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Aims: The study aimed to investigate the role of miR‐146a‐5p in osteogenesis of hPDLSCs irradiated with low‐energy red LEDs. Methods: After irradiation with 5 J/cm2 red LED, miR‐146a‐5p expression was detected by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR), and osteogenic markers expression was determined by RT‐qPCR and Western blotting. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was assessed by ALP staining, and mineralization was assessed by Alizarin Red staining, respectively. Lentiviral vectors were designed to regulate miR‐146a‐5p expression. Dual‐luciferase reporter assay was performed to confirm the targeted relationship between miR‐146a‐5p and MAPK1. Short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was used to regulate MAPK1 expression. Results: RT‐qPCR and western blotting revealed that 5 J/cm2 irradiation elevated the levels of the osteogenic markers osterix (OSX) and bone sialoprotein (BSP) in hPDLSCs. miR‐146a‐5p is downregulated in hPDLSCs under the low‐energy red LED light irradiation. miR‐146a‐5p underexpression markedly promoted the osteogenic potential of hPDLSCs. miR‐146a‐5p targeted MAPK1. 5 J/cm2 red LED irradiation rescued the inhibitory effects of upregulated miR‐146a‐5p on osteogenic differentiation, and the positive influence of red LED irradiation could be reversed by downregulated MAPK1. Conclusion: These findings confirm that miR‐146a‐5p is involved in the effect of LED irradiation on the osteogenic differentiation of hPDLSCs by targeting MAPK1. Red LED irradiation may be a potential clinical adjunct therapy for periodontal regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antifouling technologies have attracted considerable attention in recent years, as numerous fouling phenomena pertaining to inorganic, organic, bio-, and composite foulants substantially affect daily life. Poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) has several practical applications; however, it possesses limited resistance to inorganic, organic, or biofoulants such as proteins or bacteria. Among the antifouling strategies reported thus far, antifouling induced by surface wettability (AFISW) is an exceptional strategy with considerable potential. It presents numerous advantages such as a physical working mechanism, eco-friendliness, and facile material fabrication process. To achieve AFISW, PDMS can be modified with several nanomaterials to tune its surface wettability to meet antifouling requirements. This article presents a systematic review of the existing research on AFISW in PDMS to achieve improved antifouling performance. Specifically, we first provide a background on fouling, focusing on the different types of fouling and antifouling mechanisms. Then, we provide a comprehensive review of AFISW based on four types of surface wettability, namely, superhydrophilicity, hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, and superhydrophobicity. Finally, we discuss suitable AFISW strategies for different types of fouling mechanisms based on PDMS and its nanocomposites. This review will help researchers design and fabricate various polymeric materials and their nanocomposites with tailored surface wettability for AFISW applications.

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) from diabetic osteoporosis (DOP) mice showed impaired osteogenic differentiation capacity. Recent studies have shown that in addition to antidiabetic drugs, sodium-glucose co-transporter inhibitor-2 (SGLT-2), empagliflozin, can play multipotent roles through various mechanisms of action. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of empagliflozin on osteogenic differentiation of ASCs in DOP mice. Our results showed that osteogenic differentiation potential and autophagy activity weakened in DOP-ASCs when compared to controls. However, empagliflozin enhanced autophagy flux by promoting the formation of autophagosomes and acidification of autophagic lysosomes, resulting in an increase in LC3-II expression and a decrease in SQSTM1 expression. Furthermore, empagliflozin contributed to the reversal of osteogenesis inhibition in DOP-ASCs induced by a diabetic microenvironment. When 3-methyladenine was used to block autophagy activity, empagliflozin could not exert its protective effect on DOP-ASCs. Nonetheless, this study demonstrated that the advent of cellular autophagy attributed to the administration of empagliflozin could ameliorate the impaired osteogenic differentiation potential of ASCs in DOP mice. This finding might be conducive to the application of ASCs transplantation for promoting bone fracture healing and bone regeneration in patients with DOP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous finding revealed that the Wnt10b RNA expression of osteoporotic adipose‐derived stem cells (OP‐ASCs) with impaired osteogenic capacity was significantly reduced than that of ASCs. There are no ideas that the relationship between the OP‐ASCs' impaired osteogenic potential and Wnt10b expression. This study aimed to indicate the potential molecular mechanisms and functional role of Wnt10b in OP‐ASCs, as well as to investigate a potential application to reverse the OP‐ASCs' impaired osteogenic differentiation potential. The OP‐ASCs and ASCs were harvested from the inguinal fat of osteoporosis (OP) mice with bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) and normal mice. qPCR and WB were used to detect the different levels of the expression of the Wnt10b RNA in both OP‐ASCs and ASCs. Lentiviral‐mediated regulation of Wnt10b expression was employed for OP‐ASCs, and the detection of the expression levels of key molecules in the Wnt signalling pathway and key osteogenic factors was performed through qPCR and WB in vitro experiments. The capacity of OP‐ASCs to osteogenesis was determined using alizarin red staining. Lastly, the repair effect of the BCP scaffolds incorporating modified OP‐ASCs on the critical‐sized calvarial defects (CSCDs) in OP mice was scanned and detected by micro‐computed tomography, haematoxylin and eosin staining, Masson's trichrome staining and immunohistochemistry. First, we discovered that both the RNA and protein expression levels of Wnt10b were significantly lower in OP‐ASCs than that in ASCs. In vitro experiments, upregulation of Wnt10b could activate the Wnt signalling pathway, and increase expression of β‐catenin, Lef1, Runx2 and osteopontin (Opn), thereby enhancing the osteogenic ability of OP‐ASCs. In addition, the OP‐ASCs with Wnt10b‐overexpressing could promote the repair of CSCD in osteoporotic mice with increasing new bone volume, bone mineral density, and increased expression of Opn in new bone in vivo. Taken together, overexpression of Wnt10b could partially facilitate the differentiation of OP‐ASCs towards osteogenesis and accelerated the healing of bone defects by activating the Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway in vitro and in vivo experiments. This study confirmed the important role of Wnt10b in regulating the osteogenic differentiation capability of OP‐ASCs and indicated Wnt10b could be a potential therapeutic target for reversing the impaired osteogenic capabilities of OP‐ASCs to therapy bone defects of OP patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we fabricated native tissue mimicking a bilayered small-diameter vascular graft based on PEGylated chitosan (PEG–CS) and poly(l -lactic acid- co - ε -caprolactone) (PLCL). PEG–CS possesses good hemocompatibility, and as the inner layer of a vascular graft, it is more likely to swell and deform to debris, causing a blood clot, so the PLCL was added to stabilize it. In order to optimize the performance of the inner layer, PEG–CS blends with different ratios of PLCL (P/C:PLCL) casting films were fabricated, and endothelial cell compatibility and hemocompatibility were tested. The outer layer of the graft was fabricated via electrospinning with PLCL blends with different ratios of water-soluble polyethylene glycol. After water treatment, we tested smooth muscle cell penetration. Designing a two-layer vascular graft structure with an inner layer of P/C:PLCL = 1:6 and an outer layer being composed of a PLCL blend with 12% polyethylene glycol offers very good hemocompatibility and fast cell growth and also reserves well mechanical properties with good cell infiltration. Therefore, this kind of graft has a high potential to be used as an artificial blood vessel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

4′,4″(5″) Di- tert-butyldibenzo 18-crown-6 (DTBB18C6) was successfully synthesized by SN2 with 4- tert-butyl catechol as starting material. Effects of reagents, solvents, and templates were investigated. Reaction process was monitored by the real-time online FTIR to study the actual reaction route. The highest DTBB18C6 yield (above 33%) was obtained by using Cs2CO3 as the template, 2,2′-diethylene glycol ditosylate as the reagent, and THF as the solvent. From the result of FTIR, four different reaction stages of DTBB18C6 synthesis process were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The reactive blends were prepared by the blending of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) with poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) in the presence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as a radical initiator in the melt state. The gel fractions, morphologies, crystallization behaviors, and rheological and mechanical properties of the reactive blends were investigated. Some crosslinked/branched structures were formed according to the rheological measurement and gel fraction results, and the crosslinked/branched structures played the role of nucleation site for the reactive blends. The PLA-PBS copolymers of the reactive blends acted as a compatibilizer for the PLA and PBS phases and, hence, improved the compatibility between the two components. Moreover, it was found that the reactive blends showed the most excellent mechanical properties as the DCP contents were 0.2 and 0.3 phr. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 39580. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]