Alternative Biological Material for Tissue Engineering of the Vagina: Porcine-Derived Acellular Vaginal Matrix

Tian Yanpeng,Liu Yibin,Xiao Yanlai,Li Zhongkang,Zhang Mingle,Chen Liang,Li Zhen,Zhang Wangchao,Zhang Zhiqiang,Kong Desheng,Meng Li,Du Yanfang,Zhang Jingkun,Gao Jingui,Huang Xianghua 한국조직공학과 재생의학회 2024 조직공학과 재생의학 Vol.21 No.2

Background: Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is a severe congenital disorder characterized by vaginal hypoplasia caused by dysplasia of the Müllerian duct. Patients with MRKH syndrome often require nonsurgical or surgical treatment to achieve satisfactory vaginal length and sexual outcomes. The extracellular matrix has been successfully used for vaginal reconstruction. Methods: In this study, we developed a new biological material derived from porcine vagina (acellular vaginal matrix, AVM) to reconstruct the vagina in Bama miniature pigs. The histological characteristics and efficacy of acellularization of AVM were evaluated, and AVM was subsequently transplanted into Bama miniature pigs to reconstruct the vaginas. Results: Macroscopic analysis showed that the neovaginas functioned well in all Bama miniature pigs with AVM implants. Histological analysis and electrophysiological evidence indicated that morphological and functional recovery was restored in normal vaginal tissues. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the neovaginas had mucosal folds characteristics of normal vagina. No significant differences were observed in the expression of CK14, HSP47, and α-actin between the neovaginas and normal vaginal tissues. However, the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) was significantly lower in the neovaginas than in normal vaginal tissues. In addition, AVM promoted the expression of β-catenin, c-Myc, and cyclin D1. These results suggest that AVM might promotes vaginal regeneration by activating the β-catenin/c-Myc/cyclin D1 pathway. Conclusion: This study reveals that porcine-derived AVM has potential application for vaginal regeneration. Background: Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is a severe congenital disorder characterized by vaginal hypoplasia caused by dysplasia of the Müllerian duct. Patients with MRKH syndrome often require nonsurgical or surgical treatment to achieve satisfactory vaginal length and sexual outcomes. The extracellular matrix has been successfully used for vaginal reconstruction. Methods: In this study, we developed a new biological material derived from porcine vagina (acellular vaginal matrix, AVM) to reconstruct the vagina in Bama miniature pigs. The histological characteristics and efficacy of acellularization of AVM were evaluated, and AVM was subsequently transplanted into Bama miniature pigs to reconstruct the vaginas. Results: Macroscopic analysis showed that the neovaginas functioned well in all Bama miniature pigs with AVM implants. Histological analysis and electrophysiological evidence indicated that morphological and functional recovery was restored in normal vaginal tissues. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the neovaginas had mucosal folds characteristics of normal vagina. No significant differences were observed in the expression of CK14, HSP47, and α-actin between the neovaginas and normal vaginal tissues. However, the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) was significantly lower in the neovaginas than in normal vaginal tissues. In addition, AVM promoted the expression of β-catenin, c-Myc, and cyclin D1. These results suggest that AVM might promotes vaginal regeneration by activating the β-catenin/c-Myc/cyclin D1 pathway. Conclusion: This study reveals that porcine-derived AVM has potential application for vaginal regeneration.

Genotypic Characteristics of Haemophilus influenzae Isolates from Pediatric Pneumonia Patients in Chengdu City, Sichuan, China

Tian Guozhong,Zhang Li,Li Machao,Wang Xiaolei,Zheng Yuhong,Li Xiaojing,Huang Cheng,Li Xuechun,Xie Yongqiong,Xu Li,Ren Hongyu,Shao Zhujun 한국미생물학회 2009 The journal of microbiology Vol.47 No.4

Two hundred and seventy-three Haemophilus influenzae strains isolated from pediatric pneumonia patients in China were studied. We used Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) to analyze genotypic characteristics. All strains were biotyped and serotyped. Relatedness and patterns of genes among isolates were determined by the analysis of MLST and eBURST. H. influenzae primarily causes acute pneumonia in children under 1 year old. Nontypeable H. influenzae was responsible for most cases of pediatric pneumonia. All 273 strains were classified into eight biotypes. They mostly belonged to the I, II, and III biotypes (17.6%, 43.6%, and 22.7%, respectively). 62 strains (22.7%) produced β-lactamase. We found 28 novel alleles. Fifty different STs were found by MLST, of which 39 were novel. These were ST477 through ST508 and ST521 through ST527. Group 17 and predicted founders 503 were new groups in this study. No STs correlated with strains from Korea, which is adjacent to China. The H. influenzae strains from China appeared to have heterogeneous ST types patterns which may be the reason no outbreaks or epidemics of H. influenzae infections have occurred in Chengdu city, Sichuan, China.

Mode identifiability of a cable-stayed bridge using modal contribution index

Huang, Tian-Li,Chen, Hua-Peng Techno-Press 2017 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.20 No.2

The modal identification of large civil structures such as bridges under the ambient vibrational conditions has been widely investigated during the past decade. Many operational modal analysis methods have been proposed and successfully used for identifying the dynamic characteristics of the constructed bridges in service. However, there is very limited research available on reliable criteria for the robustness of these identified modal parameters of the bridge structures. In this study, two time-domain operational modal analysis methods, the data-driven stochastic subspace identification (SSI-DATA) method and the covariance-driven stochastic subspace identification (SSI-COV) method, are employed to identify the modal parameters from field recorded ambient acceleration data. On the basis of the SSI-DATA method, the modal contribution indexes of all identified modes to the measured acceleration data are computed by using the Kalman filter, and their applicability to evaluate the robustness of identified modes is also investigated. Here, the benchmark problem, developed by Hong Kong Polytechnic University with field acceleration measurements under different excitation conditions of a cable-stayed bridge, is adopted to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results from the benchmark study show that the robustness of identified modes can be judged by using their modal contributions to the measured vibration data. A critical value of modal contribution index of 2% for a reliable identifiability of modal parameters is roughly suggested for the benchmark problem.

FSCB phosphorylation in mouse spermatozoa capacitation

( Shun Li Liu ),( Bing Ni ),( Xiang Wei Wang ),( Wen Qian Huo ),( Jun Zhang ),( Zhi Qiang Tian ),( Ze Min Huang ),( Yi Tian ),( Jun Tang ),( Yan Hua Zheng ),( Feng Shuo Jin ),( Yan Feng Li ) 생화학분자생물학회(구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2011 BMB Reports Vol.44 No.8

It is generally accepted that spermatozoa capacitation is associated with protein kinase A-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation. In our previous study, we identified the fibrous sheath CABYR binding protein (FSCB), which was phosphorylated by PKA. However, the phosphorylation status of FSCB protein during spermatozoa capacitation should be further investigated. To this aim, in this study, we found that phosphorylation of this 270-kDa protein occurred as early as 1 min after mouse spermatozoa capacitation, which increased over time and remained stable after 60 min. Immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that the tyrosine and Ser/Thr phosphorylation of FSCB occurred during spermatozoa capacitation. The extent of phosphorylation and was closely associated with the PKA activity and spermatozoa motility characteristics. FSCB phosphorylation could be induced by PKA agonist DB-cAMP, but was blocked by PKA antagonist H-89.Therefore, FSCB contributes to spermatozoa capacitation in a tyrosine-phosphorylated format, which may help in further elucidating the molecular mechanism of spermatozoa capacitation. [BMB reports 2011; 44(8): 541-546]

Effects of Dietary Chromium Methionine on Growth Performance, Carcass Composition, Meat Colour and Expression of the Colour-related Gene Myoglobin of Growing-finishing Pigs

Li, Y.S.,Zhu, N.H.,Niu, P.P.,Shi, F.X.,Hughes, C.L.,Tian, G.X.,Huang, R.H. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2013 Animal Bioscience Vol.26 No.7

To investigate the effect of dietary chromium (Cr) as Cr methionine (CrMet) on growth performance, carcass traits, pork quality, meat colour and expression of meat colour-related genes in growing-finishing pigs, 189 crossbred Duroc${\times}$(Landrace${\times}$Yorkshire) growing-finishing pigs (male, castrated, average initial BW $74.58{\pm}1.52$ kg) were selected and randomly allocated into four groups. Dietary treatments per kg of feed were as follows: 0 (CT), 0.3 mg/kg (T1), 0.6 mg/kg (T2) and 0.9 mg/kg (T3) Cr (in the form of CrMet; as-fed basis), and each treatment was replicated five times with 8 to 10 pigs per replicate pen. During the 28 d of the experiment, both the ADG and the ADFI increased linearly (p<0.05) as the level of dietary Cr increased. The F/G ratio decreased linearly (p<0.05). As dietary Cr increased, loin muscle areas (linear, p = 0.013) and average backfat thickness (linear, p = 0.072) decreased. Shear force (linear, p = 0.070) and Commission Internationale de I'$\acute{E}$clairage (CIE) redness (quadratic, p = 0.028) were increased. In addition, CIE Lightness (quadratic, p = 0.053) were decreased as dietary Cr increased. As dietary Cr increased, total myglobin (Mb) content (quadratic, p = 0.015) and the mb mRNA levels (quadratic, p = 0.046) in longissimus muscles of pigs were up-regulated. In conclusion, supplementation of dietary Cr improved growth and meat colour, but increased shear force and decreased IMF reduced palatability of longissimus muscles. Moreover, the increasing total Mb content and mb mRNA levels indicated that CrMet dietary supplementation may improve meat colour via up-regulating expression of the mb gene.

<i>In Vivo</i> Albumin Traps Photosensitizer Monomers from Self-Assembled Phthalocyanine Nanovesicles: A Facile and Switchable Theranostic Approach

Li, Xingshu,Yu, Sungsook,Lee, Yoonji,Guo, Tian,Kwon, Nahyun,Lee, Dayoung,Yeom, Su Cheong,Cho, Yejin,Kim, Gyoungmi,Huang, Jian-Dong,Choi, Sun,Nam, Ki Taek,Yoon, Juyoung American Chemical Society 2019 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY - Vol.141 No.3

<P>Albumin is a promising candidate as a biomarker for potential disease diagnostics and has been extensively used as a drug delivery carrier for decades. In these two directions, many albumin-detecting probes and exogenous albumin-based nanocomposite delivery systems have been developed. However, there are only a few cases demonstrating the specific interactions of exogenous probes with albumin <I>in vivo</I>, and nanocomposite delivery systems usually suffer from tedious fabrication processes and potential toxicity of the complexes. Herein, we demonstrate a facile “one-for-all” switchable nanotheranostic (NanoPcS) for both albumin detection and cancer treatment. In particular, the <I>in vivo</I> specific binding between albumin and PcS, arising from the disassembly of injected NanoPcS, is confirmed using an inducible transgenic mouse system. Fluorescence imaging and antitumor tests on different tumor models suggest that NanoPcS has superior tumor-targeting ability and the potential for time-modulated, activatable photodynamic therapy.</P> [FIG OMISSION]</BR>

Knockdown of GCF2/LRRFIP1 by RNAi Causes Cell Growth Inhibition and Increased Apoptosis in Human Hepatoma HepG2 Cells

Li, Jing-Ping,Cao, Nai-Xia,Jiang, Ri-Ting,He, Shao-Jian,Huang, Tian-Ming,Wu, Bo,Chen, De-Feng,Ma, Ping,Chen, Li,Zhou, Su-Fang,Xie, Xiao-Xun,Luo, Guo-Rong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.6

Background: GC-binding factor 2 (GCF2) is a transcriptional regulator that represses transcriptional activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) by binding to a specific GC-rich sequence in the EGFR gene promoter. In addition to this function, GCF2 has also been identified as a tumor-associated antigen and regarded as a potentially valuable serum biomarker for early human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis. GCF2 is high expressed in most HCC tissues and cell lines including HepG2. This study focused on the influence of GCF2 on cell proliferation and apoptosis in HepG2 cells. Materials and Methods: GCF2 expression at both mRNA and protein levels in HepG2 cells was detected with reverse transcription (RT) PCR and Western blotting, respectively. RNA interference (RNAi) technology was used to knock down GCF2 mRNA and protein expression. Afterwards, cell viability was analyzed with a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), and cell apoptosis and caspase 3 activity by flow cytometry and with a Caspase 3 Activity Kit, respectively. Results: Specific down-regulation of GCF2 expression caused cell growth inhibition, and increased apoptosis and caspase 3 activity in HepG2 cells. Conclusions: These primary results suggest that GCF2 may influence cell proliferation and apoptosis in HepG2 cells, and also provides a molecular basis for further investigation into the possible mechanism at proliferation and apoptosis in HCC.

Comparing the efficacy of two different temperature stimulation in warm acupuncture on acute low back pain: A randomized controlled trial

Li Tian,Wang Siyao,Cheng Ke,Sun Lu,Jin Daopeng,Zhang Shen,Yang Zhen,Huang Zouqin 한국한의학연구원 2022 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.11 No.1

Background: Warm acupuncture, a combination of the mechanical stimulation of acupuncture and thermal stimulation of moxibustion, is commonly used in treating acute low back pain (LBP). This trial aimed to compare the efficacy of stronger (above 43°C) and weaker (above 40°C) heat stimulation in warm acupuncture on the function and pain in patients with acute LBP due to lumbosacral disc degeneration (LDD). Methods: One hundred and fifty-nine adults were randomly assigned to receive warm acupuncture treatment with silver needle (SvN) or with stainless steel needle (SSN) (1:1). Both groups received a 3-week therapy with 3 sessions per week. The primary outcome was the modified Oswestry Disability Index at week 4. The secondary outcomes included average pain, three physical sign tests and adverse events. Participants were followed up at week 16 and week 28 after randomization. Results: The LBP related disability and pain intensity significantly relieved more in the SvN warm acupuncture group than in the SSN group, in both the short and long term (p<0.001). The between-groups difference in physical signs showed statistical significance only in the short term (p = 0.024), but not in long term (p = 0.081; p = 0.069). Conclusion: Compared with warm acupuncture with stainless-steel needle at above 40°C, warm acupuncture with silver needle at above 43°C relieved more disability and pain in patients with acute LBP due to LDD. Study registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1800019051).

Associations for BCO2, PCSK9, and TR1B1 Polymorphism and Lifestyle Factors with Ischemic Stroke: A Nested Case-Control Study

Tian-Yu Zhao,Zheng Li,Song Lei,Liu Huang,Lei Yang 연세대학교의과대학 2019 Yonsei medical journal Vol.60 No.7

Purpose: To investigate associations for polymorphisms in β-carotene 9',10'-oxygenase (BCO2, rs10431036 and rs11214109), proproteinconvertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9, rs11583680), and tribbles pseudokinase 1 (TRIB1, rs17321515 and rs2954029), aswell as lifestyle factors, with ischemic stroke (IS). Materials and Methods: This nested case-control study included 161 patients with IS and 483 matched control individuals. Wecollected medical reports, lifestyle details, and blood samples from individuals and used the PCR-ligase detection reaction methodto genotype single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Results: The GA+AA genotype of rs10431036 (p<0.001) and rs17321515 (p=0.003), the CT+TT genotype of rs11214109 (p=0.005),and the TA+AA genotype of rs2954029 (p=0.006) in dominant models increased the risk of IS. In additive models, the GG genotypeof rs17321515 (p=0.005) and the TT genotype of rs2954029 (p=0.008) increased the risk of IS. Adequate intake of fruits/vegetablesreduced the risk of IS (p=0.005). Although there was no interaction between genes and fruits/vegetables, people with inadequateintake of fruits/vegetables who carried a risk genotype had a higher risk of IS than those only having inadequate fruits/vegetables intake or those only carrying a risk genotype. Also, the haplotypes AC, AT, and GT (comprising rs10431036 andrs11214109) and GT (comprising rs2954029 and rs17321515) were found to be associated with an increased risk of IS (p<0.05). Conclusion: Polymorphisms in BCO2 and TRIB1 and fruits/vegetables intake were associated with IS. These results provide thetheoretical basis for gene screening to prevent chronic cerebrovascular diseases.

A novel strategy for surface modification of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for lung cancer imaging

Huang, Gang,Zhang, Chunfu,Li, Shunzi,Khemtong, Chalermchai,Yang, Su-Geun,Tian, Ruhai,Minna, John D.,Brown, Kathlynn C.,Gao, Jinming Royal Society of Chemistry 2009 Journal of materials chemistry Vol.19 No.35

<P>Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles are widely used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as versatile ultra-sensitive nanoprobes for cellular and molecular imaging of cancer. In this study, we report a one-step procedure for the surface functionalization of SPIO nanoparticles with a lung cancer-targeting peptide. The hydrophobic surfactants on the as-synthesized SPIO are displaced by the peptide containing a poly(ethylene glycol)-tethered cysteine residue through ligand exchange. The resulting SPIO particles are biocompatible and demonstrate high T<SUB>2</SUB> relaxivity. The nanoprobes are specific in targeting α<SUB>v</SUB>β<SUB>6</SUB>–expressing lung cancer cells as demonstrated by MR imaging and Prussian blue staining. This facile surface chemistry and the functional design of the proposed SPIO system may provide a powerful nanoplatform for the molecular diagnosis of lung cancer.</P> <P>Graphic Abstract</P><P>Surface functionalization of SPIO nanoparticles with lung cancer peptides enables the specific targeting to α<SUB>v</SUB>β<SUB>6</SUB>–positive H2009 cancer cells, verified by cell uptake and MR imaging. <IMG SRC='http://pubs.rsc.org/services/images/RSCpubs.ePlatform.Service.FreeContent.ImageService.svc/ImageService/image/GA?id=b902358e'> </P>