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Background Odontoblast is a unique progenitor that plays a role in dentin formation. So far, the dentinogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells and the role of surface molecules of odontoblasts in dentinogenesis are not well known yet. In this study, we obtained odontoblast-like cells from human dental pulp cells and screened odontoblast-specific cell surface antigens by decoy immunization. Methods Through decoy immunization with intact odontoblast-like cells derived from human dental pulp cells, we constructed 12 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) of IgG type, and their binding affinities for cell surface of odontoblast-like cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Immunoprecipitation, mass spectrometry, and immunohistochemistry were performed to demonstrate odontoblast-specific antigens. Odontoblasts were sorted by these mAbs using magnetic-activated cell sorting system, and their mineralization efficiency was increased after sorting. Results We constructed 12 mAbs of IgG type, which had a strong binding affinity for cell surface antigens of odontoblast-like cells. In human adult tooth, these mAbs accumulated in the odontoblastic layer between dentin and pulp and in the perivascular region adjacent to the blood vessels in the pulp core. Cell surface expression of the antigenic molecules was increased during odontogenic cytodifferentiation and decreased gradually as dentinogenic maturation progressed. Proteomic analysis showed that two representative antigenic molecules, OD40 and OD46, had the potential to be components for cell adhesion and extracellular matrix structures. Conclusion These results suggest that mAbs will be useful for detecting and separating odontoblasts from the primary pulp cells and other lineage cells and will provide information on the structures of extracellular matrix and microenvironment that appears during the dentinogenic differentiation.

Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are the primary cells responsible for dentin regeneration. Typically, in order to allow for odontoblastic differentiation, hDPSCs are cultured over weeks with differentiation-inducing factors in a typical monolayered culture. However, monolayered cultures have significant drawbacks including inconsistent differentiation efficiency, require a higher BMP concentration than should be necessary, and require periodic treatment with BMPs for weeks to see results. To solve these problems, we developed a 3D-cell spheroid culture system for odontoblastic differentiation using microparticles with leaf-stacked structure (LSS), which allow for the sustained release of BMPs and adequate supply of oxygen in cell spheroids. BMPs were continuously released and maintained an effective concentration over 37 days. hDPSCs in the spheroid maintained their viability for 5 weeks, and the odontoblastic differentiation efficiency was increased significantly compared to monolayered cells. Finally, dentin-related features were detected in the spheroids containing BMPs-loaded microparticles after 5 weeks, suggesting that these hDPSC-LSS spheroids might be useful for dentin tissue regeneration.

Human dental pulp cells have been known to have the stem cell features such as self-renewal and multipotency. These cells are differentiated into hard tissue by addition of proper cytokines and biomaterials. Hydroxyapatite-tricalcium phosphates (HA-TCPs) are essential components of hard tissue and generally used as a biocompatible material in tissue engineering of bone. Demineralized dentin matrix (DDM) has been reported to increase efficiency of bone induction. We compared the efficiencies of osteogenic differentiation and in vivo bone formation of HA-TCP and DDM on human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs). DDM contains inorganic components as with HA-TCP, and organic components such as collagen type-1. Due to these components, osteoinduction potential of DDM on hDPSCs was remarkably higher than that of HA-TCP. However, the efficiencies of in vivo bone formation are similar in HA-TCP and DDM. Although osteogenic gene expression and bone formation in immunocompromised nude mice were similar levels in both cases, dentinogenic gene expression level was slightly higher in DDM transplantation than in HA-TCP. All these results suggested that in vivo osteogenic potentials in hDPSCs are induced with both HA-TCP and DDM by osteoconduction and osteoinduction, respectively. In addition, transplantation of hDPSCs/DDM might be more effective for differentiation into dentin.

Dental enamel is the highly mineralized tissue covering the tooth surface and is formed by ameloblasts. Ameloblasts have been known to be impossible to detect in adult tooth because they are shed by apoptosis during enamel maturation and tooth eruption. Owing to these, little was known about appropriate cell surface markers to isolate ameloblast-like cells in tissues. To overcome these problems, epithelial cells were selectively cultivated from the gingival tissues and used as a stem cell source for ameloblastic differentiation. When gingival epithelial cells were treated with a specified concentration of BMP2, BMP4, and TGFβ-1, the expression of ameloblast-specific markers was increased, and both the MAPK and Smad signaling pathways were activated. Gingival epithelial cells differentiated into ameloblast-like cells through epithelial-mesenchymal transition. By RNA-Seq analysis, we reported 20 ameloblast-specific genes associated with cell surface, cell adhesion, and extracellular matrix function. These cell surface markers might be useful for the detection and isolation of ameloblast-like cells from dental tissues.

BackgroundV-set and immunoglobulin domain-containing 4 (VSIG4) is one of the B7 family-related proteins that includes PD-L1, VISTA, and CTLA4 ligand. VSIG4 overexpression is correlated with poor prognosis in patients with ovarian cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, high-grade glioma, and multiple myeloma. VSIG4 is also known to function as a receptor for complements and the negative regulation of T cell proliferation. Although VSIG4 is highly expressed in tissue-resident macrophages and tumor-associated macrophages (TAM), its role in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is not fully elucidated.Methods In vivo model GenerationPBMC-humanized mouse model shows a relative enrichment of human T cells but generally not enough numbers of human monocyte/macrophage. Therefore, a strategy of adding M2 macrophages was used in the tumor site. Human PBMC were injected i.v. into the NSG mice to humanize.ResultsWe previously developed a therapeutic antibody, EU103, in a humanized form of a VSIG4-specific antibody. Most importantly, we demonstrated that EU103 directly acts on the tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) and mechanistically induces repolarization of TAM to tumor killing M1 macrophages and blocking VSIG4-mediated T cell suppression, eventually leading to CD8+ T cell proliferation and tumor suppression in a PBMC-humanized human lung cancer mouse model. Expanding our previous findings with the therapeutic potential of EU103 in a non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), here, we also proved its therapeutic effect in human ovarian cancer. Firstly, TAMs isolated from ovarian cancer patients express high levels of VSIG4 with immunosuppressive M2 macrophage phenotype. Secondly, EU103 treatment of the TAMs in in vitro studies induces M2-to-M1 conversion and activation of T cells in the ascites leading to ovarian tumor cell killing in a dose-dependent manner. Thirdly, in vivo therapeutic efficacy of EU103 in ovarian cancer, especially through M2-to-M1 conversion, is also verified in both CD34+ cell and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC). humanized mouse models. Finally, we validate the results above by treating ovarian cancer patient-driven ascites with EU103.ConclusionsAlmost 300,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer worldwide each year, and ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women. In the United States alone, we expect approximately 20,000 new diagnoses and more than 12,000 deaths for this year. Given our findings in this study and clinical significance, we propose here the therapeutic potential of EU103, previously developed by our proprietary antibody discovery and engineering technology, in ovarian cancer.

Retrospective study. To evaluate the radiological and clinical results of three different methods in the deformity correction of a degenerative flat back. There are no comparative studies about different procedures in the treatment of degenerative flat back. Sixty-four patients who consecutively underwent corrective surgery for degenerative flat back were reviewed. The operations were performed by three different methods: posterior-only (group P, n=20), one-stage anterior-posterior (group AP, n=12), and two-stage anterior-posterior with iliac screw fixation (group AP-I, n=32). Medical and surgical complications were examined and radiological and clinical results were compared. The majority of medical and surgical complications were found in group AP (5/12) and group P (7/20). The sagittal vertical axes were within normal range immediately postoperatively in all groups, but only group AP-I showed normal sagittal alignment at the final follow-up. Postoperative lumbar lordosis was also significantly higher in group AP-I than in group P or group AP and the finding did not change through the last follow-up. The Oswestry disability index was significantly lower in groups AP and AP-I than in group P at the final follow-up. Meanwhile, the operating time was the longest in group AP-I, and total amount of blood loss was larger in group AP-I and group AP than in group P. Anterior-posterior correction showed better clinical results than posterior-only correction. Two-staged anterior-posterior correction with iliac screw fixation showed better radiological results than posterior-only or one-staged anterior-posterior correction. Two-staged anterior-posterior correction with iliac screw fixation also showed a lower complication rate than one-staged anterior-posterior correction.

Oral epithelial-mesenchymal interactions play a key role in tooth development and assist differentiation of dental pulp. Many epithelial and mesenchymal factors in the microenvironment influence dental pulp stem cells to differentiate and regenerate. To investigate the interaction between oral cells during differentiation, we designed a microfluidic device system for indirect co-culture. The system has several advantages, such as consumption of low reagent volume, high-throughput treatment of reagents, and faster mineralization analysis. In this study, stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth were treated with media cultured with human gingival fibroblasts or periodontal ligament stem cells. When human exfoliated deciduous teeth was incubated in media cultured in human gingival fibroblasts and human periodontal ligament stem cells under the concentration gradient constructed by the microfluidic system, no remarkable change in human exfoliated deciduous teeth mineralization efficiency was detected. However, osteoblast gene expression levels in human exfoliated deciduous teeth incubated with human gingival fibroblasts media decreased compared to those in human exfoliated deciduous teeth treated with human periodontal ligament stem cells media, suggesting that indirect co-culture of human exfoliated deciduous with human gingival fibroblasts may inhibit osteogenic cytodifferentiation. This microfluidic culture device allows a co-culture system set-up for sequential treatment with co-culture media and differentiation additives and facilitated the mineralization assay in a micro-culture scale.

The main goal of total disc replacement (TDR) is to preserve motion. Despite reports of good clinical outcomes, various degrees of heterotopic ossification after TDR have been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and its clinical relevance of heterotopic ossification. We evaluated 65 consecutive patients (82 segments) with mean follow-up duration of 45 months (range, 12–88 months). Two kinds of prosthesis, ProDisc® for 75 segments (91.5%) and CHARITE TM for seven segments (8.5%), were used. Patients with heterotopic ossification were compared with those without heterotopic ossification with regard to segmental flexion–extension ROM, VAS and ODI. We analysed the occurrence site by nine zones. Heterotopic ossification was detected in 25 out of 82 segments (30.5%) at a mean follow-up of 17 months. According to McAfee’s classification, there was Class-I heterotopic ossification in eight segments (9.8%), Class-II in 12 segments (14.6%), and Class-III in five segments (6.1%). There was no Class-IV heterotopic ossification. There were no significant differences in the segmental ROM, VAS and ODI between the patients with Class-I or Class-II heterotopic ossification and those without heterotopic ossification The segmental ROM in the patients with Class-III heterotopic ossification was significantly decreased compared with the patients without heterotopic ossification ( p  = 0.018). But VAS and ODI were not significantly different compared with those of patients with no heterotopic ossification. Most heterotopic ossification (82.5%) was detected in the anterior and posterior aspects. In conclusion, most of the heterotopic ossification (Classes I and II) did not affect segmental ROM and clinical outcomes such as pain or function. In Class-III heterotopic ossification segmental ROM was decreased, but it did not affect clinical outcomes.

To address the increasing demand for diurnal information on trace gases and aerosols, a series of geostationary (GEO) satellite programs called GEO‐constellation have been initiated, with the launch of the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) onboard Geostationary Korea Multi‐Purpose Satellite 2B (GK2B). To assess the sensor performance of GEMS in orbit, the current work suggests employing an inter‐calibration methodology involving the Advanced Meteorological Imager (AMI) aboard its twin satellite, GK2A. Twin satellites have a significant advantage in obtaining collocation data sets across diverse spatiotemporal, angular, and atmospheric conditions, enabling rigorous collocation criteria effectively reducing mismatch uncertainty. The results present robust correlation coefficients over 0.99, revealing the current calibration characteristics of the sensors. This research emphasizes the advantages of the GEO‐GEO inter‐calibration, particularly the capability of analyzing spatial and temporal dependencies. These findings confirm the mutual benefit of utilizing the sensors in similar configurations, highlighting their importance for future satellite monitoring endeavors. Plain Language Summary Understanding diurnal changes in air pollutants is crucial for grasping how these substances move and disperse in the air, thereby aiding efforts to reduce pollution. In this regard, satellites have a distinct advantage in observation owing to their wide spatial coverage at regular time intervals. GEMS is one of the geostationary sensors providing such information for the Asia‐Pacific region, nearly 7–8 times a day. To evaluate the reliability of GEMS, this study proposes an inter‐calibration method by comparing GEMS observations with those of AMI aboard GK2A. These satellites have a unique advantage as they fly close to each other, observing the Earth with matched optical viewing paths. Scenes simultaneously observed by AMI and GEMS exhibit strong agreement, thus revealing the inherent observation characteristics of each sensor. These findings confirm the mutual benefit of utilizing the sensors in similar configurations for satellite monitoring during the operation. Key Points Inter‐calibration based on ray‐matching between geostationary satellite sensors onboard twin satellites Implementation of collocation process in the visible wavelengths and the application of weighted statistics for ensuring collocation stability The novel advantages of the GEO‐GEO inter‐calibration approach for future applications

A core collection is a subset that represents genetic diversity of the total collection. Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is one of major food and feed crops. It is the world's most cultivated annual herbaceous legume. Constructing a core collection for soybean could play a pivotal role in conserving and utilizing its genetic variability for research and breeding programs. To construct and evaluate a Korean soybean core collection, genotypic and phenotypic data as well as population structure, were analyzed. The Korean soybean core collection consisted of 430 accessions selected from 2,872 collections based on Affymetrix Axiom® 180k SoyaSNP array data. The core collection represented 99% of genotypic diversity of the total collection. Analysis of population structure clustered the core collection into five subpopulations. Accessions from South Korea and North Korea were distributed across five subpopulations. Analysis of molecular variance indicated that only 2.01% of genetic variation could be explained by geographic origins while 16.18% of genetic variation was accounted for by subpopulations. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) for days to flowering, flower color, pubescent color, and growth habit confirmed that the core collection had the same genetic diversity for tested traits as the total collection. The Korean soybean core collection was constructed based on genotypic information of the 180k SNP data. Size and phenotypic diversity of the core collection accounted for approximately 14.9% and 18.1% of the total collection, respectively. GWAS of core and total collections successfully confirmed loci associated with tested traits. Consequently, the present study showed that the Korean soybean core collection could provide fundamental and practical material and information for both soybean genetic research and breeding programs.