Fucoidan suppresses proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition process via Wnt/ß-catenin signalling in hemangioma.

Hemangioma is a common benign tumour that usually occurs on the skin of the head and neck, particularly among infants. The current clinical treatment against hemangioma is surgery excision, however, application of drug is a safer and more economical therapy for children suffering from hemangioma. As a natural sulfated polysaccharide rich in brown algae, fucoidan is widely recognized for anti-tumour bioactivity and dosage safety in humans. This study aims to demonstrate the anti-tumour effect and underlying mechanism of fucoidan against hemangioma in vivo and in vitro. We investigated the effects of fucoidan by culturing hemangioma cells in vitro and treating BALB/c mice bearing with hemangioma. At first, we measured the cell proliferation and migration ability through in vitro experiments. Then, we tested the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and Wnt/ß-catenin pathway-related biomarkers by western blot and qPCR. Furthermore, we applied ß-catenin-specific inhibitor, XAV939, to determine whether fucoidan suppressed EMT via the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway in hemangioma cells. In vivo experiments, we applied oral gavage of fucoidan to treat EOMA-bearing mice, along with evaluating the safety and efficacy of fucoidan. We found that fucoidan remarkably inhibits the proliferation and EMT ability of hemangioma cells, which is dependent on the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. These results suggest that fucoidan exhibits tumour inhibitory effect on aggressive hemangioma via regulating the Wnt/ß-catenin signalling pathway both in vitro and in vivo, providing a new potent drug candidate for treating hemangioma.

Sublingual immunotherapy in mite-sensitized patients with atopic dermatitis: a randomized controlled study.

INTRODUCTION: Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has been shown to be efficacious in patients with airway allergic diseases. However, less data have been demonstrated to show the efficacy of SLIT in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). AIM: This study is to evaluate, in a randomized controlled study, the effect of SLIT with house dust mite (HDM) in patients with mild-moderate AD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: AD patients aged 4 to 60 years with a Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) score of 7-40 and sensitization to HDM were enrolled in the study. SLIT or control treatment was given for 24 months. SCORAD, visual analog scale (VAS) score were recorded at 6, 12, 24 month, and rescue medications were required to be recorded in the diary card. A serum level of specific IgE was tested at 24-month treatment. RESULTS: Ninety-six patients were enrolled, and forty-eight were allocated to SLIT. Thirty-nine patients in the SLIT group and thirty-eight patients in the control group completed the study. The patients in the SLIT group had significantly decreased ΔSCORAD, VAS and rescue medication score from 12 months' treatment compared with the control group (p < 0.05). At 24 months of treatment, no significant change of specific IgE (p < 0.05) was observed in both groups. No severe adverse events were reported during the treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Two years' SLIT to HDM significantly improved the clinical symptoms and reduced drug use in patients with mild-moderate AD. SLIT may represent an additional therapeutic tool for the treatment of AD in properly selected patients.

[A biomechanical study on polyethylene liner cementing into a fixed acetabular shell in revision total hip arthroplasty].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the strength of polyethylene linercement interface when cementing a new liner into a fixed acetabular cup in revision. METHODS: Twenty-five pairs of metal acetabular cups with polyethylene liners were randomly divided into 5 groups: 1 group with standard locking device as control group (group A), other liners were cemented into acetabular cups as 4 experimental groups. According to different intersection angles of metal acetabular cups with polyethylene liners and the polyethylene liners with or without metal ball, the 4 experimental groups were no ball 0 degrees group (group B), 0 degrees group (group C), 10 degrees group (group D), and 20 degrees group (group E), metal acetabular cups intersected with polyethylene liners without metal ball in group B, with metal ball in groups C, D, and E, respectively. The lever-out biomechanical test reproduced in vivo failure mechanism was then performed to evaluate the lever-out failure strength of liner-cement-metal cup interface. RESULTS: The values of liver-out failure force were (626.68 +/- 206.12), (915.04 +/- 197.49), (449.02 +/- 119.78), (814.68 +/- 53.89), and (1 033.05 +/- 226.44) N in groups A, B, C, D, and E, respectively, showing significant differences for comparison among groups (F = 8.989, P = 0.000). The values of liver-out failure force in groups B and E were significantly higher than that in group A (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was found between groups C, D and group A (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Cementation of polyethylene liner into a malposition shell meeting within 20 degrees can provide enough fixed strength.

[Detection of the mRNA expression of human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as a SARS coronavirus functional receptor in human femoral head].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mRNA expression of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-COV) functional receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), in human femoral head and conjunctiva, and explore the possible entry route of SARS-COV in human femoral head. METHODS: ACE2 mRNA in human femoral head was detected by nested RT-PCR with human beta actin gene as the positive control. RESULTS: The mRNA of human beta actin gene could be amplified efficiently in all the tissue samples. The mRNA of human ACE2 was expressed efficiently in the normal lung tissue, but not in the cartilage and cancellous bone under the weight-bearing area of the femoral head. CONCLUSION: SARS-COV can not infect the femoral head tissue and lead to avascular necrosis of the femoral head directly by the spike glycoprotein, and mechanism of the virus for causing avascular necrosis needs further investigation.

Effects of salmon calcitonin on fracture healing in ovariectomized rats.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of salmon calcitonin on the healing process of osteoporotic fractures in ovariectomized rats. METHODS: We performed this study in The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou, China, during the period March 2002 to December 2004. We used 120 female adult Wistar rats in this experiment, among which 90 underwent ovariectomy (OVX) and the other 30 had sham-operation. All rats had their left tibias fractured 3 months later. The 90 OVX rats were randomly divided into 3 groups with 30 in each, while the 30 sham-operated rats served as control group. After the fracture the rats had subcutaneous injection of normal saline, salmon calcitonin and estrogen, respectively. X-ray film, histological examination, bone mineral density (BMD) measurement and biomechanics testing were carried out to evaluate the fracture healing. RESULTS: Compared with OVX rats treated with normal saline, the rats with salmon calcitonin had significantly higher BMD values in the left tibia, higher max torque, shear stress of the left tibia 8 weeks after fracture (p<0.05), and presented with stronger callus formation, shorter fracture healing time and faster normalization of microstructure of bone trabeculae. CONCLUSION: Salmon calcitonin can, not only increase BMD in osteoporotic bone, but also enhance the bone biomechanical properties and improve the process of fracture healing in fractured osteoporotic bone.

[The effect of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene particle on the tissues of joint prosthesis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of the high molecular weight polyethylene on the periprosthetic tissue in vivo as to give some reference to treatment of loosening hip arthroplasty. METHODS: Every lower limb of 20 New Zealand white rabbits was implanted a Co-Cr-Mo plug in femur by intercondylar notch. 15 mg polyethylene particles, dispersed in 1.5 ml normal saline solution, were injected into one knee joint. The other knee joint was injected 1.5 ml normal saline solution as control. This procedure was repeated 2,4,6,8 and 10 weeks after the implantation. Both of two lower limbs were given a X-ray examination 10 weeks to assess if there were periprosthetic osteolysis and loosening of the plugs. All animals were killed 2 weeks afer the last injection. The distribution of polyethylene in the knee joint capsule was examined to understand if there were loosening of implants or tissue change around implants. Knee joint capsule tissues and periprosthetic tissues were examined by optical microscope. RESULTS: Nine cases formed fibrous membrane and four cases formed new bone around prostheses in experiment group. Eleven cases formed new bone and two cases formed fibrous membrane in control group (P < 0.05) The X-ray results indicated that the plugs were in distal medulla of femur. There was no sign of periprosthetic osteolysis, implants loosening or new bone formation. Optical microscope study indicated that there were a lot of polyethylene particles inside the capsule. The polyethylene particles were surrounded by multinucleated foreign-body giant cells and fibroblast. In some cases, there were fibroblasts and fibrous tissue around plug. There were no polyethylene particles and multinucleated foreign-body giant cells around plug in the marrow. There were a lot of polyethylene particles on the joint surface. The bone surface that contacted multinucleated foreign-body giant cells was coarse. CONCLUSION: Maximizing ultra high molecular weight polyethylene can restrain rabbit periprosthetic bone formation.