ABSTRACT
Introduction: To assessment of the efficacy and safety of transurethral Cystolithotripsy of large bladder stones by holmium laser in the outpatient setting
Methods: In a prospective study 48 consecutive adult patients with large bladder stones, were enrolled for transurethral Cystolithotripsy. Patients older than 18 years, with bladder stones larger than 2 cm were enrolled. Urethral stricture, active urinary infection, and any anesthetic contraindications for operation, were the exclusion criteria. Demographic characteristics of patients, outcomes and complications related to operation and post operation period, were recorded
Results: Patients mean age was 46 +/- 7.3 years. Male to female ratio was 45/3. Mean body mass index of patients was 28.5 +/- 3.5. Mean stone size was 3.7 +/- 1.6 cm. Mean operation time was 43.5 +/- 15.5 minutes. Nearly complete stone clearance [98.5%] was achieved in all patients. Mean hospital stay was 6.5 +/- 1.3 hours. No major complications were seen. Mean visual analog pain score [VAS] was 4.2 +/- 2.1 and 1.4 +/- 0.6, during and 1 hour after operation, respectively. During follow up of 22.4 +/- 12.5 months, recurrence of bladder stone was not seen. No case of urethral stricture was detected
Conclusion: Transurethral holmium laser lithotripsy is an effective and safe alternative in selected patients with large bladder stones. This procedure can be easily performed in the outpatient setting
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adult , Middle Aged , Lasers, Solid-State , Prospective Studies , Lithotripsy, Laser , HolmiumABSTRACT
Evaluating the effects of p-benzoquinone and hydroquinone on the RUNX2 expression and osteoblastic differentiation of human marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells [MSCs]. Bone marrow MSCs obtained by cultivating marrow mononuclear cells, were exposed to 10?M of either p-benzoquinone or hydroquinone. Following chemical treatment, RUNX2 gene expression was assessed by Real-time RT PCR 1, 6, 24 and 48 hours later and osteogenic differentiation was analyzed using alizarin red and alkaline phosphatase staining methods on days 7 and 14 after ostegenic induction. RUNX2 expression was significantly elevated [up to approximately 8 times] due to chemical exposure but the applied chemicals exert no considerable effect on MSCs osteogenic differentiation. According to the literature, despite the necessity of RUNX2 overexpression on the induction of osteogenic differentiation, but it is not sufficient for osteogenesis to occure so increase in RUNX2 expression observed in our study is not the indicator of the induced osteogenic differentiation. Instead, this elevated expression could be the sign of increased activity of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway thereby its involvement in the development of AML due to exposure to benzene and its metabolites. Moreover, this augmented expression of RUNX2 in MSCs can indicate the RUNX2 overexpression in myeloid progenitors as an expected similar effect of exposure to benzene and its metabolites to contribute in myeloid malignancies developed due to benzene exposure
ABSTRACT
Mesenchymal stem cells [MSCs] are nonhematopoietic stromal cells that are capable of differentiating into and contribute to the regeneration of mesenchymal tissues. Human mesenchymal stem cells [liMSCs] are ideal targets in cell transplantation and tissue engineering. Enhanced green fluorescent protein [EGFP] has been an important reporter gene for gene therapy. The aim of this study was establishment of MSCs expressing GFP. MSCs were isolated and characterized by Immunophenotyping. The pEGFP-Nl plasmid was extracted from previously transformed Escherichia, coli cells and transfected into MSCs using FuGENE HD transfection reagent. Stable cells were established in the presence of geneticin. Expression of GFP was detected by RT-PCR, western blot analysis and immunoflorecent microscope. MSCs were successfully isolated and characterized. The MSCs transfected with the pEGFP-Nl plasmid expressed GFP both in mRNA and protein levels while cells transfected with empty vector did not. The results suggested that this engineered cell line will be used in the future studies and can easily be traced in vivo
Subject(s)
Humans , Mesenchymal Stem Cells , Green Fluorescent Proteins , Transfection , ImmunophenotypingABSTRACT
In this present study, we examined the differentiation potential of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells [hBMSCs] into hepatocytes on a three-dimentional [3D] nanofibrous scaffold formed by Poly [e-caprolactone] [PCL], collagen and polyethersulfone [PES]. The nanofiber was prepared by the electrospining technique. HBMSCs were isolated using combining gradient density centrifugation with plastic adherence. Flow cytometric analysis was used to identify the isolated MSCs. The performance of the cells on the scaffold was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy [SEM] and MTT assay. The hBMSCs were then cultured in a hepatic differentiation medium containing hepatocyte growth factor [HGF], oncostatin M [OSM] and dexamethasone [DEX] for up to 21 days. The results showed that the isolated hBMSCs expressed specific markers such as CD44, CD166, CD105 and CD13. The integrity of the MSCs was further confirmed by their differentiation potential to osteogenic and adipogenic lineages. Scanning electron micrographs and MTT analysis revealed that the cells adhered and proliferated well on the nanofibrous hybrid scaffolds. Immunocytochemical analysis of albumin and a-fetoprotein [AFP] showed the accumulation of these markers in the differentiated cells on the scaffold. Hepatocyte differentiation was further confirmed by showing expression of albumin, AFP and cytokeratin-19 [CK-19] at mRNA levels in differentiated cells. In conclusion, the evidences presented in this study show that the engineered scaffold is promising for maintenance of hepatocyte-like cells suitable for transplantation