ABSTRACT
In order to study the microstructure characteristics of normal lunate bones,eight fresh cadaver normal lunates were scanned with micro-computed tomography.High-resolution images of the micro-structure of normal lunates were obtained and we analyzed the nutrient foramina.Then nine regions of interest (ROI) were chosen in the central sagittal plane so that we could obtain the parameters of trabecular bones of ROIs.The distal lamellar-like compact structure had statistically significant differences when it was compared with the ROIs in the volar and dorsal ends of the distal cortex.The difference of diameter between the volar and dorsal foramina was significant (P＜0.05).However,there was no significant difference regarding the number.The trabecular bones of the volar and dorsal distal ends had lower intensity than those of the distal central subchondral bone plate.The diameters of the nutrient foramina on the volar cortex were larger than those on the dorsal.This research provided more detailed information about microstructure of normal lunate and the nutrient foramina on cortex,and a reference for further study about diseased lunate.
ABSTRACT
Transforming growth factor-β is an important cytokine with various bioactivities, including embryonic development, wound healing, chemotaxis and cell cycle regulation. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the main pathway of tumor cell to obtain the ability of invasion and metastasis. The TGF-β is the key factor known to induce EMT in cancer cells and plays an important role in the process. In recent years, some progress has been obtained. Some TGF-β inhibitors have approved in the market or in clinical trials. TGF-β inhibitors can play an important role on the treatment of tumors, glaucoma, liver and kidney fibrosis disease and scar repair. Novel TGF-β inhibitors reported in recent years were reviewed in this article.