PLGA-linked alendronate enhances bone repair in diaphysis defect model.

Alendronate (ALN) is known as an anti-resorptive drug for the treatment of osteoporosis. Recently, ALN was found to stimulate osteogenic differentiation in mesenchymal stem cells and enhance new bone formation in calvarial bone defects. Previous in vitro and in vivo studies found that the effective concentration of ALN was approximately 1-10   μm.

Simvastatin enhances Rho/actin/cell rigidity pathway contributing to mesenchymal stem cells' osteogenic differentiation.

Recent studies have indicated that statins induce osteogenic differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. The molecular mechanism of statin-stimulated osteogenesis is unknown. Activation of RhoA signaling increases cytoskeletal tension, which plays a crucial role in the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.

Functional limitations and somatic diseases are independent predictors for incident depressive disorders in seniors: Findings from a nationwide longitudinal study.

Purpose: Few nationwide comprehensive studies analyzed the factors leading to the onset of depression in correlation with medical disease and other related factors concerning geriatric depression. This study examined medical diseases with other factors which lead to depression among the elderly.

Methods: This Taiwan-based longitudinal study examined a collection of 1467 seniors aged over 65.

Hyaluronan initiates chondrogenesis mainly via CD44 in human adipose-derived stem cells.

Cell-matrix adhesion is one of the important interactions that regulates stem cell survival, self-renewal, and differentiation. Our previous report (Wu SC, Chang JK, Wang CK, Wang GJ, Ho ML. Biomaterials 31: 631-640, 2010) indicated that a microenvironment enriched with hyaluronan (HA) initiated and enhanced chondrogenesis in human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs).

Electromagnetic fields enhance chondrogenesis of human adipose-derived stem cells in a chondrogenic microenvironment in vitro.

We tested the hypothesis that electromagnetic field (EMF) stimulation enhances chondrogenesis in human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) in a chondrogenic microenvironment. A two-dimensional hyaluronan (HA)-coated well (2D-HA) and a three-dimensional pellet culture system (3D-pellet) were used as chondrogenic microenvironments. The ADSCs were cultured in 2D-HA or 3D-pellet, and then treated with clinical-use pulse electromagnetic field (PEMF) or the innovative single-pulse electromagnetic field (SPEMF) stimulation.

Assessment of changes in confidence, attitude, and knowledge of non-psychiatric physicians undergoing a depression training program in Taiwan.

Objective: To assess whether non-psychiatric physicians would benefit from a national depression training program and explore associated factors.

Method: Attending physicians were asked to complete survey questionnaires of confidence, attitude, knowledge, and their willingness to implement new strategies to improve care, before and after training. Paired t-test and multiple regression analysis were used to determine the differences and explore factors associated with the domains of confidence, attitude, and knowledge.

Soft substrate induces apoptosis by the disturbance of Ca2+ homeostasis in renal epithelial LLC-PK1 cells.

Different rigidities of adhesive collagen substrate affect cellular functions with unclear mechanisms. Here, we cultured a renal epithelial cell line (LLC-PK1) and a tumor cell line (HeLa) on substrates of different rigidities and compared the cell type-specific responses. The culture dish was coated with a very thin layer of collagen gel (control group) or overlaid with collagen gel (soft substrate).

Deregulation of AP-1 proteins in collagen gel-induced epithelial cell apoptosis mediated by low substratum rigidity.

In this study, we established that collagen gel, but not collagen gel coating, induced apoptosis exclusively in epithelial cell lines, which indicated that low substratum rigidity might trigger cell apoptosis. To confirm this, we used collagen gels with different rigidities due to cross-linking or physical disruption of collagen fibrils caused by sonication. We found that collagen gel-induced apoptosis was inversely correlated with substratum rigidity.

Mechanical properties of collagen gels derived from rats of different ages.

In a previous study, we found that different collagen gels produced using collagen fibrils extracted from 1-, 4- and 8-month-old rat tails essentially influenced the morphogenesis of epithelial cells. More importantly, the youngest collagen gel induces the highest level of cell apoptosis. The objective of this study was to investigate mechanical properties of various collagen gels correlated to the rat ages.

Rigidity of collagen fibrils controls collagen gel-induced down-regulation of focal adhesion complex proteins mediated by alpha2beta1 integrin.

Previous studies have shown that collagen gel overlay induced selective proteolysis of focal adhesion complex proteins in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. In this study, we examined whether morphological and biochemical changes were present in cells cultured on collagen gel. We found that focal adhesion complex proteins, including focal adhesion kinase (FAK), talin, paxillin, and p130cas, but not vinculin, were decreased within 1 h when MDCK cells were cultured on collagen gel.