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

Type-2 bitter taste receptors (Tas2Rs) are a large family of G protein-coupled receptors that are expressed in the oral cavity and serve to detect substances with bitter tastes in foods and medicines. Recent evidence suggests that Tas2Rs are also expressed extraorally,including in immune cells. However,the role of Tas2Rs in immune cells remains controversial. Here,we demonstrate that Tas2R126,Tas2R135,and Tas2R143 are expressed in mouse neutrophils,but not in other immune cells such as macrophages or T and B lymphocytes. Treatment of bone marrow-derived neutrophils from wild-type mice with the Tas2R126/143 agonists arbutin and d-salicin led to enhanced C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CXCL2)-stimulated migration in vitro,but this response was not observed in neutrophils from Tas2r126/135/143-deficient mice. Enhancement of CXCL2-stimulated migration by Tas2R agonists was accompanied by increased phosphorylation of myosin light chain 2 (MLC2) and was blocked by pretreatment of neutrophils with inhibitors of Rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase (ROCK),but not by inhibitors of the small GTPase RhoA. Taken together,these results demonstrate that mouse neutrophils express functional Tas2R126/143 and suggest a role for Tas2R126/143-ROCK-MLC2-dependent signaling in the regulation of neutrophil migration. View Publication

BACKGROUND & AIMS The early embryonic pancreas gives rise to exocrine (ducts and acini) and endocrine lineages. Control of exocrine differentiation is poorly understood,but may be a critical avenue through which to manipulate pancreatic ductal carcinoma. Retinoids have been shown to change the character of pancreatic ductal cancer cells to a less malignant phenotype. We have shown that 9-cis retinoic acid (9cRA) inhibits acinar differentiation in the developing pancreas,in favor of ducts,and we wanted to determine the role of retinoids in duct versus acinar differentiation. METHODS We used multiple culture systems for the 11-day embryonic mouse pancreas. RESULTS Retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-selective agonists mimicked the acinar suppressive effect of 9cRA,suggesting that RAR-RXR heterodimers were critical to ductal differentiation. RARalpha was only expressed in mesenchyme,whereas RXRalpha was expressed in epithelium and mesenchyme. Retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2,a critical enzyme in retinoid synthesis,was expressed only in pancreatic epithelium. 9cRA did not induce ductal differentiation in the absence of mesenchyme,implicating a requirement for mesenchyme in 9cRA effects. Mesenchymal laminin is necessary for duct differentiation,and retinoids are known to enhance laminin expression. In 9cRA-treated pancreas,immunohistochemistry for laminin showed a strong band of staining around ducts,and blockage of laminin signaling blocked all 9cRA effects. Western blot and RT-PCR of pancreatic mesenchyme showed laminin-beta1 protein and mRNA induction by 9cRA. CONCLUSIONS Retinoids regulate exocrine lineage selection through epithelial-mesenchymal interactions,mediated through up-regulation of mesenchymal laminin-1. View Publication

BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRs or miRNAs) regulate several biological processes in the cell. However,evidence for miRNAs that control the differentiation program of specific neural cell types has been elusive. Recently,we have shown that apoptosis-associated factors,such as p53 and caspases participate in the differentiation process of mouse neural stem (NS) cells. To identify apoptosis-associated miRNAs that might play a role in neuronal development,we performed global miRNA expression profiling experiments in NS cells. Next,we characterized the expression of proapoptotic miRNAs,including miR-16,let-7a and miR-34a in distinct models of neural differentiation,including mouse embryonic stem cells,PC12 and NT2N cells. In addition,the expression of antiapoptotic miR-19a and 20a was also evaluated. RESULTS The expression of miR-16,let-7a and miR-34a was consistently upregulated in neural differentiation models. In contrast,expression of miR-19a and miR-20a was downregulated in mouse NS cell differentiation. Importantly,differential expression of specific apoptosis-related miRNAs was not associated with increased cell death. Overexpression of miR-34a increased the proportion of postmitotic neurons of mouse NS cells. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion,the identification of miR-16,let-7a and miR-34a,whose expression patterns are conserved in mouse,rat and human neural differentiation,implicates these specific miRNAs in mammalian neuronal development. The results provide new insights into the regulation of neuronal differentiation by apoptosis-associated miRNAs. View Publication

The molecular mechanism responsible for a decline of stem cell functioning after replicative stress remains unknown. We used mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to identify genes involved in the process of cellular aging. In proliferating and senescent MEFs one of the most differentially expressed transcripts was Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (Ezh2),a Polycomb group protein (PcG) involved in histone methylation and deacetylation. Retroviral overexpression of Ezh2 in MEFs resulted in bypassing of the senescence program. More importantly,whereas normal HSCs were rapidly exhausted after serial transplantations,overexpression of Ezh2 completely conserved long-term repopulating potential. Animals that were reconstituted with 3 times serially transplanted control bone marrow cells all died due to hematopoietic failure. In contrast,similarly transplanted Ezh2-overexpressing stem cells restored stem cell quality to normal levels. In a genetic genomics" screen View Publication

Quiescence is a fundamental property that maintains hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) potency throughout life. Quiescent HSCs are thought to rely on glycolysis for their energy,but the overall metabolic properties of HSCs remain elusive. Using combined approaches,including single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq),we show that mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) distinguishes quiescent from cycling-primed HSCs. We found that primed,but not quiescent,HSCs relied readily on glycolysis. Notably,in vivo inhibition of glycolysis enhanced the competitive repopulation ability of primed HSCs. We further show that HSC quiescence is maintained by an abundance of large lysosomes. Repression of lysosomal activation in HSCs led to further enlargement of lysosomes while suppressing glucose uptake. This also induced increased lysosomal sequestration of mitochondria and enhanced the competitive repopulation ability of primed HSCs by over 90-fold in vivo. These findings show that restraining lysosomal activity preserves HSC quiescence and potency and may be therapeutically relevant. View Publication

The complex process of platelet formation originates with the hematopoietic stem cell,which differentiates through the myeloid lineage,matures,and releases proplatelets into the BM sinusoids. How formed platelets maintain a low basal activation state in the circulation remains unknown. We identify Lepr+ stromal cells lining the BM sinusoids as important contributors to sustaining low platelet activation. Ablation of murine Lepr+ cells led to a decreased number of platelets in the circulation with an increased activation state. We developed a potentially novel culture system for supporting platelet formation in vitro using a unique population of CD51+PDGFRalpha+ perivascular cells,derived from human umbilical cord tissue,which display numerous mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) properties. Megakaryocytes cocultured with MSCs had altered LAT and Rap1b gene expression,yielding platelets that are functional with low basal activation levels,a critical consideration for developing a transfusion product. Identification of a regulatory cell that maintains low baseline platelet activation during thrombopoiesis opens up new avenues for improving blood product production ex vivo. View Publication

Mammalian cells generally require both mitogens and anchorage signals in order to proliferate. An important characteristic of many tumour cells is that they have lost this anchorage-dependent cell-cycle checkpoint,allowing them to proliferate without signals provided by their normal microenvironment. In the absence of anchorage signals from the extracellular matrix,many cell types arrest cell-cycle progression in G1 phase as a result of Rb-dependent checkpoints. However,despite inactivation of p53 and Rb proteins,SV40LT-expressing cells retain anchorage dependency,suggesting the presence of an uncharacterised cell-cycle checkpoint,which can be overridden by coexpression of oncogenic Ras. We report here that,although cyclin-CDK complexes persisted in suspension,proliferation was inhibited in LT-expressing cells by the CDK inhibitor p27(Kip1) (p27). Interestingly,this did not induce a stable arrest,but aberrant cell-cycle progression associated with stalled DNA replication,rereplication and chromosomal instability,which was sufficient to increase the frequency of oncogenic transformation. These results firstly indicate loss of anchorage in Rb- and p53-deficient cells as a novel mechanism for promotion of genomic instability; secondly suggest that anchorage checkpoints that protect normal cells from inappropriate proliferation act deleteriously in Rb- and p53-deficient cells to promote tumourigenesis; and thirdly indicate caution in the use of CDK inhibitors for cancer treatment. View Publication

Cancer-initiating cells (CIC) comprise a rare subpopulation of cells in tumors that are proposed to be responsible for tumor growth. Starting from CICs identified in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC),termed head and neck cancer-initiating cells (HN-CIC),we determined as a candidate stemness-maintaining molecule for HN-CICs the proinflammatory mediator S100A4,which is also known to be an inducer of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. S100A4 knockdown in HN-CICs reduced their self-renewal capability and their stemness and tumorigenic properties,both in vitro and in vivo. Conversely,S100A4 overexpression in HNSCC cells enhanced their stem cell properties. Mechanistic investigations indicated that attenuation of endogenous S100A4 levels in HNSCC cells caused downregulation of Notch2 and PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase)/pAKT along with upregulation of PTEN,consistent with biological findings. Immunohistochemical analysis of HNSCC clinical specimens showed that S100A4 expression was positively correlated with clinical grading,stemness markers,and poorer patient survival. Together,our findings reveal a crucial role for S100A4 signaling pathways in maintaining the stemness properties and tumorigenicity of HN-CICs. Furthermore,our findings suggest that targeting S100A4 signaling may offer a new targeted strategy for HNSCC treatment by eliminating HN-CICs. View Publication

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been identified in a variety of cancers and emerged as a new target for cancer therapy. CSCs are resistant to many current cancer treatments,including chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Therefore,eradication of this cell population is a primary objective in cancer therapy. Here,we report gold nanorods (AuNRs) mediated photothermal treatment can selectively eliminate CSCs in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. It significantly reduced the aldehyde dehydrogenase positive (ALDH(+)) cells subpopulation and the mammosphere formation ability of treated cells. Also,the gene expression of stem cell markers was decreased. Cellular uptake assay revealed that polyelectrolyte conjugated AuNRs could be internalized by CSCs much more and faster than non cancer stem cells (NCSCs),which might be the main reason for the selective elimination of CSCs. We further loaded salinomycin (SA),a CSCs inhibitor with polyelectrolyte conjugated AuNRs to get a synergistic CSCs inhibition. Enhanced inhibition of CSCs was obtained by NIR light triggered drug release and hyperthermia. This CSCs-targeted thermo-chemotherapy platform provides a new combinatorial strategy for efficient inhibition of CSCs,which is promising to improve cancer treatment and may overcome the chemoresistance and recurrence of cancer. View Publication

There is a foundational need for quality control tools in stem cell laboratories engaged in basic research,regenerative therapies,and toxicological studies. These tools require automated methods for evaluating cell processes and quality during in vitro passaging,expansion,maintenance,and differentiation. In this paper,an unbiased,automated high-content profiling toolkit,StemCellQC,is presented that non-invasively extracts information on cell quality and cellular processes from time-lapse phase-contrast videos. Twenty four (24) morphological and dynamic features were analyzed in healthy,unhealthy,and dying human embryonic stem cell (hESC) colonies to identify those features that were affected in each group. Multiple features differed in the healthy versus unhealthy/dying groups,and these features were linked to growth,motility,and death. Biomarkers were discovered that predicted cell processes before they were detectable by manual observation. StemCellQC distinguished healthy and unhealthy/dying hESC colonies with 96% accuracy by non-invasively measuring and tracking dynamic and morphological features over 48 hours. Changes in cellular processes can be monitored by StemCellQC and predictions can be made about the quality of pluripotent stem cell colonies. This toolkit reduced the time and resources required to track multiple pluripotent stem cell colonies and eliminated handling errors and false classifications due to human bias. StemCellQC provided both user-specified and classifier-determined analysis in cases where the affected features are not intuitive or anticipated. Video analysis algorithms allowed assessment of biological phenomena using automatic detection analysis,which can aid facilities where maintaining stem cell quality and/or monitoring changes in cellular processes are essential. In the future StemCellQC can be expanded to include other features,cell types,treatments,and differentiating cells. View Publication