Publications by authors named "Wataru Morita"

Article Synopsis
  • The study examines the evolution of mammalian molars, highlighting that tribosphenic molars evolved from single-cusped reptilian teeth through the addition of cusps.
  • It investigates molar development in the house shrew to understand how the timing and order of enamel knot formation mirrors the evolutionary history of tooth cusp development in mammals.
  • The findings suggest a strong connection between ontogeny (development) and phylogeny (evolution) of molars, indicating that variations in developmental timing were critical for transforming tooth morphology over time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Macrophages are important for repair of injured tissues, but their role in healing after surgical repair of musculoskeletal tissues is not well understood. We used single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), flow cytometry, and transcriptomics to characterize functional phenotypes of macrophages in a mouse anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) model that involves bone injury followed by a healing phase of bone and fibrovascular interface tissue formation that results in bone-to-tendon attachment. We identified a novel "surgery-induced" highly inflammatory CD9+ IL1+ macrophage population that expresses neutrophil-related genes, peaks 1 day after surgery, and slowly resolves while transitioning to a more homeostatic phenotype.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tooth development is governed largely by epithelial-mesenchymal interactions and is mediated by numerous signaling pathways. This type of morphogenetic processes has been explained by reaction-diffusion systems, especially in the framework of a Turing model. Here we focus on morphological and developmental differences between upper and lower molars in mice by modeling 2D pattern formation in a Turing system.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Tooth identification is important not only for anatomists and anthropologists but also for dental practitioners and dental students studying dental anatomy courses. This review paper provides an overview of the significance of tooth identification focusing on the morphological and developmental background.

Highlight: The process of tooth identification comprises five steps of distinction: (1) between deciduous and permanent teeth; (2) between tooth classes; (3) between maxillary and mandibular teeth; (4) within the same tooth class; and (5) between the left and right sides of a tooth.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ptch receptors 1 and 2 mediate Hedgehog signaling pivotal for organ development and homeostasis. In contrast to embryonic lethal phenotype, mice display no effect on gross phenotype. In this brief report, we provide evidence of changes in the putative incisor mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) niches that contribute to accelerated incisor growth, as well as intriguing changes in the bones and skin which suggest a role for Ptch2 in the regulation of MSCs and their regenerative potential.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Traumatic anterior shoulder instability in collision sports athletes often involves osseous glenoid lesions, which make surgical treatment challenging. High redislocation rates have been seen in collision sports athletes treated using arthroscopic Bankart repair.

Purpose: To investigate the effectiveness of a combined arthroscopic Bankart repair and open Bristow procedure for the treatment of traumatic anterior shoulder instability in collision sports athletes, with a focus on osseous glenoid lesions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Tendons heal through fibrotic repair, which can lead to reinjury; TGF-β and BMPs are growth factors linked to fibrosis by influencing matrix synthesis and cell differentiation.
  • The study aimed to examine the effects of TGF-β and BMPs on tendon-derived cells from both healthy and diseased human tendons, using specific treatments and gene expression analysis.
  • Results showed that diseased tendon cells had lower responsiveness to TGF-β and BMP-2 compared to healthy cells, suggesting that diseased cells might undergo enhanced fibrotic changes and signaling, making them less effective in healing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Melancholia has recently been re-evaluated, because patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) were found to be heterogeneous. However, the DSM-5 criteria for melancholia (DSM-MEL) have been criticized, because of the difficulty in clearly distinguishing between melancholic and non-melancholic depression using DSM-MEL. Psychomotor disturbance (PMD) is one of the most important, as well as one of the only measurable symptoms of melancholia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A major challenge in evolutionary developmental biology is to understand how genetic mutations underlie phenotypic changes. In principle, selective pressures on the phenotype screen the gene pool of the population. Teeth are an excellent model for understanding evolutionary changes in the genotype-phenotype relationship since they exist throughout vertebrates.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/objective: High-signal intensity changes in the glenohumeral joint capsule on T2-and proton density-weighted magnetic resonance imaging are known as characteristic finding that is often observed in patients with frozen shoulder. We investigated the associations between high-signal intensity changes in the joint capsule on magnetic resonance imaging and the presence of rotator cuff tears and shoulder symptoms in patients with shoulder pain.

Methods: The medical records of 230 patients with shoulder pain who underwent magnetic resonance imaging at our hospital were reviewed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Diseased and injured tendons develop fibrosis, driven by factors including TGF-β, BMPs and CTGF. IL-1β and its signal transducer Erk1/2 are known to regulate TGF-β expression in animal tendons. We utilised tissues and cells isolated from patients with shoulder tendon tears and tendons of healthy volunteers to advance understanding of how inflammation induces fibrosis in diseased human tendons.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Metameric variation of molar size is in part associated with the dietary adaptations of mammals and results from slight alterations of developmental processes. Humans and great apes exhibit conspicuous variation in tooth morphology both between taxa and across tooth types. However, the manner in which metameric variation in molars emerged among apes and humans via evolutionary alterations in developmental processes remains largely unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) proteoglycan is a major component of the extracellular matrix and plays an important part in organogenesis. To elucidate the roles of CS for craniofacial development, we analyzed the craniofacial morphology in CS N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-1 (T1) gene knockout (KO) mice. T1KO mice showed the impaired intramembranous ossification in the skull, and the final skull shape of adult mice included a shorter face, higher and broader calvaria.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To compare post-operative pain relief with peri-articular injection (PI) versus interscalene brachial plexus block (IBPB) after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 121 consecutive patients undergoing ARCR surgery divided into two groups: the PI group and the IBPB group. We compared complications and self-reported pain score measured using a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) during the initial 24 hours after surgery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Epidemiological research has suggested that birth weights are correlated with adult leg lengths. However, the relationship between prenatal undernutrition (UN) and postnatal leg growth remains controversial. We investigated the effects of UN during early pregnancy on postnatal hindlimb growth and determined whether early embryonic malnutrition affects the functions of postnatal chondrocytes in rats.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Conventional tests of shoulder laxity have been shown to have poor reliability due to the difficulty in palpating the subtle movements of the shoulder joint beneath the musculature. Modified drawer test that is performed while the soft tissues surrounding the shoulder are loosened has been proposed to facilitate glenohumeral joint movement and improve reliability. We hypothesised that the modified drawer test would have an improved intra- and inter-observer reproducibility in comparison to the drawer and load and shift tests.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Tendon disease is characterized by the development of fibrosis. Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) are key mediators in the pathogenesis of fibrotic disorders. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the evidence for the expression of TGF-β, BMPs and CTGF along tendon disease progression and the response of tendon cells to these growth factors accordingly.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Scapular dyskinesis describes the altered position of the scapula and/or abnormal movements of the scapulothoracic joint. It is caused by bony anatomical variations, bursitis, tumors, and muscular pathological conditions including loss of innervation and fibrosis. Scapular dyskinesis is just as often subclinical as it is symptomatic, and as the periscapular anatomical changes may not result in patient symptoms, a precise diagnosis of the etiology and pathophysiology has been a challenge.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Human molars exhibit a type of metameric variation, which is the difference in serially repeated morphology within an organism. Various theories have been proposed to explain how this variation is brought about in the molars. Actualistic data that support the theories, however, are still relatively scarce because of methodological limitations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

There are no available detailed data on the three-dimensional courses of the human superior alveolar nerves and vessels. This study aimed to clarify the relationships of the maxillary sinus with the superior alveolar nerves and vessels using cone-beam computed tomography (CT) combined with μ-CT and histological analyses. Digital imaging and communication in medicine data obtained from the scanned heads/maxillae of cadavers used for undergraduate/postgraduate dissection practice and skulls using cone-beam CT were reconstructed into three-dimensional (3D) images using software.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of a combination of an arthroscopic Bankart repair and an open Bristow procedure in relation to the subjective quality of performance in movements that are typical in rugby.

Methods: Forty shoulders in 38 players who underwent surgery for traumatic anterior instability of the shoulder were reviewed. In all cases, arthroscopic Bankart repair was followed by a Bristow procedure, with preservation of the repaired capsular ligaments, during the same operation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tooth crown patterning is governed by the growth and folding of the inner enamel epithelium (IEE) and the following enamel deposition forms outer enamel surface (OES). We hypothesized that overall dental crown shape and covariation structure are determined by processes that configurate shape at the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ), the developmental vestige of IEE. This this hypothesis was tested by comparing patterns of morphological variation between EDJ and OES in human permanent maxillary first molar (UM1) and deciduous second molar (um2).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Quantitative and qualitative kinematic analyses of subacromial impingement by 1.2T open MRI were performed to determine the location of impingement and the involvement of the acromioclavicular joint.

Methods: In 20 healthy shoulders, 10 sequential images in the scapular plane were taken in a 10-s pause at equal intervals from 30° to maximum abduction in neutral and internal rotation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

EL/Sea mice are characterized by 100% incidence of agenesis of the third molars (M3). In a previous study, chromosomal mapping of the ninth generation EL/Sea congenic strains revealed a major locus for agenesis of M3, designated am3, in the 125-137 Mbp region of chromosome 3. In the present study, to determine the precise location of the am3 locus, we produced further generations of the EL/Sea congenic strains for am3 in which the restricted interval on chromosome 3 of EL/Sea was replaced by a MSM/Msf-derived homolog.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Pacopampa site is located in the northern highlands of Peru and is an archaeological site belonging to the Formative Period (2500-1 BC). The excavation of the Pacopampa site yielded unusual human skeletons from the main platform of a ceremonial center of the site during the 2009 field season. The skeletal remains were associated with a pair of gold earplugs, a pair of gold earrings, and shell objects.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF