Association of Asef and Cdc42 expression to tubular injury in diseased human kidney.

Background: Cdc42 is a small guanosine-5'-triphosphatase of the Rho family and plays essential roles in the establishment of cellular polarity and tight junctions in epithelial cells. Adenomatous polyposis coli-associated exchange factor (Asef) is a canonical guanine nucleotide exchange factor of Cdc42 and renders Cdc42 to be guanosine-5'-triphosphate bound and activated. The expression patterns and their significance in human renal diseases are unknown.

The in vivo response of stem and other undifferentiated spermatogonia to the reversible inhibition of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor signaling in the adult.

Maintaining adequate numbers of spermatogonial stem cells is required for the production of the millions of sperm required for male fertility. To date, however, the mechanisms that regulate the size of this pool in the adult are poorly defined. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is required for establishing this pool in the prepubertal animal, but its in vivo function in the normal adult testis has never been examined directly.

Opening-wedge osteotomy, allografting with dual buttress plate fixation for severe genu recurvatum caused by partial growth arrest of the proximal tibial physis: a case report.

Injuries to the proximal tibial physis are among the least common epiphyseal injuries. We present a case of severe genu recurvatum deformity (45 degrees) with leg length discrepancy (4 cm) following a neglected proximal tibial physeal injury incurred 6 years previously. The 16-year-old patient was successfully treated by open-wedge osteotomy, allograft reconstruction, and dual buttress plate fixation.