Publications by authors named "Mengfan Hou"
The inflammatory microenvironment and resulting neuronal loss following spinal cord injury (SCI) impede the repair process. Endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs), which are constrained by neuroinflammation and slow differentiation rates, are unable to effectively facilitate recovery. In this study, coaxial electrospinning technology was employed to fabricate a nano-fiber/net artificial bionic dura mater (NABDM).
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- Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) can lead to immune and metabolic issues that worsen neurological damage and hinder recovery, and microglia are key immune cells in the spinal cord that help maintain health.
- This study investigates the role of microglia after SCI by depleting them, revealing that microglia support locomotor function recovery and are essential for glial scar formation, neurogenesis, and angiogenesis.
- The findings also show that microglial depletion disrupts lipid metabolism and increases oxidative stress in neurons, suggesting that microglia play a protective role against neural damage and metabolic disorders following SCI.
Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to a loss of motor and sensory function. Axon regeneration and outgrowth are key events for functional recovery after spinal cord injury. Endogenous growth of axons is associated with a variety of factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe neurological condition that involves a lengthy pathological process. This process leads to the upregulation of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) by reactive glia, which impedes repair and regeneration in the spinal cord. The role of the CSPG-specific receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase-sigma (PTP-σ) in post-SCI remains largely unexplored.
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- The study examines age-based differences in traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) inpatients in China, noting that older patients had longer delays for surgery, a higher likelihood of incomplete injuries, and longer hospital stays compared to younger patients.
- Researchers analyzed medical records from 13,334 TSCI patients across 30 hospitals from 2013 to 2018, finding a significant increase in the number and proportion of elderly patients (≥85 years) during this period.
- Key findings revealed that younger patients were more likely to undergo crucial decompression surgery, while elderly patients had lower hospitalization costs, highlighting important disparities in treatment and care between age groups.
N-Methyladenosine (m1A) is an abundant modification of transcripts, plays important roles in regulating mRNA structure and translation efficiency, and is dynamically regulated under stress. However, the characteristics and functions of mRNA m1A modification in primary neurons and oxygen glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) induced remain unclear. We first constructed a mouse cortical neuron OGD/R model and then used methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (MeRIP) and sequencing technology to demonstrate that m1A modification is abundant in neuron mRNAs and dynamically regulated during OGD/R induction.
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- This study is a retrospective epidemiological analysis focusing on the differences in traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) based on biological sex in China from 2013 to 2018.
- The study included data from 13,465 TSCI patients across 30 hospitals, revealing a decreasing male-to-female ratio and a faster rise in TSCI cases among females compared to males.
- Key findings showed that while higher-level falls affected more males, females had a higher occurrence of thoracolumbar injuries and less severe neurological damage, indicating the need for sex-specific prevention and treatment strategies.
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- Cerebral ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) causes oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) in neurons, leading to complex pathological changes relevant to various neurological disorders.
- Researchers investigated the role of N1-methyladenosine (mA) RNA modification in both normal and OGD/R-treated mouse neurons, discovering that OGD/R significantly increased mA-modified RNAs.
- The study found that mA modifications influence RNA regulatory mechanisms, including interactions between noncoding RNAs and proteins, potentially impacting gene expression and offering insights for drug development in conditions related to OGD/R injury.
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- Injuries to the central nervous system, specifically spinal cord injuries, can have severe consequences on individuals and society, particularly during the early subacute phase where secondary damage occurs.
- The study analyzed protein expression in rats three days post-injury using methods like iTRAQ and identified 176 differentially expressed proteins, with a majority being up-regulated.
- Findings highlight key proteins and biological processes involved in the early subacute phase of spinal cord injury, suggesting new avenues for understanding and treating CNS injuries.
Background: Aging is an influential risk factor for progression of both degenerative and oncological diseases of the bone. Osteosarcoma, considered the most common primary mesenchymal tumor of the bone, is a worldwide disease with poor 5-year survival. This study investigated the role of aging-/senescence-induced genes (ASIGs) in contributing to osteosarcoma diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic agent prediction.
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- Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) can lead to significant neuronal damage, and epigenetic factors like DNA methylation may influence its progression.
- Researchers used a mouse model to investigate how oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD) affects DNA methylation and gene expression in neurons.
- The study revealed that increased DNA methylation during OGD leads to changes in gene expression linked to both normal neuronal function and pathways associated with cell death and stress, identifying potential new targets for neuroprotective therapies.
Unlabelled: This study provides a national estimate of the incidence of hospitalizations and assesses the clinical features and outcomes during inpatient admission due to osteoporotic fractures diagnosed by ICD-10-CM/PCS among the elderly in the USA, using the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample, 2016-2018.
Purpose: To provide a national estimate of the incidence of hospitalizations and assess the clinical features and outcomes during inpatient admission due to osteoporotic fractures (OFs) among the elderly in the USA.
Methods: The study included all inpatients aged 65 years and older who participated in the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS).
Article Synopsis
- Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious condition that leads to significant health issues, and a new minimally invasive technique is proposed to study it in animal models, aiming to improve upon traditional methods.
- In the study, various factors such as incision length, blood loss, surgery time, and complications were compared between the conventional and minimally invasive surgical approaches.
- Results showed that the minimally invasive technique had advantages in terms of less blood loss, shorter incision length, reduced complications, and similar success rates, indicating it may be a better option for future SCI research.
Epigenetic modifications play an important role in central nervous system disorders. As a widespread posttranscriptional RNA modification, the role of the mC modification in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) remains poorly defined. Here, we successfully constructed a neuronal oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) model and obtained an overview of the transcriptome-wide mC profiles using RNA-BS-seq.
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