[Establishment of acute myocardial infarction model in diabetic miniature pigs through video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery].

Objective: To explore a new method of establishing acute myocardial infarction model in diabetic miniature pigs through video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).

Methods: Seven normal miniature pigs and 7 diabetic miniature pigs underwent VATS by selectively ligating left anterior descending coronary artery and then were evaluated through serology, imaging and histology.

Results: The serum levels of troponin (cTni) and myoglobin (MYO) in both groups significantly increased by over 10 folds of upper normal limit after VATS.

Neural progenitor cells derived from adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells promote neuronal regeneration.

Aim: It is well known that neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/PC) are an ideal cell type for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disease. However, ethical problems have severely hampered fetal NS/PC from being widely used as a source for stem cell therapy. Recently, it has been demonstrated that autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) can transdifferentiate into neural progenitor cells (NPC).

Pretreatment with Tongxinluo protects porcine myocardium from ischaemia/reperfusion injury through a nitric oxide related mechanism.

Background: The traditional Chinese medicine Tongxinluo can protect myocardium against ischaemia/reperfusion injury, but the mechanism of its action is not well documented. We examined the involvement of nitric oxide in the protective role of Tongxinluo.

Methods: Miniswine were randomized to four groups of seven: sham, control, Tongxinluo and Tongxinluo coadministration with a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA, 10 mg/kg i.