Spatial patterns of intrinsic brain activity in rats with capsular stroke.

BACKGROUND: To explore the neural changes of brain activity in rats with circumscribed capsular infarcts to find a new therapeutic target for promoting the functional recovery. METHODS: A total of 18 capsular infarct rats and 18 normal rats were conducted in this study. All animal use procedures were strictly in accordance with the guide for the care and use of laboratory animals. After establishing the photothrombotic capsular infarct model, the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: The fMRI results indicated that the passive movement would induce strong activation in caudate, putamen, frontal association somatosensory cortex, thalamus dorsolateral, and thalamus midline dorsal in control group, and the passive movement would only induce limited activation mostly in somatosensory cortex, thalamus dorsolateral, and thalamus midline dorsal in capsular infarct models. Capsular infarct makes the cortical activity weaken in sensory-related cortex and subcortical nuclei, including capsular area and thalamus. CONCLUSIONS: Such findings imply that the posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC) is connected to these structures in function, interacts together with them, and, accordingly, the lesion of PLIC manifests the related symptoms.

Recombinant Human Regenerating Gene 4 Attenuates the Severity of Osteoarthritis by Promoting the Proliferation of Articular Chondrocyte in an Animal Model.

INTRODUCTION: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a dominant cause of morbidity and disability. As a chronic disease, its etiological risk factors and most therapies at present, are empirical and symptomatic. Regenerating gene 4 (Reg4) is involved in cell growth, survival, regeneration, adhesion, and resistance to apoptosis, which are partially thought to be the pathogenic mechanisms of OA. However, the proper role of Reg4 in OA is still unknown. METHODS: In this study, a consecutive administration of rhReg4 was applied to normal Sprague- Dawley rats or rats after OA induction. Histological changes and chondrocyte proliferation in the articular cartilage were measured. RESULTS: We found that RhReg4 promotes chondrocyte proliferation in normal rats, and RhReg4 attenuated the severity of OA in rats by promoting chondrocytes' proliferation in OA rats. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, recombinant human regenerating gene 4 (rhReg4) attenuates the severity of osteoarthritis in OA animal models and may be used as a new method for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

[Expression status of diabetes-associated genes in middle and aged cynomolgus monkeys].

A total of 138 middle and aged cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) (above 10 years) were classified into three groups based on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) values, specifically low FPG, normal FPG, and high FPG group. Total cholesterol (TCHO), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were detected in blood by automatic biochemical analyzer. The mRNA expressions of 37 diabetes-associated genes were analyzed with Real-time PCR in monocytes isolated from monkey peripheral blood. No significant correlation between the four serum lipid indictors HDL-C, LDL-C, TCHO, TG and FPG (P>0.05) were found. However, the expressions of ACE, ACLY, PRKCB1, SLC2A4, SNAP23, VAPA, IGF2BP2, and IFNG were significantly enhanced when FPG increased (P<0.05).

[Correlation between cardiovascular risk factors and the expression of cardiovascular disease related genes in cynomolgus monkeys].

The correlation between cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease related genes plays an important role in early-warning risk and early diagnosis. Thirty middle-aged male crab-eating macaques were fed a moderately atherogenic diet (0.053 mg cholesterol/kJ and 40% of calories as saturated fat) for twelve months. According to cardiovascular risk factors, we selected low-risk and high-risk crab-eating macaques, then analyzed the expression of 113 cardiovascular related genes by real-time PCR. A total of 65 genes were detected in peripheral blood leukocytes by real-time PCR. Sixteen up-regulated genes and nineteen down-regulated genes were detected in low-risk and high-risk crab-eating macaques compared to normal crab-eating macaques (P<0.05), in addition to fifteen genes that showed unique expression patterns (P<0.05). We also detected 42 genes in human peripheral blood leukocytes. The expression patterns of 22 genes were consistent between human and crab-eating macaques. These results narrowed the scope of genes for further research.

[Screening of spontaneous diabetes mellitus in middle-and old-aged cynomolgus monkey].

To screen spontaneous diabetic mellitus and explore methods for its rapid identification, the basal and inferred levels of blood glucose of 440 overweight, middle- and old-aged cynomolgus monkeys were analyzed. Diagnostic diabetes was further validated by the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and urine glucose. The average level of blood glucose of these cynomolgus monkeys was (3.88±0.98) mmol/L, which was lower than the level for suspected diabetes (5.0 mmol/L). Of them, 56 (12.72%) monkeys were identified with levels of blood glucose greater than 5.0 mmol/L and diagnosed as the diabetic subjects. This population showed impaired glucose tolerance using the OGTT and 39 of the 56 (69.23%) had glucose positive urine. The methods for screening diabetic mellitus used in this study were simple, quick, and limited the harm to animals. However, the incidence of diabetes was higher in these tested monkeys than in the regular human population in China (9.7%), suggesting that these methods are useful for screening diabetic disease in a large population but not suitable for all cynomolgus monkeys.