MR Imaging Findings of a Primary Cardiac Osteosarcoma and Its Bone Metastasis with Histopathologic Correlation

An osteosarcoma of cardiac origin is extremely rare, and a comprehensive description of MR imaging (MRI) findings of cardiac osteosarcoma and its metastasis in the femur have not been reported in the literature. We present a case of cardiac osteosarcoma in a 47-year-old woman and its metastasis to the femur, focusing on the description of MRI findings of the cardiac and metastatic bony osteosarcoma with a histopathologic correlation

Capillary force lithography with impermeable molds

Capillary force lithography (CFL) with impermeable mold is presented. For the CFL to be operative over large area, either the mold or the substrate has to be flexible. With a silicon wafer mold and a flexible substrate, a repeated line and space pattern with a spacing of 30 nm is shown to be well patterned. With a flexible mold and a hard substrate, a similar pattern with a spacing of 60 nm is demonstrated by CFL. The flexibility is needed for the intimate contact that is required between the mold and the substrate for the capillarity to take hold over large area. The forte of CFL with impermeable mold lies in the fact that the driving force for the patterning, which is capillary force, increases with decreasing pattern size.This work was supported by the Korea Foundation Grant funded by MOEHRD (KRF-2005-041-D00250)

Directly converted patient-specific induced neurons mirror the neuropathology of FUS with disrupted nuclear localization in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Background Mutations in the fused in sarcoma (FUS) gene have been linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS patients with FUS mutations exhibit neuronal cytoplasmic mislocalization of the mutant FUS protein. ALS patients fibroblasts or induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons have been developed as models for understanding ALS-associated FUS (ALS-FUS) pathology; however, pathological neuronal signatures are not sufficiently present in the fibroblasts of patients, whereas the generation of iPSC-derived neurons from ALS patients requires relatively intricate procedures. Results Here, we report the generation of disease-specific induced neurons (iNeurons) from the fibroblasts of patients who carry three different FUS mutations that were recently identified by direct sequencing and multi-gene panel analysis. The mutations are located at the C-terminal nuclear localization signal (NLS) region of the protein (p.G504Wfs*12, p.R495*, p.Q519E): two de novo mutations in sporadic ALS and one in familial ALS case. Aberrant cytoplasmic mislocalization with nuclear clearance was detected in all patient-derived iNeurons, and oxidative stress further induced the accumulation of cytoplasmic FUS in cytoplasmic granules, thereby recapitulating neuronal pathological features identified in mutant FUS (p.G504Wfs*12)-autopsied ALS patient. Importantly, such FUS pathological hallmarks of the patient with the p.Q519E mutation were only detected in patient-derived iNeurons, which contrasts to predominant FUS (p.Q519E) in the nucleus of both the transfected cells and patient-derived fibroblasts. Conclusions Thus, iNeurons may provide a more reliable model for investigating FUS mutations with disrupted NLS for understanding FUS-associated proteinopathies in ALS

Peroxiredoxin 3 deficiency induces cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction by impaired mitochondrial quality control

Mitochondrial quality control (MQC) consists of multiple processes: the prevention of mitochondrial oxidative damage, the elimination of damaged mitochondria via mitophagy and mitochondrial fusion and fission. Several studies proved that MQC impairment causes a plethora of pathological conditions including cardiovascular diseases. However, the precise molecular mechanism by which MQC reverses mitochondrial dysfunction, especially in the heart, is unclear. The mitochondria-specific peroxidase Peroxiredoxin 3 (Prdx3) plays a protective role against mitochondrial dysfunction by removing mitochondrial reactive oxygen species. Therefore, we investigated whether Prdx3-deficiency directly leads to heart failure via mitochondrial dysfunction. Fifty-two-week-old Prdx3-deficient mice exhibited cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction with giant and damaged mitochondria. Mitophagy was markedly suppressed in the hearts of Prdx3-deficient mice compared to the findings in wild-type and Pink1-deficient mice despite the increased mitochondrial damage induced by Prdx3 deficiency. Under conditions inducing mitophagy, we identified that the damaged mitochondrial accumulation of PINK1 was completely inhibited by the ablation of Prdx3. We propose that Prdx3 interacts with the N-terminus of PINK1, thereby protecting PINK1 from proteolytic cleavage in damaged mitochondria undergoing mitophagy. Our results provide evidence of a direct association between MQC dysfunction and cardiac function. The dual function of Prdx3 in mitophagy regulation and mitochondrial oxidative stress elimination further clarifies the mechanism of MQC in vivo and thereby provides new insights into developing a therapeutic strategy for mitochondria-related cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure. © 20221

Surgical Diseases in North Korea: An Overview of North Korean Medical Journals

Information regarding surgical diseases in North Korea is not fully reported despite their clear clinical significance. The current study aimed to indirectly assess the contemporary research trends and medical infrastructure related to surgical diseases in North Korea. We analyzed and categorized articles from the journal Surgery that were published during the Kim Jong-un era (2012–2018). The framework for categorization was primarily based on disease entities, surgical specialty, and research methodology. A total of 1792 articles in 28 issues were included in the current study. The frequency of detailed surgical cases and their associated characteristics based on their specialty were investigated. The types of medical imaging techniques and anesthetics that were commonly utilized in clinical fields in North Korea were also evaluated. A large proportion of essential surgeries were covered, with the exception of those for congenital diseases; however, a lack of surgical techniques and infrastructure was revealed. Going forward, further evaluation of the surgical system and a greater focus on non-communicable diseases in North Korea are needed