In vitro and in vivo study of microporous ceramics using MC3T3 cells, CAM assay and a pig animal model.

Bone tissue engineering combines biomaterials with biologically active factors and cells to hold promise for reconstructing craniofacial defects. In this study the biological activity of biphasic hydroxyapatite ceramics (HA; a bone substitute that is a mixture of hydroxyapatite and ß-tricalcium phosphate in fixed ratios) was characterized (1) in vitro by assessing the growth of MC3T3 mouse osteoblast lineage cells, (2) in ovo by using the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay and (3) in an in vivo pig animal model. Biocompatibility, bioactivity, bone formation and biomaterial degradation were detected microscopically and by radiology and histology. HA ceramics alone demonstrated great biocompatibility on the CAM as well as bioactivity by increased proliferation and alkaline phosphatase secretion of mouse osteoblasts. The in vivo implantation of HA ceramics with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MMSCs) showed de novo intramembranous bone healing of critical-size bone defects in the right lateral side of pig mandibular bodies after 3 and 9 weeks post-implantation. Compared with the HA ceramics without MMSCs, the progress of bone formation was slower with less-developed features. This article highlights the clinical use of microporous biphasic HA ceramics despite the unusually shaped elongated micropores with a high length/width aspect ratio (up to 20) and absence of preferable macropores (>100 µm) in bone regenerative medicine.

Variability in the cardiac venous system of Wistar rats.

Rats are often used as animal models in experimental cardiology for studying myocardial infarctions and various cardiologic procedures. Currently the cardiac venous system is a target for the delivery of drugs, gene vectors, angiogenetic growth factors, stem cells, and cardioprotective reagents. The purpose of this study was to describe the anatomic configuration and variability of the cardiac venous system in Wistar rats, by using the corrosion cast method and perfusion of colored latex. The distribution of veins in the rat heart disagrees with prior descriptions for other mammals, except mice, which have a similar pattern. Coronary venous drainage in the 36 rats examined consistently involved the left cardiac, left conal, major caudal, right cardiac, and right conal veins. Other veins involved inconsistently included the cranial cardiac vein (58.3% of cases), minor caudal veins (16.7%), conoanastomotic vein (66.7%), and left atrial vein (75%). In 4 cases (11.1%), the collateral veins were located between the left conal and left cardiac veins. In this study, high morphologic variability between cases was manifested by differences in the arrangement, size, mode of opening, and formation of the common root and affected all regions of the heart but primarily the right ventricle.

Non-standard intracranial connections and alternative pathways between dural venous sinuses and cerebral veins in the rat.

The aim of this study was to describe the uncommon intracranial venous connections and vein structures that may play a role in the redirection of cerebral blood drainage. The study was carried out on 35 adult Wistar rats. Corrosion casts were prepared from the cerebral venous system and Spofacryl® was used as a casting medium. The highest prevalence of non-standard connections and variations was noted in the region of sinus petrosus dorsalis (SPD) (31.2 %) and v. cerebri magna (VCM) (28.5 %). SPD established a non-standard anastomosis with sinus petrosus ventralis in 8.6 % of cases, with sinus interperiopticus in 2.8 % of cases, with sinus sigmoideus in 5.7 % of cases and with confluens sinuum (CS) in 2.8 % of cases, where higher prevalence was observed on the left side of the brain. In 11.4 % of cases VCM formed a secondary connection between CS and sinus rectus leading to the formation of the loop. In a similar manner, VCM entered the sinus transversus in 8.6 % of cases, while in 5.7 % of cases VCM merged with SPD and formed an unusual connection among dorsal and ventral systems of sinuses. Several sinuses were observed as inconsistent, including sinus occipitalis (14.3 %), sinus intercavernosus rostralis (22.8 %) and sinus interbasilaris (14.3 %). The hypoplastic posterior and anterior anastomotic vein did not reach one another in 20 % of observed cases. Anatomical information concerning different drainage pathways are important in preoperative planning and can provide necessary understanding in experimental studies, including cerebral vein occlusion, venous infarction, or experimentally induced cerebral venous obstruction.

West Nile Virus equine serosurvey in the Czech and Slovak republics.

A serological survey for West Nile virus (WNV) infection involved 395 horses from 43 administrative districts of the Czech Republic (163 animals) and 29 districts of Slovakia (232 animals), sampled between 2008 and 2011. Using a plaque-reduction neutralization microtest, antibodies to WNV were not detected in any horse from the Czech Republic, whereas 19 nonvaccinated horses from Slovakia had specific antibodies to WNV (no cross-reactions were observed with tick-borne encephalitis and Usutu flaviviruses in those animals). The seropositivity rate of nonvaccinated horses in Slovakia was 8.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.7-11.9%), and autochthonous local infection with WNV occurred at least in 11, i.e., 4.8% (95% CI 2.0-7.6%) of the animals. All seropositive horses lived in six lowland districts of southern Slovakia; overall, 15.1% (95% CI 8.8-21.4%) of 126 nonvaccinated horses were seropositive in those districts, situated relatively closely to the border with Hungary, i.e., the country where WNV disease cases have been reported in birds, horses and humans since 2003.