Absence of E2f1 Negates Pro-osteogenic Impacts of p21 Absence.

Loss of p21 leads to increased bone formation post-injury; however, the mechanism(s) by which this occurs remains undetermined. E2f1 is downstream of p21 and as a transcription factor can act directly on gene expression; yet it is unknown if E2f1 plays a role in the osteogenic effects observed when p21 is differentially regulated. In this study we aimed to investigate the interplay between p21 and E2f1 and determine if the pro-regenerative osteogenic effects observed with the loss of p21 are E2f1 dependent. To accomplish this, we employed knockout p21 and E2f1 mice and additionally generated a p21/E2f1 double knockout. These mice underwent burr-hole injuries to their proximal tibiae and healing was assessed over 7 days via microCT imaging. We found that p21 and E2f1 play distinct roles in bone regeneration where the loss of p21 increased trabecular bone formation and loss of E2f1 increased cortical bone formation, yet loss of E2f1 led to poorer bone repair overall. Furthermore, when E2f1 was absent, either individually or simultaneously with p21, there was a dramatic decrease of the number of osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and chondrocytes at the site of injury compared to p21-/- and C57BL/6 mice. Together, these results suggest that E2f1 regulates the cell populations required for bone repair and has a distinct role in bone formation/repair compared to p21-/-E2f1-/-. These results highlight the possibility of cell cycle and/or p21/E2f1 being potential druggable targets that could be leveraged in clinical therapies to improve bone healing in pathologies such as osteoporosis.

Changes in microbiological spectrum and antibiotic susceptibility in two-stage exchange for periprosthetic shoulder infections.

BACKGROUND: Periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) are a major concern in shoulder arthroplasty, which in some cases require two-stage exchange. While it was shown that low-virulence bacteria are the most isolated pathogens in shoulder PJI, little is known about changes in microbiological spectrum and resistance patterns during two-stage revision. METHODS: This retrospective study included all patients (n = 25) who received a two-stage revision from January 2011 to December 2020 for shoulder PJI in one institution. Microbiological spectrum, antimicrobial resistance patterns, and re-revision rates of culture positive first- and second-stage procedures were analyzed. The mean follow-up time was 29.7 months (range 8; 115 months). At final follow-up, subjective shoulder value (SSV) and visual analog scale (VAS) score for pain and satisfaction with the surgery were assessed. RESULTS: In 25 patients, a total of 54 2-stage exchange procedures were performed and positive cultures were obtained in 36 of these surgeries (66.7%). A total of 7 out of 25 patients (28.0%) showed a positive microbiological culture at first and second stages. In those patients, the mean time between first and second stages was 30.9 weeks (range 6; 70). Three out of those seven patients (42.9%) had a polymicrobial spectrum with one microorganism persistent at stage two, including Cutibacterium acnes (n = 1) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) (n = 2). In all these cases, antimicrobial resistance patterns changed. All cultures with monomicrobial spectrum (n = 4) at first stage showed a changed spectrum. Patients with positive first- and second-stage revisions showed a mean SSV of 49.3% ± 23.5 versus 52.9% ± 29.5 in single positive patients (p = 0.76). Re-revision was performed in five cases, two of those in patients with positive first- and second-stage cultures. CONCLUSION: There is a high rate of changes in microbiological spectrum and resistance patterns between culture positive first- and second-stage procedures as well as subsequent re-revisions. Intraoperative samples during reimplantation should be taken and resistance reconsidered in case of re-revision.

Mesenchymal progenitor cells from non-inflamed versus inflamed synovium post-ACL injury present with distinct phenotypes and cartilage regeneration capacity.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic debilitating disease impacting a significant percentage of the global population. While there are numerous surgical and non-invasive interventions that can postpone joint replacement, there are no current treatments which can reverse the joint damage occurring during the pathogenesis of the disease. While many groups are investigating the use of stem cell therapies in the treatment of OA, we still don't have a clear understanding of the role of these cells in the body, including heterogeneity of tissue resident adult mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs). METHODS: In the current study, we examined MPCs from the synovium and individuals with or without a traumatic knee joint injury and explored the chondrogenic differentiation capacity of these MPCs in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: We found that there is heterogeneity of MPCs with the adult synovium and distinct sub-populations of MPCs and the abundancy of these sub-populations change with joint injury. Furthermore, only some of these sub-populations have the ability to effect cartilage repair in vivo. Using an unbiased proteomics approach, we were able to identify cell surface markers that identify this pro-chondrogenic MPC population in normal and injured joints, specifically CD82LowCD59+ synovial MPCs have robust cartilage regenerative properties in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study clearly show that cells within the adult human joint can impact cartilage repair and that these sub-populations exist within joints that have undergone a traumatic joint injury. Therefore, these populations can be exploited for the treatment of cartilage injuries and OA in future clinical trials.

Exogenously delivered iPSCs disrupt the natural repair response of endogenous MPCs after bone injury.

Promoting bone healing including fracture non-unions are promising targets for bone tissue engineering due to the limited success of current clinical treatment methods. There has been significant research on the use of stem cells with and without biomaterial scaffolds to treat bone fractures due to their promising regenerative capabilities. However, the relative roles of exogenous vs. endogenous stem cells and their overall contribution to in vivo fracture repair is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to determine the interaction between exogenous and endogenous stem cells during bone healing. This study was conducted using a standardized burr-hole bone injury model in a mesenchymal progenitor cell (MPC) lineage-tracing mouse under normal homeostatic and osteoporotic conditions. Burr-hole injuries were treated with a collagen-I biomaterial loaded with and without labelled induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Using lineage-tracing, the roles of exogenous and endogenous stem cells during bone healing were examined. It was observed that treatment with iPSCs resulted in muted healing compared to untreated controls in intact mice post-injury. When the cell populations were examined histologically, iPSC-treated burr-hole defects presented with a dramatic reduction in endogenous MPCs and cell proliferation throughout the injury site. However, when the ovaries were removed and an osteoporotic-like phenotype induced in the mice, iPSCs treatment resulted in increased bone formation relative to untreated controls. In the absence of iPSCs, endogenous MPCs demonstrated robust proliferative and osteogenic capacity to undertake repair and this behaviour was disrupted in the presence of iPSCs which instead took on an osteoblast fate but with little proliferation. This study clearly demonstrates that exogenously delivered cell populations can impact the normal function of endogenous stem/progenitor populations during the normal healing cascade. These interactions need to be better understood to inform cell and biomaterial therapies to treat fractures.

Practical considerations for determination of scapular internal rotation and its relevance in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty planning.

BACKGROUND: Scapulothoracic orientation, especially scapular internal rotation (SIR) may influence range of motion in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) and is subjected to body posture. Clinical measurements of SIR rely on apical bony landmarks, which depend on changes in scapulothoracic orientation, while radiographic measurements are often limited by the restricted field of view (FOV) in CT scans. Therefore, the goal of this study was (1) to determine whether the use of CT scans with a limited FOV to measure SIR is reliable and (2) if a clinical measurement could be a valuable alternative. METHODS: This anatomical study analyzed the whole-body CT scans of 100 shoulders in 50 patients (32 male and 18 female) with a mean age of 61.2 ± 20.1 years (range 18; 91). (1) CT scans were rendered into 3D models and SIR was determined as previously described. Results were compared to measurements taken in 2D CT scans with a limited FOV. (2) Three apical bony landmarks were defined: (the angulus acromii (AA), the midpoint between the AA and the coracoid process tip (C) and the acromioclavicular (AC) joint. The scapular axis was determined connecting the trigonum scapulae with these landmarks and referenced to the glenoid center. The measurements were repeated with 0°, 10°, 20°, 30° and 40° anterior scapular tilt. RESULTS: Mean SIR was 44.8° ± 5.9° and 45.6° ± 6.6° in the 3D and 2D model, respectively (p < 0.371). Mean difference between the measurements was 0.8° ± 2.5° with a maximum of 10.5°. Midpoint AA/C showed no significant difference to the scapular axis at 0° (p = 0.203) as did the AC-joint at 10° anterior scapular tilt (p = 0.949). All other points showed a significant difference from the scapular axis at all degrees of tilt. CONCLUSION: 2D CT scans are reliable to determine SIR, even if the spine is not depicted. Clinical measurements using apical superficial scapula landmarks are a possible alternative; however, anterior tilt influenced by posture alters measured SIR.

A non-immunological role for γ-interferon-inducible lysosomal thiol reductase (GILT) in osteoclastic bone resorption.

The extracellular bone resorbing lacuna of the osteoclast shares many characteristics with the degradative lysosome of antigen-presenting cells. γ-Interferon-inducible lysosomal thiol reductase (GILT) enhances antigen processing within lysosomes through direct reduction of antigen disulfides and maintenance of cysteine protease activity. In this study, we found the osteoclastogenic cytokine RANKL drove expression of GILT in osteoclast precursors in a STAT1-dependent manner, resulting in high levels of GILT in mature osteoclasts, which could be further augmented by γ-interferon. GILT colocalized with the collagen-degrading cysteine protease, cathepsin K, suggesting a role for GILT inside the osteoclastic resorption lacuna. GILT-deficient osteoclasts had reduced bone-resorbing capacity, resulting in impaired bone turnover and an osteopetrotic phenotype in GILT-deficient mice. We demonstrated that GILT could directly reduce the noncollagenous bone matrix protein SPARC, and additionally, enhance collagen degradation by cathepsin K. Together, this work describes a previously unidentified, non-immunological role for GILT in osteoclast-mediated bone resorption.

Household member substance problems and children's health in the United States.

A sizable number of children are exposed to household member substance problems, an adverse childhood experience (ACE), yet little research uses a nationally representative sample of U.S. children to examine this association. We used newly released data from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized children in the United States, and logistic regression models to investigate the relationship between household member substance problems and 14 indicators of children's health. We find 9.0% of children in the United States have experienced household member substance problems. We also find children exposed to household member substance problems are more likely to have health problems than children not exposed to household member substance problems, but that most of these descriptive differences can be explained by household characteristics and other ACEs. Children exposed to household member substance problems are a vulnerable population. Given that household member substance problems are concentrated among socioeconomically disadvantaged children, children at a greater risk of health problems than their counterparts, this ACE may exacerbate existing socioeconomic inequalities in children's health.