The acupoint, GB34, located in the back of the knee, is known to be effective in recovering motor function after a stroke. This study uses a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study with 3T scanner to investigate whether or not acupuncture of GB34 produces a significant response of the modulation of somatomotor areas. A fMRI of the whole brain was performed in ten normal healthy subjects during two task stimulations of acupuncture manipulation on GB34 and sham points, inserting and twisting the needle for 25 seconds at a rate of approximately 120 times per minute; the needle manipulation was paused for a duration of 25 seconds as a control state. The process was repeated four times to have four epochs of stimulation. Bilateral sensorimotor areas (BA 3, 4, 6 and 7) showed approximately 6% of stimulation-related BOLD signal contrast, whereas very few areas were activated when sham stimulation was given. Acupuncture stimulation in GB34 modulates the cortical activities of the somatomotor area in humans. The present findings may shed light on the CNS mechanism of motor function by acupuncture, and form a basis for future investigations of motor modulation circuits in stroke patients.

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Edited by: Philip Atherton New Findings r What is the central question of this study?Exercise training by running has an effect on age-related muscle and bone wasting that improves physical activity and quality of life in the elderly. However, the effect of downhill running on age-related muscle and bone wasting, and its mechanisms, are unclear. r What is the main finding and its importance?Gradual downhill running can improve skeletal muscle growth and bone formation by enhancing autophagy and bone morphogenetic protein signalling in aged rats. Therefore, downhill running exercise might be a practical intervention to improve skeletal muscle and bone protection in the elderly.Recent evidence suggests that autophagy and the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling pathway regulate skeletal muscle growth and bone formation in aged rats. However, the effect of downhill running on muscle growth and bone formation is not well understood. Thus, we investigated the effect of downhill and uphill running on age-related muscle and bone weakness. Young and late middle-aged rats were randomly assigned to control groups (young, YC; and late middle-aged, LMC) and two types of running training groups (late middle-aged downhill, LMD; and late middle-aged uphill, LMU). Training was progressively carried out on a treadmill at a speed of 21 m min −1 with a slope of +10 deg for uphill training versus 16 m min −1 with a slope of −16 deg for downhill training, both for 60 min day −1 , 5 days week −1 for 8 weeks. Downhill and uphill training increased autophagy-related protein 5, microtubule-associated protein light chain, Beclin-1 and p62 proteins in aged rats. In addition, superoxide dismutase, haem oxygenase-1 and the BMP signalling pathway were elevated. Phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin and myogenic differentiation were increased significantly in the LMD and LMU groups. Consequently, in the femur, BMP-2, BMP-7 and autophagy molecules were highly expressed in the LMD and LMU groups. These results suggest that both downhill and uphill training appear to have a positive effect on expression of autophagy molecules and BMPs. In particular, these physiological adaptations from gradual downhill exercise have an effect on bone morphological changes and muscle quality similar to gradual uphill training interventions in ageing.

Osseointegration of dental implants is affected by osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was overcome the implant failure and facilitate the osseointegration of dental implants by c-myb in ovariectomized (OVX)-induced osteoporosis. c-myb is a transcription factor and supports bone formation. Plasmid DNA/c-myb conjugated with chitosan-gold nanoparticles (Ch-GNPs/c-myb) promoted osteogenesis and inhibited osteoclastogenesis in MC-3T3 E1 cells. Ch-GNPs/c-myb involved the reduction of the nuclear factor of activated T-cells 1, c-Fos, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive multinucleated osteoclasts in receptor activator of nuclear factor-jB ligand (RANKL) stimulated bone marrow macrophages. In vivo results of rat mandibles demonstrated Ch-GNP/c-myb-coated titanium (Ti) implants increased the volume and density of newly formed bone and the osseointegration of dental implant with bone by micro computed tomography examination after OVX-induced osteoporosis. Immunohistochemical analysis showed increased c-myb expression and upregulation of bone morphogenic proteins, osteoprotegerin and EphB4, as well as the downregulation of RANKL by Ch-GNP/c-myb-coated Ti implants. Hematoxylin and Eosin staining expressed new bone formation by Ch-GNP/c-myb-coated Ti implants. Our findings indicated that c-myb delivered by Ch-GNPs supports osseointegration of dental implant even in osteoporotic condition. c-myb may be applicable to support dental implant integration and treatment in age-dependent bone destruction disease.

Excessive exercise induces an inflammatory response caused by oxidative stress, which delays recovery of damaged muscle fibers. The reduction of inflammatory response is important for skeletal muscle homeostasis. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is an anti-inflammatory molecule, but the role of PPARγ in skeletal muscle as anti-inflammatory activity is not clear. Thus, this study examined the anti-inflammatory role of PPARγ against HO-induced oxidative stress in skeletal muscle. Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were exercised on a treadmill to induce oxidative stress. In vitro oxidative stress was evaluated in differentiated C2C12 cells stimulated using 200 μM HO. Inflammation-related molecules were determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. Expressions of the inflammatory molecules tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in muscles of the acute exercise group were highly increased. PPARγ was also highly expressed in these muscles. These inflammatory molecules were also markedly increased in C2C12 cells with HO stimulation. However, PPARγ overexpression in C2C12 transfected by Ad/PPARγ dramatically reduced the inflammatory molecules. PPARγ also enhanced the anti-oxidants molecules like Cu/Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD, and hemeoxygenase-1 by reducing the generation of ROS, even in the presence of HO. PPARγ displayed dual anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant roles by inhibiting the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and translocation of nuclear transcriptional factor-κB (NF-κB) from the cytosol to the nucleus. These results demonstrate a potential role of PPARγ in protecting muscle fibers against oxidative stress caused by excessive acute exercise due to its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity exerted by inhibition of the MAPK/NF-κB pathway.

The study investigated the effect of high- and low-intensity exercise training on inflammatory reaction of blood and skeletal muscle in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic male Sprague-Dawley rats (243 ± 7 g, 8 weeks). The rats completed treadmill running in either high-intensity exercise (6 weeks of exercise training, acute bouts of exercise) or low-intensity exercise (6 weeks of exercise training). Non-running, sedentary rats served as controls. To induce diabetes mellitus, rats received a peritoneal injection of STZ (50 mg · kg−1). Rats were sacrificed immediately after an acute bout of exercise and 6 weeks of exercise training. Inflammatory factors were analyzed by ELISA and by immune blotting from the soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscles. In the serum, inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-4) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) (nitric oxide and malondialdehyde) increased in diabetic rats. However, all exercise training groups displayed reduced inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species. In skeletal muscles, low-intensity exercise training, but not high intensity exercise, reduced the levels of COX-2, iNOS, and MMP-2, which were otherwise markedly elevated in the presence of STZ. Moreover, the levels of GLUT-4 and MyoD were effectively increased by different exercise intensity and exercise duration. Low-intensity exercise training appeared most effective to reduce diabetes-related inflammation. However, high-intensity training also reduced inflammatory factors in tissue-specific muscles. The data implicate regular exercise in protecting against chronic inflammatory diseases, such as diabetes.

Biological repair of cartilage lesions remains a significant clinical challenge. A wide variety of methods involving mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been introduced. Because of the limitation of the results, most of the treatment methods have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) and human umbilical cord blood derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) implantation were approved by Korea FDA. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes after two different types of MSCs implantation in knee osteoarthritis. Fifty-two patients (52 knees) who underwent cartilage repair surgery using the BMAC (25 knees) and hUCB-MSCs (27 knees) were retrospectively evaluated for 2 years after surgery. Clinical outcomes were evaluated according to the score of visual analogue scale (VAS), the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective, and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Cartilage repair was assessed according to the modified Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue (M-MOCART) score and the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) cartilage repair scoring system. At 2-year follow-up, clinical outcomes including VAS, IKDC, and KOOS significantly improved ( P < 0.05) in both groups; however, there were no differences between two groups. There was no significant difference in M-MOCART [1-year ( P = 0.261), 2-year ( P = 0.351)] and ICRS repair score ( P = 0.655) between two groups. Both groups showed satisfactory clinical and MRI outcomes. Implantation of MSCs from BMAC or hUCB-MSCs is safe and effective for repairing cartilage lesion. However, large cases and a well-controlled prospective design with long-term follow-up studies are needed.

In this study, a time-domain numerical method based on three-dimensional potential flow was developed to analyze the hydrodynamic characteristics of an inclined oscillating-water-column (OWC) wave energy converter (WEC). A finite element method was applied to solve the potential flow around and inside the OWC chamber. A turbine–chamber interaction was considered to take into account the pressure drop inside the OWC chamber, which is a nonlinear function of airflow speed via turbine operation. The instantaneous pressure drop was updated on the free-surface boundary condition inside the chamber in the time-domain to account for the coupling effect between the turbine and the chamber. The present numerical method was verified by comparing it with the model test results. The hydrodynamic characteristics of an inclined OWC chamber in terms of potential flow, such as the water column motion and the three-dimensional flow distribution around the chamber, were investigated. In terms of hydrodynamic performance, the energy conversion efficiency of the chamber showed a nonlinear response characteristic dependent on the incident wave height. In addition, numerical calculations were carried out to clarify the relationship between the main geometric parameters and the hydrodynamic response of the inclined OWC chamber.