搜索结果: 'gmp t cell activator'

HOXA9-mediated up-regulation of miR-155 was noted during an array-based analysis of microRNA expression in Hoxa9(-/-)bone marrow (BM) cells. HOXA9 induction of miR-155 was confirmed in these samples,as well as in wild-type versus Hoxa9-deficient marrow,using northern analysis and qRT-PCR. Infection of wild-type BM with HOXA9 expressing or GFP(+) control virus further confirmed HOXA9-mediated regulation of miR-155. miR-155 expression paralleled Hoxa9 mRNA expression in fractionated BM progenitors,being highest in the stem cell enriched pools. HOXA9 capacity to induce myeloid colony formation was blunted in miR-155-deficient BM cells,indicating that miR-155 is a downstream mediator of HOXA9 function in blood cells. Pu.1,an important regulator of myelopoiesis,was identified as a putative down stream target for miR-155. Although miR-155 was shown to down-regulate the Pu.1 protein,HOXA9 did not appear to modulate Pu.1 expression in murine BM cells. View Publication

Raman microspectroscopy is an attractive approach for chemical imaging of biological specimens,including live cells,without the need for chemi-selective stains. Using a microspectrometer,near-infrared Raman spectra throughout the range 663 cm(-1) to 1220 cm(-1) were obtained from colonies of CA1 human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and CA1 cells that had been stimulated to differentiate for 3 weeks by 10% fetal bovine serum on gelatin. Distributions and intensities of spectral bands attributed to proteins varied significantly between undifferentiated and differentiated cells. Importantly,compared to proteins and lipids,the band intensities of nucleic acids were dominant in undifferentiated cells with a dominance-reversal in differentiated cells. Thus,we could identify intensity ratios of particular protein-related bands (e.g.,757 cm(-1) tryptophan) to nucleic acid bands (784 cm(-1) DNA/RNA composite) that were effective in discriminating between spectra of undifferentiated and differentiated cells. We observed no discernible negative effects due to the laser exposure in terms of morphology,proliferation,or pluripotency of the stem cells. We conclude that Raman microscopy and complementary data processing procedures provide a rapid,noninvasive approach that can distinguish hESCs from differentiated cells. This is the first report to identify specific Raman markers for the differentiation status of hESCs. View Publication

The use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is an exciting frontier in the study and treatment of human diseases through the generation of specific cell types. Here we show the derivation of iPSCs from human nonmobilized peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) mononuclear cells (MNCs) by retroviral transduction of OCT3/4,SOX2,KLF4,and c-MYC. The PB- and BM-derived iPSCs were quite similar to human embryonic stem cells with regard to morphology,expression of surface antigens and pluripotency-associated transcription factors,global gene expression profiles,and differentiation potential in vitro and in vivo. Infected PB and BM MNCs gave rise to iPSCs in the presence of several cytokines,although transduction efficiencies were not high. We found that 5 × 10(5) PB MNCs,which corresponds to less than 1 mL of PB,was enough for the generation of several iPSC colonies. Generation of iPSCs from MNCs of nonmobilized PB,with its relative efficiency and ease of harvesting,could enable the therapeutic use of patient-specific pluripotent stem cells. View Publication

BACKGROUND: Malignant melanoma is an exceptionally aggressive,drug-resistant and heterogeneous cancer. Recently it has been shown that melanoma cells with high clonogenic and tumourigenic abilities are common,but markers distinguishing such cells from cells lacking these abilities have not been identified. There is therefore no definite evidence that an exclusive cell subpopulation,i.e. cancer stem cells (CSC),exists in malignant melanoma. Rather,it is suggested that multiple cell populations are implicated in initiation and progression of the disease,making it of importance to identify subpopulations with elevated aggressive properties. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In several other cancer forms,Aldehyde Dehydrogenase (ALDH),which plays a role in stem cell biology and resistance,is a valuable functional marker for identification of cells that show enhanced aggressiveness and drug-resistance. Furthermore,the presence of ALDH(+) cells is linked to poor clinical prognosis in these cancers. By analyzing cell cultures,xenografts and patient biopsies,we showed that aggressive melanoma harboured a large,distinguishable ALDH(+) subpopulation. In vivo,ALDH(+) cells gave rise to ALDH(-) cells,while the opposite conversion was rare,indicating a higher abilities of ALDH(+) cells to reestablish tumour heterogeneity with respect to the ALDH phenotype. However,both ALDH(+) and ALDH(-) cells demonstrated similarly high abilities for clone formation in vitro and tumour initiation in vivo. Furthermore,both subpopulations showed similar sensitivity to the anti-melanoma drugs,dacarbazine and lexatumumab. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that ALDH does not distinguish tumour-initiating and/or therapy-resistant cells,implying that the ALDH phenotype is not associated with more-aggressive subpopulations in malignant melanoma,and arguing against ALDH as a universal" marker. Besides� View Publication

Human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-based assay systems and genetically modified hESCs are very useful tools for screening drugs that regulate stemness and differentiation and for studying the molecular mechanisms involved in hESC fate determination. For these types of studies,feeder cell-dependent cultures of hESCs are often problematic because the physiology of the feeder cells is perturbed by the drug treatments or genetic modifications,which potentially obscures research outcomes. In this study,we evaluated three commonly used feeder-free culture conditions to determine whether they supported the undifferentiated growth of hESCs and to determine whether the hESCs grown in these conditions displayed gene expression patterns that were similar to the expression patterns of feeder cell-dependent hESCs. Our results demonstrate that hESCs grown in the three feeder-free conditions expressed undifferentiation marker genes as strongly as hESCs that were grown in the feeder-dependent cultures. Furthermore,genome-wide gene expression profiles indicated that the gene expression patterns of hESCs that were grown under feeder-free or feeder-dependent culture conditions were highly similar. These results indicate that the feeder-free culture conditions support the undifferentiated growth of hESCs as effectively as the feeder-dependent culture conditions. Therefore,feeder-free culture conditions are potentially suitable for drug screening and for the genetic manipulation of hESCs in basic research. View Publication

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) present a novel platform for in vitro investigation of the early embryonic cellular response to ionizing radiation. Thus far,no study has analyzed the genome-wide transcriptional response to ionizing radiation in hESCs,nor has any study assessed their ability to form teratomas,the definitive test of pluripotency. In this study,we use microarrays to analyze the global gene expression changes in hESCs after low-dose (0.4 Gy),medium-dose (2 Gy),and high-dose (4 Gy) irradiation. We identify genes and pathways at each radiation dose that are involved in cell death,p53 signaling,cell cycling,cancer,embryonic and organ development,and others. Using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis,we also show that the expression of a comprehensive set of core embryonic transcription factors is not altered by radiation at any dose. Transplantation of irradiated hESCs to immune-deficient mice results in teratoma formation from hESCs irradiated at all doses,definitive proof of pluripotency. Further,using a bioluminescence imaging technique,we have found that irradiation causes hESCs to initially die after transplantation,but the surviving cells quickly recover by 2 weeks to levels similar to control. To conclude,we show that similar to somatic cells,irradiated hESCs suffer significant death and apoptosis after irradiation. However,they continue to remain pluripotent and are able to form all three embryonic germ layers. Studies such as this will help define the limits for radiation exposure for pregnant women and also radiotracer reporter probes for tracking cellular regenerative therapies. View Publication

Adult neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs) are usually defined retrospectively by their ability to proliferate in vivo (bromodeoxyuridine uptake) or to form neurospheres and to differentiate into neurons,astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in vitro. Additional strategies to identify and to isolate NSPCs are of great importance for the investigation of cell differentiation and fate specification. Using the cell surface molecules Prominin-1 and Lewis X and a metabolic marker,the aldehyde dehydrogenase activity,we isolated and characterized five main populations of NSPCs in the neurogenic subventricular zone (SVZ) and the non-neurogenic spinal cord (SC). We used clonal analysis to assess neurosphere formation and multipotency,BrdU retention to investigate in vivo proliferation activity and quantified the expression of NSPC associated genes. Surprisingly,we found many similarities in NSPC subpopulations derived from the SVZ and SC suggesting that subtypes with similar intrinsic potential exist in both regions. The marker defined classification of NSPCs will help to distinguish subpopulations of NSPCs and allows their prospective isolation using fluorescence activated cell sorting. View Publication

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) are expected to provide revolutionary therapeutic applications and drug discovery technologies. In order for this to be achieved a reproducible,defined animal component free culture system is required for the scale-up production of undifferentiated hESC. In this work we have investigated the applicability of a recombinantly produced domain of human vitronectin as an extracellular matrix alternative to the common standards Geltrex or Matrigel. In addition we have validated an ascorbate free media capable of supporting CD30(low) populations of hESC through a multi-factorial analysis of bFGF and Activin A. The recombinant vitronectin domain combined with the ascorbate free media were capable of supporting 3 cell lines,MEL1,MEL2 and hES3 for 10 or more passages while maintaining hESC pluripotency markers and differentiation capacity. The culture method outlined here provides a platform for future investigation into growth factor and extracellular matrix effects on hESC maintenance prior to bioreactor scale-up. View Publication

Human ESCs are the pluripotent precursor of the three embryonic germ layers. Human ESCs exhibit basal-apical polarity,junctional complexes,integrin-dependent matrix adhesion,and E-cadherin-dependent cell-cell adhesion,all characteristics shared by the epiblast epithelium of the intact mammalian embryo. After disruption of epithelial structures,programmed cell death is commonly observed. If individualized human ESCs are prevented from reattaching and forming colonies,their viability is significantly reduced. Here,we show that actin-myosin contraction is a critical effector of the cell death response to human ESC dissociation. Inhibition of myosin heavy chain ATPase,downregulation of myosin heavy chain,and downregulation of myosin light chain all increase survival and cloning efficiency of individualized human ESCs. ROCK inhibition decreases phosphorylation of myosin light chain,suggesting that inhibition of actin-myosin contraction is also the mechanism through which ROCK inhibitors increase cloning efficiency of human ESCs. View Publication

Both human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells can self-renew indefinitely in culture; however,present methods to clonally grow them are inefficient and poorly defined for genetic manipulation and therapeutic purposes. Here we develop the first chemically defined,xeno-free,feeder-free synthetic substrates to support robust self-renewal of fully dissociated human embryonic stem and induced pluripotent stem cells. Material properties including wettability,surface topography,surface chemistry and indentation elastic modulus of all polymeric substrates were quantified using high-throughput methods to develop structure-function relationships between material properties and biological performance. These analyses show that optimal human embryonic stem cell substrates are generated from monomers with high acrylate content,have a moderate wettability and employ integrin alpha(v)beta(3) and alpha(v)beta(5) engagement with adsorbed vitronectin to promote colony formation. The structure-function methodology employed herein provides a general framework for the combinatorial development of synthetic substrates for stem cell culture. View Publication

The ability of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to differentiate into essentially all somatic cell types has made them a valuable tool for studying human development and has positioned them for broad applications in toxicology,regenerative medicine,and drug discovery. This unit describes a protocol for the large-scale expansion and maintenance of hESCs in vitro. hESC cultures must maintain a balance between the cellular states of pluripotency and differentiation; thus,researchers must use care when growing these technically demanding cells. The culture system is based largely on the use of a proprietary serum-replacement product and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF),with mouse embryonic fibroblasts as a feeder layer. These conditions provide the basis for relatively inexpensive maintenance and expansion of hESCs,as well as their engineered counterparts,human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). View Publication

Human pluripotent stem (hPS) cells such as human embryonic stem (hES) and induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells are vulnerable under single cell conditions,which hampers practical applications; yet,the mechanisms underlying this cell death remain elusive. In this paper,we demonstrate that treatment with a specific inhibitor of non-muscle myosin II (NMII),blebbistatin,enhances the survival of hPS cells under clonal density and suspension conditions,and,in combination with a synthetic matrix,supports a fully defined environment for self-renewal. Consistent with this,genetically engineered mouse embryonic stem cells lacking an isoform of NMII heavy chain (NMHCII),or hES cells expressing a short hairpin RNA to knock down NMHCII,show greater viability than controls. Moreover,NMII inhibition increases the expression of self-renewal regulators Oct3/4 and Nanog,suggesting a mechanistic connection between NMII and self-renewal. These results underscore the importance of the molecular motor,NMII,as a novel target for chemically engineering the survival and self-renewal of hPS cells. View Publication