RESULTS: ①The morphology of adherent BMSCs ofthose four species observed by optic microscopy was obviously different. When they became mature or aged, the mouse cells turned into flat shape, irregularly polygonal, fell to pieces and deposited on the flask-bottom, while the rat, rabbit and human cells would enlarge and become polygonal, vacuoles would appear in their cytoplasm, finally, the cells were detached from the flask-bottom, floating off like cotton wool. The cultures of different species also had some commonness, such as poly-layer growing manner, without contact inhibition and consisting of two groups. Cells of one group grew into colonies from single cells and expanded quickly, while cells of the other group were sporadic and did not proliferate. Electron microscopy revealed that all of the primary cells had microvilli and that they could be divided into two subpopulations according to their ultrastructures. Some cells were rich in organelles and most chromatin was euchromatin, while the other subpopulation cells had much fewer organelles and more heterochromatin. Growth curves of BMSCs of different species were almost the same. ② The positive rate of human adherent bone marrow-derived cells for Stro-1: BMSC marker was (91.4±8.3) %, and that of mouse adherent cells was (83.5±6.2) % .③Treated with osteogenic supplements, mouse BMSCs differentiated into adipose tissue, rabbit ones died, while rat and human ones differentiated into osteocytes. BMSCs also demonstrated spontaneous differentiation in vitro.CONCLUSION: Mouse, rat, rabbit and human BMSCs can be easily expanded in vitro, although the harvest of the current method is a mixture of mesenchymal cells with various maturities, most of which are poor-differen-tiated cells. BMSCs of those species are different in morphology and response to the same inductive supplements. Therefore, in order to establish a kind of stem cell therapy, it is necessary not only for evidence from animal experiments but for that from human experiments as well.

Objective To explore the roles of humoral immunity in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Methods The pathological changes in the SARS autopsy case and a case of lung puncture were observed by light microscopy and electron microscopy. The autoantibody and immune complexes in the sample tissues were detected by immunohistochemical staining and histochemical staining. Results There were severely diffusive damages in the lungs. The endothelial cells in blood were injured. Fibrinoid necroses of blood vessels were observed in several organs and injury of immune organs and massive autoantibody and immune complexes were found in pathologically changed tissues. Electron dense deposits were observed in the basement membrane of blood vessels and mesangial matrix of glomerulus by electron microscopy. Conclusion The SARS viruses not only cause direct damages to the tissues but also lead to immune complex mediated hypersensitivity which in turn gives rise to a large number of tissue lesions. This indicates that the humoral immunity plays an important role in the process of organ damages.