Vaa3D-x for cross-platform teravoxel-scale immersive exploration of multidimensional image data.

SUMMARY: Vaa3D is a software package that has been widely used to visualize and analyze multidimensional microscopic images in a number of cutting edge bioimage informatics applications. However, due to many recent updates of both software development environments and operating systems, it was highly requested to maintain Vaa3D and disseminate it on latest operating systems. In addition, there has never been a showcase about how to use Vaa3D's cross-platform visualization and immersive exploration functions for multidimensional and teravoxel-scale images. Here, we introduce a newly developed version of the software, called Vaa3D-x, to address all the above issues. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: Vaa3D-x is released in both binary and Open-Source available at vaa3d.org and GitHub (https://github.com/Vaa3D). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

The protective role of omentin-1 in IL-1ß-induced chondrocyte senescence.

Osteoarthritis is a common type of degenerative joint disease. Inflammation-related chondrocyte senescence plays a major role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. Omentin-1 is a newly identified anti-inflammatory adipokine involved in lipid metabolism. In this study, we examined the biological function of omentin-1 in cultured chondrocytes. The presence of omentin-1 potently suppresses IL-1ß-induced cellular senescence as revealed by staining with senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-ß-Gal). At the cellular level, omentin-1 attenuates IL-1ß-induced G1 phase cell-cycle arrest. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that omentin-1 reduced IL-1ß-induced expression of senescent factors including caveolin-1, p21, and PAI-1 as well as p53 acetylation through ameliorating SIRT1 reduction. Notably, silencing of SIRT1 abolishes IL-1ß-induced senescence along with the induction of p21 and PAI-1, suggesting that the action of omentin-1 in chondrocytes is dependent on SIRT1. Collectively, our results revealed the molecular mechanism through which the adipokine omentin-1 exerts a beneficial effect, thereby protecting chondrocytes from senescence. Thus, omentin-1 could have clinical implication in the treatment of osteoarthritis.