background: vascular calcification is an important stage in atherosclerosis. during this stage, vascular smooth muscle cells (vsmc) synthesize many osteogenic factors such as osteonectin (encoded by sparc). oxidative stress plays a critical role in atherosclerosis progression, and its accumulation in the vascular wall stimulates the development of atherosclerosis and vascular calcification. the...

objective: evaluating the effects of p-benzoquinone and hydroquinone on the runx2 expression and osteoblastic differentiation of human marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (mscs). materials and methods: bone marrow mscs obtained by cultivating marrow mononuclear cells, were exposed to 10μm of either p-benzoquinone or hydroquinone. following chemical treatment, runx2 gene expression was assess...

objective: runt-related transcription factor 2 (runx2) and osterix (osx) as two specific osteoblast transcription factors and distal-less homeobox 5 (dlx5) as a non-specific one are of paramount importance in regulating osteoblast related genes including osteocalcin, bone sialoprotein (bsp), osteopontin and collagen type iα1. the present study sets out to investigate whether epigenetic regulati...

AIM Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a direct target gene of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling, plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. We previously showed that Runx2, a key transcription factor in osteoblast differentiation, regulates osteogenic conversion and dedifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). In this study, we investigated t...

BACKGROUND RUNX2 is a transcription factor, whose expression has been recently identified in the mouse ovary. Regulation of RUNX2 expression and its function in the human ovary have not been determined yet. The aim of the present study is the investigation of the possible correlation between RUNX2 gene expression in cumulus cells and controlled ovarian stimulation and pregnancy outcomes after A...

The essential osteoblast-related transcription factor Runx2 and the female steroid hormone estrogen are known to play pivotal roles in bone homeostasis; however, the functional interaction between Runx2- and estrogen-mediated signaling in skeletal tissues is minimally understood. Here we provide evidence that aromatase (CYP19), a rate-limiting enzyme responsible for estrogen biosynthesis in mam...

Cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD; MIM 119600) is an autosomal dominant skeletal dysplasia characterised by hypopalstic and/or aplastic clavicles, midface hypoplasia, absent or delayed closure of cranial sutures, moderately short stature, delayed eruption of permanent dentition and supernumerary teeth. The molecular pathogenesis can be explained in about two-thirds of CCD patients by haploinsufficie...

Introduction: Pathogenic variants of RUNX2, a gene that encodes an osteoblast-specific transcription factor, have been shown as the cause of CCD, which is a rare hereditary skeletal and dental disorder with dominant mode of inheritance and a broad range of clinical variability. Due to the relative lack of clinical complications resulting in CCD, the medical diagnosis of this disorder is challen...