Clinical analysis of hepatic angioleiomyoma: Two case reports.

RATIONALE: Angioleiomyoma is an uncommon benign tumor that originates from the vascular smooth muscle cells and contains thick-walled vessels. It can appear anywhere in the body but more frequently in the extremities (especially in the lower limbs) and rarely invades the internal organs. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 52-year-old Chinese woman was referred to our hospital because of finding liver neoplasm 2 weeks ago (case first) and a 64-year-old Chinese woman was admitted to hospital with enlargement of the hepatic neoplasm revealed in follow-up, who was diagnosed with angioleiomyoma of left kidney 2 years ago (case second). DIAGNOSIS: All patients were diagnosed with hepatic angioleiomyoma by pathological results. INTERVENTIONS: All patients received surgical treatment, with laparoscopic hepatectomy of the IVb segment in case 1 and laparoscopic hepatic left lateral lobectomy in case 2. OUTCOMES: The 2 patients have eventually recovered, and no recurrences or other complications have been observed so far. LESSONS: Because of atypical clinical symptoms, no specificity in laboratory examination, and lack of characteristic imaging findings, angioleiomyoma is easily misdiagnosed for another disease of the liver. But with complete resection, the prognosis is generally good.

Bouveret's syndrome: A rare presentation of gastric outlet obstruction.

Bouveret's syndrome refers to gastric outlet obstruction caused by the formation of a cholecystoduodenal fistula with subsequent migration and impaction of a large gallstone into the duodenum. A case of a 59-year-old male who presented to our institution with consistent abdominal pain and nausea is reported herein. Bouveret's syndrome was diagnosed after conducting a computed tomography scan. Surgery was performed wherein gallstone removal was followed by cholecystectomy and fistula repair associated with a pyloric bypass via gastro-jejunostomy. The patient recovered well following surgery and has remained free of symptoms for the last year.

Differentiation of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells into hepatocytes in comparison with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered to be an ideal source for the cell therapy of end­stage liver diseases. Umbilical cord (UC)­MSCs can be obtained via a non­invasive procedure and can be easily cultured, making them potentially superior candidates for cell transplantation when compared with MSCs from other sources. In the present study, UC­MSCs were induced to differentiate into hepatocytes and were compared with bone marrow (BM)­MSCs for their hepatic differentiation potential. UC­MSCs showed significantly higher proliferation than BM­MSCs. Under hepatic induction, UC­MSCs and BM­MSCs could differentiate into hepatocytes. Reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT­qPCR) analysis revealed that a higher expression of the hepatocyte­specific genes albumin, cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), tyrosine­aminotransferase, glucose­6phosphate, α1 antitrypsin and α­fetoprotein was detected in differentiated UC­MSCs when compared with differentiated BM­MSCs. The results of ELISA and western blotting were in accordance with those of RT­qPCR. Theses results indicated that UC­MSCs had higher hepatic differentiation potential than BM­MSCs. Therefore, UC­MSCs may be advantageous over BM­MSCs for the treatment of end­stage liver disease.

Insights into enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity of C60 modified g-C3N4 hybrids: the role of nitrogen.

Recent experiments have shown that the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 can be greatly enhanced by C60 modification, however, a fundamental understanding of its mechanistic operation is still lacking. Using first-principles calculations, the interfacial effects of C60/g-C3N4 nanocomposites on the electronic properties, charge transfer and optical response have been explored in detail. For different stacking patterns, the two constituents are always linked by van der Waals (vdW) forces without any exception, and form type-II heterojunctions in most cases. The valence band maximum and conduction band minimum of these heterostructures are dominated by the unsaturated nitrogen (N2) atoms and C60 molecule, respectively, which strongly interact with each other, resulting in strong charge transfer between the two involved constituents and an obvious bending of the g-C3N4 sheets. The unsaturated N2 atoms included in the interfaces have a significant influence on promoting the photocatalytic performance, while the existence of saturated nitrogen (N1 and N3) atoms lying in the interfaces will weaken the interfacial interactions between C60 molecules and the g-C3N4 monolayers. Moreover, the sensitive optical response and satisfactory type-II band alignment clearly show that the C60/g-C3N4 heterostructure is an outstanding photocatalyst for hydrogen production. We proposed a deep insight (the role of nitrogen) into understanding the improved photocatalytic ability of the C60/g-C3N4 nanocomposites, which may contribute to the rational design of both C60/g-C3N4 and g-C3N4-based nanocomposite photocatalysts.

Transplantation of insulin-producing cells to treat diabetic rats after 90% pancreatectomy.

AIM: To investigate the effects of transplantation of insulin-producing cells (IPCs) in the treatment of diabetic rats after 90% pancreatectomy. METHODS: Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) were isolated and induced into IPCs using differentiation medium. Differentiated cells were examined by dithizone (DTZ) staining, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and real-time RT-PCR. C-peptide release, both spontaneously and after glucose challenge, was measured by ELISA. IPCs were then transplanted into Sprague-Dawley rats after 90% pancreatectomy and blood glucose levels and body weight were measured. RESULTS: The differentiated cells were positive for DTZ staining and expressed pancreatic ß-cell related genes. C-peptide release by the differentiated cells increased after glucose challenge (380.6 ± 15.32 pmol/L vs 272.4 ± 15.32 pmol/L, P < 0.05). Further, in the cell transplantation group, blood sugar levels were significantly lower than in the sham group 2 wk after transplantation (18.7 ± 2.5 mmol/L vs 25.8 ± 1.25 mmol/L, P < 0.05). Glucose tolerance tests showed that 45 min after intraperitoneal glucose injection, blood glucose levels were significantly lower on day 56 after transplantation of IPCs (12.5 ± 4.7 mmol/L vs 42.2 ± 9.3 mmol/L, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results show that UCMSCs can differentiate into islet-like cells in vitro under certain conditions, which can function as IPCs both in vivo and in vitro.