Chondrocyte fatty acid oxidation drives osteoarthritis via SOX9 degradation and epigenetic regulation.

Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent age-related degenerative joint disease and is closely linked to obesity. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here we show that altered lipid metabolism in chondrocytes, particularly enhanced fatty acid oxidation (FAO), contributes to osteoarthritis progression.

CircFUNDC1 interacts with CDK9 to promote mitophagy in nucleus pulposus cells under oxidative stress and ameliorates intervertebral disc degeneration.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a leading cause of low back pain, with limited effective treatments due to an incomplete understanding of disease mechanisms. In this study, we report that circFUNDC1, a nuclear circular RNA, is markedly downregulated in nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) from patients with end-stage IVDD. CircFUNDC1 is derived from the gene encoding the FUN14 domain-containing 1 (FUNDC1) protein, which is essential for mitophagy and cell survival.

PKM2-Driven Lactate Overproduction Triggers Endothelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition in Ischemic Flap via Mediating TWIST1 Lactylation.

The accumulation of lactate is a rising risk factor for patients after flap transplantation. Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) plays a critical role in skin fibrosis. Nevertheless, whether lactate overproduction directly contributes to flap necrosis and its mechanism remain unknown.

FTO-mediated SMAD2 m6A modification protects cartilage against Osteoarthritis.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is one of the most prevalent forms of epigenetic modification and plays an important role in the development of degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA). However, the evidence concerning the role of m6A modification in OA is insufficient. Here, m6A modification was increased in human OA cartilage and degenerated chondrocytes.

Biomimetic Bone-Like Composite Hydrogel Scaffolds Composed of Collagen Fibrils and Natural Hydroxyapatite for Promoting Bone Repair.

Bone is a complex organic-inorganic composite tissue composed of ∼30% organics and ∼70% hydroxyapatite (HAp). Inspired by this, we used 30% collagen and 70% HAp extracted from natural bone using the calcination method to generate a biomimetic bone composite hydrogel scaffold (BBCHS). In one respect, BBCHS, with a fixed proportion of inorganic and organic components similar to natural bone, exhibits good physical properties.

An inducible long noncoding RNA, LncZFHX2, facilitates DNA repair to mediate osteoarthritis pathology.

Cartilage homeostasis is essential for chondrocytes to maintain proper phenotype and metabolism. Because adult articular cartilage is avascular, chondrocytes must survive in low oxygen conditions, and changing oxygen tension can significantly affect metabolism and proteoglycan synthesis in these cells. However, whether long noncoding RNA participate in cartilage homeostasis under hypoxia has not been reported yet.

CircGNB1 drives osteoarthritis pathogenesis by inducing oxidative stress in chondrocytes.

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have risen to prominence as important regulators of biological processes. This study investigated whether circGNB1 functions as a competitive endogenous RNA to regulate the pathological process of oxidative stress in age-related osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: The relationship between circGNB1 expression and oxidative stress/OA severity was determined in cartilages from OA patients at different ages.

Metabolite asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) functions as a destabilization enhancer of SOX9 mediated by DDAH1 in osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease with a series of metabolic changes accompanied by many altered enzymes. Here, we report that the down-regulated dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase-1 (DDAH1) is accompanied by increased asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) in degenerated chondrocytes and in OA samples. Global or chondrocyte-conditional knockout of ADMA hydrolase accelerated OA development in mice.

Concurrent Topology Optimization of Composite Plates for Minimum Dynamic Compliance.

This paper proposes a novel density-based concurrent topology optimization method to support the two-scale design of composite plates for vibration mitigation. To have exceptional damping performance, dynamic compliance of the composite plate is taken as the objective function. The complex stiffness model is used to describe the material damping and accurately consider the variation of structural response due to the change of damping composite material configurations.

CircSLC7A2 protects against osteoarthritis through inhibition of the miR-4498/TIMP3 axis.

Objectives: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that compete against other endogenous RNA species, such as microRNAs, and have been implicated in many diseases. In this study, we investigated the role of a new circRNA (circSLC7A2) in osteoarthritis (OA).

Materials And Methods: The relative expression of circSLC7A2 was significantly lower in OA tissues than it was in matched controls, as shown by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

The Influence of Endplate Morphology on Cage Subsidence in Patients With Stand-Alone Oblique Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion (OLIF).

Study Design: A retrospective study of prospectively collected radiographic and clinical data.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the relationship between endplate morphology parameters and the incidence of cage subsidence in patients with mini-open single-level oblique lateral lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF).

Methods: We included 119 inpatients who underwent OLIF from February 2015 to December 2017.

Circular RNA circPDE4D Protects against Osteoarthritis by Binding to miR-103a-3p and Regulating FGF18.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common, age-related, and painful disease characterized by cartilage destruction, osteophyte formation, and synovial hyperplasia. This study revealed that circPDE4D, a circular RNA derived from human linear PDE4D, plays a critical role in maintaining the extracellular cellular matrix (ECM) during OA progression. circPDE4D was significantly downregulated in OA cartilage tissues and during stimulation with inflammatory cytokines.

Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 9 (CDK9) Inhibitor Atuveciclib Suppresses Intervertebral Disk Degeneration via the Inhibition of the NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

Intervertebral disk degeneration (IVDD) is a spinal disk condition caused by an inflammatory response induced by various proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) is a transcriptional regulator and potential therapeutic target for many diseases, especially in regulating the activation of primary inflammatory response genes. Our study investigated a highly selective CDK9 inhibitor, atuveciclib, which protects nucleus pulposus (NP) cells from proinflammatory stimuli-induced catabolism.

Circular RNA circTADA2A promotes osteosarcoma progression and metastasis by sponging miR-203a-3p and regulating CREB3 expression.

Background: As a subclass of noncoding RNAs, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been demonstrated to play a critical role in regulating gene expression in eukaryotes. Recent studies have revealed the pivotal functions of circRNAs in cancer progression. However, little is known about the role of circTADA2A, also named hsa_circ_0043278, in osteosarcoma (OS).

CircSERPINE2 protects against osteoarthritis by targeting miR-1271 and ETS-related gene.

Objectives: Circular RNAs (circRNA) expression aberration has been identified in various human diseases. In this study, we investigated whether circRNAs could act as competing endogenous RNAs to regulate the pathological process of osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: CircRNA deep sequencing was performed to the expression of circRNAs between OA and control cartilage tissues.