Tumour necrosis factor α regulates the miR-27a-3p-Sfrp1 axis in a mouse model of osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease that involves gradual loss of bone density and mass, thus resulting in increased fragility and risk of fracture. Inflammatory cytokines, such as tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α), inhibit osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), and several microRNAs are implicated in osteoporosis development. This study aimed to explore the correlation between TNF-α treatment and miR-27a-3p expression in BMSC osteogenesis and further understand their roles in osteoporosis.

Sappanone A Alleviated IL-1-Induced Inflammation in OA Chondrocytes through Modulating the NF-B and Nrf2/HO-1 Pathways.

Objective: This study was to examine the anti-inflammatory effect of sappanone A on interleukin- (IL-) 1-stimulated osteoarthritis (OA) chondrocytes.

Methods: Chondrocytes were pretreated with sappanone A for 2 h before subsequent IL-1 stimulation. The mRNA expression levels of iNOs, COX-2, aggrecan, and collagen-II were measured with qRT-PCR.

Metabolic utilization of human osteoblast cell line hFOB 1.19 under normoxic and hypoxic conditions: A phenotypic microarray analysis.

Osteoblasts play an important role in bone regeneration and repair. The hypoxia condition in bone occurs when bone undergoes fracture, and this will trigger a series of biochemical and mechanical changes to enable bone repair. Hence, it is interesting to observe the metabolites and metabolism changes when osteoblasts are exposed to hypoxic condition.

Hypoxic-Mediated Oxidative Stress Condition and Hydroxyapatite-Inducing Osteogenic Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells: A Mathematical Modeling Study.

Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the bones remains a major clinical challenge. Fractures in the talus, the scaphoid, and the neck of the femur are especially challenging to heal due to the low blood vessel network and the lack of collateral blood supply. These fractures are associated with high rates of nonunion and increased infections that require repeated operations.

Transcription Factor Enrichment Analysis in Enhancers Identifies EZH2 as a Susceptibility Gene for Osteoporosis.

Purpose: Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified hundreds of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with osteoporosis. Most of these SNPs are noncoding variants and could be mapped to enhancers. Transcription factors (TFs) play important roles in gene regulation via enhancers harboring these SNPs; thus, we aimed to identify common regulatory TFs binding to enhancers associated with osteoporosis.

GADD45β-I attenuates oxidative stress and apoptosis via Sirt3-mediated inhibition of ER stress in osteoarthritis chondrocytes.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most characterized joint diseases associated with chondrocyte apoptosis. JNK plays an important role in apoptosis in many pathological conditions, but systemic inhibition of JNK was shown to result in detrimental side effects. MAPK kinase 7 (MKK7) is a direct upstream kinase that regulates JNK and has been shown to activate JNK specifically under toxic conditions.

Bone breaking infections - A focus on bacterial and mosquito-borne viral infections.

The recent global resurgence of arthritogenic alphaviruses, including Ross River, chikungunya, and dengue, highlights an urgency for the development of therapeutic strategies. Currently, dengue represents the most rapidly transmitting mosquito-borne viral disease worldwide. By contracting bone breaking diseases, patients experience devastating clinical manifestations involving muscle pain and bone loss.

Does Flexible Flatfoot Require Treatment?: Plantar Pressure Effects of Wearing Over-the-Counter Insoles when Walking on a Level Surface and Up and Down Stairs in Adults with Flexible Flatfoot.

Background: Orthotic insole is a popular physiotherapy for flatfoot. However, the effects and whether flexible flatfoot needs orthotic insole treatment are not clear, and how the plantar pressure changes while walking up and down stairs has not been studied. Therefore, this study observed the plantar pressures of different walking conditions to find the answers.

Plantar pressure differences among adults with mild flexible flatfoot, severe flexible flatfoot and normal foot when walking on level surface, walking upstairs and downstairs.

[Purpose] This study observed the plantar pressure between flexible flatfoot and normal foot on different walking conditions to find out if flexible flatfoot needs the treatment and how the plantar pressure change while walking upstairs and downstairs. [Subjects and Methods] Fifteen adults with mild flexible flatfoot, fifteen adults with severe flexible flatfoot and fifteen adults with normal foot were examined while walking on a level surface, walking up and down 10 cm and 20 cm stairs. The max force and the arch index were acquired using the RSscan system.

Effects of orthotic insoles on adults with flexible flatfoot under different walking conditions.

[Purpose] This study was to evaluate the effects of orthotics on adults with flexible flatfoot when wearing orthotic insoles while walking on horizontal ground, walking up and down stairs and to determine if flexible flatfoot needs treatment. [Subjects and Methods] Fifteen college students with flexible flatfoot and fifteen college students with normal feet were recruited. First, load rate and contact area were measured by RSscan force plate when the subjects were walking on horizontal ground, walking up and down 10 cm and 20 cm stairs.

Selected suitable seed cell, scaffold and growth factor could maximize the repair effect using tissue engineering method in spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury usually leads to permanent disability, which could cause a huge financial problem to the patient. Up to now there is no effective method to treat this disease. The key of the treatment is to enable the damage zone axonal regeneration and luckily it could go through the damage zone; last a connection can be established with the target neurons.

Distinct patterns of inflammation in the airway lumen and bronchial mucosa of children with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Studies in cystic fibrosis (CF) generally focus on inflammation present in the airway lumen. Little is known about inflammation occurring in the airway wall, the site ultimately destroyed in end-stage disease.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that inflammatory patterns in the lumen do not reflect those in the airway wall of children with CF.

Antiinflammatory effects of salmeterol/fluticasone propionate in chronic obstructive lung disease.

Rationale: No currently available treatment is reported to reduce the exaggerated airway wall inflammation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that inhaled combined long-acting beta2-agonist (salmeterol) and corticosteroid (fluticasone propionate) will reduce inflammation.

Methods: Bronchial biopsies and induced sputum were taken from 140 current and former smokers (mean age, 64 yr) with moderate to severe disease, randomized in a 13-wk double-blind study to placebo (n = 73) or salmeterol/fluticasone propionate 50/500 microg (n = 67) twice daily.

Localization and upregulation of cysteinyl leukotriene-1 receptor in asthmatic bronchial mucosa.

We have tested the hypothesis that the CysLT(1) receptor is expressed by a variety of bronchial mucosal immune cells and that the numbers of these cells increase in asthma, when stable and in exacerbations. We have applied in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to endobronchial biopsy tissue to identify and count inflammatory cells expressing CysLT(1) receptor mRNA and protein, respectively, and used double immunohistochemistry to identify the specific cell immunophenotypes expressing the receptor. Double-labeling demonstrated that bronchial mucosal eosinophils, neutrophils, mast cells, macrophages, B-lymphocytes, and plasma cells, but not T-lymphocytes, expressed the CysLT(1) receptor.

Gene expression and immunolocalization of 15-lipoxygenase isozymes in the airway mucosa of smokers with chronic bronchitis.

15-lipoxygenase (15-LO) has been implicated in the inflammation of chronic bronchitis (CB), but it is unclear which of its isoforms, 15-LOa or 15-LOb, is primarily involved. To detect 15-LO gene (mRNA) and protein expression, we have applied in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively, to bronchial biopsies obtained from 7 healthy nonsmokers (HNS), 5 healthy smokers (HS), and 8 smokers with CB, and additionally include the airways of lungs resected from 11 asymptomatic smokers (AS) and 11 smokers with CB. Compared with HNS, biopsies in CB demonstrated increased numbers of 15-LOa mRNA+ cells (median: HNS = 31.