Co-transplantation of endothelial progenitor cells and hepatocyte stem cells launches a counterattack against liver fibrosis in rats / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND: At present, the transplantation of bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (BM-EPCs) or bone marrow-derived hepatocyte stem cells (BDHSCs) is common in the treatment of liver fibrosis, but the combined treatment for liver fibrosis is rarely reported. Combined transplantation of BM-EPCs possessing the function of angiogenesis and BDHSCs possessing the function of hepatocyte regeneration might play a dual anti-fibrosis role. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reversal effect on liver fibrosis by the combined transplantation of BM-EPCs and BDHSCs in rats. METHODS: The liver fibrosis rat models were induced with CCl4 subcutaneous injections for 6 weeks. BM-EPCs of rats with liver fibrosis were obtained by culture induction in vitro.BDHSCs of rats with liver fibrosis were obtained by magnetic bead cell sorting.BM-EPCs and/or BDHSCs were transplanted into liver fibrosis rats via the tail vein and branch of the portal vein,and then the effects of BDHSCs transplantatiron on liver fibrosis and liver function were observed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Masson staining results showed transplantations of BDHSCs and BM-EPCs, alone or both, could suppress the formation of collagen fibers. However, the staging scores of liver fibrosis showed that only the combined transplantation of BM-EPCs and BDHSCs could significantly improve liver fibrosis,which was significantly different from the model group(1.75±0.25 vs. 3.00±0.19, P < 0.05). (2) The liver biochemical assay in the blood showed that the levels of all five parameters of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, prothrombin time, and activated partial thromboplastin time in the BM-EPCs/BDHSCs group were significantly improved to be equivalent to normal levels, compared with those in the model group (P < 0.05). To conclude, it is an effective treatment for liver fibrosis by the co-transplantation of BM-EPCs and BDHSCs.

Study on the molecular epidemiological characteristics of norovirus in acute gastroenteritis of Beijing / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the prevalence, genotypes and molecular characteristics of norovirus (NoV) in acute gastroenteritis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>RT-PCR was used to determine the molecular epidemiology of NoV.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Out of 685 samples, 66 positive specimens were identified and the prevalence was 9.6% (66/685), 9.9% in males and 9.4% in females, respectively, with no significant difference. The prevalence rates showed no differences between age groups or between inpatients and outpatients. NoV gastroenteritis did not present any seasonal distribution. 43 out of the 66 specimens were classified, with 10 (22.7%) belonged to GI including 2 GI.3, 1 GI.4, 4 GI.5 and 3 GI.7. Other 33 (77.3%) belonged to GII genogroup, including GII.4 accounted for 60.6% (20/33) and followed by 7 GII.12, 2 GII.6, 1 GII.2, 1 GII.3, 1 GII.5. Six specimens mixed with GI and GII and 3 specimens were classified as GI.3/GII.7, GI.5/GII.5 and GI.4/GII.4.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The main symptoms of acute gastroenteritis were abdominal pain, nausea, vomit and fever. There were many genotypes identified in our study and the main genotypes were GII.4/2006a and 2006b. GI and GII could be coinfected with each other.</p>

Efficacy of peginterferon alpha-2a in combination with ribavirin in treatment of eldly patients with chronic hepatitis C / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the clinical efficacy of PEG-Interferon alpha-2a combined with ribavirin in eldly chronic hepatitis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty patients with chronic hepatitis C were divided into treatment group and comparative group. The twenty eldly patients of treatment group receive peg-interferon alpha-2a 135-180 microg subcutaneous injection every week combined with ribavirin 600-1000 mg/d for 48 weeks, and twenty adult patients of control group receive peg-interferon 135-180 microg subcutaneous injection every week combined with ribavirin 800-1200 mg/d for 48 weeks. The rapid virological response (RVR) rate, early virological response (EVR) rate, end of treatment virological response (ETVR) rate, sustained virological response (SVR) rate, nonresponder rate, relapse rate and the side reaction was assessed, then to compare the differences between the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The RVR rate, EVR rate, ETVR rate, SVR rate, nonresponder rate, relapse rate was 60%, 70%, 75%, 60%, 10%, 10% respectively, accordingly the rate in control group was 75%, 80%, 85%, 75%, 5%, 10%. The difference between the two group were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Compared with the control group, the rate of neutropenia was higher in treatment group (P < 0.05). There was no difference between the two groups in influenza-like side effect, anemia, thrombocytopenia and gastrointestinal side reaction.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The eldly patients with Chronic Hepatitis C using general dose peg-IFNalpha-2a combined with lower dose ribavirin can still obtain the similar efficiency and excellent tolerance when the basic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and side effects were treated successfully.</p>

Effect of interleukin 10 gene-modified bone marrow-derived liver stem cells transplantation on hepatic inflammatory response and liver regeneration in hepatic fibrosis rats / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore effect of interleukin 10 (IL-10) gene-modified bone marrow-derived liver stem cells (BDLSCs) transplantation on hepatic inflammatory response and liver regeneration in rats with liver fibrosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>50 female Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: (1) control group: 10 rats were subcutaneously injected with olive oil for 8 weeks; (2) fibrosis groups: 16 rats were subcutaneously injected with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) for 8 weeks to induce liver fibrosis; (3) BDLSC group: 12 rats were subcutaneously injected with CCl4 for 8 weeks, and were transplanted with 2 x 10(5) BDLSC at week 4; (4) BDLSC/IL-10 group: 12 rats were subcutaneously injected with CCl4 for 8 weeks, and were transplanted with 2 x 10(5) IL-10 gene-modified BDLSC at week 4. IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) in liver tissues were detected by ELISA. HE stained liver tissues were observed under light microscope. The expression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was quantified by real-time RT-PCR, and the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was determined by immunohistochemistry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The ratio of IL-10/TNFa in fibrosis group (0.05+/-0.01) was lower than that in control group (0.26+/-0.04) (P < 0.01). Transplantation of untreated BDLSCs did not improve the ratio (P > 0.05), however, transplantation of IL-10 modified BDLSCs improved the ratio significantly (P < 0.01). Severe inflammatory response and fibrosis were observed in fibrosis group. Inflammatory response was alleviated to some extent in the BDLSC group, and the histopathology of BDLSC/IL-10 group was not significantly different from that of the control group. Compared to the control group, the expression of HGF mRNA and PCNA protein was increased in the fibrosis group (P < 0.01). The expression of HGF and PCNA was further increased by BDLSCs or IL-10 modified BDLSCs transplantation. Compared to BDLSCs, IL-10 gene-modified BDLSCs were more potent to induce the expression of HGF and PCNA.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Transplantation of IL-10 gene-modified BDLSCs can alleviate hepatic inflammatory response and promote liver regeneration in hepatic fibrosis rats.</p>

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Adolescents with Family History of Hypertension / 中华高血压杂志

Objective To explore the risk factors of cardiovascular disease in adolescents with a family history of hypertension.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 3874 adolescents ages 13-18 years,with normal BP in 3724 people.Based on family history of hypertension (FH),the cohort of adolescents were dichoto- mized as postive family history (FH~+,n=1145) and negative (FH~-,n=2579).Height,weight,waist circum- ference,hip circumference,blood pressure and fasting plasma glucose(FPG),total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C) were determined.Results FH~+ adolescents had signifi- cantly higher levels of body mass index(BMI),waist circumference,WHR,FPG,TC and LDL-C(P

Effects of AcSDKP on proliferation and secretion of extracellular matrix in rat active hepatic stellate cells / 上海第二医科大学学报

Objective To study the effects of N-acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline(AcSDKP) on proliferation and synthesis and secretion of extracellular matrix(ECM) in rat active hepatic stellate cells(HSCs). Methods Primary cultures of HSCs when actived were subjected to AcSDKP(0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 nmol/L, respectively) treatment, and control group was established. The expression of collagen Ⅰ(ColⅠ) and collagen Ⅲ(Col Ⅲ) mRNA were analyzed with RT-PCR. The proliferation of HSCs was detected by MTT. Hyaluronic acid (HA) and laminin(LN) in the supernatant were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Compared with control group, the proliferation of active HSCs was significantly inhibited by 1 and 10 nmol/L AcSDKP. 1, 10 nmol/L AcSDKP and 0.1 to 100 nmol/L AcSDKP significantly inhibited the expression of HSCs ColⅠ mRNA and Col Ⅲ mRNA, respectively. Expression of HA and LN in the supernatant were significantly inhibited by 0.1, 1, 10 nmol/L and 0.1, 1 nmol/L AcSDKP, respectively. ConclusionAcSDKP can inhibit synthesis and secretion of ECM in active HSCs in a dose-dependent manner, with a maximum inhibition effect at 1 nmol/L AcSDKP. The mechanism may involve the inhibition of the proliferation of HSCs,which leads to the decrease of HSCs that synthesize and secrete ECM.

Body Mass Index,but not Waist/Height Ratio,Closely Related to Adolescents Hyuertension / 中华高血压杂志

Objective To delineate the relationship between body mass index(BMI),waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)and hypertension in adolescents.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 3874 adolescents ages 13-18 years.They were classified into four groups according to BMI and WHtR,group A:normal BMI and WHtR