Systematic review and meta-analysis of probiotics in the treatment of allergic rhinitis

Background The purpose of this meta-analysis is to systematically evaluate the efficacy of probiotics on allergic rhinitis (AR).Methods Collecting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with probiotics as intervention measures for AR, two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted the data and evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies, and used RevMan 5.3 software for meta-analysis to observe the effects of probiotics on Rhinitis Quality of Life (RQLQ) scores, Rhinitis Total Symptom Scores (RTSS), blood eosinophil count, total and antigen-specific serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels by using the fixed- or the random-effects model to calculate the pooled risk for significant heterogeneity.Results A total of 2708 patients were included in 30 RCTs. Meta-analysis results showed that the RQLQ global scores (mean difference [MD] = −9.43; P < 0.00001), RQLQ nasal scores (MD = −1.52; P = 0.03), and RTSS nasal scores (MD = −1.96; P = 0.02) significantly improved in the probiotic group when compared with those in the placebo group. There was no significant difference in blood eosinophil count (MD = −0.09; P=0.82), RQLQ eye scores (MD = −1.45; P = 0.07), RTSS global scores (MD = −2.24; P = 0.26), RTSS eye scores (MD = −0.39; P = 0.31), total and antigen-specific serum IgE levels (MD = −0.04; P = 0.7 and MD = −0.08; P = 0.81) between the probiotic and the placebo group.Conclusion Compared with the placebo group, the quality of life and symptoms of patients with AR significantly improved in the probiotic group, thus providing a new potential method for the application of probiotics in AR. However, because of the limited evidence for the current study outcomes, the heterogeneity of research, and the differences in research results, more high-quality studies are needed to in the future (AU)

Development of early human fetal testes after xenografting into mice / 解剖学报

Objective To investigate the developmental feasibility of early human fetal testes (<3 months) using xenografting technique and to acquire an accessible donor derivation that is essential for studying human germ cell development. Methods Nine testes from 10-13 weeks aborted fetus were grafted under the back skin of 6 castrated nude mice. Grafts were collected at different time point according to the growth of the donor tissues and the health condition of the recipients. Morphological and histological analyses were performed for the observation of the development of grafted immature testicular tissues. Results The mass of grafts was increased from about 5-7mg to 84.1mg (the biggest). Six of 9 testes were to be in developing. Histological observations showed a significant expansion of seminiferous tubules from (44.26±3.14)μm to (77.69±7.47)μm. Cells dispersedly distributed in seminiferous cords at the time of grafting migrated towards the basal part of seminiferous epithelium. Some germ cells with spermatogonium-like characteristics located on the basement membrane. Sertoli cells were in stages from immature into matured with abundant cytoplasm which were orderly arranged around spermatogonia forming a niche-like structure. Conclusion Testes from early aborted human fetus grafted under the back skin of castrated nude mice showed further development and therefore could be used as an easier accessible donor tissues for the investigation of human spermatogenetic mechanism.

Preliminary study on the development of germ cells from human fetal testicular tissues xenografted into the mouse / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the development of xenografted primitive human germ cells by using fetal testicular tissues as donor tissues and an immunodeficient mouse as the recipient.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Testicular tissue fragments of a 26-week fetus were grafted under the back skin of a castrated immunodeficient mouse. Grafts were taken out after 135 days and processed for morphological and histological analyses.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mass of grafts grew from about 1 mm in diameter and 5 mg in wet weight to about 3 mm and more than 20 mg 135 days after grafting. Histological observations showed a significant expansion of seminiferous tubules after grafting (80 +/- 25 microm in diameter) in comparison with seminiferous cords at the time of grafting (60 +/- 15 microm in diameter). The seminiferous cords developed into seminiferous tubules with the epithelial border and lumen. After 135 days of grafting, most of the dispersedly distributed primitive Sertoli cells and germ cells migrated to the basal part of seminiferous epithelium, located on the basement membrane and few of germ cells differentiated into spermatogonia.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Human fetal testicular tissues could survive and continuously develop after being xenograft into castrated immunodeficient mice.</p>

Conversion of human umbilical cord blood-derived cells into hepatocyte-like cells in a culture system mimicking hepatic injury / 北京大学学报(医学版)

Objective:To explore the effect of the microenvironment induced by damaged mouse hepatic cells on the conversion of human umbilical cord blood-derived cells into hepatocyte-like cells. Methods: A hepatic injury-like microenvironment was mimicked using carbon tetrachloride damaged mouse hepatic cells, where mononuclear cells (MNC) from human umbilical cord blood were cultured in a compartment separated by trans-well membrane. Histochemical staining, reversed transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and gene sequencing were performed for the information on the conversion of human umbilical cord blood MNC. Results: A number of PAS positive stained cells in MNC co-cultured with damaged mouse hepatic cells were observed after 72 h. Cells expressing mature hepatocyte markers, human albumin (hALB) and human GATA-4 (hGATA-4) mRNA were detected by RT-PCR, which was further confirmed with sequencing. Relevant control groups, MNC co-cultured with normal mouse hepatic cells and MNC cultured alone remained negative. Conclusion: The culture system using damaged mouse hepatic cells as stimulator could be a potential in vitro system for the conversion of human umbilical cord blood-derived cells into hepatocyte-like cells.

Functional study of spermatozoa derived from neonatal mouse testes grafted into immunodeficient mice / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

Objective To investigate the fertilization ability of spermatozoa derived from neonatal mouse testes grafted into immunodeficient mice by intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI).Methods Neonatal Kun-ming mouse testes containing primitive spermatogenic cells as the only germ cells were grafted under the back skin of castrated BALB/c-nu/nu mice.Grafts were taken out after 8 weeks.The initiation and restoration of spermatogenesis in grafts was documented by histological analyses.The ultrastructure of spermatogenic cells in grafts was observed using transmission electron microscopy.The activity of acrosomal enzyme of spermatozoa was analyzed with gelatin substrate test.The fertilization ability of spermatozoa was determined by using intracytoplasmic sperm injection.Results Histological analysis showed complete restoration of spermatogenesis in the grafts after 8 weeks.1?10~(3) spermatozoa with normal morphological appearance in 1mg suspended graft tissue were counted.Spermatogonia and spermatocytes with normal ultrastructure were observed.Gelatin substrate test positive spermatozoa were found implicating the activity of acrosomal enzyme of the spermatozoa.Cleavages were observed both in the ICSI group and the ICSI plus electric stimulation group.Conclusion Spermatozoa with normal morphology and fertilization ability can be developed by allografting neonatal mouse testes under the back skin of immunodeficient mice.

ISOLATION,CULTURE AND VERIFICATION OF STROMAL AND GLANDULAR CELLS OF HUMAN ENDOMETRIUM / 解剖学报

Objective Stromal and glandular cells of human endometrium were successfully isolated and cultured in this experiment. Methods These two types of cells were observed by light microscopy and verified by immunocytochemical staining. Results The result showed that some of stromal cells became adherent after.0 5h of culture.Two shapes of stromal cells were found.One was spindle and the another was polygonal.Immunocytochemical staining method showed that both shapes of stromal cells were positive for vimentin,with 95% of positive rate,and negative for cytokeratin 1,indicating that these cells were endometrial stromal cells.Most of glandular cells became adherent after 24h of culture and formed tightly packed whorls after 4d.Individual cells were polygonal and had a large and round nucleus.Immunocytochemical staining method showed that glandular epithelial cells were positive for cytokeratin 1,with 90% of positive rate,suggesting their nature of epithelial cells. Conclusion Stromal and glandular cells of human endometrium were successfully isolated by using two series of filter and cultured in this experiment. [