Therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem cell on Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in a rat model by modulating Th17/Treg cell balance

Abstract

The autoimmune condition Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is a disease wherein lymphocytes mediate the autoimmune damage and destruction of the thyroid gland. There are currently no effective means of treating HT, with the primary strategies of thyroid hormone therapy, surgery, or immunomodulatory therapy being associated with serious risks and side effects. There is thus a clear and urgent need to identify novel treatments for HT. In this study, we utilize female SD rats induced HT to evaluated the ability of transplanted MSCs to regulate Th17/Treg interactions in a rat Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) model system. The results showed that Rats in the HT model group exhibited increased thyroid autoantibody levels consistent with successful model development, whereas these levels were lower in rats treated with MSCs. There were also fewer thyroid lesions and less lymphoid infiltration of the thyroid in MSC-treated rats relative to HT model rats, as well as fewer Th17 cells and more Treg cells – an observation consistent with the cytokine analyses. All of these showed that MSCs can regulate Th17/Treg interactions in a rat Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) model system. It suggested that transplanted MSCs could be a potential immunotherapy strategy for the treatment of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.     

有关医院空调水系统若干问题的探讨

主要阐述空调水系统利用平衡阀调节系统阻力,保持系统水力稳定;利用软启动器实施水泵的平滑软启动;压差旁通阀的作用及选型安装;系统管道热膨胀等问题。     

大鼠小肠缺血再灌注后血中NO,SOD浓度及肺中Bax,Bcl-2表达的改变

目的：研究大鼠小肠缺血再灌注后后血中一氧化氮（NO），超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）的浓度变化以及肺组织中Bax,Bcl-2的表达，探讨小肠缺血再灌注后对肺组织的损伤，方法：建立小肠缺血再灌注模型，分对照 ，再灌注后0，30min，1，2h,1,3,7d共8组，于各时点检测血中Bax,Bcl-2的表达情况。结果：大鼠小肠缺血再灌注后NO浓度0min明显升高，2h时降低，随后升高，7d时达高峰，SOD浓度0min明显下降，2h 时升高，随后下降，7d时达最低，Bax,Bcl-2免疫阳性细胞主要位于肺组织中血管内皮细胞和肺泡上皮细胞，再灌注0min,Bax,Bcl-2阳性细胞率增多，30min时Bax,Bcl-2阳性细胞率均升高分别为17．1％和78．1％，Bcl-2表达高于Bax，两者差别显著（P＜0．01），2h时降低，其后升高，7d时阳性细胞率达高峰分别为94．1％和83．4％，Bax表达明显高于Bcl-2，两者差异显著（P＜0．01）。结论：大鼠小肠缺血再灌注后可引起血中NO，SOD的浓度变化和Bax及Bcl-2阳性细胞在肺组织中的表达改变并可能引起肺组织细胞凋亡和损伤。     

组织多肽特异性抗原在原发性肝癌中的临床应用

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical value of serum tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) for primary hepatic cancer in comparison with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). METHODS: TPS and AFP were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 85 patients with primary hepatic cancer, 19 with metastatic hepatic cancer, 35 with liver cirrhosis, 22 with chronic hepatitis and 50 healthy control subjects. RESULTS: Serum AFP levels were elevated in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in comparison with that in cholangiocarcinoma patients (P=0.037), but the difference was not significant (P=0.737). Serum TPS levels were significantly correlated with the tumor size (P=0.001), but not with the number of the tumors, portal invasion, extrahepatic metastasis, clinical stage or histological differentiation (P>0.05). A significant correlation was observed between AFP level and tumor size (P=0.028), portal invasion(P=0.005), and histological differentiation (P=0.000). CONCLUSION: TPS alone offers no more clues than AFP for the diagnosis of primary hepatic cancer, though it can be helpful for the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma. It has only limited clinical utility as a marker for primary hepatic cancer.     

Isoflurane Preconditioning Improves Long-term Neurologic Outcome after Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury in Neonatal Rats

Background: Preconditioning the brain with relatively safe drugs seems to be a viable option to reduce ischemic brain injury. The authors and others have shown that the volatile anesthetic isoflurane can precondition the brain against ischemia. Here, the authors determine whether isoflurane preconditioning improves long-term neurologic outcome after brain ischemia.

Methods: Six-day-old rats were exposed to 1.5% isoflurane for 30 min at 24 h before the brain hypoxia-ischemia that was induced by left common carotid arterial ligation and then exposure to 8% oxygen for 2 h. The neuropathology, motor coordination, and learning and memory functions were assayed 1 month after the brain ischemia. Western analysis was performed to quantify the expression of the heat shock protein 70, Bcl-2, and survivin 24 h after isoflurane exposure.

Results: The mortality was 45% after brain hypoxia-ischemia. Isoflurane preconditioning did not affect this mortality. However, isoflurane preconditioning attenuated ischemia-induced loss of neurons and brain tissues, such as cerebral cortex and hippocampus in the survivors. Isoflurane also improved the motor coordination of rats at 1 month after ischemia. The learning and memory functions as measured by performance of Y-maze and social recognition tasks in the survivors were not affected by the brain hypoxia-ischemia or isoflurane preconditioning. The expression of Bcl-2, a well-known antiapoptotic protein, in the hippocampus is increased after isoflurane exposure. This increase was reduced by the inhibitors of inducible nitric oxide synthase. Inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibition also abolished isoflurane preconditioning-induced neuroprotection.     

piRNA在生殖系统中的功能研究进展

piRNA（Piwi—interacting RNA）是2006年发现的一种新的小RNA，长度约24到30个核苷酸，其作用与Dicer酶无关．与Piwi蛋白家族成员相结合才能发挥作用。目前研究piRNA的功能都基本限定在生殖细胞中，近来研究表明piRNA对于生殖细胞功能的很多环节有巨大的影响，而且对生殖支持细胞的影响的研究也有了进展。本文就piRNA在生殖系统中的功能的研究进展作一综述。     

Personality traits of agreeableness and extraversion are associated with ADH4 variation.

BACKGROUND: Personality traits are associated with substance dependence (SD); genetic factors may influence both. Strong associations between ADH4 variation and SD have been reported. We aimed to investigate the relationship between ADH4 variation and personality traits in the present study. METHODS: We assessed dimensions of the five-factor model of personality in 243 subjects with SD (175 European Americans [EAs] and 68 African Americans [AAs]) and 296 healthy control subjects (256 EAs and 40 AAs). We also genotyped 7 ADH4 markers (spanning the locus) and 38 unlinked ancestry-informative markers in these subjects. The relationships between the diplotypes, alleles, and genotypes at ADH4 and personality traits were examined using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS: Generally, SD patients, older individuals, and male subjects scored higher on neuroticism and lower on other personality factors. Personality factors were associated with the diplotypes. The allele A or genotype A/A of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)6 (rs1800759 at the gene promoter) was significantly associated with agreeableness scores. There were associations between extraversion and SNP1 (hcv2033010 at the 3' end) and SNP2 (rs1042364 in exon 9) in subjects with higher conscientiousness scores. CONCLUSIONS: The personality traits of agreeableness and extraversion are related to ADH4 polymorphism. Among the ADH4 markers that appear to predispose to certain personality traits, the functional variant rs1800759 (SNP6) in the promoter region is most important. We conclude that personality traits and SD have a partially overlapping genetic basis.     

剖宫产孕妇硬膜外给局麻药的药代动力学

为了解孕妇硬膜外给局麻药的药代动力学，选择２０名实施剖宫产手术的健康临产妇，随机分成硬膜外腔给予了哌卡因组（Ｂ１组）和给予利多卡因组（Ｌ组）。另外， ６例非妊娠患者硬膜外腔给予了哌卡因（Ｂ２组）。Ｂ１和Ｂ２组均给予０．７５％丁哌卡因１～１．５ｍｇ·ｋｇ－１，Ｌ组给予２％利多卡因４～４．５ｍｇ·ｋｇ－１。采用高效液相色谱（ＨＰＬＣ）测定硬膜外给药后血浆药物浓度。结果表明三组病例血药浓度均在安全范围内。Ｂ１组的血药浓度达高峰时间（Ｔｐｅａｋ）和脐静脉与母体血药浓度比（ＵＶ／ＭＶ）值均小于Ｌ组，表明丁哌卡因在硬膜外腔的吸收比利多卡因快，且透过胎盘屏障的药量小于利多卡因，新生儿Ａｐｇａｒ评分在娩出后５分钟均为１０分。Ｂ１组的药代动力学参数与Ｂ２组基本相似。结论：剖宫产手术硬膜外腔给予临床剂量的局麻药是安全的。