Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disorder resulted from T cell-mediated destruction of pancreatic β-cells, how to regenerate β-cells and prevent the autoimmune destruction of remnant and neogenetic β-cells is a tough problem. Immunomodulatory propertity of mesenchymal stem cell make it illuminated to overcome it. We assessed the long-term effects of the implantation of Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) from the umbilical cord for Newly-onset T1DM. Twenty-nine patients with newly onset T1DM were randomly divided into two groups, patients in group I were treated with WJ-MSCs and patients in group II were treated with normal saline based on insulin intensive therapy. Patients were followed-up after the operation at monthly intervals for the first 3 months and thereafter every 3 months for the next 21 months, the occurrence of any side effects and results of laboratory examinations were evaluated. There were no reported acute or chronic side effects in group I compared with group II, both the HbA1c and C peptide in group I patients were significantly better than either pretherapy values or group II patients during the follow-up period. These data suggested that the implantation of WJ-MSCs for the treatment of newly-onset T1DM is safe and effective. This therapy can restore the function of islet β cells in a longer time, although precise mechanisms are unknown, the implantation of WJ-MSCs is expected to be an effective strategy for treatment of type1 diabetes.

The urate oxidase (Uox) gene encodes uricase that in the rodent liver degrades uric acid into allantoin, forming an obstacle for establishing stable mouse models of hyperuricemia. The loss of uricase in humans during primate evolution causes their vulnerability to hyperuricemia. Thus, we generated a Uox-knockout mouse model on a pure C57BL/6J background using the transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) technique. These Uox-knockout mice spontaneously developed hyperuricemia (over 420 μmol/l) with about 40% survival up to 62 weeks. Renal dysfunction (elevated serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen) and glomerular/tubular lesions were observed in these Uox-knockout mice. Male Uox-knockout mice developed glycol-metabolic disorders associated with compromised insulin secretion and elevated vulnerability to streptozotocin-induced diabetes, whereas female mice developed hypertension accompanied by aberrant lipo-metabolism. Urate-lowering drugs reduced serum uric acid and improved hyperuricemia-induced disorders. Thus, uricase knockout provides a suitable mouse model to investigate hyperuricemia and associated disorders mimicking the human condition, suggesting that hyperuricemia has a causal role in the development of metabolic disorders and hypertension.

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We reinvestigated dehydration and dehydroxylation of hydrotalcite and four other hydrotalcite-like compounds (HTlcs) with the combined thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis/mass spectrometry (TG-DTA-MS) technique. The observations indicate that HTlcs undergo dehydration first and then dehydroxylation, followed by or overlapping with decomposition of interlayer anions. The detail deconvolution of MS curves of m/z = 18 reveals that both dehydration and dehydroxylation occurs in two consecutive steps. Dehydration of crystalline water molecules starts on the surface and edge in the first step, and then continues to the interlayer water. Both steps are influenced by the nature of the interlayer anions and layer cations. For the first time, we have assigned two dehydroxylation steps to two types of hydroxyl groups in the HT lattice, i.e. OH−(M(II)3) and OH−(M(II)2M(III)). The thermal stability of these two hydroxyl groups is principally determined by the nature of the cations. According to this research, the thermal stability of hydroxyl groups in HTlcs is OH-(Ca3) (∼480 °C) > OH−(Mg2Al) (∼410 °C) > OH−(Mg2Fe) (∼350 °C) ≈ OH−(Mg3) (300−370 °C) ≈ OH−(Ca2Al) (∼330 °C) > OH−(Ca2Fe) (∼290 °C) at a ramping rate of 2 °C/min.

BackgroundExogenous melatonin could induce cashmere growth. However, induced growth of cashmere fleece by melatonin implants cannot be combined with the typical growth, resulting in earlier shedding followed by another cycle of cashmere growth. To address this issue, we examine the effects on the cashmere yield, fibre characteristics, and the growth and reproductive performance of cashmere goats of planned administration of melatonin.MethodsEighteen half-sib, female goats were assigned to two treatments (n = 9) including a control and a treatment where melatonin (2 mg/kg BW) was implanted at the end of April and end of June. Cashmere growth and shedding were observed for approximately 1 year following implantation. Fibre samples were collected monthly to determine cumulative cashmere length. Initiation and cessation dates for cashmere growth as well as the rate of cashmere growth were calculated. Cashmere yield, weight gain of dam, kidding date, litter size, and birth weight were also recorded.ResultsMelatonin implantation increased cashmere yield by 34.5 % (control 553.7 g vs. melatonin 745.0 g; P < 0.01), cashmere length by 21.3 % (control 95.2 mm vs. melatonin 115.4 mm; P < 0.01), and decreased fibre diameter by 4.4 % (control 14.6 μm vs. melatonin 14.0 μm; P < 0.03). In melatonin-treated goats, the average initiation date was earlier than in control goats (May 18, 2013 vs. July 2, 2013; P < 0.01) but there was a similar cessation date (March 22, 2014 vs. March 27, 2014). Consequently, the duration of cashmere growth was longer in melatonin-treated goats than in control goats (307 vs.270 days; P < 0.01). The final BW, average daily gain, kidding date, litter size, and birth weight were not influenced by melatonin implantation.ConclusionsThese data indicate that melatonin implantation (2 mg/kg BW) on two occasions (late April and June) increased cashmere yield by combining the induced growth of cashmere fleece with the typical growth and decreased the fibre diameter without changing dam growth rate or reproductive performance.

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Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant hereditary disease that is primarily characterized by multiple café au-lait spots (CALs) and skin neurofibromas, which are attributed to defects in the tumor suppressor NF1. Because of the age-dependent presentation of NF1, it is often difficult to make an early clinical diagnosis. Moreover, identifying genetic alterations in NF1 patients represents a complex challenge. Currently, there are no effective detective methods, and no comprehensive NF1 mutation data are available for mainland China. We screened 109 Chinese patients from 100 families with NF1-like phenotypes (e.g., CALs, neurofibromas, etc.) using Sanger sequencing, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and cDNA sequencing. NF1 mutations were identified in 97 individuals, among which 34 intragenic mutations have not previously been reported. Our exhaustive mutational analysis detected mutations in 89% (89/100) of the NF1-like probands and 93% (70/75) of subjects fulfilling the National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria. Our findings indicate that individuals who exclusively present with multiple CALs exhibit a high possibility (76%) of having NF1 and show a significantly lower mutation rate (p = 0.042) compared with subjects who fulfill the NIH criteria, providing clinicians with the information that subjects only with multiple CALs harbor a considerable possibility (24%) of being attributed to other comparable diseases.

The objectives of this study were to identify polymorphisms of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) gene and to investigate their association with growth traits in Nanjiang Huang goats. Five hundred and ninety-two animals were used to detect the polymorphisms in the complete coding sequence, part of introns and the 5′-regulatory region of the IGF-I gene by means of PCR-SSCP. A new single nucleotide polymorphism (G to C transversion) was identified at intron 4 of the IGF-I gene in the goats. Two alleles and three genotypes were observed in this group. The frequency of G and C alleles was 54.6 and 45.4%, respectively. The statistical analysis showed that polymorphism of the IGF-I gene had a significant association (p<0.05) with birth weight (BW), body weight at 6 months (W6) and at 12 months (W12), heart girth at 2 months (G2), body length at 6 months (L6), wither height at 6 months (H6) and at 12 months (H12) and heart girth at 12 months (G12). The goats with genotype CC had significantly higher BW, W6, W12, G2, L6, H6, H12 and G12 than those with genotype GC and had significantly higher W12, H6, H12 and G12 than those with genotype GG. Therefore, genotype CC may be the most advantageous for growth traits in the Nanjiang Huang goat. However, no significant association between SNP genotypes and other growth traits was observed. These results indicated that the SNP marker of the IGF-I gene may be a potential molecular marker for growth traits in Nanjiang Huang goats.