Electroacupuncture improves articular microcirculation and attenuates cartilage hypoxia in a male rabbit model of knee osteoarthritis.

Background and aim: Hypoxia of the cartilage has been considered as a potential pathogenic factor in knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Studies have shown that impaired blood perfusion of joint leads to cartilage hypoxia. Electroacupuncture (EA) has proven effects on pain relief and improving microcirculation. This study aimed to explore the effect of EA on articular microcirculation and cartilage anoxic and the underlying mechanisms. Procedures: Videman's method was used for 6 weeks to establish the KOA model. EA intervention was performed in four points around the knee for 3 weeks after KOA modeling. The Lequesne MG score was used to assess ethology. We recorded the oxygen tension of synovial fluid and the synovial microcirculation in vivo. HE-staining was used to assess cartilage morphology, and immunohistochemistry (IHC), Western blotting, and RT-PCR were used to assess expression of the major glycolytic enzymes glucosetransporter1 (GLUT1), pyruvate kinase M2(PKM2), and lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa) was used to detect lactate content. Results and conclusion: There was a significant decrease in Lequesne MG score and improvement in Mankin score after EA intervention (P < 0.01), a significant increase in synovial microcirculation (P < 0.05) and synovial fluid oxygen tension (P < 0.01), and there was significant decrease in the expression of GLUT1, PKM2 and LDHA (P < 0.01) and lactate (P < 0.05). This study suggested that EA ameliorate cartilage hypoxia and regulate glycolytic metabolism in chondrocytes in KOA model rabbits by improving articular microcirculation and oxygen tension.

Application of Acupotomy in a Knee Osteoarthritis Model in Rabbit.

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the most frequently encountered diseases in the orthopedic department, which seriously reduces the quality of life of people with KOA. Among several pathogenic factors, the biomechanical imbalance of the knee joint is one of the main causes of KOA. Acupotomology believes that restoring the mechanical balance of the knee joint is the key to treating KOA. Clinical studies have shown that acupotomy can effectively reduce pain and improve knee mobility by reducing adhesion, contracture of soft tissues, and stress concentration points in muscles and tendons around the knee joint. In this protocol, we used the modified Videman method to establish a KOA model by immobilizing the left hindlimb in a straight position. We have outlined the method of operation and the precautions related to acupotomy in detail and evaluated the efficacy of acupotomy in conjunction with the theory of "Modulating Muscles and Tendons to Treat Bone Disorders" through the detection of the mechanical properties of quadriceps femoris and tendon, as well as cartilage mechanics and morphology. The results show that acupotomy has a protective effect on cartilage by adjusting the mechanical properties of the soft tissues around the knee joint, improving the cartilage stress environment, and delaying cartilage degeneration.

Comparison of sagittal spinopelvic alignment in Chinese adolescents with and without idiopathic thoracic scoliosis.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective radiographical study investigated the sagittal alignment in healthy Chinese girls and Chinese girls with idiopathic thoracic scoliosis (T-AIS). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the sagittal alignment of the pelvis and spine in Chinese girls with idiopathic scoliosis and healthy girls and to assess whether the pelvic morphology differed between white and Chinese girls with AIS. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: It has been shown that patients with AIS have an abnormal spinopelvic balance and pelvic morphology. Race is a determinant factor of sagittal spinal alignment and serves as a reminder when planning surgical reconstruction for spinal deformity. Until now, there have been no studies documenting the sagittal lumbosacral spine morphology in Chinese girls with T-AIS. METHODS: In this study, 95 patients with T-AIS and 33 healthy age-matched adolescents were recruited consecutively. Sagittal spinal and pelvic parameters were measured from the standing lateral radiograph, including thoracic kyphosis (TK), lumbar lordosis (LL), upper arc of LL, lower arc of LL, pelvic incidence (PI), sacrum slope (SS), and pelvic tilt (PT). Analysis of variance was used in the comparison of each dependent variable between patients with AIS and healthy adolescents. The relations between all parameters were determined via Pearson correlation coefficient (r). RESULTS: For all the sagittal parameters, only the TK and the upper arc of the LL showed significant differences between girls with AIS and healthy girls. The LL, lower arc of the LL, and 3 pelvic parameters were similar for both groups. The TK was found to be strongly correlated with LL and the upper arc of the LL in both groups. However, the TK was not related to the lower arc of the LL, nor were the 3 pelvic parameters in either group. In addition, LL was found to be associated with PI and SS in both groups. The lower arc of the LL was also correlated with PI for both groups. The PI was related to PT and SS in both groups; however, no correlation was found between PT and SS. In this study, the TK (15.7°), SS (35.1°), and PI (44.2°) were found to be significantly lower in Chinese patients with T-AIS than the values reported in the AIS cohort. CONCLUSION: In our study, the Chinese girls with T-AIS had similar PI, PT, and SS values when compared with the age-matched healthy girls. There were significant differences in pelvic morphology between Chinese and white girls with AIS. These results suggest that race may influence an individual's spinopelvic morphology. Although we have shown that the TK could affect LL through the upper arc of the LL directly, the evaluation of the thoracolumbar morphology of T-AIS before surgery is important for surgical planning.

[Effect of seed soaking with aluminum on seed germination and seedling physiology of Platycodon grandiflorum].

In order to study the effect of seed soaking with different aluminum solution on seed germination and seedling physiological characteristics of Platycondon grandiflorum, two P. grandiflorum varieties'seed (the white flower and the purple flower) were soaked in Al3+ solution with different concentrations (0, 10, 100, 250, 500, 750 and 1000 mg x L) for 24 h, then germinated in illumination incubator. Results showed that the aluminum toxicity on the trends of the germination rate, germination index and vigor index was positive associated with its concentration, and the Al tolerance of the purple was slightly greater than that of the white. There were some relationships between the physiological indices, which were the leakage rate of electrolyte, the malonaldehyde (MDA) content, the activities of peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) , the free praline(Pro) and the soluble sugar contents, with the concentrations of Al. It was suggested that there was Al tolerance difference between the two P. grandiflorum varieties: the purple flower was greater than the white.

A significant increase of RNAi efficiency in human cells by the CMV enhancer with a tRNAlys promoter.

RNA interference (RNAi) is the process of mRNA degradation induced by double-stranded RNA in a sequence-specific manner. Different types of promoters, such as U6, H1, tRNA, and CMV, have been used to control the inhibitory effect of RNAi expression vectors. In the present study, we constructed two shRNA expression vectors, respectively, controlled by tRNA(lys) and CMV enhancer-tRNA(lys) promoters. Compared to the vectors with tRNA(lys) or U6 promoter, the vector with a CMV enhancer-tRNA(lys) promoter silenced pokemon more efficiently on both the mRNA and the protein levels. Meanwhile, the silencing of pokemon inhibited the proliferation of MCF7 cells, but the induction of apoptosis of MCF7 cells was not observed. We conclude that the CMV enhancer-tRNA(lys) promoter may be a powerful tool in driving intracellular expression of shRNA which can efficiently silence targeted gene.