Macrophages regulate the inflammatory response and affect re-endothelialization. Inflammation and macrophages play important roles in promoting tissue repair, but p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase's role in re-endothelialization is unknown. Wire injuries of carotid arteries and Evans blue staining were performed in macrophage-specific p38α-knockout (p38α^fl/flLysMCre^+/-) mice and control mice (p38α^fl/fl). Re-endothelialization of the carotid arteries at 3, 5 and 7 days was significantly promoted in p38α^fl/flLysMCre^+/- mice. In vitro experiments indicated that both the proliferation and migration of endothelial cells were enhanced in conditioned medium from peritoneal macrophages of p38α^fl/flLysMCre^+/- mice. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) level was decreased significantly in macrophages of p38α^fl/flLysMCre^+/- mice and an IL-6-neutralizing antibody promoted endothelial cell migration in vitro and re-endothelialization in p38α^fl/fl mice in vivo. Phosphoproteomics revealed that the phosphorylation level of S544/T545/S549 sites in megakaryocytic leukemia 1 (MKL1) was decreased in p38α^fl/flLysMCre^+/- mice. The mutation of either S544/S549 or T545/S549 sites could reduce the expression of IL-6 and the inhibition of MKL1 reduced the expression of IL-6 in vitro and promoted re-endothelialization in vivo. p38α in macrophages aggravates injury of arteries by phosphorylating MKL1, and increasing IL-6 expression after vascular injury.

This study aimed to identify the genes related to the body size of pigs by conducting genome-wide selection analysis (GWSA). We performed a GWSA scan on 50 pigs belonging to four small-bodied pig populations (Diannan small-eared pig, Bama Xiang pig, Wuzhishan pig, and Jeju black pig from South Korea) and 124 large-bodied pigs. We used the genetic parameters of the pairwise fixation index (F_ST) and π ratio (case/control) to screen candidate genome regions and genes related to body size. The results revealed 47,339,509 high-quality SNPs obtained from 174 individuals, while 280 interacting candidate regions were obtained from the top 1% signal windows of both parameters, along with 187 genes (e.g., ADCK4, AMDHD2, ASPN, ASS1, and ATP6V0C). The results of the candidate gene (CG) annotation showed that a series of CGs (e.g., MSTN, LTBP4, PDPK1, PKMYT1, ASS1, and STAT6) was enriched into the gene ontology terms. Moreover, molecular pathways, such as the PI3K-Akt, HIF-1, and AMPK signaling pathways, were verified to be related to body development. Overall, we identified a series of key genes that may be closely related to the body size of pigs, further elucidating the heredity basis of body shape determination in pigs and providing a theoretical reference for molecular breeding.

Background: A non‐penetrating vessel closure system (VCS‐AnastoClip^®) may facilitate vascular anastomosis. The purpose of this study is to explore the utilization of a non‐penetratingVCSin orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT).Methods: From January 2015 to February 2017, patients who underwentOLTwere divided into two groups, ie, those who underwent non‐penetratingVCSapplication for inferior vena cava (IVC) and portal vein (PV) reconstructions and those who underwent hand sewing for these purposes. Clinical data, venous anastomotic times, anhepatic phases, and the recovery of liver function were compared between the groups.Results: One hundred and fifteen patients underwentOLT(63 in theVCSgroup and 52 in the suture group). No differences between the two groups were observed in the baseline characteristics. The venous anastomotic time and anhepatic phase in theVCSgroup were significantly shorter than those in the suture group (P < .01). The alanine transaminase and total bilirubin levels in theVCSgroup were comparable to those in the suture group (P = .39 andP = .06, respectively). The complication, mortality, and patency rates of thePVreconstructions did not differ significantly between the two groups.Conclusions: InOLT, the reconstruction of thePVandIVCwith a non‐penetratingVCSsystem is a safe alternative method that has the advantage of shortening the anastomotic time and the anhepatic phase compared to the results of conventional hand suturing. However, the use of thisVCSsystem had no influence on the recovery of graft function.