Human neural stem cells.

'Human neural stem cells' jointly drafted and agreed upon by experts from the Chinese Society for Stem Cell Research, is the first guideline for human neural stem cells (hNSCs) in China. This standard specifies the technical requirements, test methods, test regulations, instructions for use, labelling requirements, packaging requirements, storage requirements, transportation requirements and waste disposal requirements for hNSCs, which is applicable to the quality control for hNSCs. It was originally released by the China Society for Cell Biology on 30 August 2022. We hope that publication of the guideline will facilitate institutional establishment, acceptance and execution of proper protocols, and accelerate the international standardization of hNSCs for clinical development and therapeutic applications.

Human midbrain dopaminergic progenitors.

Human midbrain dopaminergic progenitors (mDAPs) are one of the most representative cell types in both basic research and clinical applications. However, there are still many challenges for the preparation and quality control of mDAPs, such as the lack of standards. Therefore, the establishment of critical quality attributes and technical specifications for mDAPs is largely needed. "Human midbrain dopaminergic progenitor" jointly drafted and agreed upon by experts from the Chinese Society for Stem Cell Research, is the first guideline for human mDAPs in China. This standard specifies the technical requirements, test methods, inspection rules, instructions for usage, labelling requirements, packaging requirements, storage requirements, transportation requirements and waste disposal requirements for human mDAPs, which is applicable to the quality control for human mDAPs. It was originally released by the China Society for Cell Biology on 30 August 2022. We hope that the publication of this guideline will facilitate the institutional establishment, acceptance and execution of proper protocols, and accelerate the international standardization of human mDAPs for clinical development and therapeutic applications.

Arteriolosclerosis CSVD: a common cause of dementia and stroke and its association with cognitive function and total MRI burden.

Objective: Arteriolosclerosis cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a common type of CSVD. This study aimed to explore the factors associated with cognitive function and total MRI burden related to the disease. Methods: The demographic characteristics, clinical manifestations, cognitive function score, Barthel Index (BI), blood test index, and follow-up results of arteriolosclerosis CSVD patients treated for the first time in our hospital from January 2014 to August 2022 were collected. White matter hyperintensity (WMH) Fazekas score, total MRI burden, and cerebral atrophy grade were evaluated according to brain MRI findings. Factors associated with CSVD cognitive function were analyzed by binary logistic regression. The correlative factors related to the total MRI burden of CSVD were analyzed by ordered multiple logistic regression. Results: A total of 146 patients were included in this study, of which 132 cases (90.4%) had hypertension. There were 108 patients (74.0%) with cognitive dysfunction, 97 patients (66.4%) with balance and gait disorders, and 83 patients (56.8%) with moderate-to-severe dependence in daily life (BI ≤ 60 points). Of 146 patients, 79 (54.1%) completed clinical and imaging follow-ups for a median of 3 years. The number of patients with cognitive impairment and BI ≤ 60 points after follow-up significantly increased compared with the first admission (P < 0.001). There were also significant differences in total MRI burden (P = 0.001), WMH Fazekas score, and cerebral atrophy grade (P < 0.001). Mean age (P = 0.012), median deep WMH Fazekas score (P = 0.028), and median deep (P < 0.001) and superficial (P =0.002) cerebral atrophy grade of patients with cognitive impairment at first admission were all higher than those with non-cognitive impairment. Multivariate analysis showed that deep cerebral atrophy was independently and significantly associated with cognitive impairment of CSVD (P = 0.024), and hypertension was significantly and independently associated with total MRI burden (P = 0.001). Conclusion: The disease course of arteriolosclerosis CSVD may be related to cognitive function and total MRI burden. Deep cerebral atrophy was an independent risk factor for cognitive dysfunction in arteriolosclerosis CSVD, and hypertension was an independent risk factor for total MRI burden.

A retrospective study of individualized endovascular treatment for symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis in patients with ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack.

Background: Endovascular treatment (EVT) is one of the effective treatment procedure for the symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (sICAS). Aim and methods: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of individualized endovascular treatment for sICAS patients. Clinical and imaging follow-ups were carried out to collect the data of 29 sICAS patients after 6 months of individualized endovascular treatment. Different treatment strategies are selected based on arterial access and lesion morphology of patients. If standard surgical path, narrow artery straight, stenosis length ≤10 mm, then the appropriate specifications of balloon-mounted stent (BMS) treatment. the surgical path is tortuous, the narrow artery is curved, the angle is apparent, the diameter of the near and far ends is significantly different, or the length of the stenosis is >10 mm, self-expanding stent (SES) with appropriate specifications is selected for treatment. If the narrowed artery is hyper flexed and the surgeon deems stenting inappropriate, balloon dilation angioplasty (BDA) treatment is chosen. Results and conclusion: 31 lesions of 29 sICAS patients received endovascular treatment. The median age was 61 years (IQR 54-69 years). The median preoperative stenosis was 90% (IQR 80-95%), and the mean stenosis length was (8.10 ± 3.27) mm. The most commonly used surgical procedure was Balloon-Mounted Stent (BMS) in 19 cases (65.52%), Self-expanding Stent (SES) in seven cases (24.14%), Balloon Dilation Angioplasty (BDA) in three cases (10.34%). (11.86 + 1.46 mm) was greater than that in the BMS group (6.14 + 1.59 mm) (P < 0.001). The median stenosis was 90% (IQR 80-92.5%) in the BMS group, lower than 99% (IQR 95-100%) in the SES group (P < 0.001). The median post-operative residual stenosis was 20% (IQR 15-25%), significantly improved compared with preoperative (P < 0.001). The success rate of the surgical technique was 93.10% (27/29). One patient (3.45%) had IS recurrence within 48 h after surgery, and the restenosis rate within 6 months after surgery was 6.90% (2/29). No patient died or had recurrent IS. Our data demonstrated that individualized endovascular treatment method could be potentially significant and safe for sICAS patients. This study will provide an important reference for the endovascular treatment of sICAD.

High serum OX40 ligand correlates with severity and mortality in patients with massive cerebral infarction.

OX40 ligand (OX40L) is a member of tumor necrosis factors (TNF)/TNFR superfamily and is mainly expressed in activated T cells and participates in various inflammatory reactions. However, it remains unclear about the role of serum OX40L as a biomarker of cerebral infarction (CI). This study aimed to explore the possibility of serum OX40L as a meaningful predictor in mortality of CI. Severe CI patients were included to collect clinicopathological and laboratory data and measure serum OX40L level. Patients were followed up after discharge and 60-day survival rate was used as the study endpoint. The results showed that of all 294 patients, 123 (41.8%) died within 60 days after admission. Serum OX40L levels were significantly higher in patients with severe CI compared to healthy controls, and were significantly higher in nonsurvivors compared to survivors (P < .05). The levels of OX40L were correlated with Glasgow Coma Scale score, serum creatinine and high-sensitive C-reactive protein. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that serum OX40L level was an independent prognostic factor for 60-day mortality, after control of pulmonary infection, glasgow coma scale score and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (odds ratio = 1.089; 95% confidence interval = 1.053-1.126; P < .001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to predict the best cut-off of serum OX40L for 60-day survival as 35.5 ng/mL. Patients with high serum OX40L levels (>35.5 ng/mL) had a significantly higher mortality within 60 days (hazard ratio = 2.885; 95% confidence interval = 1.901-4.378). In conclusion, OX40L is a serum biomarker of patients with CI and associated with severity and mortality of this disease.

Research Progress of Near-Infrared Fluorescence Immunoassay.

Near-infrared fluorescence probes (NIFPs) have been widely used in immunoassay, bio-imaging and medical diagnosis. We review the basic principles of near-infrared fluorescence and near-infrared detection technology, and summarize structures, properties and characteristics of NIFPs (i.e., cyanines, xanthenes fluorescent dyes, phthalocyanines, porphyrin derivates, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), quantum dots and rare earth compounds). We next analyze applications of NIFPs in immunoassays, and prospect the application potential of lateral flow assay (LFA) in rapid detection of pathogens. At present, our team intends to establish a new platform that has highly sensitive NIFPs combined with portable and simple immunochromatographic test strips (ICTSs) for rapid detection of food-borne viruses. This will provide technical support for rapid detection on the port.