Cardiosphere-Derived Cells Improve Function in the Infarcted Rat Heart for at Least 16 Weeks – an MRI Study

Aims Endogenous cardiac progenitor cells, expanded from explants via cardiosphere formation, present a promising cell source to prevent heart failure following myocardial infarction. Here we used cine-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to track administered cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) and to measure changes in cardiac function over four months in the infarcted rat heart. Methods and Results CDCs, cultured from neonatal rat heart, comprised a heterogeneous population including cells expressing the mesenchymal markers CD90 and CD105, the stem cell marker c-kit and the pluripotency markers Sox2, Oct3/4 and Klf-4. CDCs (2×106) expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP+) were labelled with fluorescent micron-sized particles of iron oxide (MPIO). Labelled cells were administered to the infarcted rat hearts (n = 7) by intramyocardial injection immediately following reperfusion, then by systemic infusion (4×106) 2 days later. A control group (n = 7) was administered cell medium. MR hypointensities caused by the MPIOs were detected at all times and GFP+ cells containing MPIO particles were identified in tissue slices at 16 weeks. At two days after infarction, cardiac function was similar between groups. By 6 weeks, ejection fractions in control hearts had significantly decreased (47±2%), but this was not evident in CDC-treated hearts (56±3%). The significantly higher ejection fractions in the CDC-treated group were maintained for a further 10 weeks. In addition, CDC-treated rat hearts had significantly increased capillary density in the peri-infarct region and lower infarct sizes. MPIO-labelled cells also expressed cardiac troponin I, von Willebrand factor and smooth muscle actin, suggesting their differentiation along the cardiomyocyte lineage and the formation of new blood vessels. Conclusions CDCs were retained in the infarcted rat heart for 16 weeks and improved cardiac function

Formation and reactivity of gaseous acetylium ions from the methylation of carbon monoxide.

Free acetylium ions have been prepared in the diluted gas state at atmospheric pressure, via two different routes, i.e., the methylation of carbon monoxide by CT3+ ions from the decay of fully tritiated methane, and the nucleophilic displacement by CO on CH3M+ (M = HF, CH3F) ions, produced from the y-radiolysis of methyl fluoride. Independently of the preparation methods, the acetyl cation displays a much higher reactivity toward n-type than toward r-type nucleophiles. The reaction of thermalyzed CHjCO+ ions with alcohols or phenols yields the corresponding acetates, while no acylation of benzene and toluene was detected. Low yields of ring-acetylated products were obtained from the attack of acetylium ions on anisole and phenol, the reactivity being, however, strongly biased (83.8%) in favor of the oxygen atom of the latter substrate. From these results it appears that the intrinsic intramolecular selectivity of the free acetylium ion, measured in the gas phase, in the absence of the complicating phenomena, such as solvation and ion pairing, invariably affecting solution-chemistry studies, is characterized by a high ortho/para ratio in the acylated products

Temporomandibular joint disorders treated with articular injection: the effectiveness of plasma rich in growth factors-Endoret

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthritis treatment through articular injections of plasma rich in growth factors (PGRF)-Endoret. Thirteen patients (median age, 47.64 y; SD, 7.51; range, 40-64 y; male-female ratio, 2:11) with osteoarthritis of TMJ associated to chronic pain have been selected. They were treated with articular injections of PRGF-Endoret, measuring the maximum mouth opening and pain level before the first injection (t0), 30 days after just before the second (t1), and after 6 months (t2). Data were analyzed using the paired Student's t-test data. The visual analogue scale score at t0 is 7.69 (range, 4-10; SD, 1.9), whereas that at t1 is 1.54 (range, 0-5; SD, 1.74) and that at t2 is 0.23 (range, 0-2; SD, 0.65). These differences in the results are statistically highly significant (P < 0.0001 comparison t0-t1 and t0-t2 and P < 0.01 comparison t1-t2). In terms of maximum mouth opening, it reduced from 30.15 mm at t0 (range, 26-40 mm; SD, 4.44) to 37.54 mm at t1 (range, 31-51 mm; SD, 5.10), with an increase of 7.38 mm (range, 4-11 mm; SD, 2.02) and a highly significant difference (P < 0.0001). At t2, it was 39.54 mm (range, 34-51; SD, 4.55) with an increase of 9.38 mm (range, 5-12 mm; SD, 2.21) compared with t0 and that of 2.00 mm compared with t1. Both differences in the results are statistically significant (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.01, respectively). The articular injections of PRGF-Endoret represent a very efficient method to control pain and to improve the TMJ mobility

Aromatic substitution by free benzyl cations from the nuclear decay of multi-tritiated toluene. Competitive benzylation of benzene and toluene in the gas phase and in solution.

Benzyl cations, free of counter ions, have been generated from the nuclear decay of tritium atoms contained exclusively in the side-chain of multi-labelled toluene and allowed to react in competition experiments with benzene and toluene. The aromatic substitution was studied in both the gaseous and liquid phase, employing pure aromatics or aromatics dissolved in n-hexane, carbon tetrachloride and nitromethane as the reaction medium. In the gaseous systems, at 20 Torr total pressure, High meta substitution of toluene indicates extensive isomerization of the excited intermediates, while the increase of the kT/kB value in the Presence of NH3 suggests that selective transalkylation competes with proton transfer to ammonia from the benzyl cation adducts with benzene, but not with toluene. High positional and low substrate selectivities were measured in solution, the decrease in kT/kB (from 2·8 to 1·7) in the different solvents being accompanied by an increase in the o/2p ratio. Competition experiments between benzene and methanol indicate that the reaction is not diffusion controlled. The influence of the reaction medium on the substrate selectivity is explained by postulating the formation of a cation–solvent adduct, where the solvent molecule undergoes displacement by the substrate. Positional selectivity would be controlled in a subsequent step

Acid-catalyzed aldehyde-ketone rearrangements in the gas phase. Cyclopentane- and cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde.

Protonation by gaseous H+3, CnH+5 (n=1,2), s-C3H+7 and t-C4H+9 cations promotes rearrangement of cyclopentane- and cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde to cyclohexanone and cyclopentylmethyl ketone, respectively. The reaction was investigated by radiolytic and mass spectrometric methods

Gas-Phase Protonation of Allene and Propyne. Remarkably Selective Formation of 2-Propenyl Ions

The structure of C3H5+ ions, obtained in the dil. gas by the protonation of propyne and allene by radiolytically formed H3+ and CnH5+ (n = 1, 2) ions, is examd. at 150-760 tor. The C3H5+ ions are trapped with gaseous nucleophiles, [C6H6 or Br(CH2)4Br], and their structure is inferred from the nature of the neutral products isolated. The results, in particular those from the systems contg. Br(CH2)4Br, show that 2-propenyl ions are formed almost exclusively in the kinetically significant step of the protonation from both propyne and allene, a partial isomerization to the allyl structure being obsd. in the systems contg. C6H6. The results are compared with the evidence from structurally diagnostic mass spectrometric techniques and with the pertinent theor. and soln.-chem. data