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OBJECTIVE@#To investigate a family with congenital dysfibrinogenemia, and analyze the risk of hemorrhage and thrombosis and blood transfusion strategies.@*METHODS@#Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and thrombin time (TT) of the proband and her family members were detected by automatic coagulometer, fibrinogen (Fg) activity and antigen were detected by Clauss method and PT algorithm respectively. Meanwhile, thromboelastometry was analyzed for proband and her family members. Then, peripheral blood samples of the proband and her family members were collected, and all exons of FGA, FGB and FGG and their flanks were amplified by PCR and sequenced to search for gene mutations.@*RESULTS@#The proband had normal APTT and PT, slightly prolonged TT, reduced level of Fg activity (Clauss method). The Fg of the proband's aunt, son and daughter all decreased to varying degrees. The results of thromboelastogram indicated that Fg function of the proband and her family members (except her son) was basically normal. Gene analysis showed that there were 6233 G/A (p.AαArg35His) heterozygous mutations in exon 2 of FGA gene in the proband, her children and aunt. In addition, 2 polymorphic loci were found in the family, they were FGA gene g.9308A/G (p.AαThr331Ala) and FGB gene g.12628G/A (p.BβArg478Iys) polymorphism, respectively. The proband was injected with 10 units of cryoprecipitate 2 hours before delivery to prevent bleeding, and no obvious bleeding occurred during and after delivery.@*CONCLUSION@#Heterozygous mutation of 6233G/A (p.AαArg35His) of FGA gene is the biogenetic basis of the disease in this family with congenital dysfibrinogenemia.
Subject(s)
Humans , Child , Female , Fibrinogen/genetics , Pedigree , Afibrinogenemia/genetics , Mutation , Blood TransfusionABSTRACT
Background and Objectives@#Human mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium (MSC-CM) is produced using mesenchymal stem cell culture technology and has various benefits for the skin, including wrinkle removal, skin regeneration, and increased antioxidant activity. Its popularity is thus increasing in the field of functional cosmetics. @*Methods@#and Results: In this study, we analyzed the effects of fetal bovine serum-supplemented MSC-CM (FBSMSC-CM) and human platelet lysate-supplemented MSC-CM (hPL-MSC-CM) on skin rejuvenation characteristics.We found that the concentrations of important growth factors (VEGF, TGF-β1, and HGF) and secretory proteins for skin regeneration were significantly higher in hPL-MSC-CM than in FBS-MSC-CM. Furthermore, the capacity for inducing proliferation of human dermal fibroblast (HDF) and keratinocytes, the migration ability of HDF, extracellular matrix (ECM) production such as collagen and elastin was higher in hPL-MSC-CM than that in FBSMSC-CM. @*Conclusions@#These results support the usefulness and high economic value of hPL-MSC-CM as an alternative source of FBS-MSC-CM in the cosmetic industry for skin rejuvenation.
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Background and Objectives@#Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have immense therapeutic potential for treating intractable and immune diseases. They also have applications in regenerative medicine in which distinct treatments do not exist. Thus, MSCs are gaining attention as important raw materials in the field of cell therapy. Importantly, the number of MSCs in the bone marrow is limited and they are present only in small quantities. Therefore, mass production of MSCs through long-term culture is necessary to use them in cell therapy. However, MSCs undergo cellular senescence through repeated passages during mass production. In this study, we explored methods to prolong the limited lifetime of MSCs by culturing them with different seeding densities. @*Methods@#and Results: We observed that in long-term cultures, low-density (LD, 50 cells/cm2) MSCs showed higher population doubling level, leading to greater fold increase, than high-density (HD, 4,000 cells/cm2) MSCs. LD-MSCs suppressed the expression of aging-related genes. We also showed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) were decreased in LD-MSCs compared to that in HD-MSCs. Further, proliferation potential increased when ROS were inhibited in HD-MSCs. @*Conclusions@#The results in this study suggest that MSC senescence can be delayed and that life span can be extended by controlling cell density in vitro. These results can be used as important data for the mass production of stem cell therapeutic products.
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Objective To compare the efficacy of neuroendoscopic vs microscopic endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection and effects on hormone levels and clinical symptoms. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 211 cases with pituitary tumor resection patients from January 2012 to June 2016, of which 112 cases with endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary tumor resection (group A), 99 cases with microscopic transsphenoidal pituitary tumor resection (group B), and operation related indexes, hormone variations before discharge and symptoms remission 24 weeks after operation were extracted and compared. Results Two groups of patients with different tumor resection extent (Z = 2.14, P = 0.032), group A achieved total resection rate was significantly higher than the group B (79.5% vs 67.7%) (P = 0.037); the operation time of group A was significantly longer than group B [(93.6 ± 26.7) vs (79.8 ± 20.2) min, t = 4.26, P = 0.000], group A with the mean hospitalization stay was significantly less than group B [(7.9 ± 2.5) vs (10.2 ± 4.3) d, t = 4.67, P = 0.000], postoperative complications of group A were significantly lower than those of group B (5.4% vs 14.1%, χ2 = 4.73, P = 0.030). Two groups of postoperative hormone levels decreased in different degree (Z = 2.42, P = 0.016), group A with hormone recovery rate before discharge was significantly higher than group B (82.2% vs 66.7%, χ2 = 6.09, P = 0.014), and decline on prolactinomas, ACTH adenoma, ghrelin hormone were significantly higher than group B [(43.2 ± 10.5) vs (33.5 ± 9.1) ng/ml, (26.0 ± 8.8) vs (20.2 ± 7.0) pmol/L, (11.0 ± 3.9) vs (8.7 ± 3.2) μg/L, t = 3.60, t = 2.65, t = 2.12, all P < 0.05]. There was no significant differences between the two groups in remission of clinical symptoms 24 weeks after operation (P > 0.05). Conclusion Neuroendoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection is more efficient and less operative complications compared with microscopic surgery, which is more conducive to the recovery of postoperative hormone levels.
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Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have immunomodulatory properties and can suppress exaggerated pro-inflammatory immune responses. Although the exact mechanisms remain unclear, a variety of soluble factors are known to contribute to MSC-mediated immunosuppression. However, functional redundancy in the immunosuppressive properties of MSCs indicates that other uncharacterized factors could be involved. Galectin-9, a member of the beta-galactoside binding galectin family, has emerged as an important regulator of innate and adaptive immunity. We examined whether galectin-9 contributes to MSC-mediated immunosuppression. Galectin-9 was strongly induced and secreted from human MSCs upon stimulation with pro-inflammatory cytokines. An in vitro immunosuppression assay using a knockdown approach revealed that galectin-9-deficient MSCs do not exert immunosuppressive activity. We also provided evidence that galectin-9 may contribute to MSC-mediated immunosuppression by binding to its receptor, TIM-3, expressed on activated lymphocytes, leading to apoptotic cell death of activated lymphocytes. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that galectin-9 is involved in MSC-mediated immunosuppression and represents a potential therapeutic factor for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Subject(s)
Humans , Adaptive Immunity , Apoptosis , Cell Death , Cytokines , Galectins , Immunosuppression Therapy , Lymphocytes , Mesenchymal Stem CellsABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To identify the differentially expressed proteins in the serum of patients with cervical cancer for use as the biomarkers for early diagnosis of cervical cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) with weak cationic chips (CM10) was used to examine the serum samples of 24 patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma and 25 age-matched healthy women. The protein fingerprints were obtained, and bioinformatic analysis was performed to identify the differentially expressed proteins in the serum of the patients.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Fifty-two differentially expressed proteins were detected in the serum of cervical cancer patients (P<10(-5)), among which 6 proteins with mass/charge ratio of 4173.77, 5903.09, 6087.12, 10716.9, 6109.61 and 3397.41, respectively, showed lowered expression in the serum of cervical cancer patients. Two diagnostic models for cervical cancer were generated using software, including one consisting of the 4173.77(M/Z) protein with the diagnostic specificity of 96% and sensitivity of 75% for cervical cancer and the other consisting of 3 proteins at 5335.81(M/Z), 7562.99(M/Z), and 9287.89(M/Z) with specificity of 91.67% and sensitivity of 96.0%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Cervical cancer patients show different serum protein expression profile from healthy women. The 6 differential proteins identified may serve as specific serum biomarkers in close relation to the origin and progression of cervical cancer.</p>