Correction to: Overexpression of apelin in Wharton' jelly mesenchymal stem cell reverses insulin resistance and promotes pancreatic β cell proliferation in type 2 diabetic rats.

The original article [1] contained errors in the presentation of Figure 7.

Overexpression of apelin in Wharton' jelly mesenchymal stem cell reverses insulin resistance and promotes pancreatic β cell proliferation in type 2 diabetic rats.

Background: Apelin plays a key beneficial role in energy metabolism by increasing glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity; however, apelin has a short half-life because it is rapidly cleared from the circulation limiting its therapeutic benefit. The aim of this study is to create a new approach to treat type 2 diabetes by inducing prolonged expression of apelin in Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs).

Methods: A type 2 diabetic rat model was given a high-fat diet combined with low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) injection.

Activation of Endogenous Cardiac Stem Cells by Apelin-13 in Infarcted Rat Heart.

Our previous study demonstrated that the apelin-APJ pathway contributed to myocardial regeneration and functional recovery after bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC) transplantation during the differentiation of BM-MSCs into cardiomyogenic cells in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) rat models. However, the underlying mechanisms by which apelin promotes cardiac repair and functional recovery have not been completely clarified. In the present study, we investigated whether apelin could mobilize and activate endogenous cardiac stem cells and progenitors, thereby mediating regeneration and repair of the myocardium after AMI in rat models.

Common expression of stemness molecular markers and early cardiac transcription factors in human Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells and embryonic stem cells.

At present, there are still significant barriers that impede the clinical use of hESCs and iPS cells, including ethics, immunorejection, tumorigenesis from hESCs, and teratoma formation from iPS cells. It is therefore necessary to search for alternative sources of stem cells. WJ-MSCs originate from embryonic epiblasts and possess properties intermediate between hESCs and adult stem cells.

[Impact analysis of atmospheric state for target detection in hyperspectral radiance image].

Target detection based on hyperspectral radiance images can improve data processing efficiency to meet the requirements of real-time processing. However, the spectral radiance acquired by the remote sensor will be affected by the atmosphere. In the present paper, hyperspectral imaging process is simulated to analyze the effects of the changes in atmospheric state on target detection in hyperspectral radiance image.

[A method of endmember extraction in hyperspectral remote sensing images based on discrete particle swarm optimization (D-PSO)].

For the inaccuracy of endmember extraction caused by abnormal noises of data during the mixed pixel decomposition process, particle swarm optimization (PSO), a swarm intelligence algorithm was introduced and improved in the present paper. By re-defining the position and velocity representation and data updating strategies, the algorithm of discrete particle swarm optimization (D-PSO) was proposed, which made it possible to search resolutions in discrete space and ultimately resolve combinatorial optimization problems. In addition, by defining objective functions and feasible solution spaces, endmember extraction was converted to combinatorial optimization problem, which can be resolved by D-PSO.

[Independent component analysis for spectral unmixing in hyperspectral remote sensing image].

Hyperspectral remote sensing plays an important role in earth observation on land, ocean and atmosphere. A key issue in hyperspectral data exploitation is to extract the spectra of the constituent materials (endmembers) as well as their proportions (fractional abundances) from each measured spectrum of mixed pixel in hyperspectral remote sensing image, called spectral un-mixing. Linear spectral mixture model (LSMM) provides an effective analytical model for spectral unmixing, which assumes that there is a linear relationship among the fractional abundances of the substances within a mixed pixel.

The apelin-APJ pathway exists in cardiomyogenic cells derived from mesenchymal stem cells in vitro and in vivo.

Our previous study demonstrated that apelin level increased significantly after the treatment of intracoronary implantation of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs), followed by the improvement of cardiac function in patients with severe ischemic heart failure. The present studies both in vivo and in vitro explored whether mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow (BMSCs) activate the apelin-APJ pathway when differentiating into cardiomyogenic cells. Isolated BMSCs from rat femurs and tibias were cultured and expanded for three passages, labeled with DAPI, and treated with 5-azacytidine (5-AZ).

[Transfection of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells by adeno-associated virus 2/1 vector].

This study was aimed to investigate the transfection efficacy of recombinant adeno-associated virus 2/1 (rAAV2/1) on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) at different multiplicities of infection (MOI) and time, and effect of transfection on growth of rat BMMSCs. The rat BMMSCs cultured in vitro were transfected by using rAAV2/1 with enhanced green fluorescent protein (rAAV2/1-EGFP) at MOI of 1 x 10(4), 1 x 10(5) and 1 x 10(6); the EGFP expression was observed by fluorescent microscopy at 3, 7 and 14 days. The viability, proliferation multiple, differentiation ability of daughter cells were detected for evaluating the effect of rAAV2/1 on survival, proliferation and differentiation of BMMSCs and the fluorescence index (FI) were determined by flow cytometry.

[Autologous mononuclear bone marrow cell transplantation by intracoronary route for patients with ischemic heart disease: observation of 2-years follow-up].

Objective: To investigate the long-term effect and safety of intracoronary autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMC) transplantation in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD).

Methods: Seventy-six patients with IHD, 26 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 26 patients with chronic ischemic heart failure (CIHF), underwent routine treatment plus intracoronary autologous BMMC transplantation, and 24 patients, including 10 patients with AMI and 14 patients with CIHF underwent routine treatment as controls. Autologous BMMC transplantation was performed via a balloon catheter placed into the infarct-related artery during balloon dilatation by high pressure infusion to occlude the artery, which was performed 6 - 8 times for 2 minutes each with 2-minute interval or via a balloon catheter without occluding the infarct-related artery.

[The autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation by intracoronary route treat patients with severe heart failure after myocardial infarction].

Objective: To investigate the chronic effects of intracoronary autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell (BM-MNCs) transplantation in patients with refractory heart failure (RIHF) after myocardial infarction.

Methods: Thirty patients with RIHF (LVEF < 40%) were enrolled in this nonrandomized study, autologous BM-MNCs (5.0 +/- 0.

Effect of intracoronary transplantation of autologous bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells on outcomes of patients with refractory chronic heart failure secondary to ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Recent studies have indicated that stem cell implantation increases cardiac function by repairing damaged myocardium. We investigated whether intracoronary transplantation of autologous bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMMCs) confers beneficial effects in patients with refractory chronic heart failure. Twenty-eight patients received standard heart failure medication and BMMC transplantation (BMMC treatment) or standard medication only (controls).

[Transplantation of fetal cardiomyocyte regenerates infarcted myocardium in rats].

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and efficiency of fetal cardiomyocyte transplantation into the rat model of myocardial infarction.

Methods: Cardiomyocytes were isolated from aborted human embryos aged 12 - 16 weeks and cultured for 5 days to confirm their viability. Rat model of extensive myocardial infarction (MI) was established in 18 male Wistar rats by ligating the descending anterior branch of left coronary artery and the 18 rats were randomly divided into 2 groups: transplantation group (n = 7, 2 x 10(6) fetal cardiomyocytes were transplanted into the myocardial scar) and culture medium injection group (n = 6, culture medium was injected into the myocardial scar) 5 days after extensive MI was caused.

Effect of ghrelin on septic shock in rats.

Aim: To study the role of ghrelin in the late stage of septic shock in rats.

Methods: The rat model of septic shock was made by caecal ligation and perforation. At the time of operation ghrelin 10 nmol/kg was infused through femoral vein followed by a sc injection at 8 h after operation.