Atherosclerotic plaques within the vasculature may eventually lead to heart failure. Currently, cardiac stenting is the most effective and least invasive approach to treat this disease. However, in-stent restenosis is a complex chronic side effect of stenting treatment. This study used coronary stents coated with stem cells secreting angiogenic growth factors via an inducible genome-editing system to reduce stent restenosis and induce re-endothelialization within the artery. The characteristics of the cells and their adhesion properties on the stents were confirmed, and the stents were transplanted into a swine model to evaluate restenosis and the potential therapeutic use of stents with stem cells. Restenosis was evaluated using optical coherence tomography (OCT), microcomputed tomography (mCT) and angiography, and re-endothelialization was evaluated by immunostaining after cardiac stent treatment. Compared to a bare metal stent (BMS) or a parental umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cell (UCB-MSC)-coated stent, the stents with stem cells capable of the controlled release of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) successfully reduced restenosis within the stent and induced natural re-endothelialization. Furthermore, UCB-MSCs exhibited the ability to differentiate into endothelial cells in Matrigel, and HGF and VEGF improved this differentiation. Our study indicates that stents coated with UCB-MSCs secreting VEGF/HGF reduce the restenosis side effects of cardiac stenting with improved re-endothelialization.
Strongyloidiasis is caused by <i>Strongyloides stercoralis</i> and is one of the most neglected tropical diseases in tropical and subtropical regions. Although several strongyloidiasis cases have been reported in Korea, genetic analysis of Korean isolates is still incomplete. In this study, a parasite was isolated from a 61-year-old man diagnosed with strongyloidiasis during the treatment of lymphoma on his retroperitoneal lymph node. Diffuse symmetric wall thickening from the ascending to descending colon and a nematode-infected intestine was observed following microscopic examination. Genomic DNA was isolated from a patient tissue block, and <i>S. stercoralis</i> was identified by PCR and sequencing (18S rDNA). In order to determine phylogenetic location of a Korean isolate (named KS1), we analyzed <i>cox</i>1 gene (500-bp) and compared it with that from 47 previous <i>S. stercoralis</i> isolates (28 human isolates and 19 canid isolates) from Asian countries. Our results showed that phylogenetic tree could clearly be divided into 5 different groups according to hosts and regions. KS1 was most closely related with the Chinese isolates in terms of genetic distance.
Ensuring the safety of baby bottle teats and kitchen tools made from rubber is critical. Therefore, the migration of N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable substances from 30 teats and 45 kitchen tools to artificial saliva was analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The method was validated by assessing the limits of detection (0.46-3.87 lg/kg), limits of quantification (1.38-11.73 lg/kg), and recoveries (86.3-108.6%) of seven compounds. Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosopiperidine, and N-nitrosomorpholine (NMOR) migrated from baby bottle teats at concentrations of not detected (ND) to 3.67 lg/kg. NDMA and NMOR concentrations ranged from ND to 1.72 lg/kg after migration from 45 rubber kitchen tools. N-nitrosatable substances ranged from ND to 42.16 lg/kg after migration from baby bottle teats but did not migrate from rubber kitchen tools. All tested products were considered safe for use, as N-nitrosamine and N-nitrosatable substance levels did not exceed the permitted management specifications.Keywords N-nitrosamines Á N-nitrosatable substances Á Baby bottle teat Á Rubber kitchen tool Á LC-MS/MS
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.