Deubiquitinase UCHL1 promotes angiogenesis and blood-spinal cord barrier function recovery after spinal cord injury by stabilizing Sox17.

Improving the function of the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) benefits the functional recovery of mice following spinal cord injury (SCI). The death of endothelial cells and disruption of the BSCB at the injury site contribute to secondary damage, and the ubiquitin-proteasome system is involved in regulating protein function. However, little is known about the regulation of deubiquitinated enzymes in endothelial cells and their effect on BSCB function after SCI.

Assessing the utility of MRI-based vertebral bone quality (VBQ) for predicting lumbar pedicle screw loosening.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the potential of utilizing the MRI-based vertebral bone quality (VBQ) score as a predictive tool for pedicle screw loosening (PSL) in patients who have undergone pedicle screw fixation and to identify risk factors associated with VBQ scores.

Methods: One hundred and sixteen patients who had undergone pedicle screw fixation between December 2019 and January 2021 and had more than a year of follow-up were divided into two groups of PSL and non-PSL.

Do Cervical Parameters Increase the Risk of Thoracic Spinal Stenosis in Patients with Cervical Spinal Stenosis?

Objectives: The diagnosis and treatment of tandem stenosis have been widely discussed. However, studies on concurrent cervical and thoracic spinal stenosis are rare in the literature. This study was aimed to investigate the risk factors for thoracic spinal stenosis (TSS) in patients with cervical spinal stenosis (CSS).

Exosomal USP13 derived from microvascular endothelial cells regulates immune microenvironment and improves functional recovery after spinal cord injury by stabilizing IκBα.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can result in irreversible sensory and motor disability with no effective treatment currently. After SCI, infiltrated macrophages accumulate in epicenter through destructed blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB). Further, great majority of macrophages are preferentially polarized to M1 phenotype, with only a few transient M2 phenotype.

USP1/UAF1-Stabilized METTL3 Promotes Reactive Astrogliosis and Improves Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury through mA Modification of YAP1 mRNA.

RNA N-methyladenosine (mA) modification is involved in diverse biological processes. However, its role in spinal cord injury (SCI) is poorly understood. The mA level increases in injured spinal cord, and METTL3, which is the core subunit of methyltransferase complex, is upregulated in reactive astrocytes and further stabilized by the USP1/UAF1 complex after SCI.

Engineered extracellular vesicles for delivery of siRNA promoting targeted repair of traumatic spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe disease of the nervous system that causes irreparable damage and loss of function, for which no effective treatments are available to date. Engineered extracellular vesicles (EVs) carrying therapeutic molecules hold promise as an alternative SCI therapy depending on the specific functionalized EVs and the appropriate engineering strategy. In this study, we demonstrated the design of a drug delivery system of peptide CAQK-modified, siRNA-loaded EVs (C-EVs-siRNA) for SCI-targeted therapy.

TSG-6 released from adipose stem cells-derived small extracellular vesicle protects against spinal cord ischemia reperfusion injury by inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Background: Spinal cord ischemia reperfusion injury (SCIRI) is a complication of aortic aneurysm repair or spinal cord surgery that is associated with permanent neurological deficits. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) have been shown to be potential therapeutic options for improving motor functions after SCIRI. Due to their easy access and multi-directional differentiation potential, adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are preferable for this application.

Radiographic predictors for recurrence of lumbar symptoms after prioritized cervical surgery in patients with tandem spinal stenosis.

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to explore radiographic predictors for recurrence of lumbar symptoms after prioritized cervical surgery in patients with tandem spinal stenosis (TSS).

Methods: The current retrospective cohort study included 74 patients with TSS, who underwent prioritized cervical surgery. Based on presence or absence of improvement in lower limb symptoms, patients were grouped into improved and non-improved groups.

TRIM22 inhibits osteosarcoma progression through destabilizing NRF2 and thus activation of ROS/AMPK/mTOR/autophagy signaling.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignant bone tumor that mainly occurs in adolescents. It is accompanied by a high rate of lung metastasis, and high mortality. Recent studies have suggested the important roles of tripartite motif-containing (TRIM) family proteins in regulating various substrates and signaling pathways in different tumors.

Analysis of Functional Outcomes and Risk Factors for Facet Joint Distraction During Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion for Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy.

Objective: This study aimed to clarify functional outcomes of facet joint distraction (FJD) and identify specific risk factors for excessive FJD during single-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM).

Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 100 patients who underwent single-level ACDF for CSM from January 2016 to May 2020. Anteroposterior and lateral radiographs were obtained before surgery and 12 months after surgery.

USP11 regulates autophagy-dependent ferroptosis after spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury by deubiquitinating Beclin 1.

Spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury (SCIRI) is a serious trauma that can lead to loss of sensory and motor function. Ferroptosis is a new form of regulatory cell death characterized by iron-dependent accumulation of lipid peroxides. Ferroptosis has been studied in various diseases; however, the exact function and molecular mechanism of ferroptosis in SCIRI remain unknown.

Extracellular vesicles derived from melatonin-preconditioned mesenchymal stem cells containing USP29 repair traumatic spinal cord injury by stabilizing NRF2.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating trauma that leads to irreversible motor and sensory dysfunction and is, so far, without effective treatment. Recently, however, nano-sized extracellular vesicles derived from preconditioned mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown great promise in treating various diseases, including SCI. In this study, we investigated whether extracellular vesicles (MEVs) derived from MSCs pretreated with melatonin (MT), which is well recognized to be useful in treating diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, non-small cell lung cancer, acute ischemia-reperfusion liver injury, chronic kidney disease, and SCI, are better able to promote functional recovery in mice after SCI than extracellular vesicles derived from MSCs without preconditioning (EVs).

Small extracellular vesicles encapsulating CCL2 from activated astrocytes induce microglial activation and neuronal apoptosis after traumatic spinal cord injury.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe traumatic disease which causes high disability and mortality rates. The molecular pathological features after spinal cord injury mainly involve the inflammatory response, microglial and neuronal apoptosis, abnormal proliferation of astrocytes, and the formation of glial scars. However, the microenvironmental changes after spinal cord injury are complex, and the interactions between glial cells and nerve cells remain unclear.

Prevalence and Predictive Factors of Asymptomatic Spondylotic Cervical Spinal Stenosis in Patients with Symptomatic Lumbar Spinal Stenosis.

Objective: We performed a retrospective cohort study to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for asymptomatic spondylotic cervical spinal stenosis (ASCSS) in the setting of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

Methods: A total of 114 patients with a diagnosis of LSS without cervical myelopathy and radiculopathy were grouped into ASCSS and non-ASCSS groups. The medical data and radiological parameters, including age, sex, body mass index, Charlson comorbidity index, symptom duration, redundant nerve roots, dural sac cross-sectional area (DCSA), facet joint angle, lumbar lordosis angle (LLA), pelvic incidence (PI), Torg-Pavlov ratio, and lumbosacral transitional vertebrae, were analyzed.