In Vivo Bioreactor Using Cellulose Membrane Benefit Engineering Cartilage by Improving the Chondrogenesis and Modulating the Immune Response

BACKGROUND@#To regenerate tissue-engineered cartilage as a source of material for the restoration of cartilage defects, we used a human fetal cartilage progenitor cell pellet to improve chondrogenesis and modulation of the immune response in an In Vivo bioreactor (IVB) system. @*METHODS@#IVB was buried subcutaneously in the host and then implanted into a cartilage defect. The IVB was composed of a silicone tube and a cellulose nano pore-sized membrane. First, fetal cartilage progenitor cell pellets were cultured in vitro for 3 days, then cultured in vitro, subcutaneously, and in an IVB for 3 weeks. First, the components and liquidity of IVB fluid were evaluated, then the chondrogenesis and immunogenicity of the pellets were evaluated using gross observation, cell viability assays, histology, biochemical analysis, RT-PCR, and Western blots. Finally, cartilage repair and synovial inflammation were evaluated histologically. @*RESULTS@#The fluid color and transparency of the IVB were similar to synovial fluid (SF) and the components were closer to SF than serum. The IVB system not only promoted the synthesis of cartilage matrix and maintained the cartilage phenotype, it also delayed calcification compared to the subcutaneously implanted pellets. @*CONCLUSION@#The IVB adopted to study cell differentiation was effective in preventing host immune rejection.

Construction of Deletion Map of 16q by LOH Analysis from HCC Patients and Physical Map on 16q 23.3 - 24.1 Region

Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) has been used to detect deleted regions of a specific chromosome in cancer cells. LOH on chromosome 16q has been reported to occur frequently in progressed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Liver tissues from 37 Korean HCC patients were analyzed for LOH by using 25 polymorphic microsatellite markers distributed along 16q. Out of the 37 HCC patients studied, 21 patients (56.8%) showed LOH in various regions of 16q with at least one polymorphic marker. Puring the analysis of these 21 LOH cases, 6 patients showed interstitial LOHs in which the boundary of the LOH region was defined. With two rounds of LOH analysis, five commonly occurring interstitial LOH regions were identified; 16q21-22.1, 16q22.2 - 22.3, 16q22.3, 16q23.2 and 16q23.3 - 24.1. Among the five LOH regions the 16q23.3 - 24.1 region has been reported to be related with chromosome instability. A complete physical map, which covers the 3.2 Mb region of 16q23.3 - 24.1 (D16S402 and D16S486), was constructed to identify novel candidate tumor suppressor genes. We provide the minimally tiling path map consisting of 28 BAC clones. There was one gap between NT_10422.11 and NT_019609.9 of the human genome sequence contig (NCBI sequence build 33, April 29, 2003). This gap can be filled by sequencing the R-1425M20 clone which bridges these sequence contigs.

A study on brain ventricle measurements of normal Korean adults using computed tomography

The study was undertaken to assess the ventricular system of the brain in normal korean adults on the base ofCT. The computerized tomographic examinations of 334 Korean adults between ages of 15 to 50 years, performed atSeoul National University Hospital, were evaluated. The known to be a reliable indicator of the ventricular size.This ratio was measured at the level of the lateral, third and fourth ventricles respelctively. The shape of thequardigeminal and suprasellar cistern was analyzed. The resuls are as follows; 1. The cerebroventricular ratios ofthe lateral ventricle at the level of the widest bifrontal and bicaudate diameters were 0.30±0.04 and 0.14±0.02,respectively. The lateral ventricle was asymmetric in 12.6%, of which the left side was usually larger than theright. 2.There was correlation between the cerebroventricular ratio and age, i,e., with increase of age, the C-Vratio increased slightly. 3. The cerebroventricular ratio of the third ventricle was 0.03±0.01. 4. Thecerebroventricular ratio of the fourth ventricle in width and height was 0.14±0.02 and 0.10±0.03, respectively.The anteroposterior position index of the fourth ventricle was 0.42±0.04. 5. The quadrigeminal cistern showedU-shape in 23.4%. 6. The suprasellar cistern showed pentagonal shape in 61.1%, round in 28.4% and hexagonal in10.5%. 7. There was no significant difference between male and female according to the above results.