Ovalbumin-induced asthma leads to bone loss with Piezo channel suppression in mice.

The impact of allergic diseases on bone loss remains unclear because it is considered to result from the use of corticosteroids to ameliorate allergic inflammation. To explore the effects of allergic diseases on bone metabolism, we investigated long bones in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthmatic mice. Compared with that of vehicle-treated controls, the bone mass of OVA-induced asthmatic mice was lower.

Genetic Deficiency of Hyaluronan Synthase 2 in the Developing Limb Mesenchyme Impairs Postnatal Synovial Joint Formation.

Hyaluronan, a key component of the extracellular matrix, plays a crucial role in joint development and maintenance. In order to determine the role of hyaluronan function in joint development and homeostasis, conditional loss-of-function experiments of Hyaluronan Synthase 2 () were carried out in mice. depletion in limb mesenchymal cells led to severely shortened limbs with appendicular joints that are deformed, decreased proteoglycan content as characterized by Safranin-O staining, and severely pitted epiphyseal ends of long bones and deformed joints as viewed by micro-CT reconstructions.

Decision-Making Support for an Adult Patient With Severe Congenital Heart Disease: A Case Study.

In critical care, owing to the severity of the illness, it is often difficult to confirm the patient's treatment preferences because of issues with their level of consciousness. Supporting patient decision-making should prioritize confirming patients' wishes. This case study examines an instance in which the focus shifts from family- to patient-centred decision-making.

New-onset Fulminant Type 1 Diabetes Following COVID-19 Vaccination.

A 31-year-old Japanese man was admitted with a slight fever and epigastric pain. He had received his third Moderna Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine dose (Spikevax, mRNA-1273) 16 days before his visit. His serum amylase level was elevated, and computed tomography found pancreatic enlargement.

Activated cardiac fibroblasts are a primary source of high-molecular-weight hyaluronan production.

During acute myocardial infarction, the composition of the extracellular matrix changes remarkably. One of the most notable changes in the extracellular matrix is in the accumulation of collagen; however, hyaluronan rivals collagen in its abundance. Yet, the extent to which specific cells and enzymes may contribute to such accumulation has been largely unexplored.

Loss of function in causes DNA methylation signature similar to that in Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.

Purpose: Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS), a contiguous gene syndrome caused by heterozygous deletions of the distal short arm of chromosome 4 that includes , reportedly causes specific DNA methylation signatures in peripheral blood cells. However, the genomic loci responsible for these signatures have not been elucidated. The present study aims to define the loci underlying WHS-related DNA methylation signatures and explore the role of in these signatures.

Accumulation of ether phospholipids in induced pluripotent stem cells and oligodendrocyte-lineage cells established from patients with Sjögren-Larsson syndrome.

Sjögren-Larsson syndrome (SLS) is an autosomal recessive leukodystrophy characterized by ichthyosis, intellectual disability, and progressive spastic paralysis caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in the ALDH3A2 gene that encodes the fatty aldehyde dehydrogenase, fatty aldehyde dehydrogenase (FALDH); FALDH catalyzes several metabolic reactions involved in fatty aldehyde oxidation. Only a few studies have been performed to determine the lipid profile of patients with SLS. In a previous postmortem study of the brain of a 65-year-old patient with SLS, lipidomic analysis revealed an accumulation of long-chain unsaturated ether lipid species in the white matter and gray matter.

Impaired Development of Collagen Antibody-Induced Arthritis in Rab44-Deficient Mice.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by immune cell-mediated joint inflammation and subsequent osteoclast-dependent bone destruction. Collagen antibody-induced arthritis (CAIA) is a useful mouse model for examining the inflammatory mechanisms in human RA. Previously, we identified the novel gene Rab44, which is a member of the large Rab GTPase family and is highly expressed in immune-related cells and osteoclasts.

Dennd2c Negatively Controls Multinucleation and Differentiation in Osteoclasts by Regulating Actin Polymerization and Protrusion Formation.

Osteoclasts are bone-resorbing multinucleated giant cells formed by the fusion of monocyte/macrophage lineages. Various small GTPases are involved in the multinucleation and differentiation of osteoclasts. However, the roles of small GTPases regulatory molecules in osteoclast differentiation remain unclear.

Autophagy Regulator Rufy 4 Promotes Osteoclastic Bone Resorption by Orchestrating Cytoskeletal Organization via Its RUN Domain.

Rufy4, a protein belonging to the RUN and FYVE domain-containing protein family, participates in various cellular processes such as autophagy and intracellular trafficking. However, its role in osteoclast-mediated bone resorption remains uncertain. In this study, we investigated the expression and role of the gene in osteoclasts using small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection and gene overexpression systems.

Van der Waals interactions between nonpolar alkyl chains and polar oxide surfaces prevent catalyst deactivation in aldehyde gas sensing.

Catalysis-based electrical sensing of volatile organic compounds on metal oxide surfaces is a powerful method for molecular discrimination. However, catalyst deactivation caused by the poisoning of catalytic sites by analytes and/or catalyzed products remains a challenge. This study highlights the underestimated role of van der Waals interactions between hydrophobic aliphatic alkyl chains and hydrophilic ZnO surfaces in mitigating catalyst deactivation during aliphatic aldehyde sensing.

Heparanase inhibition as a systemic approach to protect the endothelial glycocalyx and prevent microvascular complications in diabetes.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease which is detrimental to cardiovascular health, often leading to secondary microvascular complications, with huge global health implications. Therapeutic interventions that can be applied to multiple vascular beds are urgently needed. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic kidney disease (DKD) are characterised by early microvascular permeability changes which, if left untreated, lead to visual impairment and renal failure, respectively.

Advanced practice nurse competencies to practice in emergency and critical care settings: A scoping review.

Aim: Advanced Practice Nurses are expected to provide lifesaving care to patients with complex acute illnesses in emergency and critical care settings. However, little is known about their competencies and barriers to practice in emergency and critical care settings. This review investigated these nurses' competencies to practice.

Rab44 negatively regulates myoblast differentiation by controlling fusogenic protein transport and mTORC1 signaling.

Skeletal muscle is composed of multinucleated myotubes formed by the fusion of mononucleated myoblasts. Skeletal muscle differentiation, termed as myogenesis, have been investigated using the mouse skeletal myoblast cell line C2C12. It has been reported that several "small" Rab proteins, major membrane-trafficking regulators, possibly regulate membrane protein transport in C2C12 cells; however, the role of Rab proteins in myogenesis remains unexplored.

Rab44 deficiency accelerates recovery from muscle damage by regulating mTORC1 signaling and transport of fusogenic regulators.

The skeletal muscle is a tissue that shows remarkable plasticity to adapt to various stimuli. The development and regeneration of skeletal muscles are regulated by numerous molecules. Among these, we focused on Rab44, a large Rab GTPase, that has been recently identified in immune cells and osteoclasts.

Pharmacological profile of upacicalcet, a novel positive allosteric modulator of calcium-sensing receptor, in vitro and in vivo.

Upacicalcet (formerly SK-1403/AJT240) is a novel non-peptide calcimimetic agent that acts as a calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) agonist for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in chronic kidney disease (CKD). We compared upacicalcet with other calcimimetics (etelcalcetide or cinacalcet) and examined its in vitro and in vivo characteristics in terms of its human CaSR agonistic activity, its efficacy in normal and CKD rats after a single administration, and its effect on gastric emptying in rats. Upacicalcet activated human CaSR depending on the extracellular calcium (Ca) concentration without exhibiting an agonistic action when the extracellular Ca level was below the physiological level.

TMEM2 is a bona fide hyaluronidase possessing intrinsic catalytic activity.

Transmembrane protein 2 (TMEM2) was originally identified as a membrane-anchored protein of unknown function. We previously demonstrated that TMEM2 can degrade hyaluronan (HA). Furthermore, we showed that induced global knockout of Tmem2 in adult mice results in rapid accumulation of incompletely degraded HA in bodily fluids and organs, supporting the identity of TMEM2 as a cell surface hyaluronidase.

Abr, a Rho-regulating protein, modulates osteoclastogenesis by enhancing lamellipodia formation by interacting with poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase.

Background: Osteoclasts are multinucleated bone-resorbing cells formed by the fusion of monocyte/macrophage lineage. During osteoclast differentiation, Rho GTPases are involved in various processes, including cell migration, adhesion, and polarity. However, the role of Rho-regulatory molecules in the regulation of osteoclast differentiation remains unclear.

Conditional ablation of heparan sulfate expression in stromal fibroblasts promotes tumor growth in vivo.

Heparan sulfate (HS) is a glycocalyx component present in the extracellular matrix and cell-surface HS proteoglycans (HSPGs). Although HSPGs are known to play functional roles in multiple aspects of tumor development and progression, the effect of HS expression in the tumor stroma on tumor growth in vivo remains unclear. We conditionally deleted Ext1, which encodes a glycosyltransferase essential for the biosynthesis of HS chains, using S100a4-Cre (S100a4-Cre; Ext1f/f) to investigate the role of HS in cancer-associated fibroblasts, which is the main component of the tumor microenvironment.

Rab44 Deficiency Induces Impaired Immune Responses to Nickel Allergy.

Rab44 was recently identified as an atypical Rab GTPase that possesses EF-hand and coiled-coil domains at the N-terminus, and a Rab-GTPase domain at the C-terminus. Rab44 is highly expressed in immune-related cells such as mast cells, macrophages, osteoclasts, and granulocyte-lineage cells in the bone marrow. Therefore, it is speculated that Rab44 is involved in the inflammation and differentiation of immune cells.

Prevalence of non-bronchial systemic culprit arteries in patients with hemoptysis with bronchiectasis and chronic pulmonary infection who underwent de novo bronchial artery embolization.

Objectives: To identify the prevalence of non-bronchial systemic culprit arteries and their relationship to bleeding lobes in patients with hemoptysis with bronchiectasis and chronic pulmonary infection who underwent de novo bronchial artery embolization (BAE).

Methods: Data of 83 consecutive patients with bronchiectasis and chronic pulmonary infection (non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis, aspergillosis, and tuberculosis) who underwent de novo BAE between January 2019 and December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. The prevalence of culprit arteries was investigated.