Hepatic cirrhosis is the end-stage of chronic liver diseases. The majority of patients with hepatic cirrhosis die from life-threatening complications occurring at their earlier ages. Liver transplantation has been the most effective treatment for these patients. Since liver transplantation is critically limited by the shortage of available donor livers, searching for an effective alternative therapy has attracted great interest in preclinical studies. The transplantation of autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells holds great potential for treating hepatic cirrhosis. Mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate to hepatocytes, stimulate the regeneration of endogenous parenchymal cells, and enhance fibrous matrix degradation. Experimental and clinical studies have shown promising beneficial effects. This review is intended to translate the bench study results to the patients' bedside. The potential interventions of mesenchymal stem cells on cirrhosis are illustrated in terms of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of hepatic fibrogenesis.

Lycium Barbarum Polysaccharides (LBP) are the active components of Wolfberry (a traditional Chinese medicine) which has long been used for improving visual function. This study aims to investigate localized changes of retinal function in a partial optic nerve transection (PONT) model, and effects of LBP on visual function. The multifocal electroretinograms (mfERG) were obtained from 30 eyes of 30 Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were divided into 6 groups (five treatment groups and one control group). Starting from the first day of the experiment, the rats in the (PONT+LBP) group and the (LBP) group were dosed with LBP; rats in the (PONT+PBS (phosphate buffered saline)) group and the (PBS) group were dosed with PBS via nasogastric tube every day until euthanized. The dorsal part of the optic nerve was transected in the (PONT), (PONT+LBP) and (PONT+PBS) groups at the end of week 1 (day 7 after LBP or PBS feeding began). The mfERG was measured at three time points: week 2, week 3 and week 5. Significant reduction of P1 and PhNR amplitudes of the mfERG were observed in all retinal regions a week after PONT. Feeding with LBP prior to PONT preserved retinal function. All mfERG responses returned to the normal range in the superior retina, which corresponds to the transected dorsal region of the optic nerve, while most of the inferior retinal responses were significantly increased at week 4 after PONT. The ventral part of the retina had secondary degeneration which was not only limited to the ganglion cell layer, but is a widespread effect affecting the outer retina. LBP altered the functional reduction caused by PONT by regulating the signal from the outer retina.

Secondary degeneration occurs commonly in the central nervous system after traumatic injuries and following acute and chronic diseases, including glaucoma. A constellation of mechanisms have been shown to be associated with secondary degeneration including apoptosis, necrosis, autophagy, oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, derangements in ionic homeostasis and calcium influx. Glial cells, such as microglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, have also been demonstrated to take part in the process of secondary injury. Partial optic nerve transection is a useful model which was established about 13 years ago. The merit of this model compared with other optic nerve injury models used for glaucoma study, including complete optic nerve transection model and optic nerve crush model, is the possibility to separate primary degeneration from secondary degeneration in location. Therefore, it provides a good tool for the study of secondary degeneration. This review will focus on the research progress of the mechanisms of secondary degeneration using partial optic nerve transection model.