Analysis of the Expression of PRDX6 in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma and its Effect on the Phenotype of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells.

Objectives: This research aimed to study the expression of PRDX6 mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its effect on the prognosis of HCC. Moreover, the effect of PRDX6 gene knockdown on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HepG2 cells mediated by lentivirus was also examined. This study offers a theoretical and experimental basis for further research on the mechanism of PRDX6 in liver cancer and new methods for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods: RNA sequence data of 369 HCC patients were screened through the TCGA database, and the expression and clinical characteristics of PRDX6 mRNA were analyzed based on high-throughput RNA sequencing data. HepG2 cells were divided into WT, sh-NC and sh-PRDX6 groups. Real-time PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression levels of the PRDX6 gene and protein, respectively. CCK8 method was used to detect the proliferation activity of HepG2 cells, scratch healing test was used to detect the migration ability, Transwell chamber was used to detect the invasion ability, and Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and Notch signaling pathway-related proteins. Results: The expression of PRDX6 was significantly correlated with the gender, race, clinical stage, histological grade, and survival time of HCC patients (P < 0.05). Compared with that in WT and sh-NC groups, the expression level of PRDX6 protein in HCC patients was significantly lower (P < 0.01), the proliferation activity of HCC cells was significantly decreased (P < 0.05), and the migration and invasion ability was significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in the sh-PRDX6 group. The expression levels of PI3K, p-Akt, p-mTOR, Notch1, and Hes1 proteins in the sh-PRDX6 group were significantly lower than those in WT and sh-NC groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The expression of PRDX6 may be closely related to the prognosis of HCC. Lentivirus-mediated PRDX6 knockdown can inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells, which may be related to its regulating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR and Notch1 signaling pathways. PRDX6 is expected to be a new target for the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer.

CTCF-Induced lncRNA C5orf66-AS1 Facilitates the Progression of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer via Sponging miR-149-5p to Up-Regulate CTCF and CTNNB1 to Activate Wnt/ß-Catenin Pathway.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents one of the subtypes of breast cancer with high aggressiveness. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are well-known to function as crucial regulators in human cancers which include TNBC. Nevertheless, the specific role of the lncRNA C5orf66-AS1 in TNBC is unclear. In this study, we tested C5orf66-AS1 expression in TNBC cells using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and used functional assays to detect cell behaviors, which showed that C5orf66-AS1 was highly expressed in TNBC cells and that C5orf66-AS1 knockdown attenuated cell proliferation, migration, and invasion while promoting cell apoptosis. Through a luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay, we identified the binding capacity of C5orf66-AS1 to RNAs. Furthermore, miR-149-5p was proven to be sponged by C5orf66-AS1. CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) was confirmed as the target of miR-149-5p and could transcriptionally activate C5orf66-AS1 expression in TNBC cells. We also discovered that C5orf66-AS1 activated the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway by upregulating catenin beta 1 (CTNNB1). Importantly, CTNNB1 could be targeted by miR-149-5p. In rescue assays, it was proven that overexpressing CTCF and CTNNB1 or inhibiting miR-149-5p could totally reverse the inhibitory effect of silencing C5orf66-AS1 on TNBC progression. In short, the lncRNA C5orf66-AS1 acted as an oncogene to facilitate TNBC malignancy.

LINC00894 Enhances the Progression of Breast Cancer by Sponging miR-429 to Regulate ZEB1 Expression.

PURPOSE: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are known to regulate tumorigenesis. Although breast cancer tissues show a high expression of LINC00894, its specific biological role in breast cancer progression is still unknown. In this study, lncRNA microarray was used to analyze the lncRNA expression in breast cancer tissues, and LINC00894 was selected for further analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Expression of LINC00894 in 45 pairs of breast cancer tissues and normal tissues obtained from patients with breast cancer was assessed by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, while proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells were assessed using a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), EdU assay, colony formation experiment, and transwell assays. A dual-luciferase reporter gene assay and bioinformatics analysis were employed to detect potential targets of LINC00894. Additionally, RNA Binding Protein Immunoprecipitation (RIP) and Western blot assays were utilized to clarify its interaction and roles in the regulation of breast cancer progression. RESULTS: High expression of LINC00894 was observed in breast cancer cells, and its overexpression significantly expedited cell proliferation and invasion. Moreover, LINC00894 positively regulated the expression of ZEB1 by competitively binding to miR-429. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results suggest that LINC00894 competitively binds to miR-429 to mediate ZEB1 expression; consequently, it is implicated to play a role in the progression of breast cancer.

Hsa_circ_0069094 knockdown inhibits cell proliferation, migration, invasion and glycolysis, while induces cell apoptosis by miR-661/HMGA1 axis in breast cancer.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are revealed to regulate breast cancer progression. This study aimed to investigate hsa_circ_0069094-mediated effects on breast cancer cell malignancy. Quantitative real time PCR was employed to evaluate the expressions of hsa_circ_0069094, miR-661 and high mobility group A1 (HMGA1). Western blot was performed to determine the protein expression of HMGA1 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Breast cancer malignant progressions were explained by cell counting kit-8 proliferation, cell colony formation, flow cytometry analysis, wound-healing and transwell assays. Cell glycolysis was assessed by detecting glucose take, lactate production and hexokinase 2 (HK2) protein level. The target relationship between miR-661 and hsa_circ_0069094 or HMGA1 was predicted by circular RNA interactome and targetscan online databases, and identified by dual-luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation assay. The effects of hsa_circ_0069094 knockdown on breast cancer growth in vivo were elucidated by in vivo tumor formation assay. Hsa_circ_0069094 and HMGA1 expression were significantly upregulated, while miR-661 expression level was downregulated in breast cancer tissues and cells relative to adjacent normal breast tissues or MCF-10A cells. Functionally, hsa_circ_0069094 knockdown inhibited cell glycolysis, proliferation, migration and invasion, whereas induced cell apoptosis in breast cancer, which was decreased by miR-661 inhibitor. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0069094 regulated HMGA1 by sponging miR-661. Furthermore, hsa_circ_0069094 knockdown repressed tumor formation in vivo. Collectively, hsa_circ_0069094 knockdown repressed breast cancer cell carcinogenesis and cell glycolysis by regulating HMGA1 through sponging miR-661, which provided a new insight for studying the mechanism of hsa_circ_0069094 in modulating breast cancer development.

Postoperative expressions of TRACP5b and CA125 in patients with breast cancer and their values for monitoring bone metastasis.

PURPOSE: To explore the diagnostic values of serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP5b) and serum carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) for bone metastasis of breast cancer. METHODS: 118 patients pathologically diagnosed with breast cancer in the second People's Hospital of Lianyungang from September 2014 to June 2017 were selected. Among them, 60 patients who were confirmed with bone metastasis by whole-body bone imaging combined with clinical manifestations and other imaging methods were included in a bone metastasis group, and 58 patients who were confirmed without bone metastasis were included in a non-bone metastasis group. Another 61 patients who were pathologically confirmed with benign breast lesion formed a benign lesion group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect TRACP5b level and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was used to detect CA125 level. RESULTS: The expression levels of TRACP5b and CA125 in the bone metastasis group were significantly higher than those in the non-bone metastasis and benign lesion groups (p<0.05), and the expression levels in the non-bone metastasis group were higher than those in the benign lesion group (p<0.05). In bone metastasis of breast cancer, the expression level of TRACP5b was correlated with the number of tumor nodules, lymph node metastasis, tumor local infiltration and TNM staging (p<0.05), while the expression level of CA125 was correlated with the number of tumor nodules, lymph node metastasis and TNM staging (p<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that TNM staging, estrogen receptor (ER), TRACP5b, and CA125 were risk factors for bone metastasis of breast cancer patients. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, TRACP5b and CA125 may be involved in the occurrence and progression of bone metastasis of breast cancer. Detection of TRACP5b and CA125 has good sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing bone metastasis of breast cancer, so TRACP5b and CA125 may become new biomarkers for diagnosing the disease.

Types of hairline recession in androgenetic alopecia and perceptions of aging in Asian males.

BACKGROUND: Cranial hair loss is one of the characteristics of age. Hairline recession has been confirmed adversely to affect the perceptions of age in Western males. However, comparatively little is known about the effect of frontal recession on the perceived facial age (PFA) of East Asian males. Moreover, specific roles of different types of hairline recession in PFA of different age groups still remain a mystery. OBJECTIVE: To investigate and quantify the effect of different types of hairline recession on PFA in East Asian young males of different age groups. METHODS: Thirty non-bald males were selected and divided equally into three groups (20s, 30s, and 40s). With the aid of modern software, the frontoparietal area of facial images from 30 experimenters was modified into three basic types of hair loss (M2 , C2 , and U2 ) according to the basic and specific classification of androgenic alopecia. In a web-based survey, approximately 900 naive participants were asked to estimate the PFA of males from their original and modified facial images. RESULTS: Perceived facial age increased to 1.58 ± 0.79, 4.19 ± 1.27, and 5.90 ± 1.00 years when the original facial images were modified to have hair loss types M2 , C2 , or U2 , respectively. In addition, the PFA of males with hair loss type C2 or U2 appeared significantly older than the original facial images in the 30s group. CONCLUSION: Different types of hairline recession can increase the PFA to different degrees in East Asian males of different age groups.

CD8+ T cells are involved in early inflammation before macrophages in a rat adipose tissue engineering chamber model.

Adipose tissues regenerated using tissue engineering chambers (TECs) show the potential for applications in reconstruction of soft tissue defects. Previous studies have shown that early inflammation plays a key role in angiogenesis and adipogenesis required for adipose tissue generation. However, the sequence of events of the early inflammatory cascade is unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of early inflammatory cells in adipose tissue engineering using a rat TEC model. Rats in the TEC model were divided into five groups: the control group, the zymosan A-treated group, the 5-AIQ-treated group, the imatinib-treated group, and the CD8+ T cell injection group. Fat pad volume, angiogenesis, adipogenesis, inflammatory factor levels, and inflammatory cell infiltration in chambers after implantation were evaluated at different time points. The volume of fat pads of was higher in the zymosan A-treated and CD8+ T cell injection groups than other groups, and these two groups also showed higher levels of proinflammatory factors, greater numbers of CD31+ cells and perillipin+/Ki67+ cells, and higher macrophage infiltration. The infiltration of CD8+ T cell peaked at 3 days after implantation, which was earlier than that of macrophages. However, inhibition of CD8+ T cells reduced the recruitment of macrophages and lowered inflammation in the TECs. CD8+ T cells played a key role in promoting inflammation at earlier stages than macrophages in adipose TECs. Increased levels of interleukin-2 secretion by CD8+ T cells resulted in recruitment of more infiltrating macrophages to enhance inflammation, as required for adipose tissue regeneration.

The relationship between self-esteem and hair transplantation satisfaction in male androgenetic alopecia patients.

BACKGROUND: Frustrated with the embarrassing appearance, patients with androgenetic alopecia (AGA) suffer from poor quality of life and low self-esteem. Moreover, several researches indicate that self-esteem is an important factor affecting outcomes of cosmetic surgery. OBJECTIVE: This retrospective study aims to investigate the impact of hair transplantation on patients' self-esteem and satisfaction with appearance, as well as relationship between self-esteem and patient satisfaction which includes preoperative and postoperative satisfaction. METHODS: The preoperative and 9-month postoperative self-esteem were evaluated by Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and preoperative satisfaction indicators (satisfaction with appearance, visual age and expected visual age) were assessed by Face-Q scale. At the same time, postoperative satisfaction indicators (satisfaction with appearance, visual age, satisfaction with decision, psychological well-being, and social function) were reevaluated as well. RESULTS: Of the 1106 male AGA patients, 875 completed a 9-month postoperative questionnaire. Compared with preoperative scores, postoperative scores of self-esteem and satisfaction with appearance showed an increase of 1.56 and 30.25 respectively (P < 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that patients with high self-esteem level trended to have higher scores of postoperative satisfaction with appearance (P = 0.129), psychological well-being (P = 0.168), social function (P = 0.027), and satisfaction with decision (P = 0.043) compared with patients with low and average self-esteem level. CONCLUSION: Hair transplantation significantly elevated self-esteem level and increased satisfaction with appearance of AGA patients. Meanwhile, patients with low self-esteem level trended to have worse postoperative satisfaction. Thus, apart from ensuring the quality of operation, plastic surgeons should offer guidance based on patients' psychological state to improve postoperative satisfaction.

The Disturbed Function of Neutrophils at the Early Stage of Fat Grafting Impairs Long-Term Fat Graft Retention.

BACKGROUND: Fat grafting is a popular soft-tissue filler method; however, the mechanism of its survival and regeneration is still not fully understood. Neutrophils are the frontier inflammatory cells and closely associated with tissue regeneration. To understand the role of neutrophils in fat graft retention, we adopted neutrophil depletion and up-regulation models. METHODS: Mouse inguinal fat (approximately 200 mg) was transferred autologously. The anti-mouse Ly6G antibody and lipopolysaccharides were used in the mouse fat grafting model for neutrophil depletion or activation, respectively. We examined the blood and graft stromal vascular fraction by fluorescence-activated cell sorting in manipulation/control groups. Graft weight, vascularization, and secreted factors were also compared. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction/increase of neutrophil counts in the circulation and the transferred fat before day 7 with Ly6G antibody/lipopolysaccharides treatment. Early depletion of neutrophils resulted in incompetent angiogenesis and eventually a poor retention rate (27 ± 8 percent) compared with control (51 ± 10 percent; p < 0.05), whereas up-regulated neutrophils increased the inflammation and reactive oxygen species level, leading to tissue damage and poor retention rate (20 ± 9 percent) compared with control (51 ± 10 percent; p < 0.05). Enhanced macrophage infiltration could be found in both neutrophil depletion and up-regulation groups after week 4. CONCLUSIONS: Undisturbed neutrophil function is the key to initiating downstream responses of macrophage infiltration, stimulating vessel formation, and regulating inflammation level; thus, it exerts a great impact on the long-term retention rate. Disturbed neutrophil function, either enhanced or weakened, can lead to impaired fat graft retention.

Optimized adipose tissue engineering strategy based on a neo-mechanical processing method.

Decellularized adipose tissue (DAT) represents a promising scaffold for adipose tissue engineering. However, the unique and prolonged lipid removal process required for adipose tissue can damage extracellular matrix (ECM) constituents. Moreover, inadequate vascularization limits the recellularization of DAT in vivo. We proposed a neo-mechanical protocol for rapidly breaking adipocytes and removing lipid content from adipose tissue. The lipid-depleted adipose tissue was then subjected to a fast and mild decellularization to fabricate high-quality DAT (M-DAT). Adipose liquid extract (ALE) derived from this mechanical process was collected and incorporated into M-DAT to further optimize in vivo recellularization. Ordinary DAT was fabricated and served as a control. This developed strategy was evaluated based on decellularization efficiency, ECM quality, and recellularization efficiency. Angiogenic factor components and angiogenic potential of ALE were evaluated in vivo and in vitro. M-DAT achieved the same decellularization efficiency, but exhibited better retention of ECM components and recellularization, compared with those with ordinary DAT. Protein quantification revealed considerable levels of angiogenic factors (basic fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor-ß1, and vascular endothelial growth factor) in ALE. ALE promoted tube formation in vitro and induced intense angiogenesis in M-DAT in vivo; furthermore, higher expression of the adipogenic factor PPARγ and greater numbers of adipocytes were evident following ALE treatment, compared with those in the M-DAT group. Mechanical processing of adipose tissue led to the production of high-quality M-DAT and angiogenic factor-enriched ALE. The combination of ALE and M-DAT could be a promising strategy for engineered adipose tissue construction.

Effect of phacoemulsification on ocular surface and corneal endothelial cells in cataract patients with diabetes mellitus / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

·AIM:To study the effects of phacoemulsification on ocular surface and corneal endothelial cells in cataract patients with diabetes mellitus.·METHODS:This study used a retrospective analysis of the clinical data to compare curative effect, the research object was 98 cases ( 98 eyes ) of cataract patients with phacoemulsification from January 2016 to December 2016 in our hospital. Patients were divided into the observation group and the control group according to whether diabetes merged. The observation group had 50 cases of cataract patients with diabetes, the control group had 48 cases of pure cataract patients. Two groups of patients underwent phacoemulsification surgery and transparent corneal incision, surgeries were completed by the same doctor, no xeroma before surgery. Preoperative glycemic control was normal for diabetic patients, no changes in eye fundus. Observation of ocular surface at postoperative 1, 3, 7d and 1mo was taken. Dry eye symptoms, lacrimal film breakup time ( BUT ) , corneal fluorescein staining ( FL ) score, SchirmerⅠtest ( SⅠt ) and corneal endothelial cell density were compared.·RESULTS: Dry eye symptom score of the two groups before and after operation had significant difference;data of the observation group at postoperative 7d and 1mo was significantly higher than that of the control group, there was statistical significance (P<0. 05), there was no significant difference at 1 and 3d after operation (P>0. 05 ). BUT of the two groups before and after surgery showed significant difference; data of the observation group at 7d and 1mo after operation was significantly lower than that of the control group, there was statistical significance ( P<0. 05 ); at 1 and 3d after operation there was no significant difference (P>0. 05). The FL score of the two groups before and after surgery had significant difference, and at 3, 7d and 1mo after operation, data of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group, there was statistical significance ( P< 0. 05 ); there was no significant difference at postoperative 1d (P>0. 05). The two groups' before and after surgery SⅠt had significant difference, at 1, 3, 7d and 1mo after operation, data of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group, there was statistical significance (P< 0. 05 ). Corneal endothelial cell density showed apparent difference of the two groups before and after surgery;at 1, 3, 7d and 1mo after operation, data of the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group, there was statistical significance ( P<0. 05).· CONCLUSION: Phacoemulsification has significant effects on tear film break-up time, SⅠt and dry eye symptoms in patients with diabetes mellitus, which may be related to the impaired repair ability of diabetic patients.

Neonatal murine skin-derived cells transplanted using a mini-chamber model produce robust and normal hair.

Hair follicle reconstitution models are useful tools for investigating signalling and cytokines during hair follicle morphogenesis and cycling. The chamber model is one of the most established methods available for the study of hair follicle reconstitution and appears to be the most reproducible. However, the chamber model has several deficiencies: infection of skin wounds and subsequent animal death commonly occur, a large number of cells are required and only one chamber can be transplanted onto each animal. We modified these deficiencies by using a mini-chamber method, which has the advantages of having a high graft take rate, requiring fewer cells and allowing several mini-chambers to be transplanted onto each animal. In our study, cultured dermal cells at different passages (0 to high) lost the ability to reconstruct hair follicles, but dermal cells cultured overnight (12 h) retained this ability. Using the assay, newborn mice dermal cells that were freshly isolated and cultured overnight (12 h), as well as cultured dermal papilla cells from mice vibrissa follicles, all reconstructed hair follicles. However, cultured dermal papilla cells from human scalp follicles could not reconstruct hair follicles. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Effect of PRP on the proliferation of dermal papilla cells and hair follicle regeneration in mice].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on the proliferation of dermal papilla cells (DPCs) and hair follicle regeneration. METHODS: PRP was prepared using the double-spin method and applied to DPCs. The proliferative effect of activated PRP on DPCs was measured using MTT assay. To understand the influence of activated PRP on the hair-inductive capacity of DPCs, freshly isolated epidermal cells and DPCs of passage 4 were resuspended, mixed with various concentrations of a PRP (0%, 5% or 10%) and were then transferred to a grafting chamber, which was implanted onto the dorsal skin of nude mice. The chambers were removed 1 week after grafting and HF formation was monitored for 4 weeks; the graft site was harvested and processed for histological examination. RESULTS: Activated PRP increased the proliferation benefited the aggregative growth of DPCs. There are significant difference in the yield of hair follicles compared with 10% PRP (344 +/- 27) with 0% PRP (288 +/- 35) in the area of reconstituted skin (P < 0.05). The areas treated with PRP demonstrated an increase in hair follicles density of 19.4%. Ten percent PRP (18 +/- 1) d also can significantly shorten the time of hair formation, compared with 0% PRP (20 +/- 1) d (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There is a considerable effect of PRP on the time of hair formation and the yield of hair follicles reconstitution.

[Experimental research of hair follicle reconstruction with the aid of embryonic mice dermal cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of embryonic dermal signal on the hair-inductive capacity of neonatal mice dermal cells which have been amplified in vitro. METHODS: Embryonic mice dermal cells of embryonic day 14 were added to a chamber on the back of nude mice with neonatal mice dermal cells which had been amplified in vitro for 3 days and freshly isolated neonatal mice epidermal cells. The hair regeneration was compared between the groups with or without embryonic mice dermal cells. Meanwhile, chambers with following cells respectively were constructed as controls: embryonic mice dermal cells + neonatal mice epidermal cells; freshly isolated neonatal mice dermal cells + neonatal mice epidermal cells; amplified neonatal mice dermal cells only; embryonic mice dermal cells only; freshly isolated neonatal mice dermal cells only; neonatal mice epidermal cells only. RESULTS: The number of regenerated hairs with the aid of embryonic mice dermal cells (207 +/- 15. 948) was significantly higher than that (67 +/- 8.963) in the group without embryonic mice dermal cells (n = 3, t = 7.653, P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Embryonic dermal signal can enhance the hair-inductive capacity of neonatal mice dermal cells which have been amplified in vitro.

[Implantation of newborn mice skin cells with chamber method to construct a model of hair follicle development].

OBJECTIVE: To construct a convenient, reliable and visual model of hair follicle development to test the hair-inductive potential of follicular cells and investigate the molecular mechanism regulating hair follicle morphogenesis and cycling. METHODS: An open chamber was transplanted into the nude mice dorsal skin, dermal and epidermal cells isolated from newborn C57BL/6 mice skin were mixed at a specific ratio and then injected into the chamber together, 1 week after transplantation, the chamber was removed, and then, hair formation and regeneration after hair plucking was observed. RESULTS: 1 week after cells implantation, the wound was moist without apparent contraction and among that pink and translucent tissue was formed. 2 weeks after implantation, the wound healed completely. 3 weeks after implantation, black hair grew from the skin was observed. 4 weeks after implantation, thick and black hair grew from the skin vertically. Completely developed structure of hair follicle was observed with paraffin section and HE staining. 1 week after plucking, new hair had regrown. The ratio of cell component was varied, whereas the other component was fixed at 1 x 10(7) cells. When the number of epidermal cells was reduced to 1 x 10(6) cells, the efficiency of hair follicle reconstitution was mostly unchanged. On the other hand, the density of newly formed hair was diminished considerably by reducing the number of dermal cells to 5 x 10(6) cells or lower. Neither epidermal cells nor dermal cells transplanted alone formed hair follicle. CONCLUSIONS: Newborn mice skin cells transplanted by chamber method can construct a complete model of hair follicle development, which can be used to test the hair-inductive potential of follicular cells and investigate the molecular mechanism regulating hair follicle morphogenesis and cycling.

[A hair prosthesis consisting of allogeneic hair and polypropylene mimicking follicular units: long-term result and histocompatibility in rabbits].

OBJECTIVE: To develop a follicular unit-like construct with allogeneic hair, evaluate its histocompatibility and long-term stability after transplantation, and explore the possibility of its clinical application. METHODS: Human hair and medical polypropylene was processed according to the structure of follicular units and prepared into hair prostheses for transplantation. The histocompatibility of polypropylene and human hair in New Zealand rabbits was observed by HE staining and scanning electron microscope, and the loss rate of the hair was recorded to evaluate the long-term result of transplantation. RESULTS: Mild inflammatory cell infiltration around polypropylene and human hair was observed early after the transplantation, accompanied with local epithelial cell proliferation. The prosthesis mimicking the follicular units still showed good histocompatibility one year after the transplantation without degradation of the hair. The loss rate of the hair was averaged (4.1∓4.0)% at one year after the transplantation, and the total appearance of the prosthesis remained satisfactory. CONCLUSION: Allogeneic human hair and polypropylene in the hair prosthesis show good histocompatibility in rabbits. The prosthesis allows good cosmetic effect after transplantation with low rate of hair loss, demonstrating its potential in clinical application.

Bilateral expanded cervico-pectoral "super-thin flap" for entire neck reconstruction.

The anterior neck is a difficult area to reconstruct because the neck connects the head and body with multidirectional and complex motility. In this article, we demonstrate our cases of reconstruction with bilateral cervico-pectoral "Super-thin flaps," and discuss our reconstructive methods and results. In this study, we analyze 7 cases (male: 4, female: 3) entire anterior neck reconstruction. Fourteen expanded flaps were employed for their reconstruction. Flap size, flap viability, donor site closure method, esthetic and functional results, and follow up term were analyzed retrospectively. Flap sizes ranged from 8 x 6 cm to 17 x 10 cm. All flap donor sites were closed primarily. All cases achieved full range of motion of the neck after the operation by complete removal of contractured tissues. Natural cervical contour was achieved in 6 patients (86%). Esthetic outcomes were rated to be very good in 4 cases (57%) and good in 2 cases (29%). Expanded cervico-pector super-thin flaps combine the techniques of "flap thinning" and "flap expansion," and the study indicates that flaps are useful for the reconstruction of entire anterior neck.

Reconstruction of the face and neck scar contractures using staged transfer of expanded "Super-thin flaps".

BACKGROUND: The authors introduced the "Super-thin flap" concept, which is sometimes called the subdermal vascular network (SVN) flap, in 1994. Since 1994, we have reconstructed face and neck scar contractures using various types of "Super-thin flaps." In this report, we introduce expanded "Super-thin flaps" for reconstruction of the face and neck for the first time in a patient. METHODS: Since 2000 we have used 21 expanded flaps to reconstruct 21 face or neck scar cases in nine males and 12 females. In the first operation, an expander was inserted on the fascia of the pectoralis major muscle, and then about 1,000 cc of saline was injected during a 2-month period. In the second operation, the flap was thinned primarily and applied to the recipient site. Three weeks after the second operation, the pedicle of the flap was cut down and sutured. RESULTS: Flap size ranged from 4 cm x 14 cm to 10 cm x 22 cm. Expanded volume ranged from 800 cc to 1,200 cc. All flaps survived completely and scar tissues were replaced with normal skin. Flaps did not shrink after the operations, and contractures did not recur. CONCLUSION: Advantages of the expanded flaps are presented: (1) Large flaps can be harvested because of the expander; (2) Extremely thin flaps can be safely employed; (3) Texture and color match are good; (4) Donor site can be closed primarily; and (5) Microsurgery is not required. However, the disadvantage of the method is the requirement for two or three operations.

[Interventional radiologic therapy for arteriovenous malformations in the face].

OBJECTIVE: To introduce the technique of transarterial interventional embolization treating for arteriovenous malformations (AVM) in the face. METHODS: From April 1998, 17 patients have been treated with this method. Seldinger's maneuver was used in this series. Of them, 11 cases received only interventional embolization; 6 cases received both interventional embolization and surgical resection. RESULTS: The interventional embolization was effective in all the 17 cases, which was confirmed by immediate angiography. Their clinical symptoms were gradually relieved. Interventional embolization obviously decreased hemorrhage during surgical resection. CONCLUSIONS: Interventional embolization provides a new way for the treatment of AVM. Preoperative embolization can lower the surgical risk as it obviously decreases hemorrhage during the surgical procedure.