Placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells attenuate secondary brain injury after controlled cortical impact in rats by inhibiting matrix metalloproteinases

Background:As a form of biological therapy,placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells(PDMSCs)exhibit considerable promise in addressing the complex pathological processes of traumaticbrain injury(TBI)due to their multi-target and multi-pathway mode of action.Material&Methods:This study investigates the protective mechanisms and benefits of PDMSCs in mitigating the effects of controlled cortical impact(CCI)in rats and glutamate-induced oxidative stress injury in HT22 cells in vitro.Our primary objective is to provide evidence supporting the clinical application of PDMSCs.Results:In the in vivo arm of our investigation,we observed a swift elevation of matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9)in the proximal cortex of injured brain tissues after CCI.PDMSCs,distinguished by their heightened expression of metalloproteinase tissue inhibitors-1 and-2(TIMP-1 and TIMP-2):were intravenously administered via the caudal vein.This intervention yielded significant reductions in the permeability of the blood-brain barrier(BBB):the extent of brain edema,the levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-1βand TNF-αin damaged brain tissue,and the activation status of microglia in CCI-afflicted rats.In the realm of in vitro experiments,PDMSC-conditioned media demonstrated substantial reductions in mortality rates and cleaved caspase-3 levels in glutamate-induced HT22 cells compared with conventional media.Notably,this advantage was negated upon the introduction of neutralizing antibodies targeting TIMP-1 and TIMP-2.Conclusion:Collectively,our findings underscore the potential of PDMSCs in alleviating oxidative stress injury and secondary brain injury in the pathological process of TBI.

Heme oxygenase-1 protects rat liver against warm ischemia/reperfusion injury via TLR2/TLR4-triggered signaling pathways

AIM:To investigate the efficacy and molecularmechanisms of induced heme oxygenase(HO)-1 in protecting liver from warm ischemia/reperfusion(I/R)injury.METHODS:Partial warm ischemia was produced in the left and middle hepatic lobes of SD rats for 75min,followed by 6 h of reperfusion.Rats were treated with saline,cobalt protoporphyrin(Co PP)or zinc protoporphyrin(Zn PP)at 24 h prior to the ischemia insult.Blood and samples of ischemic lobes subjected to ischemia were collected at 6 h after reperfusion.Serum transaminases level,plasma lactate dehydrogenase and myeloperoxidase activity in liver were measured.Liver histological injury and inflammatory cell infiltration were evaluated by tissue section and liver immunohistochemical analysis.We used quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to analyze liver expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines.The cell lysates were subjected to immunoprecipitation with anti-Toll-IL-1R-containing adaptor inducing interferon-β(TRIF)and anti-myeloid differentiation factor 88(My D88),and then the immunoprecipitates were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotted with the indicated antibodies.RESULTS:HO-1 protected livers from I/R injury,as evidenced by diminished liver enzymes and wellpreserved tissue architecture.In comparison with Zn PP livers 6 h after surgery,Co PP treatment livers showed a significant increase inflammatory cell infiltration of lymphocytes,plasma cells,neutrophils and macrophages.The Toll-like receptor(TLR)-4 and TANK binding kinase1 protein levels of rats treated with Co PP significantly reduced in TRIF-immunoprecipitated complex,as compared with Zn PP treatment.In addition,pretreatment with Co PP reduced the expression levels of TLR2,TLR4,IL-1R-associated kinase(IRAK)-1 and tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 in My D88-immunoprecipitated complex.The inflammatory cytokines and chemokines m RNA expression rapidly decreased inCo PP-pretreated liver,compared with the Zn PP-treated group.However,the expression of negative regulators Tollinteracting protein,suppressor of cytokine signaling-1,IRAK-M and Src homology 2 domain-containing inositol-5-phosphatase-1 in Co PP treatment rats were markedly up-regulated as compared with Zn PP-treated rats.CONCLUSION:HO-1 protects liver against I/R injury by inhibiting TLR2/TLR4-triggered My D88-and TRIFdependent signaling pathways and increasing expression of negative regulators of TLR signaling in rats.

Diazoxide attenuates ischemia/reperfusion injuryvia upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 after liver transplantation in rats

AIM:To evaluate the effects of diazoxide on ischemia/reperfusion(I/R)-injured hepatocytes and further elucidate its underlying mechanisms.METHODS:Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized(8 for donor and recipient per group)into five groups:I/R group(4 h of liver cold ischemia followed by 6 h of reperfusion);heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)small interfering RNA(siRNA)group(injection of siRNA via donor portal vein 48 h prior to harvest);diazoxide(DZ) group(injection of DZ via donor portal vein 10 min prior to harvest);HO-1 siRNA+DZ group;and siRNA control group.Blood and liver samples were collected at 6 h after reperfusion.The mRNA expressions and protein levels of HO-1 were determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting,and tissue morphology was examined by light and transmission electron microscopy.Serum transaminases level and cytokines concentration were also measured.RESULTS:We observed that a significant reduction of HO-1 mRNA and protein levels in HO-1 siRNA and HO-1 siRNA+DZ group when compared with I/R group,while the increases were prominent in the DZ group.Light and transmission electron microscopy indicated severe disruption of tissue with lobular distortion and mitochondrial cristae damage in the HO-1 siRNA and HO-1 siRNA+DZ groups compared with DZ group.Serum alanine aminotransferase,aspartate transaminase,tumor necrosis factor-αand interleukin-6 levels increased in the HO-1 siRNA and HO-1 siRNA+DZ groups,and decreased in the DZ group.CONCLUSION:The protective effect of DZ may be induced by upregulation of HO-1.By inhibiting expression of HO-1,this protection pretreated with DZ was abolished.

Melatonin attenuates hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats by inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway

Background:The sterile inflammatory response is one of the key mechanisms leading to hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury.Melatonin has been shown to prevent organ injuries,but its roles in the inflammatory response after hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury have not been fully explored,especially in late ischemia-reperfusion injury.The present study aimed to investigate the roles and possible mechanisms of melatonin in the inflammatory response after hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury.Methods:Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a sham group,ischemia-reperfusion injury group(I/R group),and melatonin-treated group(M+I/R group).The rats in the I/R group were subjected to 70%hepatic ischemia for 45 min,followed by 5 or 24 h of reperfusion.The rats in the M+I/R group were injected with melatonin(10 mg/kg,intravenous injection)15 min prior to ischemia and immediately before reperfusion.Serum and samples of ischemic liver lobes were harvested for future analysis,and the 7-day survival rate was assessed after hepatic ischemia-reperfusion surgery.Results:In comparison with the I/R group,the M+I/R group showed markedly decreased expression levels of inflammatory cytokines(IL-6 and TNF-α)and numbers of apoptotic hepatocytes(P<0.05).Immunoblotting showed that the expression levels of IL-6,p-NF-κBp65/t-NF-κBp65 and p-IκB-α/t-IκB-αin the M+I/R group were significantly lower than those in the I/R group,and immunofluorescence staining showed that the expression level of p-NF-κBp65 in the M+I/R group was lower than that in the I/R group(P<0.05).The 7-day survival rates were 20%in the I/R group and 50%in the M+I/R group(P<0.05).Conclusions:Melatonin downregulated the activity of the NF-κB signaling pathway in the early and late stages of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury,alleviated the inflammatory response,protected the liver from ischemia-reperfusion injury,and increased the survival rate.

Gene and protein expression profiles of olfactory ensheathing cells from olfactory bulb versus olfactory mucosa

Olfactory ensheathing cells(OECs) from the olfactory bulb(OB) and the olfactory mucosa(OM) have the capacity to repair nerve injury. However, the difference in the therapeutic effect between OB-derived OECs and OM-derived OECs remains unclear. In this study, we extracted OECs from OB and OM and compared the gene and protein expression profiles of the cells using transcriptomics and non-quantitative proteomics techniques. The results revealed that both OB-derived OECs and OM-derived OECs highly expressed genes and proteins that regulate cell growth, proliferation, apoptosis and vascular endothelial cell regeneration. The differentially expressed genes and proteins of OB-derived OECs play a key role in regulation of nerve regeneration and axon regeneration and extension, transmission of nerve impulses and response to axon injury. The differentially expressed genes and proteins of OM-derived OECs mainly participate in the positive regulation of inflammatory response, defense response, cytokine binding, cell migration and wound healing. These findings suggest that differentially expressed genes and proteins may explain why OB-derived OECs and OM-derived OECs exhibit different therapeutic roles. This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University(approval No. 2017-073) on February 13, 2017.

A Global Spectral Element Model for Poisson Equations and Advective Flow over a Sphere

A global spherical Fourier-Legendre spectral element method is proposed to solve Poisson equations and advective flow over a sphere. In the meridional direction, Legendre polynomials are used and the region is divided into several elements. In order to avoid coordinate singularities at the north and south poles in the meridional direction, Legendre-Gauss-Radau points are chosen at the elements involving the two poles. Fourier polynomials are applied in the zonal direction for its periodicity, with only one element. Then, the partial differential equations are solved on the longitude-latitude meshes without coordinate transformation between spherical and Cartesian coordinates. For verification of the proposed method, a few Poisson equations and advective flows are tested. Firstly, the method is found to be valid for test cases with smooth solution. The results of the Poisson equations demonstrate that the present method exhibits high accuracy and exponential convergence. High- precision solutions are also obtained with near negligible numerical diffusion during the time evolution for advective flow with smooth shape. Secondly, the results of advective flow with non-smooth shape and deformational flow are also shown to be reasonable and effective. As a result, the present method is proved to be capable of solving flow through different types of elements, and thereby a desirable method with reliability and high accuracy for solving partial differential equations over a sphere.

Electromagnetic dispersion characteristics of a high energy electron beam guided with an ion channel

Taking self-fields into consideration, dispersion properties of two types of electromagnetic modes for a high energy electron beam guided with an ion channel are investigated by using the linear perturbation theory. The dependences of the dispersion frequencies of electromagnetic waves on the electron beam radius, betatron frequency and boundary current are revealed. It is found that the electron beam radius and betatron frequency have different influences on the electromagnetic waves dispersion behavior by compared with the previous works. As the boundary current is taken into account, the TM modes will have two branches and a lowfrequency branch emerged as the new branch in strong ion channel case. This new branch has similar dispersion behavior to the betatron modes. For TE modes, there are two branches and they have different dispersion behaviors in strong ion channel case. However, in weak ion channel case, the dispersion behaviors for both of the low frequency and high frequency branches are similar.