Effect of a neonatal low-protein diet on the morphology of myotubes in culture and the expression of key proteins that regulate myogenesis in young and adult rats.

Aim: To investigate the effects of a neonatal low-protein diet on the morphology of myotubes in culture and the expression of key proteins that regulate myogenesis in young and adult rats.

Methods: Male Wistar rats (n = 18) were suckled by mothers fed diets containing 17% protein (controls, C) or 8% protein (undernourished, UN). All rats were fed a normal protein diet after weaning.

Short-term effects of adhesion peptides on the responses of preosteoblasts to pBMP-9.

Adhesion peptides are currently used to enhance the interactions of osteoblasts with biomaterials. However, little is known about the effects of adhesion peptides on cell responses to growth factors, especially the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). We used adhesion peptides Ac-CGGNGERPRGDTYRAY-NH(2) (pRGD), derived from bone sialoprotein, and Ac-CGGDGEA-NH(2) (pDGEA), derived from collagen, which interact with alpha(v)beta(3) and alpha(2)beta(1) integrins, respectively.