OBJECTIVE To explore the effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) combined with autogenous vein graft conduit on peripheral nerve regeneration. METHODS Fifty four New Zealand rabbits were divided into three groups. The main trunk of sciatic nerve of rabbit in one side was severed and bridged by autogenous vein. 0.2 ml bFGF solution (4,000 U/ml) was intravenously injected to the vein graft conduit as group A, the same amount of saline solution as group B, and no solution injection as group C. Microscopic examination, axon video analysis and nerve conduct velocity were performed at the 10th, 30th, and 100th day after operation. RESULTS The nerve fibers were grown into vein graft conduit in all groups at 30th after operation, they were more and regular in group A than that of group B and C, and the axon regeneration rate in group A was more than that of group B and C. CONCLUSION bFGF combined with autogenous vein graft conduit can markedly promote nerve regeneration.
Objective To observe the proliferation and migration of endothelial cells after 30% total burn surface area (TBSA) of deep partial thickness scald, and the effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on angiogenesis during wound healing.Methods A total of 133 male Wistar ratswere divided randomly into normal control (n=7), injured control group (n=42), bFGF group (n=42) andanti-c-fos group (n=42). The apoptosis expression of fibroblasts was determinedwith in situ hybridization and the changes of proliferation cell nuclear antigen(PCNA), focal adhesion rinase(FAK), c-fos and extracellular signalregulated kinase(ERK) proteins expression were detected with immunohistochemistry staining technique after 3 hours, 6 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days and 21 days of scald.Results In injured control group and bFGF group, theproliferation rate of the vascular endothelial had evident changes 7 days and14 days after scald； the expression of FAK was increased 14 days after scald. ERK proteins expression was different between injury control group and bFGF group at initial stage after scald. Stimulation of ERKs by bFGF led to up-regulation of c-fos and b expression of FAK. Conclusion Exogenous bFGF extended the influence on wound healing process by ERK signaling pathway, affecting migration cascade of vascular endothelial cell. The oncogene proteins play an important role on accelerating angiogenesis duringwound healing.
Objective To investigate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-A （VEGF-A） and the phenotypic transition after the activation of fibroblasts by the supernatant of cultured tumor cells．Methods The growth tendency of fibroblasts was tested by the MTT assay．The expressions of alpha-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA） and VEGF-A mRNA were tested by RT-PCR．The expressions of α-SMA and VEGF-A protein were tested by immunohistochemistry and Western blot．Results The MTT assay indicated that the conditional medium which contained tumor cells supernatant could obviously promote the growth of the fibroblasts． RT-PCR and Western blot manifested that α-SMA expressed by the fibroblasts which cultured by normal medium reached its peak on day 5，then decreased to a low level on day 7．When the medium contained 2 ng/ml transforming growth factor-β1 （TGF-β1），the fibroblasts could steadily express more α-SMA．But the above two mediums could not make the fibroblasts express the VEGF-A. When using the conditional medium，the α-SMA peak advanced on the third day and maintained at a high level，so as the expression of the VEGF-A．Conclusions The results suggested that fibroblasts can be activated to be myofibroblasts when using the conditional medium．The best activation time of the fibroblasts is consistent with the time of the VEGF-A expression at the highest level by the activated fibroblasts．The fibroblasts which activated at the best time are expected to become a kind of cells which can be used for promoting revascularization．
Objective To explore the therapeutic effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats and the influence of Notch/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway. Methods A total of 40 10-week-old male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were selected to establish T10-segment SCI model by a free falling object. Among them, 32 successful models were randomly divided into model group and bFGF group, with 16 in each group. Another 16 SD rats were selected as sham-operation group, with only T10 processes, dura mater, and spinal cord exposed. After modeling, the rats in bFGF group were intraperitoneally injected with 100 μg/kg bFGF (once a day for 28 days), and the rats in model group and sham-operation group were injected with normal saline in the same way. The survival of rats in each group were observed after modeling. Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scores were performed before modeling and at immediate, 14 days, and 28 days after modeling to evaluate the functional recovery of hind limbs. Then, the spinal cord tissue at the site of injury was taken at 28 days and stained with HE, Nissl, and propidium iodide (PI) to observe the pathological changes, neuronal survival (number of Nissl bodies) and apoptosis (number of PI red stained cells) of the spinal cord tissue; immunohistochemical staining and ELISA were used to detect the levels of astrocyte activation markers [glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)] and inflammatory factors [interleukin 1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interferon γ (IFN-γ)] in tissues, respectively. Western blot was used to detect the expressions of Notch/STAT3 signaling pathway related proteins [Notch, STAT3, phosphoryl-STAT3 (p-STAT3), bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2)] in tissues. Results All rats survived until the experiment was completed. At immediate after modeling, the BBB scores in model group and bFGF group significantly decreased when compared to sham-operation group (P<0.05). At 14 and 28 days after modeling, the BBB scores in model group significantly decreased when compared to sham-operation group (P<0.05); the bFGF group showed an increase compared to model group (P<0.05). Compared with before modeling, the BBB scores of model group and bFGF group decreased at immediate after modeling, and gradually increased at 14 and 28 days, the differences between different time points were significant (P<0.05). The structure of spinal cord tissue in sham-operation group was normal; in model group, there were more necrotic lesions in the spinal cord tissue and fewer Nissl bodies with normal structures; the number of necrotic lesions in the spinal cord tissue of the bFGF group significantly reduced compared to the model group, and some normally structured Nissl bodies were visible. Compared with sham-operation group, the number of Nissl bodies in spinal cord tissue significantly decreased, the number of PI red stained cells, GFAP, IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-γ, Notch, p-STAT3 /STAT3, BMP-2 protein expression levels significantly increased in model group (P<0.05). The above indexes in bFGF group significantly improved when compared with model group (P<0.05). Conclusion bFGF can improve motor function and pathological injury repair of spinal cord tissue in SCI rats, improve neuronal survival, and inhibit neuronal apoptosis, excessive activation of astrocytes in spinal cord tissue and inflammatory response, the mechanism of which may be related to the decreased activity of Notch/STAT3 signaling pathway.
OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the biological behaviour of ovarian epithelial neoplasm. METHODS Ten cases of normal ovarian tissues and eighty cases of ovarian epithelial tumor tissues were detected by immunohistochemical methods. Mias-2000 Picture Analysis System was used to study the relationship of bFGF expression intensity and microvessel count, FIGO stage, pathological grade and classification of ovarian epithelial neoplasm. RESULTS 1. Expression of bFGF was mainly in cytoplasm and nucleus in several cells of borderline and malignant tumor. 2. The expression intensity of bFGF was closely related to the malignant degree of ovarian epithelial neoplasm. The density of bFGF expression was (3.35 +/- 3.52)% in normal ovarian epithelium, (19.25 +/- 21.73)% in benign tumor, (33.78 +/- 10.86)% in borderline tumor and (48.18 +/- 12.93)% in malignant tumor. The results indicated that bFGF might play an important role in carcinogenesis of ovarian epithelial neoplasm. 3. The expression intensity of bFGF was increased with the FIGO stage of ovarian tumor. 4. The expression intensity of bFGF was increased accompanying with the decrease of differentiation degree in ovian neoplasm. 5. In borderline tumor, expression intensity of bFGF in serous cystadenoma was significantly higher than in mucinous cystadenoma, which indicated bFGF might be an important factor in canceration of ovarian epithelial neoplasm. CONCLUSION bFGF may play important roles in carcinogenesis, development, invasion and metastasis of ovarian epithelial neoplasm.
OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and hyaluronic acid gel (HAG) combined with freeze-dried bone allograft in repairing segmental bone defect and to explore their mechanism. METHODS: The 15 mm segmental bone/periosteum defects were created on bilateral radius in 50 New Zealand rabbits and were treated with four different kinds of implants on 25 radius respectively (group A: bFGF and HAG combined with freeze-dried bone; group B: bFGF combined with freeze-dried bone; group C: HAG combined with freeze-dried bone; group D: simple freeze-dried bone as a control). The repair of defect was observed radiologically and histologically and were analyzed by radionuclide bone imaging and measurement of calcium contents at different periods. RESULTS: The new bone formation, bone metabolic activity and calcium contents of defects were higher in group A than in group B (P lt; 0.05), and were higher in group B than in groups C and D (P lt; 0.05). There were no significant difference between groups C and D. The bone defects healed in the 8th week in group A, in the 10th week in group B, but did not healed in the 10th week in groups C and D. CONCLUSION: As an osteogenetic factor, bFGF promotes the new bone formation; as a slow-release carrier, HAG enhances the effectiveness of bFGF. The combination of bFGF, HAG and freeze-dried bone allograft can repair the segmental bone defect more effectively.
ObjectiveTo optimize the culture method of human primary pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells and cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and investigate the effect of CAFs on the growth of primary PDAC cells in vitro and tumor formation in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model.MethodsThe PDAC specimens were collected and primarily cultured. In order to observe the effect of CAFs on the growth of primary PDAC cells in vitro, the CAFs were co-cultured with primary PDAC cells consistently and the alone cultured primary PDAC cells served as the control. Then, these cells were injected into the shoulder blades of NOG mice in order to develop the PDX model.ResultsWhen the primary PDAC cells separated from the CAFs, the proliferation capacity of the primary PDAC decreased rapidly in the passage culture in vitro, and the most cells were terminated within 5 generations. By contrast, when the CAFs co-cultured with the primary PDAC cells, the proliferation capacity of primary PDAC cells were preserved, which could be stably transferred to at least 10 generations. The tumors of NOG mice were detected during 2–3 weeks after injecting the mixed cells (primary PDAC plus CAFs), while had no tumor formation after injecting CAFs alone. The rate of tumor was 92.9% (13 cases) in the primary PDAC plus CAFs group, which was higher than that of the CAFs alone group (64.3%, 9 cases), but there was no statistical difference because of the small sample size. The volume of tumor in the primary PDAC plus CAFs group at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after the tumor cells injection was significantly larger than that in the CAFs alone group at the corresponding time point, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.01).ConclusionsThe CAFs could promote the growth of primary PDAC cells in vitro. This new method of co-culture CAFs with primary PDAC could improve the success rate of primary PDAC cells culture and improve the success rate of PDX model in NOG mice.
Objective To study the effect of two cytokines, basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF) and insulin-like growth factor-I(IGF-I), on cell proliferation in chondrocytes of adult rabbits. Methods The primary chondrocytes of adult rabbits were harvested and cultured with bFGF and IGF-I at different concentrations,respectively, as well as with the mixture of the two cytokines; the quantity of cultured chondrocytes was detected by MTT assay at the 24th, 48th and 72th hours; and the final fold increase of different groups was measured by cell count for the 3rd passage; and the proliferation index of the groups was recorded by flowing cytometer on the 14th day. Results ① The cultured chondrocytes with either bFGF, IGF-I or their mixture were significantly more than that of control group at the 24th, 48th and 72th hours (P＜0.01). ② After the 3rd passage, the final folds of proliferation were significantly higher in the groups with cytokinesthan in the control group (P＜0.01); and the final fold with the mixture ofcytokines was significantly higher than that of both IGF-I and bFGF (P＜0.01). ③ Theproliferation index was significantly higher in the groups with cytokines than in the control group (P＜0.01); the proliferation index with the mixture of cytokines was significantly higher than that of both IGF-I and bFGF (P＜0.05); besides, proliferation index was higher when cytokine was applied twice than once (P＜0.05). Conclusion bFGF and IGF-I could promote chondrocytes proliferation of adult rabbits obviously and they are synergistic in cell proliferation.
Objective To investigate the effects of the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), the transforming growth factor β1(TGFβ1), and the basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on proliferation and cell phenotype of the human fetal meniscal cells, and to find out the best combination and concentration of the growth factors for the meniscus tissue engineering. Methods The fetus came from the healthy woman accidental abortion and the procedure had got her approval.The human fetal meniscal fibrochondrocytes were cultured in vitro. The cell phenotype was identifiedby the collagen type Ⅱ immunohistochemistry and Aggrecan immunofluorescence. Inthe growth factor groups, the 3rd passage meniscal cells synchronized by the serum starvation method and were mixed with IGF-1 (1, 10, 50, 100 μg/L), TGF-β1 (0.1, 1.0, 5.0, 10.0, 50.0 μg/L), and bFGF (5, 10, 50, 100, 200 μg/L), respectively, and in the combination groups, the combinations of bFGF and TGF-β1, bFGF and IGF-1, TGF-β1 and IGF-1 were established at their optimal effect concentrations. The control group was also established for comparison. The dose-response relationship was studied at 48 h and 72 h bythe MTT colorimetric method. Results The 3rd passage meniscalcells could express collagen type Ⅱ and Aggrecan before and after the addition of the three growth factors. The proliferating effects of the growth factors (IGF-1 50 μg/L，TGF-β1 5 μg/L，bFGF 50 μg/L) on the 3rd passage cells at 48 h and 72 h were significantly better in the growth factor groups than in the control group (Plt;0.05)，and the combination groups of bFGF 50 μg/L and IGF-1 50 μg/L, IGF-1 50 μg/L and TGF-β1 5 μg/L showed a significantly higher proliferatingeffect than that in the single growth factor group (Plt;0.05). bFGF 50 μg/L and TGF-β1 5 μg/L had no synergetic effect (Pgt;0.05). Conclusion IGF-1, TGF-β1 and bFGF can promote the proliferation of the human fetal meniscal cells, respectively, and the combinations of bFGF and IGF-1, IGF-1 and TGF-β1 at their optimal concentrations can have better proliferating effects than the single growth factor. They can be used for the in vitro amplification of the meniscal seed cells.
ObjectiveTo observe the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor/polylactide-polyethyleneglycol-polylactic acid copolymer/basic fibroblast growth factor (VEGF/PELA/bFGF) mixed microcapsules in promoting the angiogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in vitro. MethodsThe BMSCs were isolated by the method of whole bone marrow adherent, and sub-cultured. The passage 3 BMSCs were identified by Wright-Giemsa staining and flow cytometry, and used for subsequent experiments. VEGF/PELA/bFGF (group A), PELA/bFGF (group B), VEGF/PELA (group C), and PELA (group D) microcapsules were prepared. The biodegradable ability and cytotoxicity of PELA microcapsule were determined, and the slow-released ability of VEGF/PELA/bFGF mixed microcapsules was measured. The passage 3 BMSCs were co-cultured with the extracts of groups A, B, C, and D, separately. At 1, 3, 7, 14, and 20 days after being cultured, the morphological changes of induced BMSCs were recorded. At 21 days, the induced BMSCs were tested for DiI-labeled acetylated low density lipoprotein (Dil-ac-LDL) and FITC-labeled ulex europaeus agglutinin I (FITC-UEA-I) uptake ability. The tube-forming ability of the induced cells on Matrigel was also verified. The differences of the vascularize indexes in nodes, master junctions, master segments, and tot.master segments length in 4 groups were summarized and analyzed. ResultsThe isolated and cultured cells were identified as BMSCs. The degradation time of PELA was more than 20 days. There was no significant effect on cell viability under co-culture conditions. At 20 days, the cumulative release of VEGF in the mixed microcapsules exceeded 95%, and the quantity of bFGF exceeded 80%. The morphology of cells in groups A, B, and C were changed. The cells in groups A and B showed the typical change of cobble-stone morphology. The numbers of double fluorescent labeled cells observed by fluorescence microscope were the most in group A, and decreases from group B and group C, with the lowest in group D. The cells in groups A and B formed a grid-like structure on Matrigel. Quantitative analysis showed that the differences in the number of nodes, master junctions, master segments, and tot.master segments length between groups A, B and groups C, D were significant (P<0.05). The number of nodes and the tot.master segments length of group A were more than those of group B (P<0.05). There was no significant differences in the number of master junctions and master segments between group A and group B (P>0.05). ConclusionVEGF/PELA/bFGF mixed microcapsules have significantly ability to promote the angiogenic differentiation of rat BMSCs in vitro.