In vivo evaluation of endometrium through dual-modality intrauterine endoscopy.

Female infertilities are highly associated with poor endometrial receptivity. A receptive endometrium is generally characterized by the normal uterine cavity, intact endometrial surface, appropriate endometrial thickness, and echo pattern. Acquiring comprehensive structural information is the prerequisite of endometrium assessment, which is beyond the ability of any single-modality imaging method. In this paper, we introduce a custom-made intrauterine dual-modality (OCT/ultrasound) endoscopic imaging system and achieve in vivo imaging of rabbit uteri, for the first time to our knowledge. The endometrial features of the injured uteri in both ultrasonic and OCT images are consistent with their corresponding pathology. The quantified parameters, including uterine thickness and endometrial surface roughness, show the correlation with the endometrial injury degree but with poor performance for injury classification. The combination of these parameters was proved to assess the degrees of endometrial injury more accurately. Our work shows the potential of the dual-modality system to be translated into a clinical tool, providing multiple quantitative imaging information and helping evaluate the endometrial receptivity and diagnose infertility.

Characterization, antioxidativity, and anti-carcinoma activity of exopolysaccharide extract from Rhodotorula mucilaginosa CICC 33013.

The water-soluble exopolysaccharide REPS2-A was isolated and characterized from R. mucilaginosa CICC 33013. REPS2-A was composed of galactose, arabinose, glucose, and mannose at a molar ratio of 63.1:0.2:18.3:18.3, respectively, with a molecular weight of 7.125×106Da. Based on FT-IR, NMR, and methylation analysis, REPS2-A was identified to be a highly branched polysaccharide with a backbone of (1→3)-linkedGal with Man, Gal, and Ara terminals. The branches were identified as (1→2)-linked Glc, (1→4)-linked Man, (1→3)-linked Glc, (1→4,6)-linked Man, and (1→2,3,4)-linked Ara. In addition, REPS2-A exhibited excellent free radical scavenging (DPPH, ABTS, and reducing power) and antitumor activities. These results indicate its activity against growth of the human hepatocarcinoma cell HepG2 with IC50 values of 1.0mg/mL, compared to lower cytotoxic effects on normal human hepatocyte cell L02. Studying the underlying mechanisms indicated that REPS2-A induced both dose- and time-dependent cell cycle arrest at the G1/S phase.