Aims Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells with immunomodulatory properties. We tested the ability of MSCs to delay islet allograft rejection. Methods Mesenchymal stem cells were generated in vitro from C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice bone marrow, and their immunomodulatory properties were tested in vitro. We then tested the effect of a local or systemic administration of heterologous and autologous MSCs on graft survival in a fully allogeneic model of islet transplantation (BALB/c islets into C57BL/6 mice). Results In vitro, autologous, but not heterologous, MSCs abrogated immune cell proliferation in response to alloantigens and skewed the immune response toward a Th2 profile. A single dose of autologous MSCs co-transplanted under the kidney capsule with allogeneic islets delayed islet rejection, reduced graft infiltration, and induced long-term graft function in 30 % of recipients. Based on ex vivo analysis of recipient splenocytes, the use of autologous MSCs did not appear to have any systemic effect on the immune response toward graft alloantigens. The systemic injection of autologous MSCs or the local injection of heterologous MSCs failed to delay islet graft rejection. Conclusion Autologous, but not heterologous, MSCs showed multiple immunoregulatory properties in vitro and delayed allograft rejection in vivo when co-transplanted with islets; however, they failed to prevent rejection when injected systemically. Autologous MSCs thus appear to produce a local immunoprivileged site, which promotes graft survival.

Application of abdominal paracentesis drainage ahead of percutaneous catheter drainage is safe and beneficial to patients by reducing inflammatory factors, postponing further interventions, and delaying or avoiding multiple organ failure.

A voxel phantom of Chinese adult male called CNMAN was constructed from color photographs of the first Chinese visible human data set, for radiation protection purpose. This data set was obtained from a 35-y-old Chinese male cadaver by a medical university in China. The man, 170 cm in height and 65 kg in weight, was dead without any pathological changes. The image size for transversal anatomical photographs of the whole body was 3072 x 2048. After the photographs were semi-automatically segmented, the voxel phantom (CNMAN) with a voxel size of 0.16 mm x 0.16 mm x 1 mm, consisting of 29 tissues or organs was constructed. Combined with the MCNP Monte Carlo transport code, preliminary results for radiation protection dosimetry were obtained based on this Chinese voxel phantom.

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