Generation of Human Blood Vessel and Vascularized Cerebral Organoids.

Brain organoids have been widely used to study diseases and the development of the nervous system. Many reports have investigated the application of brain organoids, but most of these models lack vascular structures, which play essential roles in brain development and neurological diseases. The brain and blood vessels originate from two different germ layers, making it difficult to induce vascularized brain organoids in vitro. We developed this protocol to generate brain-specific blood vessel and cerebral organoids and then fused them at a specific developmental time point. The fused cerebral organoids exhibited robust vascular network-like structures, which allows simulating the in vivo developmental processes of the brain for further applications in various neurological diseases. Key Features • Culturing vascularized brain organoids using human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). • The new approach generates not only neural cells and vessel-like networks but also brain-resident microglia immune cells in a single organoid.

Moxibustion intervention improves synovitis by down-regulating NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1ß signaling of synovial tissue in rats with adjuvant arthritis. / 基于NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1ßä¿¡å·é€šè·¯æŽ¢è®¨è‰¾ç¸æ”¹å–„ä½å‰‚æ€§å ³èŠ‚ç‚Žå¤§é¼ æ»‘è†œç‚Žçš„æœºåˆ¶.

OBJECTIVES: To observe the effect of moxibustion on activities of NOD-like receptor family protein 3 (NLRP3)/cysteine aspartic acid specific protease-1 (Caspase-1)/interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) signaling pathway in rats with adjuvant arthritis (AA), so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Me-thods Thirty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control, AA model and moxibustion groups, with 10 rats in each group. The AA model was replicated by raising in wind, cold and damp environment combined with complete Freund's adjuvant injection. In the moxibustion group, moxibustion was applied to bilateral "Shenshu" (BL23) and "Zusanli"(ST36) for 20 min each time, once daily for 21 days. Changes of joint swelling degree (JSD) and arthritis index (AI) in each group were observed. The ultrastructural changes of synovial cells in each group were observed by transmission electron microscopy. The protein expression levels of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), Caspase-1, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-1ß in the synovial tissues of the knee joint were measured by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with the normal control group, JSD, AI and the protein expressions of NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, TNF-α and IL-1ß in the synovial tissues were significantly increased (P<0.01) in the model group. In comparison with the model group, JSD, AI and the protein expression levels of NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, TNF-α and IL-1ß were significantly decreased (P<0.01) in the moxibustion group. Results of transmission electron microscope showed an irregular and vague nuclear membrane of synovial cells, and unclear mitochondrial membrane boundary with sparse, swelling crests in the model group, which was relatively milder in the damage degree in the moxibustion group. CONCLUSIONS: Moxibustion can relieve the inflammatory response in the synovial membrane of AA rats, which may be related to its function in down-regulating synovial NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1ß inflammatory signaling.

Ultra-slim flexible bronchoscopy-guided topical hemostatic drugs administration for the management of life-threatening refractory pulmonary hemorrhage in a preterm infant: Case report.

Pulmonary hemorrhage (PH) is a rare acute catastrophic event with high mortality among neonates, especially preterm infants. Primary treatments included pulmonary surfactant, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, epinephrine, coagulopathy management, and intermittent positive pressure ventilation. However, there are still challenges in diagnosing and treating refractory or focal pulmonary hemorrhages. Ultra-slim bronchoscopy has been widely used in the field of critically ill children and is increasingly being done in neonates with critical respiratory disease in recent years. In this study, we report a case with refractory pulmonary hemorrhage in premature infants, which was finally diagnosed as localized hemorrhage in the upper left lobe and cured by ultra-slim bronchoscopy-guided topical hemostatic drug administration. Bronchoscopy is an optional, safe, and practicable technique for early diagnosis and direct injection therapy of neonatal PH in managing life-threatening PH.

The effect of Eleutheroside E on behavioral alterations in murine sleep deprivation stress model.

Eleutheroside E (EE), a principal component of Eleutherococcus senticosus, has been reported to have anti-inflammatory and protective effects in ischemia heart etc. However, whether it can mitigate behavioral alterations induced by sleep deprivation, has not yet been elucidated. Numerous studies have demonstrated that memory deficits induced by sleep deprivation in experimental animals can be used as a model of behavioral alterations. The present study investigated the effect of EE, on cognitive performances and biochemical parameters of sleep-deprived mice. Animals were repeatedly treated with saline, 10 or 50mg/kg EE and sleep-deprived for 72 h by the multiple platform method. Briefly, groups of 5-6 mice were placed in water tanks (45 × 34 × 17 cm), containing 12 platforms (3 cm in diameter) each, surrounded by water up to 1cm beneath the surface or kept in their home cage. After sleep deprivation, mice showed significant behavioral impairment as evident by reduced latency entering into a dark chamber, locomotion and correctly rate in Y maze, and increased monoamines in hippocampus. However, repeated treatment with EE restored these behavioral and biochemical alterations in mice. In conclusion, the beneficial effect of EE may provide an effective and powerful strategy to alleviate behavioral alterations induced by sleep deprivation.