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Abstract Background The prevalence of vascular calcification (VC) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients remains substantial, but currently, there are no effective pharmaceutical therapies available. BRCA1/BRCA2-containing complex subunit 36 (BRCC36) has been implicated in osteoblast osteogenic conversion; however, its specific role in VC remains to be fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the role and underlying mechanisms of BRCC36 in VC. Methods The association between BRCC36 expression and VC was examined in radial arteries from patients with CKD, high-adenine-induced CKD mice, and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Western blotting, real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry were used to analyse gene expression. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments were performed to comprehensively investigate the effects of BRCC36 on VC. Coimmunoprecipitation and TOPFlash luciferase assays were utilized to further investigate the regulatory effects of BRCC36 on the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Results BRCC36 expression was downregulated in human calcified radial arteries, calcified aortas from CKD mice, and calcified VSMCs. VSMC-specific BRCC36 overexpression alleviated calcium deposition in the vasculature, whereas BRCC36 depletion aggravated VC progression. Furthermore, BRCC36 inhibited the osteogenic differentiation of VSMCs in vitro. Rescue experiments revealed that BRCC36 exerts the protective effects on VC partly by regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway. Mechanistically, BRCC36 inhibited the Wnt/β-catenin pathway by decreasing the K63-linked ubiquitination of β-catenin. Additionally, pioglitazone attenuated VC partly through upregulating BRCC36 expression. Conclusions Our research results emphasize the critical role of the BRCC36-β-catenin axis in VC, suggesting that BRCC36 or β-catenin may be promising therapeutic targets to prevent the progression of VC in CKD patients. Graphical Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effect of D55 and D65 light sources on the visual colorimetry performance of dental students by using a homemade light-source shelf., Methods: Two Vitapan 3D-Master shade guides were randomly selected. One set was used as shade guides. Ten commonly used shade tabs of 2L2.5, 2M2, 2R2.5, 3M2, 3R2.5, 3L1.5, 3R1.5, 3L2.5, 4R1.5, and 4L1.5 were selected from the other set with covered value marks and numbered from 1 to 10. After the colorimetric training, 49 undergraduate dental students were randomly divided into two groups. Each student randomly selected two of the 10 shade tabs, and the colors were subsequently matched under D65 and D55 light sources from a distance of approximately 40 cm. The average color difference (ΔE) between the color selected by each participant and the actual color of shade tabs was calculated. Paired t test was used for statistical analysis., Results: The ΔE values between the color selected by each participant and the actual color of the shade tabs under the D55 light source varied from 0 to 6.540. The average value was 2.501. The ΔE values between the color selected by each participant and the actual color of the shade tabs under the D65 light source varied from 0 to 6.610. The average value was 2.530. No statistically significant difference was observed between the results under the two light sources (P=0.921)., Conclusions: Both D55 and D65 daylight lamps can be used for daily dental colorimetry. These two different color temperatures showed no significant difference.