Protective effects of thalidomide on pulmonary injuries in a rat model of paraquat intoxication.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of thalidomide on paraquat (PQ)-induced lung injuries in a rat model and to explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Rats were exposed to 50 mg/kg PQ by oral gavage, and treated with thalidomide through oral administration at 60 mg/kg once a day, 6 days/week for 2 weeks. Serum levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, TGFbeta1 and COL1A1 were detected at different time points after paraquat exposure. At the end of the study, lung tissues were collected for pathological inspection as well as analyses of water content and expression levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, TGFbeta1 and COL1A1 mRNA. RESULTS: The results showed that thalidomide treatment could significantly alleviate PQ-induced pathological changes in lung tissue and severity of lung edema. Thalidomide treatment after PQ exposure resulted in significantly reduced serum levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, TGF-beta1 and COL1A1, as compared to PQ group. PCR analysis demonstrated that expression levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, TGF-beta1 and COL1A1 in lung tissue were significantly increased after PQ exposure but reduced by thalidomide, which were confirmed by immunohistochemistry staining. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that inflammatory factors played important roles in PQ-induced lung injuries and thalidomide could protect rats from PQ-induced lung injuries by inhibiting the upregulation of inflammatory factors.

Osteogenic gene expression of canine bone marrow stromal cell and bacterial adhesion on titanium with different nanotubes.

Bacterial infection and osseointegration of implant-biomaterials all play important roles in the success of an orthopedic prosthesis or a dental-implant. In this work, we evaluated the osteogenic gene expression of canine bone marrow stromal cells (CBMSCs) and the adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 12598) on different diameter TiO(2) nanotube layers. The CBMSCs cultured on 30 and 70 nm nanotubes displayed polygon shape, but obviously elongated when the diameter of nanotubes turned to 120 nm. A significant increase in CBMSCs proliferation by as much as about ∼300%, and osteogenic gene (RUNX-2, OPN, COL-1, and OCN) expression were observed on the 120 nm diameter nanotubes when compared to the smooth Ti. However, the adhesion of bacteria also increased with an increased tube diameter and reached highest value on 120 nm nanotubes after 4 h of incubation. ∼300-400% increase in bacterial attached to 120 nm nanotubes in contract to the smooth Ti. These data suggested reducing bacteria colonization should be considered when larger diameter nanotubes with better osteogenic property would be used as orthopedic implants or dental implants.

The effect of anatase TiO2 nanotube layers on MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation.

Titanium oxide nanotube layers by anodization have received considerable attention in biomedical application. Previous studies have demonstrated increased osteoblast (bone-forming cell) adhesion and function on nanotube layers compared with unanodized counterparts. More recently, one study showed amorphous TiO(2) nanotube diameter determined cell fate. The anatase phase is known to be much more beneficial for bone growth than amorphous phase, so there is increasing demand to explore the response of osteoblast on anatase phase TiO(2) nanotube layers. For this reason, we evaluated MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast behavior on different diameter nanotube layers with anatase phase. The results showed that the diameter of 20-70 nm provided an effective length scale for cell adhesion, alkaline phosphatase activity, and mineralization. However, cell adhesion, alkaline phosphatase activity, and mineralization were severely impaired on nanotube layers with 100-120 nm. Interestingly, the filopodia seemed not spread into the nanotubular and like extending anatase nanotube walls, where there may be higher numbers of atoms at the surface compared to the nanotubular architecture. To our surprise, the proliferation rates of cells cultured on anatase nanotube layers increased with increasing tube diameter from 20 to 120 nm, which may be attributed to different length and nanometer-scale roughness of the nanotube layers.