Inhibition of LIM kinase reduces contraction and proliferation in bladder smooth muscle

Overactive bladder (OAB) is the most bothersome symptom in lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Current pharmacologic treatment aims to inhibit detrusor contraction; however, shows unsatisfied efficacy and high discontinuation rate. LIM kinases (LIMKs) promote smooth muscle contraction in the prostate; however, their function in the bladder smooth muscle remains unclear. Here, we studied effects of the LIMK inhibitors on bladder smooth muscle contraction and proliferation both

Derivation of endothelial cells from porcine induced pluripotent stem cells by optimized single layer culture system

Regenerative therapy holds great promise in the development of cures of some untreatable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, and pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) including induced PSCs (iPSCs) are the most important regenerative seed cells. Recently, differentiation of human PSCs into functional tissues and cells in vitro has been widely reported. However, although porcine reports are rare they are quite essential, as the pig is an important animal model for the in vitro generation of human organs. In this study, we reprogramed porcine embryonic fibroblasts into porcine iPSCs (piPSCs), and differentiated them into cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31)-positive endothelial cells (ECs) (piPSC-derived ECs, piPS-ECs) using an optimized single-layer culture method. During differentiation, we observed that a combination of GSK3β inhibitor (CHIR99021) and bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) promoted mesodermal differentiation, resulting in higher proportions of CD31-positive cells than those from separate CHIR99021 or BMP4 treatment. Importantly, the piPS-ECs showed comparable morphological and functional properties to immortalized porcine aortic ECs, which are capable of taking up low-density lipoprotein and forming network structures on Matrigel. Our study, which is the first trial on a species other than human and mouse, has provided an optimized single-layer culture method for obtaining ECs from porcine PSCs. Our approach can be beneficial when evaluating autologous EC transplantation in pig models.

Derivation of endothelial cells from porcine induced pluripotent stem cells by optimized single layer culture system

Regenerative therapy holds great promise in the development of cures of some untreatable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, and pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) including induced PSCs (iPSCs) are the most important regenerative seed cells. Recently, differentiation of human PSCs into functional tissues and cells in vitro has been widely reported. However, although porcine reports are rare they are quite essential, as the pig is an important animal model for the in vitro generation of human organs. In this study, we reprogramed porcine embryonic fibroblasts into porcine iPSCs (piPSCs), and differentiated them into cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31)-positive endothelial cells (ECs) (piPSC-derived ECs, piPS-ECs) using an optimized single-layer culture method. During differentiation, we observed that a combination of GSK3β inhibitor (CHIR99021) and bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) promoted mesodermal differentiation, resulting in higher proportions of CD31-positive cells than those from separate CHIR99021 or BMP4 treatment. Importantly, the piPS-ECs showed comparable morphological and functional properties to immortalized porcine aortic ECs, which are capable of taking up low-density lipoprotein and forming network structures on Matrigel. Our study, which is the first trial on a species other than human and mouse, has provided an optimized single-layer culture method for obtaining ECs from porcine PSCs. Our approach can be beneficial when evaluating autologous EC transplantation in pig models.

Derivation of endothelial cells from porcine induced pluripotent stem cells by optimized single layer culture system

Subject Election of TCM Pharmaceutics PhD in the View of Funded Hotspots of NSFC / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To statistically analyze financing of subjects of TCM preparation of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC);To guide subject election of TCM pharmaceutics PhD. Methods Investigation and analysis were raised in this article in terms of application projects, amount of money, winning bid, and main responsible units of TCM preparation subjects of NSFC. Results Totally 186 funding projects with 60.58 million yuan were funded in the past 13 years. Liposome, nanoparticle, and micelle appeared frequently as new medicine delivery system. Meanwhile, microdialysis and pharmacokinetics were the hotspots of winning bid. Conclusion Based on the key questions in the development of TCM pharmaceutics and technological means of cross disciplines, subject election of TCM pharmaceutics PhD was suggested to focus on evaluation technique and quality evaluation system of new medicine delivery system. Meanwhile, the balance among basic researches, applied researches, and sustainable researches is also important.

Alterations of Amino Acid Level in Depressed Rat Brain

Amino-acid neurotransmitter system dysfunction plays a major role in the pathophysiology of depression. Several studies have demonstrated the potential of amino acids as a source of neuro-specific biomarkers could be used in future diagnosis of depression. Only partial amino acids such as glycine and asparagine were determined from certain parts of rats' brain included hippocampi and cerebral cortex in previous studies. However, according to systematic biology, amino acids in different area of brain are interacted and interrelated. Hence, the determination of 34 amino acids through entire rats' brain was conducted in this study in order to demonstrate more possibilities for biomarkers of depression by discovering other potential amino acids in more areas of rats' brain. As a result, 4 amino acids (L-aspartic acid, L-glutamine, taurine and gamma-amino-n-butyric acid) among 34 were typically identified as potentially primary biomarkers of depression by data statistics. Meanwhile, an antidepressant called Fluoxetine was employed to verify other potential amino acids which were not identified by data statistics. Eventually, we found L-alpha-amino-adipic acid could also become a new potentially secondary biomarker of depression after drug validation. In conclusion, we suggested that L-aspartic acid, L-glutamine, taurine, gamma-amino-n-butyric acid and L-alpha-amino-adipic acid might become potential biomarkers for future diagnosis of depression and development of antidepressant.

Study on characteristics of Haemophilus influenzae strains by phenotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis genotyping / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

objective To investigate the epidemiological and molecular typing features of the pathogenic Haemophilus influenzae(H.influenzae)by biotyping,serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis(PFGE).Methods A total of 273 invasive isolates of H influenzae were collected from the pediatric patients with pneumonia at Chengdu Children Hospital of Sichuan province from 1988 and 2004 to 2007.The idenbfication of H.influenzae strains were done according to the laboratory standard methodology described by Manual of Clinical Microbiology(American).All strains were biotyped according to Kilian's classification with the API[R]NH system.And serotyped by a slide agglutination assay with type a to f specific antlaerum as described by Pittman.PCR method for identification of H.influenzae were performed as described by Falla.One hundred of 273 strains were analyzed by PFGE as described by Saito with some modifications.The resuIts of PFGE were analyzed by Bionumerics soft(Version 4.0,Applied Maths BVBA,Belium).Restilts 78.2%of 273 cases occurred under 1 years old.Eight biotypes were found among the 273 H.influenzae isolates.17.6%(48/273)of all isolates belonged to biotype Ⅰ,43.6%(119/273)were biotype Ⅱ,22.7%(62/273)were biotype Ⅲ,7.3%(20/273)were biotype Ⅳ,5.9%(16/273)were biotype Ⅴ,0.4%(1/273)were biotype Ⅵ,1.8%(5/273)were biotype Ⅶ and 0.7%(2/273)were biotype Ⅷ.respeetively.99.6% of all 273 isolates were nontypeable.There was only one isolate was serotvpe f Ninty-six PFGE genotypes were obtained in this study.One hundred strains demonstrated a variety of genomic Datterns by PFGE.The most isolates of the flame PFGE genotype(type 35)was 3 isolates.Each of93 PFGE genotypes was represented by only a single isolate.The genotypes distribution didn't correlate with the time distribution of the strains were isolated.Conclusion Nontypeable H.influenzae primarily caused acute Dneumoma in children under 1 years old.They mostly belonged to biotype Ⅰ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ biotypes.The nontypeable H.influenzae strains appeared to more heterogeneous patterns by PFGE genotyping.Genotyping may helP understand the molecular characteristics of outbreak and endemicity according to the results of PFGE.PFGE genotyping proved to have a much stronger discriminatory power than either serotyping or biotyping.Our findings suggest that PFGE analysis is useful for the epidemiologieal study of H.influenzae infections.