Stem cells for tissue engineering of myocardial constructs

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Tissue engineering offers new option in the myocardial repair techniques. The cellular component of this regenerative approach will play a key role in bringing these tissue engineered constructs from the laboratory bench to the clinical bedside. However, the ideal source of cells still remains unclear and may differ depending upon the application. Current research for many applications is focused on the use of stem cells. The combination of stem cell technology and tissue engineering has been investigated and offers promising avenues for myocardial tissue regeneration, and this shows great promise in future reconstructive surgery. We explore the basic concepts and methods for myocardial tissue reconstruction and emphasize the progress made and remaining challenges of stem cells in myocardial tissue engineering.     

Estimation of the basic reproducibility number for American tegumentary leishmaniasis in two sites in northeastern Salta Province, Argentina

A SIR-type deterministic mathematical model for three hosts is applied to analyze the transmission process for American tegumentary leishmaniasis in Río Blanco and Las Carmelitas, located in northeastern Salta Province, Argentina, and to derive the expression for the baseline reproducibility number Ro. The model is implemented in the MATLAB environment, and based on data from endemic areas, simulations are performed and numerical estimations of Ro are obtained. Río Blanco shows Ro = 4.689 and Las Carmelitas Ro = 1.948. By studying the model numerically, we also estimate the force of infection, namely 0.239 and 0.171 (unit 1/year), respectively. The simulations show that in Río Blanco, the endemic phase was more sustained than the inter-epidemic phase in Las Carmelitas. The estimations of these epidemiological parameters indicate where the Ministry of Health and Provincial Health Department will experience greater difficulty in controlling and eradicating the disease.     

辛伐他汀对局部脑缺血大鼠线粒体的抗氧化效应

目的:观察辛伐他汀对局部脑缺血损伤大鼠的神经保护作用及其线粒体机制。方法:实验于2005-03/08在广州医学院生理实验室进行。取72只SD雄性大鼠,随机分为正常对照组、缺血模型组、辛伐他汀组3组,每组24只。辛伐他汀组大鼠灌胃辛伐他汀20mg/kg,1次/d,连续7d,最后一次灌胃1h后缺血模型组和辛伐他汀组大鼠线栓法复制左侧脑缺血2h再灌注模型,正常对照组仅分离动脉,不缺血。观察各组大鼠术后24h神经功能评分(3～18分,评分越高越好)、脑含水量、脑梗死体积以及脑组织线粒体超氧化物歧化酶、丙二醛、NO和Na -K ATPase的改变。结果:经补充后72只大鼠进入结果分析。①神经功能评分:辛伐他汀组明显高于缺血模型组(15.87±0.83,14.25±0.71,P<0.01)。②脑含水量:辛伐他汀组明显低于缺血模型组[(79.56±1.14)%,(81.13±1.36)%,P<0.05]。③脑梗死体积:辛伐他汀组明显低于缺血模型组[(173.7±15.92),(239.94±22.01)mm3,P<0.01]。④脑组织线粒体超氧化物歧化酶和Na -K ATPase活性:辛伐他汀组明显高于缺血模型组(P<0.05)。⑤脑组织线粒体丙二醛和NO含量:辛伐他汀组明显低于缺血模型组(P<0.01)。结论:辛伐他汀可能通过抑制大脑中动脉阻断后引起的脑内线粒体脂质过氧化反应,减少自由基的生成,稳定线粒体功能,增加ATP的生成,从而对缺血脑组织产生保护作用。