The Implication of Substance P in the Development of Tendinopathy: A Case Control Study.

It was reported that substance P had beneficial effects in the healing of acute tendon injury. However, the relationship between substance P and degenerative tendinopathy development remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of substance P in the pathogenesis of tendinopathy. Healthy and tendinopathy tendon were harvested from human and tenocytes were cultured individually. The expression levels of genes associated with tendinopathy were compared. Next, substance P was exogenously administered to the healthy tenocyte and the effect was evaluated. The results showed that tendinopathy tenocytes had higher levels of COL3A1, MMP1, COX2, SCX, ACTA2, and substance P gene expression compared to healthy tenocytes. Next, substance P treatment on the healthy tenocyte displayed similar changes to that of the tendinopathy tenocytes. These differences between the two groups were also determined by Western blot. Additionally, cells with substance P had the tendinopathy change morphologically although cellular proliferation was significantly higher compared to that of the control group. In conclusion, substance P enhanced cellular proliferation, but concomitantly increased immature collagen (type 3 collagen). Substance P plays a crucial role in tendinopathy development and could be a future therapeutic target for treatment

Fibromodulin Reduces Scar Size and Increases Scar Tensile Strength in Normal and Excessive-Mechanical-Loading Porcine Cutaneous Wounds

Hypertrophic scarring is a major postoperative complication which leads to severe disfigurement and dysfunction in patients and usually requires multiple surgical revisions due to its high recurrence rates. Excessive-mechanical-loading across wounds is an important initiator of hypertrophic scarring formation. In this study, we demonstrate that intradermal administration of a single extracellular matrix (ECM) molecule—fibromodulin (FMOD) protein—can significantly reduce scar size, increase tensile strength, and improve dermal collagen architecture organization in the normal and even excessive-mechanical-loading red Duroc pig wound models. Since pig skin is recognized by the Food and Drug Administration as the closest animal equivalent to human skin, and because red Duroc pigs show scarring that closely resembles human proliferative scarring and hypertrophic scarring, FMOD-based technologies hold high translational potential and applicability to human patients suffering from scarring—especially hypertrophic scarring. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine

Brief Report: Human Perivascular Stem Cells and Nel-Like Protein-1 Synergistically Enhance Spinal Fusion in Osteoporotic Rats

Autologous bone grafts (ABGs) are considered as the gold standard for spinal fusion. However, osteoporotic patients are poor candidates for ABGs due to limited osteogenic stem cell numbers and function of the bone microenvironment. There is a need for stem cell-based spinal fusion of proven efficacy under either osteoporotic or nonosteoporotic conditions. The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of human perivascular stem cells (hPSCs), a population of mesenchymal stem cells isolated from adipose tissue, in the presence and absence of NELL-1, an osteogenic protein, for spinal fusion in the osteoporosis. Osteogenic differentiation of hPSCs with and without NELL-1 was tested in vitro. The results indicated that NELL-1 significantly increased the osteogenic potential of hPSCs in both osteoporotic and nonosteoporotic donors. Next, spinal fusion was performed by implanting scaffolds with regular or high doses of hPSCs, with or without NELL-1 in ovariectomized rats (n = 41). Regular doses of hPSCs or NELL-1 achieved the fusion rates of only 20%-37.5% by manual palpation. These regular doses had previously been shown to be effective in nonosteoporotic rat spinal fusion. Remarkably, the high dose of hPSCs+NELL-1 significantly improved the fusion rates among osteoporotic rats up to approximately 83.3%. Microcomputed tomography imaging and quantification further confirmed solid bony fusion with high dose hPSCs+NELL-1. Finally, histologically, direct in situ involvement of hPSCs in ossification was shown using undecalcified samples. To conclude, hPSCs combined with NELL-1 synergistically enhances spinal fusion in osteoporotic rats and has great potential as a novel therapeutic strategy for osteoporotic patients. © 2015 AlphaMed Press

Fibromodulin Reprogrammed Cells: A Novel Cell Source for Bone Regeneration

Pluripotent or multipotent cell-based therapeutics are vital for skeletal reconstruction in non-healing critical-sized defects since the local endogenous progenitor cells are not often adequate to restore tissue continuity or function. However, currently available cell-based regenerative strategies are hindered by numerous obstacles including inadequate cell availability, painful and invasive cell-harvesting procedures, and tumorigenesis. Previously, we established a novel platform technology for inducing a quiescent stem cell-like stage using only a single extracellular proteoglycan, fibromodulin (FMOD), circumventing gene transduction. In this study, we further purified and significantly increased the reprogramming rate of the yield multipotent FMOD reprogrammed (FReP) cells. We also exposed the \u27molecular blueprint\u27 of FReP cell osteogenic differentiation by gene profiling. Radiographic analysis showed that implantation of FReP cells into a critical-sized SCID mouse calvarial defect, contributed to the robust osteogenic capability of FReP cells in a challenging clinically relevant traumatic scenario in vivo. The persistence, engraftment, and osteogenesis of transplanted FReP cells without tumorigenesis in vivo were confirmed by histological and immunohistochemical staining. Taken together, we have provided an extended potency, safety, and molecular profile of FReP cell-based bone regeneration. Therefore, FReP cells present a high potential for cellular and gene therapy products for bone regeneration. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

シンキ ヒカリ キノウセイ ザイリョウ ノ ソウセイ ト ヒカリ デンキ カガク デバイス エ ノ テンカイ

京都大学0048新制・課程博士博士(工学)甲第14943号工博第3170号新制||工||1476(附属図書館)27381UT51-2009-M857京都大学大学院工学研究科分子工学専攻(主査)教授 今堀 博, 教授 川﨑 昌博, 教授 木村 俊作学位規則第4条第1項該当Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering)Kyoto UniversityDA

One-step direct fabrication of manganese oxide electrodes by low-temperature thermal decomposition of manganese formate-amine ink for supercapacitors

A one-step direct fabrication of thin-film manganese oxide electrodes was accomplished via low-temperature thermal decomposition of inks composed of manganese formate (Mnf), alkylamines, and hexanol. As complexing agents, amines were used in molar ratios of Mnf:amine that ranged from 1:1 to 1:4. Prepared inks were directly coated onto the substrate, and then calcined at 170–210 °C under air. Cyclic voltammetry and charge/discharge measurements of the thin films were conducted in an electrolyte solution. Following immersion, the specific capacitance of the electrodes increased and eventually reached a constant value. Based on the results of cyclic voltammetry (CV) at 1 mV s−1, a thin-film electrode fabricated at 180 °C from Mnf-octylamine-hexanol ink at a molar ratio of 1:3:0.5 had the highest level of specific capacitance at 400 F g−1. CV measurement at 1000 cycles revealed a deterioration of specific capacitance of only 5%, which indicates good stability for this thin-film electrode

Low-temperature synthesis of copper conductivity film from a copper formate amine complex with a low boiling point

A low-temperature synthesis of copper conductive film was conducted at the near-decomposition-onset temperature of copper formate-amine complex inks. Amines with a low boiling point (butylamine (b.p. 78 °C), pentylamine (b.p. 104 °C), and hexylamine (b.p. 132 °C)) were mixed with copper formate to prepare the complex inks, followed by calcination at various temperatures. The copper film calcined from copper-pentylamine complex ink showed the lowest level of resistivity. The optimal molar ratio for the conversion of pentylamine to copper formate was set at 2.4. That ratio resulted in a volume resistivity of 5.7 µΩ cm following calcination at 110 °C. The composition of the copper film was dominated by three sizes of nanoparticles, which were generated via a two-step formation of nanoparticles

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Adolescent Fractures in the Republic of Korea

Background and Objectives: Restrictions on daily activities to slow down the propagation of COVID-19 have changed the epidemiological pattern of pediatric fractures in many countries. However, the effect of the pandemic on pediatric fractures has not been fully studied. In this study, we investigated the impact of COVID-19 on early adolescent fractures in Korea. Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective follow-up on a nationwide cohort of Korean early adolescents born between 2006 and 2009. The prevalence and incidence of pediatric fractures and the frequency of surgical treatment were compared between two different eras. Results: The prevalence and incidence of fractures during the pandemic have both shown a significant decrease: prevalence reduced from 34,626 to 24,789 (p p p = 0.020), whereas the incidence was not (p = 0.862). The decline in both fracture prevalence and incidence exhibited significant variation across birth year groups (prevalence, p p p = 0.181; by incidence, p = 0.735). The decline in both fracture prevalence and incidence has shown significant variation in relation to fracture sites (prevalence, p p Conclusions: The pediatric fracture pattern in Korea has been notably influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, warranting further investigation into causal factors. Our findings should help predict epidemiology in the post-pandemic period and thus aid policymaking and patient management