Ultrasound is clinically used for diagnosis and interventions for musculoskeletal injuries like muscle contusion, but contrast of ultrasonography still remains a challenge in the field of the musculoskeletal system. A level of hydrogen peroxide (HO) is known to be elevated during mechanical tissue damage and therefore HO can be exploited as a diagnostic and therapeutic marker for mechanical injuries in the musculoskeletal system. We previously developed poly(vanillin-oxalate) (PVO) as an inflammation-responsive polymeric prodrug of vanillin, which is designed to rapidly respond to HO and exert antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCorrection for 'Immature dendritic cells navigate microscopic mazes to find tumor cells' by Eujin Um et al., Lab Chip, 2019, 19, 1665-1675.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDendritic cells (DCs) are potent antigen-presenting cells with high sentinel ability to scan their neighborhood and to initiate an adaptive immune response. Whereas chemotactic migration of mature DCs (mDCs) towards lymph nodes is relatively well documented, the migratory behavior of immature DCs (imDCs) in tumor microenvironments is still poorly understood. Here, microfluidic systems of various geometries, including mazes, are used to investigate how the physical and chemical microenvironment influences the migration pattern of imDCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn artificial three-dimensional (3D) culture system that mimics the tumor microenvironment in vitro is an essential tool for investigating the cross-talk between immune and cancer cells in tumors. In this study, we developed a 3D culture system using an electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibrous scaffold (NFS). A hybrid NFS containing an uninterrupted network of nano- and submicron-scale fibers (400 nm to 2 µm) was generated by deposition onto a stainless steel mesh instead of an aluminum plate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolycabosilane (PCS) could be spun to form fiber web by electrospinning PCS solution in 30% dimethylformide (DMF)/toluene solvent at 25 kV. The electrospun web is stabilized at 200 degrees C for 1 hour to connect fibers by softening PCS webs and pyrolysed to synthesize silicon carbide (SiC) webs at 1800 degrees C. The pyrolysis at 1800 degrees C increased the SiC crystal size to 45 nm from 3 nm at 1300 degrees C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK) and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)-containing adaptors are essential factors involved in regulating osteoclast formation and bone remodeling. Here, we identify early estrogen-induced gene 1 (EEIG1) as a novel RANK ligand (RANKL)-inducible protein that physically interacts with RANK and further associates with Gab2, PLCγ2 and Tec/Btk kinases upon RANKL stimulation. EEIG1 positively regulates RANKL-induced osteoclast formation, likely due to its ability to facilitate RANKL-stimulated PLCγ2 phosphorylation and NFATc1 induction.
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