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The cancer stem cell hypothesis asserts that malignancies arise in tissue stem and/or progenitor cells through the dysregulation or acquisition of self-renewal. In order to determine whether the dietary polyphenols,curcumin,and piperine are able to modulate the self-renewal of normal and malignant breast stem cells,we examined the effects of these compounds on mammosphere formation,expression of the breast stem cell marker aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH),and Wnt signaling. Mammosphere formation assays were performed after curcumin,piperine,and control treatment in unsorted normal breast epithelial cells and normal stem and early progenitor cells,selected by ALDH positivity. Wnt signaling was examined using a Topflash assay. Both curcumin and piperine inhibited mammosphere formation,serial passaging,and percent of ALDH+ cells by 50% at 5 microM and completely at 10 microM concentration in normal and malignant breast cells. There was no effect on cellular differentiation. Wnt signaling was inhibited by both curcumin and piperine by 50% at 5 microM and completely at 10 microM. Curcumin and piperine separately,and in combination,inhibit breast stem cell self-renewal but do not cause toxicity to differentiated cells. These compounds could be potential cancer preventive agents. Mammosphere formation assays may be a quantifiable biomarker to assess cancer preventive agent efficacy and Wnt signaling assessment can be a mechanistic biomarker for use in human clinical trials. 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

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor and is resistant to all therapeutic regimens. Relapse occurs regularly and might be caused by a poorly characterized tumor stem cell (TSC) subpopulation escaping therapy. We suggest aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) as a novel stem cell marker in human GBM. Using the neurosphere formation assay as a functional method to identify brain TSCs,we show that high protein levels of ALDH1 facilitate neurosphere formation in established GBM cell lines. Even single ALDH1 positive cells give rise to colonies and neurospheres. Consequently,the inhibition of ALDH1 in vitro decreases both the number of neurospheres and their size. Cell lines without expression of ALDH1 do not form tumor spheroids under the same culturing conditions. High levels of ALDH1 seem to keep tumor cells in an undifferentiated,stem cell-like state indicated by the low expression of beta-III-tubulin. In contrast,ALDH1 inhibition induces premature cellular differentiation and reduces clonogenic capacity. Primary cell cultures obtained from fresh tumor samples approve the established GBM cell line results. View Publication

Putative myogenic and endothelial (myo-endothelial) cell progenitors were identified in the interstitial spaces of murine skeletal muscle by immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy using CD34 antigen. Enzymatically isolated cells were characterized by fluorescence-activated cell sorting on the basis of cell surface antigen expression,and were sorted as a CD34+ and CD45- fraction. Cells in this fraction were approximately 94% positive for Sca-1,and mostly negative (textless3% positive) for CD14,31,49,144,c-kit,and FLK-1. The CD34+/45- cells formed colonies in clonal cell cultures and colony-forming units displayed the potential to differentiate into adipocytes,endothelial,and myogenic cells. The CD34+/45- cells fully differentiated into vascular endothelial cells and skeletal muscle fibers in vivo after transplantation. Immediately after sorting,CD34+/45- cells expressed only c-met mRNA,and did not express any other myogenic cell-related markers such as MyoD,myf-5,myf-6,myogenin,M-cadherin,Pax-3,and Pax-7. However,after 3 d of culture,these cells expressed mRNA for all myogenic markers. CD34+/45- cells were distinct from satellite cells,as they expressed Bcrp1/ABCG2 gene mRNA (Zhou et al.,2001). These findings suggest that myo-endothelial progenitors reside in the interstitial spaces of mammalian skeletal muscles,and that they can potentially contribute to postnatal skeletal muscle growth. View Publication

HIV-1 replication in simian cells is restricted at an early postentry step because of the presence of an inhibitory cellular factor. This block reduces the usefulness of HIV-1-based lentiviral vectors in primate animal models. Here,we demonstrate that substitution of the cyclophilin A (CyPA) binding region in the capsid of an HIV-1-based lentiviral vector (LV) with that of the macrophage tropic HIV-1 Ba-L resulted in a vector that was resistant to the inhibitory effect and efficiently transduced simian cells. Notably,the chimeric gag LV efficiently transduced primary simian hematopoietic progenitor cells,a critical cellular target in gene therapy. The alterations in the CyPA binding region did not affect CyPA incorporation; however,transduction by the gag chimeric LV seemed to be relatively insensitive to cyclosporin A,indicating that it does not require CyPA for early postentry steps. In dual infection experiments,the gag chimeric LV failed to remove the block to transduction of the WT LV,suggesting that the gag chimeric LV did not saturate the inhibitory simian cellular factor. These data suggest that the CyPA binding region of capsid contains a viral determinant involved in the postentry restriction of HIV-1-based lentiviral vectors. Overall,the findings demonstrate that the host range of HIV-1-based LV can be altered by modifications in the packaging construct. View Publication

In this study,we analyzed IL-2-activated polyclonal natural killer (NK) cells derived from 2 patients affected by leukocyte adhesion deficiency type I (LAD1),an immunodeficiency characterized by mutations of the gene coding for CD18,the beta subunit shared by major leukocyte integrins. We show that LAD1 NK cells express normal levels of various triggering NK receptors (and coreceptors) and that mAb-mediated engagement of these receptors results in the enhancement of both NK cytolytic activity and cytokine production. Moreover,these activating NK receptors were capable of recognizing their specific ligands on target cells. Thus,LAD1 NK cells,similarly to normal NK cells,were capable of killing most human tumor cells analyzed and produced high amounts of IFN-gamma when cocultured in presence of target cells. Murine target cells represented a common exception,as they were poorly susceptible to LAD1 NK cells. Finally,LAD1 NK cells could efficiently kill or induce maturation of monocyte-derived immature dendritic cells (DCs). Altogether our present study indicates that in LAD1 patients,3 important functions of NK cells (eg,cytotoxicity,IFN-gamma production,and DC editing) are only marginally affected and provides new insight on the cooperation between activating receptors and LFA-1 in the induction of NK cell activation and function. View Publication

The identification of self-renewing and multipotent neural stem cells (NSCs) in the mammalian brain holds promise for the treatment of neurological diseases and has yielded new insight into brain cancer. However,the complete repertoire of signaling pathways that governs the proliferation and self-renewal of NSCs,which we refer to as the 'ground state',remains largely uncharacterized. Although the candidate gene approach has uncovered vital pathways in NSC biology,so far only a few highly studied pathways have been investigated. Based on the intimate relationship between NSC self-renewal and neurosphere proliferation,we undertook a chemical genetic screen for inhibitors of neurosphere proliferation in order to probe the operational circuitry of the NSC. The screen recovered small molecules known to affect neurotransmission pathways previously thought to operate primarily in the mature central nervous system; these compounds also had potent inhibitory effects on cultures enriched for brain cancer stem cells. These results suggest that clinically approved neuromodulators may remodel the mature central nervous system and find application in the treatment of brain cancer. View Publication

Chromatin regulation is critical for differentiation and disease. However,features linking the chromatin environment of stem cells with disease remain largely unknown. We explored chromatin accessibility in embryonic and multipotent stem cells and unexpectedly identified widespread chromatin accessibility at repetitive elements. Integrating genomic and biochemical approaches,we demonstrate that these sites of increased accessibility are associated with well-positioned nucleosomes marked by distinct histone modifications. Differentiation is accompanied by chromatin remodeling at repetitive elements associated with altered expression of genes in relevant developmental pathways. Remarkably,we found that the chromatin environment of Ewing sarcoma,a mesenchymally derived tumor,is shared with primary mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Accessibility at repetitive elements in MSCs offers a permissive environment that is exploited by the critical oncogene responsible for this cancer. Our data demonstrate that stem cells harbor a unique chromatin landscape characterized by accessibility at repetitive elements,a feature associated with differentiation and oncogenesis. View Publication

The regulatory properties of B cells have been studied in autoimmune diseases; however,their role in allergic diseases is poorly understood. We demonstrate that Semaphorin 4C (Sema4C),an axonal guidance molecule,plays a crucial role in B cell regulatory function. Mice deficient in Sema4C exhibited increased airway inflammation after allergen exposure,with massive eosinophilic lung infiltrates and increased Th2 cytokines. This phenotype was reproduced by mixed bone marrow chimeric mice with Sema4C deficient only in B cells,indicating that B lymphocytes were the key cells affected by the absence of Sema4C expression in allergic inflammation. We determined that Sema4C-deficient CD19(+)CD138(+) cells exhibited decreased IL-10 and increased IL-4 expression in vivo and in vitro. Adoptive transfer of Sema4c(-/-) CD19(+)CD138(+) cells induced marked pulmonary inflammation,eosinophilia,and increased bronchoalveolar lavage fluid IL-4 and IL-5,whereas adoptive transfer of wild-type CD19(+)CD138(+)IL-10(+) cells dramatically decreased allergic airway inflammation in wild-type and Sema4c(-/-) mice. This study identifies a novel pathway by which Th2-mediated immune responses are regulated. It highlights the importance of plasma cells as regulatory cells in allergic inflammation and suggests that CD138(+) B cells contribute to cytokine balance and are important for maintenance of immune homeostasis in allergic airways disease. Furthermore,we demonstrate that Sema4C is critical for optimal regulatory cytokine production in CD138(+) B cells. View Publication

Removal of sialic acid from glycoconjugates on the surface of monocytes enhances their response to bacterial LPS. We tested the hypothesis that endogenous sialidase activity creates a permissive state for LPS-induced cytokine production in human monocyte-derived DCs. Of the four genetically distinct sialidases (Neu1-4),Neu1,Neu3,and Neu4 are expressed in human monocytes,but only Neu1 and Neu3 are up-regulated as cells differentiate into DCs. Neu1 and Neu3 are present on the surface of monocytes and DCs and are also present intracellularly. DCs contain a greater amount of sialic acid than monocytes,but the amount of sialic acid/mg total protein declines during differentiation to DCs. This relative hyposialylation of cells does not occur in mature DCs grown in the presence of zanamivir,a pharmacologic inhibitor of Neu3 but not Neu1,or DANA,an inhibitor of Neu1 and Neu3. Inhibition of sialidase activity during differentiation to DCs causes no detectable change in cell viability or expression of DC surface markers. Differentiation of monocytes into DCs in the presence of zanamivir results in reduced LPS- induced expression of IL-6,IL-12p40,and TNF-α by mature DCs,demonstrating a role for Neu3 in cytokine production. A role for Neu3 is supported by inhibition of cytokine production by DANA in DCs from Neu1?/? and WT mice. We conclude that sialidase-mediated change in sialic acid content of specific cell surface glycoconjugates in DCs regulates LPS-induced cytokine production,thereby contributing to development of adaptive immune responses. View Publication

Resident tissue macrophages (Mφs) continually survey the microenvironment,ingesting Ags and presenting them on their surface for recognition by T cells. Because these Ags can be either host cell- or pathogen-derived,Mφs must be able to distinguish whether a particular Ag should provoke an immune response or be tolerated. However,the mechanisms that determine whether Mφs promote or inhibit T cell activation are not well understood. To investigate this,we first determined the mechanism by which murine resident peritoneal Mφs suppress in vitro T cell proliferation in the absence of pathogens and then explored the effects of different pathogen-derived molecules on Mφ immunosuppression. Our results suggest that,in response to IFN-γ,which is secreted by TCR-activated T cells,resident peritoneal Mφs acquire immunosuppressive properties that are mediated by NO. However,pretreatment of Mφs with LPS or dsRNA,but not CpG or peptidoglycan,eliminates their suppressive properties,in part via the induction of autocrine-acting IFN-β. These results suggest TLR agonists that activate TRIF,and consequently induce IFN-β,but not those that exclusively signal through MyD88,abrogate the immunosuppressive properties of Mφs,and thus promote T cell expansion and elimination of invading microorganisms. View Publication

The conversion of lineage-committed cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by reprogramming is accompanied by a global remodeling of the epigenome,resulting in altered patterns of gene expression. Here we characterize the transcriptional reorganization of large intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) that occurs upon derivation of human iPSCs and identify numerous lincRNAs whose expression is linked to pluripotency. Among these,we defined ten lincRNAs whose expression was elevated in iPSCs compared with embryonic stem cells,suggesting that their activation may promote the emergence of iPSCs. Supporting this,our results indicate that these lincRNAs are direct targets of key pluripotency transcription factors. Using loss-of-function and gain-of-function approaches,we found that one such lincRNA (lincRNA-RoR) modulates reprogramming,thus providing a first demonstration for critical functions of lincRNAs in the derivation of pluripotent stem cells. View Publication