Migration and spread of Bacillus cereus in mice with endophthalmitis and influence on inflammation / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective:To investigate the causes of strong pathogenicity of Bacillus cereus ( B. cereus) in a mouse model of B. cereus endophthalmitis and the factors that might be related to the prognosis of the disease. Methods:C57BL/6J mice aged 6-8 weeks were injected with 1 μl PBS solution containing 100 CFU B. cereus into the vitreous cavity to construct traumatic endophthalmitis model, and a control group was set up by injecting the contralateral eyeball with 1 μl sterile PBS. A mouse model of Staphylococcus epidermidis ( S. epidermidis) endophthalmitis was constructed in the same way as disease control group. Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to detect the levels of inflammatory cytokines at different time points. Histology, electroretinogram and transmission electron microscopy were used to detect the progression of endophthalmitis and retinal function at different time points. Results:B. cereus grew significantly faster than S. epidermidis in the eyes of C57BL/6 mice and gradually moved to the cornea 12 h after infection. The results of transmission electron microscopy showed that many more B. cereus were found in the iris with sparse pigment particles, while S. epidermidis could not be detected in the anterior segment after infection. The electroretinogram results showed that the amplitude of A wave and B wave of mice with B. cereus endophthalmitis decreased significantly 6 h after infection, and the B wave could not be detected 12 h after infection. Moreover, the amplitude reduction at different time points was significantly larger than that in the S. epidermidis endophthalmitis group. Histological examination found that compared with the S. epidermidis endophthalmitis group, the mice with B. cereus endophthalmitis had significantly increased inflammatory cells in the anterior chamber and vitreous cavity with a higher degree of infiltration, which was more destructive to the tissue structure. ELISA results showed that the activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO) was significantly stronger in the B. cereus endophthalmitis group than in the S. epidermidis endophthalmitis group, suggesting that a much more severe inflammation was induced. The expression of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β at the transcription and protein levels in the mouse model of B. cereus endophthalmitis were significantly higher than those in the mice with S. epidermidis endophthalmitis. Conclusions:B. cereus could induce severe endophthalmitis and tissue destruction in the eye due to its rapid growth and migration ability, which was an important factor leading to vision loss.

Effect of Hydroxy Safflower Yellow A on glucocorticoid-induced bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells osteogenic differentiation / 中国骨伤

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of Hydroxy Safflower Yellow A (HSYA) on the expression of osteogenic markers, such as alkaline phosphatase, Cbf(alpha)l and type I collagen, and explore the mechanism of HSYA in the prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced ischemic necrosis of femoral head.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifteen healthy and adult New Zealand white rabbits were collected and weighted 0.9 to 1.3 kg. The rabbits were injected abdominally with anesthetic drugs, then received marrow cavity puncture of tibia and anterior superior iliac spine to get bone marrow blood. Rabbits bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were separated from the bone marrow blood, cultured in vitro and passaged. The 3rd generation of BMSCs which had good growth condition were randomly divided into blank group, model group and HSYA groups with different doses. The BMSCs in model group were treated with high dose of dexamethasone to induce adipogenic differentiation of cells cultured in vitro, and inhibit osteogenic differentiation. The BMSCs in HSYA groups received high dose of dexamethasone and different concentrations of HSYA simultaneously. The blank group received not any special handling. After a week,the expressions of alkaline phosphatase, Cbf(alpha)l and type I collagen mRNA were detected.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly decreased in BMSCs of the model group as compared with the blank group (P < 0.01), and the expression of Cbf(alpha)l and type I collagen mRNA were also decreased significantly (P<0.01). The alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly increased in BMSCs of each HSYA group as compared with the model group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), and the expression of Cbf(alpha)l and type I collagen mRNA were also increased significantly (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The mechanism of HSYA may be related to the effect of antagonism to the reduced osteogenic differentiation induced by glucocorticoid.</p>

Wnt signaling pathway by which puerarin suppresses adipogenic differentiation of glucocorticoid-induced bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Recently, glucocorticoid-induced necrosis of femoral head has been much studied. However, the precise Wnt signaling pathway by which puerarin suppresses adipogenic differentiation of glucocorticoid-induced bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells adipogenic differentiation of glucocorticoid-induced bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells remains unconfirmed. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the expression of Wnt signaling pathway related genes and the key factor protein,β-catenin, during adipogenic differentiation of glucocorticoid-induced rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells treated by puerarin. METHODS:The third generation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were cultured with Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium containing blank serum (blank control group), dexamethasone (hormone group), dexamethasone with puerarin low dose group, the middle dose group and high dose group. After 6 days of culture, in the above five groups, the expressions of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway members, Wnt10b mRNA, GSK3βmRNA,β-catenin mRNA, were detected using RT-PCR assay, and the expression ofβ-catenin protein was detected using western blot assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the control group, the Wnt10b mRNA,β-catenin mRNA andβ-catenin protein expressions were significantly higher in puerarin groups, but GSK3βmRNA expression was significantly lower in the puerarin groups. These findings suggest that puerarin effects on inhibition of adipogenic differentiation of glucocorticoid-induced bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells probably are realized through the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway and regulation of the key factor Wnt10b mRNA, GSK3βmRNA,β-catenin mRNA, andβ-catenin protein expressions. The mechanism by which puerarin prevents glucocorticoid-induced necrosis of femoral head not only improves local microcirculation of the femoral head, but also relates to its inhibitory effects on adipogenic differentiation of glucocorticoid-induced bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

Clinical experiences of professor WU Bing-Huang on emergency treatment with acupressure / 中国针灸

The key points of acupoint selection and manipulations of Professor WU Bing-huang's experiences on emergency treatment with acupressure are introduced. It includes emergency treatment on coma (collapse, faint, faint at the sight of blood, faint during acupuncture, faint during moxibustion, shock, etc.), and pain, cough as well as asthma relieving with acupressure (include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, toothache, dysmenorrhea, lumbago, neck stiffness after sleep, cough, asthma, etc.). At the same time, typical cases are given as examples.