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Objective Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt) is a new therapeutic target for ischemic stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate protective effect of liver-derived Nampt on ischemic stroke. Methods Liver-specific Nampt knockout mice were generated using the Cre/loxP system. NamptloxP/loxP mice were crossed with liver-specific Cre recombinase expression mice (Alb-Cre), and the progeny genotypes were identified by polymerase chain reaction. Body weight of knockout mice and control mice were measured. Nampt in liver and brain was determined by Western blot assay. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), a classical ischemic stroke model, was generated in liver-specific Nampt knockout mice and control mice by electrocoagulation. After 24 h of modeling, neurological deficit scores of each group were evaluated and TTC staining was performed to determine the cerebral infarction volume. The level of plasma Nampt in each group was determined by ELISA. Results Liver-specific Nampt knockout mice with the genotype of NamptloxP/loxPAlb-Cre were successfully constructed. The hepatic Nampt expression in knockout mice was significantly decreased by 74.2% compared to control mice, while there was no significant difference in the expression of brain Nampt protein between the knockout group and the control group. Specific knockout of liver Nampt gene expression had no effect on the body weight of mice. Under normal physiological conditions, there was no significant difference in plasma Nampt levels between liver-specific Nampt knockout mice and control mice of the same gender. 24 h after MCAO modeling, there were no significant differences in neurological deficit scores, cerebral infarct volume and plasma Nampt concentration between liver-specific Nampt knockout group and control group. Conclusion Liver-specific Nampt knockout mice are successfully constructed. Liver-derived Nampt has no significant protective effects on ischemic stroke.
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Sepsis can cause life-threatening organ dysfunction and is one of the leading causes of death in critically ill patients. Early diagnosis and correct treatment of sepsis are the key to reducing the fatality, however, there is no golden standard for diagnosis at present. The ideal sepsis biomarker can be used for early diagnosis and predicting poor prognosis with good sensitivity and specificity. There are many candidate biomarkers for sepsis. This article reviews the latest developments on acute phase proteins, soluble receptors, non-coding RNAs and other candidate biomarkers of sepsis that attracted more recent attention.
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Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) ,also known as neuronal nicotinic receptors ,are widely expressed throughout the central and peripheral nervous system .nAChRs play crucial roles in pain signaling .Recently ,agonists that tar-get specific nAChR subtypes have shown substantial efficacy in a wide range of acute and chronic pain models ,contributing to developing novel analgesic drugs with low drug dependence .Positive allosteric modulators offer new approaches for increasing the potency and therapeutic window of these drugs .This review summarizes the advances in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors as analgesic targets and anticipate the future directions in this field .
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Objective To discuss the effectiveness between arthroscope cleaning combined with exercise therapy and exercise therapy in senile osteoarthritis patients.Methods Two hundred and ten senile osteoarthritis patients were divided into operation group and non-operation group by random digits table method with 105 cases each.Patients in operation group received the arthroscope cleaning and exercise therapy,and patients in non-operation group received the exercise therapy alone.The visual analogue score (VAS) and international knee documentation committee knee evaluation form (IKDC) score before treatment and 1,6 and 12 months after treatment were compared.Results A total of 210 patients received the analysis of result without drop-out.There were no statistical differences in VAS and IKDC scores before treatment and 6 and 12 months after treatment between operation group and non-operation group (P ＞ 0.05).The VAS and IKDC scores 1,6,12 months after treatment were significantly improved compared with those before treatment in operation group,and there were statistical differences (P ＜ 0.05).The VAS and IKDC scores 6,12 months after treatment were significantly improved compared with those before treatment in non-operation group,and there were statistical differences (P ＜ 0.05).According to the IKDC score,in operation group 15 patients were excellent,61 patients were fine,19 patients were general and 10 patients were bad after treatment,and good effectiveness rate was 72.38％ (76/105).In non-operation group,14 patients were excellent,59 patients were fine,20 patients were general and 12 patients were bad after treatment,and good effectiveness rate was 69.52％ (73/105).There was no statistical difference in the good effectiveness rate between 2 groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Exercise therapy with guidance can significantly improve the function of senile knee joint osteoarthritis,and ease joint pain symptoms.Arthroscope cleaning combined with exercise therapy can relieve the joint acute inflammatory symptoms,but it has no significant clinical effectiveness in long-term treatment of osteoarthritis.
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Objective To investigate the expressions of hepatorna stem cell surface marker CD133 CD90 in tissues of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and evaluate their related clinical significances. Method The expressions of CD133 CD90 were detected by immunohistochemical method in HCC tissues of 93 patients, and normal liver tissues of 10 cases. Results Among 93 cases with HCC, the positive expression of CD133 were found in 71 cases (76.3%), and CD90 positive expression in 64 cases (68.8%), and the percentage of positive cells were (6.4±3.3)% and (4.3±3.9)% respectively. No positive expression of CD133 and CD90 was found in normal liver tissues (P<0.01). CD133, CD90 expressions in the HCC tissues of TNM stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ [(8.1±3.7)%,(5.7±4.2)%] were higher than those of TNM stage Ⅰ - Ⅱ [(4.1±2.3)%,(2.3±1.9)%] (P<0.01). Spearman correlation analysis indicated that the expressions of CD133 and CD90 were up-regulated as the pathohistology grades increased (P<0.05). Positive correlation was observed between CD133 and CD90 expression (r=0.402, P<0.01). Conclusions CD133, CD90 positive cells exist in HCC tissues, their expressions positively relate to the TNM stage and the pathohistology grades for HCC patients.
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Objective To investigate relationship between CD133 expression and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by detecting expressions of CD133. Methods 65 cases with HCC were enrolled and their HCC tissues and peripheral blood samples were taken. Expression of CD133 in HCC tissue was detected with immunohistochemical method and the percentages of CD45- CD133+ cells in peripheral blood were assayed by the method of flow cytometry (FCM), and 10 healthy persons were chosen as controls. Results In HCC patients, the positive expression rate of CD133 in HCC tissues was 6.4 % and the percentage of CD45- CD133+ cells in peripheral blood was 2.0 %. The expression rate of CD133 was not found in normal liver tissues and peripheral blood (P <0.01). The amount of CD133+ cells was significantly related to portal vein tumor embolus (P<0.01), tumor amicula integrality (P<0.01), pathology grade (P<0.01) and TNM stage (P <0.01), but not related to tumor diameter(P0.05) and AFP value (P0.05). It showed a positive correlation between HCC tissues and peripheral blood (r=0.36, P <0.01). Conclusion The percentage of CD133+ cell in HCC tissues and peripheral blood from HCC patient is greatly correlated to the progression of HCC. It is useful to exam the CD133 expression in predicting the diagnosis and prognosis evaluation.
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Objective:To establish a nicotine-treatment and-withdrawal rat model and to evaluate its characteristics and application through analyzing 3 parameters.Methods:Male Sprague-Dawley rats,aged 10-11 weeks old,were randomly divided into normal saline group(subcutaneous injection of saline [0.5 ml/kg] for 6 weeks),nicotine-treated group(injection with nicotine [0.5 ml/kg,3 mg/(kg?d)] for 6 weeks),and nicotine-withdrawn group(injection with nicotine [0.5 ml/kg,3 mg/(kg?d)] for 3 weeks and followed by saline injection for additional 3 weeks).Body weight,food intake,and water intake of animals were recorded during the treatment in 3 groups.The model was evaluated through analyzing body weight,serum parameters and adipose tissue weights.Results:The body weight of rats,as well as the serum levels of triglyceride and insulin,were all decreased after nicotine treatment;the weights of subcutaneous fat,visceral fat and periaortic fat were also decreased.The above indicators increased after withdrawal of nicotine.Conclusion:The established model can be used to study multiple pharmacological effects of nicotine;it can also be used for smoking and smoking cessation related studies.