Publications by authors named "Ben-Nun O"

Ameloblasts are specialized epithelial cells in the jaw that have an indispensable role in tooth enamel formation-amelogenesis. Amelogenesis depends on multiple ameloblast-derived proteins that function as a scaffold for hydroxyapatite crystals. The loss of function of ameloblast-derived proteins results in a group of rare congenital disorders called amelogenesis imperfecta.

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Intestinal epithelial cells have the capacity to upregulate MHCII molecules in response to certain epithelial-adhesive microbes, such as segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB). However, the mechanism regulating MHCII expression as well as the impact of epithelial MHCII-mediated antigen presentation on T cell responses targeting those microbes remains elusive. Here, we identify the cellular network that regulates MHCII expression on the intestinal epithelium in response to SFB.

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Development of immunocompetent T cells in the thymus is required for effective defence against all types of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria and fungi. To this end, T cells undergo a very strict educational program in the thymus, during which both non-functional and self-reactive T cell clones are eliminated by means of positive and negative selection.Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) have an indispensable role in these processes, and previous studies have shown the notable heterogeneity of these cells.

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Patients with loss of function in the gene encoding the master regulator of central tolerance AIRE suffer from a devastating disorder called autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS-1), characterized by a spectrum of autoimmune diseases and severe mucocutaneous candidiasis. Although the key mechanisms underlying the development of autoimmunity in patients with APS-1 are well established, the underlying cause of the increased susceptibility to Candida albicans infection remains less understood. Here, we show that AireMHCII type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) could sense, internalize and present C.

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Stressful environmental events in early life have long-lasting consequences on later stress responses. We previously showed that heat conditioning of 3-day-old chicks during the critical period of heat-response development leads to heat vulnerability later in life. Here we assessed the role of early-life heat stress on the inflammatory response in the chick anterior hypothalamus (AH), focusing on hypothalamic microglia.

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Aims: In this article, we would like to present our experience in total ear reconstruction for microtic ear patients.

Background: Partial and total ear reconstruction is one of the most challenging reconstruction procedures in plastic surgery. Ear reconstruction is performed in cases of congenital malformations such as anotia or microtia.

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A stressor can induce resilience in another, different stressor, a phenomenon known as cross-tolerance. To learn if cross-tolerance is governed by epigenetic regulation, we used embryonic heat conditioning (EHC) in chicks, during the development of the hypothalamus, to increase the immunization response. Indeed, EHC induced a lifelong systemic antibody response to immunization, in addition to reduced hypothalamic inflammatory expression following LPS challenge.

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Early life heat stress leads to either resilience or vulnerability to a similar stress later in life. We have previously shown that this tuning of the stress response depends on neural network organization in the preoptic anterior hypothalamus (PO/AH) thermal response center and is regulated by epigenetic mechanisms. Here, we expand our understanding of stress response establishment describing a role for epitranscriptomic regulation of the epigenetic machinery.

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Purpose: Reconstruction of large abdominal-wall defects (AWD) in patients after massive weight loss (MWL) can be challenging. Patients are left with a sizeable amount of excess skin and subcutaneous tissue which can serve as a natural and readily available source of mesh coverage. In this article, we present our experience in the reconstruction of large AWD in patients after MWL, using autogenous dermal flaps combined with a synthetic mesh.

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Objectives: To assess the effect of an opioid administered topically onto a standardized skin wound in patients without significant comorbidity. Findings to date are contradictory, often obtained from multimorbid patients with wounds lacking uniformity.

Methods: Forty-four patients undergoing surgery for skin grafting were randomly assigned to receive morphine (0.

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Background: Stromal cell-derived factor-1α is a chemokine and mediates endothelial progenitor cell-induced neovascularization. Because vascularization of a graft is crucial for its survival, the authors investigated whether stromal cell-derived factor-1α could improve fat graft survival by inducing endothelial progenitor cell-mediated neovascularization and preventing its resorption.

Methods: The authors injected 1 ml of human fat tissue into the scalps of 30 diabetic and 10 nondiabetic immunocompromised mice.

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Background: Bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells are required for vascularization of a fat graft to form a functional microvasculature within the graft and to facilitate its integration into the surrounding tissues. Organ transplantation carries a high risk of graft loss and rejection in patients with diabetes mellitus because endothelial progenitor cell function is impaired. The authors investigated the influence of endothelial progenitor cell treatment on the phenotype and survival of human fat grafts in immunocompromised mice with experimentally induced diabetes mellitus.

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We reveal a novel attractor in the space of contact forces that bounds the behavior of granular materials during confined comminution. The attractor is reached asymptotically as the porosity reduces and the grain size distribution attains an ultimate power law scaling. The ultimate distribution of the contact forces follows a clear log-normal distribution, distinctively different from previous observations in uncrushable systems.

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During confined comminution of granular materials a power-law grain size distribution (gsd) frequently evolves. We consider this power law as a hint for fractal topology if self-similar patterns appear across the scales. We demonstrate that this ultimate topology is mostly affected by the rules that define the self-organization of the fragment subunits, which agrees well with observations from simplistic models of cellular automata.

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These investigations were undertaken to assess the effects of cyclophosphamide (CPA) on rat blastocysts. In the first set of experiments, blastocysts were exposed to 100 micrograms/ml CPA in culture for 48 h. In the second experiment, blastocysts were cultured for 48 h following injection of 20 or 40 mg/kg of CPA to pregnant rats on day 4 of gestation.

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The bacteriophage lambda cIII gene product regulates the lysogenic pathway by stabilizing the lambda cII regulatory protein. Our results show that the expression of the lambda cIII gene is subject to specific requirements. Tests of a set of cIII-lacZ gene and operon fusions reveal that a sequence upstream of the cIII ribosome binding site is needed for cIII translation.

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