Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) have been implicated in diverse cellular functions, including proliferation, migration, and survival. In this… (More)
Tissue engineering aims at resolving problems such as donor shortage and immune rejection faced by transplantation. Scaffolds (artificial extracellular matrices) have critical roles in tissue… (More)
Vascular calcification is implicated in many diseases including atherosclerosis and diabetes. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) has been shown to promote vascular calcification both in vitro… (More)
Host immune response is known to contribute to the progression of periodontitis, and alveolar bone destruction in periodontitis is associated with enhanced osteoclast activity. Therefore, we… (More)
The clpB gene in Escherichia coli encodes a heat-shock protein that is a close homolog of the clpA gene product. The latter is the ATPase subunit of the multimeric ATP-dependent protease Ti (Clp) in… (More)
We made a three-dimensional (3-D) nanofibrous fibroin scaffold (NFS) with high porosity (94%) and examined its feasibility in bone regeneration. Under scanning electron microscopy, MC3T3-E1… (More)
In a previous study we found that nanofibrous poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) scaffolds mimicking collagen fibers in size were superior to solid-walled scaffolds in promoting osteoblast differentiation… (More)
Sclerostin decreases bone mass by antagonizing the Wnt signaling pathway. We examined whether obesity-induced bone loss is associated with the expression of sclerostin. Five-week-old male mice were… (More)
Nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFAT) is a key transcription factor for receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation. However, it is unclear whether NFAT plays a… (More)
Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a well-known growth factor that induces cancer cell migration and invasion. Previous studies have shown that SMAD ubiquitination regulatory factor 1 (SMURF1), an E3… (More)