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Stem Cell Research & Therapy Jun 2024Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and their differentiated cell types have a great potential for tissue repair and regeneration. While the primary focus of...
BACKGROUND
Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and their differentiated cell types have a great potential for tissue repair and regeneration. While the primary focus of using hiPSCs has historically been to regenerate damaged tissue, emerging studies have shown a more potent effect of hiPSC-derived paracrine factors on tissue regeneration. However, the precise contents of the transplanted hiPSC-derived cell secretome are ambiguous. This is mainly due to the lack of tools to distinguish cell-specific secretome from host-derived proteins in a complex tissue microenvironment in vivo.
METHODS
In this study, we present the generation and characterization of a novel hiPSC line, L274G-hiPSC, expressing the murine mutant methionyl-tRNA synthetase, L274GMmMetRS, which can be used for tracking the cell specific proteome via biorthogonal non-canonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT). We assessed the trilineage differentiation potential of the L274G-hiPSCs in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we assessed the cell-specific proteome labelling in the L274G-hiPSC derived cardiomyocytes (L274G-hiPSC-CMs) in vitro following co-culture with wild type human umbilical vein derived endothelial cells and in vivo post transplantation in murine hearts.
RESULTS
We demonstrated that the L274G-hiPSCs exhibit typical hiPSC characteristics and that we can efficiently track the cell-specific proteome in their differentiated progenies belonging to the three germ lineages, including L274G-hiPSC-CMs. Finally, we demonstrated cell-specific BONCAT in transplanted L274G-hiPSC-CMs.
CONCLUSION
The novel L274G-hiPSC line can be used to study the cell-specific proteome of hiPSCs in vitro and in vivo, to delineate mechanisms underlying hiPSC-based cell therapies for a variety of regenerative medicine applications.
Topics: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells; Humans; Proteome; Animals; Mice; Cell Differentiation; Myocytes, Cardiac; Amino Acids; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells; Methionine-tRNA Ligase
PubMed: 38926849
DOI: 10.1186/s13287-024-03792-3 -
BMC Pediatrics Jun 2024The main cause of growth and development delays remains unknown, but it can occur as an interaction between genetic, environmental, and socio-economic factors.
BACKGROUND
The main cause of growth and development delays remains unknown, but it can occur as an interaction between genetic, environmental, and socio-economic factors.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence and social determinants of growth and developmental delays among children aged under five years in Qazvin, Iran.
METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2019 to December 2020 with participation of 1800 mothers with children aged 4-60 months who were referred to comprehensive health centers in Qazvin city, Iran. Structural and intermediate social determinants of health were assessed including: parents and children socio-demographic characteristics, families' living and economic status, parents' behavioral factors, household food security, mother's general health, and perceived social support. Children's growth was assessed based on their anthropometric assessment and their development was assessed using their age-specific Ages and Stages Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression models using SPSS software version 24 and Stata version 14.
RESULTS
The prevalence of developmental problems in each domain were 4.28% for personal and social delay, 5.72% for gross motor delay, 6.5% for communication delay, 6.72% for fine motor delay, and 8% for problem-solving delay. The prevalence of weight growth delays was 13.56% and height growth delays was 4.66%. Communication, gross motor, and problem-solving delays were higher among children whose fathers' smoked cigarettes. Fine motor delays were lower among mothers with education status of high school diploma and university degree vs. the under diploma group. Personal and social delay was significantly higher among families with fair economic status and lower among children when their fathers were employed (vs. unemployed). Weight and height growth delays were higher among mothers who had experienced pregnancy complications and household food insecure families, respectively.
CONCLUSION
There are different predictors of growth and developmental delay problems among Iranian children aged under five years including fathers' smoking, families' economic status, and household food insecurity as well as history of mothers' pregnancy complications. The present study's findings can be used to screen for at-risk of growth and developmental delays among children and could help in designing and implementation of timely interventions.
Topics: Humans; Cross-Sectional Studies; Iran; Developmental Disabilities; Child, Preschool; Female; Prevalence; Infant; Male; Growth Disorders; Socioeconomic Factors; Social Determinants of Health; Child Development
PubMed: 38926691
DOI: 10.1186/s12887-024-04880-2 -
[Neurodevelopment and cerebral blood flow in children aged 2-6 years with autism spectrum disorder].Zhongguo Dang Dai Er Ke Za Zhi =... Jun 2024To investigate the neurodevelopmental characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), analyze the correlation between neurodevelopmental indicators and...
OBJECTIVES
To investigate the neurodevelopmental characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), analyze the correlation between neurodevelopmental indicators and cerebral blood flow (CBF), and explore the potential mechanisms of neurodevelopment in ASD children.
METHODS
A retrospective study was conducted on 145 children aged 2-6 years with newly-diagnosed ASD. Scores from the Gesell Developmental Diagnosis Scale and the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) and CBF results were collected to compare gender differences in the development of children with ASD and analyze the correlation between CBF and neurodevelopmental indicators.
RESULTS
Fine motor and personal-social development quotient in boys with ASD were lower than those in girls with ASD (<0.05). Gross motor development quotient in ASD children was negatively correlated with CBF in the left frontal lobe (=-0.200, =0.016), right frontal lobe (=-0.279, =0.001), left parietal lobe (=-0.208, =0.012), and right parietal lobe (=-0.187, =0.025). The total ABC score was positively correlated with CBF in the left amygdala (=0.295, <0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
Early intervention training should pay attention to gender and developmental structural characteristics for precise intervention in ASD children. CBF has the potential to become a biological marker for assessing the severity of ASD.
Topics: Humans; Male; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Female; Child, Preschool; Child; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Retrospective Studies; Child Development
PubMed: 38926376
DOI: 10.7499/j.issn.1008-8830.2401048 -
Nature Communications Jun 2024Synthetic biology allows us to reuse, repurpose, and reconfigure biological systems to address society's most pressing challenges. Developing biotechnologies in this way... (Review)
Review
Synthetic biology allows us to reuse, repurpose, and reconfigure biological systems to address society's most pressing challenges. Developing biotechnologies in this way requires integrating concepts across disciplines, posing challenges to educating students with diverse expertise. We created a framework for synthetic biology training that deconstructs biotechnologies across scales-molecular, circuit/network, cell/cell-free systems, biological communities, and societal-giving students a holistic toolkit to integrate cross-disciplinary concepts towards responsible innovation of successful biotechnologies. We present this framework, lessons learned, and inclusive teaching materials to allow its adaption to train the next generation of synthetic biologists.
Topics: Synthetic Biology; Humans; Biotechnology; Students
PubMed: 38926339
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49626-x -
BMJ Open Jun 2024Children with atopic dermatitis (AD) are more at risk for the neurodevelopmental disorders attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder...
INTRODUCTION
Children with atopic dermatitis (AD) are more at risk for the neurodevelopmental disorders attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with parallel increases in global prevalences. Children afflicted with these conditions appear to share similar problems in sensory modulation but investigational studies on the underlying aetiology are scarce. This scoping review aims to find knowledge gaps, collate hypotheses and to summarise available evidence on the shared pathophysiology of AD, ADHD and ASD in children.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS
Our study will follow the methodological manual published by the Joanna Briggs Methodology for Scoping Reviews and will be reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews. The following electronic databases will be searched for studies focused on children with AD and symptoms of ADHD and/or ASD: Medline ALL via Ovid, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials via Wiley.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION
This review does not require ethics approval as it will not be conducted with human participants. We will only use published data. Our dissemination strategy includes peer review publication and conference reports.
Topics: Humans; Dermatitis, Atopic; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Systematic Reviews as Topic; Child; Research Design
PubMed: 38925697
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-081280 -
Human Brain Mapping Jun 2024The corpus callosum (CC) is a large white matter fiber bundle in the brain and is involved in various cognitive, sensory, and motor processes. While implicated in...
The corpus callosum (CC) is a large white matter fiber bundle in the brain and is involved in various cognitive, sensory, and motor processes. While implicated in various developmental and psychiatric disorders, much is yet to be uncovered about the normal development of this structure, especially in young children. Additionally, while sexual dimorphism has been reported in prior literature, observations have not necessarily been consistent. In this study, we use morphometric measures including surface tensor-based morphometry (TBM) to investigate local changes in the shape of the CC in children between the ages of 12 and 60 months, in intervals of 12 months. We also analyze sex differences in each of these age groups. We observed larger significant clusters in the earlier ages between 12 v 24 m and between 48 v 60 m and localized differences in the anterior region of the body of the CC. Sex differences were most pronounced in the 12 m group. This study adds to the growing literature of work aiming to understand the developing brain and emphasizes the utility of surface TBM as a useful tool for analyzing regional differences in neuroanatomical morphometry.
Topics: Humans; Corpus Callosum; Male; Female; Infant; Child, Preschool; Sex Characteristics; Diffusion Tensor Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
PubMed: 38924235
DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26693 -
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024While genetic and environmental factors have been shown as predictors of children's reading ability, the interaction effects of identified genetic risk susceptibility...
Interaction between Risk Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Developmental Dyslexia and Parental Education on Reading Ability: Evidence for Differential Susceptibility Theory.
While genetic and environmental factors have been shown as predictors of children's reading ability, the interaction effects of identified genetic risk susceptibility and the specified environment for reading ability have rarely been investigated. The current study assessed potential gene-environment (G×E) interactions on reading ability in 1477 school-aged children. The gene-environment interactions on character recognition were investigated by an exploratory analysis between the risk single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which were discovered by previous genome-wide association studies of developmental dyslexia (DD), and parental education (PE). The re-parameterized regression analysis suggested that this G×E interaction conformed to the strong differential susceptibility model. The results showed that rs281238 exhibits a significant interaction with PE on character recognition. Children with the "T" genotype profited from high PE, whereas they performed worse in low PE environments, but "CC" genotype children were not malleable in different PE environments. This study provided initial evidence for how the significant SNPs in developmental dyslexia GWA studies affect children's reading performance by interacting with the environmental factor of parental education.
PubMed: 38920839
DOI: 10.3390/bs14060507 -
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024Oppositional defiant symptoms are some of the most common developmental symptoms in children and adolescents with and without oppositional defiant disorder. Research has...
Oppositional defiant symptoms are some of the most common developmental symptoms in children and adolescents with and without oppositional defiant disorder. Research has addressed the close association of the parent-child relationship (PCR) with oppositional defiant symptoms. However, it is necessary to further investigate the underlying mechanism for forming targeted intervention strategies. By using a machine learning-based causal forest (CF) model, we investigated the heterogeneous causal effects of the PCR on oppositional defiant symptoms in children in Chinese elementary schools. Based on the PCR improvement in two consecutive years, 423 children were divided into improved and control groups. The assessment of oppositional defiant symptoms (AODS) in the second year was set as the dependent variable. Additionally, several factors based on the multilevel family model and the baseline AODS in the first year were included as covariates. Consistent with expectations, the CF model showed a significant causal effect between the PCR and oppositional defiant symptoms in the samples. Moreover, the causality exhibited heterogeneity. The causal effect was greater in those children with higher baseline AODS, a worse family atmosphere, and lower emotion regulation abilities in themselves or their parents. Conversely, the parenting style played a positive role in causality. These findings enhance our understanding of how the PCR contributes to the development of oppositional defiant symptoms conditioned by factors from a multilevel family system. The heterogeneous causality in the observation data, established using the machine learning approach, could be helpful in forming personalized family-oriented intervention strategies for children with oppositional defiant symptoms.
PubMed: 38920836
DOI: 10.3390/bs14060504 -
Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024Social innovation and gerontology develop a wide range of actions aimed at supporting and improving the needs of long-lived populations. Higher education institutions...
BACKGROUND
Social innovation and gerontology develop a wide range of actions aimed at supporting and improving the needs of long-lived populations. Higher education institutions (HEIs) are drivers of change, and their potential to develop solutions through teaching students' social innovation skills should be considered in the field of longevity. This article reports the results obtained by the Senior Innovation Lab (SIL) training initiative.
METHODS
Challenge-based learning, design thinking, and lean startup approaches were implemented in training 26 participants with the final aim of developing innovative solutions to previously identified long-lived population needs.
RESULTS
Final products were innovative ideas developed through collaboration between students, academic staff, and business employees, indicating the importance of adopting entrepreneurial approaches in academic teaching. The participants identified motivation and perseverance as the most relevant entrepreneurial skills and most of them also perceived that they possessed it. The participants also considered spotting opportunities (chance to add value) as the most desired skill throughout the whole experience.
CONCLUSIONS
SIL's assessment showed that social innovation methodologies contributed to the development of learning strategies, enabling potential solutions for the ageing challenges.
PubMed: 38920432
DOI: 10.3390/geriatrics9030076 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024In serving college students with mental disorders, on-campus mental health professionals have been lacking integrative theoretical frameworks to guide their missions of... (Review)
Review
In serving college students with mental disorders, on-campus mental health professionals have been lacking integrative theoretical frameworks to guide their missions of prevention, remedy, and development facilitation. In the current paper, we propose the positive clinical psychology as a theoretically and practically valuable framework for these missions by narratively reviewing the preventive, remedial, and developmental mechanisms derived from the theory and summarizing the most recent empirical evidence that supports each mechanism. We further discuss why and how these mechanisms and findings can be applied to on-campus mental health services to facilitate the resilience and optimal development of college students with mental disorders. Particularly, the use of resilience-focused and strength-based intervention strategies are promoted for services.
PubMed: 38919798
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1373668