A Retrospective Study for Labia Minora Reduction by Serrated-shaped Resection.

Background: The demand for genital plastic surgery has increased dramatically among female patients globally. Although various labia minora reduction procedures have been applied with different indications, advantages, and disadvantages, none has been universally accepted as the best method. So, we presented an innovative strategy for this increasingly demanded reconstructive procedure. Methods: In this retrospective study, we included 29 patients seen between November 2020 and May 2023 with hypertrophic labia minora. The patients with hypertrophic labia minora after serrated-shaped resection were included for analysis. Patient satisfaction and complications were evaluated through the follow-up after the operation. Results: Patients with a mean age of 27.1 years (range 19-47 y) performed labia minora reduction via serrated-shaped resection. One patient experienced incision dehiscence, requiring additional surgical revision. One patient experienced postoperative cosmetic asymmetry and also performed secondary repair surgery. One patient experienced urinary retention, which was relieved after urinary catheterization. High overall patient satisfaction has been achieved after a median follow-up of 6.7 months (range 1-24 months). No flap necrosis, sexual dysfunction, or hypertrophic scarring has been reported. Conclusions: Results suggested that serrated-shaped resection is a novel technique for repairing hypertrophic labia minora with high efficiency and satisfaction. The procedure could effectively improve the appearance of the labia minora and reduce complications.

Evaluation of combining ultrapulse CO2 with fractional CO2 laser for the treatment of atrophic scars in Asians.

Various treatment modalities have been applied to atrophic scars. Fractional CO2 laser treatment has attracted increasingly more attention because of its quicker recovery time and fewer side effects. However, its limitation of sculpting the edge is an urgent shortcoming. In order to achieve a more effective result with fewer complications, we have integrated ultrapulse CO2 and fractional CO2 lasers to for the treatment of facial atrophic scars. The study included 25 patients (10 males and 15 females) diagnosed with moderate to severe atrophic scars between August 2020 and July 2022. All subjects underwent the same surgical treatment. The effects were assessed at baseline, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months using photographic evidence. Objective evaluation of the results was conducted using a quartile grading scale, while the subjects' satisfaction and any adverse events were also recorded. The patients in the study underwent more than two laser sessions (2-5), resulting in substantial improvement in their appearance. The time interval between each session was 3-6 months. The majority of the patients (19/25, 76%) had a significant or even excellent improvement. Any adverse events observed, such as erythema, superficial crusting, and PIH, were of a mild nature and temporary in duration. This treatment combined two CO2 lasers is an effective and safe choice for atrophic scars in Asians.

Comparisons of the effects of topical anti-scar drugs on post-surgical facial scar formation: a clinical investigation.

OBJECTIVES: Scarring is a common but intricate problem, and topical anti-scarring drugs are the most widely used treatment. However, the wide range of drugs available makes it difficult for doctors and patients to choose from because of the lack of clinical comparisons. Therefore, we conducted an observational study to compare the clinical efficacy of different topical anti-scarring drugs. METHODS: Patients with post-suturing facial scars were enrolled in this study. The questionnaire was designed to record the basic characteristics of the patients. The Vancouver Scar Scale, SCAR scale, and measurements of scar width and thickness were used to evaluate scar quality. Patients who met the inclusion criteria were divided into four groups for comparison: the silicone preparation (SP), onion extract (OE), asiaticoside (AC) groups, and the untreated blank control (BC) group. The overall data were analyzed before they were confined to the zygomatic region. RESULTS: A total of 127 eligible patients were enrolled in this study. The results of the total and zygomatic scars demonstrated that SP, OE, and AC groups resulted in narrower scars and lower scar scale scores. The SP group depicted higher melanin efficacy than the other two groups. The OE group had the best pliability, whereas the AC group had the thinnest scar. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we acquired expertise with different topical anti-scar agents: SP significantly reduced melanin levels, OE mainly benefited scar pliability, and AC was better at reducing scar thickness. These differences may be more instructive for clinical applications.

Effects of chitosan-collagen dressing on wound healing in vitro and in vivo assays.

The present study was designed to fabricate a new chitosan-collagen sponge (CCS) for potential wound dressing applications. CCS was fabricated by a 3.0% chitosan mixture with a 1.0% type I collagen (7:3(w/w)) through freeze-drying. Then the dressing was prepared to evaluate its properties through a series of tests. The new-made dressing demonstrated its safety toward NIH3T3 cells. Furthermore, the CCS showed the significant surround inhibition zone than empty controls inoculated by E. coli and S. aureus. Moreover, the moisture rates of CCS were increased more rapidly than the collagen and blank sponge groups. The results revealed that the CCS had the characteristics of nontoxicity, biocompatibility, good antibacterial activity, and water retention. We used a full-thickness excisional wound healing model to evaluate the in vivo efficacy of the new dressing. The results showed remarkable healing at 14th day post-operation compared with injuries treated with collagen only as a negative control in addition to chitosan only. Our results suggest that the chitosan-collagen wound dressing were identified as a new promising candidate for further wound application.

Development of a Chitosan-Vaseline Gauze Dressing with Wound-Healing Properties in Murine Models.

Wound dressings are always needed after skin injury; however, most of the dressings still leave room for improvement. Here, we would like to develop an effective dressing with the ability to improve wound healing. A chitosan-Vaseline gauze (CVG) dressing was developed by coating the chitosan mixture and Vaseline on sterile gauze with subsequent drying. Infrared spectroscopy and electron microscopy were used to investigate the miscibility and structure of the dressing. The cytotoxicity and antibacterial nature were evaluated in vitro. The studies of water retention rate, wound healing, and tissue compatibility were carried out over a period of 14 days on full-thickness skin wounds of male Sprague-Dawley rats. It was observed that the CVG dressing demonstrated functional structure by miscibility, non-cytotoxicity, and good antibacterial effects against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The water retention rate incresased up to 25% after applying CVG for 3 hours. Besides, CVG treatment increased angiogenesis and improved microvascular density in wounds. The wounds treated with CVG showed size deduction with new collagen aggregations similar to those in the normal dermis. All the aforementioned results suggest that CVG dressing could be a promising candidate for wound treatment.

Rapid Neutralization Testing System for Zika Virus Based on an Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that has been associated with neuropathology in fetuses and adults, imposing a serious health concern. Therefore, the development of a vaccine is a global health priority. Notably, neutralization tests have a significant value for vaccine development and virus diagnosis. The cytopathic effect (CPE)-based neutralization test (Nt-CPE) is a common neutralization method for ZIKV. However, this method has some drawbacks, such as being time-consuming and labor-intensive and having low-throughput, which precludes its application in the detection of large numbers of specimens. To improve this problem, we developed a neutralization test based on an enzyme-linked immunospot assay (Nt-ELISPOT) for ZIKV and performed the assay in a 96-well format. A monoclonal antibody (mAb), 11C11, with high affinity and reactivity to ZIKV was used to detect ZIKV-infected cells. To optimize this method, the infectious dose of ZIKV was set at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.0625, and a detection experiment was performed after incubating for 24 h. As a result, under these conditions, the Nt-ELISPOT had good consistency with the traditional Nt-CPE to measure neutralizing titers of sera and neutralizing antibodies. Additionally, three neutralizing antibodies against ZIKV were screened by this method. Overall, we successfully developed an efficient neutralization test for ZIKV that is high-throughput and rapid. This Nt-ELISPOT can potentially be applied to detecting neutralizing titers of large numbers of specimens in vaccine evaluation and neutralizing antibody screening for ZIKV.

The effect of topical ramipril and losartan cream in inhibiting scar formation.

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays an important role in scar formation. We have previously shown that oral administration of ramipril and losartan could inhibit scarring. For easier application, here we developed a series of topical ramipril and losartan creams in different concentrations and formulations to explore the effect on scar formation in a C57BL/6 mouse scar model. The harvested scar tissues were analyzed with H&E staining, Masson staining and immunohistochemical staining. We found the group treated with 0.2% losartan urea cream (Prep. 1) or 0.1% ramipril cream (Prep. 2) had significantly smaller scars compared to the negative control, while the proliferation of fibroblasts was less active and the collagen fibers were more regular; both groups showed similar efficacy with the positive control (triamcinolone acetonide urea). We also found that drug transdermalness couldn't directly determine the efficacy. Our findings indicate that local application of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor drugs (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blocker drugs (ARBs) can reduce scarring by reducing the expression of collagen I, collagen III, phosphorylated small mothers against decapentaplegic 3 (p-Smad3) and transforming growth factor-ß 1 (TGF-ß1). This may provide new insight on scar treatment in clinic.

Inhibitory effect of 980-nm laser on neural activity of the rat's cochlear nucleus.

Near-infrared radiation (NIR) has been described as one of the highest-resolution tools for neuromodulation. However, the poor tissue penetration depth of NIR has limited its further application on some of the deeper layer neurons in vivo. A 980-nm short-wavelength NIR (SW-NIR) with high penetration depth was employed, and its inhibitory effect on neurons was investigated in vivo. In experiments, SW-NIR was implemented on the rat's cochlear nucleus (CN), the auditory pathway was activated by pure-tones through the rat's external auditory canal, and the neural responses were recorded in the inferior colliculus by a multichannel electrode array. Neural firing rate (FR) and the first spike latency (FSL) were analyzed to evaluate the optically induced neural inhibition. Meanwhile, a two-layered finite element, consisting of a fluid layer and a gray matter layer, was established to model the optically induced temperature changes in CN; different stimulation paradigms were used to compare the inhibitory efficiency of SW-NIR. Results showed that SW-NIR could reversibly inhibit acoustically induced CN neural activities: with the increase of laser radiant exposures energy, neural FR decreased significantly and FSL lengthened steadily. Significant inhibition occurred when the optical pulse stimulated prior to the acoustic stimulus. Results indicated that the inhibition relies on the establishment time of the temperature field. Moreover, our preliminary results suggest that short-wavelength infrared could regulate the activities of neurons beyond the neural tissues laser irradiated through neural networks and conduction in vivo. These findings may provide a method for accurate neuromodulation in vivo.

Computed Tomography-Assisted Auricular Cartilage Graft for Depression of the Alar Base in Secondary Unilateral Cleft Lip Repair: A Preliminary Report.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness, and safety of computed tomography-assisted auricular cartilage grafting for treating alar base depression secondary to unilateral cleft lip. DESIGN AND SETTING: For patients with obvious depression of the alar base, the difference in heights of the alar base and the piriform margin between the cleft side and the noncleft side were measured with computed tomography. If both were >3.0 mm, the cartilage was harvested postauricularly and subdivided into 2 to 4 pieces. A multiple layer graft was inserted under the depressed alar base. The procedure was performed from 2006 to 2013, and the follow-up period was 3 to 15 months. PARTICIPANTS: Chinese patients with alar base depression secondary to unilateral cleft lip were selected. INTERVENTION: Suture and cartilage graft techniques. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Differences in bilateral alar base heights and piriform apertures. RESULTS: There was no wound dehiscence, exposure of bone, or donor site morbidity. The difference in heights in the bilateral alar bases and piriform apertures decreased. There were no obvious scars in any of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: This technique has several advantages including ease of operation, minimal trauma, satisfactory outcomes, and useful references for operation provided by computed tomography. It is a superior alternative for reconstruction of secondary alar depression.

Neural Representation Of Harmonic Single Sideband Encoder In Inferior Colliculus Of Guinea Pigs.

The supplement of harmonics and temporal fine structure (TFS) information has been verified to increase the tone recognition of cochlear implants (CIs) users. However, the limited resolution of spectral and temporal in electric hearing hindered the delivery of TFS information. Harmonic single sideband encoder (HSSE) can explicitly track the harmonics of complex sounds and linearly transform harmonics into modulators conveying both amplitude modulation (AM) and TFS information to electrodes. However, it keeps urgent to develop fast, objective and quantitative methods to evaluate the TFS representation in higher level centers of auditory pathway to HSSE strategy. The study built an IC mathematical model based on spectro-temporal receptive field (STRF) by recording the vivo neural responses of inferior colliculus (IC) to a couple of original Chinese Mandarin speech and analyzing the FS representation on IC. Finally the study predicted neural response to HSSE coded speech. The results showed that the IC neuronal response evoked by HSSE coded speech contained FS information.

Efficacy of Non-Invasive Auricular Acupressure for Treating Constipation in Leukemia Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the available evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of auricular acupressure (AA) therapy for preventing constipation in leukemia patients undergoing chemotherapy. METHODS: We searched 5 English databases and 4 Chinese databases, from their inception until August 2017. Quantitative syntheses of RCTs were conducted using RevMan 5.3 software. Study selection, data extraction, and validation were performed independently by 2 reviewers. Cochrane criteria for risk-of-bias were used to assess the methodological quality of the trials. RESULTS: Five RCTs met the inclusion criteria, and most were of low methodological quality. All RCTs compared AA + routine care with routine care alone. Our analysis found that complementary effects of AA can improve the scores of the Bristol Stool Form (BSF), the Constipation Assessment Scale (CAS), and the Patient Assessment of Constipation-Quality of Life (PAC-QOL). However, the same positive results were not found in terms of the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), the EuroQoL 5-domain (EQ-5D), and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, as a potential safety therapy, AA may be recommended in addition to routine care including use of laxatives to prevent constipation in leukemia patients undergoing chemotherapy. In the future, more rigorous RCTs must be conducted to overcome the limitations of our existing data and to confirm the effect and safety of AA for managing constipation in leukemia patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Clinical Application of Split-Thickness Skin with Pedicle for Finger Wounds.

BACKGROUND: Skin grafts and pedicled flaps are the traditional methods of reconstructing injuries; both have some disadvantages. Here, we introduce a new clinical application of split-thickness skin with pedicle for repairing finger wounds. METHODS: We present the new method of split-thickness skin with pedicle used on 12 patients (18 fingers) between 2012 and 2016. The graft was sketched on the abdomen at random according to the shape of the wounds on a skin area of 1.0 × 1.0 cm-8.0 × 1.5 cm. The pedicle was divided at 7-22 days. RESULTS: During the follow-up time of 13-20 months, there were no reported cases of skin necrosis; 17 fingers obtained primary healing except 1, which required a dressing change. CONCLUSION: The split-thickness skin with pedicle proved to be valuable in the treatment of finger wounds and has the advantages of both pedicled flaps and free skin grafting.

LncRNA ZEB1-AS1 expression in cancer prognosis: Review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUNDS: Several studies have explored the prognostic value of long non-coding RNA ZEB1 antisense RNA 1 (lncRNA ZEB1-AS1) in various types of cancer. However, the role of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 in cancer prognosis remains unclear. This study aimed to summarize the prognostic value of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 in cancer. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library were thoroughly searched. All relevant studies satisfying the inclusion criteria were enrolled. The endpoints used in this study included overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and various clinical parameters. RESULTS: 11 studies containing 891 cancer patients were finally included into this study. The results showed that, compared to the patients with low expression of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1, the patients with high ZEB1-AS1expression tended to have shorter OS (HR = 1.59, 95%CI = 1.41-1.80, P < 0.01), DFS (HR = 2.70, 95%CI = 1.38-5.27, P < 0.01) and RFS (HR = 1.82, 95%CI = 1.37-2.42, P < 0.01). In addition, compared to patients with low ZEB1-AS1 expression, the patients with high ZEB1-AS1 expression were obviously associated with worse differentiation (P < 0.01), deeper invasion (P < 0.01), a more advanced clinical stage (P < 0.01), earlier organ metastasis (P < 0.01) and earlier lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: High expression of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 was an unfavorable predictor of cancer prognosis in terms of OS, DFS, RFS, tumor differentiation, depth of invasion, clinical stage, organ metastasis and lymph node metastasis. Therefore, the expression of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 might be used as a promising prognostic biomarker for cancer.

Clinical Application of 3-Dimensional Continuous Suturing Technique for Triangular Wounds.

BACKGROUND: Although there are numerous skin closure methods, there is no special method for suturing triangular skin wounds. The authors have summarized and modified their experience with a 3-dimensional (3D) continuous suturing technique for triangular wounds. METHODS: From December 2015 to September 2017, the 3D continuous suturing technique for triangular wounds has been used in 32 cleft lip repairs (48 surgical triangular incisions) and 11 cases of facial trauma (15 traumatic triangular wounds). The patients, 3 months to 39 years of age, had triangular flaps designed for esthetic purposes or triangular defects secondary to accidents. To evaluate the effectiveness of this technique, the mean follow-up was 7 months (range, 1-15 months). RESULTS: The 3D continuous suturing technique for triangular wounds can shorten the suturing time, decrease the number of thread knots, and shorten the time of surgery. All patients healed well and the stitches were removed 7 days postoperatively. The wound on both sides of the triangle was well arranged, with a good appearance and no scar hyperplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience showed that the 3D continuous suturing technique for triangular wounds is a time-saving and convenient method and can make the wounds closed tighter, more stable, and reliable. The technique can be applied to any type of triangular wounds or incisions and is not limited to the clinical scenarios described in this article.

The source of ACE during scar formation is from both bone marrow and skin tissue.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) has been found in the pathogenesis of various fibrosis diseases, and ACE inhibitor (ACEI) may affect wound healing and cutaneous fibrosis. However, there is no scientific evidence as to where the ACE is produced during scar formation. Whether it is from the cutaneous tissue or the bone marrow, or both remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the source of ACE using bone marrow transplantation in genetically modified mice, analyzed the inflammatory milieu and some growth factors in the middle of the wound healing period (4 d after the wound was induced). After having deleted the ACE from bone marrow or skin tissue, the wound/scar width in the low-ACE groups were narrower than those in wild-type (WT) controls. Loosely arranged collagen deposition and reduced vessel density were also detected in ACE-deficient mice. Lower ACE levels during scar formation were also accompanied by lower levels of TGF-ß1. In the middle of the wound healing period, ACE levels affected the inflammatory cells significantly. In the mice with a deficiency in ACE, the expression of TGF-ß1 and TNF-α decreased, but not that of IL-4. Our findings indicate that both bone marrow and skin tissue release ACE during scar formation. Deleting either of them can affect the inflammatory cells and growth factors and reduce the expression of TGF-ß1, resulting in a decreased level of scarring.-Fang, Q.-Q., Wang, X.-F., Zhao, W.-Y., Chen, C.-Y., Zhang, M.-X., Shi, B.-H., Zhang, L.-Y., Tan, W.-Q. The source of ACE during scar formation is from both bone marrow and skin tissue.

Breast reconstruction with Alloderm Ready to Use: A meta-analysis of nine observational cohorts.

BACKGROUND: AlloDerm-RTU is a new member of human acellular dermal matrix (HADM) which was launched in 2012. The present meta-analysis aimed to investigate whether AlloDerm-RTU was superior compared with previous HADMs. METHODS: All available databases were searched for retrospective or prospective studies regarding breast reconstruction with AlloDerm-RTU compared with other HADMs. The primary outcome was the incidence of complications among different HADMs. RESULTS: Two prospective and seven retrospective studies with a total of 1406 patients were enrolled. There was no significant difference in any of the complications, including the incidence of hematoma (RR 0.78, 95%CI 0.19 to 3.19; P = 0.73), seroma (RR 0.98, 95%CI 0.43 to 2.26; P = 0.97), cellulitis (RR 0.82, 95%CI 0.32 to 2.11; P = 0.68), necrosis (RR 0.69, 95%CI 0.44 to 1.10; P = 0.12), infection (RR 0.68, 95%CI 0.37 to 1.25; P = 0.22), explantation (RR 0.61, 95%CI 0.35 to 1.06; P = 0.08), and total complications (RR 0.91, 95%CI 0.55 to 1.52; P = 0.73). Subgroup analysis showed that AlloDerm-RTU demonstrated no superiority compared with FD AlloDerm, AlloMax, or DermACELL. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the outcomes were stabilized. No publication bias existed in the present meta-analysis. CONCLUSION: Four HADM products, AlloDerm-RTU, FD AlloDerm, AlloMax, and DermACELL, showed similar risks of complications. However since most of the included studies had a low level of evidence, further random trials with large numbers of patients are needed.

Madelung's Disease: Lipectomy or Liposuction?

BACKGROUND: Madelung's disease is a rare lipid metabolic disorder characterized by diffuse, uncapsulated lipomas in the neck, shoulder, and other areas. It mainly affects middle-aged men and is related to alcohol abuse, and the cause is not clear. Surgical treatments include lipectomy and liposuction. METHODS: This systematic review analyzed the treatment of Madelung's disease described in 52 articles including complete patient details, published between 2000 and 2015, and retrieved from the Web of Science, PubMed, Medline, and Embase. RESULTS: Lipectomy was performed in most cases and achieved more complete removal and better control of iatrogenic lesions of nearby structures than liposuction. Liposuction achieved good cosmetic results and is simpler and less invasive than lipectomy, but clinical experience is limited. CONCLUSIONS: Both lipectomy and liposuction have advantages and drawbacks. Surgeons should base the choice of optimal treatment on patient characteristics. Novel surgical techniques and etiologically targeted treatments hold promise as future therapies.

Zika Virus Fatally Infects Wild Type Neonatal Mice and Replicates in Central Nervous System.

Zika virus (ZIKV) has been defined as a teratogenic pathogen behind the increased number of cases of microcephaly in French Polynesia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and other South American countries. Experimental studies using animal models have achieved tremendous insight into understanding the viral pathogenesis, transmission, teratogenic mechanisms, and virus-host interactions. However, the animals used in published investigations are mostly interferon (IFN)-compromised, either genetically or via antibody treatment. Herein, we studied ZIKV infection in IFN-competent mice using African (MR766) and Asian strains (PRVABC59 and SZ-WIV01). After testing four different species of mice, we found that BALB/c neonatal mice were resistant to ZIKV infection, that Kunming, ICR and C57BL/6 neonatal mice were fatally susceptible to ZIKV infection, and that the fatality of C57BL/6 neonates from 1 to 3 days old were in a viral dose-dependent manner. The size and weight of the brain were significantly reduced, and the ZIKV-infected mice showed neuronal symptoms such as hind-limb paralysis, tremor, and poor balance during walking. Pathologic and immunofluorescent experiments revealed that ZIKV infected different areas of the central nervous system (CNS) including gray matter, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and spinal cord, but not olfactory bulb. Interestingly, ZIKV replicated in multiple organs and resulted in pathogenesis in liver and testis, implying that ZIKV infection may engender a high health risk in neonates by postnatal infection. In summary, we investigated ZIKV pathogenesis using an animal model that is not IFN-compromised.

Gene-activated matrix/bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells constructs regenerate sweat glands-like structure in vivo.

It is a significant challenge to regenerate full-thickness skin defects with sweat glands. Various skin substitutes have been developed to resolve this issue with minimal success. In this study, to yield a novel construct for in situ regeneration of sweat glands, the collagen-chitosan porous scaffold was combined with Lipofectamine 2000/pDNA-EGF complexes to obtain the gene-activated scaffold (GAS), which was then seeded with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). The porous scaffold functionalized as a reservoir for the incorporated gene complexes which were released in a sustained manner. The seeded BM-MSCs were transfected in situ by the released complexes and specially differentiated into sweat gland cells in vitro under the induction of the expressed epidermal growth factor (EGF). Application in vivo of the GAS/BM-MSCs constructs on the full-thickness skin defects of SD rats confirmed that GAS/BM-MSCs could accelerate the wound healing process and induce the in situ regeneration of the full-thickness skin with sweat gland-like structures. Analyzed by immunohistochemical staining, RT-qPCR and Western-blotting, the levels of the major sweat gland markers such as carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 8 (CK8) and cytokeratin 14 (CK14) were all up-regulated, indicating that GAS/BM-MSCs can facilitate the regeneration of sweat glands-like structure in vivo.

A neonatal mouse model of coxsackievirus A10 infection for anti-viral evaluation.

Epidemiological data indicate that coxsackievirus A10 (CVA10) has become one of the main causative agents of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and in recent years has often been found to co-circulate with other enteroviruses, which poses a challenge for the prevention and control of HFMD. Although most CVA10-associated HFMD cases present mild symptoms, severe manifestations and even death can also occur. However, the study of the pathogenesis and the development of drugs and vaccines for CVA10 infection are still far from complete. In this study, we established a neonatal mouse model for anti-viral evaluation and characterized the pathology of CVA10 infection. To develop the mouse model, both inbred and outbred mouse strains were used to compare their sensitivity to CVA10 infection; then, one-day-old BALB/c mice were selected and inoculated intraperitoneally with a CVA10 clinical strain, CVA10-FJ-01. Clinical symptoms, such as wasting, hind-limb paralysis and even death were observed in the CVA10-infected mice. Moreover, pathological examination and immunohistochemistry staining showed that severe myonecrosis with inflammatory infiltration was observed in CVA10-infected mice, indicating that CVA10 exhibited strong tropism to muscle tissue. Using real-time PCR, we also found that the viral load in the blood and muscle was higher than that in other organs/tissues at different time points post-infection, suggesting that CVA10 had a strong tropism to mice muscle and that viremic spread may also contribute to the death of the CVA10-infected mice. Additionally, to evaluate the neonatal mouse model of CVA10 infection, female mice were immunized with formalin-inactivated CVA10 and then allowed to mate after the third immunization. The results showed that maternal antibodies could protect mice against CVA10 infection. In summary, the results demonstrated that the neonatal mice model was a useful tool for evaluating the protective effects of CVA10 vaccines and anti-viral reagents.