Application of thermosensitive-hydrogel combined with dental pulp stem cells on the injured fallopian tube mucosa in an animal model

Objectives: Fallopian tube (FT) injury is an important factor that can lead to tubal infertility. Stem-cell-based therapy shows great potential for the treatment of injured fallopian tube. However, little research has shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be used to treat fallopian tube damage by in situ injection. In this study, we in situ transplanted PF127 hydrogel encapsulating dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) into the injured sites to promote the repair and regeneration of fallopian tube injury.Materials and methods: The properties of dental pulp stem cells were evaluated by flow cytometry, immunofluorescence analysis, and multi-differentiation detection. The immunomodulatory and angiogenic characteristics of dental pulp stem cells were analyzed on the basis of the detection of inflammatory factor expression and the formation of capillary-like structures, respectively. The biocompatibility of PF127 hydrogel was evaluated by using Live/Dead and CCK-8 assays. The effects of PF127 hydrogel containing dental pulp stem cells on the repair and regeneration of fallopian tube injury were evaluated by histological analysis [e.g., hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson’s trichrome staining, TUNEL staining, immunofluorescence staining, and immunohistochemistry], Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and RT-PCR detections.Results: Dental pulp stem cells had MSC-like characteristics and great immunomodulatory and angiogenic properties. PF127 hydrogel had a thermosensitive feature and great cytocompatibility with dental pulp stem cells. In addition, our results indicated that PF127 hydrogel containing dental pulp stem cells could promote the repair and regeneration of fallopian tube damage by inhibiting cell apoptosis, stimulating the secretion of angiogenic factors, promoting cell proliferation, modulating the secretion of inflammatory factors, and restoring the secretion of epithelial cells.Conclusion: In this study, our results reported that in situ injection of PF127 hydrogel encapsulating dental pulp stem cells into the injured sites could provide an attractive strategy for the future treatment of fallopian tube injury in clinical settings

A geometric model for the spatial correlation of an acoustic vector field in surface-generated noise

Spatial correlation of sound pressure and particle velocity of the surface noise in horizontally stratified media was demonstrated, with directional noise sources uniformly distributed on the ocean surface. In the evaluation of particle velocity, plane wave approximation was applied to each incident ray. Due to the equivalence of the sound source correlation property and its directivity, solutions for the spatial correlation of the field were transformed into the integration of the coherent function generated by a single directional source. As a typical horizontally stratified media, surface noise in a perfect waveguide was investigated. Correlation coefficients given by normal mode and geometric models show satisfactory agreement. Also, the normalized covariance between sound pressure and the vertical component of particle velocity is proportional to acoustic absorption coefficient, while that of the surface noise in semi-infinitely homogeneous space is zero. © 2012 Harbin Engineering University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

The Flavonoid Quercetin Ameliorates Liver Inflammation and Fibrosis by Regulating Hepatic Macrophages Activation and Polarization in Mice

At present, there are no effective antifibrotic drugs for patients with chronic liver disease; hence, the development of antifibrotic therapies is urgently needed. Here, we performed an experimental and translational study to investigate the potential and underlying mechanism of quercetin treatment in liver fibrosis, mainly focusing on the impact of quercetin on macrophages activation and polarization. BALB/c mice were induced liver fibrosis by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) for 8 weeks and concomitantly treated with quercetin (50 mg/kg) or vehicle by daily gavage. Liver inflammation, fibrosis, and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation were examined. Moreover, massive macrophages accumulation, M1 macrophages and their related markers, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in livers were analyzed. In vitro, we used Raw 264.7 cells to examine the effect of quercetin on M1-polarized macrophages activation. Our results showed that quercetin dramatically ameliorated liver inflammation, fibrosis, and inhibited HSCs activation. These results were attributed to the reductive recruitment of macrophages (F4/80+ and CD68+) into the liver in quercetin-treated fibrotic mice confirmed by immunostaining and expression levels of marker molecules. Importantly, quercetin strongly inhibited M1 polarization and M1-related inflammatory cytokines in fibrotic livers when compared with vehicle-treated mice. In vitro, studies further revealed that quercetin efficiently inhibited macrophages activation and M1 polarization, as well as decreased the mRNA expression of M1 macrophage markers such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and nitric oxide synthase 2. Mechanistically, the inhibition of M1 macrophages by quercetin was associated with the decreased levels of Notch1 expression on macrophages both in vivo and in vitro. Taken together, our data indicated that quercetin attenuated CCl4-induced liver inflammation and fibrosis in mice through inhibiting macrophages infiltration and modulating M1 macrophages polarization via targeting Notch1 pathway. Hence, quercetin holds promise as potential therapeutic agent for human fibrotic liver disease

Solid phase extraction and spectrophotometric determination of gold

1651-1654A sensitive, selective and rapid method for the determination of gold based on the rapid reaction of gold with 5-(p-aminobenzylidene)-thiorhodanine (ABTR) and the solid phase extraction of the colored chelate has been developed. In 0.05-0.5 mol L-1 hydrochloric acid and emulsifier-OP medium, ABTR reacts with gold to form a red chelate of molar ratio 1:3 (gold to ABTR). This chelate has been preconcentrated by solid phase extraction with polymer-based C18 cartridge and eluted from cartridge with dimethyl formamide to attain an enrichment factor of 100. In DMF medium, the molar absorptivity of the chelate is 1.23 × 105 L. mol-1. cm-1 at 550 nm. Beer's law is obeyed in the range of 0.01-3μg mL-1 of gold. The relative standard deviation for eleven replicate samples of 0.5 μg L-1 gold is 2.1 8%. The detection limit, based on three times of standard deviation, is 0.02μg L-1 in the original sample. This method has been applied to the determination of gold in water and ore with good results

Pro12Ala substitution in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) gene and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between Pro12Ala substitution in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARy) gene and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Ninety-seven patients with NAFLD and 51 healthy subjects were included in the study. The height, weight, abdominal wall fat thickness, blood pressure, serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, fasting glucose level, hip and waist circumference, and body fat percentage were measured. The PPARγ Pro12Ala genotypes were analyzed using oligonucleotide microarray. Among the NAFLD patients, 11.34% (11/97) had the GC genotype (Pro/Ala) and 88.66% (86/97) had the C genotype (Pro). Among the healthy control group, 5.88% (3/51) had the GC genotype and 94.12% (48/51) had the C genotype. There was no significant difference in the distribution of PPARγ Pro12Ala polymorphism between the NAFLD patients and control subjects. There was no significant difference between PPARγ Pro12Ala polymorphism distribution or blood pressure, weight, body mass index, hip circumference, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, percentage of body fat, abdominal wall fat thickness, fasting serum glucose, triglyceride, or total cholesterol when compared between these genotypes. No association between PPARγ Pro12Ala substitution and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease was found in the study

Melatonin-Induced Inhibition of <i>Shiraia</i> Hypocrellin A Biosynthesis Is Mediated by Hydrogen Peroxide and Nitric Oxide

Melatonin (MLT), an evolutionarily conserved pleiotropic molecule, is implicated in numerous physiological processes in plants and animals. However, the effects of MLT on microbes have seldom been reported. In this study, we examined the influence of exogenous MLT on the growth and hypocrellin biosynthesis of bambusicolous fungus Shiraia sp. S9. Hypocrellin A (HA) is a photoactivated and photoinduced perylenequinone (PQ) toxin in Shiraia. Exogenous MLT at 100.00 μM not only decreased fungal conidiation and spore germination but inhibited HA contents significantly in fungal cultures under a light/dark (24 h:24 h) shift. MLT treatment was associated with higher activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase) and a marked decline in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the mycelia. Moreover, MLT induced endogenous nitric oxide (NO) production during the culture. The NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) potentiated MLT-induced inhibition of O2− production, but NO scavenger 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (cPTIO) enhanced O2− production, whereas MLT-induced NO level was increased by the ROS scavenger vitamin C (Vc). The changes in NO and H2O2 were proved to be involved in the MLT-induced downregulation of the expressions of HA biosynthetic genes, leading to the suppression of HA production. This study provides new insight into the regulatory roles of MLT on fungal secondary metabolism activities and a basis for understanding self-resistance in phototoxin-producing fungi