Heparan Sulfate Chain-Conjugated Laminin-E8 Fragments Advance Paraxial Mesodermal Differentiation Followed by High Myogenic Induction from hiPSCs.

Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have great therapeutic potential. The cell source differentiated from hiPSCs requires xeno-free and robust methods for lineage-specific differentiation. Here, a system is described for differentiating hiPSCs on new generation laminin fragments (NGLFs), a recombinant form of a laminin E8 fragment conjugated to the heparan sulfate chains (HS) attachment domain of perlecan.

Regeneration of neuromuscular synapses after acute and chronic denervation by inhibiting the gerozyme 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase.

To date, there are no approved treatments for the diminished strength and paralysis that result from the loss of peripheral nerve function due to trauma, heritable neuromuscular diseases, or aging. Here, we showed that denervation resulting from transection of the sciatic nerve triggered a marked increase in the prostaglandin-degrading enzyme 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) in skeletal muscle in mice, providing evidence that injury drives early expression of this aging-associated enzyme or gerozyme. Treating mice with a small-molecule inhibitor of 15-PGDH promoted regeneration of motor axons and formation of neuromuscular synapses leading to an acceleration in recovery of force after an acute nerve crush injury.

Physical Fitness Tests as Predictors of High-Intensity Running Performance in Rugby.

Understanding the physical fitness elements that influence high-intensity running ability during rugby matches is crucial for optimizing player performance and developing effective training strategies. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationships between various physical fitness components and high-intensity running ability in rugby. For this purpose, 60 Japanese university rugby players were randomized into four groups and two matches were played.

Recent advances and remaining barriers to the development of electrospun nanofiber and nanofiber composites for point-of-use and point-of-entry water treatment systems.

In this review, we focus on electrospun nanofibers as a promising material alternative for the niche application of decentralized, point-of-use (POU) and point-of-entry (POE) water treatment systems. We focus our review on prior work with various formulations of electrospun materials, including nanofibers of carbon, pure metal oxides, functionalized polymers, and polymer-metal oxide composites, that exhibit analogous performance to media (e.g.

Evaluation of hiPSC-Derived Muscle Progenitor Cell Transplantation in a Mouse Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Model.

For cell therapy toward Duchenne muscle dystrophy (DMD), muscle progenitor cells derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC-MuPCs) are recognized as a good candidate, and currently, cell transplantation of hiPSC-MuPCs is being tested with several DMD animal models. In this article, we describe an efficient method to dissociate, purify by cell sorting, transplant, and evaluate the transplantation efficacy of hiPSC-MuPCs.