Decrease of osteosclerosis in subchondral bone of medial compartmental osteoarthritic knee seven to nineteen years after high tibial valgus osteotomy.

Osteosclerosis of the subchondral bone was measured by densitometer on plain radiographs in 55 medial compartmental osteoarthritic knees of 40 patients who were treated with high tibial valgus osteotomy for correction of varus deformity. The ratio of the osteosclerosis value of the medial side of the knee to that of the lateral side (Medial/Lateral ratio) was calculated and used as a parameter. The Medial/Lateral ratio of osteosclerosis decreased rapidly within three years after osteotomy at the reference points of the femur and the tibia.

Recombination between gtfB and gtfC is required for survival of a dTDP-rhamnose synthesis-deficient mutant of Streptococcus mutans in the presence of sucrose.

The rml genes are involved in dTDP-rhamnose synthesis in Streptococcus mutans. A gene fusion between gtfB and gtfC, which both encode extracellular water-insoluble glucan-synthesizing enzymes, accompanied by inactivation of the rml genes was observed for cells grown in the presence of sucrose. The survival rates of rml mutants isolated in the absence of sucrose were drastically reduced in the presence of sucrose.

Genes involved in cell wall localization and side chain formation of rhamnose-glucose polysaccharide in Streptococcus mutans.

We identified in Streptococcus mutans six new genes (rgpA through rgpF), whose disruption results in a loss of serotype-specific antigenicity, specified by the glucose side chains of rhamnose-glucose polysaccharide from the cell wall. Rhamnose and glucose content of the cell wall decreased drastically in all these disruption mutants, except that in the rgpE mutant only the glucose content decreased. RgpC and RgpD are homologous to ATP-binding cassette transporter components and may be involved in polysaccharide export, whereas RgpE may be a transferase of side chain glucose.

Biological functions of UDP-glucose synthesis in Streptococcus mutans.

A gene encoding glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase (EC 2.7.7.