Club cell protein 16 as a biomarker for early detection of silicosis.

Background & Objectives: Clinically silicosis is diagnosed by chest X-ray showing specific opacities along with history of silica dust exposure. Diagnosis is invariably made at an advanced or end stage when it is irreversible. Moreover, silicosis patients are susceptible to develop tuberculosis.

Poisoning Cases Reported to Poison Information Centre, Ahmedabad, India: A Three Year Observational Study.

Introduction: Morbidity and mortality associated with pesticide poisoning is a major public health issue, especially in lower and middle income countries, including India. Timely understanding of poisoning trends is required for improved prevention. The objective of the present study was to analyze the trend of poisoning cases in Ahmedabad, India in the period of 2015-2017.

Sirtuin 6 deficiency transcriptionally up-regulates TGF-β signaling and induces fibrosis in mice.

Caloric restriction has been associated with increased life span and reduced aging-related disorders and reduces fibrosis in several diseases. Fibrosis is characterized by deposition of excess fibrous material in tissues and organs and is caused by aging, chronic stress, injury, or disease. Myofibroblasts are fibroblast-like cells that secrete high levels of extracellular matrix proteins, resulting in fibrosis.

Hepatoprotective effect of Lobelia alsinoides Lam. in Wistar rats.

Background: Traditional healing practitioners of South India use fine paste (an Ayurvedic dosage form known as 'kalka') of Lobelia alsinoides Lam., an ethno medicinal plant for curing hepatic diseases.

Objective: To evaluate in-vivo hepatoprotective effect of a candidate formulation viz.

Acute oral toxicity of pesticide combination (acephate 50% and imidacloprid 1.8% as active ingredients) in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the acute toxic interaction and lethal dose (LD) of pesticide combination product (acephate 50% and imidacloprid 1.8% as active ingredients) available in the market in Sprague-Dawley female rats by oral route.

Materials And Methods: A total of 10 Sprague-Dawley female rats were divided into two groups, comprising five rats in each dose group.

Diabetes induces fibrotic changes in the lung through the activation of TGF-β signaling pathways.

In the long term, diabetes profoundly affects multiple organs, such as the kidney, heart, brain, liver, and eyes. The gradual loss of function in these vital organs contributes to mortality. Nonetheless, the effects of diabetes on the lung tissue are not well understood.

A simplified protocol for culture of murine neonatal cardiomyocytes on nanoscale keratin coated surfaces.

Objective: We aim to develop a simple, efficient and cost-effective protocol for culturing the neonatal cardiomyocytes using keratin derived from human hair, which can be used for studying cardiac hypertrophy in vitro.

Methods: Keratin was extracted from human hair and applied as nanoscale coating onto the culture dishes. Physical parameters such as surface morphology and roughness of the coating were studied by SEM and AFM.

Comparative profiling of extractable proteins in extracellular matrices of porcine cholecyst and jejunum intended for preparation of tissue engineering scaffolds.

Scaffolds prepared from cholecyst and jejunum have differential immunological potential, despite similar biocompatibility, when used as subcutaneous grafts. The reason for differential immunogenicity is probably due to differences in the nature of protein composition and biomolecules in the extracellular matrices (ECMs) of source organs that are used for preparation of the scaffolds. Against this background, the present study aims to identify the extractable proteins of ECMs derived from porcine cholecyst and jejunum.

Wound healing potential of scaffolds prepared from porcine jejunum and urinary bladder by a non-detergent/enzymatic method.

Scaffolds prepared using extracellular matrices of mammalian organs/tissues, when used as grafts, have wound healing potential. This paper evaluated the physical properties and in vivo wound healing potential of jejunum-derived scaffold (JDS) and urinary bladder-derived scaffold (UDS) of porcine origin prepared by a non-detergent/enzymatic method. The former had higher flexural rigidity and suture retention strength compared to the latter, but both of them had the essential flexural rigidity and suture retention strength required for skin grafts.

Comparative local immunogenic potential of scaffolds prepared from porcine cholecyst, jejunum, and urinary bladder in rat subcutaneous model.

Extracellular matrices isolated from several mammalian organs/tissues have found several clinical uses as xenografts or implants. However, they may cause complications because of adverse immunologic reactions. Scaffolds that promote favorable graft-acceptance reaction are preferred for fabricating xenografts.

Biocompatibility and Immunophenotypic Characterization of a Porcine Cholecyst-derived Scaffold Implanted in Rats.

Comparative histomorphological assessment of local response to implanted reference biomaterial, also called biocompatibility testing/evaluation, in an appropriate animal model is a widely practiced safety evaluation procedure performed on biomaterials before clinical use. Standardized protocols and procedures, originally designed for testing synthetic materials, available for the testing/evaluation do not account for the immunogenic potential of a candidate biomaterial. Therefore, it is appropriate to supplement the routine biocompatibility test reports with adjunct data that may provide insight into the immunogenic potential of candidate biomaterials, especially when testing biomaterials that are derived from mammalian sources.

Biomaterial properties of cholecyst-derived scaffold recovered by a non-detergent/enzymatic method.

Isolation procedures for the recovery of extracellular matrices (ECMs) from animal organs/tissues that are useful in regenerative medicine involve multiple sequential steps/stages including collection of the source organ at slaughter, their transportation to laboratory, decellularization, decontamination, stabilization, and sterilization. Most of these steps require extensive use of chemicals/reagents/enzymes which may also adversely affect the quality of the scaffold. With an effort to minimize the use of chemicals/reagents/enzymes, while extracting biomaterial-grade ECM from porcine cholecyst (gall bladder), we performed preisolation ex situ incubation of the organ in a stabilizing agent that also caused in situ crosslinking of tissue-components and delaminated the collagen-rich ECM from the tissue-layer beneath the mucosa.

Porcine cholecyst-derived scaffold promotes full-thickness wound healing in rabbit.

Graft-assisted healing is an important strategy for treating full-thickness skin wounds. This study evaluated the properties of porcine cholecyst-derived scaffold and its use for treating full-thickness skin wound in rabbit. The physical properties of cholecyst-derived scaffold were congenial for skin-graft application.

Phenotypic modulation of cell types around implanted polyethylene terephthalate fabric in rabbit muscle.

Whereas the nature of healing reaction in skeletal muscle following implantation of biomaterial has been extensively studied, the extent of variation in cell phenotypes is poorly known. Here, we studied the phenotypic alteration of cell types following injury in skeletal muscle of rabbits implanted with a commonly used biomaterial, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric. Following implantation, histomorphological features were studied after 1, 4, and 12 weeks.

Advantages of hyaluronic acid as a component of fibrin sheet for care of acute wound.

Skin injury is followed by accumulation of a fibrin based provisional matrix which normally drives the process of wound repair. Exogenous fibrin with extra cellular matrix (ECM) components can also favor the wound healing process. In a preliminary study we found that lyophilized fibrin sheet (FS) arrest bleeding from rabbit skin wound but it remained dry during the repair period and did not accelerate the healing process better than untreated control.