Distribution and endoscopic characteristics of elevated lesions in the upper gastrointestinal tract caused by blood vessels and hemangiomas (with video) / 中华消化内镜杂志

Endoscopic data of 108 upper gastrointestinal elevated lesions caused by vascular or hemangioma compression by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changshu No.1 People's Hospital, Kushan Hospital of Chinese Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Changshu from December 2010 to June 2019 were retrospectively summarized. The results showed that lesions were mainly located in the esophagus [50.9% (55/108)] and stomach [47.2% (51/108)], especially in the middle [40.0% (22/55)] and upper esophagus [36.4% (20/55)], body [66.7% (34/51)] and fundus of stomach [31.4% (16/51)], respectively. The major etiology included splenic artery and aneurysm compression [29.6% (32/108)], aortic compression [23.1% (25/108)], isolated esophageal venous aneurysm compression [13.9% (15/108)] and gastric submucosal vein and venous aneurysm compression [12.0% (13/108)], with diverse endoscopic presentation. The above results suggest that elevated lesions of upper gastrointestinal tract caused by blood vessels and hemangiomas are mostly due to external vascular pressure outside the lumen, but ectopic submucosal arteries and isolated phlebangioma are not uncommon. The lesions are widely distributed with different gastroscopic manifestations. EUS is important for definite diagnosis, and can be combined with color Doppler technique, CT plain scan and angiographic reconstruction if necessary.

Three Streams for the Mechanism of Hair Graying

Hair graying is an obvious sign of human aging. Although graying has been investigated extensively, the mechanism remains unclear. Here, we reviewed previous studies on the mechanism of graying and seek to offer some new insights. The traditional view is that hair graying is caused by exhaustion of the pigmentary potential of the melanocytes of hair bulbs. Melanocyte dysfunction may be attributable to the effects of toxic reactive oxygen species on melanocyte nuclei and mitochondria. A recent study suggests that bulge melanocyte stem cells (MSCs) are the key cells in play. Graying may be caused by defective MSC self-maintenance, not by any deficiency in bulbar melanocytes. Our previous study suggested that graying may be principally attributable to active hair growth. Active hair growth may produce oxidative or genotoxic stress in hair bulge. These internal stress may cause eventually depletion of MSC in the hair follicles. Taken together, hair graying may be caused by MSC depletion by genotoxic stress in the hair bulge. Hair graying may also be sometimes caused by dysfunction of the melanocytes by oxidative stress in the hair bulb. In addition, hair graying may be attributable to MSC depletion by active hair growth.

MRI Evaluation of Disc Lesions Causing Lumbar Canal Stenosis and Backache

Degenerative disease of the lumbar spine refers to a syndrome in which an intervertebral disc with adjacent spine structures is compromised, this can be due to aging process associated with pathology. Thirty five percent of asymptomatic individuals may have degenerative spine findings, including: disc degeneration, modic changes, disc bulges, facet joint arthropathy and spinal stenosis. Plain radiography provides only limited diagnostic information. It cannot show the structural morphology of the intervertebral disc. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is helpful in detecting changes like disc displacement (bulge, protrusion, extrusion, sequestration), OPLL, zygapophyseal joint hypertrophy, buckling or hypertrophy of ligaments. Also MRI is helpful in differentiating central canal stenosis from lateral canal stenosis. Study population included all patients above 20 years of age with LBP with/without radiculopathy who were referred for lumbar spine MRI at Radiology Department, SRMCH from August 2011 to September 2013. All consented patients with LBP with/without radiculopathy referred for lumbar MRI were consecutively included in the study. A total of 280 individuals had lumbar MRI scan from August 2011 to September 2013, but only 250 whom fulfilled the study criterion were studied.

El folículo piloso: una importante fuente celular en ingeniería tisular / Hair follicle: an important cellular source in tissue engineering

El folículo piloso-sebáceo o unidad folículo-sebácea-apócrina es un órgano microscópico complejo funcional y estructuralmente. Consta de un segmento superior, estable y un segmento inferior, que se regenera en cada ciclo piloso. El folículo piloso contiene una gran diversidad de tipos celulares, entre los que se encuentran células madre. De hecho, supone el nicho más importante de células madre en la piel, con la ventaja añadida de su fácil accesibilidad. Estas células madre se localizan en una prominencia a nivel de la inserción del músculo erector del pelo, llamada "bulge" (promontorio). Son las encargadas de regenerar el folículo en cada ciclo y también intervienen en la reconstitución de las glándulas sebáceas y de la epidermis interfolicular, en caso de lesión epidérmica. El conocimiento de la estructura del folículo piloso, está haciendo posible cada vez más el empleo de los distintos tipos celulares, especialmente, las células madre, en la ingeniería tisular de la piel. Asimismo, estudios recientes han diferenciado las células madres foliculares a diferentes estirpes, como por ejemplo: células nerviosas, hematopoyéticas y vasculares. Además, se ha estudiado la construcción de folículos pilosos, con resultados satisfactorios en ratones, aunque no del todo superponibles a humanos, en los que se precisan más investigaciones. La posibilidad de generar folículos pilosos humanos, supondría una revolución en el amplio campo de las alopecias. El objetivo de esta revisión es describir la estructura anatómica e histológica del folículo piloso, enfatizando en la importancia del mismo como nicho de células madre y su potencial utilidad en el campo de la ingeniería tisular, para la construcción de diversos tipos de tejidos.

The hair follicle is a microscopic organ, functionally and structurally complex. It can be divided into two distinct segments, the upper portion, stable and the lower portion, that undergoes regeneration every hair cycle. The hair follicle contains a variety of cells types, including stem cells. It fact, it is the most important niche of stem cells in the skin, with the added advantage of its easy accessibility. These stem cells are located in a prominence at the level of the insertion of the arrector pili muscle, called bulge. They are responsible of hair follicle regeneration each hair cycle, and also can form sebaceous glands and help in repopulation of the interfollicular epidermis after injury. The knowledge of hair follicle structure is making possible the use of different types of cells, especially stem cells, in skin tissue engineering. Furthermore, recent studies have differentiated follicle stem cells into different strains, for example: nervous, hematopoietic and vascular cells. Moreover, other late studies have focused on the hair follicle construction, with satisfactory results in mice, but not completely transferable to humans, which further research is needed. The possibility of human hair follicle regeneration would suppose a revolution in the broad world of alopecia. The aim of this review is to describe the anatomical and histological structure of the hair follicle, emphasizing the importance as stem cell niche, and its potential usefulness in the field of tissue engineering for the construction of various types of tissues.

Construction and functional characterization of double and triple mutants of parallel -bulge of ubiquitin.

Ubiquitin, a small eukaryotic protein serving as a post-translational modification on many important proteins, plays central role in cellular homeostasis and cell cycle regulation. Ubiquitin features two -bulges, the second -bulge, located at the C-terminal region of the protein along with type II turn, holds 3 residues Glu64(1), Ser65(2) and Gln2(X). Percent frequency of occurrence of such a sequence in parallel -bulge is very low. However, the sequence and structure have been conserved in ubiquitin through out the evolution. Present study involves replacement of residues in unusual -bulge of ubiquitin by introducing mutations in combination through site directed mutagenesis, generating double and triple mutants and their functional characterization. Mutant ubiquitins cloned in yeast expression vector YEp96 tested for growth profile, viability assay and heat stress complementation study have revealed significant decrease in growth rate, loss of viability and non-complementation of heat sensitive phenotype with UbE64G-S65D and UbQ2N-E64G-S65D mutations. However, UbQ2N-S65D did not show any negative effects in the above assays. Present results show that, replacement of residues in -bulge of ubiquitin exerts severe effects on growth and viability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae due to functional failure of the mutant ubiquitins UbE64G-S65D and UbQ2N-E64G-S65D.

Detection of ?-nerve growth factor secreted by hair follicle bulge cell cultured in vitro / 第三军医大学学报

Objective To detect ?-nerve growth factor(?NGF) secreted by hair follicle bulge cells cultured in vitro qualitatively and quantitively and search the relationship between ?-NGF and bulge cells growth condition.Methods The primary tissues from the labial part and around the barbell in inbred Wistar rats aged 6-8 d were stripped by micromanipulative technique and cultured.The ultrastructure of primary bulge cells was observed under transmission electron microscope(TEM).The secretion of ?-NGF was determined by ELISA and immunocytochemistry.Results Primary bulge cells were cultured in vitro successfully.?-NGF was strongly expressed in the plasma of cultured bulge cells detected by ICC.The secretion of NGF detected by ELISA was regularly correlated with the characteristic of primary cultured bulge cells.Conclusion Primary bulge cells secreted the highest ?-NGF when bulge cells grew into peak phase.The expression of ?-NGF must have some necessary relationships with hair follicle bulge cells.

Transdifferentiation of hair follicle bulge cells into corneal epithelial cells induced by corneal limbal stroma in vitro / 第三军医大学学报

Objective To investigate the feasibility of the transdifferentiation of hair follicle bulge cells into corneal epithelial cells in vitro. Methods The hair follicle bulge cells from 7- to 8-day SD rats were isolated and cultured in vitro, then co-cultured with rabbit corneal limbal stroma in transwell-cultured system. The differentiation and development of hair follicle bulge cells were observed, and immunocytochemical staining were used to detect expression of K19 and K12 in hair follicle bulge cells. Results The cultured bulge cells possesed high proliferation and low differentiation, co-expressed K19 and ?_ 1 integrin, but part of them expressed K12 after 2-week co-culture with rabbit corneal limbal stroma in transwell-cultured system. Conclusion Rat hair follicle bulge cells could transdifferentiate into corneal epithelial cells induced by corneal limbal stroma in vitro.

Growth property of rat hair follicle stem cells cultured in serum-free K-SFM in vitro / 第三军医大学学报

Objective To study the change of growth property of rat hair follicle stem cells cultured in serum-free K-SFM in vitro. Methods Rat hair follicle bulge cells were isolated and cultured in two different conditions, serum-free K-SFM and DMEM/F12 with 10% fetal calf serum. Growth property, colony-forming efficiency (CFE), and K19 expression were analyzed. Results The CFE and positive expression of K19 were significantly higher in bulge cells cultured in serum-free K-SFM than that of DMEM/F12 with 10% fetal calf serum (P

Diurnal variation in lumbar MRI: Correlation between signal intensity, disc height, and disc bulge

There have been no reports indicating diurnal variations in MRI at different portions of each lumbar disc. Eight asymptomatic healthy volunteers between 22 and 29 years old had MRI of their lumbar spine, twice on the same day (in the morning and evening). Forty lumbar discs were studied and the signal intensity change was measured from three portions of each disc (a total of 120 portions). No visible changes could be detected between scans by blinded observers. However, the calculated signal intensity changes showed an average loss of -20.0% (ant., 5 cases), -19.0% (mid, 2 cases), and -17.5% (post., 1 case). Height loss of the disc showed an average loss of -9.9% (ant., 4 cases), -8.3% (mid., 2 cases), and -10.4% (post., 2 cases). An increase of disc bulge at L4-5 level (18.3%) was pronounced, but L5-S1 level was less than others. Loss of body height averaged a loss of 7 mm (0.39% of body height). There was no correlation between reduced signal intensity and height loss at the ant./post. portion (p = 0.42), but there was a close relation at the mid. portion (p = 0.008). Diurnal change of the disc bulge was not correlated with reduced signal intensity (p = 0.48) or height loss (p = 0.16). Intradiscal fluid change was not necessarily influenced by the disc height loss, and height loss did not necessarily have an effect on disc bulge. But diurnal change showed a trend that was reflected in reduced signal intensity, height loss, and an increase of disc bulge which was more apparent from the ant. portion to the post, portion on moving down to the lower levels. Loss of disc height was one factor in the reduction of body height. These changes occurred randomly throughout 5 lumbar disc levels in each case.

CT Analysis of 809 Cases with Degenerative Lumbar Intervertebral Disc / 实用放射学杂志

Objective To discuss the diagnostic value of the lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration by CT scanning.Methods The clinical representation and CT view of 809 cases with degenerative lumbar intervertebral disc were retrospectively analyzed.Results According to the different CT representation character,the degenerative lumbar intervertebral disc may be divided into the lumbar intervertebral disc denaturation bulge in 96 cases and the lumbar intervertebral disc herniation in 713 cases.Conclusion CT scanning is a value method to diagnosing degenerative lumbar intervertebral disc.

Expression and significance of ?-catenin and cox-2 in bulge-originated cells from rat hair follicles / 第三军医大学学报

Objective To study the expression of ?-catenin and cox-2 in the bulge cells of hair follicle and investigate the relationship of their expression on cell proliferation. Methods The hair follicle was prepared from the resected cheek skin of 20 Wistar rats aged 7 days. The bulge cells were resected from the intact hair follicle and cultured in vitro. Immunocytochemical technique (ICC) was applied to detect ?-catenin and cox-2 expression in bulge cells at culture day 3, 5, 8, 13. Results ?-catenin and cox-2 strongly expressed in bulge cells and the expression correlated with the culture days. ?-catenin appeared in both plasma and nucleus, while cox-2 only in nucleus. Conclusion ?-catenin and cox-2 were correlated with bulge cells proliferation, and cox-2 might be the target gene of ?-catenin signaling pathway in nucleus.

Isolation and culture of rat hair follicle Bulge cells and its growth character in vitro / 解放军医学杂志

Objective To isolate and culture the hair follicle Bulge cells of rats and study their morphological, immunological characteristics. Methods Hair follicle Bulge obtained by micromanipulation and enzyme digestion was cultured in intro. The morphological features and numbers of Bulge cells were identified and counted with light microscopy. Immunocytochemical staining was used to detect expressing of K19 and ?_ 1integrin in cultured cells. Results Bulge cells after enzyme digestion pasted rapidly. Cells were small and round, paving stone-shape, and had a large ratio of nuclear to cytoplasm. The characteristics suggested a primitive morphologic feature. Cells growth well and could maintain low differentiation and higher reproductive activity, they co-expressing K19 and ?_ 1integrin, immunofluorescence staining showed the cells expressed ?6-integrin strongly, weakly or no expressing CD71. Conclusion This culture system can amplify a lot of pure hair follicle Bulge cells in short time. We successfully isolate and culture the hair follicle Bulge cells of rats in intro and can keeping its property for a long time.

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATION ON THE GROWTH CHARACTERISTIC OF BULGE-ORIGINATED CELLS FROM HUMAN HAIR FOLLICLES / 解剖学报

Objective To observe the growth characteristic of bulge-originated cells from human hair follicles in vitro. Methods The bulges which were isolated from human hair follicles by dispase and microdissection were cultured. The morphological and biological characteristic of the cultured bulge cells were observed by light microscopy and immunocytochemistry (ICC). Results Proliferated cells could be observed in the second day after being inoculated. The number of these cells, with greater proliferation potential, reached the peak at the sixth day and maintain several days. In addition, the mitotic figures appeared and the cells behave the similar morphologic features, meanwhile the cells strongly expressed K19 and showed a descensive tendency in long-time growth.Conclusion The cultured bulge cells kept the primitive characteristic, which suggested that the putative follicle stem cells resided in the bulge area.;