The effects of irradiation dose and storage time following treatment on the viscoelastic properties of decellularised porcine super flexor tendon

Decellularised porcine super flexor tendon (pSFT) offers a promising solution to the replacement of damaged anterior cruciate ligament. It is desirable to package and terminally sterilise the acellular grafts to eliminate any possible harmful pathogens. However, irradiation techniques can damage the collagen structure and consequently reduce the mechanical properties. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of irradiation sterilisation of varying dosages on the viscoelastic properties of the decellularised pSFT.Decellularised pSFT tendons were subjected to irradiation sterilisation using either 30 kGy gamma, 55 kGy gamma, 34 kGy E-beam, 15 kGy gamma, 15 kGy E-beam and (15 + 15) kGy E-beam (fractionated dose). Specimens then underwent stress relaxation testing at 0 and 12 months post sterilisation to determine whether any effect on the viscoelastic properties was progressive.Significant differences were found which demonstrated that all irradiation treatments had an effect on the time-independent and time-dependent viscoelastic properties of irradiated tendons compared to peracetic acid only treated controls. No significant differences were found between the irradiated groups and no significant differences were found between groups at 0 and 12 months. These results indicate the decellularised pSFT graft has a stable shelf-life.     

LncRNA-UCA1 inhibits the astrocyte activation in the temporal lobe epilepsy via regulating the JAK/STAT signaling pathway

This article aimed to reveal the mechanism of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) urothelial cancer-associated 1 (UCA1) regulated astrocyte activation in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) rats via mediating the activation of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. A model of TLE was established based on rats via kainic acid (KA) injection. All rats were divided into the Sham group (without any treatments), KA group, normal control (NC; injection with empty vector) + KA group, and UCA1 + KA group. The Morris water maze was used to test the learning and memory ability of rats, and the expression of UCA1 in the hippocampus was determined by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Surviving neurons were counted by Nissl staining, and expression levels of glial cells glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), p-JAK1, and p-STAT3 and glutamate/aspartate transporter (GLAST) were analyzed by immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis. A rat model of TLE was established by intraperitoneal injection of KA. qRT-PCR and fluorescence analyses showed that UCA1 inhibited astrocyte activation in the hippocampus of epileptic rats. Meanwhile, the Morris water maze analysis indicated that UCA1 improved the learning and memory in epilepsy rats. Moreover, the Nissl staining showed that UCA1 might have a protective effect on neuronal injury induced by KA injection. Furthermore, the immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis revealed that the overexpression of UCA1 inhibited KA-induced abnormal elevation of GLAST, astrocyte activation of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, as well as hippocampus of epilepsy rats. UCA1 inhibited hippocampal astrocyte activation and JAK/STAT/GLAST expression in TLE rats and improved the adverse reactions caused by epilepsy.     

Major vault protein (MVP) gene polymorphisms and drug resistance in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis

The human major vault protein (MVP) has been implicated in the development of drug resistance in cancer cells. Over expression of MVP has also been reported in brain tissue samples from antiepileptic drug (AED)-resistant human focal epilepsies. To investigate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) involving the MVP gene and AED-resistance, we compared the distribution of three SNPs in the MVP gene, rs4788187, rs3815824 and rs3815823, among 220 patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS) (prototype of AED-resistant epilepsy syndrome), 201 patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) (prototype of AED-responsive epilepsy syndrome) and 213 ethnically matched non-epilepsy controls. All the patients and controls were residents of the South Indian state of Kerala for more than three generations. We did not find any significant difference in allele and genotypic frequencies of the studied SNPs between AED-resistant and AED-responsive cohorts, and between AED-resistant and AED-responsive cohorts independently and pooled together when compared with the controls. We conclude that rs4788187, rs3815824, rs3815823 variants of the MVP gene are associated neither with predisposition for epilepsy nor with AED-resistance in the population that we have studied. Our results suggest the need for further research into the link between MVP and AED-resistance.     

Evidence for Tissue-Specific JAK/STAT Target Genes in Drosophila Optic Lobe Development

The evolutionarily conserved JAK/STAT pathway plays important roles in development and disease processes in humans. Although the signaling process has been well established, we know relatively little about what the relevant target genes are that mediate JAK/STAT activation during development. Here, we have used genome-wide microarrays to identify JAK/STAT targets in the optic lobes of the Drosophila brain and identified 47 genes that are positively regulated by JAK/STAT. About two-thirds of the genes encode proteins that have orthologs in humans. The STAT targets in the optic lobe appear to be different from the targets identified in other tissues, suggesting that JAK/STAT signaling may regulate different target genes in a tissue-specific manner. Functional analysis of Nop56, a cell-autonomous STAT target, revealed an essential role for this gene in the growth and proliferation of neuroepithelial stem cells in the optic lobe and an inhibitory role in lamina neurogenesis.     

MST3在颞叶癫痫模型小鼠海马的表达变化

目的观察海人酸(kainic acid,KA)所致癫痫(epilepsy,EP)小鼠海马Ste20蛋白激酵素(MST3)表达水平的变化,探讨MST3在癫痫发病过程中的可能作用。方法选用成年雄性小鼠,并随机分成模型组和对照组。模型组小鼠侧脑室注射2μL(100 ng/μL)KA,分别于术后3、8、24 h收集动物标本以进行检测。使用RT-PCR和Western Blot测定MST3 mRNA含量和MST3蛋白动态表达变化,应用免疫组化观察MST3在海马的表达分布与特点。结果与正常对照组相比,模型组海马组织内MST3mRNA的表达随时间持续升高,24 h达到高峰;MST3的蛋白表达也表现出同样的动态升高趋势;术后3～24 h的模型组海马免疫组化检测显示,模型组MST3主要以海马齿状回、门回区、CA3区域表达增加为主,并且这些区域表达逐渐递增。结论随着时间的推移,MST3表达水平呈现逐渐增加趋势,可能与神经元损伤造成的凋亡之间有密切的关系,提示MST3可能在癫痫发病过程中起重要作用。     

关节镜下前交叉韧带重建术的手术时机对患者膝关节功能恢复的影响

目的:研究关节镜下前交叉韧带(ACL)重建术的手术时机对患者膝关节功能恢复的影响。方法:选取2016年1月至2017年8月我院收治的膝关节ACL损伤患者65例为研究对象,所有患者均接受关节镜下ACL重建术治疗,并按照患者受伤至接受手术的时间分为研究组(n=35,受伤至接受手术的时间≤3周)和对照组(n=30,受伤至接受手术的时间3周),术后对患者进行为期6个月的随访,对比两组患者术前和术后6个月的膝关节活动度、膝关节功能以及ACL恢复情况,并比较随访期间两组并发症发生情况。结果:术前,两组膝关节活动度、国际膝关节文献委员会膝关节评估表(IKDC)和Lysholm膝关节评分比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05),术后6个月,两组膝关节活动度、IKDC评分和Lysholm膝关节评分均较术前升高,且研究组高于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。术前与术后6个月,两组前抽屉(ADT)试验和Lachman试验阴性率比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05),但与术前比较,术后6个月两组ADT试验和Lachman试验阴性率均升高,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。与对照组比较,研究组并发症总发生率降低,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:膝关节ACL损伤患者在不同时间内接受关节镜下ACL重建术治疗均具有较好的效果,但是在受伤后3周内接受手术对患者膝关节功能恢复效果更明显,同时并发症发生率也相对更低。     

Three-dimensional in vivo kinematics and finite helical axis variables of the ovine stifle joint following partial anterior cruciate ligament transection

Partial anterior cruciate ligament (p-ACL) rupture is a common injury, but the impact of a p-ACL injury on in vivo joint kinematics has yet to be determined in an animal model. The in vivo kinematics of the ovine stifle joint were assessed during ‘normal’ gait, and at 20 and 40 weeks after p-ACL transection (Tx). Gross morphological scoring of the knee was conducted. p-ACL Tx creates significant progressive post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA)-like damage by 40 weeks. Statistically significant increases for flexion angles at hoof-strike (HS) and mid-stance (MST) were seen at 20 weeks post p-ACL Tx and the HS and hoof-off (HO) points at 40 weeks post p-ACL-Tx, therefore increased flexion angles occurred during stance phase. Statistically significant increases in posterior tibial shift at the mid-flexion (MF) and mid-extension (ME) points were seen during the swing phase of the gait cycle at 40 weeks post p-ACL Tx. Correlation analysis showed a strong and significant correlation between kinematic changes (instabilities) and gross morphological score in the inferior-superior direction at 40 weeks post p-ACL Tx at MST, HO, and MF. Further, there was a significant correlation between change in gross morphological combined score (ΔGCS) and the change in location of the helical axis in the anterior direction (ΔsAP) after p-ACL Tx for all points analyzed through the gait cycle. This study quantified in vivo joint kinematics before and after p-ACL Tx knee injury during gait, and demonstrated that a p-ACL knee injury leads to both PTOA-like damage and kinematic changes.     

How Spike Synchronization Among Olfactory Neurons Can Contribute to Sensory Discrimination

Recent studies in honeybees have demonstrated that, when odor-evoked action potentials in antennal lobe neurons are pharmacologically desynchronized, the bees are impaired in their ability to discriminate chemically similar odor stimuli. Using a reduced computational model of the honeybee antennal lobe, we show how changes in spike-synchronization properties alone, independent of changes in overall spike-discharge rate or differences in activity levels among responsive neurons, can produce changes in associative learning similar to those observed experimentally.     

Involvement of Accessory Neurosecretory Nuclei of Hypothalamus in the Formation of Hypothalamohypohysial System during Prenatal and Postnatal Development in Rats

We studied the development of direct axonal connections of the accessory neurosecretory hypothalamic nuclei with the posterior pituitary lobe on the fixed rat brain from day 15 of embryogenesis until day 10 of postnatal development using the retrograde diffusion method of the lipophilic fluorescent carbocyanine dye 1,1"-dioctadecyl-3,3,3",3"-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate along the neuronal membranes. The marker was applied onto the posterior pituitary lobe and, after incubation in a fixative, fluorescing bodies of nerve cells were visualized in the hypothalamus. Neuronal axons of the retrochiasmatic nucleus were the first of the accessory nuclei to ingrow in the posterior pituitary lobe (on days 16–17 of embryogenesis). Neurons of the circular and dorsolateral nuclei and the nuclei of the median bundle of the forebrain sent their axons to the posterior pituitary lobe starting from the first days of postnatal development. No direct connections of the anterior commissure and perifornical accessory nuclei with the posterior pituitary lobe were found in perinatal development. These facts are discussed in the light of concepts about the different functional role of accessory peptidergic hypothalamic nuclei in rats.