Phytomolecule icaritin incorporated PLGA/TCP scaffold for steroid-associated osteonecrosis: Proof-of-concept for prevention of hip joint collapse in bipedal emus and mechanistic study in quadrupedal rabbits.

Steroid-associated osteonecrosis (SAON) may lead to joint collapse and subsequent joint replacement. Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid/tricalcium phosphate (P/T) scaffold providing sustained release of icaritin (a metabolite of Epimedium-derived flavonoids) was investigated as a bone defect filler after surgical core-decompression (CD) to prevent femoral head collapse in a bipedal SAON animal model using emu (a large flightless bird). The underlying mechanism on SAON was evaluated using a well-established quadrupedal rabbit model.

Utilization of TALEN and CRISPR/Cas9 technologies for gene targeting and modification.

The capability to modify the genome precisely and efficiently offers an extremely useful tool for biomedical research. Recent developments in genome editing technologies such as transcription activator-like effector nuclease and the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats system have made genome modification available for a number of organisms with relative ease. Here, we introduce these genome editing techniques, compare and contrast each technical approach and discuss their potential to study the underlying mechanisms of human disease using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells.

[Risk factors for postoperative complications and in-hospital death in distal pancreatectomy].

Objective: To explore the risk factors for postoperative complications and in-hospital death of distal pancreatectomy (DP).

Methods: Retrospective reviews were conducted for 223 patients undergoing distal pancreatectomy. Their perioperative data and postoperative rates of morbidity and mortality were collected.

Role of Tet1 and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in cocaine action.

Ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzymes mediate the conversion of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), which is enriched in brain, and its ultimate DNA demethylation. However, the influence of TET and 5hmC on gene transcription in brain remains elusive. We found that ten-eleven translocation protein 1 (TET1) was downregulated in mouse nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward structure, by repeated cocaine administration, which enhanced behavioral responses to cocaine.

Removal of SOST or blocking its product sclerostin rescues defects in the periodontitis mouse model.

Understanding periodontal ligament (PDL) biology and developing an effective treatment for bone and PDL damage due to periodontitis have been long-standing aims in dental medicine. Here, we first demonstrated by cell lineage tracing and mineral double-labeling approaches that murine PDL progenitor cells display a 2- and 3-fold higher mineral deposition rate than the periosteum and endosteum at the age of 4 weeks, respectively. We next proved that the pathologic changes in osteocytes (Ocys; changes from a spindle shape to round shape with a >50% reduction in the dendrite number/length, and an increase in SOST) are the key pathologic factors responsible for bone and PDL damage in periostin-null mice (a periodontitis animal model) using a newly developed 3-dimensional FITC-Imaris technique.

High expression of MAGE-A9 in tumor and stromal cells of non-small cell lung cancer was correlated with patient poor survival.

Melanoma associated antigen-A (MAGE-A) is an oncogene and correlated with tumor initiation and development. However the roles of MAGE-A9 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are still unknown. We investigated MAGE-A9 mRNA expression in 18 tumor tissues of NSCLC by qRT-PCR and MAGE-A9 protein expression in 213 NSCLC samples of tissue arrays by immunohistochemical staining.

Long-term effect of second-generation drug-eluting stents for coronary artery disease, everolimus-eluting versus zotarolimus-eluting stents: a meta-analysis.

Background: Compared with the zotarolimus-eluting stent (ZES), the everolimus-eluting stent (EES) has reduced the risk of stent restenosis and thrombosis as found in a number of randomized-controlled trials (RCTs). However, the benefits have been variable.

Materials And Methods: We evaluate the long-term effect of EES and ZES on the risk of stent thrombosis and target lesion revascularization in patients receiving PCI.

SIRT1-FOXO3a regulate cocaine actions in the nucleus accumbens.

Previous studies have shown that chronic cocaine administration induces SIRT1, a Class III histone deacetylase, in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region, and that such induction influences the gene regulation and place conditioning effects of cocaine. To determine the mechanisms by which SIRT1 mediates cocaine-induced plasticity in NAc, we used chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by massively parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq), 1 d after 7 daily cocaine (20 mg/kg) or saline injections, to map SIRT1 binding genome-wide in mouse NAc. Our unbiased results revealed two modes of SIRT1 action.

High CD133 expression in the nucleus and cytoplasm predicts poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of Prominin-1 (CD133) in cancer cells and its potential value as a prognostic indicator of survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Cancerous tissues and matched normal tissues adjacent to the carcinoma from 239 NSCLC patients were obtained immediately after surgery. Immunohistochemistry of tissue microarrays was used to characterize the expression of CD133 in NSCLC and adjacent tissues.

Osterix controls cementoblast differentiation through downregulation of Wnt-signaling via enhancing DKK1 expression.

Osterix (Osx), a transcriptional factor essential for osteogenesis, is also critical for in vivo cellular cementum formation. However, the molecular mechanism by which Osx regulates cementoblasts is largely unknown. In this study, we initially demonstrated that overexpression of Osx in a cementoblast cell line upregulated the expression of markers vital to cementogenesis such as osteopontin (OPN), osteocalcin (OCN), and bone sialoprotein (BSP) at both mRNA and protein levels, and enhanced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity.

S-nitrosylation positively regulates ascorbate peroxidase activity during plant stress responses.

Nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are two classes of key signaling molecules involved in various developmental processes and stress responses in plants. The burst of NO and ROS triggered by various stimuli activates downstream signaling pathways to cope with abiotic and biotic stresses. Emerging evidence suggests that the interplay of NO and ROS plays a critical role in regulating stress responses.

Micropropulsion by an acoustic bubble for navigating microfluidic spaces.

This paper describes an underwater micropropulsion principle where a gaseous bubble trapped in a suspended microchannel and oscillated by external acoustic excitation generates a propelling force. The propelling swimmer is designed and microfabricated from parylene on the microscale (the equivalent diameter of the cylindrical bubble is around 60 μm) using microphotolithography. The propulsion mechanism is studied and verified by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations as well as experiments.

Complete pulpodentin complex regeneration by modulating the stiffness of biomimetic matrix.

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in all populations. The regeneration of dentin-pulp tissues (pulpodentin) using a scaffold-based tissue engineering strategy is a promising approach to replacing damaged dental structures and restoring their biological functions. However, the current scaffolding design for pulpodentin regeneration does not take into account the distinct difference between pulp and dentin, therefore, is incapable of regenerating a complete tooth-like pulpodentin complex.

Epigenetic basis of opiate suppression of Bdnf gene expression in the ventral tegmental area.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has a crucial role in modulating neural and behavioral plasticity to drugs of abuse. We found a persistent downregulation of exon-specific Bdnf expression in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in response to chronic opiate exposure, which was mediated by specific epigenetic modifications at the corresponding Bdnf gene promoters. Exposure to chronic morphine increased stalling of RNA polymerase II at these Bdnf promoters in VTA and altered permissive and repressive histone modifications and occupancy of their regulatory proteins at the specific promoters.

Transcriptome and proteome profiling of adventitious root development in hybrid larch (Larix kaempferi × Larix olgensis).

Background: Hybrids of larch (Larix kaempferi × Larix olgensis) are important afforestation species in northeastern China. They are routinely propagated via rooted stem cuttings. Despite the importance of rooting, little is known about the regulation of adventitious root development in larch hybrids.

β-catenin mediates stress resilience through Dicer1/microRNA regulation.

β-catenin is a multi-functional protein that has an important role in the mature central nervous system; its dysfunction has been implicated in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression. Here we show that in mice β-catenin mediates pro-resilient and anxiolytic effects in the nucleus accumbens, a key brain reward region, an effect mediated by D2-type medium spiny neurons. Using genome-wide β-catenin enrichment mapping, we identify Dicer1-important in small RNA (for example, microRNA) biogenesis--as a β-catenin target gene that mediates resilience.

Involvement of FoxQ1 in NSCLC through regulating EMT and increasing chemosensitivity.

Forkhead box Q1 (FoxQ1) is a member of the forkhead transcription factor family. High expression of FoxQ1 has been associated with several cancers including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but its role in the development of NSCLC is not clear. In this study, we investigated the effect of FoxQ1 up-regulated and down-regulated in vitro and in vivo, and the role of FoxQ1 in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in NSCLC, providing evidence that FoxQ1 could be a potential therapeutic target in NSCLC.

Essential role of osterix for tooth root but not crown dentin formation.

Tooth is made of crown and root. It is widely believed that dentin formation in crown and root uses the same regulatory mechanism. However, identification of nuclear factor 1 C (NFIC)'s unique function in determining root but not crown dentin formation challenges the old thinking.

Locus-specific epigenetic remodeling controls addiction- and depression-related behaviors.

Chronic exposure to drugs of abuse or stress regulates transcription factors, chromatin-modifying enzymes and histone post-translational modifications in discrete brain regions. Given the promiscuity of the enzymes involved, it has not yet been possible to obtain direct causal evidence to implicate the regulation of transcription and consequent behavioral plasticity by chromatin remodeling that occurs at a single gene. We investigated the mechanism linking chromatin dynamics to neurobiological phenomena by applying engineered transcription factors to selectively modify chromatin at a specific mouse gene in vivo.

Parkin mutations reduce the complexity of neuronal processes in iPSC-derived human neurons.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the degeneration of nigral dopaminergic (DA) neurons and non-DA neurons in many parts of the brain. Mutations of parkin, an E3 ubiquitin ligase that strongly binds to microtubules, are the most frequent cause of recessively inherited PD. The lack of robust PD phenotype in parkin knockout mice suggests a unique vulnerability of human neurons to parkin mutations.

Osteoblast-derived WNT16 represses osteoclastogenesis and prevents cortical bone fragility fractures.

The WNT16 locus is a major determinant of cortical bone thickness and nonvertebral fracture risk in humans. The disability, mortality and costs caused by osteoporosis-induced nonvertebral fractures are enormous. We demonstrate here that Wnt16-deficient mice develop spontaneous fractures as a result of low cortical thickness and high cortical porosity.

[Clinicopathological and CT features of mucinous cystic neoplasms of the pancreas].

Objective: To evaluate the clinicopathological and CT features of mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs) of the pancreas and analyze the correlative risk factors for malignant pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasms.

Methods: Ninety-eight patients who underwent curative resection for mucinous cystic neoplasms of the pancreas at PLA General Hospital from April 1994 to January 2013 were included in this study. All clinicopathological data available were retrospectively analyzed.