Hundreds of microRNAs (miRNAs) are expressed in mammalian cells, where they aid in modulating gene expression by mediating mRNA transcript cleavage and/or regulation of translation rate. Functional studies to date have demonstrated that several of these miRNAs are important during development. However, the role of miRNAs in the regulation of stem cell growth and differentiation is not well understood. We show herein that microRNA (miR)-134 levels are maximally elevated at day 4 after retinoic acid-induced differentiation or day 2 after N2B27-induced differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), but this change is not observed during embryoid body differentiation. The elevation of miR-134 levels alone in mESCs enhances differentiation toward ectodermal lineages, an effect that is blocked by a miR-134 antagonist. The promotion of mESC differentiation by miR-134 is due, in part, to its direct translational attenuation of Nanog and LRH1, both of which are known positive regulators of Oct4/POU5F1 and mESC growth. Together, the data demonstrate that miR-134 alone can enhance the differentiation of mESCs to ectodermal lineages and establish a functional role for miR-134 in modulating mESC differentiation through its potential to target and regulate multiple mRNAs. STEM CELLS 2008;26: 17-29 Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
Osterix (Osx), a transcriptional factor essential for osteogenesis, is also critical for in vivo cellular cementum formation. However, the molecular mechanism by which Osx regulates cementoblasts is largely unknown. In this study, we initially demonstrated that overexpression of Osx in a cementoblast cell line upregulated the expression of markers vital to cementogenesis such as osteopontin (OPN), osteocalcin (OCN), and bone sialoprotein (BSP) at both mRNA and protein levels, and enhanced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Unexpectedly, we demonstrated a sharp increase in the expression of DKK1 (a potent canonical Wnt antagonist), and a great reduction in protein levels of β-catenin and its nuclear translocation by overexpression of Osx. Further, transient transfection of Osx reduced protein levels of TCF1 (a target transcription factor of β-catenin), which were partially reversed by an addition of DKK1. We also demonstrated that activation of canonical Wnt signaling by LiCl or Wnt3a significantly enhanced levels of TCF1 and suppressed the expression of OPN, OCN, and BSP, as well as ALP activity and formation of extracellular mineralized nodules. Importantly, we confirmed that there were a sharp reduction in DKK1 and a concurrent increase in β-catenin in Osx cKO mice (crossing between the Osx loxP and 2.3 Col 1-Cre lines), in agreement with the in vitro data. Thus, we conclude that the key role of Osx in control of cementoblast proliferation and differentiation is to maintain a low level of Wnt-β-catenin via direct up-regulation of DKK1.
Spark discharge plasma synthetic jets (SPJs) have been used for the active flow control study on an NACA 0021 straight-wing model in a wind tunnel. The model forces and moments were measured using a six-component sting balance at a 20 m/s wind speed. The aim was to explore the SPJ's effect on airfoil aerodynamic by examining SPJ generators' position along the chordwise and the jet flow direction about the chord. Near the wing leading edge, two SPJ generators raised the stall angle by 2° and increased the maximum lift coefficient by 9%. The drag coefficient was decreased by 33.1%, and the lift-drag ratio was increased by 104.2% at an angle of attack above 16°. The rolling-moment coefficient was modified by 0.002, and the yawing-moment coefficient was changed by 0.0007 at angles of attack in the range of 0°-16°. The results showed that SPJs can control wing aerodynamic forces at a high angle of attack and moments at a low angle of attack. plasma synthetic jet, spark discharge, NACA 0021 airfoil, aerodynamic performance, aerodynamic control Citation: Liu R B, Niu Z G, Wang M M, et al. Aerodynamic control of NACA 0021 airfoil model with spark discharge plasma synthetic jets.
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