The enthesis is a tissue interface between tendon and bone, essential for adequate force transmission and composed by four distinct zones, namely tendon, fibrocartilage, mineralized fibrocartilage and bone. Given the avascularity of the tendon and the gradual change in tissue architecture and cell phenotype, the enthesis original tissue is often not re-established after chronic injuries, resulting in scar formation. Conservative treatments and surgical approaches are still far from a functional regeneration, whilst tissue engineering based scaffolds have recently showed great potential. In this work, we hypothesised that collagen-based scaffolds that mimic the basic architecture of the enthesis, will be able to spatially direct stem cell
Aims. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel type of non-coding RNA that plays major roles in the development of diverse diseases including osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Here, we explored the impact of hsa_circ_0066523 derived from forkhead box P1 (FOXP1) (also called circFOXP1) on bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), which is important for ONFH development. Methods. RNA or protein expression in BMSCs was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or western blot, respectively. Cell Counting Kit 8 (CCK8) and 5-ethynyl-2’-deoxyuridine (EdU) were used to analyze cell proliferation. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, ALP staining, and Alizarin Red S staining were employed to evaluate the osteoblastic
Aims. Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) participates in various processes, such as the enhancement of immunity and inhibition of tumours. APS can affect osteoporosis (OP) by regulating the osteogenic
Aims. This study aimed to investigate the effect of solute carrier family 20 member 2 (SLC20A2) gene mutation (identified from a hereditary multiple exostoses family) on chondrocyte proliferation and
Aims. We aimed to evaluate the utility of . 68. Ga-citrate positron emission tomography (PET)/CT in the
Aims. Here we introduce a wide and complex study comparing effects of growth factors used alone and in combinations on human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) proliferation and osteogenic
Objectives. Osteoporosis is a systemic bone metabolic disease, which often occurs among the elderly. Angelica polysaccharide (AP) is the main component of angelica sinensis, and is widely used for treating various diseases. However, the effects of AP on osteoporosis have not been investigated. This study aimed to uncover the functions of AP in mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) proliferation and osteoblast
Aims. Proliferation, migration, and
Malreduction of the syndesmosis is a poor prognosticator following ankle fracture and has been documented in as many as 52% of patients following fracture fixation. The current standard for assessment of reduction of the syndesmosis is bilateral computed tomography (CT) scan of the ankle. Multiple radiographic parameters are utilized to define malreduction, however, there has been limited investigation into the accuracy of these measurements to
Objectives. Enhanced micromotions between the implant and surrounding bone can impair osseointegration, resulting in fibrous encapsulation and aseptic loosening of the implant. Since the effect of micromotions on human bone cells is sparsely investigated, an in vitro system, which allows application of micromotions on bone cells and subsequent investigation of bone cell activity, was developed. Methods. Micromotions ranging from 25 µm to 100 µm were applied as sine or triangle signal with 1 Hz frequency to human osteoblasts seeded on collagen scaffolds. Micromotions were applied for six hours per day over three days. During the micromotions, a static pressure of 527 Pa was exerted on the cells by Ti6Al4V cylinders. Osteoblasts loaded with Ti6Al4V cylinders and unloaded osteoblasts without micromotions served as controls. Subsequently, cell viability, expression of the osteogenic markers collagen type I, alkaline phosphatase, and osteocalcin, as well as gene expression of osteoprotegerin, receptor activator of NF-κB ligand, matrix metalloproteinase-1, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, were investigated. Results. Live and dead cell numbers were higher after 25 µm sine and 50 µm triangle micromotions compared with loaded controls. Collagen type I synthesis was downregulated in respective samples. The metabolic activity and osteocalcin expression level were higher in samples treated with 25 µm micromotions compared with the loaded controls. Furthermore, static loading and micromotions decreased the osteoprotegerin/receptor activator of NF-κB ligand ratio. Conclusion. Our system enables investigation of the behaviour of bone cells at the bone-implant interface under shear stress induced by micromotions. We could demonstrate that micromotions applied under static pressure conditions have a significant impact on the activity of osteoblasts seeded on collagen scaffolds. In future studies, higher mechanical stress will be applied and different implant surface structures will be considered. Cite this article: J. Ziebart, S. Fan, C. Schulze, P. W. Kämmerer, R. Bader, A. Jonitz-Heincke. Effects of interfacial micromotions on vitality and
Osteoblast progenitor cells can be isolated from human bone marrow and on an appropriate carrier following
Introduction: We have investigated the accuracy of a serological marker to distinguish between septic and aseptic loosening of Total Hip Replacements (THR). We present the preliminary results of our on-going prospective study. Methods: After obtaining Ethical Committee approval, 46 patients were collected in 3 groups; “control” primary THR, revision THR for aseptic loosening, and revision THR for infection. Serum IgG responses to an exocellular bacterial antigen (Lipid S) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Our results show that the test can accurately
Quantitative assessment of metastatic involvement of the bony spine is important for assessing disease progression and treatment response. Quantification of metastatic involvement is challenging as tumours may appear as osteolytic (bone resorbing), osteoblastic (bone forming) or mixed. This investigation aimed to develop an automated method to accurately segment osteoblastic lesions in a animal model of metastatically involved vertebrae, imaged with micro computed tomography (μCT). Radiomics seeks to apply standardized features extracted from medical images for the purpose of decision-support as well as diagnosis and treatment planning. Here we investigate the application of radiomic-based features for the delineation of osteoblastic vertebral metastases. Osteoblastic lesions affect bone deposition and bone quality, resulting in a change in the texture of bony material physically seen through μCT imaging. We hypothesize that radiomics based features will be sensitive to changes in osteoblastic lesion bone texture and that these changes will be useful for automating segmentation. Osteoblastic metastases were generated via intracardiac injection of human ZR-75-1 breast cancer cells into a preclinical athymic rat model (n=3). Four months post inoculation, ex-vivo μCT images (µCT100, Scanco) were acquired of each rodent spine focused on the metastatically involved third lumbar vertebra (L3) at 7µm/voxel and resampled to 34µm/voxel. The trabecular bone within each vertebra was isolated using an atlas and level-set based segmentation approach previously developed by our group. Pyradiomics, an open source Radiomics library written in python, was used to calculate 3D image features at each voxel location within the vertebral bone. Thresholding of each radiomic feature map was used to isolate the osteoblastic lesions. The utility of radiomic feature-based segmentation of osteoblastic bone tissue was evaluated on randomly selected 2D sagittal and axial slices of the μCT volume. Feature segmentations were compared to ground truth osteoblastic lesion segmentations by calculating the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC). Manually defined ground truth osteoblastic tumor segmentations on the μCT slices were informed by histological confirmation of the lesions. The radiomic based features that best segmented osteoblastic tissue while optimizing computational time were derived from the Neighbouring Gray Tone Difference Matrix (NGTDM). Measures of coarseness yielded the best agreement with the manual segmentations (DSC=707%) followed by contrast, strength and complexity (DSC=6513%, 5428%, and 4826%, respectively). This pilot study using a radiomic based approach demonstrates the utility of the NGTDM features for segmentation of vertebral osteoblastic lesions. This investigation looked at the utility of isolated features to segment osteoblastic lesions and found modest performance in isolation. In future work we will explore combining these features using machine learning based classifiers (i.e. decision forests, support vector machines, etc.) to improve segmentation performance.
Introduction and Aims: We have investigated the accuracy of a serological marker to distinguish between septic and aseptic loosening of Total Hip Replacements (THR). We present the preliminary results of our ongoing prospective study. Method: After obtaining Ethical Committee approval, 46 patients were collected in three groups: ‘control’ primary THR, revision THR for aseptic loosening and revision THR for infection. Serum IgG responses to an exocellular bacterial antigen (LipidS) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Our results show that the test can accurately
Introduction: We have investigated the accuracy of a serological marker to distinguish between septic and aseptic loosening of Total Hip Replacements (THR). We present the preliminary results of our on-going prospective study. Methods: After obtaining Ethical Committee approval, 46 patients were collected in 3 groups; “control” primary THR, revision THR for aseptic loosening, and revision THR for infection. Serum IgG responses to an exocellular bacterial antigen (Lipid S) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Our results show that the test can accurately
Establishing the diagnosis in a child presenting with an atraumatic limp can be difficult. Clinical prediction algorithms have been devised to distinguish septic arthritis (SA) from transient synovitis (TS). Within Europe measurement of the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) has largely been replaced with assessment of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) as an acute phase protein. We produce a prediction algorithm to determine the significance of CRP in distinguishing between TS and SA. All children with a presentation of ‘atraumatic limp’ and a proven effusion on hip ultrasound between 2004 and 2009 were included. Patient demographics, details of the clinical presentation and laboratory investigations were documented to identify a response to each of the four variables (Weight bearing status, WCC >12,000 cells/m3, CRP >20mg/L and Temperature >38.5°C). SA was defined based upon culture and microscopy of the operative findings.Background
Method
Aims. To investigate the effects of senescent osteocytes on bone homeostasis in the progress of age-related osteoporosis and explore the underlying mechanism. Methods. In a series of in vitro experiments, we used tert-Butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) to induce senescence of MLO-Y4 cells successfully, and collected conditioned medium (CM) and senescent MLO-Y4 cell-derived exosomes, which were then applied to MC3T3-E1 cells, separately, to evaluate their effects on osteogenic
Aims. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) act as crucial regulators in osteoporosis (OP). Nonetheless, the effects and potential molecular mechanism of lncRNA PCBP1 Antisense RNA 1 (PCBP1-AS1) on OP remain largely unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the role of lncRNA PCBP1-AS1 in the pathogenesis of OP. Methods. Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), osteogenesis-related genes (alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OCN), osteopontin (OPN), and Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2)), PCBP1-AS1, microRNA (miR)-126-5p, group I Pak family member p21-activated kinase 2 (PAK2), and their relative expression levels were determined. Western blotting was used to examine the expression of PAK2 protein. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to measure cell proliferation. To examine the osteogenic
Aims. This study aimed to demonstrate the promoting effect of elastic fixation on fracture, and further explore its mechanism at the gene and protein expression levels. Methods. A closed tibial fracture model was established using 12 male Japanese white rabbits, and divided into elastic and stiff fixation groups based on different fixation methods. Two weeks after the operation, a radiograph and pathological examination of callus tissue were used to evaluate fracture healing. Then, the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were examined in the callus using proteomics. Finally, in vitro cell experiments were conducted to investigate hub proteins involved in this process. Results. Mean callus volume was larger in the elastic fixation group (1,755 mm. 3. (standard error of the mean (SEM) 297)) than in the stiff fixation group (258 mm. 3. (SEM 65)). Pathological observation found that the expression levels of osterix (OSX), collagen, type I, alpha 1 (COL1α1), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the callus of the elastic fixation group were higher than those of the stiff fixation group. The protein sequence of the callus revealed 199 DEPs, 124 of which were highly expressed in the elastic fixation group. In the in vitro study, it was observed that a stress of 200 g led to upregulation of thrombospondin 1 (THBS1) and osteoglycin (OGN) expression in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Additionally, these genes were found to be upregulated during the osteogenic
We found that adipose stem cells are poorly