Rejuvenation of nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) in degenerative discs can reverse intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Partial reprogramming is used to rejuvenate aging cells and ameliorate progression of aging tissue to avoiding formation of tumors by classical reprogramming. Understanding the effects and potential mechanisms of partial reprogramming in degenerative discs provides insights for development of new therapies for IDD treatment. The findings of the present study show that partial reprogramming through short‐term cyclic expression of Oct‐3/4, Sox2, Klf4, and c‐Myc (OSKM) inhibits progression of IDD, and significantly reduces senescence related phenotypes in aging NPCs. Mechanistically, short‐term induction of OSKM in aging NPCs activates energy metabolism as a “energy switch” by upregulating expression of Hexokinase 2 (HK2) ultimately promoting redistribution of cytoskeleton and restoring the aging state in aging NPCs. These findings indicate that partial reprogramming through short‐term induction of OSKM has high therapeutic potential in the treatment of IDD.
The ends of barley chromosomes hybridize in situ to the telomeric sequences of Arabidopsis thaliana. It was confirmed that the cross-hybridizing sequences in barley are found at the absolute ends of the chromosomes by exonuclease Bal31 digestion. The Bal31 experiments also indicated that telomere-like sequences do not occur in high copies at interstitial sites in barley. To determine whether healing of broken chromosomes occurred in aneuploid lines of barley containing extra chromosomes with breakages in different parts, in situ hybridization with the A. thaliana telomere on telotrisomic 4L and acrotrisomic 4L4S lines was conducted. Telosome 4L possesses breaks in the centromere and in an interstitial location in the long arm, while acrosome 4L4S possesses interstitial breaks in both long and short arms. In situ hybridization revealed the presence of telomere sequences on both broken ends of telosome 4L and acrosome 4L4S. In telosome 4L, telomere sequences were present even at the broken site of the centromere. These results show that broken ends of barley chromosomes were healed. Such healing may explain the stability of these chromosomes through many generations.Key words: telomere, centromere, telosome, acrosome, acrotrisomic, telotrisomic.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.