Hideto Watanabe

Aichi Medical University · Institute for Molecular Science of Medicine

Background Application of pulp regenerative cell therapy for mature teeth with periapical lesions is a critical clinical challenge. The bacterial infection in inaccessible location within the root canal system and in the periapical lesions could cause resistance and impediment, leading to limitations in successful therapy. Thus, the aim of this stu...

Background Clinical studies have demonstrated that dental pulp stem cells isolated from permanent teeth (PT-DPSCs) are safe and efficacious for complete pulp regeneration in mature pulpectomized permanent teeth with complete apical closure. Moreover, dental pulp stem cells from deciduous teeth (DT-DPSCs) have also been shown to be useful for pulp r...

Background Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) have been developed as a potential source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for regeneration of dental pulp and other tissues. However, further strategies to isolate highly functional DPSCs beyond the colony-forming methods are required. We have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of DPSCs isolated by G-CSF...

Background: Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) have been developed as a potential source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for regeneration of dental pulp and other tissues. However, further strategies to isolate highly functional DPSCs beyond the colony-forming methods are required. Our clinical study has demonstrated safety and efficacy of DPSCs isola...

Background: Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) have been developed as a potential source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for regeneration of dental pulp and other tissues. However, further strategies to isolate highly functional DPSCs beyond the colony-forming methods are required. We have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of DPSCs isolated by G-CS...

Microarray analysis Microarray analysis was performed as described previously (Ishizaka et al., 2012) with slight modification. Briefly, biotinylated cRNA were prepared from 250 ng of total RNA of directly treated aged PDLCs according to the standard Affymetrix protocol (Affymetrix Japan K.K., Japan). Subsequently fragmentation, 10 μg of cRNA were...

There is an age-dependent decline of pulp regeneration, due to the decline of migration, proliferation, and cell survival of resident stem cells. Trypsin is a proteolytic enzyme clinically used for tissue repair. Here, we investigated the effects of trypsin pretreatment of pulpectomized teeth prior to cell transplantation on pulp regeneration in ag...

Pulp regeneration after transplantation of mobilized dental pulp stem cells (MDPSCs) declines in the aged dogs due in part to the chronic inflammation and/or cellular senescence. Eotaxin-1/C-C motif chemokine 11 (CCL11) is an inflammation marker via chemokine receptor 3 (CCR3). Moreover, CCR3 antagonist (CCR3A) can inhibit CCL11 binding to CCR3 and...

Conophylline is a vinca alkaloid from leaves of the tropical plant Ervatamia microphylla and has been shown to mimic the effect of the growth and differentiation factor activin A on pancreatic progenitor cells. However, whereas activin A stimulates fibrosis of pancreatic stellate cells, conophylline inhibits it, suggesting that this compound may se...

Receptor type of protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma (RPTPσ) functions as a glycosaminoglycan (GAG) receptor of neuronal cells in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Both chondroitin sulfate (CS) and heparan sulfate (HS) are important constituents of GAG ligands for RPTPσ, although they have opposite effects on neuronal cells. CS inhibi...

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain. In cartilage, CS plays important roles as the main component of the extracellular matrix (ECM), existing as side chains of the major cartilage proteoglycan, aggrecan. Six glycosyltransferases are known to coordinately synthesize the backbone structure of CS; however, their in viv...

Quantitative analysis of the expression of six CS synthases in E18.5 humeral cartilage. The amount of each transcript in WT cartilage was set to a value of 1.0. WT (n = 6), t1 KO (n = 5), t2 KO (n = 7), DKO (n = 9). ND; Not detected. (TIF)

Genotypic analysis of offspring from Csgalnact-1 or Csgalnact-2 heterozygous intercrosses. (XLSX)

Primer information for real-time PCR. (XLSX)

Csgalnact-1::Csgalnact-2 double-deficient embryos die at birth. (XLSX)

Safranin-O staining of WT tibial cartilage at E18.5 without and with chondroitinase ABC pretreatment. (TIF)

Safranin-O staining of tracheal cartilage at E18.5. (TIF)

Primer sequences for in situ hybridization. (XLSX)

Versican, a large chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, serves as a structural macromolecule of the extracellular matrix and regulates cell behavior. We determined the function of versican in dermal development using VcanΔ3/Δ3 mutant mice expressing versican with deleted A-subdomain of the N-terminal G1 domain. The mutant versican showed a decreased hy...

Placental malaria, a serious infection caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is characterized by the selective accumulation of infected erythrocytes (IEs) in the placentas of the pregnant women. Placental adherence is mediated by the malarial VAR2CSA protein, which interacts with chondroitin sulfate (CS) proteoglycans present in the placent...

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a linear acidic polysaccharide composed of repeating disaccharide units of glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine. The polysaccharide is modified with sulfate groups at different positions by a variety of sulfotransferases. CS chains exhibit various biological and pathological functions by interacting with cytokine...

Introduction: This study was designed to evaluate the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess the regeneration of pulp tissue. Methods: Mobilized dental pulp stem cells and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor with collagen were transplanted into mature pulpectomized teeth for pulp regeneration (n = 4). The controls consisted o...

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan composed of a chain of alternating sugars of N-acetylgalactosamine and glucuronic acid and is a major component of cartilage. There, most CS chains are present as a proteoglycan, aggrecan. With the nature of water resorption, CS gives cartilage elasticity and resistance to compression in join...

The stroma provides a microenvironment that regulates tumor cell behavior. The extracellular matrix has long been recognized to be important in tumor cell behavior, and previous studies have revealed the impact of individual matrix molecules on tumor progression. Although several reports have highlighted some central roles of tumor cell-expressed v...

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan composed of a chain of alternating sugars of N-acetylgalactosamine and glucuronic acid and is a major component of cartilage. There, most CS chains are present as a proteoglycan, aggrecan. With the nature of water resorption, CS gives cartilage elasticity and resistance to compression in join...

Peltier Current Lead (PCL) is a key device which was developed to decrease heat penetration into DC superconducting system. We had been developed 100 A-class PCL. This PCL was employed in the demonstration test of DC superconducting transmission system in Chubu University (CASER-2) and confirmed operating stably. We have developed prototype of 1 kA...

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a linear polysaccharide composed of repeating disaccharide units of glucuronic acid (GlcUA) and N-acetyl-d-galactosamine (GalNAc) with sulfate groups at various positions. Baculovirus is an insect-pathogenic virus that infects Lepidoptera larvae. Recently, we found that the occlusion-derived virus envelope protein 66 (OD...

Purpose: To determine the function of versican (Vcan) in the cardiovascular system in vivo, we generated the versican conditional knockout mice, in which the Vcan gene was selectively ablated in vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs). Versican is a large secreted chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, which is important for cardiac development, and is also...

Inter-α-trypsin inhibitor (IαI) is a complex comprising two heavy chains (HCs) that are covalently bound by an ester bond to chondroitin sulfate (CS), which itself is attached to Ser-10 of bikunin. IαI is essential for the trans-esterification of HCs onto hyaluronan (HA). This process is important for the stabilization of HA-rich matrices during ov...

Here, we report that male heparan sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase-2 (Hs6st2) knockout mice showed increased body weight in an age-dependent manner even when fed with a normal diet and showed a phenotype of impaired glucose metabolism and insulin resistance. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis showed that the...

Objective To determine whether the structure of chondroitin sulfate (CS) in cartilage is reflected by the degree of cartilage degeneration in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee and to determine how CS biosynthesis affects cartilage degeneration. Design Two osteoarthritic cartilage samples were obtained from medial and lateral femoral co...

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a linear acidic polysaccharide, composed of repeating disaccharide units of glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine and modified with sulfate residues at different positions, that plays various roles in development and disease. Here, we chemo-enzymatically synthesized various CS species with defined lengths and defi...

The non-ablative laser therapies have been speculated to cause microinjury in the dermal collagen fibres and increase collagen synthesis in the fibroblasts, leading to remodelling of the extracellular matrix. This study investigated the effects of neodymium YAG laser treatment on pig skin, especially focusing on its extracellular matrix molecules....

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a linear polysaccharide consisting of repeating disaccharide units of N-acetyl-D-galactosamine and D-glucuronic acid residues, modified with sulfated residues at various positions. Based on its structural diversity in chain length and sulfation patterns, CS provides specific biological functions in cell adhesion, morphog...

Versican (Vcan)/proteoglycan (PG)-M is a large chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan which forms a proteoglycan/hyaluronan (HA) aggregate in the extracellular matrix (ECM). We tried to generate the Vcan knockout mice by a conventional method, which resulted in mutant mice Vcan(Δ3/Δ3) whose Vcan lacks the A subdomain of the G1 domain. The Vcan knockout e...

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) proteoglycans are strong inhibitors of structural rearrangement after injuries of the adult CNS. In addition to CS chains, keratan sulfate (KS) chains are also covalently attached to some proteoglycans. CS and KS sometimes share the same core protein, but exist as independent sugar chains. However, the biological significan...

We designed and constructed the experimental device of 200-meter superconducting DC cable system in the beginning of 2010 and did the first experiment until March, 2010, and the second experiment has been done from August to October 2010. This experimental device is called CASER-2, and the main aim of the experiment is to demonstrate high performan...

Efficiency of the energy management can be significantly enhanced using the technology of superconducting (SC) power transmission. A high cost of the existing experimental SC lines is determined to a great extent by the use of expensive cryopumps. Moreover, pumping stations require maintenance, and cryopumps are a source of additional heat load for...

In the present experiments three straight high temperature superconducting BSCCO tapes were set parallel to each other on a board and the currents were fed to the tapes. The critical currents of the tape which was set between two tapes were measured with respect to the gap between the tapes. We observed that the critical current increases with decr...

Heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans modulate the activity of multiple growth factors on the cell surface and extracellular matrix. However, it remains unclear how the HS chains control the movement and reception of growth factors into targeted receiving cells during mammalian morphogenetic processes. Here, we found that HS-deficient Ext2 null mutant...

Chondroitin sulfate is a linear polysaccharide of alternating D-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine residues with sulfate groups at various positions of the sugars. It interacts with and regulates cytokine and growth factor signal transduction, thus influencing development, organ morphogenesis, inflammation, and infection. We found chondro...

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a glycosaminoglycan, consisting of repeating disaccharide units of N-acetylgalactosamine and glucuronic acid residues, and plays important roles in development and homeostasis of organs and tissues. Here, we generated and analyzed mice lacking chondroitin sulfate N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 1 (CSGalNAcT-1). Csgalna...

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a glycosaminoglycan, consisting of repeating disaccharide units of N-acetylgalactosamine and glucuronic acid residues, and plays important roles in development and homeostasis of organs and tissues. Here, we generated and analyzed mice lacking chondroitin sulfate N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 1 (CSGalNAcT-1). Csgalna...

Cancer cell invasion comprises steps in the destruction of the basement membrane and migration of cells into the connective tissue. These cells further migrate into lymph ducts and small vessels to reach metastasis. The extracellular matrix (ECM) provides a microenvironment for cells, and its destruction is associated with cancer cell invasion. Amo...

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a polysaccharide consisting of repeating disaccharide units of N-acetyl-D-galactosamine and d-glucuronic acid residues, modified with sulfated residues at various positions. To date six glycosyltransferases for chondroitin synthesis have been identified, and the complex of chondroitin sulfate synthase-1 (CSS1)/chondroiti...

We constructed a test stand of a 20 m DC superconducting power transmission cable in Chubu University in 2006. The cable uses thirty-nine Bi-2223 tapes. Four cycles of a cooling and current-feeding test have been carried out after the construction of the test stand. The cable suffered rapid temperature decrease of 20 K/hour at the daytime during th...

Versican/PG-M is a large chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan in the extracellular matrix, which is transiently expressed in mesenchymal condensation areas during tissue morphogenesis. Here, we generated versican conditional knock-out mice Prx1-Cre/Vcanflox/flox, in which Vcan is pruned out by site-specific Cre recombinase driven by the Prx1 promoter....

Serum-derived hyaluronan (HA)-associated proteins (SHAPs), the heavy chains of inter-α-trypsin inhibitor, covalently bind to HA to form the SHAP-HA complex. The SHAP-HA complex is involved in the pathophysiology of inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. We investigated whether this complex is also involved in airway allergy. SHAP-HA...

In the process of tissue injury and repair, epithelial cells rapidly migrate and form epithelial sheets. Vinexin is a cytoplasmic molecule of the integrin-containing cell adhesion complex localized at focal contacts in vitro. Here, we investigated the roles of vinexin in keratinocyte migration in vitro and wound healing in vivo. Vinexin knockdown u...

Heparan sulfate is a ubiquitous glycosaminoglycan in the extracellular matrix of most animals. It interacts with various molecules and exhibits important biological functions. K5 antigen produced by Escherichia coli strain K5 is a linear polysaccharide N-acetylheparosan consisting of GlcUA beta1-4 and GlcNAc alpha1-4 repeating disaccharide, which f...

Highly charged ions produced in an electron beam ion trap, Iq+, q = 10–50, were transmitted through a tapered glass capillary having diameter of at the end. We found that for a particular beam current, there exists an optimum tilting angle of the capillary in which a steady output of ions is observed, while for smaller angles, the ion counts first...

A pleomorphic adenoma (PA) is the most common epithelial tumor in the salivary glands, but it frequently shows a mesenchyme-like histology, including the presence of myxoid and chondroid areas. Cartilage-specific matrix proteins are deposited in PA. Aggrecan is a major component of cartilage-specific proteoglycans. The present study examined the ul...

An electron beam ion source (EBIS) was developed and applied to create nanostructures. The EBIS uses a commercial superconducting magnet (3T) with vacuum system independent from another vacuum system which comprises all of the ion source constituents except the magnet. The attained parameters of electron beam are emission current of 180mA and accel...

α-methyldopa causes inhibition of ejaculation by suppressing the dopaminergic system in the brain. The spinal mechanism which works together with this brain inhibitory mechanism was persued by determining the changes of spinal monoamines in dogs. As a result, it was found that suppression of the dopaminergic system by α-methyldopa is caused also in...

Versican/PG-M is a large chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan of the extracellular matrix which interacts with hyaluronan at the N-terminal G1 domain, composed of A, B, and B′ subdomains. Recently, we generated knock-in mice Cspg2Δ3/Δ3, whose versican, without the A subdomain, has decreased hyaluronan (HA) binding affinity, thereby exhibiting reduced d...

Versican/proteoglycan-mesenchymal (PG-M) is a large chondroitin sulfate (CS) proteoglycan of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that is constitutively expressed in adult tissues such as dermis and blood vessels. It serves as a structural macromolecule of the ECM, while in embryonic tissue it is transiently expressed at high levels and regulates cell ad...

Macular corneal dystrophy (MCD) is subdivided into three immunophenotypes, MCD types I, IA and II, based on the reactivity of serum and corneal tissue to an antibody that recognises sulfated keratan sulfate (KS).1 In MCD type I (MCD-I), antigenic KS is undetectable in both serum and cornea, while in MCD-II it is present at normal or subnormal level...

Escherichia coli strain K4 expresses a chondroitin (CH)-polymerizing enzyme (K4CP) that contains two glycosyltransferase active domains. K4CP alternately transfers glucuronic acid (GlcA) and N-acetyl-galactosamine (GalNAc) residues using UDP-GlcA and UDP-GalNAc donors to the nonreducing end of a CH chain acceptor. Here we generated two K4CP point m...

Matrix-producing carcinoma of the breast is a well-established entity in the group of metaplastic carcinoma, which is histologically characterized by myxochondroid matrix formation and is extremely rare. We describe here four additional cases of matrix-producing carcinoma of the breast. All cases of matrix-producing carcinoma show nest-like, sheet-...

The pandemic spread of Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an international public health issue. Because of the outbreak potential of the organism, it is critical to establish an internationally recognized molecular subtyping protocol for V. parahaemolyticus that is both rapid and robust as a means to monitor its further spread and to guide control measures...

To investigate two clusters of diarrhoea cases observed in our geriatric hospital wards, the faecal specimens were analysed. Reversed passive latex agglutination assay revealed that 63.2% and 41.7% of the faecal specimens from each cluster were positive for Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin. PCR assay revealed that 71.4% and 68.8% of C. perfringe...

Inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor (IalphaI) family molecules are composed of a common light chain of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, bikunin, and one or two of three genetically distinct heavy chain isoforms (designated HC1, 2, 3) that are bound covalently to the chondroitin sulfate chain. Hyaluronan can substitute for chondroitin sulfate to form a c...

The two-electron QED contributions to the ground-state binding energy of ${\mathrm{Kr}}^{34+}$ ions have been determined in two independent experiments performed with electron beam ion traps (EBIT) in Heidelberg (HD) and Tokyo (BT, Belfast-Tokyo collaboration). X rays arising from radiative recombination (RR) of free electrons to the ground state o...

Export Date: 23 October 2011, Source: Scopus, Art. No.: 059901, CODEN: PLRAA, doi: 10.1103/PhysRevA.77.059901

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) comprises repeating disaccharide units of N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) and glucuronic acid (GlcA) residues with sulfate residues at different positions. CS biosynthesis (Fig. 1) is initiated by the transfer of a GalNAc residue to the linkage region of a GlcA-β1, 3-galactose (Gal)-β1, 3-Gal-β1,4-Xyl tetrasaccharide primer...

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2/4 play critical roles in early embryogenesis and skeletal development. BMP-2/4 signals conduct into cells via two types of serine/threonine kinase receptors, known as BMPR-I (IA and IB) and BMPR-II. Here we identified splicing factor 3b subunit 4 (SF3b4) as a molecule that interacts with BMPR-IA, using a yeast two...

Chondroitin polymerase from Escherichia coli strain K4 (K4CP) synthesizes chondroitin (CH) polysaccharides by the alternate addition of N-acetyl-D-galactosamine (GalNAc) and D-glucuronic acid (GlcA) to acceptor CH oligosaccharides in the presence of Mn(2+) ions. In this study, we applied matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization and time-of-fligh...

Cartilage destruction leads to severe joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis and spinal disorders with back pain, and cartilage regeneration is very inefficient. A major component of the cartilage extracellular matrix is the proteoglycan aggrecan that contains approximately 100 chondroitin sulfate (CS) chains, which impart water absorption and resi...

This article describes two data systems, primarily for use with x-ray detectors in conjunction with an Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT). Both systems are designed from a common viewpoint that useful information should be presented in real-time whilst as much information as possible should be stored for subsequent off-line analysis.

We have measured the absolute multi-electron transfer cross sections and branching ratios for the decay of multiply excited Rydberg ions in slow Iq+-Xe, Ar (10 ≤ q ≤ 20) collisions combining the initial growth rate method with coincidence method. We report the incident ion charge dependence of transfer cross sections and branching ratios.

We have observed polarization of emission lines for 1s22s5g(1G4)-1s22s6h(1H5) and 1s22s6h(1H5)-1s22s7i(1I6) transitions of O4+ produced by double electron capture in O6+ + He collisions in the energy range of 60-120 keV. The polarization degree was 0.2-0.23 for the 5g-6h transition and 0.28-0.33 for the 6h-7i transition. The polarization degree of...

We have measured the degree of polarization of the emission line corresponding to the 1s22s6h–1s22s7i transition of O4+ ions produced by the double electron transfer in the collisions of O6+ ions with He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, H2, N2 and O2. For all targets, the polarization degrees for this line have positive values in the collision energy range of 60–1...

We have been using the Tokyo EBIT to study a wide range of electron ion interactions and to measure the energies of transitions in highly charged ions. Transition energies were investigated using visible and x-ray spectroscopy. The two electron contribution to the ground state energy of Helium-like Krypton was measured using absorption-edge spectro...

X-ray emission yields from highly charged iodine ions incident on a hydrogen terminated silicon surface were measured. It was found that the K shell vacancies were filled through x-ray transitions with the probability of approximately 100%, while only about 20% of L shell vacancies were filled through x-ray transitions and almost all the M shell va...

A technique is described whereby measurements of ions extracted from an electron beam ion trap can be used to deduce their temperature dynamics. The measured temperature dynamics shows the expected trend as a function of charge and also gives evidence for Landau-Spitzer heating, ionization heating and evaporative cooling.

We describe polarization spectroscopy measurements of N4+(1s23p 2P3/2) following single electron capture by N5+(1s2) from He and H2. The degree of polarization P for the 3s2S1/2–3p 2P3/2 transition has been measured as a function of projectile velocity ranging between 0.38 and 0.54 a.u. In both of the collision systems, P has a nearly constant valu...

The magnetic dipole transitions between fine structure levels in the ground term of Ti-like ions, (3d4) 5D2 –5D3, were investigated by observation of visible and near-UV light for several elements with atomic numbers from 51 to 78. The wavelengths are compared with theoretical values we recently calculated. The differences between the present calcu...

We have measured the electron beam radius with the Tokyo-EBIT using a Thomson scattering method. Dependences of the beam radius were investigated on beam energy, beam current and magnetic field at the center region of the trap. The variations of the measured beam radius against the beam current and the magnetic field were similar to those in the He...

A method of injecting metallic elements into an electron-beam ion trap (EBIT) is described. The method is advantageous over the conventional coaxial and pulsed injection methods in two ways: (a) complicated switching of injection and extraction beams can be avoided when extracting beams of highly charged ions from the EBIT and (b) a beam of stable...

Proteoglycans are a family of glycoconjugates consisting of central core proteins with covalently attached glycosaminoglycan (GAG) side chains. Several proteoglycans participate in the development and maintenance of cartilage. Versican/PG-M positively regulates the formation of the mesenchymal matrix during the mesenchymal cell condensation, an ess...

Versican/PG-M is a large chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan of the extracellular matrix with a common domain structure to aggrecan and is present in cartilage at low levels. Here, we characterized cartilage versican during development and growth. Immunostaining showed that versican was mainly localized in the interterritorial zone of the articular su...

We examined the serum levels of cytokines, interferon (IFN)-alpha, IFN-gamma, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-12 p40, and IL-12 p70; those that affect the T helper 1 and 2 balance in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). Among the cytokines tested, only IL-12 p40, together with the serum titer of anti-IL-12 p40 antibody, was significantly elevated in MG wit...

Mesenchymal cell condensation is an essential step for cartilage development. Versican/PG-M, a large chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, is one of the major molecules expressed in the extracellular matrix during condensation. However, its role, especially as an environment for cells being condensed, has not been elucidated. Here we showed several lin...

Perlecan is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan and a major component of the glomerular basement membrane. To understand the role of heparan sulfate chains of perlecan in glomerular filtration, detailed analyses were performed of the kidneys of Hspg2(Delta)(3/)(Delta)(3) mice, whose perlecan lacks heparan sulfate attachment sites in N-terminal domain I....

This chapter presents an introduction to the formation of the serum-derived hyaluronan-associated protein (SHAP)-hyaluronan complex and the related physiological significance. This chapter discusses its possible roles in pathological processes. The main point is that the association of SHAP changes the properties of hyaluronan. Mass spectrometry re...

The proteoglycan aggregate is the major structural component of the extracellular matrix of the cartilage, composed of aggrecan, hyaluronan (HA) and link protein (LP). The aggregates provide cartilage with unique gel-like property and resistance to deformation through water absorption. Natural knockout mice of aggrecan, termed cartilage matrix defi...

In clinical studies and animal models, low-intensity ultrasound (US) promotes fracture repair and increases mechanical strength. US also promotes cartilage healing by increasing glycosaminoglycan synthesis of chondrocytes. As mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the ability to differentiate into chondrocytes, US may promote their differentiation. Her...

The proteoglycan aggregate is the major structural component of the extracellular matrix of the cartilage, composed of aggrecan, hyaluronan (HA) and link protein (LP). Cartilage matrix deficiency and LP-null mice demonstrate in vivo roles of the aggregate in cartilage development and homeostasis. Our recent studies demonstrate that PG-M/versican, a...