Objective To investigate influence of genders on the activity of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in lungs of endotoxemic rats. Methods Twenty female and 20 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups as follow: female control group (n=10), male control group (n=10), male endotoxemic group (n=10), and female endotoxemic group (n=10). The endotoxemic rats model was made by injecting lipopolysaccharide (5 mg/kg) into the abdominal cavity. Tissue samples were collected from the lungs in different groups and electrophoresis mobility shift assay was used to measure the activity of NF-κB. The levels of serum TNF-α and estrogen were measured at the same time. Results There was no significant difference between the activities of NF-κB in male and female control groups (1.33±0.24 vs 1.47±0.40）, and there was also no significant difference between other items in these groups as well (Pgt;0.05). Yet, the activity of NF-κB (female: 12.10±2.89; male: 19.53±2.12) and the level of TNF-α 〔female: (4.10±0.72) ng/ml; male: (6.37±1.29) ng/ml〕 were significantly increased after injection of lipopolysaccharide (Plt;0.01), and the indices in female group were significantly lower than those in male group (Plt;0.01). Correlation analysis showed that there was a positive relation between the activity of NF-κB in lungs and the level of TNF-α (female: r=0.921 1, P=0.013; male: r=0.907 2, P=0.017), and there was a negative correlation between the activity of NF-κB and the level of estrogen (female: r=-0.887 5, P=0.017; male: r=0.872 3, P=0.022) in both male endotoxemic group and female endotoxemic group (Plt;0.05). Conclusion Gender may be one of the factors that influence the activity of NF-κB in the lungs of endotoxemic rats. While on the other hand, endogenous estrogen may protect the lungs of endotoxemic rats from injury by inhibiting the activity of NF-κB.
Objective To investigate the effect of the serum from severe burn patients on the biology characteristics of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) in vitro, so as to explore the feasibility of hUCMSCs transplantation for treating severe burn. Methods The 3rd passage of hUCMSCs were randomly divided into 3 groups: 10% fetal bovine serum group (group A), 10% normal serum group (group B), and 10% burn serum group (group C). At 24 hours, 72 hours, and 6 days after culture, the cell morphology and density were observed by inverted microscope; the cell proliferation was assessed by MTT; after 6 days of culture, the cell cycle by propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry, the apoptosis by acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining, and the cell senescence by β-galactosidase staining; the levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 1 (IL-1), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in serum were detected by a double-antibody sandwich ELISA kit. Results hUCMSCs were long spindle/polygon in 3 groups. The cell fusion of group C was obviously faster than that in group A and group B. The cell proliferation curves showed that the velocity and number of cell proliferation in group C were significantly higher than those in group A and group B at 2-6 days after culture (P lt; 0.05). The rates of proliferation period (S) of hUCMSCs were 9.21% ± 1.02%, 11.79% ± 1.87%, and 20.54% ± 2.03%, respectively in groups A, B, and C at 6 days, and group C was significantly higher than that of group A and group B (P lt; 0.05). The hUCMSCs showed normal morphology and structure in 3 groups, and no apoptosis cells was observed. The positive cells percentage of group C (2.6% ± 0.1%) was significantly lower than that of group A (4.8% ± 0.2%) and group B (3.8% ± 0.4%) (P lt; 0.05). The levels of TNF-α, IL-1, PDGF, and IGF-1 in group C were significantly higher than those in group B (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion The higher levels of cytokines in serum from the severe burn patients can significantly stimulate hUCMSCs proliferation, prevent cells apoptosis, and reduce cells senescence. Therefore, it is feasible to use hUCMSCs transplantation for treating severe burn patients.