Activation of β-catenin signaling in aggrecan-expressing cells in temporomandibular joint causes osteoarthritis-like defects / 国际口腔科学杂志·英文版

β-Catenin plays a critical role in cartilage formation and development. To further understand the role of β-catenin in osteoarthritis (OA) development in temporomandibular joint (TMJ), we have generated β-catenin conditional activation mice (β-cat(ex3) ) by breeding Agc1-CreER mice with β-catenin mice. Results of histologic analysis showed the progressive TMJ defects in 3- and 6-month-old β-cat(ex3) mice (tamoxifen induction was performed at 2 weeks of age), including decreased chondrocyte numbers in the superficial layer associated with less Alcian blue staining, increased numbers of hypertrophic chondrocytes in deep layers, and rough articular surface. Compared to the TMJ phenotype of β-cat(ex3) mice, β-cat(ex3) mice showed much severe morphological defects in the superficial layer of TMJ. This may reflect that Agc1-CreER mice could efficiently target cells in the superficial layer of TMJ. Results of immunostaining showed significantly increased expression of MMP13, Col-X, Adamts4, and Adamts5 in TMJ of β-cat(ex3) mice. Results of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Ki67, and terminal deoxinucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-fluorescein nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining further demonstrated that cell proliferation was decreased and cell apoptosis was increased in condylar cartilage of β-cat(ex3) mice. Our findings indicate that abnormal upregulation of β-catenin in TMJ leads to defects assembling to OA-like phenotype, further demonstrating that β-catenin plays a critical role in TMJ pathogenesis.

The influence of trunk control training on motor function and the ability in the activities of daily living of patients with cerebral palsy / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective To observe the influence of trunk control training on motor function and the ability of cerebral palsy (CP) patients in the activities of daily living (ADL).Methods Forty patients with CP were randomly divided into a treatment group (n =20) and a control group (n =20).Both groups were treated with routine rehabilitation,while the treatment group also received trunk control training.All patients were assessed with function ambulation category (FAC) classification,time to walk 10 m,the Berg balance scale (BBS),and the modified Barthel index (MBI) at the beginning and eight weeks later.Results Before the intervention there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of any of the assessments.Eight weeks later,all the assessment scores were significantly better in the treatment group than in the control group.Conclusion Trunk control training can significantly improve motor function and the ADL ability of patients with CP.