Periodontal bone defects, primarily caused by periodontitis, are highly prevalent in clinical settings and manifest as bone fenestration, dehiscence, or attachment loss, presenting a significant challenge to oral health. In regenerative medicine, harnessing developmental principles for tissue repair offers promising therapeutic potential. Of particular interest is the condensation of progenitor cells, an essential event in organogenesis that has inspired clinically effective cell aggregation approaches in dental regeneration. However, the precise cellular coordination mechanisms during condensation and regeneration remain elusive. Here, taking the tooth as a model organ, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing to dissect the cellular composition and heterogeneity of human dental follicle and dental papilla, revealing a distinct Platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA) mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC) population with remarkable odontogenic potential. Interestingly, a reciprocal paracrine interaction between PDGFRA⁺ dental follicle stem cells (DFSCs) and CD31⁺ Endomucin⁺ endothelial cells (ECs) was mediated by Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and Platelet-derived growth factor subunit BB (PDGFBB). This crosstalk not only maintains the functionality of PDGFRA⁺ DFSCs but also drives specialized angiogenesis. In vivo periodontal bone regeneration experiments further reveal that communication between PDGFRA⁺ DFSC aggregates and recipient ECs is essential for effective angiogenic-osteogenic coupling and rapid tissue repair. Collectively, our results unravel the importance of MSC-EC crosstalk mediated by the VEGFA and PDGFBB-PDGFRA reciprocal signaling in orchestrating angiogenesis and osteogenesis. These findings not only establish a framework for deciphering and promoting periodontal bone regeneration in potential clinical applications but also offer insights for future therapeutic strategies in dental or broader regenerative medicine.
Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha/metabolism* ; Humans ; Neovascularization, Physiologic/physiology* ; Dental Sac/cytology* ; Single-Cell Analysis ; Transcriptome ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Bone Regeneration ; Animals ; Dental Papilla/cytology* ; Periodontium/physiology* ; Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Regeneration ; Angiogenesis

Objective:To understand the clinical significance and mutation characteristics in the basic core promoters and pre-C region (BCP/PC) of different hepatitis B virus genotypes samples of infected children.Methods:A total of 294 children and 92 adults with CHB infection who were treated at four hospitals in Chongqing from 2011 to 2018 were collected. The BCP / PC region of HBV was amplified by PCR and sequenced directly to comparatively analyze the gene mutation conditions in this region. The two sample means were compared by the t-test, and the nonparametric data was compared by Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test. χ2 test or Fisher's exact test was used to compare the data rates of the two groups.Results:Children and adult patients were dominated by genotype B; accounting for 76.9% and 71.7%, respectively, and genotype C accounted for 23.1% and 28.3%, respectively. In the children group, the mutation rates of ten nucleotide sites containing nt 1679, 1721, 1753, 1757, 1758, 1762, 1764, 1775, 1856 and 1858 of the genotype C samples was significantly higher than that of genotype B samples. The mutation rates of G1721a, C1856t and T1858c of genotype C samples were 30.9%, 16.2% and 30.9%, respectively, while the mutation rates of genotype B samples were 0.4%, 0, 0, P < 0.001, respectively. In the adult group, the only three sites containing nt 1679, 1758, and 1775 of the genotype C sample had a higher mutation rate than the genotype B samples. The combined mutations pattern were only detected in children with genotype C samples, but not in children and adult with genotype B samples. Further analysis showed that the age of G1721A/A1775G/T1858C containing combined mutation group was significantly lower than that of the non-mutation group [(4.58 ± 2.53) years vs. (6.53 ± 4.02) years, P = 0.012]. Serum HBV DNA titer was significantly higher in combined mutation group than that of the non-mutation group [(7.57 ± 2.03) log10 copies / ml vs. (6.61 ± 2.11) log10 copies / ml, P = 0.045]. Conclusion:The frequencies of mutations in the BCP/PC region of HBV-infected children in genotype C samples were significantly higher than that of genotype B samples. Genotype-related combined site mutations were only found in children with genotype C samples, and were also associated with younger patients and high HBV-DNA titers.

Objective: To investigate the association between serum uric acid and the risk of new-onset nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD). Methods: An observational cohort study was conducted in a hospital for five years. 856 patients without NAFLD who took physical examination in the hospital physical examination center in 2011 were selected as study subjects. According to the baseline level of serum uric acid, subjects were divided into 4 groups (F1, F2, F3, and F4). After 5-years of follow-up, the incidence of NAFLD in each group was observed in 2016.Serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, Total cholesterol, High-density lipoprotein cholesterol, Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, Triglycerides, Fasting blood glucose and Imaging findings were examined. The cumulative incidence rate of NAFLD in each group was compared and the effect of baseline serum uric acid level on new-onset NAFLD was analyzed by Logistic regression. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to analyze the diagnostic value of uric acid level in NAFLD. Results: The cumulative incidence rate of NAFLD was 19.16%, and the cumulative incidence increased with the increase of baseline uric acid. The incidence rates of F1, F2, F3 and F4 were 7.90%, 13.54%, 20.32% and 34.07% respectively. The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The incidence rate of NAFLD in F2, F3 and F4 groups were 1.637 (0.856 ~ 3.344) times, 2.745 (1.345 ~ 5.211) times and 5.465 (2.977 ~ 9.843) times higher than those in F1 group (P < 0.05). The logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of NAFLD increased with the increase of serum uric acid level, and the serum uric acid level was an independent risk factor for NAFLD with a relative risks (RR) value of 1.654. The ROC curve analysis of serum uric acid levels had no diagnostic value for NAFLD. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that increased serum uric acid level is an independent risk factor for the development of NAFLD and could be used as an investigative indicator to assess the risk.

In the interactive image-guided thermotherapy, we need the real time image and location of the target tumor. But the current mono-modal imaging technique can not do it. We present a method to register a preoperative 3D MRI volume to a set of intra-operative ultrasound images for the target localization of the liver tumor in the thermotherapy. The registration method is a genetic algorithm based on the features such as liver surface vessels and liver surface.
Humans ; Hyperthermia, Induced ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Liver Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; therapy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Ultrasonic Therapy ; methods ; Ultrasonography, Interventional