Transcriptome-scale RNase-footprinting of RNA-protein complexes

Ribosome profiling is widely used to study translation in vivo, but not all sequence reads correspond to ribosome-protected RNA. Here, we develop Rfoot, a computational pipeline that analyzes ribosomal profiling data and identifies native, non-ribosomal RNA-protein complexes in the same sample.. We use Rfoot to precisely map RNase-protected regions within small nucleolar RNAs, spliceosomal RNAs, microRNAs, tRNAs, long noncoding (lnc) RNAs, and 3’ˊ untranslated regions of mRNAs in human cells. We show that RNAs of the same class can show differential complex association. Although only a subset of lncRNAs show RNase footprints, many of these have multiple footprints, and the protected regions are evolutionarily conserved, suggestive of biological functions

Tissue engineering strategies for promoting vascularized bone regeneration

This review focuses on current tissue engineering strategies for promoting vascularized bone regeneration. We review the role of angiogenic growth factors in promoting vascularized bone regeneration and discuss the different therapeutic strategies for controlled/sustained growth factor delivery. Next, we address the therapeutic uses of stem cells in vascularized bone regeneration. Specifically, this review addresses the concept of co-culture using osteogenic and vasculogenic stem cells, and how adipose derived stem cells compare to bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells in the promotion of angiogenesis. We conclude this review with a discussion of a novel approach to bone regeneration through a cartilage intermediate, and discuss why it has the potential to be more effective than traditional bone grafting methods