Stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) is a critical regulator of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) mediated physiological and pathologic angiogenesis. It was considered to act via its unique receptor CXCR4 for a long time. CXCR7 is a second, recently identified receptor for SDF-1, and its role in human EPCs is unclear. In present study, CXCR7 was found to be scarcely expressed on the surface of human EPCs derived from cord blood, but considerable intracellular CXCR7 was detected, which differs from that on EPCs derived from rat bone marrow. CXCR7 failed to support SDF-1 induced human EPCs migration, proliferation, or nitric oxide (NO) production, but mediated human EPCs survival exclusively. Besides that, CXCR7 mediated EPCs tube formation along with CXCR4. Blocking CXCR7 with its antagonist CCX733 impaired SDF-1/CXCR4 induced EPCs adhesion to active HUVECs and trans-endothelial migration. Those results suggested that CXCR7 plays an important role in human cord blood derived EPCs in response to SDF-1.

SummaryWe investigated the effects of early rehabilitation therapy on prolonged mechanically ventilated patients after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG).A total of 106 patients who underwent CABG between June 2012 and May 2015 were enrolled and randomly assigned into an early rehabilitation group (53 cases) and a control group (53 cases). The rehabilitation therapy consisted of 6 steps including head up, transferring from supination to sitting, sitting on the edge of bed, sitting in a chair, transferring from sitting to standing, and walking along a bed. The patients received rehabilitation therapy in the intensive care unit (ICU) after CABG in the early rehabilitation group. The control group patients received rehabilitation therapy after leaving the ICU.The results showed that the early rehabilitation therapy could significantly decrease the duration of mechanical ventilation (early rehabilitation group: 8.1 ± 3.3 days; control group: 13.9 ± 4.1 days, P < 0.01), hospital stay (early rehabilitation group: 22.0 ± 3.8 days; control group: 29.1 ± 4.6 days, P < 0.01), and ICU stay (early rehabilitation group: 11.7 ± 3.2 days; control group: 18.3 ± 4.2 days, P < 0.01) for patients requiring more than 72 hours prolonged mechanical ventilation. The results of Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the proportions of patients remaining on mechanical ventilation in the early rehabilitation group were larger than that in the control group after 7 days of rehabilitation therapy (logrank test: P < 0.01).The results provide evidence for supporting the application of early rehabilitation therapy in patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation after CABG. (Int Heart J 2016; 57: 241-246) Key words: Postoperative recovery, Hospital stay, Randomized controlled trial, Intensive care unit C oronary artery disease is the primary cause of death worldwide. 1) Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) is commonly used for patients with severe coronary artery disease at the left anterior descending artery, circumflex artery, and right coronary artery.2,3) Cardiac rehabilitation is used for improving functional capacity and reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in patients undergoing CABG. [4][5][6] Previous studies have shown that rehabilitation therapy could significantly reduce the length of hospitalization time, costs and complications, promote cardiac function recovery, and improve the quality of life in patients who underwent CABG. [7][8][9][10][11] Mechanical ventilation was routinely applied after CABG to reduce the power consumption of the respiratory system and the cardiac burden to improve postoperative cardiac recovery. [12][13][14] Due to a system of risk factors (such as the duration of surgery, anesthesia, clinical condition, mode of ventilator therapy, and method of weaning from mechanical ventilation), many patients should receive prolonged mechanical ventilation. [15][16][17] It was reported that the prolonged mechanical ventilation could prolong the hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stay, 18) incre...

Painful diabetic neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes produced by mechanisms that as yet are incompletely defined. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) in the regulation of purinergic receptor P2X ligand-gated ion channel 3 (P2X3R) plasticity in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons of rats with painful diabetes. Here, we showed that hindpaw pain hypersensitivity in streptozocininduced diabetic rats was attenuated by treatment with purinergic receptor antagonist suramin or A-317491. The expression and function of P2X3Rs was markedly enhanced in hindpaw-innervated DRG neurons in diabetic rats. The CpG (cytosine guanine dinucleotide) island in the p2x3r gene promoter region was significantly demethylated, and the expression of DNA methyltransferase 3b was remarkably downregulated in DRGs in diabetic rats. The binding ability of p65 (an active form of NF-kB) with the p2x3r gene promoter region and p65 expression were enhanced significantly in diabetes. The inhibition of p65 signaling using the NF-kB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate or recombinant lentiviral vectors designated as lentiviral vector-p65 small interfering RNA remarkably suppressed P2X3R activities and attenuated diabetic pain hypersensitivity. Insulin treatment significantly attenuated pain hypersensitivity and suppressed the expression of p65 and P2X3Rs. Our findings suggest that the p2x3r gene promoter DNA demethylation and enhanced interaction with p65 contributes to P2X3R sensitization and diabetic pain hypersensitivity.

Background/AimsPatients with long-standing diabetes often demonstrate intestinal dysfunction and abdominal pain. However, the pathophysiology of abdominal pain in diabetic patients remains elusive. The purpose of study was to determine roles of voltage-gated sodium channels in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) in colonic hypersensitivity of rats with diabetes. MethodsDiabetic models were induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ; 65 mg/kg) in adult female rats, while the control rats received citrate buffer only. Behavioral responses to colorectal distention were used to determine colonic sensitivity in rats. Colon projection DRG neurons labeled with DiI were acutely dissociated for measuring excitability and sodium channel currents by whole-cell patch clamp recordings. Western blot analysis was employed to measure the expression of Na V 1.7 and Na V 1.8 of colon DRGs. ResultsSTZ injection produced a significantly lower distention threshold than control rats in responding to colorectal distention. STZ injection also depolarized the resting membrane potentials, hyperpolarized action potential threshold, decreased rheobase and increased frequency of action potentials evoked by 2 and 3 times rheobase and ramp current stimulation. Furthermore, STZ injection enhanced neuronal sodium current densities of DRG neurons innervating the colon. STZ injection also led to a significant upregulation of Na V 1.7 and Na V 1.8 expression in colon DRGs compared with age and sex-matched control rats. ConclusionsOur results suggest that enhanced neuronal excitability following STZ injection, which may be mediated by upregulation of Na V 1.7 and Na V 1.8 expression in DRGs, may play an important role in colonic hypersensitivity in rats with diabetes.

PurposeThe purpose of this work is to explore the effects of continuing nursing care intervention on postoperative urinary control and quality of life among patients with prostate cancer.MethodsThis was a single-center, parallel, and randomized controlled trial that was carried out at the Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, China. The participants underwent robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RARP) between October 2014 and April 2016. The patients were randomized to the experimental and control groups (n=37/group). Patients in the control group received routine nursing care, while patients in the experimental group received continuing nursing care. During the 6-month follow-up, each patient was invited at the hospital discharge and at 1, 3, and 6 months to fill the ICI-Q-SF and SF-36 questionnaires.ResultsThe scores of urinary incontinence were improved in the intervention group compared with controls at 3 and 6 months after discharge (both P < 0.01). The scores of quality of life in the experimental group were significantly higher than control group at 1, 3, and 6 months (all P < 0.01). Adverse events were mild or moderate in intensity and were resolved in all patients. All adverse events were related to RARP.ConclusionsContinuing nursing care intervention had significant beneficial effects on urinary functions and quality of life in patients with prostate cancer after RARP. This approach warrants to be promoted in the clinical setting.