Advancing skeletal health and disease research with single-cell RNA sequencing.

Orthopedic conditions have emerged as global health concerns, impacting approximately 1.7 billion individuals worldwide. However, the limited understanding of the underlying pathological processes at the cellular and molecular level has hindered the development of comprehensive treatment options for these disorders.

Formononetin Inhibits Mast Cell Degranulation to Ameliorate Compound 48/80-Induced Pseudoallergic Reactions.

Formononetin (FNT) is a plant-derived isoflavone natural product with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-allergic properties. We showed previously that FNT inhibits immunoglobulin E (IgE)-dependent mast cell (MC) activation, but the effect of FNT on IgE-independent MC activation is yet unknown. Our aim was to investigate the effects and possible mechanisms of action of FNT on IgE-independent MC activation and pseudoallergic inflammation.

Biomimetic natural biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: new biosynthesis methods, recent advances, and emerging applications.

Biomimetic materials have emerged as attractive and competitive alternatives for tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine. In contrast to conventional biomaterials or synthetic materials, biomimetic scaffolds based on natural biomaterial can offer cells a broad spectrum of biochemical and biophysical cues that mimic the in vivo extracellular matrix (ECM). Additionally, such materials have mechanical adaptability, microstructure interconnectivity, and inherent bioactivity, making them ideal for the design of living implants for specific applications in TE and regenerative medicine.

Stepwise Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Augments Tendon-Like Tissue Formation and Defect Repair In Vivo.

Unlabelled: : Tendon injuries are common and present a clinical challenge, as they often respond poorly to treatment and result in long-term functional impairment. Inferior tendon healing responses are mainly attributed to insufficient or failed tenogenesis. The main objective of this study was to establish an efficient approach to induce tenogenesis of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), which are the most common seed cells in tendon tissue engineering.

The effects of secretion factors from umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells on osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.

Factors synthesized by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) contain various growth factors, cytokines, exosomes and microRNAs, which may affect the differentiation abilities of MSCs. In the present study, we investigated the effects of secretion factors of human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) on osteogenesis of human bone marrow derived MSCs (hBMSCs). The results showed that 20 μg/ml hUCMSCs secretion factors could initiate osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs without osteogenic induction medium (OIM), and the amount of calcium deposit (stained by Alizarin Red) was significantly increased after the hUCMSCs secretion factors treatment.

Partial loss of Smad7 function impairs bone remodeling, osteogenesis and enhances osteoclastogenesis in mice.

Smad7 is well demonstrated as a negative regulator of TGF-β signaling. Its alteration in expression often results in diseases such as cancer and fibrosis. However, the exact role of Smad7 in regulating bone remodeling during mammalian development has not been properly delineated.

Prevention of osteopenia and dyslipidemia in rats after ovariectomy with combined aspirin and low-dose diethylstilbestrol.

Objective: To study whether effect of aspirin plus low-dose diethylstilbestrol is more effective and safer than high diethylstilbestrol dose alone on prevention of ovariectomy-induced osteopenia and dyslipidemia.

Methods: Thirty-eight 4-month-old female SD rats were divided into baseline (BAS) group (n=6), sham operation group (n=8) and ovariectomy (OVX) group (n=24). The OVX group was further divided into vehicle treatment group (n=8), diethylstilbestrol (30 μg/kg•d) treatment group (OVX+D30 group, n=8), and aspirin (9 mg/kg•d) plus diethylstilbestrol (10 μg/kg•d) treatment group (OVX+A-D10 group, n=8).

Selectivity of N170 in the left hemisphere as an electrophysiological marker for expertise in reading Chinese.

Objective: The left-lateralized N170, an event-related potential component consistently shown in response to alphabetic words, is a robust electrophysiological marker for reading expertise in an alphabetic language. In contrast, such a marker is lacking for expertise in reading Chinese, because the existing results about the lateralization of N170 for Chinese characters are mixed, reflecting complicated factors such as top-down modulation that contribute to the relative magnitudes of N170 in the left and right hemispheres. The present study aimed to explore a potential electrophysiological marker for reading expertise in Chinese with minimal top-down influence.

Left-lateralized early neurophysiological response for Chinese characters in young primary school children.

Adult readers consistently show an enhanced early event-related potential (ERP) response, N170, for visual words compared with other stimuli at left posterior electrodes. Developmental studies with words in alphabetic languages showed that this neurophysiological specialization for print develops rapidly from 6 to 10-years of age and becomes established around 10-11 years of age. Here we report for the first time the development of the word-related N170 in Chinese children learning to read Chinese, a logographic writing system radically different from alphabetic scripts in visual and linguistic features.

[Phylogenetic analysis of enterovirus 71 isolated from patients with hand, foot and mouth disease in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, 2000-2001].

Objective: To identify enterovirus 71 (EV71) strains isolated from patients with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Guangdong and Fujian provinces from 2000 to 2001 by using phylogenetic analysis.

Methods: All 25 samples were first tested for enteric viruses by RT-PCR using enterovirus specific primers EV-1 and EV-2, and then were identified for EV71 by RT-PCR using EV71 specific primers 159S and 162A. The amplicons of 485bp segment (part of the VP1 gene) were cloned into pGEM-T and sequenced.

Diversity of rotavirus strains among children with acute diarrhea in China: 1998-2000 surveillance study.

As part of a national rotavirus surveillance activity, we collected fecal specimens from 3,177 children with acute diarrhea in 10 regions of China between April 1998 and April 2000 and screened them for rotavirus. Rotavirus was detected in 41% (n = 1,305) of specimens, and in these, G1 was the predominant serotype (72.6%), followed by G3 (14.