Shaping modern human skull through epigenetic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of the RUNX2 master bone gene

AbstractRUNX2 encodes the master bone transcription factor driving skeletal development in vertebrates, and playing a specific role in craniofacial and skull morphogenesis. The anatomically modern human (AMH) features sequence changes in the RUNX2 locus compared with archaic hominins’ species. We aimed to understand how these changes may have contributed to human skull globularization occurred in recent evolution. We compared in silico AMH and archaic hominins’ genomes, and used mesenchymal stromal cells isolated from skull sutures of craniosynostosis patients for in vitro functional assays. We detected 459 and 470 nucleotide changes in noncoding regions of the AMH RUNX2 locus, compared with the Neandertal and Denisovan genomes, respectively. Three nucleotide changes in the proximal promoter were predicted to alter the binding of the zinc finger protein Znf263 and long-distance interactions with other cis-regulatory regions. By surface plasmon resonance, we selected nucleotide substitutions in the 3’UTRs able to affect miRNA binding affinity. Specifically, miR-3150a-3p and miR-6785-5p expression inversely correlated with RUNX2 expression during in vitro osteogenic differentiation. The expression of two long non-coding RNAs, AL096865.1 and RUNX2-AS1, within the same locus, was modulated during in vitro osteogenic differentiation and correlated with the expression of specific RUNX2 isoforms. Our data suggest that RUNX2 may have undergone adaptive phenotypic evolution caused by epigenetic and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms, which may explain the delayed suture fusion leading to the present-day globular skull shape.

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Plant-Derived Nano and Microvesicles for Human Health and Therapeutic Potential in Nanomedicine

Pharmaceutics ◽

10.3390/pharmaceutics13040498 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 498

Author(s):

Mariaevelina Alfieri ◽

Antonietta Leone ◽

Alfredo Ambrosone

Keyword(s):

Therapeutic Potential ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Plant Biotechnology ◽

Bioactive Metabolites ◽

Anticancer Activities ◽

Long Distance ◽

In Vivo Models ◽

Therapeutic Tools

Plants produce different types of nano and micro-sized vesicles. Observed for the first time in the 60s, plant nano and microvesicles (PDVs) and their biological role have been inexplicably under investigated for a long time. Proteomic and metabolomic approaches revealed that PDVs carry numerous proteins with antifungal and antimicrobial activity, as well as bioactive metabolites with high pharmaceutical interest. PDVs have also been shown to be also involved in the intercellular transfer of small non-coding RNAs such as microRNAs, suggesting fascinating mechanisms of long-distance gene regulation and horizontal transfer of regulatory RNAs and inter-kingdom communications. High loading capacity, intrinsic biological activities, biocompatibility, and easy permeabilization in cell compartments make plant-derived vesicles excellent natural or bioengineered nanotools for biomedical applications. Growing evidence indicates that PDVs may exert anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anticancer activities in different in vitro and in vivo models. In addition, clinical trials are currently in progress to test the effectiveness of plant EVs in reducing insulin resistance and in preventing side effects of chemotherapy treatments. In this review, we concisely introduce PDVs, discuss shortly their most important biological and physiological roles in plants and provide clues on the use and the bioengineering of plant nano and microvesicles to develop innovative therapeutic tools in nanomedicine, able to encompass the current drawbacks in the delivery systems in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical technology. Finally, we predict that the advent of intense research efforts on PDVs may disclose new frontiers in plant biotechnology applied to nanomedicine.

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Evaluation of the Impact of Different Pain Medication and Proton Pump Inhibitors on the Osteogenic Differentiation Potential of hMSCs Using 99mTc-HDP Labelling

Life ◽

10.3390/life11040339 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 339

Author(s):

Tobias Grossner ◽

Uwe Haberkorn ◽

Tobias Gotterbarm

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽

Osteogenic Differentiation ◽

Bone Metabolism ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Pain Medication ◽

Group 3 ◽

Group 5 ◽

The Impact

First-line analgetic medication used in the field of musculoskeletal degenerative diseases, like Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), reduces pain and prostaglandin synthesis, whereby peptic ulcers are a severe adverse effect. Therefore, proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are frequently used as a concomitant medication to reduce this risk. However, the impact of NSAIDs or metamizole, in combination with PPIs, on bone metabolism is still unclear. Therefore, human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were cultured in monolayer cultures in 10 different groups for 21 days. New bone formation was induced as follows: Group 1 negative control group, group 2 osteogenic differentiation media (OSM), group 3 OSM with pantoprazole (PAN), group 4 OSM with ibuprofen (IBU), group 5 OSM with diclofenac (DIC), group 6 OSM with metamizole (MET), group 7 OSM with ibuprofen and pantoprazole (IBU + PAN), group 8 OSM with diclofenac and pantoprazole (DIC + PAN), group 9 OSM with metamizole and pantoprazole (MET + PAN) and group 10 OSM with diclofenac, metamizole and pantoprazole (DIC + MET + PAN). Hydroxyapatite content was evaluated using high-sensitive radioactive 99mTc-HDP labeling. Within this study, no evidence was found that the common analgetic medication, using NSAIDs alone or in combination with pantoprazole and/or metamizole, has any negative impact on the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. To the contrary, the statistical results indicate that pantoprazole alone (group 3 (PAN) (p = 0.016)) or diclofenac alone (group 5 (DIC) (p = 0.008)) enhances the deposition of minerals by hMSCS in vitro. There is an ongoing discussion between clinicians in the field of orthopaedics and traumatology as to whether post-surgical (pain) medication has a negative impact on bone healing. This is the first hMSC in vitro study that investigates the effects of pain medication in combination with PPIs on bone metabolism. Our in vitro data indicates that the assumed negative impact on bone metabolism is subsidiary. These findings substantiate the thesis that, in clinical medicine, the patient can receive every pain medication needed, whether or not in combination with PPIs, without any negative effects for the osteo-regenerative potential.

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Expression Profile of New Marker Genes Involved in Differentiation of Canine Adipose-Derived Stem Cells into Osteoblasts

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22136663 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (13) ◽

pp. 6663

Author(s):

Maurycy Jankowski ◽

Mariusz Kaczmarek ◽

Grzegorz Wąsiatycz ◽

Claudia Dompe ◽

Paul Mozdziak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

In Vitro Culture ◽

Osteogenic Differentiation ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Marker Genes ◽

P Value ◽

Illumina Platform

Next-generation sequencing (RNAseq) analysis of gene expression changes during the long-term in vitro culture and osteogenic differentiation of ASCs remains to be important, as the analysis provides important clues toward employing stem cells as a therapeutic intervention. In this study, the cells were isolated from adipose tissue obtained during routine surgical procedures and subjected to 14-day in vitro culture and differentiation. The mRNA transcript levels were evaluated using the Illumina platform, resulting in the detection of 19,856 gene transcripts. The most differentially expressed genes (fold change >|2|, adjusted p value < 0.05), between day 1, day 14 and differentiated cell cultures were extracted and subjected to bioinformatical analysis based on the R programming language. The results of this study provide molecular insight into the processes that occur during long-term in vitro culture and osteogenic differentiation of ASCs, allowing the re-evaluation of the roles of some genes in MSC progression towards a range of lineages. The results improve the knowledge of the molecular mechanisms associated with long-term in vitro culture and differentiation of ASCs, as well as providing a point of reference for potential in vivo and clinical studies regarding these cells’ application in regenerative medicine.

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Stromal cell‐derived factor‐1/Exendin‐4 cotherapy facilitates the proliferation, migration and osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells in vitro and promotes periodontal bone regeneration in vivo

Cell Proliferation ◽

10.1111/cpr.12997 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Qianyu Liang ◽

Lingqian Du ◽

Rui Zhang ◽

Wenyan Kang ◽

Shaohua Ge

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Bone Regeneration ◽

Osteogenic Differentiation ◽

Periodontal Ligament ◽

Stromal Cell ◽

Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells ◽

Stromal Cell Derived Factor

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Establishing a deeper understanding of the osteogenic differentiation of monolayer cultured human pluripotent stem cells using novel and detailed analyses

Stem Cell Research & Therapy ◽

10.1186/s13287-020-02085-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ping Zhou ◽

Jia-Min Shi ◽

Jing-E Song ◽

Yu Han ◽

Hong-Jiao Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Osteogenic Differentiation ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Embryonic Stem ◽

Telomerase Activity ◽

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Cell Counting ◽

Cell Type ◽

Alizarin Red

Abstract Background Derivation of osteoblast-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) is a popular topic in bone tissue engineering. Although many improvements have been achieved, the low induction efficiency because of spontaneous differentiation hampers their applications. To solve this problem, a detailed understanding of the osteogenic differentiation process of hPSCs is urgently needed. Methods Monolayer cultured human embryonic stem cells and human-induced pluripotent stem cells were differentiated in commonly applied serum-containing osteogenic medium for 35 days. In addition to traditional assays such as cell viability detection, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence, and alizarin red staining, we also applied studies of cell counting, cell telomerase activity, and flow cytometry as essential indicators to analyse the cell type changes in each week. Results The population of differentiated cells was quite heterogeneous throughout the 35 days of induction. Then, cell telomerase activity and cell cycle analyses have value in evaluating the cell type and tumourigenicity of the obtained cells. Finally, a dynamic map was made to integrate the analysis of these results during osteogenic differentiation of hPSCs, and the cell types at defined stages were concluded. Conclusions Our results lay the foundation to improve the in vitro osteogenic differentiation efficiency of hPSCs by supplementing with functional compounds at the desired stage, and then establishing a stepwise induction system in the future.

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Advanced-platelet-rich fibrin extract promotes adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells in a dose-dependent manner in vitro

Tissue and Cell ◽

10.1016/j.tice.2021.101506 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 71 ◽

pp. 101506

Author(s):

Zhijie Liang ◽

Donglin Huang ◽

Wenhai Nong ◽

Jinping Mo ◽

Dandan Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Osteogenic Differentiation ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Adipose Derived Stem Cells ◽

Platelet Rich Fibrin ◽

Dose Dependent

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Effect of Dual Pore Size Architecture on In Vitro Osteogenic Differentiation in Additively Manufactured Hierarchical Scaffolds

ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering ◽

10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c01719 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Greeshma Ratheesh ◽

Mengchao Shi ◽

Patrick Lau ◽

Yin Xiao ◽

Cedryck Vaquette

Keyword(s):

Pore Size ◽

Osteogenic Differentiation

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Osteocytes Specific GSK3 Inhibition Affects In Vitro Osteogenic Differentiation

Biomedicines ◽

10.3390/biomedicines6020061 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 61 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jessika Bertacchini ◽

Maria Magaro’ ◽

Francesco Poti’ ◽

Carla Palumbo

Keyword(s):

Osteogenic Differentiation

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Osteogenic Properties of 3D-Printed Silica-Carbon-Calcite Composite Scaffolds: Novel Approach for Personalized Bone Tissue Regeneration

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22020475 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 475

Author(s):

Parastoo Memarian ◽

Francesco Sartor ◽

Enrico Bernardo ◽

Hamada Elsayed ◽

Batur Ercan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Osteogenic Differentiation ◽

Bone Tissue ◽

Cell Attachment ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Bone Tissue Regeneration ◽

Hemolysis Assay ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Related Transcription Factor ◽

Diphenyl Tetrazolium Bromide

Carbon enriched bioceramic (C-Bio) scaffolds have recently shown exceptional results in terms of their biological and mechanical properties. The present study aims at assessing the ability of the C-Bio scaffolds to affect the commitment of canine adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (cAD-MSCs) and investigating the influence of carbon on cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of cAD-MSCs in vitro. The commitment of cAD-MSCs to an osteoblastic phenotype has been evaluated by expression of several osteogenic markers using real-time PCR. Biocompatibility analyses through 3-(4,5-dimethyl- thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, hemolysis assay, and Ames test demonstrated excellent biocompatibility of both materials. A significant increase in the extracellular alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and expression of runt-related transcription factor (RUNX), ALP, osterix (OSX), and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand (RANKL) genes was observed in C-Bio scaffolds compared to those without carbon (Bio). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated excellent cell attachment on both material surfaces; however, the cellular layer on C-Bio fibers exhibited an apparent secretome activity. Based on our findings, graphene can improve cell adhesion, growth, and osteogenic differentiation of cAD-MSCs in vitro. This study proposed carbon as an additive for a novel three-dimensional (3D)-printable biocompatible scaffold which could become the key structural material for bone tissue reconstruction.

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