Acta histochemica
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Angiogenesis is a prerequisite for endometriotic lesion formation and development. Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is a potential inhibitor of angiogenesis. The objective of this study was to detect PEDF immunolocalization in endometriotic lesions and the correlation with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and microvascular density (MVD) in a rat model of endometriosis. ⋯ On the contrary, both VEGF expression and MVD were positively correlated with lesion sizes (P<0.05). In addition, VEGF expression was positively correlated with MVD (P<0.01). Our results suggest that PEDF might be involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis and may lead to novel treatment for this disease.
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Despite the favorable treatment of cranial nerve neuropathology in adulthood, some cases are resistant to therapy leading to permanent functional impairments. In many cases, suitable treatment is problematic as the therapeutic target remains unknown. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, FGF-2) is involved in neuronal maintenance and wound repair following nervous system lesions. ⋯ S100β decreased in astrocytes of 11-day-transected XII nucleus. The two-color immunoperoxidase for the simultaneous detection of the GFAP/FGF-2 indicated FGF-2 upregulation in the nuclei of reactive astrocytes of the lesioned XII nucleus. Astroglial FGF-2 may exert paracrine trophic actions in mature axotomized XII neurons and might represent a therapeutic target for neuroprotection in peripheral nerve pathology.
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In the present study, we evaluated the osteogenic potential of an autogenous bone marrow graft combined with beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) in a rat calvarial bone defect model. The bone marrow harvested from the tibia of 7-week-old rats was grafted autogenously in a calvarial defect together with beta-TCP (=BTG group, n=16) or without beta-TCP (=BG group, n=16). Groups of animals were also treated with beta-TCP alone (=TG group, n=16) and control animals (n=8) received no graft implanted into the defect. ⋯ The TG group showed no marked bone formation in the defect. The combination graft of bone marrow with beta-TCP showed marked bone formation in rat calvarial defects. Our results indicate that the combination grafts of bone marrow with beta-TCP may be an effective technique for repairing bone defects Beta-TCPgraft (TG) group.
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Comparative Study
Differences in immunoreactivities of Ki-67 and doublecortin in the adult hippocampus in three strains of mice.
Neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus is differentially influenced by the genetic background. We examined the differences in Ki-67 (a proliferating cell marker) and doublecortin (DCX; an immature progenitor cell marker) immunolabelling in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the adult hippocampus in three strains of mice (ICR, C57BL/6, and BALB/c) to evaluate the effect of genetic background on adult hippocampal neurogenesis. All strains showed constitutive immunoreactivity of either Ki-67 or DCX in the DG of the adult hippocampus. ⋯ The greatest number of DCX-immunopositive cells was found in C57BL/6 (approximately 1.6-fold), which differed significantly from ICR and BALB/c mice. However, there was no significant difference in the number of Ki-67- and DCX-immunopositive cells between BALB/c and ICR mice. Genetic differences with respect to certain aspects of hippocampal neurogenesis in adult mice may influence hippocampal functions, including learning and memory.
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During ischemia, ATP-sensitive K+ channels (KATP channels) open, and this triggers necrotic processes and apoptosis. In this study, we investigated whether selective sarcoplasmic and mitochondrial KATP channel blockers affected myocardial apoptosis and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity in a rat model of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion in vitro. Isolated rat hearts were subjected to 30 min of coronary artery occlusion followed by 30 min of reperfusion. ⋯ In hearts treated with 5-hydroxydecanoate, myocyte apoptosis was slightly reduced, and this was associated with an almost equal increase in both iNOS and eNOS immunoreactivity. These findings suggest that iNOS appears to be more important than eNOS in the reduction of apoptosis. However, the further inhibition of apoptosis by the higher concentration of HMR 1098 was associated with poorer cardiac function.