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In recent years, shank angular velocity (SAV) has emerged as a valuable tool for accurate temporal gait analysis and motion pattern assessment. To explore SAV among healthy subjects and its capability to distinguish differences between walking conditions, three-dimensional SAV data was measured with a gyroscope sensor during normal and barefoot walking. The resulting dataset contains measurement data from 58 healthy adult subjects aged 19 to 75 years. A single gyroscope was positioned on the lateral side of both shanks just above the lateral malleolus. The data collection involved the subjects walking a 10 m distance three times, both wearing shoes and barefoot. The subjects were instructed to walk with their own natural walking velocity, and each walk began from a stationary position. The dataset has the potential to provide information on how height and weight affect gait kinematics and how barefoot walking differ from walking with shoes. The data also supports designing the collection protocol for more extensive datasets of IMU-based shank motion during gait.

The abilities to invade surrounding tissues and metastasize to distant organs are the most outstanding features that distinguish malignant from benign tumors. However, the mechanisms preventing the invasion and metastasis of benign tumor cells remain unclear. By using our own rat distant metastasis model, gene expression of cells in primary tumors was compared with that in metastasized tumors. Among many distinct gene expressions, we have focused on chloride intracellular channel protein 2 (CLIC2), an ion channel protein of as-yet unknown function, which was predominantly expressed in the primary tumors. We created CLIC2 overexpressing rat glioma cell line and utilized benign human meningioma cells with naturally high CLIC2 expression. CLIC2 was expressed at higher levels in benign human brain tumors than in their malignant counterparts. Moreover, its high expression was associated with prolonged survival in the rat metastasis and brain tumor models as well as with progression-free survival in patients with brain tumors. CLIC2 was also correlated with the decreased blood vessel permeability likely by increased contents of cell adhesion molecules. We found that CLIC2 was secreted extracellularly, and bound to matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 14. Furthermore, CLIC2 prevented the localization of MMP14 in the plasma membrane, and inhibited its enzymatic activity. Indeed, overexpressing CLIC2 and recombinant CLIC2 protein effectively suppressed malignant cell invasion, whereas CLIC2 knockdown reversed these effects. Thus, CLIC2 suppress invasion and metastasis of benign tumors at least partly by inhibiting MMP14 activity.

The poor prognosis of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is primarily due to highly invasive glioma stem-like cells (GSCs) in tumors. Upon GBM recurrence, GSCs with highly invasive and highly migratory activities must assume a less-motile state and proliferate to regenerate tumor mass. Elucidating the molecular mechanism underlying this transition from a highly invasive phenotype to a less-invasive, proliferative tumor could facilitate the identification of effective molecular targets for treating GBM. Here, we demonstrate that severe hypoxia (1% O2) upregulates CD44 expression via activation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α), inducing GSCs to assume a highly invasive tumor. In contrast, moderate hypoxia (5% O2) upregulates osteopontin expression via activation of HIF-2α. The upregulated osteopontin inhibits CD44-promoted GSC migration and invasion and stimulates GSC proliferation, inducing GSCs to assume a less-invasive, highly proliferative tumor. These data indicate that the GSC phenotype is determined by interaction between CD44 and osteopontin. The expression of both CD44 and osteopontin is regulated by differential hypoxia levels. We found that CD44 knockdown significantly inhibited GSC migration and invasion both in vitro and in vivo. Mouse brain tumors generated from CD44-knockdown GSCs exhibited diminished invasiveness, and the mice survived significantly longer than control mice. In contrast, siRNA-mediated silencing of the osteopontin gene decreased GSC proliferation. These results suggest that interaction between CD44 and osteopontin plays a key role in tumor progression in GBM; inhibition of both CD44 and osteopontin may represent an effective therapeutic approach for suppressing tumor progression, thus resulting in a better prognosis for patients with GBM.

We report a rare case of pituicytoma occurring in the sellar region resected by endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (ETSS). We suggest useful indicators for the accurate diagnosis and pitfalls for the surgical procedure. A 38-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with polyuria, erectile dysfunction and bitemporal hemianopsia. Neuroimaging revealed pituitary tumor in the sellar region, and the enhanced anterior pituitary gland was displaced anteriorly. Gross total resection was achieved using ETSS. Histological findings revealed bipolar spindle cells staining strongly for thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1). We diagnosed the tumor as pituicytoma originated from posterior pituitary. Pituicytoma is difficult to diagnose on routine neuroimaging and pathological analysis, so accurate diagnosis requires identification of the forward deviation of anterior pituitary gland and analysis of immunohistochemical studies using TTF-1. Keywords: Pituicytoma, Forward deviation of anterior pituitary lobe, Thyroid transcription factor 1