Objective To explore the effect of ghrelin on insulin secretion and expression of glucose transporter protein-2 （Glut-2） in isolated pancreas of rats. Methods Twenty five Wistar rats were randomly devided into normal control group （NC group）， high concentration of glucose group （HCG group）， high concentration of glucose with high concentration of ghrelin group （10-8mol/L， HCG＋HCGh group）， medium concentration of ghrelin group（10-9mol/L， HCG＋MCGh group）， and low concentration of ghrelin group （10-10mol/L， HCG＋LCGh group） with 5 rats in each group. The rat isolated pancreas perfusion models were established firstly， then from the distal end of abdominal aortas， the models were perfused with low concentration of glucose （5.5mmol/L）， high concentration of glucose （33.3mmol/L） or high concentration of glucose added with different concentrations of ghrelin. Levels of insulin outflowed from portal vein were tested by ELISA method， expression levels of Glut-2 protein were tested by immunohistochemical method，and ultrastructure changes of islet β cell were observed under the transmission electron microscope. Results There were no significant difference on levels of fasting blood glucose （FBG）， fasting insulins （FINS）， homeostasis model of assess-ment for insulin resistence index （HOMA-IR）， and homeostasis model of assessment for pancreatic β cell function （HOMA-β），（P＞0.05）. There were no significant difference on insulin levels of effluent from portal vein of 5 groups （P＞0.05） when isolated pancreas perfused with 5.5mmol/L glucose， while had 2 secretion peaks in 3min and 10-12min after 33.3 mmol/L glucose perfusion， where HCG＋HCGh group at the top. The mean density value of Glut-2 protein in NC group was higher than that of other 4 groups （P＜0.05）. The results of transmission electron microscopy showed that apoptosis was lighter in NC group than that of other 4 groups， and apoptosis of HCG＋HCGh group was lighter than that of HCG＋MCGh group and HCG＋LCGh group. Conclusions In isolated pancreas of rats， ghrelin promotes high concentration of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion， decreases expression of Glut-2 protein， and protects the islet β cell.
Objective To review the research progress on the role of Schwann cells in regulating bone regeneration. MethodsThe domestic and foreign literature about the behavior of Schwann cells related to bone regeneration, multiple tissue repair ability, nutritional effects of their neurotrophic factor network, and their application in bone tissue engineering was extensively reviewed. ResultsAs a critical part of the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells regulate the expression level of various neurotrophic factors and growth factors through the paracrine effect, and participates in the tissue regeneration and differentiation process of non-neural tissues such as blood vessels and bone, reflecting the nutritional effect of neural-vascular-bone integration. ConclusionTaking full advantage of the multipotent differentiation ability of Schwann cells in nerve, blood vessel, and bone tissue regeneration may provide novel insights for clinical application of tissue engineered bone.
Understanding the mass transfer behaviors in hollow fiber membrane module of artificial liver is important for improving toxin removal efficiency. A three-dimensional numerical model was established to study the mass transfer of small molecule bilirubin and macromolecule bovine serum albumin (BSA) in the hollow fiber membrane module. Effects of tube-side flow rate, shell-side flow rate, and hollow fiber length on the mass transfer of bilirubin and BSA were discussed. The simulation results showed that the clearance of bilirubin was significantly affected by both convective and diffusive solute transport, while the clearance of macromolecule BSA was dominated by convective solute transport. The clearance rates of bilirubin and BSA increasd with the increase of tube-side flow rate and hollow fiber length. With the increase of shell-side flow rate, the clearance rate of bilirubin first rose rapidly, then slowly rose to an asymptotic value, while the clearance rate of BSA gradually decreased. The results can provide help for designing structures of hollow fiber membrane module and operation parameters of clinical treatment.