Antibacterial and Immunosuppressive Effects of OPS-2071, a Candidate Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. Although many types of drug are used, clinical outcomes are still unsatisfactory. Previous studies have suggested that intestinal bacteria are involved in the pathogenesis of IBD.

In Vitro Study of the Effects of Denosumab on Giant Cell Tumor of Bone: Comparison with Zoledronic Acid.

Giant cell tumor of bone (GCTB) is a locally aggressive primary bone tumor that contains numerous osteoclasts formed from marrow-derived precursors through receptor activator of nuclear factor κ-B ligand (RANKL), an osteoclast differentiation factor expressed in neoplastic cells of GCTB. Denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting RANKL, has recently been used for the treatment of GCTB, and superior treatment effects have been reported. The aim of this work was to elucidate the mechanism of action of denosumab, and the differences between denosumab and zoledronic acid at the level of GCTB cells.

Accumulation of HLA-DR4 in Colonic Epithelial Cells Causes Severe Colitis in Homozygous HLA-DR4 Transgenic Mice.

Background: Homozygous HLA-DR4/I-E transgenic mice (tgm) spontaneously developed colitis similar to human ulcerative colitis. We explored whether endoplasmic reticulum stress in colonic epithelial cells due to overexpression of HLA-DR4/I-E was involved in the pathogenesis of colitis.

Methods: Major histocompatibility complex class II transactivator-knockout (CIITAKO) background tgm were established to test the involvement of HLA-DR4/I-E expression in the pathogenesis of colitis.

Surgical treatment of a lumbar aneurysmal bone cyst using percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy.

Purpose: Aneurysmal bone cysts of the lumbar spine are usually treated by curettage followed by bone or bioactive ceramics grafting. Here, we present the first case of an aneurysmal bone cyst of the lumbar spine treated by percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD).

Methods: We describe the clinical characteristics of the patient including the radiological and pathological findings of the tumor and the surgical technique used.

Solitary synovial chondromatosis arising in the gluteus maximus bursa: computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings.

Chondral tumors in soft tissue are referred to as soft-tissue chondromas or extraskeletal chondromas, or as synovial chondromatosis if they arise in synovial tissue. We report the case of a 29-year-old man with synovial chondromatosis, also called synovial osteochondromatosis, which appeared in a solitary and extra-articular form. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography, the central portion of the tumor showed similar characteristics to bone marrow, despite the absence of any connection to adjacent bone.

Establishment of HLA-DR4 transgenic mice for the identification of CD4+ T cell epitopes of tumor-associated antigens.

Reports have shown that activation of tumor-specific CD4(+) helper T (Th) cells is crucial for effective anti-tumor immunity and identification of Th-cell epitopes is critical for peptide vaccine-based cancer immunotherapy. Although computer algorithms are available to predict peptides with high binding affinity to a specific HLA class II molecule, the ability of those peptides to induce Th-cell responses must be evaluated. We have established HLA-DR4 (HLA-DRA*01:01/HLA-DRB1*04:05) transgenic mice (Tgm), since this HLA-DR allele is most frequent (13.

Lumbar spondylolysis in juveniles from the same family: a report of three cases and a review of the literature.

Spondylolysis is reported as a stress fracture of the pars interarticularis with a strong hereditary basis. Three cases of lumbar spondylolysis in juveniles from the same family are reported, and the genetics of the condition are reviewed. The first boy, a 13-year-old soccer player, was diagnosed with terminal stage L5 bilateral spondylolysis with grade 1 slippage.

Four-rod stabilization of severely destabilized lumbar spine caused by metastatic tumor.

We report a case of a 67-year-old female with severely destabilized lumbar spine caused by metastatic malignant tumor. The primary lesion was a thyroid follicular adenocarcinoma. Complete destruction of the L3, L4, and L5 vertebrae had resulted in severe instability, which left the patient with severe back pain and bed-ridden.

V-rod technique for direct repair surgery of pediatric lumbar spondylolysis combined with posterior apophyseal ring fracture.

We report a pediatric baseball player having both a fracture of the posterior ring apophysis and spondylolysis. He was presented to a primary care physician complaining of back pain and leg pain. Despite conservative treatment for 3 months, the pain did not subside.

Multilevel direct repair surgery for three-level lumbar spondylolysis.

A 45-year-old man presented to our clinic requesting evaluation for surgical treatment of chronic low back pain of more than 20 years duration. He was diagnosed with 3-level lumbar spondylolysis at L3-5. Direct repair using the pedicle screw and hook-rod system was conducted for all three levels.

Octacalcium phosphate suppresses chondrogenic differentiation of ATDC5 cells.

Implantation of octacalcium phosphate (OCP), a hydroxyapatite precursor, has been reported to induce chondrogenesis in vivo. In this study, we examined the effects of OCP on the chondrogenic differentiation of mouse chondroblastic ATDC5 cells in vitro. Contrary to our expectation, chondrogenic differentiation of ATDC5 cells evaluated by the mRNA expression of Col2a1, Acan and Col10a1 was suppressed by OCP.

Minimally invasive and simultaneous removal of herniated intracanal and extracanal lumbar nucleus pulposus with a percutaneous spinal endoscope.

Herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP) in the lumbar spine is usually found in the neural canal (in the intracanal space) and occasionally in the extracanal space, where it is known as a lateral HNP. HNP is rarely found simultaneously in both spaces. However, we experienced such a case in a 48-year-old man who presented with right leg pain and lower back pain that had lasted for more than a year.

R848, a toll-like receptor 7 agonist, inhibits osteoclast differentiation but not survival or bone-resorbing function of mature osteoclasts.

R848, also known as resiquimod, acts as a ligand for toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) and activates immune cells. In this study, we examined the effects of R848 on differentiation, survival, and bone-resorbing function of osteoclasts. R848 inhibited osteoclast differentiation of mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) and human peripheral blood-derived monocytes induced by receptor activator of NF-κB ligand in a dose-dependent manner.

Painful lumbar spondylolysis among pediatric sports players: a pilot MRI study.

Introduction: For children and adolescents who are very active athletes, fresh lumbar spondylolysis is the main pathologic cause of lower back pain (LBP). However, regarding the terminal-stage spondylolysis (pars defect), there have been few studies to clarify the pathomechanism of LBP. The purpose of this study is to clarify the cause of LBP associated with pars defects in athletes.

Development of dual-curing type experimental composite resin cement for orthodontic bonding -effect of additional amount of accelerators on the mechanical properties-.

In this study, a dual-curing type composite resin cement that included a photo-initiator and two accelerators was designed. In particular, special emphasis was made on addressing questions on the effects from different amounts of additional accelerators on the flexural strength of the designed experimental composite resin cement, as well as on the tensile bond strength of the bracket bonded onto the enamel surface by the experimental composite resin cement. When 0.

Cardiac neural crest cells contribute to the dormant multipotent stem cell in the mammalian heart.

Arodent cardiac side population cell fraction formed clonal spheroids in serum-free medium, which expressed nestin, Musashi-1, and multi-drug resistance transporter gene 1, markers of undifferentiated neural precursor cells. These markers were lost following differentiation, and were replaced by the expression of neuron-, glial-, smooth muscle cell-, or cardiomyocyte-specific proteins. Cardiosphere-derived cells transplanted into chick embryos migrated to the truncus arteriosus and cardiac outflow tract and contributed to dorsal root ganglia, spinal nerves, and aortic smooth muscle cells.

Membranous osteogenesis system modeled with KUSA-A1 mature osteoblasts.

Several stromal cells were established from murine bone marrow cultures. One of the KUSA subclones, KUSA-A1 cells, displays osteogenic characteristics in vitro and in vivo. The calcium deposition, osteocalcin release, and parathyroid hormone (PTH) responsiveness of KUSA-A1 cells indicate that they are mature osteoblasts or osteocytes.

Novel and efficient synthesis of 4-dimethylamino-2-glycosylaminoquinazolines by cyclodesulfurization of glycosyl thioureas with dimethylcyanamide.

4-dimethylamino-2-glycosylaminoquinazoline derivatives were synthesized by cyclodesulfurization of N-aryl-N'-glycosyl thioureas with dimethylcyanamide in the presence of silver triflate in good yields.

Novel quinazoline ring synthesis by cycloaddition of N-arylketenimines with N,N-disubstituted cyanamides.

The reaction of N-aryl-substituted ketenimines with N,N-disubstituted cyanamides or (MeS)2C=N-CN under high pressure afforded 4-(N,N-disubstituted amino) or 4-(MeS)2C=N-substituted quinazoline derivatives, respectively. These products were formed by [4+2] cycloaddition between the aza-diene moieties of the N-arylsubstituted ketenimines and cyano groups. A 4-(unsubstituted amino)quinazoline derivative was synthesized by hydrolysis of the latter product.