Transmitters of the raphe-spinal complex: immunocytochemical studies

The localization of serotonergic and various peptidergic neurons in the medullary raphe nuclei that project to the lumbosacral spinal cord have been studied using a retrograde transport method combined with immunocytochemistry. Spinally projecting neurons stained for serotonin-like, substance P-like, enkephalin-like and thyrotropin-releasing hormone-like immunoreactivity were all observed in the raphe nuclei of the medulla, as well as in the adjacent ventrolateral reticular formation. The distribution of the descending serotonergic and peptidergic neurons in the raphe nuclei as well as quantitative data on their relative numbers suggest that a large fraction of raphe-spinal neurons contain serotonin co-existing with one or more peptides in the same cell.     

Role of maternal viremia and placental infection in hepatitis B virus intrauterine transmission

The mechanism of intrauterine hepatitis B virus infection has not been established. In this study, venous blood, cord blood, and placental tissues from 171 chronic hepatitis B virus infected pregnant women were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen, hepatitis B core antigen, and hepatitis B virus DNA. We found that residence, mode of delivery, age, and number of gestational weeks of pregnant women were not correlated with intrauterine hepatitis B virus infection, while neonates of mothers who were hepatitis B s antigen positive and hepatitis B e antigen positive (P < 0.01) or who had high hepatitis B virus DNA levels (≥10⁶ copies/ml) were more likely to get an intrauterine infection (P < 0.01). The hepatitis B virus infection rate in placental cell layers gradiently decreased from the mother's side to the fetus's side of the placenta, but the odds ratio value of correlation between placental hepatitis B virus infection and intrauterine infection gradiently increased. The way of intrauterine hepatitis B virus infection may be through a layer–layer transmission pathway, although the possibility of placental leakage cannot be excluded.     

Evaluation of Respiratory Muscle Activation Using Respiratory Motor Control Assessment (RMCA) in Individuals with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

During breathing, activation of respiratory muscles is coordinated by integrated input from the brain, brainstem, and spinal cord. When this coordination is disrupted by spinal cord injury (SCI), control of respiratory muscles innervated below the injury level is compromised^1,2 leading to respiratory muscle dysfunction and pulmonary complications. These conditions are among the leading causes of death in patients with SCI³. Standard pulmonary function tests that assess respiratory motor function include spirometrical and maximum airway pressure outcomes: Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV₁), Maximal Inspiratory Pressure (PI_max) and Maximal Expiratory Pressure (PE_max)^4,5. These values provide indirect measurements of respiratory muscle performance⁶. In clinical practice and research, a surface electromyography (sEMG) recorded from respiratory muscles can be used to assess respiratory motor function and help to diagnose neuromuscular pathology. However, variability in the sEMG amplitude inhibits efforts to develop objective and direct measures of respiratory motor function⁶. Based on a multi-muscle sEMG approach to characterize motor control of limb muscles⁷, known as the voluntary response index (VRI)⁸, we developed an analytical tool to characterize respiratory motor control directly from sEMG data recorded from multiple respiratory muscles during the voluntary respiratory tasks. We have termed this the Respiratory Motor Control Assessment (RMCA)⁹. This vector analysis method quantifies the amount and distribution of activity across muscles and presents it in the form of an index that relates the degree to which sEMG output within a test-subject resembles that from a group of healthy (non-injured) controls. The resulting index value has been shown to have high face validity, sensitivity and specificity^9-11. We showed previously⁹ that the RMCA outcomes significantly correlate with levels of SCI and pulmonary function measures. We are presenting here the method to quantitatively compare post-spinal cord injury respiratory multi-muscle activation patterns to those of healthy individuals.     

蛛网膜下腔移植脐血干细胞治疗一氧化碳中毒后迟发性脑病的临床研究

目的观察蛛网膜下腔途径移植脐血干细胞治疗一氧化碳中毒后迟发性脑病（DEACMP）的安全性及治疗效果。方法26例DEACMP患者,按治疗方式分两组,其中12例经脐血干细胞移植治疗为治疗组,14例经高压氧治疗为对照组,对每例患者在治疗前和治疗后进行MMSE评分、ADL评分及颅脑CT检查。所有患者连续随访1年,观察预后及有无不良反应。采用两样本t检验、方差分析及卡方检验进行统计学分析。结果治疗组患者在干细胞移植术中均无特殊不适感,术中及术后24h内生命体征平稳,无发热,无穿刺点感染、出血等,术后门诊随访,均未出现移植相关并发症。1年后治疗组患者MMSE评分为25．08±4．10,高于对照组11．7±10．33（t=4．199,P=0．0003）;治疗组ADL评分为93．33±13．37,高于对照组41．07±38．39（t=4．478,P=0．0002）,差异均有统计学意义。治疗组CT检查结果好转率为83．33％,对照组好转率为30．00％两组比较差异有统计学意义（Х^2=4．402,P=0．0359）;治疗组临床痊愈率为50．00％,对照组为7．69％,差异有统计学意义（Х^2=4．055,P=0．0442）;治疗组临床有效率为100．00％,对照组为50．00％差异有统计学意义（Х^2=5．866,P=0．0154）。结论脐血干细胞移植治疗DEACMP疗效优于高压氧治疗,是一种安全有效的生物治疗方法,应得到重视和深入的研究。     

Postnatal stability,tissue, and time specific effects of AHRR methylation change in response to maternal smoking in pregnancy

The intrauterine environment has the potential to “program” the developing fetus in a way that can be potentially deleterious to later health. While in utero environmental/stochastic factors are known to influence DNA methylation profile at birth, it has been difficult to assign specific examples of epigenetic variation to specific environmental exposures. Recently, several studies have linked exposure to smoking with DNA methylation change in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AHRR) gene in blood. This includes hypomethylation of AHRR in neonatal blood in response to maternal smoking in pregnancy. The role of AHRR as a negative regulator of pathways involved in pleiotropic responses to environmental contaminants raises the possibility that smoking-induced hypomethylation is an adaptive response to an adverse in utero environmental exposure. However, the tissue specificity of the response to maternal smoking, and the stability of the methylation changes early in life remain to be determined. In this study we analyzed AHRR methylation in three cell types—cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMCs), buccal epithelium, and placenta tissue—from newborn twins of mothers who smoked throughout pregnancy and matched controls. Further, we explored the postnatal stability of this change at 18 months. Our results confirm the previous association between maternal smoking and AHRR methylation in neonatal blood. In addition, this study expands the region of AHRR methylation altered in response to maternal smoking during pregnancy and reveals the tissue-specific nature of epigenetic responses to environmental exposures in utero. Further, the evidence for postnatal stability of smoking-induced epigenetic change supports a role for epigenetics as a mediator of long-term effects of specific in utero exposures in humans. Longitudinal analysis of further specific exposures in larger cohorts is required to examine the extent of this phenomenon in humans.     

Dissection and Lateral Mounting of Zebrafish Embryos: Analysis of Spinal Cord Development

The zebrafish spinal cord is an effective investigative model for nervous system research for several reasons. First, genetic, transgenic and gene knockdown approaches can be utilized to examine the molecular mechanisms underlying nervous system development. Second, large clutches of developmentally synchronized embryos provide large experimental sample sizes. Third, the optical clarity of the zebrafish embryo permits researchers to visualize progenitor, glial, and neuronal populations. Although zebrafish embryos are transparent, specimen thickness can impede effective microscopic visualization. One reason for this is the tandem development of the spinal cord and overlying somite tissue. Another reason is the large yolk ball, which is still present during periods of early neurogenesis. In this article, we demonstrate microdissection and removal of the yolk in fixed embryos, which allows microscopic visualization while preserving surrounding somite tissue. We also demonstrate semipermanent mounting of zebrafish embryos. This permits observation of neurodevelopment in the dorso-ventral and anterior-posterior axes, as it preserves the three-dimensionality of the tissue.     

脐血CIK细胞抗肿瘤研究及临床应用进展

肿瘤的生物治疗尤其是用免疫活性细胞输注的过继免疫治疗是目前研究热点之一,是继手术、放疗、化疗三大常规治疗的又一新的治疗肿瘤的方法。此疗法不仅是常规抗肿瘤治疗的补充,更是为晚期不宜手术或无法承受放疗化疗所带来的副作用的患者开辟了一个新的治疗途径,可取得常规方法无法达到的疗效,成为人类抗击肿瘤最有希望的战略措施之一。细胞因子诱导的杀伤细胞是用于肿瘤过继免疫治疗较为有效的免疫效应细胞之一,是目前所知杀伤活性最高的肿瘤杀伤细胞,具有增殖速度快、杀瘤活性高、杀瘤谱广的特点,对正常骨髓造血前体毒性小,已大量应用于临床。脐血CIK细胞增殖速度、杀瘤活性优于外周血CIK细胞,移植后移植物抗宿主病发生率更低等优点,因而受到广泛关注。本文就脐血CIK细胞的抗肿瘤研究的特点及临床应用进展作一综述。     

Integration and Long Distance Axonal Regeneration in the Central Nervous System from Transplanted Primitive Neural Stem Cells

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in devastating motor and sensory deficits secondary to disrupted neuronal circuits and poor regenerative potential. Efforts to promote regeneration through cell extrinsic and intrinsic manipulations have met with limited success. Stem cells represent an as yet unrealized therapy in SCI. Recently, we identified novel culture methods to induce and maintain primitive neural stem cells (pNSCs) from human embryonic stem cells. We tested whether transplanted human pNSCs can integrate into the CNS of the developing chick neural tube and injured adult rat spinal cord. Following injection of pNSCs into the developing chick CNS, pNSCs integrated into the dorsal aspects of the neural tube, forming cell clusters that spontaneously differentiated into neurons. Furthermore, following transplantation of pNSCs into the lesioned rat spinal cord, grafted pNSCs survived, differentiated into neurons, and extended long distance axons through the scar tissue at the graft-host interface and into the host spinal cord to form terminal-like structures near host spinal neurons. Together, these findings suggest that pNSCs derived from human embryonic stem cells differentiate into neuronal cell types with the potential to extend axons that associate with circuits of the CNS and, more importantly, provide new insights into CNS integration and axonal regeneration, offering hope for repair in SCI.     

Evaluations of bioantioxidants in cryopreservation of umbilical cord blood using natural cryoprotectants and low concentrations of dimethylsulfoxide

Transplantation using hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a life-saving treatment option for patients with select oncologic diseases, immunologic diseases, bone marrow failure, and others. Often this transplant modality requires cryopreservation and storage of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), which need to remain cryopreserved in UCB banks for possible future use. The most widely used cryoprotectant is dimethylsulfoxide (Me₂SO), but at 37 °C, it is toxic to cells and for patients, infusion of cryopreserved HSC with Me₂SO has been associated with side effects. Freezing of cells leads to chemical change of cellular components, which results in physical disruption. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation also has been implicated as cause of damage to cells during freezing. We assessed the ability of two bioantioxidants and two disaccharides, to enhance the cryopreservation of UCB. UCB was processed and subjected to cryopreservation in solutions containing different concentrations of Me₂SO, bioantioxidants and disaccharides. Samples were thawed, and then analysed by: flow cytometry analysis, CFU assay and MTT viability assay. In this study, our analyses showed that antioxidants, principally catalase, performed greater preservation of: CD34+ cells, CD123+ cells, colony-forming units and cell viability, all post-thawed, compared with the standard solution of cryopreservation. Our present studies show that the addition of catalase improved the cryopreservation outcome. Catalase may act on reducing levels of ROS, further indicating that accumulation of free radicals indeed leads to death in cryopreserved hematopoietic cells.