Int J Med Sci
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To clarify the precise characteristics of human hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) for future cytotherapy in liver diseases. ⋯ The human HPCs are highly similar to primary hepatocytes in their transcriptional profiles. The CD45 and CD109 markers could potentially be utilized to identify and isolate HPCs for further cytotherapy of liver diseases.
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Reactive gliosis and glial scar formation have been evidenced in the animal model of ischemic stroke, but not in human ischemic brain. Here, we have found that GFAP, ED1 and chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans (CSPG) expression were significantly increased in the cortical peri-infarct regions after ischemic stroke, compared with adjacent normal tissues and control subjects. Double immunolabeling showed that GFAP-positive reactive astrocytes in the peri-infarct region expressed CSPG, but showed no overlap with ED1-positive activated microglia. Our findings suggest that reactive gliosis and glial scar formation as seen in animal models of stroke are reflective of what occurs in the human brain after an ischemic injury.
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Several social economic factors play important roles in treatments of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and finally influence the clinical outcomes. The basic social medical insurance (BSMI) is an important economic factor in China's medical system. However, the impact of BSMI on clinical outcomes in STEMI patients has not been explored yet. The aim of this study is to investigate whether BSMI is a predictor of clinical outcomes in the patients with STEMI in Shanghai, China. ⋯ These results demonstrate that BSMI is closely associated with the major adverse events-free survival rate at 36-month follow-up in the STEMI patients under the current policies in Shanghai, China.
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Adiponectin is an anti-inflammatory and cardio-protective cytokine. However, several studies have demonstrated that plasma adiponectin levels were inversely associated with pulmonary function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, suggesting a proinflammatory or pulmonary-destructive role. It is still unclear whether adiponectin is a potent biomarker predicting declines in pulmonary function. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between adiponectin and pulmonary function among Japanese individuals who participated in an annual health check-up. ⋯ The results of the present study suggest that adiponectin levels are predictive of declines in FEV1 in the general population.
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Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a common complication in those interstitial lung diseases patients, which will result in poor prognosis and short survival. Traditional therapeutic methods such as glucocorticoid and cytotoxic drugs are insufficient for treating PF and may cause severe side effects. Recent studies showed that traditional Chinese herbal abstraction such as Tanshinone IIA (TIIA) was displayed significant anti-PF effects in animal models. ⋯ Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) together with angiotensin-(1-7) [ANG-(1-7)] were both greatly reduced after BLM administration. TIIA treatment notably attenuated BLM induced PF and inflammation, decreased expression of TGF-β1 and reversed ACE-2 and ANG-(1-7) production in rat lungs. Thus we may draw the conclusion that TIIA may exert protective effects on BLM induced PF in rats, and the ACE-2/ANG-(1-7) axis may ascribe to those protective effects.