ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND@#Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) have emerged as promising therapy for immune and inflammatory diseases. However, how to maintain the activity and unique properties during cold storage and transportation is one of the key factors affecting the therapeutic efficiency of hUCMSCs. Schisandrin B (SchB) has many functions in cell protection as a natural medicine. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of SchB on the hypothermic preservation of hUCMSCs. @*METHODS@#hUCMSCs were isolated from Wharton’s jelly. Subsequently, hUCMSCs were exposed to cold storage (4 °C) and 24-h re-warming. After that, cells viability, surface markers, immunomodulatory effects, reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial integrity, apoptosis-related and antioxidant proteins expression level were evaluated. @*RESULTS@#SchB significantly alleviated the cells injury and maintained unique properties such as differentiation potential, level of surface markers and immunomodulatory effects of hUCMSCs. The protective effects of SchB on hUCMSCs after hypothermic storage seemed associated with its inhibition of apoptosis and the anti-oxidative stress effect mediated by nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 signaling. @*CONCLUSION@#These results demonstrate SchB could be used as an agent for hypothermic preservation of hUCMSCs.
ABSTRACT
@#BACKGROUND: Noninvasive monitoring of intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) by measuring abdominal wall tension (AWT) was effective and feasible in previous postmortem and animal studies. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of the AWT method for noninvasively monitoring IAP in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: In this prospective study, we observed patients with detained urethral catheters in the ICU of Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital between April 2011 and March 2013. The correlation between AWT and urinary bladder pressure (UBP) was analyzed by linear regression analysis. The effects of respiratory and body position on AWT were evaluated using the paired samples t test, whereas the effects of gender and body mass index (BMI) on baseline AWT (IAP<12 mmHg) were assessed using one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: A total of 51 patients were studied. A significant linear correlation was observed between AWT and UBP (R=0.986, P<0.01); the regression equation was Y=–1.369+9.57X (P<0.01). There were significant differences among the different respiratory phases and body positions (P<0.01). However, gender and BMI had no significant effects on baseline AWT (P=0.457 and 0.313, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant linear correlation between AWT and UBP and respiratory phase, whereas body position had significant effects on AWT but gender and BMI did not. Therefore, AWT could serve as a simple, rapid, accurate, and important method to monitor IAP in critical y il patients.