ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the feasibility of Brent I methods for total auricular reconstruction when expanded flap ulceration happened.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expanded flaps in the retroauricular region ulcerated during total auricular reconstruction in 8 patients with microtia. Then the expanders were removed and autologous rib cartilage frameworks were implanted. Brent I techniques for the total auricular reconstruction were employed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the wounds in 8 patients with microtia healed primarily. The expanded flaps survived completely. The reconstructed ears had good shape and appearance with little hair. The size, shape and position of reconstructed ears were coordinated with the face.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Brent I technique is an alternative method for total auricular reconstruction when the expanded flap ulceration occurs during total ear reconstruction.</p>
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Young Adult , Ear Auricle , General Surgery , Ear, External , Plastic Surgery Procedures , Methods , Skin Transplantation , Surgical Flaps , Tissue Expansion , Methods , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
China is the cradle of Chinese herb medicines,with rich plant resources. However, traditional processing methods have many disadvantages, such as high comsumption of organic solvent, long extraction time and high loss of effective constituents. For the purpose of rational use of Chinese herb medicines and accurate analysis on their constituents,the sample pre-treatment method with magnetic nanoparticles as the carrier brought new opportunities in recent years. after consulting literatures,the essay summarizes traditional extraction methods of Chinese herb medicines, characteristics of magnetic materials and their application in the analysis on Chinese herb medicines.
Subject(s)
Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Magnetics , Methods , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Plants, Medicinal , ChemistryABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Gonadotropin releasing hormones (GnRH) regulate the expression of annexin 5 in Leydig cells, and annexin 5 is supposed to be a signal molecule in regulating testosterone secretion. This study aimed to investigate the function of annexin 5 in male reproduction by observing its effect on human sperm motility in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The encoding sequence of rat annexin 5 was chemically synthesized and inserted into the HIS fusion expression vector pET28a. The expression of the fusion protein HIS-annexin 5 was induced by isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG) under the control of the T7 promoter, and the products were purified by affinity chromatography. The anticoagulant activity of annexin 5 was determined by the modified activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) test. Semen samples from 15 donors were assigned to a control and an annexin 5 group, the latter treated with recombinant annexin 5 at the concentration of 10(-8) mol/L. Sperm motility and the percentage of grade a + b sperm were measured by computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) after 20 and 60 min exposure, and the sperm ascending experiment was done after 20 min treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The product of the synthesized target gene was 947 bp in length, and the inserted sequence corresponded to the published encoding sequence of rat annexin 5. The plasmid pET28a-annexin 5 was transformed into E. coli BL21(DE3) and IPTG induced a fusion protein with a relative molecular weight of about 36,000, a purity of 95% and a high anticoagulant activity. Compared with the control group, sperm motility and the percentage of grade a + b sperm were increased by 40% (P < 0.01) and 21% (P < 0.01), respectively, after 20 min treatment with annexin 5, but neither showed any significant improvement after 60 min. The sperm ascending altitude was remarkably elevated after annexin 5 treatment, with extremely significant difference from the control group (37.84 +/- 6.35 vs. 49.5 +/- 12.27, P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>An annexin 5 recombinant expression vector was successfully constructed. The protein annexin 5 can be efficiently expressed in E. coli and effectively improve human sperm motility in vitro.</p>
Subject(s)
Animals , Humans , Male , Rats , Annexin A5 , Genetics , Pharmacology , Genetic Vectors , Plasmids , Recombinant Fusion Proteins , Genetics , Pharmacology , Sperm MotilityABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of GnRH analogues GnRHa and GnRHant on the MAPK pathway in rat Leydig cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Rat Leydig cells were primarily cultured for 24 hours in vitro and serum-starved for 2 hours, followed by treatment with GnRHa (10(-7) mol/L) or GnRHant (10(-6) mol/L) for 0, 5, 15, 30, 60 and 90 minutes, with the 0 min group as the control. Then the protein levels of phosphorylated ERK (p-ERK) and phosphorylated p38 (p-p38) were detected by Western blot, and that of p-ERK determined by the same means after co-incubation of GnRHa or GnRHant with the PKC inhibitor GF109203X at 1, 5, 10 and 20 micromol/L.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After stimulation of the Leydig cells with GnRHa or GnRHant for different times, the protein level of p-p38 showed no significant difference from that of the control group (P > 0.05). Then the Leydig cells were treated with GF109203X at different concentrations for 20 minutes and with addition of GnRHa for another 10 minutes. The level of p-ERK was significantly decreased (P < 0.05) by GF109203X at 10 and 20 micromol/L. Compared with the control, the p-ERK expression was increased by 65% at 15 minutes (P < 0.05) in the GnRHant stimulation group, by 81% (to the peak) at 30 minutes (P < 0.05), began to fall at 60 minutes, and returned to the base level at 90 minutes. The p-ERK level exhibited no significant difference from that of the control (P > 0.05) after treatment of the Leydig cells with different concentrations of GF109203X for 20 minutes and then with GnRHant for 30 minutes.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The ERK MAPK activation induced by GnRHa depends on the PKC pathway, but not that induced by GnRHant. The p-38 MAPK pathway may not be involved in the effect of GnRH analogues on rat Leydig cells.</p>
Subject(s)
Animals , Male , Rats , Cells, Cultured , Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone , Pharmacology , Leydig Cells , Metabolism , MAP Kinase Signaling System , Rats, Sprague-DawleyABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>For cardiovascular tissue engineering, acellularized biomaterials from pig have been widely investigated. Our purpose was to study mechanical properties and biocompatibility of decellularized aorta of fetal pigs (DAFP) to determine its potential as scaffold for small diameter tissue engineered vascular graft.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Descending aorta of fetal pigs was removed cells using trypsin, ribonuclease and desoxyribonuclease. Mechanical properties of DAFP were evaluated by tensile stress-strain and burst pressure analysis. Assessment of cell adhesion and compatibility was conducted by seeding porcine aortic endothelial cells. To evaluate biocompatibility in vivo, DAFP was implanted subcutaneously into adult male Sprague Dawley rats for 2, 4 and 8 weeks.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Histochemistry and scanning electron microscopy examination of DAFP revealed well-preserved extracellular matrix proteins and porous three-dimensional structures. Compared with fresh aorta, DAFP had similar ultimate tensile strength, axial compliance and burst pressure. Cell culture studies in vitro showed that porcine aortic endothelial cells adhered and proliferated on the surfaces of DAFP with excellent cell viability. Subdermal implantation demonstrated that the DAFP did not show almost any immunological reaction and exhibited minimal calcification during the whole follow-up period.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The DAFP has the potential to serve as scaffolds for small diameter tissue engineered vascular graft.</p>
Subject(s)
Animals , Aorta , Cell Biology , Biomechanical Phenomena , Blood Vessel Prosthesis , CD4 Antigens , Calcium , Metabolism , Cells, Cultured , Extracellular Matrix , Physiology , Materials Testing , Swine , Tissue Engineering , MethodsABSTRACT
<p><b>UNLABELLED</b>OBJECTIVE Crosslink decellularized canine carotid artery allograft by EDC [1-3-(dimethylamino)propyl-3-ethylcarbodiimide methiodide] and evaluate the biocompatibility of it.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Use the multi-step detergent-enzyme method to construct decellularized canine carotid artery allograft and cross-link it by EDC with the weight ratio of decellularized artery to EDC 1:1 and 1:2. Evaluate the biocompatibility of it by the cytotoxical MTT test and the rat subdermal bury test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Decellularized canine carotid artery cross-linked by EDC has a lower degradation rate treated by collagenase type II, the result of MTT test show that the EDC cross-linked decellularized artery has no cytotoxity and the rat subdermal bury test show that crosslinking greatly enhance the ability of decellularize artery to resist the enzyme degradation and lower the immune reaction. The more the artery was cross-linked , the more effects it has.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Decellularized canine carotid artery cross-linked by EDC has fairly good biocompatibility and ability to resist the collagenase degradation.</p>
Subject(s)
Animals , Dogs , Female , Male , Rats , Biocompatible Materials , Carbodiimides , Carotid Artery, Common , Transplantation , Cross-Linking Reagents , Materials Testing , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Tissue EngineeringABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To document the vascular anatomy of the distally based superficial sural artery flap and to study the vascular anastomoses between the superficial sural artery and the septocutaneous perforators of the peroneal artery.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ten fresh human cadavers were injected with lead oxide, gelatin and water. Twenty lags were then dissected and an overall map of the cutaneous vasculature was constructed. Vascular communications between the superficial sural artery and the lowest septocutaneous perforator of the peroneal artery was evaluated to determine the cutaneous vascular territory of the superficial sural flap. The distally based superficial sural artery island flap was used in 26 cases.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There is constant vascular anastomosis between the superficial sural artery and the lowest septocutaneous perforator of the peroneal artery. The 26 flaps survived uneventfully except for two of partial fat necrosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The anatomic information enhances our understanding of flap design.</p>
Subject(s)
Humans , Blood Vessels , Cadaver , Leg , Skin Transplantation , Methods , Sural Nerve , Surgery, Plastic , Surgical FlapsABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate a new technique for functional treatment of chronic facial paralysis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Based on anatomy of intramuscular neurovascular structure in the rectus femoris muscle, 7 consecutive patients with facial paralysis were treated by using a technique of microsurgically free-transferring neurovascular rectus femoris muscle segment to the face in one-stage. Follow-ups were 10 to 24 months.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All of the 7 patients showed significantly improvement in the appearance of the oral commissure and oral competence. No complications occurred in the donor site.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The above mentioned technique may have the advantages of preventing the intramuscular nerve and vessel from the surgical injury during splitting the muscle. It could also maintain the transferred muscular segment in a proper tension in the recipient site.</p>
Subject(s)
Humans , Facial Paralysis , General Surgery , Follow-Up Studies , Microsurgery , Methods , Quadriceps Muscle , Transplantation , Plastic Surgery Procedures , Transplant Donor Site , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The objective of this anatomic study was to investigate the intramuscular neurovascular configuration and to evaluate whether the muscle could be split into two functional units in transplantation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ten fresh cadavers and ten preserved cadavers were used in the study. A mixture of lead oxide, gelatin and water was injected to the femoral artery of the fresh cadaver. The rectus femoris muscle with its neurovascular pedicles was dissected and radiographed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Three vascular patterns of the rectus femoris muscle were found in the 40 cadaver legs. The muscle received its blood supply through a single vascular pedicle (12.5%), or a dominant pedicle with 1-2 ramified (80%), or two dominant vascular pedicles (7.5%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The study provided a detailed description on the intramuscular neurovascular territories of the rectus femoris muscle. Based on the neurovascular supply of the muscle, it is possible to subdivide the muscle into two functional units for segmental muscle transfer.</p>