Advances in the fenestrated stent-graft and the stent-graft for the in-situ fenestration technique / 中华外科杂志

The endovascular exclusion is an effective treatment of aortic aneurysm diseases in frail and elderly patients who cannot suffer the open surgery. However, as the key treatment device of this technique, traditional stent-grafts are not suitable to treat complex aortic aneurysm diseases in emergency. The emergence of the fenestrated stent-graft and in-situ fenestration has brought new dawn to the treatment of these patients. This study reviews the advances in complex aortic aneurysms treated by the fenestrated stent-graft and the in-situ fenestration. In addition, the novel concept of the fabric structure designed for "in-situ fenestrated stent-graft" is proposed for the in-situ fenestration technique. It is expected to break through the bottleneck of the present fenestrated stent-grafts. It would be beneficial to the bailout of complex aortic aneurysm diseases and thereby benefitting more patients.

Evaluation of therapeutic effect of Ad-HGF gene modified PMSCs on limb ischemia in rabbit model / 军事医学

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effect of hepatocyte growth factor(HGF) gene modified placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells( PMSCs) on limb ischemia in a rabbit model.Methods The placental tissue was digested with enzyme, cultured and passaged.The PMSCs were characterized by surface marker expression.These cells were infected with adenoviral( Ad)-HGF and intramuscular injected for treatment of limb ischemia in a rabbit model.The blood supply of the limb was detected by digital subtraction angiography ( DSA ) and the vessel number was evaluated in histopathological HE staining.Results The results showed that Ad-HGF gene transduction increased the vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF ) , basic fibroblast growth factor, bFGF ( bFGF ) and HGF expression in PMSCs. Transplantation of HGF-transduced PMSCs resulted in the increase in vessel density and improvement of blood supply in the rabbit limb ischemia model.Conclusion The therapeutic effect of HGF gene engineered PMSCs on ischemia by enhancing angiogenesis in a rabbit model is evaluated.Transplantation of PMSCs with HGF gene therapy may be a promising strategy for the treatment of ischemia diseases.

Luciferase expression is driven by the promoter of fibroblast activation protein-α in murine pulmonary fibrosis.

OBJECTIVES: We used optical imaging of live animals and transgenic technology to develop a pulmonary fibrosis model in mice that can non-invasively and in real-time trace the pulmonary fibrosis process. RESULTS: Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAPα) is selectively expressed in fibrotic foci of human pulmonary fibrosis. It is not expressed in normal tissue. We confirmed that FAPα is upregulated in fibroblasts of murine pulmonary fibrosis. Moreover, TGF-ß1, a central pathological mediator of fibrotic diseases, could promote FAPα expression in mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Luciferase reporter assays showed that 5.4 kb FAPα promoter response activities to TGF-ß1 was stronger than of the 2.1 kb promoter. We generated a transgenic mouse line expressing firefly luciferase under the control of the 5.4 kb FAPα gene promoter (FAPα-p-luc). After experimentally inducing murine pulmonary fibrosis, there luminescence appeared in the chests and excised lungs of FAPα-p-luc mice. The intensity of luminescence became stronger with the exacerbation of pulmonary fibrosis. CONCLUSION: Fluorescence intensity reflects the degree of pulmonary fibrosis in FAPα-p-luc mice. and this mouse model may be used to investigate molecular mechanisms and drug screening of pulmonary fibrosis.

Effects of salvianolate lyophilized injection on neural functional recovery and the expression of microtubule associated protein-2 after focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in diabetic rats / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To investigate the effects of salvianolate lyophilized injection(SLI) on neural functional recovery and the expression of microtubule associated protein-2(MAP2) after focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in the diabetic rats.Methods Diabetes model was made by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) and cerebral ischemia-reperfusion model was developed by Longa suture occluded method in the middle cerebral artery of diabetic rats.The rats were randomly divided into five groups: sham operation group, model group, SLI (21.0 mg.kg-1,10.5 mg.kg-1) treatment groups, and edaravone (6 mg.kg-1) treatment group.3 hours after ischemia,rats were respectively given normal saline or drugs followed by the injection once a day for 14 days and the neurological impairment was assessed.2 h after the last injection,the rats were decapitated and the brains were collected.The expression of MAP2 protein and mRNA in the bilateral hippocampal ischemia and infarcted area was detected with immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR.Results Severe neurological dysfunction was found in diabetic rats that had been subjected to cerebral ischemic injury (1.850±0.457).A significant improvement on neurological function was found in the SLI treatment groups (1.581 ± 0.314, 1.345 ± 0.425) compared with model group(P＜0.01, P＜0.05).Moreover,the expression of MAP2 in ischemia bilateral hippocampal CA1 and penumbra was represented by the average optical density value respectively (0.743±0.250,0.561± 0.224).In the hippocampal CA1 region, the number of MAP2-positive cells (0.781 ± 0.420 , 0.851 ± 0.136) in the treatment group showed significant increase than those in model group (P＜0.01, P＜0.05).In the ischemic penumbra region,the number of MAP2-positive cells (0.753±0.235,1.203±0.326) in the treatment group showed significant increase than those in model group (P＜0.01, P＜0.05).Conclusion The SLI can promote the post-injury neurocognitive function in diabetic rats.The increase of MAP2 expression may be involved in the mechanisms.

Role of pulmonary function analysis in drug efficacy evaluation of radiation-induced lung injury / 军事医学

Objective To explore the role of pulmonary function analysis in drug efficacy evaluation of radiation-induced lung injury.Methods Totally 30 C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 3 groups:control group, radiation group and dexamethasone group.Mice in radiation group and dexamethasone group were irradiated with 20 Gy X-ray on the whole chest.Then mice in dexamethasone group was intraperitoneally injected with dexamethasone at the dose of 4.5 mg/( kg· d) for 2 weeks and then the dose was halved up to 1 month after radiation while control group and radiation group were intraperitoneally injected with 0.9%saline.One month after irradiation, pulmonary function of all the mice was tested with EMKA system.Then mice were sacrificed and pathological changes of pulmonary tissue were observed by HE staining. Furthermore, the area of alveolar cavity was measured with the Image-pro plus software.Results One month after irradiation, the pulmonary function parameters of mice in radiation and dexamethasone groups, such as mid-expiratory flow, minute volume,tidal volume,peak inspiratory flow,and peak expiratory flow,decreased obviously compared with the control group, but those parameters of the dexamethasone group decreased much less significantly than in the radiation group.The pathological changes of pulmonary tissues showed that the area of alveolar cavity of radiation group and dexamethasone group was smaller than that of the control group, but the extent of the loss of alveolar cavity area of the dexamethasone group was less than in the radiation group.Neutrophils infiltration could be found in the radiation group and dexamethasone group, but was less serious in the dexamethasone group.The result of pulmonary function analysis was coincident with pathological changes of the lung.Conclusion Dexamethasone can alleviate radiation induced pulmonary injury.Pulmonary function analysis combined with pathological observation of pulmonary tissues can effectively evaluate the efficacy of drugs in radiation induced lung injury.

iRhom2 mutation leads to aberrant hair follicle differentiation in mice.

iRhom1 and iRhom2 are inactive homologues of rhomboid intramembrane serine proteases lacking essential catalytic residues, which are necessary for the maturation of TNFα-converting enzyme (TACE). In addition, iRhoms regulate epidermal growth factor family secretion. The functional significance of iRhom2 during mammalian development is largely unclear. We have identified a spontaneous single gene deletion mutation of iRhom2 in Uncv mice. The iRhom2Uncv/Uncv mice exhibit hairless phenotype in a BALB/c genetic background. In this study, we observed dysplasia hair follicles in iRhom2Uncv/Uncv mice from postnatal day 3. Further examination found decreased hair matrix proliferation and aberrant hair shaft and inner root sheath differentiation in iRhom2Uncv/Uncv mutant hair follicles. iRhom2 is required for the maturation of TACE. Our data demonstrate that iRhom2Uncv cannot induce the maturation of TACE in vitro and the level of mature TACE is also significantly reduced in the skin of iRhom2Uncv/Uncv mice. The activation of Notch1, a substrate of TACE, is disturbed, associated with dramatically down-regulation of Lef1 in iRhom2Uncv/Uncv hair follicle matrix. This study identifies iRhom2 as a novel regulator of hair shaft and inner root sheath differentiation.

Effects of military functional food NB-5 on psychological stress-induced oxidative stress / 军事医学

Objective To explore the protective effects of a new military functional food NB-5 on psychological stress-induced oxidative stress .Methods Rat whiskers were completely removed to induce the oxidative stress , and the concen-trations of MDA and protein carbonyl in various organs were detected to study the damage to membrane lipid and protein . Rats were fed with NB-5 for 4 weeks, and the oxidative stress was induced by whisker cutting .Biochemical marks men-tioned above were detected to explore the protective effects of NB-5.Results and Conclusion Lipid and protein peroxida-tion occurred in the brain , heart, liver, spleen and kidney after whisker removal due to emotional stress , while the catalase ( CAT) activity decreased significantly in these organs except the spleen .In this experiment model , NB-5 showed a good free radical scavenging activity to reduce the lipid and protein peroxidation among whisker -cutting rats fed with NB-5 in ad-vance.So NB-5 can serve as a good food for soldiers in case of emergency incidents .

Expression of Kiss-1, Ki-67 and VEGF-C in papillary thyroid carcinoma and its stereological determination / 军事医学

Objective To explore the expression and significance of Kiss-1, Ki-67 and VEGF-C in papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC) and thyroid follicular adenoma (FA).Methods Forty-four cases of PTC and twelve cases of FA paraffin-embedded tissues were used .Immunohistochemical staining and microscopic image analysis technique were used to analyze the expression of Kiss-1, Ki-67 and VEGF-C.Results The integrated optical density (IOD) of Kiss-1, and VEGF-C in the PTC groups was 475.56 ±126.02 and 805.29 ±226.05,respectively.The proliferation index of Ki-67 protein was (3.36 ±1.11) %and the difference between the PTC and FA groups was statistically significant (P<0.05).The IOD of the above two indices was 408.12 ±124.05 and 912.63 ±108.12 in the PTC with lymph node metastasis group , respectively, while the proliferation index of Ki -67 protein was (3.93 ±0.92) % and the difference vs the group without lymph node metastasis was significant ( P <0.05 ) .In the PTC with capsular infiltration group the IOD of above two was 425.58 ±87.38 and 891.37 ±149.36, the proliferation index of Ki -67 protein was (3.79 ±1.09) %and the difference with PTC group without capsular infiltrtion was statistically significant (P<0.05).Linear correlation analysis showed that Ki-67 and VEGF-C were with positively correlated in PTC and FA tissues (P<0.05),while Kiss-1 and Ki-67, VEGF-C were with negatively correlated in PTC and FA tissues (P<0.05).Conclusion Kiss-1, Ki-67 and VEGF-C can facilitate the differential diagnosis of PTC and FA , serving as prognostic indicators in patients with PTC .

Characteristics and implication of MMP-12 expression during the course of development of radiation pulmonary injuries / 解放军医学杂志

Objective To observe the dynamic changes in matrix metalloproteinase-12(MMP-12) expression during the course of development of radiation pulmonary injuries in order to get an insight of the roles played by MMP-12 during early tissue remodeling after radiation pulmonary injuries.Methods Twenty-four Wistar rats were randomly assigned into four groups(6 each): normal control group and 1,2 and 4 weeks after irradiation groups.The rats in the last three groups received irradiation of the whole lung with 20Gy of 60Co ?-ray,and they were sacrificed 1,2 and 4 weeks post irradiation.The gene expression of MMP-12 was determined by RT-PCR;the protein expression was detected by Western blot;MMP-12 activity was examined by gelatin zymography;the tissue distribution of MMP-12 was observed by immunohistochemistry;the degradation and collapse of elastin were observed after tissue elastin specific staining.Results The gene expression of MMP-12 began to increase 1 week post irradiation,then decreased at 2 weeks,and it reached its peak value at 4 weeks,while its protein expression was elevated again 2 weeks post irradiation.MMP-12 was mainly expressed in macrophages and activated fibroblasts of the alveolar septum.With the elapse of time,the lung injury aggravated gradually,with thickening of alveolar wall and septum,breakdown of the structure of alveoli,collapss of a part of the alveolar space,extensive breakdown of elastin in the basement membrane of lung,appearing as irregular fibrils distributed in the lung.Conclusion 60Co ?-ray irradiation can up-regulate the expression of gene and protein of MMP-12 significantly,implying that it may play a very important role in early remodeling process in of radiation pulmonary injuries,and initiate the process of pulmonary remodeling by degrading elastin and destroying the normal structure of basement membrane.

Effects of matrix metalloproteinase-12 abnormal expression on the transformation of pulmonary fibroblasts in radiation damaged rats / 解放军医学杂志

Objective To observe the effects of over-expression of matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP-12) on the transformation of pulmonary fibroblasts in radiation damaged rats. Methods Thirty-two male Wistar rats (weighed 250-280g) were randomly assigned into control group and 1, 2 and 4 weeks after irradiation groups (8 each). The whole lungs of rats in irradiation groups were irradiated by 60 Co ?-ray at a dose of 20Gy, and the lung specimens were harvested 1, 2 and 4 weeks after radiation. The change of MMP-12 activity was detected by gelatin zymography, the degradation and collapse of elastic fibers were observed by tissue specific staining, the "cross talking" phenomenon between alveolar type Ⅱ cells and mesenchymal cells was observed by transmission electron microscopy, the content of TGF-?1 was determined by ELISA, and the expression of ?-smooth muscle actin (?-SMA) was examined by immunohistochemistry. Results MMP-12 activity began increasing 1 week after irradiation, and seemed to decrease 4 weeks after irradiation. Elastin, a part of the basement membrane of alveolar wall, began to degrade and collapse 1 week after radiation, and became worse 4 weeks after irradiation. The expressions of both TGF-?1 and ?-SMA were elevated gradually within 4 weeks after radiation. The "cross talking" phenomenon was found by electron microscopy between alveolar type Ⅱ cells and mesenchymal cells. Conclusions Increased activity of pulmonary MMP-12 has been found after radiation, which may promote the transformation of pulmonary fibroblasts by degrading elastin and ultimately initiate the pulmonary fibrosis.