About the Authors

Pal Gooz

Affiliation Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America

Yujing Dang

Affiliation Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America

Shigeki Higashiyama

Affiliation Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Center for Regenerative Medicine CEREM, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Ehime, Japan

Waleed O. Twal

Affiliation Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America

Courtney J. Haycraft

Affiliation College of Dental Medicine, Craniofacial Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America

Monika Gooz

beckm@musc.edu

Affiliation Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: PG MG. Performed the experiments: PG YD WOT MG. Analyzed the data: PG WOT CJH MG. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: SH. Wrote the paper: PG MG.