Objective To examine the effects of hypoxia on endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition of porcine pulmonary arterial endothelial cells ( PAECs) .Methods The porcine PAECs were divided into a normoxia group and a hypoxia group. The cells in two groups were exposed to normoxic or hypoxic condition for 1,4, and 7 days respectively. The immunofluorescence,Western blot and RT-PCR were used to detect the protein and mRNA expressions of VE-cadherin and α-SMA. Results The porcine primary PAECs formed typical monolayer of cobblestone appearance on normoxia condition, and had a spindle-shaped appearance on hypoxia condition. Immunofluorescence results showed that these PAECs expressed mesenchymal cells specific marker of α-SMA. With the hypoxic time prolongation, the ratio of transdifferentiated smooth musclelike cells from PAECs was gradually increased ( P lt; 0. 01) . Western blot assay demonstrated that the expression level of VE-cadherin protein and mRNA was reduced gradually, but the expression level of α-SMA protein and mRNA was increased. Conclusion Hypoxia can induce endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, which may be involved in the development of a variety of diseases.
Objective To explore clinical effect and safety of rivaroxaban in treatment of acute pulmonary thromboembolism at moderate risk with deep vein thrombosis of lower limbs. Methods The clinical data of 60 patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism at moderate risk with deep vein thrombosis of lower limbs, collected from January 2010 to March 2017 in Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, were retrospectively analyzed. According to the different treatment, these patients were randomly divided into a rivaroxaban group and a control group (traditional warfarin anticoagulation), with 30 patients in each group. The clinical effect and safety were compared between two groups on the 10th day, 20th day and 30th day after treatment. Results Compared with the control group, maximum short axis diameter, ratio of right and left ventricles, systolic pulmonary artery pressure, and main pulmonary artery diameter measured by CTPA and echocardiography in the rivaroxaban group were not significantly different on the 10th day, 20th day and 30th day after treatment. However, the intragroup differences were statistically significant at different timepoint (P<0.05). Levels of N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide of two groups after treatment were significantly reduced on the 10th day, 20th day and 30th day after treatment, and the values of PO2 were significantly increased on the 10th day and 20th day after treatment (P<0.05), but no significant differences were found in the values of PO2 on 20th day and 30th day after treatment. D-dimer in the two groups was obviously increased on the 10th day after treatment but significantly declined on the 20th day and 30th day after treatment (all P<0.05). These changes were predominant in the rivaroxaban group. Conclusion Rivaroxaban is effective and safe for acute pulmonary thromboembolism at moderate risk with deep vein thrombosis of lower limbs, and worthy of clinical implementation and application.