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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: IL‐19 skews the immune response towards a Th2 type and appears to stimulate angiogenesis. In the current study, we tested if IL‐19 treatment could reduce secondary injury and improve functional recovery after contusion spinal cord injury (SCI). EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Firstly, mice were given a moderate–severe thoracic SCI at the T(9–10) level and expression of IL‐19 and its receptor was measured in the injured spinal cord. Then SCI mice were treated with mouse recombinant IL‐19 and its blocking antibody to investigate the therapeutic effect of IL‐19. KEY RESULTS: Protein expression of IL‐19 and its receptor IL‐20R1 and IL‐20R2 was up‐regulated in the injured spinal cord of mice. IL‐19 treatment promoted the recovery of locomotor function dose‐dependently and reduced loss of motor neurons and microglial and glial activation following SCI. Treatment of SCI mice with IL‐19 attenuated macrophage accumulation, reduced protein levels of TNF‐α and CCL2 and promoted Th2 response and M2 macrophage activation in the injured region. Treatment of SCI mice with IL‐19 promoted angiogenesis through up‐regulating VEGF in the injured region. Treatment of SCI mice with IL‐19 up‐regulated HO‐1 expression and decreased oxidative stress in the injured region. The beneficial effect of IL‐19 was abolished by coadministration of the blocking antibody. Additionally, IL‐19 deficiency in mice delayed the recovery of locomotor function following SCI. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: IL‐19 treatment reduced secondary injuries and improved locomotor functional recovery after contusion SCI, through diverse mechanisms including immune cell polarization, angiogenesis and anti‐oxidative responses.

Cell-based therapy serves as an effective way for cartilage repair. Compared with a limited source of autologous chondrocytes, adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are proposed as an attractive cell source for cartilage regeneration. How to drive chondrogenic differentiation of ADSCs efficiently remains to be further investigated. TGF-β3 has shown a strong chondrogenic action on ADSCs. Recently, fibroblast growth factor 18 (FGF-18) has gained marked attention due to its anabolic effects on cartilage metabolism, but existing data regarding the role of FGF-18 on the chondrogenic potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are conflicting. In addition, whether the combined application of FGF-18 and TGF-β3 would improve the efficiency of the chondrogenic potential of ADSCs has not been thoroughly studied. In the current study, we isolated human ADSCs and characterized the expression of their surface antigens. Also, we evaluated the chondrogenic potential of FGF-18 on ADSCs using an in vitro pellet model by measuring glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content, collagen level, histologic appearance, and expression of cartilage-related genes. We found that FGF-18, similarly to TGF-β3, had a positive impact on chondrogenic differentiation and matrix deposition when presented throughout the culture period. More importantly, we observed synergistic effects of FGF-18 and TGF-β3 on the chondrogenic differentiation of ADSCs in the in vitro pellet model. Our results provide critical information on the therapeutic use of ADSCs with the help of FGF-18 and TGF-β3 for cartilage regeneration.

Superior bone repairing materials can shorten bone healing periods and lower the incidence of nonunion. Strontium ions are known for enhancing a bone forming effect. Doping of strontium into bone powder will be able to make an attractive bone repairing material. In this study an ion exchange method was tried to dope strontium into bone powder in vitro. The capability to dope strontium into bone tissue was also observed. The cytotoxicity of novel material was investigated by MTT (Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay) method. And further primarily cultured osteoblast was used to evaluate the biocompatibility of novel strontium doped bone sample. It is found that more than 10% exchange ratio of Sr/Ca can be achieved in bone powder. The Sr-doped bone shows no cytotoxicity. Compared with untreated bone samples, osteoblasts show higher proliferation rate (129%) on Sr-doped bone samples. And ALP (Alkaline phosphatase) is 132% higher on Sr-doped bone samples. Thus it is feasible to develop a Sr-doped allograft bone graft by this method.

Current solutions for treating uncontained lumbar disk herniation include laser assisted endoscopic foraminoplasty and Transforaminal Endoscopic Spine System, both of which have some issues in clinical practice. This study aims to report the design of a new instrument for percutaneous posterolateral foraminoplasty. 148 patients with uncontained lumbar disk herniation were treated with percutaneous foraminoplasty followed by transforaminal endoscopic discectomy. Follow up were obtained for 134 cases. The VAS scores of pre-operative and post-operative low back pain and sciatica were compared. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and MacNab scores were also obtained. Follow-up was up to 5 years postoperatively. There were 75 of excellent, 49 of good and 5 of fair according to MacNab score system, with total successful rate up to 92.5%. 5 cases with L5S1 disc herniation complained about irritation to the dorsal root ganglion. In conclusion, the new transforaminal endoscopic discectomy instrument is safe and effective for percutaneous foraminoplasty.