Autologous platelet-rich clot releasate stimulates proliferation and inhibits differentiation of adult rat tendon stem cells towards nontenocyte lineages

OBJECTIVE

To explore the effects of autologous platelet-rich clot releasate (PRCR) on proliferation and differentiation of adult rat tendon stem cells (TSCs) in vitro, following intense mechanical stretching.

METHODS

TSCs were subjected to 8% mechanical stretching and subsequently incubated in control medium or medium supplemented with 2% or 10% PRCR. Collagen types I and III, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), sex determining region Y-box 9 (SOX-9) and runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) concentrations were assessed via Western blotting and flow cytometry. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and vascular endothelial growth factor concentrations were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Treated TSCs were also cultured in adipogenic, chondrogenic or osteogenic culture media.

RESULTS

PRCR increased the number of TSCs, and the concentrations of collagen types I and III and TGF-β1. In contrast, PRCR significantly reduced PPARγ, SOX-9 and RUNX2-positive cell numbers, and significantly reduced the numbers of TSC-derived adipocytes, chondrocytes and osteocytes.

CONCLUSION

PRCR induced tenocyte differentiation while suppressing the adipocyte, chondrocyte and osteocyte lineages believed to impede tendon healing.

Isolation, characterization, and expression analysis of CmMLO2 in muskmelon

The full-length cDNA sequence of the MLO gene was cloned via SMART-RACE-PCR from muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.), and was designated as CmMLO2 (GenBank Accession No. FJ713542). The gene is 1,710 bp long and encodes a 570-amino acid peptide with a seven-transmembrane domain topology, and is a typical transmembrane protein. Localization analysis in onion epidermal cells showed that CmMLO2-GFP is localized in the plasma membrane. The expression of CmMLO2 gene was analyzed in melon leaf infected with powdery mildew using a quantitative RT-PCR and it was found that CmMLO2 was mainly expressed in melon leaves in a no-tissue-specific pattern. Moreover, CmMLO2 may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of powdery mildew.

Separation, culture and identification of SD rat corpus cavernosal endothelial cells

The aim of the study is to investigate the methods of separation, culture and identification of Sprague Dawley (SD) rat corpus cavernosal vascular endothelial cells (CCECs). Cavernosal tissues were isolated from male SD rats. Enzymatic digestion was applied to separate CCECs. Purified cells were obtained using immunomagnetic beads and flow cytometric cell sorting and subcultured in EMG-2 medium. The growth curve of CCECs was measured by the tetrazolium salt 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The cells were identified by von Willebrand factor (vWF) using immunofluorescence, and the positive percentage of vWF expression was detected by flow cytometry. The monomorphic cobblestone-like cells were observed by microscopy. High purification was obtained using immunomagnetic beads. After 2 days of incubation, cells entered the logarithmic growth phase and reached a plateau on the fifth day. The vWF expression in cytoplasm was positive. The purity of cells was 95.8%, which was tested by flow cytometry. SD rat CCECs can be separated and cultured successfully by the method of enzymatic digestion, immunomagnetic beads and flow cytometric cell sorting.

Alveolar macrophage-derived vascular endothelial growth factor contributes to allergic airway inflammation in a mouse asthma model

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent proangiogenic factor that correlates with vascular permeability and remodelling in asthma. Recently, alveolar macrophages (AM) were shown to be an important source of VEGF during lung injury. Our previous studies demonstrated that AM are an important subset of macrophages in the initiation of asthmatic symptoms. Here, we further investigated whether AM-derived VEGF was required for allergic airway inflammation in asthma. In this study, we reported that the expression of VEGF in AM was significantly increased after allergen challenge. Depleting AM or neutralizing VEGF in alveolus prevented ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma-related inflammation by inhibiting the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lung, reduced the level of the cytokines, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13, in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and decreased airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Moreover, the inhibition of miR-20b increased the protein level of VEGF in normal AM; conversely, increasing miR-20b in asthmatic AM resulted in decreased VEGF protein levels. These findings suggest that AM-derived VEGF is necessary for allergic airway inflammation in asthmatic mice and miR-20b negatively regulates this expression.

Single embryo transfer with comprehensive chromosome screening results in improved ongoing pregnancy rates and decreased miscarriage rates

BACKGROUND

Single embryo transfer (SET) provides the most certain means to reduce the risk of multiple gestation. Regrettably, prospective trials of SET have demonstrated reductions in per-cycle delivery rates. A validated method of comprehensive chromosome screening (CCS) has the potential to optimize SET by transferring only euploid embryos. This retrospective study evaluates the efficacy of SET with CCS in an infertile population.

METHODS

Overall and age-controlled ongoing pregnancy rates (OPR) were compared between women undergoing SET following CCS (CCS-SET, n= 140) and those undergoing SET without aneuploidy screening (control SET, n= 182). All transfers were at the blastocyst stage, with CCS performed after trophectoderm biopsy of expanded blastocysts and analysis with rapid PCR allowing for fresh transfer.

RESULTS

In the CCS-SET and control SET groups, an OPR of 55.0 and 41.8%, respectively, was obtained. The OPR was lower for the control group (P< 0.01) despite a younger age than the CCS group (37.3 ± 3.4 versus 34.2 ± 3.9 years; P< 0.001). Birthweight and gestational age at delivery were equivalent. The proportion of clinical pregnancies resulting in miscarriage was higher in the control group (24.8 versus 10.5%, P< 0.01), with more patients requiring surgical interventions for aneuploid pregnancies. There was one monozygotic twin delivery in the CCS group and none in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with traditional blastocyst SET, SET after trophectoderm biopsy and rapid PCR-based CCS increases OPR and reduces the miscarriage rate. The enhanced selection empowered by CCS with SET may provide a practical way to eliminate multi-zygotic multiple gestation without compromising clinical outcomes per cycle.

Local sensitivity to stimulus orientation and spatial frequency within the receptive fields of neurons in visual area 2 of macaque monkeys

We used dynamic dense noise stimuli and local spectral reverse correlation methods to reveal the local sensitivities of neurons in visual area 2 (V2) of macaque monkeys to orientation and spatial frequency within their receptive fields. This minimized the potentially confounding assumptions that are inherent in stimulus selections. The majority of neurons exhibited a relatively high degree of homogeneity for the preferred orientations and spatial frequencies in the spatial matrix of facilitatory subfields. However, about 20% of all neurons showed maximum orientation differences between neighboring subfields that were greater than 25 deg. The neurons preferring horizontal or vertical orientations showed less inhomogeneity in space than the neurons preferring oblique orientations. Over 50% of all units also exhibited suppressive profiles, and those were more heterogeneous than facilitatory profiles. The preferred orientation and spatial frequency of suppressive profiles differed substantially from those of facilitatory profiles, and the neurons with suppressive subfields had greater orientation selectivity than those without suppressive subfields. The peak suppression occurred with longer delays than the peak facilitation. These results suggest that the receptive field profiles of the majority of V2 neurons reflect the orderly convergence of V1 inputs over space, but that a subset of V2 neurons exhibit more complex response profiles having both suppressive and facilitatory subfields. These V2 neurons with heterogeneous subfield profiles could play an important role in the initial processing of complex stimulus features.

Fabrication of silver tips for scanning tunneling microscope induced luminescence

We describe a reliable fabrication procedure of silver tips for scanning tunneling microscope (STM) induced luminescence experiments. The tip was first etched electrochemically to yield a sharp cone shape using selected electrolyte solutions and then sputter cleaned in ultrahigh vacuum to remove surface oxidation. The tip status, in particular the tip induced plasmon mode and its emission intensity, can be further tuned through field emission and voltage pulse. The quality of silver tips thus fabricated not only offers atomically resolved STM imaging, but more importantly, also allows us to perform challenging "color" photon mapping with emission spectra taken at each pixel simultaneously during the STM scan under relatively small tunnel currents and relatively short exposure time.

Inhibitory member of the apoptosis-stimulating protein of p53 (ASPP) family promotes growth and tumorigenesis in human p53-deficient prostate cancer cells

iASPP is a member of the apoptosis-stimulating protein of p53 (ASPP) family and an evolutionarily conserved inhibitor of p53. Higher levels of iASPP proteins were examined in paraffin-embedded sections collected from 30 patients with prostate cancer using an immunohistochemical method. We found that specially knocking down iASPP with lentivirus-mediated small interfering RNA inhibited the growth, in vitro colony-forming capacity and in vivo tumorigenesis of p53-defective prostate cancer cells. Importantly, inhibition of iASPP induced cell apoptosis, which confers the inhibitory effect on cell survival. We conclude that iASPP is essential for prostate cancer cellular proliferation and survival and may be a potential target for the gene therapy for prostate cancer.

Neuronal responses in visual area V2 (V2) of macaque monkeys with strabismic amblyopia

Amblyopia, a developmental disorder of spatial vision, is thought to result from a cascade of cortical deficits over several processing stages beginning at the primary visual cortex (V1). However, beyond V1, little is known about how cortical development limits the visual performance of amblyopic primates. We quantitatively analyzed the monocular and binocular responses of V1 and V2 neurons in a group of strabismic monkeys exhibiting varying depths of amblyopia. Unlike in V1, the relative effectiveness of the affected eye to drive V2 neurons was drastically reduced in the amblyopic monkeys. The spatial resolution and the orientation bias of V2, but not V1, neurons were subnormal for the affected eyes. Binocular suppression was robust in both cortical areas, and the magnitude of suppression in individual monkeys was correlated with the depth of their amblyopia. These results suggest that the reduced functional connections beyond V1 and the subnormal spatial filter properties of V2 neurons might have substantially limited the sensitivity of the amblyopic eyes and that interocular suppression was likely to have played a key role in the observed alterations of V2 responses and the emergence of amblyopia.

How to choose PET-CT or CT in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. Practical experience in China

How to use CT and PET-CT rationally to raise diagnosis, staging and prognostic assessment of lung cancer to a higher level at the best cost-effect ratio is a subject that Chinese clinicians and radiologists should face conscientiously. We review the rational application of CT and PET-CT in four aspects of lung cancer, including screening and detection, morphologic evaluation, haemodynamic or metabolic feature evaluation, and follow-up, staging and prognostic evaluation. As PET-CT is only available in class III-A hospitals today, CT is the most popular equipment in China. PET-CT is more valuable only in cases where CT presentation of lung cancer is atypical or difficult to determine, or in cases where the diagnosis of lung cancer has been initially confirmed, for which clinical staging and decision concerning on therapeutic regimens are needed. We also recommend the current strategies of CT and PET-CT managing of SPN in China.

Antiangiogenic therapy for granulosa cell tumors of the ovary

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Background: Sex-cord stromal ovarian tumors (SCSTs) tend to respond poorly to chemotherapy agents. Therefore, we examined the clinical efficacy of bevacizumab with or without concurrent chemotherapy and evaluated the angiogenic characteristics of these patients’ tumors. Methods: We conducted an IRB-approved retrospective review of all patients with SCSTs seen at our institution from February 2004 to October 2008. Eligible patients underwent pathologic confirmation and clinical evaluation, and received bevacizumab. VEGF and CD31 immunohistochemical staining (IHC) was performed when tissue was available; microvessel density (MVD) was measured based on CD31 counts. Results: We identified 8 eligible patients treated with bevacizumab. Of these, 7 had adult granulosa cell tumors (GCT) and one had a juvenile GCT. Of the 8 patients, 4 had early stage disease (I or II), 2 had advanced stage disease (III), and 2 were unstaged. All patients were treated for recurrent disease and had been previously treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy, with a median of 3.5 prior regimens (range, 1–6). Of the 8 patients, one patient had a complete clinical response, 2 patients had a partial response, 2 patients had stable disease, and 3 patients progressed, yielding a response rate of 38% and a clinical benefit rate of 63%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7.2 months and the overall survival (OS) was not reached at a median follow-up after starting bevacizumab of 23.6 months. Of the 8 patients, 5 had tissue available for IHC. VEGF expression was noted at some level in all samples; overexpression was present in 1 of the 5 patients (upper tertile of score), and moderate expression was observed in 3 of the 5 patients (middle tertile). VEGF overexpression correlated with shorter PFS (p = 0.006) and shorter overall survival (p = 0.02). High MVD (>12.3 per previous data based on ROC analysis) was present in 3 of the 5 patients, and correlated with VEGF overexpression (p = 0.007) and shorter overall survival (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Anti-VEGF therapy is highly effective in patients with ovarian granulosa cell tumors. On the basis of these observations, a prospective trial has now been initiated using single agent bevacizumab in patients with recurrent disease.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

The role of hepatitis B virus x gene in development of primary hepatocellular carcinoma

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers occurring in human, and there is strong epidemiological evidence suggesting that persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the most important risk factor for its development.HBx gene was found to be a transactivator recently. Its continuous expression in hepatocytes may transactivate cellular genes which can play a certain role in development of HCC. TheHBx gene fragment was used to construct a recombinant eukaryotic expression vector pCEP4 and introduced into HepG2 cells. The effect ofHBx gene on HCC cells growth and its molecular mechanism in HCC cells regulation were investigated.

Postnatal development of disparity sensitivity in visual area 2 (v2) of macaque monkeys

Macaque monkeys do not reliably discriminate binocular depth cues until about 8 wk of age. The neural factors that limit the development of fine depth perception in primates are not known. In adults, binocular depth perception critically depends on detection of relative binocular disparities and the earliest site in the primate visual brain where a substantial proportion of neurons are capable of discriminating relative disparity is visual area 2 (V2). We examined the disparity sensitivity of V2 neurons during the first 8 wk of life in infant monkeys and compared the responses of V2 neurons to those of V1 neurons. We found that the magnitude of response modulation in V2 and V1 neurons as a function of interocular spatial phase disparity was adult-like as early as 2 wk of age. However, the optimal spatial frequency and binocular response rate of these disparity sensitive neurons were more than an octave lower in 2- and 4-wk-old infants than in adults. Consequently, despite the lower variability of neuronal firing in V2 and V1 neurons of infant monkeys, the ability of these neurons to discriminate fine disparity differences was significantly reduced compared with adults. This reduction in disparity sensitivity of V2 and V1 neurons is likely to limit binocular depth perception during the first several weeks of a monkey's life.

Chemotherapy for gynecological malignancies in organ transplantation patients: report of two cases

Long-term risk of gynecological malignancies in organ transplantation patients has increased compared with that of the general population owing to the use of immunosuppressive agents. Treatment, especially chemotherapy, in these patients should take into consideration their renal function and the effects of immunosuppressive agents. We here present two case reports of patients with chemotherapy-treated gynecological malignancies who had previously received organ transplantation. The first case, a rare occurrence of simultaneous carcinomas of the uterine corpus and ovary, is the first such report in the English literature describing chemotherapy for concurrent serous papillary ovarian carcinoma and endometrioid endometrial carcinoma in a renal transplant patient. The second case report, describing chemotherapy for cervical cancer following two organ transplantation, also rare, is the first such report in the English literature and the first report of cervical cancer after heart-kidney transplantation.

Dicyandiamide application plus incorporation into soil reduces N2O and NH3 emissions from anaerobically digested cattle slurry

Livestock slurry application to land recycles nutrients for plant uptake, but resulting gaseous nitrogen (N) emissions pose a major challenge to the environment. This study was conducted to investigate environmentally friendly methods for the application of anaerobically digested cattle slurry (ADCS) to soil. Application techniques of control (C), surface application (S), incorporation into the soil (I) and soil amendments with and without a nitrification inhibitor (dicyandiamide, DCD) were compared in a small-scale laboratory experiment. Ammonia (NH3) volatilisation mainly occurred within 5 days after ADCS application. Cumulative NH3 volatilisation loss accounted for 57.0, 59.9, 0.7 and 1.4% of applied NH4+-N from surface applied ADCS without and with DCD, and from incorporated ADCS without and with DCD, respectively. Ammonia volatilisation from surface-applied ADCS was 56 times greater than from incorporated ADCS. The nitrous oxide (N2O) emission flux from soil where ADCS was surface-applied without DCD was significantly (P < 0.01) higher than that from the other treatments. The DCD supplement significantly (P < 0.05) reduced N2O flux from surface-applied and incorporated ADCS. Therefore, the cumulative N2O emission loss from the soil where ADCS was surface-applied was significantly greater than that from the incorporated slurry regardless of the DCD supplement. Total inorganic N (TIN) in the soil for all treatments remained constant, although NH4+-N contents in the soil without DCD decreased continuously and nitrate nitrogen (NO3–-N) contents increased continuously throughout trials. There were significant (P < 0.01) differences in TIN contents among application techniques. NH3 volatilisation from the surface application was a major cause of the differences. Consequently, the incorporation of ADCS with the DCD supplement could be a potential method to successfully reduce emissions of both NH3 and N2O.

Primary and recurrent embryonal sarcoma of the liver: clinicopathological and immunohistochemical analysis

AIMS

To evaluate primary and recurrent embryonal sarcoma of the liver and to improve recognition of its morphological variants and immunohistochemical features.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Fourteen primary and two recurrent cases of hepatic embryonal sarcoma were evaluated histologically and investigated immunohistochemically with a panel of antibodies using the EnVision+ system. They were usually single, large, globular masses with solid and cystic gelatinous areas. Microscopic features included spindle, oval, stellate, epithelioid or multinucleated cells loosely or densely arranged in a myxomatous matrix. Entrapped bile ducts and hepatic cords were often present at the periphery of the tumours. Intracellular and extracellular periodic acid-Schiff-positive, diastase-resistant hyaline globules were commonly present. Recurrent tumours showed greater cellularity, anaplasia and pluripotential differentiation compared with the primary tumour. Immunohistochemistry showed evidence of widely divergent differentiation into mesenchymal and epithelial phenotypes.

CONCLUSIONS

Embryonal sarcoma of the liver may undergo pluripotential differentiation and diagnosis should be based mainly on morphological features. Immunohistochemistry has no specific or diagnostic relevance, but, by using a panel of antibodies, may help to exclude other tumours.

Enhanced radiation-mediated cell killing of human cervical cancer cells by small interference RNA silencing of ataxia telangiectasia-mutated protein

The ataxia telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) protein, which is mutated in the inherited disease ataxia telangiectasia (AT), is a key activator of cell cycle checkpoint, initiating cell response to DNA damage and ensuring genomic stability. AT cells exhibit defects in all cellular responses to ionizing radiation and radiomimetic chemicals. Inactivation of ATM may therefore make cells fail to execute many responses to DNA damage and improve the cells' sensitivity to radiation. Recent developments in the use of small interference RNA molecules (siRNAs) to inhibit specific protein expression have highlighted the potential use of siRNA as a therapeutic agent. In this study, we have designed and exogenously delivered plasmids encoding siRNAs targeting ATM to human cervical carcinoma SiHa cells and generated a stable cell line, SiHa(ATM). SiHa(ATM) cells displayed minimal levels of ATM protein and showed a marked increase in sensitivity to radiation. Together, these data provide strong evidence for the potential use of siRNA as a novel radiation/chemotherapy-sensitizing agent.

Responses of thyroid hormones of market-size broilers to thermoneutral constant and warm cyclic temperatures

This study characterizes the responses, particularly diurnal variations, of thyroid hormones (TH) [3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), and T3:T4 ratio (T3/T4)] of Arbor Acres broilers to constant thermoneutral (TN) or warm cyclic (WC) temperatures. There existed distinct circadian variations--2 peaks in TH under the TN and WC conditions. The 2 peaks of T3, T4, and T3/T4 of the broilers occurred, respectively, at 0 and 16 h, 8 and 16 h, and 0 and 12 h under the TN condition; but at 0 and 12 h, 0 and 8 h, and 4 and 12 h under the WC conditions. During a 5-d heat exposure (HE) to the WC regimens, T3 and T4 showed continual decrease. The daily mean of T3 declined significantly (P < 0.05) on the first day of HE, whereas significant decrease of T4 (P < 0.05) occurred on the second day of HE. There was no significant change in daily mean of T3/T4 during the same HE period. Hence, results of the study indicate that T3 provides a better heat stress indicator than T4. The nature of circadian variations in TH makes it necessary to collect blood samples more than once a day, e.g., 6 times at 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 h, to ensure full evaluation of hormonal responses of market-size broilers undergoing thermal challenges.