人胚雪旺细胞组织工程神经修复坐骨神经缺损的实验研究

目的：探索人胚雪旺细胞作为组织工程的种子细胞修复周围神经缺损的可行性。方法：通过组织工程方法用PLGA导管和polyglactin 910纤维负载人胚雪旺细胞预先构置好人工神经，然后用于修复大鼠20mm的坐骨神经缺损，并与神经切断后原位缝合以及用单纯的PLGA导管进行修复的实验组进行对照。通过活体肢体功能观察、靶器官肌肉测量、电生理检测、辣根过氧化物酶示踪、连续组织切片图像分析以及透射电镜等检查神经再生情况。结果：人工神经修复组神经再生良好，效果接近于神经原位缝合组，明显优于单纯的PLGA导管修复组。结论：人胚雪旺细胞构建的人工神经可以修复20mm的周围神经缺损。     

High-resolution optical coherence tomography as a non-destructive monitoring tool for the engineering of skin equivalents

BACKGROUND: Three dimensional skin equivalents are widely used in dermatopharmacological and toxicological studies and as autologous transplants in wound healing. In pharmacology, there is tremendous need for monitoring the response of engineered skin equivalents to external treatment. Transplantation of skin equivalents for wound healing requires careful verification of their quality prior to transplantation. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-contact, non-destructive imaging technique for living tissues offering the potential to fulfill these needs. This work presents an analysis of OCT for high-resolution monitoring of skin equivalents at different stages during the culture process. METHODS: We developed a high-resolution OCT imaging setup based on a commercially available OCT system. A broadband femtosecond laser light source replaces the original superluminescence diode. Tomograms of living skin equivalents were recorded with an axial resolution of 3 mum and correlated with histology and immunofluorescence images. Comparison with standard low-resolution OCT is presented to emphasize the advantages of high-resolution OCT for this application. RESULTS: OCT is particularly able to distinguish between different layers of skin equivalents including stratum corneum, epidermal and dermal layer as well as the basement membrane zone. The high-resolution OCT scans correlate closely with two key benchmarks, histology and immunofluorescence imaging. CONCLUSIONS: This study clearly demonstrates the benefits of high-resolution OCT for identifying living tissue structure and morphology. Compared with the current gold standard histology, OCT offers non-destructive tissue imaging, enabling high-resolution evaluation of living tissue morphology and structure as it evolves.     

Spinocerebellar ataxia types 2 and 3 segregating simultaneously in a single family.

Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) types 2 and 3 are autosomal-dominant neurodegenerative disorders caused by mutations in two different genes. We identified mutations for SCA2 and SCA3 segregating simultaneously in a single Brazilian family. The index patient had SCA2, whereas her two second-degree cousins had SCA3. Disease was more rapidly progressive in the SCA2 patient, who presented severe brainstem and pancerebellar atrophy, as opposed to the two SCA3 patients, who had only mild cerebellar vermian atrophy. In such situations, molecular confirmation of all patients may avoid misdiagnosis of SCA subtypes and eventual errors in predictive testing of unaffected family members.     

Do children with primary nocturnal enuresis have a retarded bone age? A cross‐sectional study

OBJECTIVE: Nocturnal enuresis is a common pediatric problem, the etiology of which is unclear. In recent years, various studies have been published stating that children with nocturnal enuresis exhibit growth and skeletal maturation retardation. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we included 27 patients (16 boys, 11 girls) between the ages of 6 and 14 years who had presented with primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) complaints. We included in the evaluation 19 healthy subjects (12 boys, 7 girls), who were the siblings of the children with PNE, as the control group. RESULTS: The patients in both groups were similar in chronological age, bone age, height and weight, with no significant difference between groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The two groups in our study consisted of the same genetic background. Thus, our results were found to be different from the previous studies. We have concluded that there is no direct relationship between enuresis nocturnal and skeletal maturation.     

Discussing options between patients and health care professionals in genetic diagnosis: ethical and legal criteria

The specific characteristics of genetic data lead to ethical-legal conflicts in the framework of genetic diagnosis. Several international organisations, including UNESCO and the Council of Europe, have enacted rules referring to the use of genetic information. This paper discusses possible legal and ethical criteria that could be used in genetic testing.     

The role of Self-Defined Race/Ethnicity in Population Structure Control

Population-based association studies are powerful tools for the genetic mapping of complex diseases. However, this method is sensitive to potential confounding by population structure. While statistical methods that use genetic markers to detect and control for population structure have been the focus of current literature, the utility of self-defined race/ethnicity in controlling for population structure has been controversial. In this study of 1334 individuals, who self-identified as either African American, European American or Hispanic, we demonstrated that when the true underlying genetic structure and the self-defined racial/ethnic groups were roughly in agreement with each other, the self-defined race/ethnicity information was useful in the control of population structure.     

组织工程血管管状支架的制备与动态培养在血管组织工程中的应用

目的探索体外构建组织工程血管及细胞种植的方法。方法(1)制备管状支架模具,采用模具成形,冷冻干燥等技术,应用胶原和透明质酸复合体外预构管状支架;(2)分动态种植和静态培养两组进行细胞分层种植,每组12个,应用水溶性磺酸四唑(WST-1)测定,扫描电镜观察,5-溴2-脱氧嘧啶核苷(BrdU)细胞标记鉴定比较两种方法的细胞生长情况。结果(1)成功制备了管状支架,在培养液中约3周可保持管腔形态不变形,不塌陷;2.WST-1测定值在培养6、14、20 d分别为:动态组0.842±0.110、1.124±0.102、1.132±0.112,静态组0.386±0.121、0.489±0.245、0.499±0.265,两组比较差异有统计学意义,电镜和BrdU标记表明动态组细胞排列整齐有序。结论应用模具成形,冷冻干燥技术预构管状支架的方法切实可行,动态培养有助于细胞种植,本研究为组织工程血管的构建方法提供了思路。     

组织工程化表皮膜片构建及其在供皮区的应用研究

目的构建组织工程化表皮细胞膜片并应用于供皮区创面治疗。方法利用患者少量自体或同种异体正常皮肤分离、培养、扩增的表皮细胞,接种于壳聚糖明胶膜构建成表皮细胞膜片;将膜片移植于治疗组供皮区创面、适度加压,同时设立对照组:空白材料对照以及传统油纱布对照覆盖创面。于术后5～10d、30d、90d行大体观察、组织学检查、广谱角蛋白、外皮蛋白、层粘连蛋白、免疫组织化学检测以及Ⅰ、Ⅲ型胶原比值测定(偏光显微镜、RTPCR)。结果利用自体及异体表皮细胞和壳聚糖明胶膜能够构建出人表皮细胞膜片,应用于临床供皮区创面治疗15例,经过3个月随访,疗效肯定。移植膜片创面愈合时间(8.1±1.3)d,空白材料对照区为(16.2±3.8)d,空白油纱布对照区为(23.0±5.8)d。移植膜片存活良好,结构较完整、术后30d及90d观察:12例无明显增生,3例有轻度增生(20.0%),而空白油纱布对照区11例遗留增生性瘢痕(74.4%,χ2=8.127,P<0.01)。结论表皮细胞-壳聚糖明胶膜片能促进供皮区创面早期愈合并减少后期瘢痕增生,具有良好治疗效果。     

支架及无支架条件下构建组织工程软骨的研究进展

支架材料的研究是组织工程的研究热点之一,软骨细胞复合培养给组织工程软骨的构建带来希望,单一的材料诸如胶原、透明质酸、壳聚糖、纤维蛋白凝胶等已经证明可以与软骨细胞复合培养,两种或者多种材料复合可以提高材料的性能,更好地用于组织工程软骨的构建,并满足软骨缺损修复的需要;同样,在无支架情况下应用软骨细胞聚集培养、沉淀培养的方法,可以构建组织工程软骨,并给软骨缺损的修复带来新希望,但目前的研究较少。两者是组织工程软骨构建的两个主要方向。