Walking with Gianluca Di Bella during the development of clinical cardiac imaging

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) for the diagnosis and management of many cardiac diseases has been established in clinical practice.It provides anatomic and functional information and is the most precise technique for quantification of ventricular volume,function and mass.Among cardiac MRI sequences used in clinical practice,delayed contrast enhancement is an accurate and reliable method used in the diagnosis of ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathies.In addition,new technology applied in echocardiographic imaging has permitted quantification of myocardial deformations with 2-dimensional strain imaging(longitudinal,circumferential and radial strain).Cardiac MRI and echocardiography therefore both play a crucial role in the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease.Dr.Di Bella and colleagues have defined the roles of cardiac MRI and echocardiography in many clinical and experimental settings.

Generation of human/rat xenograft animal model for the study of human donor stem cell behaviors in vivo

AIM： TO accurately and realistically elucidate human stem cell behaviors in vivo and the fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in vivo, which is urgently required in regenerative medicine and treatments for some human diseases, a surrogate human-rat chimera model was developed. METHODS： Human-rat chimeras were achieved by in utero transplanting low-density mononuclear cells from human umbilical cord blood into the fetal rats at 9-11 d of gestation, and subsequently, a variety of methods, including flow cytometry, PCR as well as immunohistochemical assay, were used to test the human donor contribution in the recipients. RESULTS： Of 29 live-born recipients, 19 had the presence of human CD45^＋ cells in peripheral blood （PB） detected by flow cytometry, while PCR analysis on genomic DNA from 11 different adult tissues showed that 14 selected from flow cytometry-positive 19 animals possessed of donor-derived human cell engraftment in multiple tissues （i.e. liver, spleen, thymus, heart, kidney, blood, lung, muscle, gut and skin） examined at the time of tissue collection, as confirmed by detecting human 132- microglobulin expression using immunohistochemistry. Tn this xenogeneic system, the engrafted donor-derived human cells persisted in multiple tissues for at least 6 mo after birth. Moreover, transplanted human donor cells underwent site-specific differentiation into CK18-positive human cells in chimeric liver and CEHS-positive human cells in chimeric spleen and thymus of recipients. CONCLUSION： Taken together, these findings suggest that we successfully developed human-rat chimeras, in which xenogeneic human cells exist up to 6 mo later. This humanized small animal model, which offers an in vivo environment more closely resembling to the situations in human, provides an invaluable and effective approach for in vivo investigating human stem cell behaviors, and further in vivo examining fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in the future. The potential for new advances in our better understanding the living biological systems in human provided by investigators in humanized animals will remain promising.

Histological Analysis and Morphometric Changes after Autologous Fat Grafting in Large Volumes on Pigs

Nowadays, fat transfer is an accepted technique that has been popularized in clinical practice, during which large volumes of fat are strategically relocated to increase and improve the contour of the body. In the present study, we investigated the histological and morphometric changes after large volumes of fat were grafted within the subcutaneous cellular tissue. An experimental study was designed using four 3-month-old male pigs. One hundred cc of decanted fat tissue was transferred into the right leg. Volume augmentation achieved by auto lipo-injecting within the subcutaneous cellular tissue persisted up to two months. Although there is a reduction in cell number and size, an increased amount of extracellular matrix and the presence of oily cysts and microcalcifications were observed. Conclusion: The volume augmentation, which is achieved by autologous fat transfer in large quantities in subcutaneous cellular tissue, can remain for months.

High intensity resistance training as intervention method to knee osteoarthritis

High intensity resistance training(HI-RT)is a treatment option for Knee Osteoarthritis(KOA).Isotonic machines(leg press,leg extension)are utilized for standardization and reproducibility reasons,but the load used during the protocol is often low,considering that elder people usually have low strength levels,training so with high in-tensities calculated on low loads.The physiological response of an elder woman trained with high loads on a free weight exercise,the regular barbell deadlift,with a 1 Repetition Maximum(1RM)of 100 kg,can be appreciated in this report,so that for the first time we can see the effect of a one year of high intensity resistance training program on a powerlifting exercise on a 72 year-old woman with KOA.A Western Ontario and McMaster Uni-versities Arthritis Index(WOMAC)questionnaire was administered before starting the training program(T0)and after 1 year of training,as long as a control RX,to evaluate the effect of HI-RT on joint functionality and quality of life.