Analysis of cell-biomaterial interaction through cellular bridge formation in the interface between hGMSCs and CaP bioceramics

The combination of biomaterials and stem cells for clinical applications constitute a great challenge in bone tissue engineering. Hence, cellular networks derived from cells-biomaterials crosstalk have a profound influence on cell behaviour and communication, preceding proliferation and differentiation. The purpose of this study was to investigate in vitro cellular networks derived from human gingival mesenchymal stem cells (hGMSCs) and calcium phosphate (CaP) bioceramic interaction. Biological performance of CaP bioceramic and hGMSCs interaction was evaluated through cell adhesion and distribution, cellular proliferation, and potential osteogenic differentiation, at three different times: 5 h, 1 week and 4 weeks. Results confirmed that hGMSCs met the required MSCs criteria while displaying osteogenic differentiaton capacities. We found a significant increase of cellular numbers and proliferation levels. Also, protein and mRNA OPN expression were upregulated in cells cultured with CaP bioceramic by day 21, suggesting an osteoinductible effect of the CaP bioceramic on hGMSCs. Remarkably, CaP bioceramic aggregations were obtained through hGMSCs bridges, suggesting the in vitro potential of macrostructures formation. We conclude that hGMSCs and CaP bioceramics with micro and macropores support hGMSC adhesion, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. Our results suggest that investigations focused on the interface cells-biomaterials are essential for bone tissue regenerative therapies

Reduction of anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors in rats after one month of drinking Aronia melanocarpa berry juice

The treatment of mood and anxiety disorders by nutraceuticals is gaining growing awareness. Berries of Aronia melanocarpa (Black chokeberry) and their extracts, exceptionally abundant in diverse phenolic compounds, have become famous for the highest in vitro antioxidant activity among fruits and notable health benefits (e.g. anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective). This study was designed to investigate the behavioral effects of month-long unlimited consumption of Aronia master juice (AJ) and/or juice reconstruct without polyphenols (RJ), in young male rats. AJ was initially evaluated for its content of phenolic compounds by spectrophotometric assays and HPLC-DAD. Rats that were supplied with three various water concentrations of AJ and RJ, respectively: 20% + 0% (ARO group), 5% + 15% (RAJ) and 0 + 20% (PLC), were compared with those which consumed only water (CTL). Daily drinking of AJ solution was significantly elevated from the second or third week onward, which was most expressed in the ARO group. Only this group displayed behavioral variations, manifested by certain hyperactivity in open field tests and prominent reductions of anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze. The ARO rats also expressed an alleviation of depression-like behavior in forced swimming tests. These findings demonstrate the beneficial behavioral effects of the one-month-long free drinking of phenolic-rich AJ in rats ( gt 20 ml per kg b. mass daily) that may be recognized as stimulating, anxiolytic-like and antidepressant-like. The in vitro assays suggested that MAO-A/MAO-B inhibitions by the phenolic compounds of AJ might be the possible in vivo mechanisms for such behavioral actions

Anàlisi de la viabilitat del PAS i la millora de la seva gestió envers les aus necròfagues a la Vall d'Alinyà

Aquest document conté originàriament altre material i/o programari només consultable a la Biblioteca de Ciència i Tecnologia.Les aus necròfagues sempre han dominat els cels pirinencs, tot i que han patit disminucions considerables en les seves poblacions. Aquest estudi pretén analitzar la viabilitat dels Punts d'Alimentació Suplementàries, observar les variacions de les diferents espècies de necròfags al llarg dels últims anys i generar un manual de bones pràctiques per tal d'homogeneitzar les pautes de gestió d'una activitat com aquesta. La informació bàsica s'ha extret principalment d'articles científics, entrevistes i sortides de camp. L'anàlisi de les dades en conjunt ha permés desenvolupar una visió general i crítica de la situació actual. Avui dia la creació de canyets per a aus necròfagues genera una gran controvèrsia. Per tal de determinar la viabilitat d'un PAS s'ha establert un sistema d'indicadors, a fi d'assolir l'objectiu de poder comprovar l'efectivitat de la gestió d'un canyet, segons les seves necessitats bàsiques de gestió. Arrel d'aquest valor resultant es procedeix a determinar si el PAS és viable a llarg termini o no. Segons les dades extretes es conclou que l'alimentació de les aus mitjançant aquests emplaçaments tant específics suposen un benefici tant econòmic com ecosistèmic a l'hora de d'eliminar els subproductes càrnics, a més d'afavorir l'ecoturisme a la zona. D'altra banda però la gestió responsable d'aquests punts és vital per a mantenir un equilibri sostenible entre les diferents espècies i la societat.Scavenger birds have always dominated the Pyrenees' skies, but suffered considerable declines in their populations. The aim of this study is to analyze the viability of Supplementary Feeding Point, to observe variations in different species of scavengers of over the past few years and generate a manual for good practices to homogenize managing standarts for such an activity. The basic information was firstly extracted from scientific articles, interviews and field trips. The analysis of the coordinate data set has allowed the group to develop a critical overview of the current situation. Nowadays the cration of a SFP for scavenger birds generate much controversy. To resolve the viability of a SFP, the group has established an indicator system in order to test the effectiveness of the SFP management, according to it's basics needs of anagement. Due to this value it is proceed to define if the SFP is viable in the long term or not. According to data it is concluded that feeding birds using these sites represent a specific benefit both economic and ecosystemic when removing meat products, while promoting ecotourism in the area. Furthermore responsible management of these points is vital to maintain a sustainable balance between the different species and society.Las aves necrófagas siempre han dominado los cielos pirenaicos, aunque han sufrido disminuciones considerables en sus poblaciones. Este estudio pretende analizar la viabilidad de los Puntos de Alimentación Suplementaria, observar las variaciones de las diferentes especies de necrófagas en los últimos años y generar un manual de buenas prácticas con el fin de homogeneizar las pautas de gestión de una actividad como esta. La información básica se ha extraído principalmente de artículos científicos, entrevistas y salidas de campo. El análisis de los datos en conjunto ha permitido desarrollar una visión general y crítica de la situación actual. Hoy en día la creación de muladares para aves necrófagas genera una gran controversia. Para determinar la viabilidad de un PAS se ha establecido un sistema de indicadores, a fin de lograr el objetivo de poder comprobar la efectividad de la gestión de un muladar, según sus necesidades básicas de gestión. A raíz de este valor resultante se procede a determinar si el PAS es viable a largo plazo o no. Según los datos extraídos se concluye que la alimentación de las aves mediante estos emplazamientos tan específicos suponen un beneficio tanto económico como ecosistémico a la hora de eliminar los subproductos cárnicos, además de favorecer el ecoturismo en la zona. Por otra parte, la gestión responsable de estos puntos es vital para mantener un equilibrio sostenible entre las diferentes especies y la sociedad

Assessment of gene-by-sex interaction effect on bone mineral density

To access publisher's full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field.Sexual dimorphism in various bone phenotypes, including bone mineral density (BMD), is widely observed; however, the extent to which genes explain these sex differences is unclear. To identify variants with different effects by sex, we examined gene-by-sex autosomal interactions genome-wide, and performed expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis and bioinformatics network analysis. We conducted an autosomal genome-wide meta-analysis of gene-by-sex interaction on lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) BMD in 25,353 individuals from 8 cohorts. In a second stage, we followed up the 12 top single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; p < 1 × 10(-5) ) in an additional set of 24,763 individuals. Gene-by-sex interaction and sex-specific effects were examined in these 12 SNPs. We detected one novel genome-wide significant interaction associated with LS-BMD at the Chr3p26.1-p25.1 locus, near the GRM7 gene (male effect = 0.02 and p = 3.0 × 10(-5) ; female effect = -0.007 and p = 3.3 × 10(-2) ), and 11 suggestive loci associated with either FN- or LS-BMD in discovery cohorts. However, there was no evidence for genome-wide significant (p < 5 × 10(-8) ) gene-by-sex interaction in the joint analysis of discovery and replication cohorts. Despite the large collaborative effort, no genome-wide significant evidence for gene-by-sex interaction was found to influence BMD variation in this screen of autosomal markers. If they exist, gene-by-sex interactions for BMD probably have weak effects, accounting for less than 0.08% of the variation in these traits per implicated SNP. © 2012 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.Medtronic NIH R01 AG18728 R01HL088119 R01AR046838 U01 HL084756 R01 AR43351 P01-HL45522 R01-MH-078111 R01-MH-083824 Nutrition and Obesity Research Center of Maryland P30DK072488 NIAMS/NIH F32AR059469 Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FIS (Spanish Health Ministry) PI 06/0034 PI08/0183 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) NHLBI HHSN268201200036C N01-HC-85239 N01-HC-85079 N01-HC-85086 N01-HC-35129 N01 HC15103 N01 HC-55222 N01-HC-75150 N01-HC-45133 HL080295 HL087652 HL105756 NIA AG-023629 AG-15928 AG-20098 AG-027058 N01AG62101 N01AG62103 N01AG62106 1R01AG032098-01A1 National Center of Advancing Translational Technologies CTSI UL1TR000124 National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases DK063491 EUROSPAN (European Special Populations Research Network) European Commission FP6 STRP grant 018947 LSHG-CT-2006-01947 Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Erasmus MC Centre for Medical Systems Biology (CMSB) Netherlands Brain Foundation (HersenStichting Nederland) US National Institute for Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases National Institute on Aging R01 AR/AG41398 R01 AR050066 R21 AR056405 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study N01-HC-25195 Affymetrix, Inc. N02-HL-6-4278 Canadian Institutes of Health Research from Institute of Aging 165446 Institute of Genetics 179433 Institute of Musculoskeletal health 221765 Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Institute on Aging National Institutes of Health HHSN268200782096C Hong Kong Research Grant Council HKU 768610M Bone Health Fund of HKU Foundation KC Wong Education Foundation Small Project Funding 201007176237 Matching Grant CRCG Grant Osteoporosis and Endocrine Research Fund Genomics Strategic Research Theme of The University of Hong Kong Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research NWO Investments 175.010.2005.011 911-03-012 Research Institute for Diseases in the Elderly 014-93-015 Netherlands Genomics Initiative (NGI)/Netherlands Consortium for Healthy Aging (NCHA) 050-060-810 Erasmus Medical Center and Erasmus University, Rotterdam Netherlands Organization for the Health Research and Development (ZonMw) Research Institute for Diseases in the Elderly (RIDE) Ministry of Education, Culture and Science Ministry for Health, Welfare and Sports European Commission (DG XII) Municipality of Rotterdam German Bundesministerium fur Forschung und Technology 01 AK 803 A-H 01 IG 07015

Genetic Sharing with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Diabetes Reveals Novel Bone Mineral Density Loci.

Bone Mineral Density (BMD) is a highly heritable trait, but genome-wide association studies have identified few genetic risk factors. Epidemiological studies suggest associations between BMD and several traits and diseases, but the nature of the suggestive comorbidity is still unknown. We used a novel genetic pleiotropy-informed conditional False Discovery Rate (FDR) method to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with BMD by leveraging cardiovascular disease (CVD) associated disorders and metabolic traits. By conditioning on SNPs associated with the CVD-related phenotypes, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, triglycerides and waist hip ratio, we identified 65 novel independent BMD loci (26 with femoral neck BMD and 47 with lumbar spine BMD) at conditional FDR < 0.01. Many of the loci were confirmed in genetic expression studies. Genes validated at the mRNA levels were characteristic for the osteoblast/osteocyte lineage, Wnt signaling pathway and bone metabolism. The results provide new insight into genetic mechanisms of variability in BMD, and a better understanding of the genetic underpinnings of clinical comorbidity

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Exploring consumers’ perceptions of plant-based eggs using concept mapping and semantic network analysis

Plant-based eggs offer a healthy, animal-free, and more environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional eggs. Given the novelty of these products, it is vital to understand consumers’ perceptions before their market launch. Perception is based on product associations stored in consumers’ memory as semantic networks. In this study we used the graphic procedure concept mapping to elicit associations of 180 consumers from the UK and Italy to explore perceptions of three types of plant-based eggs, namely liquid, powder, and egg-shaped. Concept mapping also allowed to investigate the relevance that these associations have for the consumers. Results show more complex associations among participants in the UK than Italy for all three types of plant-based eggs. ‘Price’ is the most frequently mentioned association by consumers in both countries. In terms of relevance, participants evaluated ‘healthy’, ‘animal welfare’ and ‘sustainability’ as the most important and positive attributes of plant-based eggs. Furthermore, the semantic network analysis showed that the health benefits of plant-based eggs is quickly activated in consumers’ mind and should therefore be emphasized when marketing these products. ‘Use’ of plant-based eggs, e.g., baking, is also a key association, particularly in the UK for the egg-shaped version. However, ‘use’ was generally lower rated, suggesting that the limited applications of this product (only hard-boiled) may be perceived negatively. These findings provide insights into the psychology of consumers’ acceptance of plant-based eggs and have important implications for designing successful marketing strategies for promoting plant-based eggs

Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 56 bone mineral density loci and reveals 14 loci associated with risk of fracture

Bone mineral density (BMD) is the most widely used predictor of fracture risk. We performed the largest meta-analysis to date on lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD, including 17 genome-wide association studies and 32,961 individuals of European and east Asian ancestry. We tested the top BMD-associated markers for replication in 50,933 independent subjects and for association with risk of low-trauma fracture in 31,016 individuals with a history of fracture (cases) and 102,444 controls. We identified 56 loci (32 new) associated with BMD at genome-wide significance (P &lt; 5 x 10&lt;sup&gt;-8&lt;/sup&gt;)). Several of these factors cluster within the RANK-RANKL-OPG, mesenchymal stem cell differentiation, endochondral ossification and Wnt signaling pathways. However, we also discovered loci that were localized to genes not known to have a role in bone biology. Fourteen BMD-associated loci were also associated with fracture risk (P &lt; 5 x 10&lt;sup&gt;-4&lt;/sup&gt;), Bonferroni corrected), of which six reached P &lt; 5 x 10&lt;sup&gt;-8&lt;/sup&gt;, including at 18p11.21 (FAM210A), 7q21.3 (SLC25A13), 11q13.2 (LRP5), 4q22.1 (MEPE), 2p16.2 (SPTBN1) and 10q21.1 (DKK1). These findings shed light on the genetic architecture and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying BMD variation and fracture susceptibility