Establishment and evaluation of a nomogram prediction model for the risk of vascular calcification in stage 5 chronic kidney disease patients.

Vascular calcification (VC) is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD) that has a detrimental effect on patients' survival and prognosis. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a practical and reliable prediction model for VC in CKD5 patients. The medical records of 544 CKD5 patients were reviewed retrospectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent risk factors for vascular calcification in patients with CKD5 and then created a nomogram prediction model. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), Hosmer-Lemeshow test, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to assess model performance. The patients were split into groups with normal and high serum uric acid levels, and the factors influencing these levels were investigated. Age, BUN, SUA, P and TG were independent risk factors for vascular calcification in CKD5 patients in the modeling group (P < 0.05). In the internal validation, the results of model showed that the AUC was 0.917. No significant divergence between the predicted probability of the nomogram and the actual incidence rate (x2 = 5.406, P = 0.753) was revealed by the calibration plot and HL test, thus confirming that the calibration was satisfactory. The external validation also showed good discrimination (AUC = 0.973). The calibration chart and HL test also demonstrated good consistency. Besides, the correlation analysis of serum uric acid levels in all CKD5 patients revealed that elevated uric acid levels may be related to gender, BUN, P, and TG.

Structure, function and drug discovery of GPCR signaling.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are versatile and vital proteins involved in a wide array of physiological processes and responses, such as sensory perception (e.g., vision, taste, and smell), immune response, hormone regulation, and neurotransmission. Their diverse and essential roles in the body make them a significant focus for pharmaceutical research and drug development. Currently, approximately 35% of marketed drugs directly target GPCRs, underscoring their prominence as therapeutic targets. Recent advances in structural biology have substantially deepened our understanding of GPCR activation mechanisms and interactions with G-protein and arrestin signaling pathways. This review offers an in-depth exploration of both traditional and recent methods in GPCR structure analysis. It presents structure-based insights into ligand recognition and receptor activation mechanisms and delves deeper into the mechanisms of canonical and noncanonical signaling pathways downstream of GPCRs. Furthermore, it highlights recent advancements in GPCR-related drug discovery and development. Particular emphasis is placed on GPCR selective drugs, allosteric and biased signaling, polyphamarcology, and antibody drugs. Our goal is to provide researchers with a thorough and updated understanding of GPCR structure determination, signaling pathway investigation, and drug development. This foundation aims to propel forward-thinking therapeutic approaches that target GPCRs, drawing upon the latest insights into GPCR ligand selectivity, activation, and biased signaling mechanisms.

The impact of statin use before intensive care unit admission on patients with acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery.

Background: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) is a common and serious complication after cardiac surgery. The influence of statin use before surgery on the renal outcome of patients undergoing cardiac surgery is controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of statins on postoperative renal outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Methods: We included CSA-AKI patients in the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-IV database and were divided into statin group and non-statin group according to whether they used statins before entering intensive care units (ICU). The main outcomes were hospitalization and 30-day mortality, and the secondary outcomes were 60-day mortality and 90-day mortality. We used propensity score matching (PSM) to adjust for confounding factors. The 95% confidence interval (CI) and risk ratio (RO) were calculated by the COX proportional regression model. At the same time, stratified analysis was used to explore whether the relationship between the statins use before intensive care units and mortality was different in each subgroup and whether the relationship between different doses of Atorvastatin and mortality was different. Result: We identified 675 pre-ICU statin users and 2095 non-statin users. In the COX proportional regression model, pre-ICU statin use was associated with decreased in-hospital (HR = 0.407, 95%confidence interval 0.278-0.595, p < 0.001) and 30-day mortality (HR = 0.407, 95%CI 0.279-0.595, p < 0.001). The survival rate of patients who took statins before entering ICU was significantly higher than that of those who did not use statins at 30 days, 60 days and 90 days. There is a significant interaction between patients with aged>65 years (HR = 0.373, 95%CI 0.240-0.581, p < 0.001), Acute kidney injury grade I (HR = 0.244, 95%CI 0.118-0.428, p < 0.001), and without post-myocardial infarction syndrome (HR = 0.344, 95%CI 0.218-0.542, p < 0.001). The mortality in hospital and 60 days of CSA-AKI patients treated with ≥80 mg Atorvastatin before operation was significantly reduced (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The pre-ICU statin use was significantly associated with decreased risk in hospital and 30-day mortality. The preoperative use of ≥80 mg Atorvastatin may improve the prognosis of CSA-AKI.

Intracranial dissemination in a primary small cell carcinoma of the brain: a case report and literature review.

Primary intracranial small cell carcinoma (SCC) is extremely rare with only 8 previously reported cases. We describe a case of primary intracranial SCC with intracranial metastasis. A 46-year-old man presented with decreased vision and a red and swollen left eye. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a heterogeneously enhanced tumor on the left frontal lobe. Preoperative systemic computed tomography (CT), MRI, and positron emission tomography (PET)-CT revealed no extracranial tumors. The tumor on the left frontal lobe was excised. Immunohistochemical staining on the excision showed positivity for CD56, synaptophysin (Syn), cytokeratin (CK), and Ki-67 (30%), and negativity for thyroid transcriptional factor-1 (TTF-1), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), B-cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl-6), multiple myeloma oncogene 1 (MUM-1), C-Myc, Vimentin, P40, P53, CK7, CD3, CD5, CD20, CD79a, CD10, and CD23. The pathological examination strongly suggested that the tumor was a primary intracranial SCC. One year after the surgery, the patient was readmitted with slurred speech and slow movements. Three well-defined tumors were found in the left upper frontal lobe by brain MRI. Tumor resection was then performed. Further immunohistochemical examination of the excised tissue displayed the same pattern as previously, indicating the recurrence of intracranial SCC in the left frontal lobe. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy after the tumor resection. At the 2-year follow-up, he remained asymptomatic.

Aspirin reduces the mortality risk of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury: an observational study using the MIMIC IV database.

Introduction: Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) is a complication of sepsis and is characterized by high mortality. Aspirin affects cyclooxygenases which play a significant role in inflammation, hemostasis, and immunological regulation. Sepsis is an uncontrolled inflammatory and procoagulant response to a pathogen, but aspirin can inhibit platelet function to attenuate the inflammatory response, thus improving outcomes. Several studies have generated contradictory evidence regarding the effect of aspirin on patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI). We conducted an analysis of the MIMIC IV database to investigate the correlation between aspirin utilization and the outcomes of patients with SA-AKI, as well as to determine the most effective dosage for aspirin therapy. Materials and methods: SA-AKI patients' clinical data were extracted from MIMIC-IV2.1. Propensity score matching was applied to balance the baseline characteristics between the aspirin group and the non-user group. Subsequently, the relationship between aspirin and patient death was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard regression models. Results: 12,091 patients with SA-AKI were extracted from the MIMIC IV database. In the propensity score-matched sample of 7,694 individuals, lower 90-day mortality risks were observed in the aspirin group compared to the non-users group (adjusted HR: 0.722; 95%CI: 0.666, 0.783) by multivariable cox proportional hazards analysis. In addition, the Kaplan-Meier survival curves indicated a superior 90-day survival rate for aspirin users compared to non-users (the log-rank test p-value was 0.001). And the median survival time of patients receiving aspirin treatment was significantly longer than those not receiving (46.47 days vs. 24.26 days). In the aspirin group, the average ICU stay length was shorter than non-users group. (5.19 days vs. 5.58 days, p = 0.006). There was no significant association between aspirin and an increased risk of gastrointestinal hemorrhage (p = 0.144). Conclusion: Aspirin might reduce the average ICU stay duration and the 30-day or 90-day mortality risks of SA-AKI patients. No statistically significant difference in the risk of gastrointestinal hemorrhage was found between the aspirin group and the control group.

Corrigendum to "The novel putative methyltransferase METTL7A as one prognostic biomarker potentially associated with immune infiltration in human renal cancer".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15371.].

A Highly Efficient Electromagnetic Wave Absorption System with Graphene Embedded in Hybrid Perovskite.

To cope with the explosive increase in electromagnetic radiation intensity caused by the widespread use of electronic information equipment, high-performance electromagnetic wave (EMW)-absorbing materials that can adapt to various frequency bands of EMW are also facing great demand. In this paper, CH3NH3PbI3/graphene (MG) high-performance EMW-absorbing materials were innovatively synthesized by taking organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite (OIHP) with high equilibrium holes, electron mobility, and accessible synthesis as the main body, graphene as the intergranular component, and adjusting the component ratio. When the component ratio was 16:1, the thickness of the absorber was 1.87 mm, and MG's effective EMW absorption width reached 6.04 GHz (11.96-18.00 GHz), achieving complete coverage of the Ku frequency band. As the main body of the composite, CH3NH3PbI3 played the role of the polarization density center, and the defects and vacancies in the crystal significantly increased the polarization loss intensity; graphene, as a typical two-dimensional material distributed in the crystal gap, built an efficient electron transfer channel, which significantly improved the electrical conductivity loss strength. This work effectively broadened the EMW absorption frequency band of OIHP and promoted the research process of new EMW-absorbing materials based on OIPH.

Flexible ultrathin Nitrogen-Doped carbon mediates the surface charge redistribution of a hierarchical tin disulfide nanoflake electrode for efficient capacitive deionization.

Constructing pseudocapacitive electrodes with high specific capacities is indispensable for increasing the large-scale application of capacitive deionization (CDI). However, the insufficient CDI rate and cycling performance of pseudocapacitive-based electrodes have led to a decline in their use due to the corresponding volumetric expansion and contraction that occurs during long-term CDI processes. Herein, hierarchical porous SnS2 nanoflakes are encapsulated inside an N-doped carbon (NC) matrix to achieve efficient CDI. Benefiting from the synergistic properties of the pseudocapacitive SnS2 nanoflakes and few-layered N-doped carbon, the heterogeneous interface simultaneously provides more available vigorous sites and demonstrates rapid charge-transfer kinetics, resulting in a superior desalination capability (49.86 mg g-1 at 1.2 V), rapid desalination rate (1.66 mg g-1 min-1) and better cyclic stability. Computational research reveals a work function-induced surface charge redistribution of the SnS2@NC heterojunction, which can lead to an auspicious surface electronic structure that reduces the adsorption energy to improve the diffusion kinetics toward sodium adsorption. This work contributes to providing a thoughtful understanding of the interface engineering between transition metal dichalcogenides and NC to construct high-performance CDI electrode materials for further industrialization.

DC-CIK combined with chemotherapy on the efficacy, immune function, and life quality in colorectal cancer patients after radical resection.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of combined treatment of dendritic cell-cytokine-induced killer cells (DC-CIK) and chemotherapy on colorectal cancer (CRC) patients who have undergone radical resection, and its effect on immune function and quality of life. METHODS: Data of 103 CRC patients after radical resection admitted to Xianyang First People's Hospital and Yanan University Affiliated Hospital from March 2018 to March 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 50 patients treated with XELOX chemotherapy were included in the control group (CG). The remaining 53 patients treated with XELOX chemotherapy combined with DC-CIK were included in the observation group (OG). The therapeutic efficacy, immune function indicators, serum tumor markers before and after the treatment, adverse reactions, 2-year survival rate, and quality of life 6 months after the treatment were observed and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The OG was identified to have a better therapeutic effect than the CG (P<0.05). After the treatment, the OG was assessed with significantly higher levels of IgG, IgA, and IgM than the CG. The CEA, CA724, and CA199 levels in the OG were significantly lower than those in the CG after the treatment (P<0.05). No significant difference was identified regarding the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05). The quality of life six months after the treatment and the 2-year survival rate in the OG were significantly higher than those in the CG (P<0.05). The logistic regression analysis showed that pathological stage, differentiation, and treatment regimen were independent risk factors for poor prognosis (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: DC-CIK combined with chemotherapy can improve the clinical efficacy, immune function, and long-term survival rate of CRC patients who have undergone radical resection. This combined regimen shows safety and is worthy of promotion in clinical practice.

The novel putative methyltransferase METTL7A as one prognostic biomarker potentially associated with immune infiltration in human renal cancer.

Among urological cancers, renal cancer has the highest fatality rate. In a previous pan-cancer study of the METTL family, we observed a stronger association between the METTL family members and the risk of renal cancer compared to other cancers. Among these members, METTL7A, a potential methyltransferase, was identified as a protective factor, although its role and mechanism in renal cancer remain unclear. In this study, we utilized public databases to examine the expression of METTL7A in renal cancer tissues and normal tissues and found that METTL7A expression was much lower in renal cancer tissues. We also noticed a link between low METTL7A expression and poor prognosis for patients. According to the results of our functional enrichment analysis, METTL7A may have a role in immunological functions in renal cancer. METTL7A expression was strongly linked with the degrees of immune cell infiltration and expression of numerous immunological components. METTL7A had significantly different effects on the survival times of renal cancer patients with high or low immune infiltration. Our findings suggest that METTL7A may be used as both a prognostic biomarker and an immunological target for kidney cancer. In conclusion, our study sheds light on the importance of METTL7A in renal cancer and emphasizes the potential of targeting METTL7A as a novel therapeutic strategy for kidney cancer.

ZnO-decorated SiC@C hybrids with strong electromagnetic absorption.

A novel strategy is provided to improve the absorption of SiC nanomaterials through surface carbonization of SiC nanowires and hydrolysis. SiC@C-ZnO composites were synthesized with different dosages of ZnNO3·6H2O. Composition, microstructure, and electromagnetic properties of the composites were characterized and analyzed. Results from TEM and XRD show that crystalline ZnO particles adhere to the surface of amorphous carbon, and the ZnO content increases as a function of a dosage of ZnNO3·6H2O. The as-prepared SiC@C-ZnO hybrids exhibit effective electromagnetic absorption, which is related to a synergy effect of different dielectric loss processes. The minimum reflection loss reached -65.4 dB at 11 GHz at a sample thickness of 3.1 mm, while the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) reached 7 GHz at a sample thickness of 2.56 mm. Furthermore, the EAB of the samples can also cover the whole X band and Ku band at small sample thicknesses (2.09-3.47 mm). The excellent properties of the materials suggest great prospect as electromagnetic absorbers.

Alveolar-arterial partial pressure difference as an early predictor for patients with acute paraquat poisoning.

OBJECTIVE: Paraquat (PQ) is associated with high mortality rates in acute poisoning. This study aimed to determine the importance of the alveolar-arterial partial pressure difference (A-aDo2) in the expected consequences of acute PQ poisoning. METHODS: Patients who were hospitalized for PQ poisoning in 2018 were enrolled in this retrospective study. A-aDo2 data were collected. Multivariate analysis was performed using binary logistic regression to determine whether A-aDo2 is an independent risk factor for mortality from PQ. RESULTS: A total of 352 cases were analyzed. The mean PQ dose was 36.84 ± 50.30 mL (0.3-500 mL). There were 185 survivors and 167 non-survivors. The mean A-aDo2 was not significantly correlated between survivors and non-survivors on day 1. However, there were significant differences in A-aDo2 between survivors and non-survivors on days 3, 7, 14, and 21. Increased A-aDo2 values were correlated with an increased mortality rate. The mean A-aDo2 on day 14 showed the most significant difference between survivors and non-survivors. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that A-aDo2 plays an important role as a reference index, which could be a useful predictor in assessing acute PQ poisoning, especially on the 14th day after onset of poisoning.

Chemical Oral Cancerogenesis Is Impaired in PI3Kγ Knockout and Kinase-Dead Mice.

We investigated the role of PI3Kγ in oral carcinogenesis by using a murine model of oral squamous carcinoma generated by exposure to 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) and the continuous human cancer cell line HSC-2 and Cal-27. PI3Kγ knockout (not expressing PI3Kγ), PI3Kγ kinase-dead (carrying a mutation in the PI3Kγ gene causing loss of kinase activity) and wild-type (WT) C57Bl/6 mice were administered 4NQO via drinking water to induce oral carcinomas. At sacrifice, lesions were histologically examined and stained for prognostic tumoral markers (EGFR, Neu, cKit, Ki67) and inflammatory infiltrate (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19 and CD68). Prevalence and incidence of preneoplastic and exophytic lesions were significantly and similarly delayed in both transgenic mice versus the control. The expression of prognostic markers, as well as CD19+ and CD68+ cells, was higher in WT, while T lymphocytes were more abundant in tongues isolated from transgenic mice. HSC-2 and Cal-27 cells were cultured in the presence of the specific PI3Kγ-inhibitor (IPI-549) which significantly impaired cell vitality in a dose-dependent manner, as shown by the MTT test. Here, we highlighted two different mechanisms, namely the modulation of the tumor-infiltrating cells and the direct inhibition of cancer-cell proliferation, which might impair oral cancerogenesis in the absence/inhibition of PI3Kγ.

Intramedullary lesion resection as an effective treatment of spinal cord microscopic polyangiitis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), an autoimmune disease, is a subtype of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. The lungs and kidneys are the most common targets, whereas spinal cord involvement is rare. METHODS: We reported the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and management of a patient with spinal cord MPA. RESULTS: The patient showed spinal compression symptoms and was diagnosed with MPA following magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histological examination. Spinal compression symptoms were completely relieved after intramedullary lesion resection and postoperative treatment with methylprednisolone. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of MPA without typical manifestations can be challenging. MRI and histological examination are of great importance in spinal cord MPA diagnosis. Intramedullary lesion resection is an effective treatment for spinal cord MPA. Methylprednisolone is also recommended for postoperative treatment.

C,N-codoped MoSi2 ceramic with excellent heat resistance for microwaves absorption application.

Microwave absorption (MA) materials with high heat resistance have a wide range of applications in many fields. In this work, a C,N-codoped MoSi2 ceramic was prepared via a facile solid-phase reaction method and its MA properties was investigated. On the one hand, the results indicate that this ceramic possesses excellent heat resistance and the weight of the MoSi2 is almost constant when the temperature is lower than 800°C. On the other hand, this ceramic shows good MA performance when the filler loading ratio increases to 30 vol%, the value of reflection loss (RL) could reach to -17.70 dB at 7.44 GHz with the thickness of 2.0 mm and the effective electromagnetic absorption bandwidth (RL below -10 dB) could reach to 1.88 GHz (9.28-11.16 GHz) with the thickness of 1.5 mm. Multi-polarization resonance loss is considered as the predominant attention mechanism on the MA performance of this MoSi2 ceramic. This research provides a new idea for understanding resonance mechanism and greatly expands the application scope of MoSi2 ceramic in MA area.

Spinal neurofibromatosis with NF1 mutation in a classic neurofibromatosis type 1 family: A case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Spinal neurofibromatosis (SNF) is a related form of Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) with a low incidence. Here, we report a SNF patient with NF1 (OMIM *613113) mutation in a classic NF1 family to enrich the case data. METHODS: We presented the clinical data of a 27-year-old female suffered from SNF. Two NF1 individuals (the mother and the brother) in the patient's family were also described. In the SNF patient, tumors in cervical were removed by surgical operation after the spinal MRI evaluation. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemistry were performed to better characterize the excised tumors. NF1 exons of the patient and her NF1 families were further sequenced by the next-generation sequencing technology. RESULTS: The patient developed irregular café-au-lait macules, multi-subcutaneous nodules, recurrent numbness, and weakness of both lower extremities. Multiple neurofibromas were found in the whole spine by spinal MRI. Tumor-like cells and hyperplasia of ganglion cells were found in the excised tissue by H&E staining and immunohistochemistry, respectively. One-year follow-up on the SNF patient showed that after the surgery lower limb pain, numbness and convulsion were completely relieved. A common germ-line pathogenic mutation (NM_000267.3:c.1721 + 3A>G) was found in both the SNF patient and her classic NF1 families. CONCLUSION: A case of SNF with classic NF1 mutation in a classic NF1 family was identified for the first time, indicating that SNF may share the same gene mutation with NF1, while the different manifestation of NF1 and SNF may be related to gene modification.

PHBHHx Facilitated the Residence, Survival and Stemness Maintain of Transplanted Neural Stem Cells in Traumatic Brain Injury Rats.

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBHHx) is a polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) with broad application prospects in various biomedical fields. Our previous study demonstrated the great biocompatibility of PHBHHx with neural stem cells (NSCs) in vitro. In this study, we went a step further and implanted the NSC-carrying PHBHHx film to in vivo into the lesion region in a rat traumatic brain injury (TBI) model. The in vivo biocompatibility of PHBHHx, as well as the survival, migration and differentiation of the transplanted NSCs were investigated. The results showed that PHBHHx did not induce additional reactive gliosis and supported the in vivo survival and growth of the transplanted stem cells. The transplanted NSCs were able to migrate into the brain tissue and differentiated into both neurons and astrocytes. Moreover, PHBHHx seemed to be able to maintain the stemness of the attached NSCs both in vitro and in vivo. The major monomer of PHBHHx, 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-HB), might contribute to this bioactivity because the addition of low concentrations of 3-HB facilitated the self-renewal of NSCs by shortening the G1 phase, promoted their proliferation, and enhanced the expression of a key regulatory transcription factor which helped to keep the stemness of NSCs. These results highlight the application of PHBHHx as a promising bioactive material for NSC transplantation in the brain and open up a wide space for further studies on functional recovery following the transplantation of NSCs attached to PHBHHx.

Biomarker levels in gingival crevicular fluid of generalized aggressive periodontitis patients after non-surgical periodontal treatment.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of non-surgical periodontal treatment on gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) cytokines in patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAgP), in relation to clinical parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were obtained from 16 GAgP patients and 15 periodontally healthy controls. Periodontal parameters and GCF biomarker levels were evaluated at baseline and repeated 3 and 6 months after treatment for GAgP subjects. Moderate and deep pocket sites were analyzed separately. The amount of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-9, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-bb), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were measured using a highly specific and sensitive multiplex bead immunoassay. RESULTS: At baseline, cytokine levels in the moderate and deep pocket sites of GAgP patients were higher than those of the healthy control sites. In GAgP group, periodontal treatment led to improvement in all examined clinical parameters and resulted in a statistically significant reduction in the total amounts of IL-1ß, VEGF, and TNF-α, in comparison to baseline, already 3 months after therapy in both moderate and deep pocket sites and of PDGF-bb in deep sites (p < 0.01). At the concentration level, only IL-1ß and VEGF were affected. CONCLUSION: Non-surgical treatment of GAgP provided significant clinical benefits leading to a marked decrease in the GCF levels of some pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic cytokines, but not of IL-9 and PDGF-bb. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Although the periodontal therapy successfully decreased clinical signs of inflammation, the GCF levels of some inflammatory cytokines were still elevated.

A Simple Protocol to Isolate, Characterize, and Expand Dental Pulp Stem Cells.

Adult stem cells reside in body tissues to preserve organs and whole organism homeostasis. They are acquiring a prominent role in the contemporary medicine. Many protocols to isolate and cultivate adult stem cells have been so far described, though they are often lengthy, laborious, and require very expansive instruments, materials, and reagents. On this basis, we describe a simple, cheap but at the same time functional method to: (1) isolate dental pulp stem cells (DPSC), (2) expand and cultivate DPSC, (3) cryopreserve DPSC, (4) characterize DPSC, and (5) differentiate DPSC into both mesenchymal and non-mesenchymal lineages.

[Changes of CD3γ, CD3δ and CD3epsilon chains mRNAs in lead-poisoned patients after chelate treatment].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expressions of T cell receptor (TCR) signaling CD3γ, CD3δ and CD3epsilon chains in T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in lead-poisoned workers after chelate treatment. METHODS: The expression levels of CD3γ, CD3δ and CD3epsilon mRNAs in PBMCs from 16 lead-poisoned workers before and after chelate treatment and 9 healthy individuals were detected by real-time quantitative PCR. The ß2-microglobulin gene (ß2M) was used as an endogenous reference. Relative mRNA levels were calculated by the 2(-δCt)×100%. Spearman correlation analysis was used to estimate the correlations of different gene expression levels between healthy individuals and the patients as well as before and after the treatment. RESULTS: The CD3γ mRNA level in the lead-poisoned workers before and after chelate treatment has no significant difference as compared with that of the healthy individuals. The expression levels of CD3δ mRNA in the lead-poisoning workers before and after chelate treatment were remarkably lower than that of the healthy individuals. After chelate treatment, the CD3δ mRNA level in the lead-poisoned workers was lower than that before treatment. The CD3epsilon mRNA level in the lead-poisoned workers before treatment was obviously higher than that of the healthy individuals, while the expression level of CD3epsilon mRNA decreased after chelate treatment. There were no evident correlations between CD3γ and CD3δ, CD3γ and CD3epsilon, CD3δ and CD3epsilon mRNAs, while CD3γ and CD3δ, CD3γ and CD3epsilon, CD3δ and CD3epsilon mRNAs had markedly positive correlations in the lead-poisoned workers before chelate treatment, and only CD3δ and CD3epsilon had a significantly positive correlation after the treatment. CONCLUSION: The expression levels of CD3γ, CD3δ and CD3epsilon mRNAs in the lead-poisoned workers showed varied alterations, which indicated that lead poisoning had an impact on human immunity system and affected different genes in different ways. After chelate treatment, CD3δ mRNA level was still different from that of healthy individuals, which indicated that the function of the immunity system was still abnormal.