Microglial TLR4 Mediates White Matter Injury in a Combined Model of Diesel Exhaust Exposure and Cerebral Hypoperfusion.

Background: Air pollution particulate matter exposure and chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) contribute to white matter toxicity through shared mechanisms of neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and myelin breakdown. Prior studies showed that exposure of mice to joint particulate matter and CCH caused supra-additive injury to corpus callosum white matter. This study examines the role of TLR4 (toll-like receptor 4) signaling in mediating neurotoxicity and myelin damage observed in joint particulate matter and CCH exposures.

Vascularization Chamber for the Implantation of Embryonic Kidneys.

A major obstacle to the implantation of engineered tissues is the incorporation of functional vascular supply to support the growth of new tissue and to minimize ischemic injury. Existing prevascularization systems, such as arteriovenous (AV) loop-based systems, require microsurgery, limiting their use to larger animals. We aimed to develop an implantable device that can be prevascularized to enable vascularization of tissues in small rodents, and test its application on the vascularization of embryonic kidneys.

Fluorine removal from sodium tungstate ion exchange effluent by precipitation with addition of lanthanum chloride.

The waste water generated from the sodium tungstate ion exchange process of scheelite hydrometallurgical extraction contains a certain concentration of fluorine ion, which caused environmental pollution and harmed human health. In this study, a new method for removing fluorine from the wastewater by precipitation with addition of lanthanum chloride was proposed. In the process, fluorine was removed by from the solution as insoluble lanthanum fluoride precipitates.

Effects of Electronic Cigarette Exposure on Myocardial Infarction and No-Reflow, and Cardiac Function in a Rat Model.

Purpose: We investigated the effects of exposure to electronic cigarettes (E-cig) vapor on the sizes of the no-reflow and myocardial infarction regions, and cardiovascular function compared to exposure to purified air and standard cigarette smoke.

Methods And Results: Sprague Dawley rats (both male and female, 6 weeks old) were successfully exposed to filtered air (n = 32), E-cig with nicotine (E-cig Nic, n = 26), E-cig without nicotine (E-cig Nic, n = 26), or standard cigarette smoke (1R6F reference, n = 31). All rats were exposed to inhalation exposure for 8 weeks, prior to being subjected to 30 minutes of left coronary artery occlusion followed by 3 hours of reperfusion.

One Acute Exposure to E-Cigarette Smoke Using Various Heating Elements and Power Levels Induces Pulmonary Inflammation.

Background: Electronic cigarettes (eC) may not be entirely benign. There is a lack of data on the effect of a single acute exposure of eC vapor using various heating sources and power settings upon lung injury. The purpose of this study was to determine if an acute exposure with eC vapor heated with different heating elements and power levels induced inflammatory changes in the lungs and heart.

Effects of OP2113 on Myocardial Infarct Size and No Reflow in a Rat Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Model.

Purpose: The present study was to determine whether OP2113 could limit myocardial infarction size and the no-reflow phenomenon in a rat myocardial ischemia/reperfusion model.

Methods: Rat heart-isolated mitochondria (RHM) were used to investigate mitochondrial respiration and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) generation both in normal conditions and in ischemia/reperfusion-mimicking conditions (using high concentrations of succinate). Human skeletal muscle myoblasts (HSMM) in culture were used to investigate the cellular intermittent deprivation in energy substrates and oxygen as reported in ischemia/reperfusion conditions.

Acute administration of nicotine induces transient elevation of blood pressure and increases myocardial infarct size in rats.

Aims: We investigated the acute effects of nicotine on myocardial infarct size, no reflow, hemodynamics and cardiac function in an acute myocardial ischemia and reperfusion infarction rat model.

Main Methods: Female Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 23/group) received an intravenous loading dose of nicotine at 2.0 μg/kg/min or saline control for 30 min before starting coronary artery occlusion, then followed by a maintenance dose 0.

E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury Produced in an Animal Model From Electronic Cigarette Vapor Exposure Without Tetrahydrocannabinol or Vitamin E Oil.

E-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury was recognized in the United States in the summer of 2019 and is typified by acute respiratory distress, shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and fever, associated with vaping. It can mimic many of the manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Some investigators have suggested that E-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury was due to tetrahydrocannabinol or vitamin E acetate oil mixed with the electronic cigarette liquid.

Therapeutic Hypothermia Improves Long-Term Survival and Blunts Inflammation in Rats During Resuscitation of Hemorrhagic Shock.

We tested the hypothesis that therapeutic hypothermia (TH) improves survival and blunts inflammation in rats undergoing experimental hemorrhagic shock. Rats were randomized to TH ( = 16) or normothermia ( = 15). Hemorrhagic shock was induced by withdrawing blood to a fixed mean blood pressure (MBP) of 30 mmHg for 30 minutes followed by reinfusion of shed blood for the next 30 minutes.

Remote Ischemic Conditioning in Acute Myocardial Infarction and Shock States.

Remote ischemic conditioning is the phenomenon whereby brief, nonlethal episodes of ischemia in one organ (such as a limb) protect a remote organ from ischemic necrosis induced by a longer duration of severe ischemia followed by reperfusion. This phenomenon has been reproduced by dozens of experimental laboratories and was shown to reduce the size of myocardial infarction in many but not all clinical studies. In one recent large clinical trial, remote ischemic conditioning induced by repetitive blood pressure cuff inflations on the arm did not reduce infarct size or improve clinical outcomes.

Comprehensive analysis of chromatin signature and transcriptome uncovers functional lncRNAs expressed in nephron progenitor cells.

Emerging evidence from recent studies has unraveled the roles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the function of various tissues. However, little is known about the roles of lncRNAs in kidney development. In our present study, we aimed to identify functional lncRNAs in one of the three lineages of kidney progenitor cells, i.

Effect of fluid shear stress on cultured ureteric bud cells.

Most kidney cells are continuously exposed to fluid shear stress (FSS) from either blood flow or urine flow. Recent studies suggest that changes in FSS could contribute to the function and injury of these kidney cells. However, it is unclear whether FSS influences kidney development when urinary flow starts in the embryonic kidneys.

An optimal serum-free defined condition for in vitro culture of kidney organoids.

Kidney organoid is an emerging topic of importance for research in kidney development and regeneration. Conventional culture systems for kidney organoids reported thus far use culture media containing serum, which may compromise our understanding and the potential clinical applicability of the organoid system. In our present study, we tested two serum-free culture conditions and compared their suitability for the maintenance and growth of kidney organoids in culture.

Bacterial Microbiome Dynamics in Post Pull-Through Hirschsprung-Associated Enterocolitis (HAEC): An Experimental Study Employing the Endothelin Receptor B-Null Mouse Model.

Purpose: Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis (HAEC) is the most frequent potentially life-threatening complication in children with Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) even after definitive corrective surgery. Mounting evidence suggests that intestinal microbiota likely contribute to the etiology of enterocolitis, so the aim of this study was to use a mouse model of post pull-through HAEC to compare the fecal bacterial communities of animals which developed HAEC to those free of enterocolitis.

Methods: Ten and 8wild type mice underwent the microsurgical pull-through surgery, and stool was collected at the time of surgery, and then either at 2 and 4 weeks after the operation, or when the mice developed enterocolitis.

Efficacy of Fluidized Bed Bioartificial Liver in Treating Fulminant Hepatic Failure in Pigs: A Metabolomics Study.

Bioartificial livers may act as a promising therapy for fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) with better accessibility and less injury compared to orthotopic liver transplantation. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a fluidized bed bioartificial liver (FBBAL) and to explore its therapeutic mechanisms based on metabolomics. FHF was induced by D-galactosamine.

Direct thrombin inhibitor argatroban reduces stroke damage in 2 different models.

Background And Purpose: We showed previously robust neuroprotection with the thrombin inhibitor argatroban and now sought additional support for its neuroprotective potential.

Methods: We used behavioral and histological end points; rigorously blinded the study groups; extended the treatment window to 3 hours after ischemia onset; and used 2 separate models. First, 2-hour filament middle cerebral artery occlusion in 64 male Sprague-Dawley rats was followed by learning and memory testing and quantitative histomorphometry.

Key challenges to the development of extracorporeal bioartificial liver support systems.

Background: For nearly three decades, extracorporeal bioartificial liver (BAL) support systems have been anticipated as promising tools for the treatment of liver failure. However, these systems are still far from clinical application. This review aimed to analyze the key challenges to the development of BALs.

Thrombin activity associated with neuronal damage during acute focal ischemia.

Mechanisms of ischemic neuronal and vascular injury remain obscure. Here we test the hypothesis that thrombin, a blood-borne coagulation factor, contributes to neurovascular injury during acute focal ischemia. Stroke was induced in adult Sprague Dawley rats by occluding the middle cerebral artery.

Effects of plasma from acute-on-chronic liver failure patients on immortalized human hepatocytes in vitro.

Background/aims: The efficiency of bioartificial liver or cell transplantation for the treatment of liver failure may potentially be diminished by toxic agents accumulated in the patients blood. We investigated the effects of plasma from patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure on the structure and function of immortalized human hepatocytes (HepLL) in vitro.

Methodology: Plasma was pooled from 8 patients with acute or chronic liver failure.

Bioartificial liver system based on choanoid fluidized bed bioreactor improve the survival time of fulminant hepatic failure pigs.

Bioartificial liver (BAL) support system has been proposed as potential treatment method for end-stage liver diseases. We described an improved BAL system based on a choanoid fluidized bed bioreactor containing alginate-chitosan encapsulated primary porcine hepatocytes. The feasibility, safety, and efficiency of this device were estimated using an allogeneic fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) model.

Splenic lymphopenia in the endothelin receptor B-null mouse: implications for Hirschsprung associated enterocolitis.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to describe and characterize a novel small spleen phenotype with splenic lymphopenia in the Ednrb-null (Ednrb-/-) mouse with aganglionosis known to also develop enterocolitis.

Methods: We compared spleen weight as a percent of body weight from Ednrb+/+, Ednrb+/-, and Ednrb-/- mice to quantify our initial observation. Splenic microarchitecture of Ednrb+/+ and Ednrb-/- mice was assessed using both H and E staining and immunofluorescence staining for CD45R+ (B cells) and CD3+ (T cells) on tissue sections.

Murine model of Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis. I: phenotypic characterization with development of a histopathologic grading system.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to characterize enterocolitis in the Ednrb-null (Ednrb-/-) mouse with aganglionosis of the colon and to develop and validate a semiquantitative histopathologic grading system to assess enterocolitis.

Methods: We isolated colon and ileal specimens of Ednrb-/- and control mice (Ednrb+/+) and performed histochemical staining (H&E) on tissue sections. After establishing inflammation grading criteria, 2 blinded pathologists independently assessed the severity and depth of inflammation of proximal colon segments on 2 separate occasions.

Murine model of Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis II: Surgical correction of aganglionosis does not eliminate enterocolitis.

Background: Hirschsprung disease (HD) results from aganglionosis of the colon, is linked to acute and chronic enterocolitis (known as Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis) despite successful corrective surgery, and can lead to bacteremia and even death. The genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying these disorders are largely unknown.

Methods: We developed a microsurgical corrective pull-through procedure in mice, and applied that to Ednrb(-/-) mice, which manifest aganglionic megacolon that is very similar to HD.

Construction of modular novel bioartificial liver support system.

A modular novel bioartificial liver support system was designed and constructed in order to simplify tedious operation of artificial liver treatment and to improve the applicability in the system. The design ideas, structure composition, system function, and etc, were described in detail. In this system, the variety of the therapy modes could be conveniently connected by the interface of modular structure.

A novel corrective pullthrough surgery in a mouse model of Hirschsprung's disease.

Background/purpose: The study aimed to develop a mouse model of post-pullthrough Hirschsprung's disease that will allow investigation of mechanisms that cause postoperative complications.

Methods: We developed a novel microsurgical pullthrough operation on Balb/C mice and evaluated its effect on growth rate and stooling pattern. Histologic assessment of the pullthrough colon was performed.