Bovine serum albumin-modified 3D printed alginate dialdehyde-gelatin scaffolds incorporating polydopamine/SiO2-CaO nanoparticles for bone regeneration.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing allows precise manufacturing of bone scaffolds for patient-specific applications and is one of the most recently developed and implemented technologies. In this study, bilayer and multimaterial alginate dialdehyde-gelatin (ADA-GEL) scaffolds incorporating polydopamine (PDA)/SiO2-CaO nanoparticle complexes were 3D printed using a pneumatic extrusion-based 3D printing technology and further modified on the surface with bovine serum albumin (BSA) for application in bone regeneration. The morphology, chemistry, and in vitro bioactivity of PDA/SiO2-CaO nanoparticle complexes were characterized (n = 3) and compared with those of mesoporous SiO2-CaO nanoparticles. Successful deposition of the PDA layer on the surface of the SiO2-CaO nanoparticles allowed better dispersion in a liquid medium and showed enhanced bioactivity. Rheological studies (n = 3) of ADA-GEL inks consisting of PDA/SiO2-CaO nanoparticle complexes showed results that may indicate better injectability and printability behavior compared to ADA-GEL inks incorporating unmodified nanoparticles. Microscopic observations of 3D printed scaffolds revealed that PDA/SiO2-CaO nanoparticle complexes introduced additional topography onto the surface of 3D printed scaffolds. Additionally, the modified scaffolds were mechanically stable and elastic, closely mimicking the properties of natural bone. Furthermore, protein-coated bilayer scaffolds displayed controllable absorption and biodegradation, enhanced bioactivity, MC3T3-E1 cell adhesion, proliferation, and higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity (n = 3) compared to unmodified scaffolds. Consequently, the present results confirm that ADA-GEL scaffolds incorporating PDA/SiO2-CaO nanoparticle complexes modified with BSA offer a promising approach for bone regeneration applications.

Data-Centric Heterogeneous Catalysis: Identifying Rules and Materials Genes of Alkane Selective Oxidation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can accelerate catalyst design by identifying key physicochemical descriptive parameters correlated with the underlying processes triggering, favoring, or hindering the performance. In analogy to genes in biology, these parameters might be called "materials genes" of heterogeneous catalysis. However, widely used AI methods require big data, and only the smallest part of the available data meets the quality requirement for data-efficient AI. Here, we use rigorous experimental procedures, designed to consistently take into account the kinetics of the catalyst active states formation, to measure 55 physicochemical parameters as well as the reactivity of 12 catalysts toward ethane, propane, and n-butane oxidation reactions. These materials are based on vanadium or manganese redox-active elements and present diverse phase compositions, crystallinities, and catalytic behaviors. By applying the sure-independence-screening-and-sparsifying-operator symbolic-regression approach to the consistent data set, we identify nonlinear property-function relationships depending on several key parameters and reflecting the intricate interplay of processes that govern the formation of olefins and oxygenates: local transport, site isolation, surface redox activity, adsorption, and the material dynamical restructuring under reaction conditions. These processes are captured by parameters derived from N2 adsorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and near-ambient-pressure in situ XPS. The data-centric approach indicates the most relevant characterization techniques to be used for catalyst design and provides "rules" on how the catalyst properties may be tuned in order to achieve the desired performance.

Local and Regional Spread of Primary Conjunctival Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Two cases of biopsy-proven conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) that developed local and regional spread are described. The cases involved a 65-year-old woman and a 79-year-old man who were initially treated at outside institutions for SCC of the conjunctiva. The patients did not have a history of immune compromise. The female patient presented with direct extension into the lacrimal gland but deferred recommended exenteration. Despite eventual exenteration, she developed metastasis to a neck node 6 months later, which was treated with radiotherapy. The male patient presented with local recurrence and a parotid node metastasis treated with exenteration, parotidectomy, selective neck dissection, and postoperative radiotherapy. Review of the outside pathology of both cases revealed positive tumor margins at the time of original resection. Local control of conjunctival SCC is of critical importance to reduce the risk of orbital extension and regional spread.

Diagnostic Approaches to Metastatic Hepatocellular Carcinoma of the Orbit.

Orbital metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma is exceedingly rare and caries a grave prognosis. Three cases of metastatic orbital hepatocellular carcinoma in which the primary tumor was initially unknown and the diagnostic challenges encountered are presented. With hepatocellular carcinoma, open biopsy and palliative tumor debulking has an increased bleeding risk due to the highly vascular nature of the tumor and coagulopathy associated with chronic liver disease. As an alternative, fine needle aspiration biopsy should be considered for hepatocellular carcinoma with a readily accessible mass and the availability of an experienced cytopathologist.

Profiling of Cytokines Secreted by Conventional Aqueous Outflow Pathway Endothelial Cells Activated In Vitro and Ex Vivo With Laser Irradiation.

PURPOSE: To profile which cytokine genes are differentially expressed (DE) as up- or downregulated by cultured human trabecular meshwork (TMEs) and Schlemm's canal endothelial cells (SCEs) after three experimental treatments consisting of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) irradiation, exposure to media conditioned either by SLT-irradiated TMEs (TME-cm) or by SCEs (SCE-cm). Also, to profile which cytokines are upregulated ex vivo in SLT-irradiated human conventional aqueous outflow pathway (CAOP) tissues. METHODS: After each treatment, Affymetrix microarray assays were used to detect upregulated and downregulated genes for cytokines and their receptors in TMEs and SCEs. ELISA and protein antibody arrays were used to detect upregulated cytokines secreted in SLT-irradiated CAOP tissues ex vivo. RESULTS: The SLT irradiation upregulated numerous cytokine genes in TMEs, but only a few in SCEs. Exposure to TME- and SCE-cm induced SCEs to upregulate many more cytokine genes than TMEs. Selective laser trabeculoplasty irradiation and exposure to TME-cm downregulated several cytokine genes in TMEs but none in SCEs. Selective laser trabeculoplasty irradiation induced one upregulated and three downregulated cytokine-receptor genes in TMEs but none in SCEs. Exposure to TME-cm induced upregulation of one and downregulation of another receptor gene in TMEs, whereas two unique cytokine-receptor genes were upregulated in SCEs. Cytokine protein expression analysis showed that at least eight cytokines were upregulated in SLT-irradiated human CAOP tissues in situ/ex vivo. CONCLUSIONS: This study has helped us identify a cytokine signaling pathway and to consider newly identified mechanisms regulating aqueous outflow that may lay the foundation for the future development of cytokine-based glaucoma therapies.

Sites for methane activation on lithium-doped magnesium oxide surfaces.

Density functional calculations yield energy barriers for H abstraction by oxygen radical sites in Li-doped MgO that are much smaller (12±6 kJ mol(-1)) than the barriers inferred from different experimental studies (80-160 kJ mol(-1)). This raises further doubts that the Li(+)O(˙-) site is the active site as postulated by Lunsford. From temperature-programmed oxidative coupling reactions of methane (OCM), we conclude that the same sites are responsible for the activation of CH4 on both Li-doped MgO and pure MgO catalysts. For a MgO catalyst prepared by sol-gel synthesis, the activity proved to be very different in the initial phase of the OCM reaction and in the steady state. This was accompanied by substantial morphological changes and restructuring of the terminations as transmission electron microscopy revealed. Further calculations on cluster models showed that CH4 binds heterolytically on Mg(2+)O(2-) sites at steps and corners, and that the homolytic release of methyl radicals into the gas phase will happen only in the presence of O2.

Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging to reduce the rate of early reoperation for lesion resection in pediatric neurosurgery.

OBJECT: This study describes the pediatric experience with a dual-multifunction-room IMRIS 1.5-T intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) suite and analyzes its impact on clinical variables associated with neurosurgical resection of intracranial lesions, including safety and efficacy. METHODS: Since the inception of the iMRI-guided resection program in April 2008 at both Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's Hospital, a prospective database recorded the clinical variables associated with demographics and outcome with institutional review board approval. A similarly approved retrospective database was constructed from February 2006 to March 2010 for non-iMRI resections. These databases were retrospectively reviewed for clinical variables associated with resection of pediatric (age 20 months-21 years) intracranial lesions including brain tumors and focal cortical dysplasia. Patient demographics, operative time, estimated blood loss, additional resection, length of stay, pathology, and complications were analyzed. RESULTS: The authors found that 42 iMRI-guided resections were performed, whereas 103 conventional resections had been performed without the iMRI. The mean patient age was 10.5 years (range 20 months-20 years) in the iMRI group and 9.8 years (range 2-21 years) in the conventional group (p = 0.41). The mean duration of surgery was 350 minutes in the iMRI group and 243 minutes in the conventional group (p < 0.0001). The mean hospital stay was 8.2 days in the iMRI group, and 6.6 days in the conventional group, and this trended toward significance (p = 0.05). In the first 2 weeks postoperatively, there were 8 reoperations (7.77%) in the conventional group compared with none in the iMRI group, which was not significant in a 2-tailed test (p = 0.11) but trended toward significance in a 1-tailed test (p = 0.06). The significant complications included reoperation for hydrocephalus or infection: 6.8% (conventional) versus 4.8% (iMRI). CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative MR imaging-guided resections resulted in a trend toward reduction in the need for repeat surgery in the immediate 2-week postoperative period compared with conventional pediatric neurosurgical resections for tumor or focal cortical dysplasia. Although there is an increased operative time, the iMRI suite offers a comparable safety and efficacy profile while potentially reducing the per-case cost by diminishing the need for early reoperation.

Efficient colonic mucosal wound repair requires Trem2 signaling.

The colonic epithelial lining undergoes constant replacement, driven by epithelial stem cells in crypts of Lieberkühn. Stem cells lost because of damage or disease can be replaced by adjacent crypts that undergo fission. The close proximity of an extraordinary number of luminal microbes creates a challenge for this repair process; infection must be prevented while immune system activation and epithelial stem cell genetic damage must be minimized. To understand the factors that modulate crypt/stem cell replacement in the mouse colon, we developed an in vivo acute injury system analogous to punch biopsy of the skin. In contrast to epidermal stem cells, colonic epithelial progenitors did not migrate over the wound bed. Instead, their proliferative expansion was confined to crypts adjacent to wound beds and was delayed to the latter phase of healing. This increased epithelial proliferation was coincident with the infiltration of Trem2 expressing macrophages and increased expression of IL-4 and IL-13 in the wound bed. Interestingly, Trem2(-/-) mice displayed slow and incomplete wound healing of colonic mucosal injuries. We found the latter phase of healing in Trem2(-/-) mice showed a diminished burst of epithelial proliferation, increased expression of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, diminished expression of IL-4 and IL-13, and increased markers of classical macrophage activation. Ablation of these cytokines in injured WT and Trem2(-/-) mice demonstrated that their expression ultimately determined the rate and nature of wound healing. These studies show that Trem2 signaling is an important pathway to promote healing of wounds in the colon where stem cell replacement is necessary.

Fgf9 signaling regulates small intestinal elongation and mesenchymal development.

Short bowel syndrome is an acquired condition in which the length of the small intestine is insufficient to perform its normal absorptive function. Current therapies are limited as the developmental mechanisms that normally regulate elongation of the small intestine are poorly understood. Here, we identify Fgf9 as an important epithelial-to-mesenchymal signal required for proper small intestinal morphogenesis. Mouse embryos that lack either Fgf9 or the mesenchymal receptors for Fgf9 contained a disproportionately shortened small intestine, decreased mesenchymal proliferation, premature differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts and significantly elevated Tgfbeta signaling. These findings suggest that Fgf9 normally functions to repress Tgfbeta signaling in these cells. In vivo, a small subset of mesenchymal cells expressed phospho-Erk and the secreted Tgfbeta inhibitors Fst and Fstl1 in an Fgf9-dependent fashion. The p-Erk/Fst/Fstl1-expressing cells were most consistent with intestinal mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs). We found that isolated iMSCs expressed p-Erk, Fst and Fstl1, and could repress the differentiation of intestinal myofibroblasts in co-culture. These data suggest a model in which epithelial-derived Fgf9 stimulates iMSCs that in turn regulate underlying mesenchymal fibroblast proliferation and differentiation at least in part through inhibition of Tgfbeta signaling in the mesenchyme. Taken together, the interaction of FGF and TGFbeta signaling pathways in the intestinal mesenchyme could represent novel targets for future short bowel syndrome therapies.

Diverse adult stem cells share specific higher-order patterns of gene expression.

Adult tissue stem cells (SCs) share functional properties regardless of their tissue of residence. It had been thought that SCs might also share expression of certain "stemness" genes, although early investigations for such genes were unsuccessful. Here, we show that SCs from diverse tissues do preferentially express certain types of genes and that SCs resemble other SCs in terms of global gene expression more than they resemble the differentiated cells (DCs) of the tissues that they supply. Genes associated with nuclear function and RNA binding were over-represented in SCs. In contrast, DCs from diverse tissues shared enrichment in genes associated with extracellular space, signal transduction, and the plasma membrane. Further analysis showed that transit-amplifying cells could be distinguished from both SCs and DCs by heightened expression of cell division and DNA repair genes and decreased expression of apoptosis-related genes. This transit-amplifying cell-specific signature was confirmed by de novo generation of a global expression profile of a cell population highly enriched for transit-amplifying cells: colonic crypt-base columnar cells responding to mucosal injury. Thus, progenitor cells preferentially express intracellular or biosynthetic genes, and differentiation correlates with increased expression of genes for interacting with other cells or the microenvironment. The higher-order, Gene Ontology term-based analysis we use to distinguish SC- and DC-associated gene expression patterns can also be used to identify intermediate differentiation states (e.g., that of transit-amplifying cells) and, potentially, any biological state that is reflected in changes in global gene expression patterns. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.

An antibiotic-responsive mouse model of fulminant ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND: The constellation of human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, which both display a wide spectrum in the severity of pathology. One theory is that multiple genetic hits to the host immune system may contribute to the susceptibility and severity of IBD. However, experimental proof of this concept is still lacking. Several genetic mouse models that each recapitulate some aspects of human IBD have utilized a single gene defect to induce colitis. However, none have produced pathology clearly distinguishable as either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, in part because none of them reproduce the most severe forms of disease that are observed in human patients. This lack of severe IBD models has posed a challenge for research into pathogenic mechanisms and development of new treatments. We hypothesized that multiple genetic hits to the regulatory machinery that normally inhibits immune activation in the intestine would generate more severe, reproducible pathology that would mimic either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We generated a novel mouse line (dnKO) that possessed defects in both TGFbetaRII and IL-10R2 signaling. These mice rapidly and reproducibly developed a disease resembling fulminant human ulcerative colitis that was quite distinct from the much longer and more variable course of pathology observed previously in mice possessing only single defects. Pathogenesis was driven by uncontrolled production of proinflammatory cytokines resulting in large part from T cell activation. The disease process could be significantly ameliorated by administration of antibodies against IFNgamma and TNFalpha and was completely inhibited by a combination of broad-spectrum antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: Here, we develop to our knowledge the first mouse model of fulminant ulcerative colitis by combining multiple genetic hits in immune regulation and demonstrate that the resulting disease is sensitive to both anticytokine therapy and broad-spectrum antibiotics. These findings indicated the IL-10 and TGFbeta pathways synergize to inhibit microbially induced production of proinflammatory cytokines, including IFNgamma and TNFalpha, which are known to play a role in the pathogenesis of human ulcerative colitis. Our findings also provide evidence that broad-spectrum antibiotics may have an application in the treatment of patients with ulcerative colitis. This model system will be useful in the future to explore the microbial factors that induce immune activation and characterize how these interactions produce disease.

Myd88-dependent positioning of Ptgs2-expressing stromal cells maintains colonic epithelial proliferation during injury.

We identified cellular and molecular mechanisms within the stem cell niche that control the activity of colonic epithelial progenitors (ColEPs) during injury. Here, we show that while WT mice maintained ColEP proliferation in the rectum following injury with dextran sodium sulfate, similarly treated Myd88(-/-) (TLR signaling-deficient) and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2(-/-) (Ptgs2(-/-)) mice exhibited a profound inhibition of epithelial proliferation and cellular organization within rectal crypts. Exogenous addition of 16,16-dimethyl PGE(2) (dmPGE(2)) rescued the effects of this injury in both knockout mouse strains, indicating that Myd88 signaling is upstream of Ptgs2 and PGE(2). In WT and Myd88(-/-) mice, Ptgs2 was expressed in scattered mesenchymal cells. Surprisingly, Ptgs2 expression was not regulated by injury. Rather, in WT mice, the combination of injury and Myd88 signaling led to the repositioning of a subset of the Ptgs2-expressing stromal cells from the mesenchyme surrounding the middle and upper crypts to an area surrounding the crypt base adjacent to ColEPs. These findings demonstrate that Myd88 and prostaglandin signaling pathways interact to preserve epithelial proliferation during injury using what we believe to be a previously undescribed mechanism requiring proper cellular mobilization within the crypt niche.