(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate,reduces corneal damage secondary from experimental grade II alkali burns in mice

Background

Since recent reports have shown that (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) could be used for treating proliferative and inflammatory disorders, we explored its use for the management of corneal chemical burns.

环缩酚肽抑制视网膜表达VEGF及PECAM基因和血管增生

[目的]观察两种环缩酚肽衍生物(Hep-A和Hep-B)对氧诱导的小鼠视网膜表达血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)和细胞黏附分子(PECAM;ICAM-1;VCAM-1)基因的影响及血管增生的变化.[方法]建立氧诱导的血管增殖性视网膜病变模型,12 d开始给小鼠皮下注安慰剂(第1组,n=7)、Hep-A 10 mg/kg(第2组,n=6)或者Hep-B 10 mg/kg(第3组,n=6),每天两次.5 d后取出左侧眼,分离视网膜并抽提RNA,用荧光定量PCR测出上述基因含量,并分别求出每个靶基因与标准基因S16含量的比率;右眼经心脏荧光素灌注后取眼球做视网膜平铺片,用图像分析软件定量计算视网膜新生血管的面积.[结果]视网膜中VEGF/S16的mRNA比率为:第1组(0.554±0.050),第2组(0.355±0.037),第3组(0.287±0.051);PECAM/S16为:第1组(2.050±0.249),第2组(1.228±0.153),第3组(1.027±0.210).经ANOVA分析,第2组和第3组分别与第1组比较,视网膜中VEGF基因表达分别减少36%和48.2%(P=0.001);PECAM基因表达分别减少40.1%(P＜0.05)和49.9%(P＜0.01);而VCAM-1和ICAM-1表达无明显差异.视网膜平片检测视网膜新生血管面积:第1组为(1.06±0.03)mm2/眼,第2组为(0.17±0.01)mm2/眼,第3组为(0.11±0.01)mm2/眼;经ANOVA分析,第2组和第3组分别与第1组比较,视网膜新生血管的面积明显减少(P＜0.001).[结论]两种环缩酚肽衍生物均抑制氧诱导的小鼠视网膜表达VEGF和PECAM基因,并抑制其形成视网膜新生血管.     

Inhibition of angiogenesis by antibody blocking the action of proangiogenic high-molecular-weight kininogen

Summary.  Previously we demonstrated that domain 5 (D5) of high-molecular-weight kininogen (HK) inhibits neovascularization in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay and further found that kallikrein cleaved HK (HKa) inhibited FGF2-and VEGF-induced neovascularization, and thus was antiangiogenic. In this study, we sought to demonstrate whether uncleaved HK stimulates neovascularization and thus is proangiogenic. The chick chorioallantoic membrane was used as an in ovo assay of angiogenesis. Low-molecular-weight kininogen stimulates angiogenesis, indicating that D5 is not involved. Bradykinin stimulates neovascularization equally to HK and LK and is likely to be responsible for the effect of HK. A murine monoclonal antibody to HK (C11C1) also recognizes a similar component in chicken plasma as detected by surface plasmon resonance. Angiogenesis induced by FGF2 and VEGF is inhibited by this monoclonal antibody and is a more potent inhibitor of neovascularization induced by VEGF than an integrin α_vβ₃ antibody (LM 609). Our postulate that C11C1 inhibits the stimulation of angiogenesis by HK was confirmed when either C11C1 or D5 completely inhibited angiogenesis in the CAM induced by HK. Growth of human fibrosarcoma (HT-1080) on the CAM was inhibited by GST-D5 and C11C1. These results indicate HK is proangiogenic probably by releasing bradykinin and that a monoclonal antibody directed to HK could serve as an antiangiogenic agent with a potential for inhibiting tumor angiogenesis and other angiogenesis-mediated disorders.     

口腔鳞癌巨噬细胞和微血管的空间关系

目的 :研究鳞癌组织中肿瘤相关巨噬细胞 (TAMs)和肿瘤微血管在局部空间的相互关系。方法 :采用免疫组化双染的方法观察标记巨噬细胞和微血管。结果 :在口腔鳞癌中TAMs密集的区域与微血管密集区域 ,两者的TAMs和微血管记数呈现相反的关系 (P <0 0 0 1)。结论 :在口腔鳞癌中TAMs迁徙、聚集到缺氧的区域 ,参与肿瘤的血管生成 ,但具体机制仍需进一步研究     

Patterns of angiogenesis in neural transplant models: I. Autonomic tissue transplants

Functional vascular connections must form rapidly to prevent ischemic damage to grafted neural tissues. The temporal sequence by which transplant circulation is re-established provides information about the angiogenic capacity of either intact or damaged CNS blood vessels. This study compares the time course and mechanism of vascular reperfusion in allografts of superior cervical ganglia or adrenal medulla inserted either into the fourth ventricle or directly into the parietal cortex of perinatal rats. Tritiated thymidine was administered to recipients to determine angiogenic patterns at various postoperative time periods. After processing for light microscopic autoradiography, host and graft endothelial labelling indices were determined in order to establish the temporal sequence and location of vascular proliferation. Correlative electron microscopy depicted the morphological changes in transplant vasculature. Some recipients were prelabelled with 3H thymidine prior to transplantation to determine if host vessels invaded the grafts. Intraventricular graft vessels initially collapsed but sustained minimal ischemic damage and were completely reperfused by 24 hours postoperative. Adjacent intact host vessels attained peak 3H thymidine incorporation at 20 hours. Intrinsic graft vessels were radioactively labelled only after 48 hours. Intraparenchymal transplants surrounded by minimal trauma exhibited a similar temporal sequence of reperfusion and host endothelial proliferation. Intrinsic graft vessels in intraparenchymal grafts sustained more severe damage. With increased trauma, a concomitant delay in graft reperfusion time was observed. Grafts within prelabelled hosts rarely contained any labelled endothelium, indicating that anastomotic connections were made between original, intrinsic graft vessels and nearby host vascular sprouts. This study demonstrates that mature autonomic tissue stimulates the growth of adjacent host vessels when transplanted to undamaged brain surfaces. The anastomosis of nascent host vessels with pre-existing graft vessels is responsible for the rapid re-establishment of circulation within the transplants. A similar mechanism occurs within intraparenchymal grafts, although the rapidity of reperfusion appears to be predicated on the amount of trauma present at the graft site.     

Vasculogenic mimicry has no prognostic significance in pT3 and pT4 cutaneous melanoma

The concept of vasculogenic mimicry has been introduced to define periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-positive channels and loops lined by tumor cells, instead of endothelium, able to contribute to microcirculation in uveal melanomas. Previous studies have shown that the PAS-positive patterns are associated with a poor prognosis in uveal melanoma. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether vasculogenic mimicry has a prognostic impact in pT3 and pT4 cutaneous melanoma. Fifteen patients with pT3 and pT4 cutaneous melanoma who did not experience progression after 10 years of follow-up and 30 matched controls who underwent progression were selected. Tumor sections were stained with PAS reaction, omitting the nuclear counterstaining. For immunohistochemistry, sections were stained with CD31, CD105 (endoglin), and laminin. Differences in the distribution of the PAS-positive patterns and a series of clinicopathological variables were evaluated by the Pearson chi(2) and Mann-Whitney U tests. We observed PAS-positive linear sheets, arcs, elliptical loops, and networks encircling roundish to oval aggregates of melanoma cells. The overall distribution of the PAS-positive patterns did not match with the blood microvessels' architecture as detected by immunohistochemical analysis. No statistically significant differences in the distribution of PAS-positive patterns were found between cases and controls. The presence of a parallel pattern correlated significantly with thickness (P = 0.04), whereas an inverse correlation was found with vessel area (P = 0.05). In conclusion, our results suggest that there is a mismatch between vasculogenic mimicry and tumor angiogenesis and do not support any prognostic role of vasculogenic mimicry in thick cutaneous melanoma.     

Women with endometriosis have increased levels of placental growth factor in the peritoneal fluid compared with women with cystadenomas

BACKGROUND: To assess the release of placental growth factor (PlGF) into peritoneal fluid in women with and without endometriosis, we measured its concentration with reference to disease stage, the presence of red endometriotic lesions and the phase of menstrual cycle. METHODS: Surgery was scheduled in the proliferative or secretory phase of the menstrual cycle for 59 women with (n = 35) or without (n = 24) endometriosis. The latter group comprised women undergoing surgery for ovarian cystadenomas. PlGF concentrations in the peritoneal fluid were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: PlGF concentration in the peritoneal fluid was markedly elevated in the endometriosis patients (median 189 pg/ml, interquartile range 84-475 pg/ml) as compared with the controls (88 pg/ml, 41-213 pg/ml; P < 0.001), especially in women with red lesions. Significantly greater values during the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle as compared with the proliferative phase were observed in both the control (cystadenoma) group (P < 0.05) and the endometriosis group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that production of PlGF is sensitive to the cyclic changes in ovarian steroids and may contribute to the pathogenesis of endometriosis, especially that of red lesions, by promoting neovascularization.     

角膜缘干细胞移植治疗兔眼表碱烧伤的实验研究

目的 :探讨眼表碱烧伤后行角膜缘干细胞移植术的疗效 ,并与单纯行角膜移植术组作比较。方法 :在 16只兔双眼上制作碱烧伤模型 ,1d后 ,右眼行异体板层角膜缘干细胞移植术 ,左眼行异体板层角膜移植术 ,术后观察 6月 ,根据术眼的角膜新生血管分级、植片的混浊度、水肿度来计算移植排斥反应指数 (RI) ,以RI值判断植片的存活情况。结果 :行异体板层角膜缘干细胞移植术的 16眼中有 14眼RI <9,治愈率达 87.5 % ;行单纯异体板层角膜移植的 16眼中 6眼RI值 <9,有效率 3 7.5 % ;两者相比有显著性差异 (P <0 .0 0 1)。两组的新生血管数、植片的混浊度、水肿度及RI值均有显著性差异。结论 :含干细胞的异体角膜缘移植治疗眼表碱烧伤的疗效明显优于单纯异体角膜移植 ,是一种较有效的方法。     

血管抑素抑制兔眼表碱烧伤角膜缘移植术后的角膜血管新生

目的:检测眼表碱烧伤角膜缘移植术后血管抑素抑制角膜新生血管的作用。方法:16只新西兰大白兔双眼制作碱烧伤模型1d后,双眼行角膜缘移植术,术后左眼局部应用血管抑素治疗2周,右眼作对照;观测4周,根据新生血管侵入角膜缘内的范围、角膜混浊与水肿程度进行分级并作统计学处理;同时测量术后7、14、21及28d的眼压。结果:术后4周时,应用血管抑素的左眼的新生血管的评分为1.19±0.10,而对照组为1.63±0.72,统计学处理显示左眼的新生血管较右眼的明显减少(P<0.05),角膜混浊与水肿程度亦明显下降。各时间点各术眼的眼压均在正常范围,无统计学差异。结论:局部应用血管抑素能有效抑制眼表碱烧伤角膜缘移植术后的新生血管增生。     

Isolation of endothelial progenitor cells from cord blood and induction of differentiation by ex vivo expansion

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been reported to possess the capacity to colonize vascular grafts and hold promise for therapeutic neovascularization. However, limited quantities of EPCs have been the major factor impeding effective research on vasculoangiogenesis. In this study, cytokine and culture conditions necessary for the provision of large quantities of endothelial cells (ECs) were investigated. Cord blood was collected from 18 normal full-term deliveries and CD34+ cells were isolated by MACS system (Miltenyi Biotech, Bergish-Gladbach, Germany). To evaluate the effect of cytokines, CD34+ cells were cultured with various cytokine combinations, such as stem cell factor (SCF), flt3-ligand (FL), and thrombopoietin (TPO) with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin-1 beta , fibroblast growth factor-basic (FGF-b) as basic cytokines. The quantities of non-adherent and adherent cells were the greatest with SCF, FL and TPO. The addition of TPO to all other cytokines significantly increased the number of non-adherent and adherent cells (p< 0.05, Wilcoxon rank sum test). After four weeks of culture, adherent cells expressed endothelial specific markers such as KDR, CD31 and CD62E. Typical morphology of ECs was observed during culture, such as cord-like structure and cobblestone appearance, suggesting that the adherent cells were consistent with ECs. In this study, the experimental conditions that optimize the production of ECs for therapeutic neovascularization were described. And it was possibly suggested that TPO plays a major role in differentiation from EPCs to ECs.