A novel oleanolic acid derivative HA-19 ameliorates muscle atrophy via promoting protein synthesis and preventing protein degradation.

Muscle atrophy refers to a decrease in the size of muscles in the body, occurs in certain muscles with inactivity in many diseases and lacks effective therapies up to date. Natural products still play an important role in drug discovery. In the present study, derivatives of a natural product, oleanolic acid, were screened with myoblast differentiation and myotube atrophy assays, respectively.

Natural hydrogels for cartilage regeneration: Modification, preparation and application.

Unlabelled: Hydrogels, consisting of hydrophilic polymers, can be used as films, scaffolds, nanoparticles and drug carriers. They are one of the hot research topics in material science and tissue engineering and are widely used in the field of biomedical and biological sciences. Researchers are seeking for a type of material that is similar to human tissues and can partially replace human tissues or organs.

Efficacy of Platelet-Rich Plasma Containing Xenogenic Adipose Tissue-Derived Stromal Cells on Restoring Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: A Preclinical Study in a Rabbit Model.

Objective: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) containing multiple growth factors is a promising strategy for disc degeneration. Thus, this study hypothesizes that the combination of PRP and adipose tissue-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) may repair degenerative disc more effectively than using each one of them alone.

Methods: The model of early intervertebral disc degeneration was induced by annular puncture in the New Zealand rabbit.

Biomechanical analysis of the effect of medial meniscus degenerative and traumatic lesions on the knee joint.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the degenerative medial meniscus and traumatic lesions on the biomechanical behavior of the knee. An elaborate three-dimensional (3D) finite element model of the total knee joint containing bones, articular cartilages, main ligaments, and menisci was developed from a combination of magnetic resonance images and computed tomography. Three types of meniscus tears were employed to represent the degenerative and traumatic lesions.

Design and biomechanical characteristics of porous meniscal implant structures using triply periodic minimal surfaces.

Background: Artificial meniscal implants can be used to replace a severely injured meniscus after meniscectomy and restore the normal functionality of a knee joint. The aim of this paper was to design porous meniscal implants and assess their biomechanical properties.

Methods: Finite element simulations were conducted on eight different cases including intact healthy knees, knee joints with solid meniscal implants, and knee joints with meniscal implants with two types of triply periodic minimal surfaces.

Injured liver-released miRNA-122 elicits acute pulmonary inflammation via activating alveolar macrophage TLR7 signaling pathway.

Hepatic injury is often accompanied by pulmonary inflammation and tissue damage, but the underlying mechanism is not fully elucidated. Here we identify hepatic miR-122 as a mediator of pulmonary inflammation induced by various liver injuries. Analyses of acute and chronic liver injury mouse models confirm that liver dysfunction can cause pulmonary inflammation and tissue damage.

MiR-204 inhibits hepatocellular cancer drug resistance and metastasis through targeting NUAK1.

Liver cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. Tumor response rate of liver cancer patients towards systemic chemotherapy is low and chemoresistance can easily develop. Identifying novel molecules that can repress drug resistance and metastasis of liver cancer will facilitate the development of new therapeutic strategies.

Enhanced osteoinduction of electrospun scaffolds with assemblies of hematite nanoparticles as a bioactive interface.

Purpose: Electrospun scaffolds have been studied extensively for their potential use in bone tissue engineering. However, their hydrophobicity and relatively low matrix stiffness constrain their osteoinduction capacities. In the present study, we studied polymer electrospun scaffolds coated with hydrophilic hematite nanoparticles (αFeNPs) constructed using layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly to construct a bioactive interface between the scaffolds and cells, to improve the osteoinduction capacities of the scaffolds.

NOTCH3 Overexpression and Posttranscriptional Regulation by miR-150 Were Associated With EGFR-TKI Resistance in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Acquired resistance remains a key challenge in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) therapy in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Recent studies have shown that Notch signaling is associated with drug resistance. However, its role and possible mechanisms in EGFR-TKI resistance are not yet clear.

Mechanical characterization of 3D printed multi-morphology porous Ti6Al4V scaffolds based on triply periodic minimal surface architectures.

Heterogeneous biomaterials that simultaneously mimic the topological and mechanical properties of nature bone tissues are of great interest in recent years. In this study, multi-morphology porous scaffolds based on the triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) were designed and 3D printed with spatially changing pore patterns. Experiments and numerical analyses were carried out to assess the mechanical properties of the multi-morphology graded porous scaffold.

Response to the Comments on "Determining Allele-Specific Protein Expression (ASPE) Using a Novel Quantitative Concatamer Proteomics Method".

Russell and colleagues deserve credit for being the first to use a QconCAT standard to simultaneously quantify both the wild-type and mutant peptides of a protein (i.e., CYP2B6) ( J.

Magnetic Cell-Scaffold Interface Constructed by Superparamagnetic IONP Enhanced Osteogenesis of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells.

One of the key factors in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is to optimize the interaction between seed cells and scaffolds such that the cells can grow in naturally biomimetic conditions. Their similarity to macromolecules and many unique properties mean that functional nanoparticles have promising potential for the modification and improvement of traditional scaffolds to obtain excellent biocompatibility, tunable stiffness, physical sensing, and stimulus-response capabilities. In the present study, we report magnetic poly(lactic- co-glycolic acid)/polycaprolactone (PLGA/PCL) scaffolds that were fabricated using a combination of the electrospinning technique and layer-by-layer assembly of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs).

miR-146a rs2910164 Polymorphism and Risk of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis.

The presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms contributes to genetic diversity, and some are associated with cancer progression. Recent studies concerning the relationship between polymorphisms in miR-146a and the risk of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) have produced conflicting results. Here, a meta-analysis of previous studies was performed to evaluate this relationship.

Study on the relationship between age and the concentrations of heavy metal elements in human bone.

Background: Excessive amounts of heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, thallium, and manganese are extremely harmful to the human body. These elements can accumulate in bone and impact bone metabolism. In this study, we investigated the relationship between age and the concentrations of these elements in human bone and blood.

Evaluation of a polyvinyl alcohol-alginate based hydrogel for precise 3D bioprinting.

In this study, we designed a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-alginate based hydrogel and evaluated its cytocompatibility and printability. The samples were fabricated by 3D printing using a freeze-thaw process. The scanning electron microscope, material testing machine, rheometer, and cell counting kit-8 assay were used to examine the morphology, mechanical properties, rheological properties, and cytocompatiblity of the scaffolds, respectively.

Cost-utility of afatinib and gefitinib as first-line treatment for EGFR-mutated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Aim: To evaluate the cost-utility of gefitinib and afatinib as first-line EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer treatments from the Chinese healthcare system perspective.

Materials & Methods: A Markov model was established, state transition probabilities were extracted from the LUX-Lung7 trial and utility values were from previous studies. The cost was extracted from local charge or relevant literature.

Tat-HA-NR2B9c attenuate oxaliplatin-induced neuropathic pain.

Oxaliplatin is a commonly used chemotherapy drug, which can produce acute and chronic peripheral neurotoxicity. Currently, there is no good therapeutic drug in clinic. Excessive stimulation of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) is crucial for the transmission of pain signals.

Histopathological and molecular analysis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis lungs from patients treated with pirfenidone or nintedanib.

Aims: The objective of this study was to quantify the impact of pirfenidone or nintedanib treatment on lung histopathology and molecular mediators of fibrosis in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

Methods And Results: We collected lung tissue from IPF patients at the time of lung transplantation. Histopathological changes were quantified using a blinded scoring method.

Determining Allele-Specific Protein Expression (ASPE) Using a Novel Quantitative Concatamer Based Proteomics Method.

Measuring allele-specific expression (ASE) is a powerful approach for identifying cis-regulatory genetic variants. Here, we developed a novel targeted proteomics method for the quantification of allele-specific protein expression (ASPE) based on scheduled parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) with a heavy stable isotope-labeled quantitative concatamer (QconCAT) internal protein standard. This strategy was applied to the determination of the ASPE of UGT2B15 in human livers using the common UGT2B15 nonsynonymous variant rs1902023 (i.

Putative functional variants of lncRNA identified by RegulomeDB were associated with knee osteoarthritis susceptibility.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is the most common form of chronic degenerative joint disease worldwide. Its incidence has increased in recent years. Aberrant expression profile of lncRNAs in damaged bone and cartilage of KOA patients has been reported recently, indicating its potential contributions in KOA development and a promising target for disease diagnosis and treatment.

Celastrol Suppresses Tryptophan Catabolism in Human Colon Cancer Cells as Revealed by Metabolic Profiling and Targeted Metabolite Analysis.

Celastrol is well known for its anti-cancer effects, yet its specific mechanisms against colon cancer are still not fully elucidated. In this study, cytotoxic effect of celastrol against HCT116 colon cancer cells was investigated based on cell viability assay and flow cytometry assay, and the possible mechanism was explored using a strategy combining metabolic profiling and targeted metabolite analysis based on ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)/MS. Celastrol was found to inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells and induce apoptosis.

A rigid and healable polymer cross-linked by weak but abundant Zn(II)-carboxylate interactions.

Achieving a desirable combination of solid-like properties and fast self-healing is a great challenge due to slow diffusion dynamics. In this work, we describe a design concept that utilizes weak but abundant coordination bonds to achieve this objective. The designed PDMS polymer, crosslinked by abundant Zn(II)-carboxylate interactions, is very strong and rigid at room temperature.