BackgroundWe aimed to study the association between cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and hypertension in Kazakh and Han populations from Xinjiang Province, China.Material/MethodsWe analyzed data on 800 Kazakhs (467 hypertension patients and 333 healthy control participants) and 800 Hans (482 hypertension patients and 318 healthy control participants) aged 18–84 years old. ELISA and real-time quantitative PCR coupled with restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis were applied for determining CMV infection and glycoprotein B (gB) genotypes, respectively.ResultsSerologic evidence of CMV infection was obtained for 95.4% and 90.1% of the Kazakhs and Hans, respectively. The CMV seroprevalence rates among the Kazakh and Han participants with hypertension were 96.8% and 89.8%, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed statistically significant independent associations between CMV seropositivity and hypertension in Kazakh males and between CMV antibody titers and hypertension in Hans; significant relationships also existed between CMV antibody titers and blood pressure in Hans. In Kazakhs, 3 CMV gB genotypes were identified: gB2 and genotype mixtures gB1+gB2 and gB2+gB3. In Hans, 4 CMV gB genotypes were identified: gB1, gB2, gB1+gB2, and gB2+gB3. Of the 4 studied genotypes, gB2+gB3 showed a significant independent association with hypertension in Kazakh females.ConclusionsCMV infection is associated with essential hypertension in Kazakh males and Hans in Xinjiang. CMV seropositivity is associated with hypertension in Kazakh males, and CMV antibody titers are associated with blood pressure and hypertension in Han males and females. Moreover, the CMV gB2+gB3 genotype mixture is associated independently with essential hypertension in Kazakh females.

IntroductionMesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered to play important roles in wound repair and tissue remodeling. Hypertrophic scar (HTS) is a cutaneous condition characterized by deposits of excessive amount of collagen after an acute skin injury. However, currently there is little knowledge about the direct relationship between MSCs and HTS.MethodsThe hypertrophic scar model was established on rabbit ears. MSCs were isolated from rabbit femur bone marrow and transplanted through ear artery injection. Hypertrophic scar formation was examined using frozen-section analysis, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, Masson’s trichrome staining, and scar elevation index. The role of p53 in the MSCs-mediated anti-scarring effect was examined by gene knockdown using p53 shRNA.ResultsIn this study, MSCs engraftment through ear artery injection significantly inhibited the hypertrophic scarring in a rabbit ear hypertrophic scar model, while this anti-scarring function could be abrogated by p53 gene knockdown in MSCs. Additionally, we found that MSCs down-regulated the expression of TGF-β receptor I (TβRI) and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) at both mRNA and protein levels in a paracrine manner, and this down-regulation was rescued by p53 gene knockdown. Moreover, our results showed that MSCs with p53 gene knockdown promoted the proliferation of fibroblasts through increasing nitric oxide (NO) production.ConclusionsThese results suggest that MSCs inhibit the formation of HTS in a p53 dependent manner through at least two mechanisms: inhibition of the transformation of HTS fibroblast to myofibroblast; and inhibition of the proliferation of fibroblasts through inhibition of NO production.

Corneal integrity, transparency and vision acuity are maintained by corneal epithelial cells (CECs), which are continuously renewed by corneal limbal stem cells (LSCs). Deficiency of CECs and/or LSCs is associated with numerous ocular diseases. Paired box (PAX)6 is an eye development-associated transcription factor that is necessary for cell fate determination and differentiation of LSCs and CECs. In the present study, the PAX6 gene was introduced into adipose-derived rat mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) to investigate whether PAX6-transfected cells were able to transdifferentiate into corneal-like epithelial cells and to further verify whether the cells were suitable as a cell source for corneal transplantation. The ADMSCs were isolated from the bilateral inguinal region of healthy Sprague Dawley rats. The characteristics of ADMSCs were identified using flow cytometric analysis. After subculture, ADMSCs underwent transfection with recombinant plasmid containing either PAX6-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) complementary (c)DNA or EGFP cDNA (blank plasmid group), followed by selection with G418 and determination of the transfection efficiency. Subsequently, the morphology of the ADMSCs and the expression profiles of corneal-specific markers CK3/12 and epithelial-specific adhesion protein were determined. E-cadherin was detected using immunofluorescence staining and western blot analysis at 21 days following transfection. An MTT cell proliferation and a colony formation assay were performed to assess the proliferative activity and clonogenicity of PAX6-transfected ADMSCs. Finally, the PAX6-expressing ADMSCs were transplanted onto the cornea of a rabbits with limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD). At 21 days after transfection, the ADMSCs with PAX6 transfection exhibited a characteristic flagstone-like appearance with assembled corneal-like epithelial cells, and concomitant prominent expression of the corneal-specific markers cytokeratin 3/12 and E-cadherin. Furthermore, the proliferation and colony formation ability of PAX6-overexpressing ADMSCs was significantly retarded. The transplantation experiment indicated that PAX6-reprogramed ADMSCs attached to and replenished the damaged cornea via formation of stratified corneal epithelium. Taken together, these results suggested that conversion of ADMSCs into corneal-like epithelium may be driven by PAX6 transfection, which makes ADMSCs a promising cell candidate for the treatment of LSCD.

These results suggest that the TGF-beta1 +869 C allele is potentially a genetic factor of EH in these two ethnicities, the CG haplotype can be a genetic marker of EH in the Kazakh Chinese and the high concentration of TGF-beta1 is possibly associated with EH, especially in the Kazakh population.

1. The haplogroups and polymorphisms of mitochondrial (mt) DNA are associated with longevity. This association is highly geographically dependent. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between mtDNA haplogroups, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and longevity in the Chinese Uygur population. 2. Ninety-eight Uygur Chinese subjects aged over 90 years (vitality 90+) and 117 healthy young controls living in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China were chosen for the present study. Frequencies of mtDNA haplogroups and SNPs in the subjects were analysed using polymerase chain reaction. The entire mtDNA genome was sequenced and the mtDNA haplogroups and SNPs were determined. 3. Nine haplogroups were identified in the Chinese Uygur population and the frequency of haplogroup J was higher in control subjects than in the vitality 90+ group (odds ratio = 0.384; 95% confidence interval = 0.163-0.906; P = 0.025). Interestingly, most of the SNPs were in the D-loop region, with frequencies higher in the control group than in the vitality 90+ group. 4. In conclusion, mtDNA haplogroups are potentially associated with longevity in the Uygur Chinese population and the D-loop region is strongly involved in ageing-related events.