Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a serious chronic lung disease. Schisandrin A (SchA) is one of the most important active ingredients inSchisandra chinensisand has been used to treat various lung diseases in several countries. Here, we studied the pharmacological effect of SchA on airway inflammation induced by cigarette smoke (CS) and explored the therapeutic mechanism of SchA in COPD model mice. Our results showed that SchA treatment significantly improved the lung function of CS-induced COPD model mice and reduced the recruitment of leukocytes and hypersecretion of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). H&E staining showed that SchA treatment could effectively reduce emphysema, immune cell infiltration and airway wall destruction. In addition, we found that SchA treatment can stimulate the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) through the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2) pathway, significantly reduce oxidative stress, increase catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, and suppress the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in COPD model mice. Moreover, SchA treatment suppressed the generation of the NLRP3/ASC/Caspase1 inflammasome complex to inhibit the inflammatory response caused by IL-1β and IL-18 and pyroptosis caused by GSDMD. In conclusion, our study shows that SchA treatment can inhibit the production of ROS and the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome by upregulating Nrf-2, thereby producing anti-inflammatory effects and reducing lung injury in COPD model mice. More importantly, SchA exhibited similar anti-inflammatory effects to dexamethasone in COPD model mice, and we did not observe substantial side effects of SchA treatment. The high safety of SchA makes it a potential candidate drug for the treatment of COPD.

To prepare adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs)-embedded alginate-gelatinemicrospheres (Alg-Gel-ADSCs MSs) by electrospray and evaluate their feasibility for cartilage tissue engineering. To observe the efficacy of Alg-Gel-ADSCs MSs in repairing articular cartilage defects in SD rats. ADSCs were isolated and characterized by performing induced differentiation and flow cytometry assays. Alginate-gelatine microspheres with different gelatine concentrations were manufactured by electrospraying, and the appropriate alginate-gelatine concentration and ratio were determined by evaluating microsphere formation. Alg-Gel-ADSCs MSs were compared with Alg-ADSCs MSs through the induction of chondrogenic differentiation and culture. Their feasibility for cartilage tissue engineering was analysed by performing Live/Dead staining, cell proliferation analysis, toluidine blue staining and a glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content analysis. Alg-Gel-ADSCs MSs were implanted in the cartilage defects of SD rats, and the cartilage repair effect was evaluated at different time points. The evaluation included gross observations and histological evaluations, fluorescence imaging tracking, immunohistochemical staining, microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) and a CatWalk evaluation. The isolated ADSCs showed multidirectional differentiation and were used for cartilage tissue engineering. Using 1.5 w:v% alginate and 0.5 w:v% gelatine (Type B), we successfully prepared nearly spherical microspheres. Compared with alginate microspheres, alginate gel increased the viability of ADSCs and promoted the proliferation and chondrogenesis of ADSCs. In our experiments on knee cartilage defects in SD rats in vivo, the Alg-Gel-ADSCs MSs showed superior cartilage repair in cell resides, histology evaluation, micro-CT imaging and gait analysis. Microspheres composed of 1.5 w:v% alginate-0.5 w:v% gelatine increase the viability of ADSCs and supported their proliferation and deposition of cartilage matrix components. ADSCs embedded in 1.5 w:v% alginate-0.5 w:v% gelatine microspheres show superior repair efficacy and prospective applications in cartilage tissue repair. In this study, injectable adipose-derived stem cells-embedded alginate-gelatin microspheres (Alg-Gel-ADSCs MSs) were prepared by the electrospray . Compared with the traditional alginate microspheres, its support ability for ADSCs is better and shows a better repair effect. This study provides a promising strategy for cartilage tissue regeneration.

Articular cartilage regeneration is one of the challenges faced by orthopedic surgeons. Microcarrier applications have made great advances in cartilage tissue engineering in recent years and enable cost-effective cell expansion, thus providing permissive microenvironments for cells. In addition, microcarriers can be loaded with proteins, factors, and drugs for cartilage regeneration. Some microcarriers also have the advantages of injectability and targeted delivery. The application of microcarriers with these characteristics can overcome the limitations of traditional methods and provide additional advantages. In terms of the transformation potential, microcarriers have not only many advantages, such as providing sufficient and beneficial cells, factors, drugs, and microenvironments for cartilage regeneration, but also many application characteristics; for example, they can be injected to reduce invasiveness, transplanted after microtissue formation to increase efficiency, or combined with other stents to improve mechanical properties. Therefore, this technology has enormous potential for clinical transformation. In this review, we focus on recent advances in microcarriers for cartilage regeneration. We compare the characteristics of microcarriers with other methods for repairing cartilage defects, provide an overview of the advantages of microcarriers, discuss the potential of microcarrier systems, and present an outlook for future development. We reviewed the advantages and recent advances of microcarriers for cartilage regeneration. This review could give many scholars a better understanding of microcarriers, which can provide doctors with potential methods for treating patients with cartilage injure.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a refractory disease due to its unclear pathomechanism. Neither conservative treatment nor surgical treatment during the early stage of ONFH achieves satisfactory results. Therefore, this study aims to explore the available evidence on the effect of zoledronic acid on early-stage ONFH. For groups were established:the Normal group, model group, Normal saline group(NS group) and zoledronic acid-treated group. The blood supply to the femoral head of animals in the model group and zoledronic acid-treated group was interrupted via a surgical procedure, and zoledronic acid was then locally administered to the femoral head. Four weeks after surgery, all the hips were harvested and evaluated by micro-CT and histopathology(H&E staining, TRAP staining, Toluidine blue staining and masson staining). The values of BMD, BS/BV and Tb.Th in the Normal group and zoledronic acid-treated group were significantly higher than those in the model group and NS group (p ​< ​0.05). The outcome of H&E staining, Toluidine blue staining and masson staining were consistent with that of micro-CT. The local administration of zoledronic acid in the femoral head had positive effects on the bone structure of the femoral head in a modified rat model of traumatic ONFH and offered a promising therapeutic strategy during the early stage of ONFH. This article could provide a choice for treating patients who have osteonecrosis of femora head and can be the basic research for advanced development over this disease

Background: One-lung ventilation (OLV) is prone to adverse reactions, particularly ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). Spontaneous ventilation (SV) is supposed to reduce this risk. To investigate the effects of the ventilated lung during surgery, we established a rat model for research. Methods: Forty-two rats were randomly divided into 7 groups: control, OLV, and SV [OLV/SV group was subdivided into 3 time points (10, 20, 30 min)]. Blood gas analysis, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) test, and lung tissue wet-to-dry ratio were performed. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE), Masson and immunohistochemical for tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) examinations were conducted. Results: At 30 minutes of ventilation, compared to the OLV group, the SV group had higher arterial oxygen partial pressure and lower carbon dioxide partial pressure (P<0.05). Moreover, the wet-to-dry ratio in the OLV group significantly exceeded that in the SV group (P<0.01). Results from BALF, HE and Masson staining all indicated that the inflammatory response induced by OLV was stronger than that of SV. Based on HE staining, quantitative analysis of bronchial inflammation in the ventilated lung of each group showed that the degree of terminal bronchiole injury (P<0.0001), alveolar capillary congestion, and inflammatory cell infiltration (P<0.01) were more severe in the OLV group compared to the SV group. Additionally, in the immunohistochemical staining measurement of TNF-α, the expression level of TNF-α in the OLV group was higher than that in the SV group. Conclusions: Based on the rat model in this study, we can infer that during unilateral open pneumothorax surgery, with 30 minutes of ventilation, lung injury caused by OLV is more severe than that caused by SV in the ventilated lung.

Study objectives: We aimed to develop a drug-loaded hydrogel-encapsulated chest drain to improve postoperative comfort and recovery in thoracic surgery patients. Methods: The hydrogel was modified with different ratios of glycerol and alginate, then mixed with varying concentrations of ropivacaine and fixed on a simulated chest drain tube using a mould and calcium chloride solution. The morphology, degradation, and slow-release properties of the hydrogel were assessed to identify the most suitable formulation. A bacteriostatic test was conducted using bacterial smear plates. The new chest drain was then implanted in rats using the seldinger method. Pathological changes were observed with imaging techniques such as chest ultrasound and radiographs, while lung function was assessed to evaluate the analgesic effect. After the animal experiments, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson staining were performed on relevant tissues to analyze inflammation, and SOD activity was measured to assess oxidative stress levels. Results: The optimal drug-loaded hydrogel for chest drains contained 2% sodium alginate, 10% glycerol, and ropivacaine concentrations between 0.25% and 0.75%. This formulation showed superior morphological characteristics, degradation, and sustained-release properties. It also exhibited excellent bacteriostatic effects. The low-concentration (0.25%) drug-loaded hydrogel demonstrated better analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and oxidative stress-inhibitory effects in animal studies. Conclusions: The modified ropivacaine-alginate hydrogel-encapsulated chest drain offers a promising local slow-release strategy and may contribute to rapid rehabilitation in thoracic surgery.