Improved hematopoietic differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells via estrogen receptor signaling pathway

Additional file 2: Table S1. Temporal changes (%) of ER-Îą and hematopoietic phenotypes during hiPSC-derived hematopoietic differentiation

Analysis of clinical information and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction for early diagnosis of enteroviral meningitis

PurposeMeningitis is among the most common infections affecting the central nervous system. It can be difficult to determine the exact pathogen responsible for the infection and patients are often treated with empiric antibiotics. This study was conducted to identify the most common clinical characteristics of enteroviral meningitis in children and evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for early detection of an enterovirus.MethodsWe analyzed the medical records of children admitted to Korea University Medical Center and diagnosed with meningitis on the basis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis and RT-PCR from CSF and other samples from January 2010 to August 2013.ResultsA total of 333 patients were enrolled and classified into four groups based on diagnosis: enteroviral meningitis (n=110), bacterial meningitis (n=23), other viral meningitis (n=36), and unknown etiology (n=164). Patients with bacterial meningitis were younger than those in the other groups (P<0.001). Pleocytosis in CSF was similar across all groups. Of patients in the enteroviral meningitis group, 92.7% were diagnosed based on RT-PCR findings. Mean length of hospital stay for patients with enteroviral meningitis was 6.08 days, which was significantly shorter than that for patients with meningitis of bacterial etiology (19.73 days, P<0.001).ConclusionDiagnosis of enteroviral meningitis before viral culture results are available is possible using RT-PCR. Accurate diagnosis reduces the length of hospital stay and helps to avoid unnecessary empiric antibiotic treatment

In vitro and in vivo assessments of an optimal polyblend composition of polycaprolactone/gelatin nanofibrous scaffolds for Achilles tendon tissue engineering

In this study, we manufactured various ratios of polycaprolactone (PCL)/gelatin (GE) highly aligned electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds (ENs) to investigate the effects of polymer ratio on tenogenic differentiation activity. For biological assessments, the cell proliferation rate was optimal in the PCL/GE (9:1) group. Interestingly, however, the tenogenic differentiation rate was best for the PCL/GE (7:3) group. From our outcomes, we established that a poly-blending mix of PCL/GE (7:3) is a promising ratio for tenogenic differentiation. Thus, our findings may provide for an effective mesh to promote tenogenic differentiation of ENs in future tendon tissue engineering applications.This work was supported by the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation (NRF) & funded by the Korean government (MSIP&MOHW) (No. 2017M3A9E4048170)

6,7-Dimethoxy-4-methylcoumarin suppresses pro-inflammatory mediator expression through inactivation of the NF-kappaB and MAPK pathways in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells

In this study, we investigated the ability of 6,7-dimethoxy-4-methylcoumarin (DMC) to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of pro-inflammatory mediators in mouse macrophage (RAW 264.7) cells, and the molecular mechanism through which this inhibition occurred. Our results indicated that DMC down regulated LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression, thereby reducing the production of NO and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, DMC suppressed LPS-induced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. To elucidate the mechanism underlying the anti- inflammatory activity of DMC, we assessed its effects on the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and the activity and expression of nuclear transcription factor kappa-B (NF-κB). The experiments demonstrated that DMC inhibited LPS-induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38. In addition, it attenuated LPS-induced NF-κB activation via the inhibition of IκB-α phosphorylation. Taken together, these data suggest that DMC exerts its anti-inflammatory effects in RAW 264.7 cells through the inhibition of LPS-stimulated NF-κB and MAPK signaling, thereby downregulating the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators

Association of appendicular skeletal muscle mass with carotid intima-media thickness according to body mass index in Korean adults

OBJECTIVES The combined effects of obesity and appendicular skeletal muscle (ASM) on atherosclerosis, especially in middleaged populations, remain poorly understood. This cross-sectional study investigated the effects of ASM on carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) according to body mass index (BMI) in middle-aged Korean adults. METHODS Herein, 595 men and 1,274 women aged 30-64 years completed questionnaires and underwent health examinations as part of the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Etiology Research Center cohort. ASM was measured via bioelectrical impedance analysis and adjusted for weight (ASM/Wt). IMT was assessed using B-mode ultrasonography; highest quartile of IMT was defined as gender-specific top quartile of the IMT values. Higher BMIs was defined as a BMI over 25.0 kg/m2 . RESULTS Compared to the highest ASM/Wt quartile, the lowest ASM/Wt quartile was significantly associated with highest quartile of IMT in men with lower BMIs (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09 to 7.13), but not in those with higher BMIs (aOR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.24 to 1.91). In women, there was no significant association of low skeletal muscle mass with highest quartile of IMT, regardless of BMI. CONCLUSIONS Low appendicular skeletal muscle mass is associated with carotid arterial wall thickening in men with lower BMIs, but not in men with higher BMIs. Our findings suggest that the risk of atherosclerosis may be low in middle-aged Korean men with appropriate body weight and skeletal muscle mass maintenance

Genome-edited HEADING DATE 3a knockout enhances leaf production in Perilla frutescens

Environmental cues regulate the transition of many plants from vegetative to flowering development. Day length, or photoperiod, is one cue that synchronizes flowering by changing seasons. Consequently, the molecular mechanism of flowering control is prominent in Arabidopsis and rice, where essential genes like FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) homolog, HEADING DATE 3a (Hd3a), have been connected to flowering regulation. Perilla is a nutrient-rich leaf vegetable, and the flowering mechanism remains largely elusive. We identified flowering-related genes under short-day conditions using RNA sequencing to develop an enhanced leaf production trait using the flowering mechanism in the perilla. Initially, an Hd3a-like gene was cloned from the perilla and defined as PfHd3a. Furthermore, PfHd3a is highly rhythmically expressed in mature leaves under short-day and long-day conditions. Ectopic expression of PfHd3a in Atft-1 mutant plants has been shown to complement Arabidopsis FT function, resulting in early flowering. In addition, our genetic approaches revealed that overexpression of PfHd3a in perilla caused early flowering. In contrast, the CRISPR/Cas9 generated PfHd3a-mutant perilla showed significantly late flowering, resulting in approximately 50% leaf production enhancement compared to the control. Our results suggest that PfHd3a plays a vital role in regulating flowering in the perilla and is a potential target for molecular breeding in the perilla

Development of a Mobile Application, “Wild Flowers of Bukhansan National Park (version 1.0)”, for Identification of Plants in Bukhansan National Park

AbstractWe developed the educational purpose mobile application, named “Wild Flowers of Bukhansan National Park (version 1.0)”, aiming for easy identification of wildflowers for students and visitors in the park. When visitors find a flower or part of plant in the park, visitors can search for its name utilizing the pictures and characters provided in their own smartphone mobile devices or tablet PCs. The application provides pictures of wildflowers in the park and character-based searching system based on 12 diagnostic features (e.g., growth form, leaf arrangement, flower symmetry, petal color, petal number, sepal number, etc). We adopted the complete floristic survey of Chung and Lee (1962) and added species that we confirmed their distribution in the park during the development of this application. In summary, number of vascular plants in this park was estimated to be 428 taxa including 100 families, 280 genera, 327 species, 1 subspecies, 50 varieties, and 5 formas. We provided a total of 588 pictures representing 358 taxa and each taxon includes multiple pictures in many cases. Included identification quizzes can be an efficient educational tool as well as fun activity for students and visitors who are learning plant species in Korea. Our next step will include GPS function in the application for indicating visitor's location and for providing previously reported sites of the species that we interested in the map of the park. The future application which includes GPS function will be a valuable tool for the monitoring of rare plants, plant researches related to the climate changes, etc. We currently provide Korean iPhone version only, and English version and both of android versions will be serviced soon

An integrative approach for exploring the nature of fibroepithelial neoplasms.

BACKGROUND: Malignant phyllodes tumour (MPT) is a rare breast malignancy with epithelial and mesenchymal features. Currently, there are no appropriate research models or effective targeted therapeutic approaches for MPT. METHODS: We collected fresh frozen tissues from nine patients with MPT and performed whole-exome and RNA sequencing. Additionally, we established patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models from patients with MPT and tested the efficacy of targeting dysregulated pathways in MPT using the PDX model from one MPT. RESULTS: MPT has unique molecular characteristics when compared to breast cancers of epithelial origin and can be classified into two groups. The PDX model derived from one patient with MPT showed that the mouse epithelial component increased during tumour growth. Moreover, targeted inhibition of platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) by imatinib mesylate and PKI-587 showed in vivo tumour suppression effects. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed the molecular profiles of MPT that can lead to molecular classification and potential targeted therapy, and suggested that the MPT PDX model can be a useful tool for studying the pathogenesis of fibroepithelial neoplasms and for preclinical drug screening to find new therapeutic strategies for MPT

Comparison of self-reported and accelerometer-assessed measurements of physical activity according to socio-demographic characteristics in Korean adults

OBJECTIVES Previous studies have shown relatively low correlations between self-reported and accelerometer-assessed physical activity (PA). However, this association differs by socio-demographic factors, and this relationship has not been fully investigated in the general population. Thus, we investigated the correlation between self-reported and accelerometer-assessed PA and whether it differed by demographic and socioeconomic factors among the Korean general population. METHODS This cross-sectional study included 623 participants (203 men and 420 women) aged 30 to 64 years, who completed a PA questionnaire and wore a wrist-worn accelerometer on the non-dominant wrist for 7 days. We examined the agreement for metabolic equivalent task minutes per week (MET-min/wk) between the 2 measures and calculated Spearman correlation coefficients according to demographic and socioeconomic factors. RESULTS The kappa coefficient between tertiles of self-reported and accelerometer-assessed total MET-min/wk was 0.16 in the total population, suggesting overall poor agreement. The correlation coefficient between the 2 measurements was 0.26 (p<0.001) in the total population, and the correlation tended to decrease with increasing age (p for trend <0.001) and depression scores (p for trend <0.001). CONCLUSIONS We found a low correlation between self-reported and accelerometer-assessed PA among healthy Korean adults, and the correlation decreased with age and depression score. When studying PA using accelerometers and/or questionnaires, age and depression need to be considered, as should differences between self-reported and accelerometer-assessed PA