健脾方药提取物对小鼠小肠类器官的干预

目的探讨健脾方药四君子汤多糖提取物、黄芪甲苷对小鼠小肠类器官的干预作用。方法取4~6周龄小鼠小肠约20 cm,经过清洗、剪切、消化,分离出小肠隐窝细胞团后,接种于含有多种细胞因子的基质胶中,在基质胶3D结构支撑下,培养形成具有小肠上皮样形态的立体多叶结构,即小肠类器官。光镜下观察小肠类器官的形态特征;采用免疫荧光染色后在激光共聚焦显微镜下观察E-钙黏蛋白(E-cadherin)的表达;传代2天后的小鼠小肠类器官分为3组:对照组、四君子多糖组(终浓度为100 mg/L)以及黄芪甲苷组(终浓度为10μmol/L),继续培养48 h后观察四君子汤多糖提取物、黄芪甲苷对小肠类器官出芽生长及增殖细胞核核抗原Ki-67表达。结果分离出的小鼠隐窝细胞团1天类似囊状,中心具有单个内腔;2~3天开始出芽;4~5天出芽增多,管腔结构进一步清晰,形成小肠类器官,初步建立了小肠类器官培养模式;四君子多糖组(100 mg/L)小肠类器官出芽数量较对照组明显增多(2.31±1.60vs 4.15±1.91,P<0.05);黄芪甲苷组较对照组中小肠类器官Ki-67表达明显增高。结论小肠类器官模型的构建为探讨肠黏膜修复的病理生理机制及药物干预提供了更完善的体外研究模型。四君子汤多糖提取物、黄芪甲苷的肠黏膜保护作用可能与其促进隐窝干细胞更新能力有关。     

Occludin在非小细胞肺癌组织中的表达及其临床意义

目的:检测非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）组织中闭合蛋白（Occludin）的表达水平及其临床意义。方法:应用免疫组织化学方法检测73例NSCLC组织及其配对正常肺组织中Occludin蛋白表达水平，分析Occludin蛋白的表达差异及其与临床病理参数的相关性。结果:Occludin蛋白在肿瘤组织中的阳性表达率显著低于配对正常肺组织（P＜0.05）。Occludin蛋白的表达水平与患者性别、肿瘤大小、淋巴结转移、组织学类型、Ki-67表达水平显著相关。结论:Occludin蛋白表达下调与NSCLC细胞的增殖、转移能力相关，在肿瘤进展中发挥重要作用。     

Quantitative anatomical analysis of facial expression using a 3D motion capture system: Application to cosmetic surgery and facial recognition technology

The topography of the facial muscles differs between males and females and among individuals of the same gender. To explain the unique expressions that people can make, it is important to define the shapes of the muscle, their associations with the skin, and their relative functions. Three‐dimensional (3D) motion‐capture analysis, often used to study facial expression, was used in this study to identify characteristic skin movements in males and females when they made six representative basic expressions. The movements of 44 reflective markers (RMs) positioned on anatomical landmarks were measured. Their mean displacement was large in males [ranging from 14.31 mm (fear) to 41.15 mm (anger)], and 3.35–4.76 mm smaller in females [ranging from 9.55 mm (fear) to 37.80 mm (anger)]. The percentages of RMs involved in the ten highest mean maximum displacement values in making at least one expression were 47.6% in males and 61.9% in females. The movements of the RMs were larger in males than females but were more limited. Expanding our understanding of facial expression requires morphological studies of facial muscles and studies of related complex functionality. Conducting these together with quantitative analyses, as in the present study, will yield data valuable for medicine, dentistry, and engineering, for example, for surgical operations on facial regions, software for predicting changes in facial features and expressions after corrective surgery, and the development of face‐mimicking robots. Clin. Anat. 28:735–744, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Relationship between Type D Personality and Heart Rate Variability in Community Mental Health Center Users

ObjectiveType D personality can be regarded as a promising cardiovascular risk marker that has been repeatedly linked to relevant indicators of mental health, quality of life, morbidity, and mortality in cardiac patients. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive technology that can provide information regarding a patient''s sympathetic/parasympathetic balance and the control mechanisms of the autonomic systems in the cardiovascular system. As both type D personality and HRV are parameters related to the cardiovascular system, we assumed a relationship between type D personality and HRV. This study set out to identify the relationship between type D and HRV and the differences in HRV variables between type D and non-type D personalities.MethodsPatients who visited Guro Community Mental Health Center from January 2011 to December 2012 were surveyed. They were evaluated using both the Korean version of the Type D Personality-14 for type D personality and HRV. During the survey, those who reported major cardiovascular disease that can affect heart rate variability were excluded from the study.ResultsOur analysis included 559 participants, 249 of whom were classified as type D personality. No significant differences were found in the HRV variables between the type D group and the non-type D group. There were also no clinically meaningful correlations between HRV variables and type D total/subscale scores when controlled for patient age.ConclusionA relationship between HRV and type D personality was not identified using short-term HRV measurements in non-clinical patients with no definitive cardiovascular disease. Further studies using long-term HRV measurements in patients with cardiovascular disease are necessary to conclude an association between HRV and type D personality.     

Acute exposure of mercury chloride stimulates the tissue regeneration program and reactive oxygen species production in the Drosophila midgut

We used Drosophila as an animal model to study the digestive tract in response to the exposure of inorganic mercury (HgCl₂). We found that after oral administration, mercury was mainly sequestered within the midgut. This resulted in increased cell death, which in turn stimulated the tissue regeneration program, including accelerated proliferation and differentiation of the intestinal stem cells (ISCs). We further demonstrated that these injuries correlate closely with the excessive production of the reactive oxygen species (ROS), as vitamin E, an antioxidant reagent, efficiently suppressed the HgCl₂-induced phenotypes of midgut and improved the viability. We propose that the Drosophila midgut could serve as a suitable model to study the treatment of acute hydrargyrism on the digestive systems.     

Effect of topical vitamin D on chronic kidney disease‐associated pruritus: An open‐label pilot study

Chronic kidney disease‐associated pruritus (CKD‐aP) is a troublesome symptom in patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD). Recently, vitamin D deficiency has been known to be one of the possible etiologic factors in CKD‐aP. However, limited data is available on whether topical vitamin D treatment is effective for relieving CKD‐aP. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of topically vitamin D for CKD‐aP. Twenty‐three patients with CKD‐aP were enrolled in a single center, open‐label study. Patients were instructed to apply a topical vitamin D (calcipotriol) agent (Daivonex solution; LEO Pharma) or vehicle solution twice daily for a month. We assessed the efficacy and safety of topical vitamin D on CKD‐aP using clinical and dermoscopic photographs, and questionnaires including the validated modified pruritus assessment score (VMPAS) and visual analog scale (VAS) every 2 weeks. Dry dermoscopic findings showed significant improvement of scale (dryness) on the skin of topical vitamin D‐treated patients compared with those of the vehicle group. Both VMPAS and VAS were significantly decreased after 2 and 4 weeks of the topical vitamin D treatment compared with the vehicle, respectively (P < 0.05). No significant side‐effects were observed. Topical vitamin D may be one of the safe and effective therapeutic candidates for CKD‐aP.     

2‐deoxy D‐glucose treatment does not elicit a hair growth response in alopecia areata

2‐deoxy D‐glucose (2DG) was tested for efficacy in treating alopecia areata using the C3H/HeJ skin graft model. 2DG has proven to be efficacious in treatment of various mouse models of autoimmunity with minimal serious side effects noted. This agent has been shown to normalize abnormally activated T‐cell populations while also preventing cell surface expression of NKG2D; key factors defining alopecia areata disease progression. Daily oral ingestion of 2DG via drinking water to mice with patchy or diffuse alopecia areata for 16 weeks failed to prevent expansion of alopecia or cause regrowth of hair in treated mice. Histologically, there were no differences between treated and control groups. These results indicate that, while 2DG is effective for some autoimmune diseases, it was not efficacious for the cell‐mediated autoimmune mouse disease, alopecia areata.