ABSTRACT
Objective@#To investigate the survival rate, function outcomes, and complications after using unicondylar osteoarticular allografts with or without prosthesis to reconstruct the knee joint for tumors located in distal femoral or proximal tibial uni-condyle.@*Methods@#Twenty-two patients who underwent unicondylar osteoarticular allografts with or without prosthesis composite reconstructions from January 2007 to December 2015 in Department of Orthopaedic Surgery of Xi Jing Hospital, the Fourth Military Medical University were retrospectively reviewed. There were 14 males and 8 females and the mean age was 35 years(8-65 years). There were 12 malignent tumors and 10 aggressive benign tumors. The tumors were located in distal femur in 14 cases and proximal tibia in 8 cases. After tumor excision, the distal femur was reconstructed with unicondylar osteoallograft-prosthesis composite, and proximal tibial plate was reconstructed with unicondylar osteoarticular allograft with the help of computer-assisted navigation system. Function and radiograph were documented according to the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) functional scoring system and the International Society of Limb Salvage (ISOLS) radiographic scoring system. The median follow-up time was 60 months (5-116 months).@*Results@#At the latest follow-up, 2 patients had amputation owing to local recurrence in 12 malignant tumors. Three patients had pulmonary metastasis and 1 patient died another 2 alive with disease. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that the disease-free survival rate was 73%. There was no recurrence and metastasis in 10 patients with giant cell tumor. The average MSTS score was 26 points and the radiographic score was 78%-94%(average 90%). The complications included superficial infection in 1 patient and screw broken in 1 patient. There was no broken or collapse allograft in all composite reconstruction patients but 6 cases in allograft reconstruction.@*Conclusions@#Unicondylar osteoarticular allografts or prosthesis composite was feasible reconstruction for tumors in distal femoral uni-condyle. It could provide good functional outcomes and also prevent joint degeneration. Similarly, allograft reconstruction was also a reliable technique for proximal tibial defect.
ABSTRACT
Cell therapy has a very promising potential for end-stage liver diseases (ESLD).Fetal liver stem/progenitor cells (FLSPCs) have advantages of safety,high survival and proliferation rates,and a small volume,all which make them ideal for liver disease stem cell therapy.During the early phase of our study,we applied a three-step separation method to enrich FLSPCs and obtained a separation efficiency similar to that of the flow-cell sorting method.Additionally,using a fulminant hepatic failure model in rats,we have demonstrated that FLSPCs can contribute to morphological and functional recovery of the liver.This manuscript will discuss how FLSPCs can be induced to accurately differentiate into hepatocytes and cholangiocytes and how FLSPCs maintain self-renewal.The Notch signaling plays a critical role in regulating the differentiation and self-renewal of many types of stem cells.Our previous findings have shown that the Notch signaling plays an important role in FLSPCs differentiation into hepatocytes.Therefore,the Notch signaling might be involved in the differentiation and self-renewal of FLSPCs.We conducted a study on the regulatory effects and relative molecular mechanisms of the Notch signaling on FLSPCs and found the corresponding interfering target,which might become an index for the clinical application of FLSPCs.