Clinical implications of determination of safe surgical margins by using a combination of CT and 18FDG-positron emission tomography in soft tissue sarcoma.

Background: To determine safe surgical margins for soft tissue sarcoma, it is essential to perform a general evaluation of the extent of tumor, responses to auxiliary therapy, and other factors preoperatively using multiple types of diagnostic imaging. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) is a tool for diagnostic imaging that has recently spread rapidly in clinical use. At present, the roles played by FDG-PET/CT in determination of margins for surgical resection of sarcoma are unclear.

Transcriptional coactivator PGC-1alpha regulates chondrogenesis via association with Sox9.

Chondrogenesis is a multistep pathway in which multipotential mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) differentiate into chondrocytes. The transcription factor Sox9 (SRY-related high mobility group-Box gene 9) regulates chondrocyte differentiation and cartilage-specific expression of genes, such as Col2a1 (collagen type II alpha1). However, Sox9 expression is detected not only in chondrogenic tissue but also in nonchondrogenic tissues, suggesting the existence of a molecular partner(s) required for Sox9 to control chondrogenesis and chondrogenic gene expression.

Accelerated, aging-dependent development of osteoarthritis in alpha1 integrin-deficient mice.

Objective: Cell-matrix interactions regulate chondrocyte differentiation and survival. The alpha1beta1 integrin is a major collagen receptor that is expressed on chondrocytes. Mice with targeted inactivation of the integrin alpha1 gene (alpha1-KO mice) provide a model that can be used to address the role of cell-matrix interactions in cartilage homeostasis and osteoarthritis (OA) pathogenesis.