Effects of exogenous recombinant human bone morphogenic protein-7 on the corneal epithelial mesenchymal transition and fibrosis

AIM：To evaluate the effect of exogenous recombinant human bone morphogenic protein-7（rhBMP-7）on transforming growth factor-β（TGF-β）-induced epithelial mesenchymal cell transition（EMT）and assessed its antifibrotic effect via topical application.METHODS：The cytotoxic effect of rhBMP-7 was evaluated and the EMT of human corneal epithelial cells（HECEs）was induced by TGF-β. HECEs were then cultured in the presence of rhBMP-7 and/or hyaluronic acid（HA）. EMT markers,fibronectin,E-cadherin,α-smooth muscle actin（α-SMA）,and matrix metaloproteinase-9（MMP-9）,were evaluated. The level of corneal fibrosis and the reepithelization rate were evaluated using a rabbit keratectomy model. Expression of α-SMA in keratocytes were quantified following treatment with different concentrations of rhBMP-7.RESULTS：Treatment with rhBMP-7 attenuated TGF-β-induced EMT in HECEs. It significantly attenuated fibronectin secretion（31.6%; P〈0.05）,the α-SMA protein level（72.2%; P〈0.01）,and MMP-9 expression（23.6%,P〈0.05）in HECEs compared with cells grown in the presence of TGF-β alone. E-cadherin expression was significantly enhanced（289.7%; P〈0.01）in the presence of rhBMP-7. Topical application of rhBMP-7 combined with 0.1% HA significantly reduced the amount of α-SMA~＋ cells by 43.18%（P〈0.05）at a concentration of 2.5 μg/mL and by 47.73%（P〈0.05）at 25 μg/mL,compared with the control group,without disturbing corneal reepithelization.CONCLUSION：rhBMP-7 attenuates TGF-β-induced EMT in vitro,and topical application of rhBMP-7 reduces keratocyte myodifferentiation during the early wound healing stages in vivo without hindering reepithelization. Topical rhBMP-7 application as biological eye drops seems to be feasible in diseases involving TGF-β-related corneal fibrosis with corneal reepithelization disorders.

Inhibitory activity of Cinnamomum Cassia extract on hypersensitivity in mice

OBJECTIVE Cinnamomum cassia has been used in traditional medicine in East Asian countries to treatallergic disease.Previous studies have demonstrated that C.cassiainhibits the development of mite antigen-induced skin lesions in NC/Nga mice by suppressing the Thelper 2cell response.The objective of this study is to investigate whether C.cassia has an efficient inhibition on systemic anaphylaxis and contact hypersensitivity in mice.METHODS To induce systemic anaphylaxis,mice were injected intraperitoneally with compound 48/80.Mortality was monitored for 1h after the injection.Contact hypersensitivity reaction was induced by topical application of 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene(DNFB)to the ears of mice.After DNFBchallenge,ear thickness was measured 0,24 and 48h.RESULTS We discovered that C.cassia significantly inhibited compound 48/80-induced anaphylaxis and DNFB-induced ear swelling.Compound 48/80-induced anaphylaxiswas completely inhibited at the dose of 60mg·kg-1 body weight.Ear swelling at 24 h after DNFB-challenge was significantly less than that in the control group(0.16±0.03 vs.0.32±0.03 mm,P<0.01),while C.cassia was administered at the dose of 200mg·kg-1.CONCLUSION These findings indicate that C.cassiasuppresses allergic reactions,thus has potential value for mitigation of atopic dermatitis.

Behavior of a Scale Factor for Wiener Integrals and a Fourier Stieltjes Transform on the Wiener Space

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the behavior of a Wiener integral along the curve C of the scale factor ρ > 0 for the Wiener integral ∫C0[0,T]F(ρx)dm(x) about the function defined on the Wiener space C0[0,T], where θ(t,u) is a Fourier-Stieltjes transform of a complex Borel measure.

Biomass and Community Structure of Epilithic Biofilm on the Yellow and East Coasts of Korea

Spatial biomass variation and community structure of epilithic biofilms were examined using cell counts, chlorophyll a extraction, and remote-sensing techniques. Samples were collected at two levels of wave exposure along the Yellow and East Coasts of Korea in December 2010. Cyanobacteria were dominant, occupying about 88% of biofilm, irrespective of wave exposure levels. The cyanobacteria species, Aphanotece spp. was abundant in the Yellow Coast location and Lyngbya spp. was abundant in the East coast location. The representative diatoms were Navicula spp. and Achnanthes spp. on the rocky shores of all study sites. Average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was significantly greater in the Yellow Coast (mean 0.46) than that in the East Coast (mean 0.21);a similar pattern was observed in Vegetation Index (VI). Chlorophyll a content was three times greater on the Yellow Coast (20.50 μg/cm2) than that on the East Coast (8.21 μg/cm2), and it was greater at the Gosapo and Bangpo shore sites than that at the Gyeokpo site, on the Yellow Coast. However, chlorophyll a contents were not different between 23.33 and 17.66 μg/cm2 at exposed- and sheltered-shores of Yellow Coast, and were 9.62 μg/cm2 and 6.80 μg/cm2 on the East Coast. Vegetation indices were positively correlated with chlorophyll a contents. In conclusion, biofilm of Korean upper rocky shore was mainly composed of cyanobacteria and biofilm biomass that differed between the Yellow and East Coast.

Behavior of a Scale Factor for Wiener Integrals of an Unbounded Function

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the behavior of a scale factor for Wiener integrals about the unbounded function , where {a1,a2,...,an} is an orthonormal set of elements in L2[0,T] on the Wiener space C0[0,T].