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Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between intraoperative somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) amplitude changes and clinical outcomes of OLIF indirect decompression for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS). Methods: A prospective study was performed on 201 patients who received oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) in our hospital from July 2017 to May 2021 due to single segmental DLSS. The patients were divided into three groups: group A (mild DLSS), group B (moderate DLSS), and group C (severe DLSS). The P40 amplitude during operation were recorded, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated by JOA score 1 year postoperative. ROC curves for satisfactory efficacy of P40 amplitude improvement rate and CSA improvement rate were established. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the relationship between P40 improvement rate and JOA improvement rate. Results: In group A and group B, the improvement rate of JOA in P40 significantly improved group was significantly greater that in improved group and unimproved group (Pa = 0.009; Pb < 0.000). No significant among-subgroup differences in group C (all P > 0.05). In both groups A and B, there was a significant difference in the improvement rate of P40 amplitude between the satisfactory group and the ineffective group (Pa = 0.013; Pb = 0.001), while in group C, there was no statistical significance (Pc = 0.107). By variable Person correlation analysis, a significant positive correlation was obtained between JOA improvement rate and P40 amplitude improvement rate in groups A and B (r1 = 0.27, P1 = 0.02; r2 = 0.508, P2 = 0.001), no correlation between the two in group C (r3 = 0.243, P3 = 0.056). The area under the ROC for assessing surgical efficacy in terms of CSA improvement rate was 0.813 (95% CI: 0.737–0.889, P < 0.001) and 0.767 (95% CI: 0.677–0.856, P < 0.001) in group A and group B, respectively, with satisfactory efficacy cutoff points of 50.18% and 67.89%. Conclusion: For mild and moderate DLSS, the intraoperative P40 amplitude improvement rate can predict the improvement of clinical symptoms after surgery and can be used as a reference index to assess the effect of indirect decompression. For severe DLSS, the P40 amplitude improvement rate has limited significance in guiding indirect decompression, and OLIF indirect decompression is not the right treatment for this type of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effects of the donor age on the application potential of human urine-derived stem cells (hUSCs) in bone tissue engineering, by comparing proliferation, senescence and osteogenic differentiation of hUSCs originated from volunteers with different ages. The urine samples were collected from 19 healthy volunteers (6 cases from children group aged from 5 to 14, 5 cases from middle-aged group aged from 30 to 40, and 8 cases from the elder group aged from 65 to 75), and hUSCs were isolated and cultured. The cell morphology was observed by microscope and the cell surface markers were identified by flow cytometry. Their abilities to undergo osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation were determined in vitro, and cell proliferation analyses were performed using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) Assay. The senescence of hUSCs among three groups was assessed by senescence-associated β galactosidase staining. After osteogenic differentiation, the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of hUSCs was measured and expression of osteogenic-related runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) and osteocalcin (OCN) was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot. The hUSCs isolated from urine samples were adherent cells displayed 'rice gain'-like and 'spindle-shaped' morphology, expressing surface markers of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) (CD73, CD90, CD105) and the peripheral cell marker (CD146), but not hematopoietic stem cell markers (CD34, CD45) or the embryonic stem cell marker (OCT3/4). The obtained hUSCs could be induced into osteogenic, adipogenic or chondrogenic differentiation. The hUSCs from the children group showed higher proliferation and lower tendency to senescence than those from the middle-aged and elder groups. After osteogenic induction, the ALP activity and RUNX2 and OCN expression of hUSCs from the children group were higher than those from the elder group. While no significant differences were observed when comparing the middle-aged group with the children group or the elder group. Donor age could influence the potency of hUSCs on proliferation, senescence and capacity of osteogenic differentiation. hUSCs from children group have shown higher proliferation, lower tendency to senescence, and stronger osteogenic capacity, which means to be more suitable for basic research and have better clinical application. Furthermore, hUSCs from all groups suggest the application potential in bone tissue engineering as seed cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the effects of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) on the proliferation and differentiation of tendon-derived stem cells (TDSC). Results: TNF-α inhibits the proliferation and tenogenic/osteogenic differentiation of TDSC but, after simultaneous or sequential treatment with TGF-β1 and TNF-α, the expression of tenogenic/osteogenic-related marker and proliferation of TDSC was significantly increased. During these processes, Smad2/3 and Smad1/5/8 were highly phosphorylated, meaning that the TGF-β and BMP signaling pathways were highly activated. Further study revealed that the expression of Inhibitor-Smad appeared to be negatively correlated to the proliferation and differentiation of TDSC. Conclusions: Combining the use of TNF-α and TGF-β1 could improve the proliferation and differentiation of TDSC in vitro, and the expression of I-Smad is negatively correlated with TDSC proliferation and differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine whether an engineered tendon matrix (ETM) environment and growth and differentiation factor-6 (GDF-6) have synergistic effects on the tenogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and the quality of tendon repair. Results: ETM and GDF-6 promote tenogenic differentiation of BMSCs in vitro. Implantation of GDF-6-incorporated ETM containing BMSCs into a tendon injury model significantly improved the histological and mechanical properties of the repaired tendon. Conclusions: GDF-6-incorporated ETM containing BMSCs represents a promising strategy for tendon injury repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transplantation of ligament-tissue-derived stem cells has become a promising approach in the repair of injured ligament. Neovascularization plays an important role in ligament healing and remodeling. Recently, human umbilical-cord-blood-derived CD34+ cells have been reported to contribute to neoangiogenesis. Therefore, we performed a series of experiments to test our hypothesis that the combination of medial collateral ligament stem cells (MCL-SCs) and umbilical-cord-blood-derived CD34+ cells has synergistic effects on tendon healing. MCL-SCs and umbilical-cord-blood-derived CD34+ cells were isolated and cultured. Rat MCL injury was treated by MCL-SCs and/or CD34+ cells. Response to the cell therapy was assessed by gross observation, histological evaluation and biomechanical testing at 2 and 4 weeks after each treatment. Although each cell therapy group induced macroscopic and morphological recovery in healing MCLs, the combined use of MCL-SCs/CD34+ cells led to further improvement in healing quality. Capillary density was significantly higher in the CD34+ cell transplantation groups than in the other groups at week 2. Biomechanical testing demonstrated that the failure load of the healing ligament was greatest in the combination therapy group. The combination of MCL-SCs and CD34+ cells as a cell therapeutic thus enhances healing and restores biomechanical function toward normal after MCL injury. The findings obtained in our study suggest that the combination of MCL-SCs and CD34+ cells transplantation represents a promising strategy for ligament injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tendon stem cells (TSCs), recently identified as tendon cells, play an important role in maintaining the homeostasis of tendon tissue. Age-related decrease in the function of TSCs has been reported. Recent reports demonstrated that hypoxic condition is advantageous for efficient expansion of TSCs. Moreover, the impaired function of aged stem cells could be modulated by exposing them to a young environment. Therefore, we investigated the effects of hypoxic-conditioned culture medium (HCCM) from young TSCs on the proliferation, migration, senescence, and tenocyte phenotype of aged TSCs. TSCs were isolated, and the conditioned medium was collected. There were 4 groups: young TSCs, aged TSCs, aged TSCs + aged HCCM, and aged TSCs + young HCCM. The proliferative capacity, migration, β-galactosidase activity, and tenogenic differentiation potential of TSCs were assessed. Our results showed that HCCM enhanced the proliferation and migration potential of aged TSCs. Moreover, the senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity of aged TSCs was decreased by young HCCM. After being cultured in the young HCCM, the expressions of tenocyte-related genes in aged TSCs were significantly enhanced. Together, results of this study indicate that HCCM from young TSCs may represent an effective strategy to improve the impaired function of aged TSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate if there is an effect of sustained trunk axial twisting on the development of low back pain. Methods: Sixteen male pain-free university students volunteered for this study. The trunk axial twisting was created by a torsion moment of 50 Nm for 10-min duration. The axial rotational creep was estimated by the transverse camera view directly on the top of the head. The visual analog scale in low back area was examined both in the initial and at the end of twisting. Each performed three trials of lumbar flexion-extension with the cycle of 5 s flexion and 5 s extension in standing before and after twisting. Surface electromyography from bilateral erector spinae muscles as well as trunk flexion performance was recorded synchronously in video camera. A one-way ANOVA with repeated measures was used to evaluate the effect of twist. Results: The results showed that there was a significant ( p < 0.001) twist creep with rotational angle 10.5° as well as VAS increase with a mean value 45 mm. The erector spinae was active in a larger angle during flexion as well as extension after trunk axial twisting. Conclusions: Sustained trunk axial twisting elicits significant trunk rotational creep. It causes the visual analog scale to have a significant increase, and causes erector spinae muscles to become active longer during anterior flexion as well as extension, which may be linked to the decrease of the tension ability of passive tissues in low back area, indicating a higher risk in developing low back pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has been a milestone in the field of regenerative medicine and drug discovery. iPS cells can provide a continuous and individualized source of stem cells and are considered to hold great potential for economically feasible personalized stem cell therapy. Various diseases might potentially be cured by iPS cell-based therapy including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington disease, ischemic heart disease, diabetes and so on. Moreover, iPS cells derived from patients suffering from unique incurable diseases can be developed into patient- and disease-specific cell lines. These cells can be used as an effective approach to study the mechanisms of diseases, providing useful tools for drug discovery, development and evaluation. The development of suitable methods for the culture and expansion of iPS cells and their differentiated progenies make feasible modern drug discovery techniques such as high-throughput screening. Furthermore, iPS cells can be applied in the field of toxicological and pharmacokinetics tests. This review focuses on the applications of iPS cells in the field of pharmaceutical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These experiments were performed to know whether sanjoinine A, a component of the alkaloid fraction of Semen Zizyphi Spinosi, acts as an anti-convulsive agent in the kainic acid (KA)-induced experimental convulsion model and whether these effects are mediated by decreased intracellular calcium. Oral administration of sanjoinine A (4 and 8 mg/kg) increased the survival rate and latency of convulsion onset, and decreased the seizure scores and the weight loss induced by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of KA (50 mg/kg) in mice. In addition, sanjoinine A protected against neuronal damage and apoptosis in the hippocampus after KA administration, as analyzed by using immunohistochemistry and TUNEL assay. Sanjoinine A also significantly blocked seizure-form electroencephalogram alterations induced by KA. Moreover, in cultured rat neuronal cells, sanjoinine A inhibited KA-induced cell death, as measured by propidium iodide detection. Sanjoinine A also increased intracellular chloride and inhibited the elevation of intracellular calcium induced by KA. Sanjoinine A, therefore protects against KAinduced convulsions by increasing intracellular chloride and reducing intracellular calcium levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]