The RANKL/RANK/OPG signaling pathway mediates medial arterial calcification in diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy.

Objective: The receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB (RANK), RANK ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) signaling pathway (RANKL/RANK/OPG signaling) is implicated in the osteolysis associated with diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy (CN); however, the links with medial arterial calcification (MAC) seen in people with CN are unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of RANKL/OPG in MAC in patients with CN.

Research Design And Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Bio-plex multiarray technology were used to quantify a range of cytokines, including RANKL and OPG in sera from 10 patients with diabetes, 12 patients with CN, and 5 healthy volunteers.

A ruptured thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm managed endovascularly using the telescoping chimney technique.

Extending the proximal landing zone to facilitate endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms with short proximal necks using the chimney, top-fenestration, or snorkel technique has been previously reported. In addition, extending the distal landing zone using the periscope technique has also been recently described. In this study, we used an extended chimney technique, the "telescoping technique," to successfully treat a ruptured Crawford type III thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm in a patient with pre-existing renal failure and an occluded superior mesenteric artery.

Murine vascular endothelium activates and induces the generation of allogeneic CD4+25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells.

Unlike graft-resident donor-derived hemopoietic APCs, which decrease in number over time after transplantation, vascular endothelial cells are lifelong residents of a vascularized allograft. Endothelial cells are potent APCs for allogeneic CD8+ T lymphocytes but are unable to induce proliferation of allogeneic CD4+ T lymphocytes. Although the reason for this differential response has been poorly understood, here we report that alloantigen presentation by vascular endothelium to CD4+ T lymphocytes activates and induces CD4+25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells, which can inhibit proliferation of alloreactive T cells both in vitro and in vivo.

The first structural and spectroscopic characterization of a neptunyl polyoxometalate complex.

The reaction between PW9O349- and NpO2+ has yielded the first structurally characterized neptunyl(V) polyoxometalate complex, [Na2(NpO2)2(A-PW9O34)2]14-. This complex is isostructural with the uranyl(VI) analogue, and there is also spectroscopic evidence for its existence in solution. The complex is readily extracted into toluene, and this may have significance in the sequestering and/or separation of the neptunyl ion in terms of nuclear waste management.