Laboratory animals are the "living" tools of medical research. Through animal experiments, people can gain continuous insights into the laws of life, reveal the essence of diseases, develop vaccines and drugs for prevention and treatment, and play an important role in the technological development of fields related to human health. The environmental conditions of laboratory animals have a direct impact on their health, quality, and the results of animal experiments. The higher the degree of environmental control, the more reliable the experimental results are in terms of quality. Therefore, environmental control of laboratory animal facilities is important for ensuring that laboratory animals live under required conditions, which is a key factor for conducting effective animal experiments. This article analyzes the current status of environmental testing of laboratory animal facilities in Sichuan Province, briefly summarizing their number, area, and other basic information, and provides detailed statistics on the ability of institutions to conduct environmental testing for laboratory animal facilities in Sichuan Province. It also summarizes the testing requirements for laboratory animal facility environments based on national standards, regulatory requirements, and the quality control needs of facility users. In the analysis of testing indicators for laboratory animal facilities, based on testing data from 40 laboratory animal facilities in Sichuan Province, it was found that static pressure difference is the indicator most prone to non-compliance, followed by illumination and air exchange rate. Using barrier environments as examples, common problems in the process of environmental testing for laboratory animal facilities are summarized in six aspects: testing personnel, instruments, methods, technical materials, testing environment, and reports, and targeted suggestions are proposed. These suggestions help improve environmental control in laboratory animal facilities, and provide practical reference and guidance for relevant testing institutions, as well as laboratory animal producers and users in the industry.

ObjectiveTo prepare oral nanoemulsions encapsulating essential oil from Alpinia zerumbet fructus（EOFAZ） and to investigate its pro-absorption effect in vitro and distribution in vivo. MethodThe proteoglycan conjugate polysaccharides of vinegar-processed Bupleuri Radix-bovine serum albumin（VBCP-BSA） was prepared by Maillard reaction of VBCP and BSA. Taking VBCP-BSA as emulsifier， vitamin B₁₂（VB₁₂） as absorption enhancer， and medium chain triglycerides mixed with EOFAZ as oil phase， the nanoemulsions loaded with EOFAZ was prepared by high energy emulsification method. The particle size， particle size distribution， surface Zeta potential， EOFAZ content and appearance and morphology of the nanoemulsions were characterized， and fluorescein tracer method was used to investigate the absorption effect of fluorescein-labeled EOFAZ nanoemulsions in vitro and their distribution in vivo. ResultVBCP-BSA was formed by Maillard reaction for 48 h with high grafting rate. Using VBCP-BSA as emulsifier， the homogeneous pink nanoemulsions was prepared and denoted as EOFAZ@VBCP-BSA/VB₁₂. The particle size of the nanoemulsions was less than 100 nm and the particle size distribution was uniform. The surface of the nanoemulsions was a weak negative charge， and the shape was spherical. The encapsulation rate of the nanoemulsions for EOFAZ was greater than 80%， which had a good absorption effect in vitro and could enhance liver accumulation after oral administration. ConclusionThe designed proteoglycan nanoemulsions can effectively load EOFAZ， promote oral absorption and enhance liver distribution， which can provide experimental basis for the development of oral EOFAZ liver protection preparations.

Objective:To delineate the clinical characteristics and outcomes associated with severe cardiac toxicity during the preconditioning phase of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in patients with aplastic anemia (AA).Methods:This retrospective case series study included 31 patients with severe AA who underwent allo-HSCT and were diagnosed with severe cardiac toxicity at the Hematology Department of Peking University People′s Hospital from August 2012 to June 2022. The clinical manifestations of severe cardiac toxicity observed during the preconditioning process were assessed. Patient survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method.Results:In this cohort of 31 patients, the median follow-up period was 9 days (range: 4-365 days). Severe cardiac toxicity manifested within 6 days after the initial cyclophosphamide (Cy) administration. Twenty patients died within 30 days of initiating Cy preconditioning, of which 16 patients died due to severe cardiac toxicity within 25 days. Patients whose cardiac function improved within 30 days post-preconditioning showed a median survival duration of 222 days ( n=11). Troponin I (TNI) levels in patients who died within 30 days of initiating Cy preconditioning began increasing on day 5 post-Cy, peaking sharply by day 9 after a notable rise on day 8. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels in patients who died within 30 days of initiating Cy preconditioning started to rise from day 1, stabilized between days 2 and 5, and then doubled daily from days 6 to 8, remaining elevated thereafter. Notably, the initial increases in BNP and TNI correlated with electrocardiogram (ECG) signs of low voltage and T-wave inversion in 83.87% of cases ( n=26). Most patients ( n=28, 90.32%) were administered corticosteroid therapy. In those with restored cardiac function, the ejection fraction returned to >50% within 30 days of initiating Cy preconditioning. Conclusions:Patients with severe cardiac toxicity during the preconditioning phase of allo-HSCT typically exhibit early, sustained, and marked elevations in myocardial damage markers, including BNP and TNI, accompanied by ECG abnormalities following Cy administration, with BNP often increasing first. These indicators are associated with rapid disease progression and high mortality. Prompt initiation of treatment upon clinical diagnosis is critical for improving survival outcomes.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a domestic arterial thrombus aspiration catheter in treating acute arterial ischemic events in the experimental dogs,and to compare this catheter with Penumbra suction catheter.Methods Acute ischemic embolism model was established in the external carotid and renal arteries of experimental dogs,and the experimental dogs were randomly assigned to the study group and control group.The embolized blood vessels were treated with thrombectomy.Results A total of 12 experimental dogs were enrolled in this study,with 6 dogs in each group.All of the 12 experimental dogs were successfully modeled.In the study group and the control group,the cumulative success rates of thrombectomy were 92.9％and 66.7％respectively(P＞0.05),the incidences of intraoperative vascular dissection were 0％and 8.3％respectively(P＞0.05),and the incidences of vasospasm were 35.7％and 0.75％respectively(P＞0.05).Conclusion In treating thrombus-embolized blood vessels with mechanical thrombectomy in experimental dogs,no statistically significant differences in the efficacy and safety exist between using domestic arterial thrombus aspiration catheter and using Penumbra suction catheter.(J Intervent Radiol,2023,32:1207-1210)

Objective:To investigate the safety and efficacy of haplo-identical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT) conditioning with the same dosage form of antithymoglobulin (ATG) in patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) failure to ATG.Methods:This was a retrospective cohort study. A total of 65 patients with SAA who failed ATG treatment and received haplo-HSCT conditioning with the same dosage of ATG at the Institute of Hematology, Peking University People′s Hospital between July 2008 and October 2020 were included as the ATG treatment failure group. An additional 65 SAA patients who applied ATG for the first time during haplo-HSCT were randomly selected by stratified sampling as the first-line haplo-HSCT group. Baseline clinical data and follow-up data of the two groups were collected. Conditioning-related toxicity within 10 days after ATG application and long-term prognosis were analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier was used to calculate the overall survival rate, and the Log-rank test was applied to compare the rates of the two groups.Results:In the ATG treatment failure group, there were 36 males and 29 females, and the age at the time of transplantation [ M ( Q1, Q3)] was 16 (8, 25) years. In the first-line haplo-HSCT group, there were 35 males and 30 females, with a median age of 17 (7, 26) years. Within 10 days of ATG application, the incidence of noninfectious fever, noninfectious diarrhea, and liver injury in the ATG treatment failure group was 78% (51 cases), 45% (29 cases), and 28% (18 cases), respectively, and in the first-line haplo-HSCT group was 74% (48 cases), 54% (35 cases), and 25% (16 cases), respectively; the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant for any of these three parameters (all P>0.05). For graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), there was no significant difference between the ATG treatment failure group and the first-line haplo-HSCT group in the development of 100 day Ⅱ to Ⅳ acute GVHD (29.51%±0.35% vs. 25.42%±0.33%), Ⅲ to Ⅳ acute GVHD (6.56%±0.10% vs. 6.78%±0.11%), and 3-year chronic GVHD (26.73%±0.36% vs. 21.15%±0.30%) (all P>0.05). Three-year overall survival (79.6%±5.1% vs. 84.6%±4.5%) and 3-year failure-free survival (79.6%±5.1% vs. 81.5%±4.8%) were also comparable between these two groups (both P>0.05). Conclusions:Compared with no exposure to ATG before HSCT, similar early adverse effects and comparable survival outcomes were achieved in patients with SAA who failed previous ATG treatment and received haplo-HSCT conditioning with the same dosage form of ATG. This might indicate that previous failure of ATG treatment does not significantly impact the efficacy and safety of salvaging haplo-HSCT in patients with SAA.

Humans ; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen ; T-Lymphocytes ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/therapy* ; Prognosis ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell ; Recurrence

Objective:To investigate the effects of sodium selenite on the motor function and antioxidant capacity of substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease (PD) rats.Methods:A total of 48 male SD rats with 0 score in pole test were selected, 8 of which were used as control group (group I) and the remaining 40 rats were intraperitoneally injected with MPTP for 7 days to establish the PD model.The 24 PD rats with successful modeling were selected out by behavioral analysis, and randomly divided into MPTP group (group Ⅱ), MPTP+ 0.05 mg/kg Se group (group Ⅲ), MPTP+ 0.1 mg/kg Se group (group Ⅳ), with 8 rats in each group.After 30 days of gavage, the behaviors of lipid peroxides in the substantia nigra, the activities of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, pathological changes in the substantia nigra.The number of TH + cells and TH mRNA levels in each group were analyzed. Results:Compared with group Ⅰ, the number of crossing of group II was significantly decreased((95.40±14.66), (6.11±4.17), P<0.05), and rearing was significantly decreased and the score of pole test was significantly increased ( P<0.05). MDA content was significantly increased((4.02±0.62), (12.75±1.59), P<0.05). The activity of SOD and GSH-Px decreased significantly( P<0.05). The number of neurons in nigra decreased, the number of TH + cells and the expression level of TH mRNA decreased significantly( P<0.05). Compared with group II, group III and group IV showed a significant increase in open field test((88.80±24.61), (38.86±19.77), P<0.05), and a significant decrease in pole test scores ( P<0.05). MDA content in group Ⅲ was significantly reduced ( P<0.05). SOD and GSH-Px activity increased significantly ( P<0.05). The nerve cells in the substantia nigra region had complete structure and orderly arrangement, and the number of TH + cells and the expression level of TH mRNA were significantly increased ( P<0.05). There was no difference in MDA content in group.SOD and GSH-Px activity increased, but the difference was not significant.The number of TH + cells increased, but the difference was not significant. Conclusion:It suggests that 0.05 mg/kg of sodium selenite can significantly improve the motor function of PD rats and enhance the antioxidant capacity of substantia nigra, so as to protect neurons in the substantia nigra.

Objective: To analyze the differences between the social support for breast cancer patients and healthy female, and to explore the correlation between social support and quality of life (QOL) in the patients. Methods: From January 2013 to December 2014, 101 patients with operable breast cancer treated at Xinyu City People′s Hospital were recruited as the experimental group. They completed questionnaires in the preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods, respectively.101 healthy female volunteers recruited from the community were included as control group, whose age and level of education were matched with those of the experimental group.The general questionnaire including basic information, disease conditions and other projects, perceived social support scale (PSSS), quality of life of breast cancer patients (FACT-B) were applied to evaluate the general situation, social support and QOL of the subjects. The differences in PSSS scores between the experimental and control groups were compared. The correlation between PSSS score and FACT-B score in the experimental group was analyzed. SPSS 18.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: The general situations of the experimental and control groups were comparable (all P>0.05). The rates of the total social support score ≥50 in the experimental and control groups were not significantly different (93.6% vs. 94.7%, P=0.067). Compared with that of the control group (23.2±4.8), the scores of family support in the experimental group in preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods were statistically higher (25.6±3.2, 24.2±4.2 and 24.0±3.4, respectively, P=0.034). The social support scores of patients with different demographic characteristics were different. Among the demographic characteristics, years of education and place of residence had the largest impact. The scores of social support in patients with longer education years and living in the urban area were higher than those with shorter education years and living in the rural areas (P<0.001). The scores of QOL among preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods in the experimental group were significantly different (all P<0.05). The patients gained the highest score of QOL in the preoperative period (110.7±5.1) and the lowest in the postoperative chemoradiotherapy period (95.3±18.1). The QOL of patients in the experimental group in preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods were all positively correlated with the overall social support (all P<0.01). Conclusions The QOL of breast cancer patients at different periods of treatment is positively correlated with the social support. The quality of life can be enhanced by improving the social support for the patients.

To study the expression and distribution of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and long leptin receptor (OB-Rb) in the gastrointestinal tract of giant panda, samples of three animals were collected from the key laboratory for reproduction and conservation genetics of endangered wildlife of Sichuan province, China conservation and research center for the giant panda. Paraffin sections of giant panda gastrointestinal tissue samples were observed using hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) and strept actividin-biotin complex immunohistochemical staining (IHC). The results show that the intestinal histology of three pandas was normal and no pathological changes, and there were rich single-cell and multi-cell mucous glands, long intestinal villi and thick muscularis mucosa and muscle layer. Positive cells expressing NPY and OB-Rb were widely detected in the gastrointestinal tract by IHC methods. NPY positive nerve fibers and neuronal cell were widely distributed in submucosal plexus and myenteric plexus, especially in the former. They were arranged beaded or point-like shape. NPY positive cells were observed in the shape of ellipse and polygon and mainly located in the mucous layer and intestinal glands. OB-Rb positive cells were mainly distributed in the mucous layer and the laminae propria, especially the latter. These results confirmed that NPY and OB-Rb are widely distributed in the gut of the giant panda, which provide strong reference for the research between growth and development, digestion and absorption, and immune function.
Animals ; China ; Intestines ; metabolism ; Neuropeptide Y ; genetics ; metabolism ; Receptors, Leptin ; genetics ; metabolism ; Ursidae ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the expression of AIF, CYT C, PAF-1, caspase-3, and XIAP in Sprague-Dawley rats with spontaneous mammary neoplasms.Methods One-hundred and thirty 3-4-week old SPF Spargue-Dawley rats (♀∶♂=1∶1) were fed in a specific pathogen free (SPF) breeding barrier for 60 weeks.The occurrence of spontane-ous breast tumors was recorded and histopathology was performed to identify the types of tumors.The rats were divided into 3 groups:rats with normal breast tissue ( group I) , with benign tumors ( group II) and with malignant tumors ( group III) . The expression of AIF, CYT C, APAF-1, caspase-3 and XIAP proteins and mRNAs were detected by immunhistochemistry ( IHC) and RT-PCR assay.Results Among these 130 SD rats, 14 rats were observed having spontaneous mammary neo-plasms with the incidence rate of 10.77%(14/130).In these neoplasm cases, 7 cases were mammary fibroadenomas, 7 cases of breast carcinoma, both with an incidence rate of 5.38%.Immunohistochemistry showed that, compared with the group I, the positive expressions of AIF, APAF-1, caspase-3 were decreased significantly (P<0.01), and the CYT C and XIAP expressions were significantly increased in the group II.The positive expression of all genes except XIAP was de-creased in the group III(P<0.01).Compared with the group II, APAF-1 and XIAP were significantly higher in the group III (P<0.01), and the positive expression of AIF, Cyt C, and caspases-3 were significantly decreased (P<0.01).In the results of RT-PCR assay, except APAF-1 which showed significant correlation with the results of immunohistochemistry ( P<0.05 ) , all the others showed an extremely significant correlation with immunohistochemical results ( P <0.01 ) . Conclusions Mammary tumors are most common spontaneous neoplasms in SD rats.Abnormal expression of mitochondrial apoptotic pathway-related factors AIF, CytC, APAF-1, caspase-3, and XIAP are correlated with the carcinogenesis and de-velopment of breast tumors.