Abstract Heterotopic ossification (HO) represents an unwanted ossific wound healing response to the soft tissue injury which caused catastrophic limb dysfunction. Recent studies established the involvement of inflammation and cellular senescence in the tissue healing process, though their role in HO still remained to be clarified. Here, a novel crosstalk where the pyroptotic macrophages aroused tendon‐derived stem cells (TDSCs) senescence is revealed to encourage osteogenic healing during trauma‐induced HO formation. Macrophage pyroptosis blockade reduces the senescent cell burden and HO formation in NLRP3 knockout mice. Pyroptosis‐driven IL‐1 β and extracellular vesicles (EVs) secretion from macrophages are determined to motivate TDSCs senescence and resultant osteogenesis. Mechanistically, pyroptosis in macrophages enhances the exosomal release of high mobility group protein 1 (HMGB1), which directly bounds TLR9 in TDSCs to trigger morbid signaling. NF‐ κ B signaling is confirmed to be the converging downstream pathway of TDSCs in response to HMGB1‐containing EVs and IL‐1 β . This study adds insights into aberrant regeneration‐based theory for HO formation and boosts therapeutic strategy development.
Abstract Heterotopic ossification occurs as a pathological ossification condition characterized by ectopic bone formation within soft tissues following trauma. Vascularization has long been established to fuel skeletal ossification during tissue development and regeneration. However, the feasibility of vascularization as a target of heterotopic ossification prevention remained to be further clarified. Here, we aimed to identify whether verteporfin as a widely used FDA‐approved anti‐vascularization drug could effectively inhibit trauma‐induced heterotopic ossification formation. In the current study, we found that verteporfin not only dose dependently inhibited the angiogenic activity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) but also the osteogenic differentiation of tendon stem cells (TDSCs). Moreover, YAP/β‐catenin signaling axis was downregulated by the verteporfin. Application of lithium chloride, an agonist of β‐catenin, recovered TDSCs osteogenesis and HUVECs angiogenesis that was inhibited by verteporfin. In vivo, verteporfin attenuated heterotopic ossification formation by decelerating osteogenesis and the vessels densely associated with osteoprogenitors formation, which could also be readily reversed by lithium chloride, as revealed by histological analysis and Micro‐CT scan in a murine burn/tenotomy model. Collectively, this study confirmed the therapeutic effect of verteporfin on angiogenesis and osteogenesis in trauma‐induced heterotopic ossification. Our study sheds light on the anti‐vascularization strategy with verteporfin as a candidate treatment for heterotopic ossification prevention.
Objective: Rapid-onset obesity with hypoventilation, hypothalamic dysfunction, and autonomic dysregulation (ROHHAD) is rare, and manifestations of autonomic dysregulation are diverse and may be overlooked. We aimed to evaluate the incidence of these manifestations. Methods: Patients with ROHHAD syndrome reported before and after 2019 were divided into Groups 1 and 2. Patients who were diagnosed at three regional hospitals in China were included in Group 3. We collected the age of each specific term of the ROHHAD (neurogenic tumor, NET) acronym and the detailed manifestations of each term, and compared them among the three groups. Results: A total of 16 patients were diagnosed within the 2-year period. Two had neurogenic tumors and cognitive and behavioral abnormalities before developing rapid obesity. At least 93.8% of the patients had ≥ 4 symptoms of autonomic dysregulation. When comparing autonomic dysregulation among Groups 1–3, the rates of cardiovascular manifestations were NA vs. 12.8% vs. 81.2%; gastrointestinal disturbances were 11.4% vs. 8.5% vs. 62.5%; strabismus was 25.7% vs. 12.8% vs. 62.5%; sleep disturbance was NA vs. 6.4% vs. 50.0%; and abnormal pain threshold was NA vs. 10.6% vs. 25.0% (all p<0.05). The rates of cognitive and behavioral abnormalities were NA vs 29.8% and 87.5% (p<0.01). Conclusions: Rapid-onset obesity is not always the first sign of ROHHAD syndrome. Higher rates of autonomic dysregulation and cognitive and behavioral abnormalities with multiple manifestations of autonomic dysregulation coexisted in our cohort, indicating that evaluations of autonomic function and the limbic system should be strengthened when assessing this condition.
Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a promising anti-cancer agent that rapidly induces apoptosis in cancer cells. Unfortunately, the clinical application of recombinant TRAIL (rTRAIL) has been hampered by its common cancer resistance. Naturally TRAIL is delivered as a membrane-bound form by extracellular vesicles (EV-T) and is highly efficient for apoptosis induction. SCH727965 (dinaciclib), a potent cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor, was shown to synergize with other drugs to get better efficacy. However, it has never been investigated if dinaciclib coordinates with EV-T to enhance therapeutic results. This study explores the potential of combination therapy with EV-T and dinaciclib for cancer treatment. EV-T was successfully derived from human TRAIL transduced cells and shown to partially overcome resistance of A549 cells. Dinaciclib was shown to drastically enhance EV-T killing effects on cancer lines that express good levels of death receptor (DR) 5, which are associated with suppression of CDK1, CDK9 and anti-apoptotic proteins. Combination therapy with low doses of EV-T and dinaciclib induced strikingly enhanced apoptosis and led to complete regression in A549 tumors without any adverse side effects observed in a subcutaneous xenograft model. Tumor infiltration of mass NK cells and macrophages was also observed. These observations thus indicate that the combination of EV-T with dinaciclib is a potential novel therapy for highly effective and safe cancer treatment.
A cross-sectional study enrolled 200 children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder visiting four Chinese tertiary care psychiatric clinics to assess the validity and reliability of the Dundee difficult times of the day scale (D-DTODS), using the Weiss functional impairment rating scale for parents form (WFIRS-P) and the Swanson, Nolan and Pelham, version IV 26-item teacher and parent rating scale (SNAP-IV-26).The calculated Cronbach's-α for the D-DTODS total score was 0.793. The calculated Spearman's correlation coefficients for D-DTODS versus WFRIS-P and Swanson, Nolan and Pelham, version IV 26-item teacher and parent rating scale (SNAP-IV-26) were 0.425 (p < 0.01) and 0.452 (p < 0.001), respectively.The D-DTODS was worth future test-retest confirmation regarding reliability and validity for assessing functional impairment associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder across different time periods of the day in Chinese children and adolescents.