A 61-year-old man presented with a 3-year history of erythematous firm nodules on the hands and feet. Histopathological findings of the lesional skin revealed perivascular and diffuse neutrophilic infiltrations on the upper and mid-dermis. Increased and dilated blood vessels were observed in the upper dermis. Fibrinoid necrosis of the vessel walls was unremarkable, but endothelial swelling and scant red blood cell (RBC) extravasation were noted. Fibrosis and sclerosis of collagen fibers were noted on the deep dermis. Results of laboratory examinations, including complete blood count (CBC), routine chemistry, c-reactive protein (CRP), syphilis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tests, and serum immunoglobulin electrophoresis, were all negative or within normal limit. A diagnosis of erythema elevatum diutinum was made based on the clinical and histological findings. The patient was treated with prednisolone, dapsone, colchicine, and intralesional injection of triamcinolone and showed slight improvement after treatment for 8 months.
Blood Cell Count ; Blood Vessels ; C-Reactive Protein ; Chemistry ; Colchicine ; Collagen ; Dapsone ; Dermis ; Diagnosis ; Electrophoresis ; Erythema ; Erythrocytes ; Fibrosis ; Foot ; Hand ; HIV ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Injections, Intralesional ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis ; Neutrophils ; Prednisolone ; Sclerosis ; Skin ; Syphilis ; Triamcinolone

OBJECTIVEThis study aimed at investigating whether notoginsenoside R1 (R1), a unique saponin found in Panax notoginseng could promote angiogenic activity on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and elucidate their potential molecular mechanisms. In addition, vascular restorative activities of R1 was assessed in a chemically-induced blood vessel loss model in zebrafish.

METHODSThe in vitro angiogenic effect of R1 was compared with other previously reported angiogenic saponins Rg1 and Re. The HUVECs proliferation in the presence of R1 was determined by cell proliferation kit II (XTT) assay. R1, Rg1 and Re-induced HUVECs invasion across polycarbonate membrane was stained with Hoechst-33342 and quantified microscopically. Tube formation assay using matrigelcoated wells was performed to evaluate the pro-angiogenic actions of R1. In order to understand the mechanism underlying the pro-angiogenic effect, various pathway inhibitors such as SU5416, wortmannin (wort) or L-Nω-nitro- L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME), SH-6 were used to probe the possible involvement of signaling pathway in the R1 mediated HUVECs proliferation. In in vivo assays, zebrafish embryos at 21 hpf were pre-treated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor kinase inhibitor II (VRI) for 3 h only and subsequently post-treated with R1 for 48 h, respectively. The intersegmental vessels (ISVs) in zebrafish were assessed for the restorative effect of R1 on defective blood vessels.

RESULTSR1 could stimulate the proliferation of HUVECs. In the chemoinvasion assay, R1 significantly increased the number of cross-membrane HUVECs. In addition, R1 markedly enhanced the tube formation ability of HUVECs. The proliferative effects of these saponins on HUVECs were effectively blocked by the addition of SU5416 (a VEGF-KDR/Flk-1 inhibitor). Similarly, pre-treatment with wort [a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-kinase inhibitor], L-NAME [an endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) inhibitor] or SH-6 (an Akt pathway inhibitor) significantly abrogated the R1 induced proliferation of HUVECs. In chemicallyinduced blood vessel loss model in zebrafish, R1 significantly rescue the damaged ISVs.

CONCLUSIONR1, similar to Rg1 and Re, had been showed pro-angiogenic action, possibly via the activation of the VEGF-KDR/Flk-1 and PI3K-Akt-eNOS signaling pathways. Our findings also shed light on intriguing pro-angiogenic effect of R1 under deficient angiogenesis condition in a pharmacologic-induced blood vessels loss model in zebrafish. The present study in vivo and in vitro provided scientific evidence to explain the ethnomedical use of Panax notoginseng in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, traumatic injuries and wound healing.

Animals ; Blood Vessels ; pathology ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Collagen ; pharmacology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drug Combinations ; Ginsenosides ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; enzymology ; physiology ; Humans ; Laminin ; pharmacology ; Neovascularization, Physiologic ; drug effects ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; metabolism ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Proteoglycans ; pharmacology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 ; metabolism ; Zebrafish

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim was to determine which of three sets of metabolic syndrome (MetS) criteria (International Diabetes Federation [IDF], National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III [ATP III], and European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance [EGIR]) best predicts the coronary artery calcification (CAC) score in a cross-sectional study. This has not been evaluated in previous studies. METHODS: A total of 24,060 subjects were screened for CAC by multi-detector computed tomography. The presence of CAC was defined as a CAC score > 0. The odds ratio for the presence of CAC was analyzed for three different sets of MetS criteria and according to number of MetS components. RESULTS: CAC was observed in 12.6% (3,037) of the subjects. Patients with MetS, as defined by the IDF, ATP III, and EGIR criteria, had a CAC rate of 23.0%, 25.1%, and 29.5%, respectively (p < 0.001). Comparisons of C statistics for multivariate regression models revealed no significant difference among the three sets of criteria. After adjustment for risk factors, the ATP III criteria produced a slightly higher odds ratio for CAC compared with the other criteria, but this difference was not significant. The risk factor-adjusted odds ratio for the presence of CAC increased from 1 to 1.679 as the number of MetS components defined by ATP III increased from 0 to > or = 3 (p for trend < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of MetS was associated with the presence of CAC. There was no significant difference among the three sets of MetS criteria in terms of the ability to predict CAC. An increase in the number of MetS components was associated with an increased odds of CAC.
Adult ; Asymptomatic Diseases ; Biological Markers/blood ; Calcium/*analysis ; Coronary Angiography/methods ; Coronary Artery Disease/blood/*epidemiology/radiography ; Coronary Vessels/*chemistry/radiography ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/blood/diagnosis/*epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Multivariate Analysis ; Odds Ratio ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Vascular Calcification/blood/*epidemiology/metabolism/radiography

Silicosis had been considered for decades as an illness with manifestations of lung fibrosis due to inhalation of overconcentrated SiO2 dust. To the best of our knowledge, studies have yet to report SiO2 deposits in any other tissues and organs. In the present case, while performing bilateral artificial total hip arthroplasty for one patient, we found that the articular cartilage of the bilateral femoral head was black. Therefore, specimens thereof were sent for pathological examination. Pathological examination (immunohistochemistry) and polarized light microscopy revealed the presence of considerable brown, acicular, rhombic, and crumb-like crystals. The crystals were mainly composed of SiO2. SiO2 could deposit in vessels and femoral head cartilage via blood circulation.
Blood Vessels/*chemistry ; Cartilage/*chemistry ; Femur Head/*pathology ; Humans ; Lung/*radiography ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Silicon Dioxide/*analysis ; Silicosis/*diagnosis ; Synovitis/*pathology

We aimed to investigate the significance of microalbuminuria and its relationship with subclinical atherosclerosis in nonhypertensive and nondiabetic patients, by using coronary artery computed tomography (CT). A total of 1,318 nonhypertensive and nondiabetic subjects who had taken coronary artery CT and measured spot urine albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR) were evaluated. The atherosclerotic changes of coronary arteries were greater in subjects with microalbuminuria, reflected by coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and significant coronary artery stenosis (CACS > or = 100 in 15.3% vs 7.6% and stenosis > or = 50% in 11.5% vs 4.9% of patients with vs without microalbuminuria, P = 0.008 and P = 0.011, respectively). Among various parameters that are known as a risk factor or possible biomarkers of coronary artery disease, presence of microalbuminuria, age and Framingham risk score were significantly related to coronary artery stenosis. Among them the presence of microalbuminuria showed stronger correlation than others to the coronary artery stenosis detected by CT, even after adjusting confounding factors (OR 3.397, 95% confidence interval 1.138 to 10.140, P = 0.028). The presence of microalbuminuria by UACR was significantly associated with presence of coronary artery stenosis > or = 50% in asymptomatic, nonhypertensive and nondiabetic general population. Our study suggests that the presence of microalbuminuria may imply subclinical coronary artery disease, even in asymptomatic population.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Albuminuria/*complications ; Blood Pressure ; Calcium/analysis ; Coronary Artery Disease/complications/*radiography ; Coronary Stenosis/complications ; Coronary Vessels/chemistry ; Creatinine/urine ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Human-like collagen (HLC) was cross-linked with hyaluronic acid by genipin in different ratio. The concentrations of hyaluronic acid in the mixture were 0, 0.01%, 0.05% and 0.1%. The blood vessel tubular grafts were then fabricated by freeze-drying. Microstructure, element composite, mechanical properties, cytotoxicity grade, and biocompatibility of different vascular scaffold groups were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), tensile test, burst pressure experiment, cytotoxicity experiment, endothelial cells planted in blood vessel scaffolds and hypodermic embedding of mice. The results showed that HLC-HA (0.05%) tubular scaffold exhibited interconnected well-distributed and porous structure and porosity of 94.38%; achieved the desirable mechanical property with stress of (1000.8 +/- 7.9) kPa and burst pressure of (1058.6 +/- 8.2) kPa, hypocytotoxicity, favourable cytocompatibility, hisocompatibility and disposition of degradation.
Adhesives ; chemistry ; Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; chemistry ; Biomimetic Materials ; chemistry ; Blood Vessels ; drug effects ; physiology ; Collagen ; chemistry ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; chemistry ; Iridoid Glycosides ; Iridoids ; chemistry ; Materials Testing ; Mice ; Tissue Engineering ; instrumentation ; methods ; Tissue Scaffolds

In order to improve tensile property of vascular scaffold, we blended silk fibroin with novel human-like collagen with the mass ratio of 9:1, 7:3 and 5:5 (W/W), and then fabricated blood vessel tubular graft by freeze-drying process. We studied microstructure, mechanical properties, elements composites, degradability and biocompatibility of vascular scaffolds. These results showed that tubular scaffold with mass ratio 7:3 exhibited interconnected porous structure with pore size at (60 +/- 5) microm and porosity of 85%; achieved the desirable mechanical property (strain of 50% +/- 5% and stress of 332 +/- 16 kPa); had relatively slow degradation rate; could enhance cell adhesion and proliferation and had superior biocompatibility.
Biocompatible Materials ; chemistry ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Blood Vessels ; physiology ; Collagen ; chemistry ; Fibroins ; chemistry ; Humans ; Materials Testing ; Porosity ; Tissue Engineering ; methods ; Tissue Scaffolds

OBJECTIVETo observe the inhibition of flavonoids extract (FE) from Inula britannica on oxidative stress in rat aorta after balloon injury.

METHODThe model of vascular intimal hyperplasia was established by balloon injury. The rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, model, FE and captopril (CAP, positive control). The FE group was treated by intragastric administration with FE in dose of 12.5, 25, 50 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1). The level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in serum were detected by thiobarbituric acid (TAB) method and xanthine oxidase method respectively, and superoxide anion (O2-) in vessel was detected by dihydroethidium (DHE) staining. The histochemistry, immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to observe the changes of appearance and SOD expression in vascular tissues after balloon injury.

RESULTThe best concentration of FE to rats was 50 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1). The neointima thickness in the model group was significantly higher than that in the FE group (50 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and control group at 14 days after balloon injury (P < 0.01). The lever of MDA in serum of FE group was decreased (P < 0.01) and SOD was increased (P < 0.05) in both serum and vascular tissues. The level of O2*- in the drug group was lower than that in the model group.

CONCLUSIONFE can enhance the antioxidation capacities of vessel tissues by suppressing the formation of O2- induced by injury, by which FE inhibites neointima formation after balloon injury in rat.

Animals ; Antioxidants ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Aorta ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Blood Vessels ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Catheterization ; adverse effects ; Down-Regulation ; Ethidium ; analogs & derivatives ; blood ; metabolism ; Flavonoids ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Inula ; chemistry ; Male ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Superoxide Dismutase ; blood ; metabolism

To investigate effects of collagen matrices by covalent incorporation of heparin and loading with huangqi injection (HI) on anagenetic capillaries, we established the chick chorioallantois model. The collagen matrices by covalent incorporation of heparin and loading with HI were placed and then the eggs were continuously incubated for 3 days. The number of capillaries in the vicinity of samples, the hemoglobin content inside the samples, the dry weight and the macroscopic observation were evaluated. We found the heparinized matrices had comparable angiogenic effects. The number of capillaries, the hemoglobin content, the expression of CD34 increased remarkably (P < 0.01). So we concluded that HI might be considered as an alternative or addition agent to promote the acidification of capillaries.
Animals ; Blood Vessels ; drug effects ; physiology ; Capillaries ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Chick Embryo ; Collagen ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Heparin ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Injections

BACKGROUNDA major shortcoming in tissue engineered blood vessels (TEBVs) is the lack of healthy and easily attainable smooth muscle cells (SMCs). Smooth muscle progenitor cells (SPCs), especially from peripheral blood, may offer an alternative cell source for tissue engineering involving a less invasive harvesting technique.

METHODSSPCs were isolated from 5-ml fresh rat peripheral blood by density-gradient centrifugation and cultured for 3 weeks in endothelial growth medium-2-MV (EGM-2-MV) medium containing platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF BB). Before seeded on the synthesized scaffold, SPC-derived smooth muscle outgrowth cell (SOC) phenotypes were assessed by immuno-fluorescent staining, Western blot analysis, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The cells were seeded onto the silk fibroin-modified poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (SF-PHBHHx) scaffolds by 6x10(4) cells/cm2 and cultured under the static condition for 3 weeks. The growth and proliferation of the seeded cells on the scaffold were analyzed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining.

RESULTSSOCs displayed specific "hill and valley" morphology, expressed the specific markers of the SMC lineage: smooth muscle (SM) alpha-actin, calponin and smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (SM MHC) at protein and messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels. RT-PCR results demonstrate that SOCs also expressed smooth muscle protein 22alpha (SM22alpha), a contractile protein, and extracellular matrix components elastin and matrix Gla protein (MGP), as well as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). After seeded on the SF-PHBHHx scaffold, the cells showed excellent metabolic activity and proliferation.

CONCLUSIONSPCs isolated from peripheral blood can be differentiated into the SMCs in vitro and have an impressive growth potential in the biodegradable synthesized scaffold. Thus, SPCs may be a promising cell source for constructing TEBVs.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid ; chemistry ; Animals ; Blood Vessels ; cytology ; Caproates ; chemistry ; Cell Adhesion ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Immunophenotyping ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; cytology ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; cytology ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Rats ; Tissue Engineering ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; genetics