ß-catenin inhibition disrupts the homeostasis of osteogenic/adipogenic differentiation leading to the development of glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

Glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (GONFH) is a common refractory joint disease characterized by bone damage and the collapse of femoral head structure. However, the exact pathological mechanisms of GONFH remain unknown. Here, we observed abnormal osteogenesis and adipogenesis associated with decreased ß-catenin in the necrotic femoral head of GONFH patients. In vivo and in vitro studies further revealed that glucocorticoid exposure disrupted osteogenic/adipogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal cells (BMSCs) by inhibiting ß-catenin signaling in glucocorticoid-induced GONFH rats. Col2+ lineage largely contributes to BMSCs and was found an osteogenic commitment in the femoral head through 9 mo of lineage trace. Specific deletion of ß-catenin gene (Ctnnb1) in Col2+ cells shifted their commitment from osteoblasts to adipocytes, leading to a full spectrum of disease phenotype of GONFH in adult mice. Overall, we uncover that ß-catenin inhibition disrupting the homeostasis of osteogenic/adipogenic differentiation contributes to the development of GONFH and identify an ideal genetic-modified mouse model of GONFH.

Best evidence summary for prevention and management of enteral feeding intolerance in critically ill patients.

AIM: To evaluate and summarize the evidence for prevention and management of enteral feeding intolerance in critically ill patients and provide reference for clinical practice. DESIGN: This study was an evidence summary followed by the evidence summary reporting standard of Fudan University Center for Evidence-based Nursing. METHODS: Current literatures were systematically searched for the best evidence for prevention and management of enteral feeding intolerance in critically ill patients. Literature types included clinical guidelines, best practice information sheets, expert consensuses, systematic reviews, evidence summaries and cohort studies. DATA SOURCES: UpToDate, BMJ Best Practice, Joanna Briggs Institute, Guidelines International Network, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, the Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Sinomed, Web of Science, Yi Maitong Guidelines Network, DynaMed, MEDLINE, CNKI, WanFang database, Chinese Medical Journal Full-text Database, European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism website, the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition website were searched from January 2012 to April 2023. RESULTS: We finally identified 18 articles that had high-quality results. We summarized the 24 pieces of best evidence from these articles, covering five aspects: screening and assessment of the risk of enteral nutritional tolerance; formulation of enteral nutrition preparations; enteral nutritional feeding implementation; feeding intolerance symptom prevention and management; and multidisciplinary management. Of these pieces of evidence, 19 were 'strong' and 5 were 'weak', 7 pieces of evidence were recommended in level one and 4 pieces of evidence were recommended in level two. CONCLUSION: The following 24 pieces of evidence for prevention and management of enteral feeding intolerance in critically ill patients were finally recommended. However, as these evidences came from different countries, relevant factors such as the clinical environment should be evaluated before application. Future studies should focus on more specific symptoms of feeding intolerance and more targeted prevention design applications. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND PATIENT CARE: The clinical medical staffs are recommended to take evidence-based recommendations for the implementation of standardized enteral nutrition to improve patient outcomes and decrease gastrointestinal intolerance in critically ill patients. IMPACT: The management of enteral nutrition feeding intolerance has always been a challenge and difficulty in critically ill patients. This study summarizes 24 pieces of the best evidence for prevention and management of enteral nutrition feeding intolerance in critically ill patients. Following and implementing these 24 pieces of evidence is beneficial to the prevention and management of feeding intolerance in clinical practice. The 24 pieces of evidence include five aspects, including screening and assessment of the risk of enteral nutritional tolerance, formulation of enteral nutrition preparations, enteral nutritional feeding implementation, feeding intolerance symptom prevention and management and multidisciplinary management. These five aspects constitute a good implementation process. Screening and assessment of enteral nutritional tolerance throughout intervention are important guarantees for developing a feasible nutrition program in critically ill patients. This study will be benefit to global medical workers in the nutritional management of critically ill patients. REPORTING METHOD: This evidence summary followed the evidence summary reporting specifications of Fudan University Center for Evidence-based Nursing, which were based on the methodological process for the summary of the evidence produced by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). The reporting specifications include problem establishment, literature retrieval, literature screening, literature evaluation, the summary and grading of evidence and the formation of practical suggestions. This study was based on the evidence summary reporting specifications of the Fudan University Center for the Evidence-based Nursing, the register name is 'Best evidence summary for prevention and management of enteral feeding intolerance in critically ill patients', the registration number is 'ES20231823'.

Disruption of Col9a2 expression leads to defects in osteochondral homeostasis and osteoarthritis-like phenotype in mice.

Background/Objective: As one of the branched chains of Type IX collagen (Col9), Collagen IX alpha2 (Col9a2) has been reported to be associated with several orthopedic conditions. However, the relationship between Col9a2 and knee osteoarthritis (KOA) remains to be elucidated. Methods: To probe the relationship between Col9a2 and KOA, we performed a systematic analysis of Col9a2-deficient (Col9a2-/-) mice using whole-mount skeletal staining, Micro-CT (µCT), biomechanics, histomorphometry, immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF) and Elisa. Results: We found that the subchondral bone (SCB) in the knee joint of Col9a2-/- mice became sparse and deformed in the early stage, with altered bone morphometric parameters, reduced load-bearing capacity, dysfunctional bone homeostasis (decreased osteogenesis capacity and elevated bone resorption capacity), diminished cartilage proteoglycans and disrupted cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) anabolism and catabolism compared with the Col9a2+/+ mice. In the late stage, the cartilage degeneration in Col9a2-/- mice were particularly pronounced compared to Col9a2+/+ mice, as evidenced by severe cartilage destruction and a marked reduction in cartilage thickness and area. Conclusion: Overall, Col9a2 is essential for maintaining osteochondral homeostasis in the knee joint of mice, and the absence of this gene is accompanied by distinct sclerosis of the SCB and a reduction in load-bearing capacity; in the late stage, in the lack of SCB stress inhibition, excessive load is consistently exerted on the cartilage, ultimately leading to osteoarthritic-like articular cartilage damage.

Glucocorticoid-induced activation of NOX/ROS/NF-κB signaling in MSCs contributes to the development of GONFH.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the pathogenic factors of glucocorticoids (GCs)-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (GONFH) and its underlying pathogenesis in vivo and in vitro. METHODS: Radiographical (µCT) scanning, histopathological, immunohistochemical, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and tunel staining were conducted on GONFH patients and rats. ROS, tunel, flow cytometry, alkaline phosphatase, Oil red O staining, reverse transcription­quantitative PCR and western blotting were applied to elucidate the exact pathogenesis mechanism. RESULTS: Clinical and animal studies demonstrated increased levels of ROS, aggravated oxidative stress (OS) microenvironment, augmented apoptosis and imbalance in osteogenic/lipogenic in the GONFH group compared to the control group. The fate of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) directed by GCs is a crucial factor in determining GONFH. In vitro studies further revealed that GCs promote excessive ROS production through the expression of NOX family proteins, leading to a deterioration of the OS microenvironment in MSCs, ultimately resulting in apoptosis and imbalance in osteogenic/lipogenic differentiation. Furthermore, our results confirmed that the NOX inhibitor-diphenyleneiodonium chloride and the NF-κB inhibitor-BAY 11-7082 ameliorated apoptosis and osteogenic/lipogenic differentiation imbalance of MSCs induced by an excess of GCs. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated for the first time that the aggravation of the OS microenvironment in MSCs caused by high doses of GCs leading to apoptosis and differentiation imbalance is a crucial factor in the pathogenesis of GONFH, mediated through activating the NOX/ROS/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Protein phosphatase PPM1A inhibition attenuates osteoarthritis via regulating TGF-ß/Smad2 signaling in chondrocytes.

TGF-ß signaling is crucial for modulating osteoarthritis (OA), and protein phosphatase magnesium-dependent 1A (PPM1A) has been reported as a phosphatase of SMAD2 and regulates TGF-ß signaling, while the role of PPM1A in cartilage homeostasis and OA development remains largely unexplored. In this study, we found increased PPM1A expression in OA chondrocytes and confirmed the interaction between PPM1A and phospho-SMAD2 (p-SMAD2). Importantly, our data show that PPM1A KO substantially protected mice treated with destabilization of medial meniscus (DMM) surgery against cartilage degeneration and subchondral sclerosis. Additionally, PPM1A ablation reduced the cartilage catabolism and cell apoptosis after the DMM operation. Moreover, p-SMAD2 expression in chondrocytes from KO mice was higher than that in WT controls with DMM induction. However, intraarticular injection with SD-208, repressing TGF-ß/SMAD2 signaling, dramatically abolished protective phenotypes in PPM1A-KO mice. Finally, a specific pharmacologic PPM1A inhibitor, Sanguinarine chloride (SC) or BC-21, was able to ameliorate OA severity in C57BL/6J mice. In summary, our study identified PPM1A as a pivotal regulator of cartilage homeostasis and demonstrated that PPM1A inhibition attenuates OA progression via regulating TGF-ß/SMAD2 signaling in chondrocytes and provided PPM1A as a potential target for OA treatment.

Glycyrrhizic acid alters the hyperoxidative stress-induced differentiation commitment of MSCs by activating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway to prevent SONFH.

This study aimed to examine the in vivo and in vitro therapeutic effects of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) on steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (SONFH), which is caused by the overuse of glucocorticoids (GCs). Clinically, we identified elevated oxidative stress (OS) levels and an imbalance in osteolipogenic homeostasis in SONFH patients compared to femoral neck fracture (FNF) patients. In vivo, we established experimental SONFH in rats via lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) combined with methylprednisolone (MPS). We showed that GA and Wnt agonist-S8320 alleviated SONFH, as evidenced by the reduced microstructural and histopathological alterations in the subchondral bone of the femoral head and the decreased levels of OS in rat models. In vitro, GA reduced dexamethasone (Dex)-induced excessive NOX4 and OS levels by activating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway, thereby promoting the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and inhibiting lipogenic differentiation. In addition, GA regulated the expression levels of the key transcription factors downstream of this pathway, Runx2 and PPARγ, thus maintaining osteolipogenic homeostasis. In summary, we demonstrated for the first time that GA modulates the osteolipogenic differentiation commitment of MSCs induced by excessive OS through activating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway, thereby ameliorating SONFH.

Spiritual care needs among Chinese elders hospitalized for severe chronic heart failure: An observational study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the spiritual care needs and their attributes among Chinese elders hospitalized for severe chronic heart failure (CHF) based on the Kano model, in order to provide a reference for improving the quality and satisfaction of spiritual care. METHODS: An observational design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used to ensure quality reporting of the study. The demographic characteristics questionnaire, the Nurse Spiritual Therapeutics Scale, and the Kano model-based Nurse Spiritual Therapeutics Attributes Scale were used. A convenience sample of 451 patients were selected from 2 hospitals. Descriptive statistics, and Kano model were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The total score of spiritual care needs was 29.95 ± 7.51. Among the 12 items, 3 items were attractive attributes, all of which were located in Reserving Zone IV; 5 items were one-dimensional attributes, of which 3 were located in Predominance Zone I and 2 were located in Improving Zone II; 2 items were must-be attributes, all of which were located in Improving Zone II; and 2 items were indifference attributes, all of which were located in Secondary Improving Zone III. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The spiritual care needs among Chinese elders hospitalized for severe CHF were moderate. The must-be and one-dimensional attributes mainly focus on "creating a good atmosphere" and "sharing self-perception" dimensions, while attractive attributes mainly focus on "sharing self-perception" and "helping thinking" dimensions. It is suggested that hospital authority should develop and innovate attractive attributes on the basis of maintaining and perfecting must-be and one-dimensional attributes, and objectively analyze and optimize indifference attributes.

Spiritual care perceptions and empathy of Chinese nursing students: The mediating roles of spiritual well-being.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy, examine the correlations among spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy, and explore the mediating role of spiritual well-being between other two variables of Chinese nursing students. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was implemented, and the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Checklist was used to ensure quality reporting of the study. A cluster sample of 2,718 nursing students was selected from 7 universities and colleges in China. The demographic characteristics questionnaire, the Chinese Version of the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (C-SCGS), the Spiritual Health Scale Short Form (SHS-SF), and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Nursing Student (JSPE-NS) were used. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and process plug-in mediation effect analyses were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The total score of spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy were 173.83 ± 25.62, 98.74 ± 12.87, and 105.04 ± 21.34, respectively. Spiritual care perceptions were positively correlated with spiritual well-being (r = 0.617, p < 0.01) and empathy (r = 0.528, p < 0.01). And spiritual well-being played a partial mediating role between the other two variables (accounting for 28.1%). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Spiritual care perceptions, spiritual well-being, and empathy were quite moderate, which need in improving. It is suggested that nursing educators pay attention to the spiritual care education of nursing students, perfect the spiritual care education system, and take targeted measures according to nursing students' individual personality traits and differences, improve their spiritual well-being and empathy in multiple ways, so as to improve their spiritual care perceptions and competence.

Spiritual care needs and their associated influencing factors among elderly patients with moderate-to-severe chronic heart failure in China: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The significance of spiritual care needs among chronic diseases patients has been emphasized across countries and cultures in many studies. However, there were few studies on spiritual care needs among elderly patients with moderate-to-severe chronic heart failure (CHF) in China. OBJECTIVE: To investigate spiritual care needs and associated influencing factors among elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF, and to examine the relationships among spiritual care needs, self-perceived burden, symptom management self-efficacy, and perceived social support. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used to report the study. A convenience sample of 474 elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF were selected from seven hospitals in Tianjin, China. The sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire Scale, the Self-Perceived Burden Scale, the Self-efficacy for Symptom Management Scale, and the Perceived Social Support Scale were used. Descriptive statistics, univariate, multiple linear regression, and Pearson's correlation analysis were used to analyze data. RESULTS: The total score of spiritual care needs among 474 elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF was 37.95 ± 14.71, which was moderate. Religious belief, educational background, self-perceived burden, symptom management self-efficacy, and perceived social support were the main factors affecting spiritual care needs, and spiritual care needs were negatively correlated with self-perceived burden (r = -0.637, p < 0.01) and positively correlated with symptom management self-efficacy (r = 0.802, p < 0.01) and social support (r = 0.717, p < 0.01). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The spiritual care needs of elderly patients with moderate-to-severe CHF were moderate, which were influenced by five factors. It is suggested that clinical nurses, families, and society should take targeted spiritual care measures to improve patients' symptom management self-efficacy and perceived social support from many aspects, and reduce self-perceived burden to meet their spiritual care needs and improve the quality and satisfaction of spiritual care in nursing practice.

CD38 Drives Progress of Osteoarthritis by Affecting Cartilage Homeostasis.

OBJECTIVE: To observe expression of CD38, a key modulator of nicotinamide dinucleotide (NAD+) metabolism in mice with knee osteoarthritis, and protective effect of CD38 inhibition during the osteoarthritis (OA) development. METHOD: The destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) model was performed in mice to mimic the process of OA. Immunofluorescence of CD38 was performed to evaluate its response during the OA process. Limb bud-derived mesenchymal cells were isolated for micromass culture. 100 nM or 1 µM CD38 inhibitor (78c) treatment for 14 days and CD38 sgRNA infection were then used to explore the effects of chondrogenic differentiation via Alcian blue staining. The expressions of chondrogenic markers were detected using RT-PCR and Western blot. To explore the protective effect of CD38 inhibitor on cartilage degradation during OA in vivo, a CD38 inhibitor was injected into the knee joint after DMM operations. Micro-CT analysis and Safranin O-fast green staining were used to evaluate subchondral bone micro-architecture changes and cartilage degeneration. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the CD38 expression in superficial cartilage was obviously increased in DMM group (P < 0.05). During the normal chondrogenic differentiation, the extracellular matrix formed and expression of Sox9, Col2, aggrecan increased apparently while CD38 expression decreased, which could be reversed with ablation of CD38 in limb bud-derived mesenchymal cells. Consistent with findings in vitro, CD38 blockage via CD38 inhibitor injection protected against osteosclerosis in medial subchondral bone and cartilage degeneration in DMM-induced experimental mice. Compared to the Sham group, DMM mice showed significantly increased values of BV and BV/TV in subchondral bone (P < 0.05) and Mankin score, which could be rescued by 78c treatment (P < 0.05). Also the CD38 inhibitor contributed to homeostasis of anabolism and catabolism by upregulating Sox9, Col2, aggrecan and downregulating Runx2, Col10 and Mmp13. CONCLUSION: This study primarily implicates CD38 as an important regulator of chondrogenic differentiation. Inhibition of CD38 demonstrated protection against cartilage degeneration, which suggests that CD38 could be a potential therapeutic target for OA.

Fuzi decoction ameliorates pain and cartilage degeneration of osteoarthritic rats through PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and its clinical retrospective evidence.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a difficult disease but the clinic lacks effective therapy. As a classic formula of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Fuzi decoction (FZD) has been clinically applied for treating OA-related syndromes, but its anti-OA efficacy and mechanism remain unclear. PURPOSE: To experimentally and clinically determine the anti-OA efficacy of FZD and clarify the underlying mechanism. METHODS: UPLC/MS/MS was applied to identify the main components of FZD. A monoiodoacetate (MIA)-induced OA rat model was employed to evaluate the in vivo efficacy of FZD against OA, by using pain behavior assessment, histopathological observation, and immunohistochemical analysis. Primary rat chondrocytes were isolated to determine the in vitro effects of FZD by using cell viability assay, wound healing assay, and real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis on anabolic/catabolic mRNA expressions. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and network pharmacology analysis were conducted and the overlapping data were used to predict the mechanism of FZD, followed by verification with qPCR and Western blot assays. Finally, a retrospective analysis was performed to confirm FZD's efficacy and safety in OA patients. RESULTS: The UPLC/MS/MS result showed that FZD contained atractylenolide I, benzoylhypaconitine, benzoylmesaconitine, benzoylaconitine, hypaconitine, mesaconitine, aconitine, lobetyolin, paeoniflorin, and pachymic acid. The in vivo data showed that FZD restored the cartilage degeneration in MIA-induced OA rats by ameliorating pain behavior parameters, recovering histopathological alterations, benefitting cartilage anabolism (up-regulating Col2 expression), and suppressing catabolism (down-regulating MMP13 and Col10 expressions). The in vitro data showed that FZD increased cell viability and wound healing capacity of chondrocytes, and restored the altered expressions of anabolic and catabolic genes of chondrocytes. The overlapping results of RNA-seq and network pharmacology analysis suggested that PI3K/Akt signaling mediated the anti-OA mechanism of FZD, which was verified by qPCR and Western blot experiments. Clinically, the anti-OA efficacy and safety of FZD were confirmed by the retrospective analysis on OA patients. CONCLUSION: The scientific innovation of this study was the determination of anti-OA efficacy of FZD by experimental and clinical evidence and the discovery of its mechanism by integrated RNA-seq, network pharmacology, and molecular experiments, which suggests FZD as a promising TCM agency for OA treatment.

Needs for nurses to provide spiritual care and their associated influencing factors among elderly inpatients with stroke in China: A cross-sectional quantitative study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the spiritual care needs and associated influencing factors among elderly inpatients with stroke, and to examine the correlations among spiritual care needs, spiritual well-being, self-perceived burden, self-transcendence, and social support. METHODS: A cross-sectional quantitative design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used as the foundation of the study. A convenience sample of 458 elderly inpatients with stroke was selected from three hospitals in China. The sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, the Nurse Spiritual Therapeutics Scale, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being, the Self-Perceived Burden Scale, the Chinese Self-Transcendence Scale, and the Perceived Social Support Scale were used. Descriptive statistics, correlation, Student's t-test, ANOVA, non-parametric, and multiple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The total score of spiritual care needs was 29.82 ± 7.65. Spiritual care needs were positively correlated with spiritual well-being (r = 0.709, p < 0.01), self-transcendence (r = 0.710, p < 0.01), and social support (r = 0.691, p < 0.01), whereas being negatively correlated with self-perceived burden (r = -0.587, p < 0.01). Religious beliefs, educational level, residence place, disease course, spiritual well-being, self-perceived burden, self-transcendence, and social support were found to be the main influencing factors. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The spiritual care needs were prevalent and moderate. It is suggested that nurses should enhance spiritual care knowledge and competence, take targeted spiritual care measures according to inpatients' individual personality traits or characteristics and differences of patients, reduce their self-perceived burden and improve their spiritual well-being, self-transcendence and social support in multiple ways and levels, so as to meet their spiritual care needs to the greatest extent and enhance their spiritual comfort.

Correlations among spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions and spiritual health of Chinese nurses: A cross-sectional correlational study.

BACKGROUND: The significance of spiritual care competence among nurses has been emphasized across countries and cultures in many studies. However, there were few studies on correlations among spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health of nurses in China. OBJECTIVE: To investigate spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health, and examine the correlations among spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions and spiritual health, and the mediating role of spiritual health between other two variables of Chinese nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional and correlational design was implemented, and the STROBE Checklist was used to report the study. A convenience sample of 2,181 nurses were selected from 17 hospitals in 3 provinces, China. Participants provided data on sociodemographic by completing the Chinese Version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale, the Chinese Version of the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale, and the Spiritual Health Scale Short Form. Descriptive statistics, univariate, multiple linear regression, and Pearson correlation analysis were used to analyze data. RESULTS: The total scores of spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health were 58.25 ± 16.21, 144.49 ± 16.87, and 84.88 ± 10.57, respectively, which both were moderate. Spiritual care competence was positively correlated with spiritual care perceptions (r = 0.653, p < 0.01) and spiritual health (r = 0.587, p < 0.01). And spiritual health played a mediating role between the other two variables (accounting for 35.6%). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The spiritual care competence, spiritual care perceptions, and spiritual health of Chinese nurses need to be improved. It is recommended that nursing managers should pay attention to spiritual care education of nurses, and improve spiritual care perceptions and spiritual health in multiple ways, so as to improve their spiritual care competence and to maximize the satisfy spiritual care needs of patients in China.

PADI4 mediates autophagy and participates in the role of ganoderic acid A monomers in delaying the senescence of Alzheimer's cells through the Akt/mTOR pathway.

The effects of PADI4 and GAA on the senescence of Alzheimer's cells were explored in the present work. HT22 cells were treated with Aß25-35 to establish an Alzheimer's model and were then treated with different concentrations of GAA and transfected with a siPADI4 lentiviral vector. GAA could reverse the effects of Aß25-35 on inhibiting cell viability and promoting apoptosis and senescence. siPADI4 reduced Aß25-35-induced cell viability and upregulated Aß25-35-induced cell apoptosis and senescence, as well as partially reversed the effect of GAA on cells, and these results were confirmed by detecting the expressions of senescence- and apoptosis-related proteins. In addition, siPADI4 was found to promote the phosphorylation of Akt and mTOR, which was partially reversed by GAA. In conclusion, PADI4 mediates autophagy and participates in the role of GAA monomers in delaying the senescence of Alzheimer's cells through the Akt/mTOR pathway.

[Role of ATP6V1H gene in bone metabolism].

Osteoporosis is one of the common clinical orthopedic diseases, which can lead to a variety of complications. There are many pathogenic factors in this disease. The latest research found that ATP6V1H is a new gene leading to the occurrence of osteoporosis, and it is likely to become a new target for the future drug treatment of osteoporosis.This paper introduces the biological structure and characteristics of H subunit, summed up the human body caused by loss of ATP6V1H and animal models such as zebrafish, mice bone loss and osteoporosis symptom such as related research reports of the loss, from osteoclast, osteoblast and marrow stromal cell level and the connection between the various subunits further expounds the H subunit regulate bone dynamic balance of mechanism, to explore ATP6V1H in bone developmentand bone related diseases has laid a solid foundation, also provide new ideas for clinical treatment of osteoporosis.

Amygdalin Promotes Fracture Healing through TGF-ß/Smad Signaling in Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Chondrogenesis and subsequent osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and angiogenesis at injured sites are crucial for bone fracture healing. Amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside compound derived from bitter apricot kernel, has been reported to inhibit IL-1ß-induced chondrocyte degeneration and to stimulate blood circulation, suggesting a promising role of amygdalin in fracture healing. In this study, tibial fractures in C57BL/6 mice were treated with amygdalin. Fracture calluses were then harvested and subjected to radiographic, histological, and biomechanical testing, as well as angiography and gene expression analyses to evaluate fracture healing. The results showed that amygdalin treatment promoted bone fracture healing. Further experiments using MSC-specific transforming growth factor- (TGF-) ß receptor 2 conditional knockout (KO) mice (Tgfbr2Gli1-Cre ) and C3H10 T1/2 murine mesenchymal progenitor cells showed that this effect was mediated through TGF-ß/Smad signaling. We conclude that amygdalin could be used as an alternative treatment for bone fractures.

TGF-ß/Smad2 signalling regulates enchondral bone formation of Gli1+ periosteal cells during fracture healing.

OBJECTIVES: Most bone fracture heals through enchondral bone formation that relies on the involvement of periosteal progenitor cells. However, the identity of periosteal progenitor cells and the regulatory mechanism of their proliferation and differentiation remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Gli1-CreERT2 can identify a population of murine periosteal progenitor cells and the role of TGF-ß signalling in periosteal progenitor cells on fracture healing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Double heterozygous Gli1-CreERT2 ;Rosa26-tdTomatoflox/wt mice were sacrificed at different time points for tracing the fate of Gli1+ cells in both intact and fracture bone. Gli1-CreERT2 -mediated Tgfbr2 knockout (Gli1-CreERT2 ;Tgfbr2flox/flox ) mice were subjected to fracture surgery. At 4, 7, 10, 14 and 21 days post-surgery, tibia samples were harvested for tissue analyses including µCT, histology, real-time PCR and immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Through cell lineage-tracing experiments, we have revealed that Gli1-CreER T2 can be used to identify a subpopulation of periosteal progenitor cells in vivo that persistently reside in periosteum and contribute to osteochondral elements during fracture repair. During the healing process, TGF-ß signalling is continually activated in the reparative Gli1+ periosteal cells. Conditional knockout of Tgfbr2 in these cells leads to a delayed and impaired enchondral bone formation, at least partially due to the reduced proliferation and chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation of Gli1+ periosteal cells. CONCLUSIONS: TGF-ß signalling plays an essential role on fracture repair via regulating enchondral bone formation process of Gli1+ periosteal cells.

Whole-genome sequencing of Chinese centenarians reveals important genetic variants in aging WGS of centenarian for genetic analysis of aging.

BACKGROUND: Genetic research on longevity has provided important insights into the mechanism of aging and aging-related diseases. Pinpointing import genetic variants associated with aging could provide insights for aging research. METHODS: We performed a whole-genome sequencing in 19 centenarians to establish the genetic basis of human longevity. RESULTS: Using SKAT analysis, we found 41 significantly correlated genes in centenarians as compared to control genomes. Pathway enrichment analysis of these genes showed that immune-related pathways were enriched, suggesting that immune pathways might be critically involved in aging. HLA typing was next performed based on the whole-genome sequencing data obtained. We discovered that several HLA subtypes were significantly overrepresented. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated a new mechanism of longevity, suggesting potential genetic variants for further study.

Bushenhuoxue formula accelerates fracture healing via upregulation of TGF-ß/Smad2 signaling in mesenchymal progenitor cells.

BACKGROUND: Although Bushenhuoxue formula (BSHXF) is successfully used as a non-traumatic therapy in treating bone fracture in China, the molecular mechanism underlying its effects remains poorly understood. PURPOSE: The present study aims to explore the therapeutic effects of BSHXF on fracture healing in mice and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: We performed unilateral open transverse tibial fracture procedure in C57BL/6 mice which were treated with or without BSHXF. Fracture callus tissues were collected and analyzed by X-ray, micro-CT, biomechanical testing, histopathology and quantitative gene expression analysis. Tibial fracture procedure was also performed in Cre-negative and Gli1-CreER; Tgfbr2flox/flox conditional knockout (KO) mice (Tgfbr2Gli1ER) to determine if BSHXF enhances fracture healing in a TGF-ß-dependent manner. In addition, scratch-wound assay and cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay were used to evaluate the effect of BSHXF on cell migration and cell proliferation in C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal stem cells, respectively. RESULTS: BSHXF promoted endochondral ossification and enhanced bone strength in wild-type (WT) or Cre- control mice. In contrast, BSHXF failed to promote bone fracture healing in Tgfbr2Gli1ER conditional KO mice. In the mice receiving BSHXF treatment, TGF-ß/Smad2 signaling was significantly activated. Moreover, BSHXF enhanced cell migration and cell proliferation in C3H10T1/2 cells, which was strongly attenuated by the small molecule inhibitor SB525334 against TGF-ß type I receptor. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrated that BSHXF promotes fracture healing by activating TGF-ß/Smad2 signaling. BSHXF may be used as a type of alternative medicine for the treatment of bone fracture healing.