MicroRNA expression profile and functional analysis reveal their roles in contact inhibition and its disruption switch of rat vascular smooth muscle cells.

Contact inhibition and its disruption of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are important cellular events in vascular diseases. But the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. In this study we investigated the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the contact inhibition and its disruption of VSMCs and the molecular mechanisms involved.

[Construction of a lentivirus vector expressing wheat germ agglutinin and its infection in human adipose-derived stem cells].

Objective: To construct a lentivirus vector carrying wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) and evaluate its ability of tracing WGA in the brain of mice with ischemic brain injury.

Methods: WGA gene was inserted into the lentiviral vector Plvx IRES-ZsGreen1 using genetic engineering methods. 293T cells were transfected with the vector and 3 packaging plasmids (RPEV, PRRE, and VSVG) to obtain the recombinant lentivirus for infection of human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs).

BDNF levels in adipose tissue and hypothalamus were reduced in mice with MSG-induced obesity.

Objectives: To observe the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in hypothalamic and adipose tissue in mice with monosodium glutamate (MSG)-induced obesity.

Methods: The effects of hypothalamic lesions, specifically arcuate nucleus (ARC) lesions, induced by MSG injection were studied in male ICR mice at the neonatal stage. The following parameters were compared: body weight, body length, Lee's index, food intake, body temperature, fat weight, and levels of total cholesterol (CHOL), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and blood glucose (GLU).