Polymerization of glycinamide-conjugated monomer alone in concentrated aqueous solution enables facile formation of a mechanically strong and a highly stable supramolecular polymer (SP) hydrogel because of the cooperatively hydrogen-bonded crosslinking and strengthening effect from dual amide motifs. This SP hydrogel exhibits thermoplastic processability, injectability, and self-reparability because of the dynamic destruction and reconstruction of hydrogen bonds in response to temperature change.

Cell polarity, as reflected by polarized growth and organelle segregation during cell division in yeast, appears to follow a simple hierarchy. On the basis of physical cues from previous cell cycles or stochastic processes, yeast cells select a site for bud emergence that also defines the axis of cell division. Once polarity is established, rho protein-based signal pathways set up a polarized cytoskeleton by activating localized formins to nucleate and assemble polarized actin cables. These serve as tracks for the transport of secretory vesicles, the segregation of the trans Golgi network, the vacuole, peroxisomes, endoplasmic reticulum, mRNAs for cell fate determination, and microtubules that orient the nucleus in preparation for mitosis, all by myosin-Vs encoded by the MYO2 and MYO4 genes. Most of the proteins participating in these processes in yeast are conserved throughout the kingdoms of life, so the emerging models are likely to be generally applicable. Indeed, several parallels to cellular organization in animals are evident.

BackgroundPeriodontitis, which progressively destroys tooth-supporting structures, is one of the most widespread infectious diseases and the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. Evidence from preclinical trials and small-scale pilot clinical studies indicates that stem cells derived from periodontal ligament tissues are a promising therapy for the regeneration of lost/damaged periodontal tissue. This study assessed the safety and feasibility of using autologous periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) as an adjuvant to grafting materials in guided tissue regeneration (GTR) to treat periodontal intrabony defects. Our data provide primary clinical evidence for the efficacy of cell transplantation in regenerative dentistry.MethodsWe conducted a single-center, randomized trial that used autologous PDLSCs in combination with bovine-derived bone mineral materials to treat periodontal intrabony defects. Enrolled patients were randomly assigned to either the Cell group (treatment with GTR and PDLSC sheets in combination with Bio-oss®) or the Control group (treatment with GTR and Bio-oss® without stem cells). During a 12-month follow-up study, we evaluated the frequency and extent of adverse events. For the assessment of treatment efficacy, the primary outcome was based on the magnitude of alveolar bone regeneration following the surgical procedure.ResultsA total of 30 periodontitis patients aged 18 to 65 years (48 testing teeth with periodontal intrabony defects) who satisfied our inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned to the Cell group or the Control group. A total of 21 teeth were treated in the Control group and 20 teeth were treated in the Cell group. All patients received surgery and a clinical evaluation. No clinical safety problems that could be attributed to the investigational PDLSCs were identified. Each group showed a significant increase in the alveolar bone height (decrease in the bone-defect depth) over time (p < 0.001). However, no statistically significant differences were detected between the Cell group and the Control group (p > 0.05).ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that using autologous PDLSCs to treat periodontal intrabony defects is safe and does not produce significant adverse effects. The efficacy of cell-based periodontal therapy requires further validation by multicenter, randomized controlled studies with an increased sample size.Trial RegistrationNCT01357785 Date registered: 18 May 2011.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13287-016-0288-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Bud growth in yeast is guided by myosin-driven delivery of secretory vesicles from the mother cell to the bud. We find transport occurs along two sets of actin cables assembled by two formin isoforms. The Bnr1p formin assembles cables that radiate from the bud neck into the mother, providing a stable mother-bud axis. These cables also depend on septins at the neck and are required for efficient transport from the mother to the bud. The Bni1p formin assembles cables that line the bud cortex and target vesicles to varying locations in the bud. Loss of these cables results in morphological defects as vesicles accumulate at the neck. Assembly of these cables depends on continued polarized secretion, suggesting vesicular transport provides a positive feedback signal for Bni1p activation, possibly by rho-proteins. By coupling different formin isoforms to unique cortical landmarks, yeast uses common cytoskeletal elements to maintain stable and dynamic axes in the same cell. INTRODUCTIONProper cell polarization requires a balance between dynamism and stability. Persistent systems, such as the apical and basolateral domains of epithelial cells, show a higher stability than flexible systems, such as cells undergoing chemotaxis. However, both types can use similar cytoskeletal components, so an important task in understanding the control of polarity is to identify features that influence persistence, and how those features integrate with the core cytoskeletal machinery providing the physical expression of polarity.The process of bud growth of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae provides a model for examining the control of polarity (for reviews, see Bretscher, 2003;Chang and Peter, 2003). Secretory organelles, such as the Golgi and endoplasmic reticulum, are distributed throughout the bud and mother cell, whereas post-Golgi secretory vesicles concentrate at discrete growth sites at the cell cortex. These vesicles are guided to these sites along what are essentially two axes of polarity: a stable axis directing traffic from the mother into the bud, and a dynamic axis that fine-tunes delivery from the bud neck to specific regions in the bud, sending vesicles first to the small bud tip, then to the entire bud surface, and finally back toward the neck during mother/daughter separation. On delivery to these locations, post-Golgi vesicles fuse with the cell surface to promote localized cell expansion.Two class-V myosins, with heavy chains encoded by MYO2 (Johnston et al., 1991) and MYO4 (Haarer et al., 1994), propel cellular components, including vesicles, organelles, mRNAs, and microtubules, from the mother into the bud during growth and organelle segregation. The myosins move along cables of actin filaments that radiate throughout the cell in arrays oriented toward growth sites (Adams and Pringle, 1984;Kilmartin and Adams, 1984).Assembly of these cables depends on two formin homologues, Bni1p and Bnr1p (Evangelista et al., 2002;Sagot et al., 2002a), members of a family of cytoskeletal regulatory proteins defined by conserved fo...

No abstract