The surface nanostructures of titanium alloy regulate the proliferation of endothelial cells

To investigate the effect of surface nanostructures on the behaviors of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), surface nanostructured titanium alloy (Ti-3Zr2Sn-3Mo-25Nb, TLM) was fabricated by surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) technique. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were employed to characterize the surface nanostructures of the TLM, respectively. The results demonstrated that nano-crystalline structures with several tens of nanometers were formed on the surface of TLM substrates. The HUVECs grown onto the surface nanostructured TLM spread well and expressed more vinculin around the edges of cells. More importantly, HUVECs grown onto the surface nanostructured TLM displayed significantly higher (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05) cell adhesion and viabilities than those of native titanium alloy. HUVECs cultured on the surface nanostructured titanium alloy displayed significantly higher (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05) productions of nitric oxide (NO) and prostacyclin (PGI2) than those of native titanium alloy, respectively. This study provides an alternative for the development of titanium alloy based vascular stents

The Significance of Enzyme Immunoassay for the Assessment of Hepatitis B Virus Core-Related Antigen following Liver Transplantation

Purpose Recently, a new enzyme immunoassay for the detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) core-related antigen (HBcrAg) has been reported. In this study, we proposed to account for feasibility of HBcrAg assay, and discuss the dynamics of HBV seen in patients following HBV-related living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Methods and results This study involved 12 patients; 11 patients had positive serum HBcrAg, and 6 patients had negative HBV-DNA. In the post-operation period, all cases were negative for HBV-DNA and HBsAg in sera under prophylaxis therapy. At post-operation, 5 of the 12 had positive serum HBcrAg, and at stable state, 6 had positive serum HBcrAg postoperatively. The mean levels of HBcrAg following LDLT were significantly lower than those seen in the preoperative-operation stage. Conclusion This enzyme immunoassay is a readily utilizable marker of HBV replication in the post transplantation stage. Furthermore, the evaluation of HBV activity by HBcrAg assay must be studied to determine the appropriate prophylaxis for controlling replication of HBV following LDLT