Chinese PLA General Hospital

About: Chinese PLA General Hospital is a healthcare organization based out in Beijing, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Medicine & Population. The organization has 18037 authors who have published 12349 publications receiving 184803 citations. The organization is also known as: 301 Military Hospital.

Posterior-only multilevel modified vertebral column resection for extremely severe Pott's kyphotic deformity

Abstract: Extremely severe Pott’s kyphotic deformity cannot be completely corrected by conventional techniques, including vertebral body resection, Smith-Peterson, pedicle subtraction osteotomy or even vertebral column resection (VCR). The authors developed a new technique combining transpedicular eggshell osteotomies and VCR as multilevel modified vertebral column resection (MVCR) through a single posterior approach for surgical treatment of Pott’s kyphosis with Konstam’s angle beyond 90°. A total of 9 patients (6 males, 3 females) in our institution with severe Pott’s kyphosis who underwent single-stage posterior-only multilevel MVCR were retrospectively reviewed. The candidates for multilevel MVCR were those with a sharp, angular kyphosis in the lower thoracic or upper lumbar spine with a Konstam’s angle beyond 90°. The follow-up averaged 30.6 months (ranging from 21 to 50 months). Fusion status was evaluated at each follow-up by CT three-dimensional reconstruction images. An average of 2.5 vertebrae was removed in each case (ranging from 2 to 4 vertebrae). A mean of 7 vertebrae were fused (ranging from 6 to 11 vertebrae). The mean duration of surgery was 285 min (ranging from 246 to 400 min), the average intraoperative blood loss was 2,933 ml (ranging from 2,000 to 6,000 ml). The mean preoperative kyphus was 100.3° (ranging from 90° to 132°). The mean kyphosis in the immediate postoperative period was 15.9° (ranging from 4° to 30°) with an average postoperative kyphos correction of 84.4° (ranging from 63° to 126°). Fusion of the resection site was confirmed on radiographs in all patients at the minimum 12 months follow-up. No pseudoarthrosis was found. No loosening or breakage of pedicle screws occurred. A single-stage posterior-only multilevel MVCR is an effective way to correct extremely severe Pott’s kyphosis with Konstam’s angle beyond 90°.

Genistein reduced the neural apoptosis in the brain of ovariectomised rats by modulating mitochondrial oxidative stress

Abstract: The present study was undertaken to investigate the antioxidant effect of chronic ingestion of genistein (Gen) against neural death in the brain of ovariectomised (Ovx) rats. The rats were randomly divided into five groups, i.e. sham-operated (sham), Ovx-only, Ovx with 17β-oestradiol, Ovx with low (15 mg/kg) and high (30 mg/kg) doses of Gen (Gen-L and Gen-H), and were orally administered daily with drugs or vehicle for 6 weeks. The learning and memory abilities were measured by Morris water maze test. Oxidative damages in the brain were evaluated by the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and monoamine oxidase (MAO) activities. Neural apoptosis was shown by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) staining and caspase-3 activity. In the visual learning and memory test, there were no significant differences among the population means of the five groups. While in the probe trial test, the Gen-L group instead of the Gen-H group exhibited reduced escape latency and increased memory frequency than the Ovx group. Although both doses of Gen could reduce acetylcholinesterase activity, only a low dose of Gen could diminish MDA activity significantly in frontal cortex and enhance SOD content in the hippocampus. In contrast, MAO content was decreased in the cortex by either dose of Gen, while in the hippocampus, only a high dose of Gen appeared to be effective. Interestingly, Gen at both the doses could attenuate the increased number of TUNEL-positive neurons and caspase-3 activity in Ovx rats. These results suggest that Gen confers protection against Ovx-induced neurodegeneration by attenuating oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation and the mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway in a region- and dose-dependent manner.

Cellular Adjuvant Properties, Direct Cytotoxicity of Re-differentiated Vα24 Invariant NKT-like Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Abstract: Vα24 invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a subset of T lymphocytes implicated in the regulation of broad immune responses. They recognize lipid antigens presented by CD1d on antigen-presenting cells and induce both innate and adaptive immune responses, which enhance effective immunity against cancer. Conversely, reduced iNKT cell numbers and function have been observed in many patients with cancer. To recover these numbers, we reprogrammed human iNKT cells to pluripotency and then re-differentiated them into regenerated iNKT cells in vitro through an IL-7/IL-15-based optimized cytokine combination. The re-differentiated iNKT cells showed proliferation and IFN-γ production in response to α-galactosylceramide, induced dendritic cell maturation and downstream activation of both cytotoxic T lymphocytes and NK cells, and exhibited NKG2D- and DNAM-1-mediated NK cell-like cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines. The immunological features of re-differentiated iNKT cells and their unlimited availability from induced pluripotent stem cells offer a potentially effective immunotherapy against cancer.

Both the transplantation of somatic cell nuclear transfer- and fertilization-derived mouse embryonic stem cells with temperature-responsive chitosan hydrogel improve myocardial performance in infarcted rat hearts.

Abstract: The transplantation of embryonic stem cells could improve cardiac function but was limited by immune rejection as well as low cell retention and survival within the ischemic tissues. The somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is practical to generate autologous histocompatible stem (nuclear-transferred embryonic stem [NTES]) cells for diseases, but NTES may be arguably unsafe for therapeutic application. The temperature-responsive chitosan hydrogel is a suitable matrix in cell transplantation. As the scaffold, chitosan hydrogel was coinjected with NTES cells into the left ventricular wall of rat infarction models. Detailed histological analysis and echocardiography were performed to determine the structure and functional consequences of transplantation. The myocardial performance in SCNT- and fertilization-derived mouse ES cell transplantation with chitosan hydrogel was also compared. The results showed that both the 24-h cell retention and 4-week graft size were significantly greater in the NTES + chitosan group than that of NTES + phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) group (p < 0.01). The NTES cells might differentiate into cardiomyocytes in vivo. The heart function improved significantly in the chitosan + NTES group (fractional shortening: 28.7% +/- 2.8%) compared with that of PBS + NTES group (fractional shortening: 25.2% +/- 2.9%) at 4 weeks after transplantation (p < 0.01). In addition, the arteriole/venule densities within the infarcted area improved significantly in the chitosan + NTES group (280 +/- 17/mm(2)) compared with that of PBS + NTES group (234 +/- 16/mm(2)) at 4 weeks after transplantation (p < 0.01). There was no difference in the myocardial performance in SCNT- and fertilization-derived mouse ES cell transplantation with chitosan hydrogel. The NTES cells with chitosan hydrogel have been proved to possess therapeutic potential to improve the function of infarcted heart. Thus the method of in situ injectable tissue engineering is promising clinically.