搜索结果: 'methocult media formulations for mouse hematopoietic cells serum containing'

PURPOSE: To investigate the distribution of CD44(+)/CD24(-) cells in breast cancers in relation to tumor size before and after the administration of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: CD44(+)/CD24(-) tumor cells obtained from breast cancer specimens were characterized in vivo and in vitro using tumor formation assays and mammosphere generation assays,respectively. The distribution of CD44+/CD24- tumor cells in 78 breast cancer specimens following administration of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was also evaluated using immunofluorescence assays,and this distribution was compared with the extent of tumor invasion predicted by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST). RESULTS: In 27/78 cases,complete remission (CR) was identified using RECIST. However,18 of these CR cases were associated with a scattered distribution of tumor stem cells in the outline of the original tumor prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy,24 cases involved cancer cells that were confined to the tumor outline,and 21 cases had tumor cells or tumor stem cells overlapping the tumor outline. In addition,there were 6 patients who were insensitive to chemotherapy,and in these cases,both cancer cells and stem cells were detected outside the contours of the tumor volume imaged prior to chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: CD44+/CD24- tumor cells may be an additional parameter to evaluate when determining the extent of breast cancer invasion. View Publication

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are generated from somatic cells by the forced expression of a defined set of pluripotency-associated transcription factors. Human iPS cells can be propagated indefinitely,while maintaining the capacity to differentiate into all cell types in the body except for extra-embryonic tissues. This technology not only represents a new way to use individual-specific stem cells for regenerative medicine but also constitutes a novel method to obtain large amounts of disease-specific cells for biomedical research. Despite their great potential,the long reprogramming process (up to 1. month) remains one of the most significant challenges facing standard virus-mediated methodology. In this study,we report the accelerated generation of human iPS cells from adipose-derived stem (ADS) cells,using a new combination of chemical inhibitors under a setting of physiological hypoxia in conjunction with retroviral transduction of Oct4,Sox2,Klf4,and L-Myc. Under optimized conditions,we observed human embryonic stem (ES)-like cells as early as 6. days after the initial retroviral transduction. This was followed by the emergence of fully reprogrammed cells bearing Tra-1-81-positive and DsRed transgene-silencing properties on day 10. The resulting cell lines resembled human ES cells in many respects including proliferation rate,morphology,pluripotency-associated markers,global gene expression patterns,genome-wide DNA methylation states,and the ability to differentiate into all three of the germ layers,both in vitro and in vivo. Our method,when combined with chemical inhibitors under conditions of physiological hypoxia,offers a powerful tool for rapidly generating bona fide human iPS cells and facilitates the application of iPS cell technology to biomedical research. textcopyright 2011 Elsevier Inc. View Publication

Neuron-specific in vitro screening strategies have the potential to accelerate the evaluation of chemicals for neurotoxicity. We examined neurite outgrowth as a measure of neuronal response with a commercially available rat cortex progenitor cell model,where cells were exposed to a chemical during a period of cell differentiation. In control cultures,the fraction of beta-III-tubulin positive neurons and their neurite length increased significantly with time,indicating differentiation of the progenitor cells. Expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein,an astrocyte marker,also increased significantly with time. By seeding progenitor cells at varying densities,we demonstrated that neurite length was influenced by cell-cell spacing. After ten days,cultures seeded at densities of 1000 cells/mm(2) or lower had significantly shorter neurites than cultures seeded at densities of 1250 cells/mm(2) or higher. Progenitor cells were exposed to lithium,a neuroactive chemical with diverse modes of action. Cultures exposed to 30 mmol/L or 10 mmol/L lithium chloride (LiCl) had significantly lower metabolic activity than control cultures,as reported by adenosine triphosphate content,and no neurons were observed after ten days of exposure. Cultures exposed to 3 mmol/L,1 mmol/L,or 0.3 mmol/L LiCl,which encompass lithium's therapeutic range,had metabolic activity similar to control cultures. These cultures exhibited concentration-dependent decreases in neurite outgrowth after ten days of LiCl exposure. Neurite outgrowth results were relatively robust,regardless of the evaluation methodology. This work demonstrates that measurement of neurite outgrowth in differentiating progenitor cell cultures can be a sensitive endpoint for neuronal response under non-cytotoxic exposure conditions. View Publication

Efficient derivation of neural cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) remains an unmet need for the treatment of neurological disorders. The limiting factors for current methods include being labor-intensive,time-consuming and expensive. In this study,we hypothesize that the substrate topography,with optimal geometry and dimension,can modulate the neural fate of hESCs and enhance the efficiency of differentiation. A multi-architectural chip (MARC) containing fields of topographies varying in geometry and dimension was developed to facilitate high-throughput analysis of topography-induced neural differentiation in vitro. The hESCs were subjected to direct differentiation"� View Publication

BACKGROUND: Lineage specific differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) is largely mediated by specific growth factors and extracellular matrix molecules. Growth factors initiate a cascade of signals which control gene transcription and cell fate specification. There is a lot of interest in inducing hESCs to an endoderm fate which serves as a pathway towards more functional cell types like the pancreatic cells. Research over the past decade has established several robust pathways for deriving endoderm from hESCs,with the capability of further maturation. However,in our experience,the functional maturity of these endoderm derivatives,specifically to pancreatic lineage,largely depends on specific pathway of endoderm induction. Hence it will be of interest to understand the underlying mechanism mediating such induction and how it is translated to further maturation. In this work we analyze the regulatory interactions mediating different pathways of endoderm induction by identifying co-regulated transcription factors.backslashnbackslashnRESULTS: hESCs were induced towards endoderm using activin A and 4 different growth factors (FGF2 (F),BMP4 (B),PI3KI (P),and WNT3A (W)) and their combinations thereof,resulting in 15 total experimental conditions. At the end of differentiation each condition was analyzed by qRT-PCR for 12 relevant endoderm related transcription factors (TFs). As a first approach,we used hierarchical clustering to identify which growth factor combinations favor up-regulation of different genes. In the next step we identified sets of co-regulated transcription factors using a biclustering algorithm. The high variability of experimental data was addressed by integrating the biclustering formulation with bootstrap re-sampling to identify robust networks of co-regulated transcription factors. Our results show that the transition from early to late endoderm is favored by FGF2 as well as WNT3A treatments under high activin. However,induction of late endoderm markers is relatively favored by WNT3A under high activin.backslashnbackslashnCONCLUSIONS: Use of FGF2,WNT3A or PI3K inhibition with high activin A may serve well in definitive endoderm induction followed by WNT3A specific signaling to direct the definitive endoderm into late endodermal lineages. Other combinations,though still feasible for endoderm induction,appear less promising for pancreatic endoderm specification in our experiments. View Publication

BackgroundmicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in the control of many biological processes and their deregulation has been associated with many cancers. In recent years,the cancer stem cell (CSC) concept has been applied to many cancers including pediatric. We hypothesized that a common signature of deregulated miRNAs in the CSCs fraction may explain the disrupted signaling pathways in CSCs.Methodology/ResultsUsing a high throughput qPCR approach we identified 26 CSC associated differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRs). Using BCmicrO algorithm 865 potential CSC associated DEmiR targets were obtained. These potential targets were subjected to KEGG,Biocarta and Gene Ontology pathway and biological processes analysis. Four annotated pathways were enriched: cell cycle,cell proliferation,p53 and TGF-beta/BMP. Knocking down hsa-miR-21-5p,hsa-miR-181c-5p and hsa-miR-135b-5p using antisense oligonucleotides and small interfering RNA in cell lines led to the depletion of the CSC fraction and impairment of sphere formation (CSC surrogate assays).ConclusionOur findings indicated that CSC associated DEmiRs and the putative pathways they regulate may have potential therapeutic applications in pediatric cancers. View Publication

PURPOSE FK506-binding protein like (FKBPL) and its peptide derivative,AD-01,have already shown tumor growth inhibition and CD44-dependent antiangiogenic activity. Here,we explore the ability of AD-01 to target CD44-positive breast cancer stem cells (BCSC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Mammosphere assays and flow cytometry were used to analyze the effect of FKBPL overexpression/knockdown and AD-01 treatment ± other anticancer agents on BCSCs using breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7/MDA-231/ZR-75),primary patient samples,and xenografts. Delays in tumor initiation were evaluated in vivo. The anti-stem cell mechanisms were determined using clonogenic assays,quantitative PCR (qPCR),and immunofluorescence. RESULTS AD-01 treatment was highly effective at inhibiting the BCSC population by reducing mammosphere-forming efficiency and ESA(+)/CD44(+)/CD24(-) or aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH)(+) cell subpopulations in vitro and tumor initiation in vivo. The ability of AD-01 to inhibit the self-renewal capacity of BCSCs was confirmed; mammospheres were completely eradicated by the third generation. The mechanism seems to be due to AD-01-mediated BCSC differentiation shown by a significant decrease in the number of holoclones and an associated increase in meroclones/paraclones; the stem cell markers,Nanog,Oct4,and Sox2,were also significantly reduced. Furthermore,we showed additive inhibitory effects when AD-01 was combined with the Notch inhibitor,DAPT. AD-01 was also able to abrogate a chemo- and radiotherapy-induced enrichment in BCSCs. Finally,FKBPL knockdown led to an increase in Nanog/Oct4/Sox2 and an increase in BCSCs,highlighting a role for endogenous FKBPL in stem cell signaling. CONCLUSIONS AD-01 has dual antiangiogenic and anti-BCSC activity,which will be advantageous as this agent enters clinical trial. View Publication

Neural progenitor cells (NPCs) derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have great potential in cell therapy,drug screening and toxicity testing of neural degenerative diseases. However,the molecular regulation of their proliferation and apoptosis,which needs to be revealed before clinical application,is largely unknown. MicroRNA miR-195 is known to be expressed in the brain and is involved in a variety of proapoptosis or antiapoptosis processes in cancer cells. Here,we defined the proapoptotic role of miR-195 in NPCs derived from two independent hESC lines (human embryonic stem cell-derived neural progenitor cells,hESC-NPCs). Overexpression of miR-195 in hESC-NPCs induced extensive apoptotic cell death. Consistently,global transcriptional microarray analyses indicated that miR-195 primarily regulated genes associated with apoptosis in hESC-NPCs. Mechanistically,a small GTP-binding protein ADP-ribosylation factor-like protein 2 (ARL2) was identified as a direct target of miR-195. Silencing ARL2 in hESC-NPCs provoked an apoptotic phenotype resembling that of miR-195 overexpression,revealing for the first time an essential role of ARL2 for the survival of human NPCs. Moreover,forced expression of ALR2 could abolish the cell number reduction caused by miR-195 overexpression. Interestingly,we found that paraquat,a neurotoxin,not only induced apoptosis but also increased miR-195 and reduced ARL2 expression in hESC-NPCs,indicating the possible involvement of miR-195 and ARL2 in neurotoxin-induced NPC apoptosis. Notably,inhibition of miR-195 family members could block neurotoxin-induced NPC apoptosis. Collectively,miR-195 regulates cell apoptosis in a context-dependent manner through directly targeting ARL2. The finding of the critical role of ARL2 for the survival of human NPCs and association of miR-195 and ARL2 with neurotoxin-induced apoptosis have important implications for understanding molecular mechanisms that control NPC survival and would facilitate our manipulation of the neurological pathogenesis. View Publication

Human macrophages are specialised hosts for HIV-1,dengue virus,Leishmania and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Yet macrophage research is hampered by lack of appropriate cell models for modelling infection by these human pathogens,because available myeloid cell lines are,by definition,not terminally differentiated like tissue macrophages. We describe here a method for deriving monocytes and macrophages from human Pluripotent Stem Cells which improves on previously published protocols in that it uses entirely defined,feeder- and serum-free culture conditions and produces very consistent,pure,high yields across both human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC) and multiple human induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (hiPSC) lines over time periods of up to one year. Cumulatively,up to ∼3×10(7) monocytes can be harvested per 6-well plate. The monocytes produced are most closely similar to the major blood monocyte (CD14(+),CD16(low),CD163(+)). Differentiation with M-CSF produces macrophages that are highly phagocytic,HIV-1-infectable,and upon activation produce a pro-inflammatory cytokine profile similar to blood monocyte-derived macrophages. Macrophages are notoriously hard to genetically manipulate,as they recognise foreign nucleic acids; the lentivector system described here overcomes this,as pluripotent stem cells can be relatively simply genetically manipulated for efficient transgene expression in the differentiated cells,surmounting issues of transgene silencing. Overall,the method we describe here is an efficient,effective,scalable system for the reproducible production and genetic modification of human macrophages,facilitating the interrogation of human macrophage biology. View Publication

How tumor suppressor p53 selectively responds to specific signals,especially in normal cells,is poorly understood. We performed genome-wide profiling of p53 chromatin interactions and target gene expression in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in response to early differentiation,induced by retinoic acid,versus DNA damage,caused by adriamycin. Most p53-binding sites are unique to each state and define stimulus-specific p53 responses in hESCs. Differentiation-activated p53 targets include many developmental transcription factors and,in pluripotent hESCs,are bound by OCT4 and NANOG at chromatin enriched in both H3K27me3 and H3K4me3. Activation of these genes occurs with recruitment of p53 and H3K27me3-specific demethylases,UTX and JMJD3,to chromatin. In contrast,genes associated with cell migration and motility are bound by p53 specifically after DNA damage. Surveillance functions of p53 in cell death and cell cycle regulation are conserved in both DNA damage and differentiation. Comparative genomic analysis of p53-targets in mouse and human ESCs supports an inter-species divergence in p53 regulatory functions during evolution. Our findings expand the registry of p53-regulated genes to define p53-regulated opposition to pluripotency during early differentiation,a process highly distinct from stress-induced p53 response in hESCs. View Publication

An immunohistological study in the human breast and the rodent breast (from inbred Ludwig/Wistar/Olac rats) was conducted with the use of a murine monoclonal antibody,which reacts with the common acute lymphoblastic antigen,a glycosylated polypeptide of a molecular weight of 100,000. The epitope,as recognized by this antibody,is expressed on myoepithelial cells of the normal human and rat breasts and was studied in the developing rodent mammary gland. Ultrastructural studies in the normal human breast clearly demonstrated the presence of the antigen on the lateral membrane of the myoepithelial cells with no staining of luminal cells,blood vessels,or stromal elements. The antigen survived prolonged enzymatic digestion of human breast tissue and could be demonstrated on myoepithelial cells in single-cell suspensions of human breast where it stained approximately 3-14% of the total cell population. The presence of this antigen on myoepithelial cells is discussed in the context of myoepithelial differentiation in the breast and the potential utility of the antibodies for cell separation. View Publication

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have the ability to form cells derived from all three germ layers,and as such have received significant attention as a possible source for insulin-secreting pancreatic beta-cells for diabetes treatment. While considerable advances have been made in generating hESC-derived insulin-producing cells,to date in vitro-derived glucose-responsive beta-cells have remained an elusive goal. With the objective of increasing the in vitro formation of pancreatic endocrine cells,we examined the effect of varying initial cell seeding density from 1.3 x 104 cells/cm2 to 5.3 x 104 cells/cm2 followed by a 21-day pancreatic endocrine differentiation protocol. Low density-seeded cells were found to be biased toward the G2/M phases of the cell cycle and failed to efficiently differentiate into SOX17-CXCR4 co-positive definitive endoderm cells leaving increased numbers of OCT4 positive cells in day 4 cultures. Moderate density cultures effectively formed definitive endoderm and progressed to express PDX1 in approximately 20% of the culture. High density cultures contained approximately double the numbers of PDX1 positive pancreatic progenitor cells and also showed increased expression of MNX1,PTF1a,NGN3,ARX,and PAX4 compared to cultures seeded at moderate density. The cultures seeded at high density displayed increased formation of polyhormonal pancreatic endocrine cell populations co-expressing insulin,glucagon and somatostatin. The maturation process giving rise to these endocrine cell populations followed the expected cascade of pancreatic progenitor marker (PDX1 and MNX1) expression,followed by pancreatic endocrine specification marker expression (BRN4,PAX4,ARX,NEUROD1,NKX6.1 and NKX2.2) and then pancreatic hormone expression (insulin,glucagon and somatostatin). Taken together these data suggest that initial cell seeding density plays an important role in both germ layer specification and pancreatic progenitor commitment,which precedes pancreatic endocrine cell formation. This work highlights the need to examine standard culture variables such as seeding density when optimizing hESC differentiation protocols. View Publication