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The present study examined whether nestin+ neural-like stem cells detected in the scar tissue of rats 1 week after myocardial infarction (MI) were derived from bone marrow and/or were resident cells of the normal myocardium. Irradiated male Wistar rats transplanted with beta-actin promoter-driven,green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled,unfractionated bone marrow cells were subjected to coronary artery ligation. Three weeks after MI,GFP-labeled bone marrow cells were detected in the infarct region,and a modest number were associated with nestin immunoreactivity. The paucity of GFP+/nestin+ cells in the scar tissue provided the impetus to explore whether neural-like stem cells were derived from cardiac tissue. Nestin mRNA and immunoreactivity were detected in normal rat myocardium,and transcript levels were increased in the damaged heart after MI. In primary-passage,cardiac tissue-derived neural cells,filamentous nestin staining was associated with a diffuse,cytoplasmic glial fibrillary acidic protein signal. Unexpectedly,in viable myocardium,numerous nestin+/glial fibrillary acidic protein+ fiberlike structures of varying length were detected and observed in close proximity to neurofilament-M+ fibers. The infarct region was likewise innervated,and the preponderance of neurofilament-M+ fibers appeared to be physically associated with nestin+ fiberlike structures. These data highlight the novel observation that the normal rat heart contained resident nestin+/glial fibrillary acidic protein+ neural-like stem cells,fiberlike structures,and nestin mRNA levels that were increased in response to myocardial ischemia. Cardiac tissue-derived neural stem cell migration to the infarct region and concomitant nestin+ fiberlike innervation represent obligatory events of reparative fibrosis in the damaged rat myocardium. View Publication

TEL2/ETV7 is highly homologous to the ETS transcription factor TEL/ETV6,a frequent target of chromosome translocation in human leukemia. Although both proteins are transcriptional inhibitors binding similar DNA recognition sequences,they have opposite biologic effects: TEL inhibits proliferation while TEL2 promotes it. In addition,forced expression of TEL2 but not TEL blocks vitamin D3-induced differentiation of U937 and HL60 myeloid cells. TEL2 is expressed in the hematopoietic system,and its expression is up-regulated in bone marrow samples of some patients with leukemia,suggesting a role in oncogenesis. Recently we also showed that TEL2 cooperates with Myc in B lymphomagenesis in mice. Here we show that forced expression of TEL2 alone in mouse bone marrow causes a myeloproliferative disease with a long latency period but with high penetrance. This suggested that secondary mutations are necessary for disease development. Treating mice receiving transplants with TEL2-expressing bone marrow with the chemical carcinogen N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) resulted in significantly accelerated disease onset. Although the mice developed a GFP-positive myeloid disease with 30% of the mice showing elevated white blood counts,they all died of T-cell lymphoma,which was GFP negative. Together our data identify TEL2 as a bona fide oncogene,but leukemic transformation is dependent on secondary mutations. View Publication

Transplantation-associated stress can compromise the hematopoietic potential of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). As a consequence,HSCs may undergo exhaustion" in serial transplant recipients� View Publication

In recent years,mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been shown to inhibit T-lymphocyte proliferation induced by alloantigens or mitogens. However,no substantial information is available regarding their effect on natural killer (NK) cells. Here we show that MSCs sharply inhibit IL-2-induced proliferation of resting NK cells,whereas they only partially affect the proliferation of activated NK cells. In addition,we show that IL-2-activated NK cells (but not freshly isolated NK cells) efficiently lyse autologous and allogeneic MSCs. The activating NK receptors NKp30,NKG2D,and DNAM-1 represented the major receptors responsible for the induction of NK-mediated cytotoxicity against MSCs. Accordingly,MSCs expressed the known ligands for these activating NK receptors-ULBPs,PVR,and Nectin-2. Moreover,NK-mediated lysis was inhibited when IFN-gamma-exposed MSCs were used as target cells as a consequence of the up-regulation of HLA class I molecules at the MSC surface. The interaction between NK cells and MSCs resulted not only in the lysis of MSCs but also in cytokine production by NK cells. These results should be taken into account when evaluating the possible use of MSCs in novel therapeutic strategies designed to improve engraftment or to suppress graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in bone marrow transplantation. View Publication

Colony-stimulating-factor-1 (CSF-1) signaling through cFMS receptor kinase is increased in several diseases. To help investigate the role of cFMS kinase in disease,we identified GW2580,an orally bioavailable inhibitor of cFMS kinase. GW2580 completely inhibited human cFMS kinase in vitro at 0.06 microM and was inactive against 26 other kinases. GW2580 at 1 microM completely inhibited CSF-1-induced growth of mouse M-NFS-60 myeloid cells and human monocytes and completely inhibited bone degradation in cultures of human osteoclasts,rat calvaria,and rat fetal long bone. In contrast,GW2580 did not affect the growth of mouse NS0 lymphoblastoid cells,human endothelial cells,human fibroblasts,or five human tumor cell lines. GW2580 also did not affect lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced TNF,IL-6,and prostaglandin E2 production in freshly isolated human monocytes and mouse macrophages. After oral administration,GW2580 blocked the ability of exogenous CSF-1 to increase LPS-induced IL-6 production in mice,inhibited the growth of CSF-1-dependent M-NFS-60 tumor cells in the peritoneal cavity,and diminished the accumulation of macrophages in the peritoneal cavity after thioglycolate injection. Unexpectedly,GW2580 inhibited LPS-induced TNF production in mice,in contrast to effects on monocytes and macrophages in vitro. In conclusion,GW2580's selective inhibition of monocyte growth and bone degradation is consistent with cFMS kinase inhibition. The ability of GW2580 to chronically inhibit CSF-1 signaling through cFMS kinase in normal and tumor cells in vivo makes GW2580 a useful tool in assessing the role of cFMS kinase in normal and disease processes. View Publication

It is often predicted that stem cells divide asymmetrically,creating a daughter cell that maintains the stem-cell capacity,and 1 daughter cell committed to differentiation. While asymmetric stem-cell divisions have been proven to occur in model organisms (eg,in Drosophila),it remains illusive whether primitive hematopoietic cells in mammals actually can divide asymmetrically. In our experiments we have challenged this question and analyzed the developmental capacity of separated offspring of primitive human hematopoietic cells at a single-cell level. We show for the first time that the vast majority of the most primitive,in vitro-detectable human hematopoietic cells give rise to daughter cells adopting different cell fates; 1 inheriting the developmental capacity of the mother cell,and 1 becoming more specified. In contrast,approximately half of the committed progenitor cells studied gave rise to daughter cells,both of which adopted the cell fate of their mother. Although our data are compatible with the model of asymmetric cell division,other mechanisms of cell fate specification are discussed. In addition,we describe a novel human hematopoietic progenitor cell that has the capacity to form natural killer (NK) cells as well as macrophages,but not cells of other myeloid lineages. View Publication

OBJECTIVES: We tested the hypothesis that asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) may be an endogenous inhibitor of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). BACKGROUND: Endothelial progenitor cells play a pivotal role in regeneration of injured endothelium,thereby limiting the formation of atherosclerotic lesions. Reduced numbers of EPCs may affect progression of coronary artery disease. Regulation of EPC mobilization and function is mediated in part by nitric oxide (NO). Endogenous inhibitors of NO synthases,such as ADMA,contribute to endothelial dysfunction and injury. METHODS: We used flow cytometry and in vitro assays to investigate the relationship between EPC number and function with ADMA plasma levels in patients with stable angina. RESULTS: The plasma concentration of ADMA was related to the severity of coronary artery disease and correlated inversely with the number of circulating CD34+/CD133+ progenitor cells (r = -0.69; p textless 0.0001) and endothelial colony forming units (CFUs) (r = -0.75; p textless 0.0001). Adjusting for all patient characteristics,we confirmed these findings in multivariate regression analyses. In vitro differentiation of EPCs was repressed by ADMA in a concentration-dependent manner. Compared with untreated cells,ADMA reduced EPC incorporation into endothelial tube-like structures to 27 +/- 11% (p textless 0.001). Asymmetric dimethylarginine repressed the formation of CFUs from cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells to 35 +/- 7% (p textless 0.001). Asymmetric dimethylarginine decreased endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity in EPCs to 64 +/- 6% (p textless 0.05) when compared with controls. Co-incubation with the hydroxymethyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor rosuvastatin abolished the detrimental effects of ADMA. CONCLUSIONS: Asymmetric dimethylarginine is an endogenous inhibitor of mobilization,differentiation,and function of EPCs. This contributes to the cardiovascular risk in patients with high ADMA levels and may explain low numbers and function of EPCs in patients with coronary artery disease. View Publication

OBJECTIVE: Various preparative protocols have been proposed for the acquisition and cultivation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Whereas surface antigen markers have failed to precisely define this population,microarray analysis might provide a better tool for characterization of MSC. METHODS: In this study,we have analyzed global gene expression profiles of human MSC isolated from adipose tissue (AT),from umbilical cord blood (CB),and from bone marrow (BM) under two growth conditions and have compared them to terminally differentiated human fibroblasts (HS68). Profiles were compared using our Human Genome Microarray representing 51.144 different cDNA clones. RESULTS: Cultured with the appropriate conditions,osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation could be confirmed in all MSC preparations but not in fibroblasts. No phenotypic differences were observed by flow cytometry using a panel of 22 surface antigen markers. Whereas MSC derived from different donors using the same culture procedure yielded a consistent and reproducible gene expression profile,many genes were differentially expressed in MSC from different ontogenetic sources or from different culture conditions. Twenty-five genes were overlapping and upregulated in all MSC preparations from AT,CB,and BM as compared to HS68 fibroblasts. These genes included fibronectin,ECM2,glypican-4,ID1,NF1B,HOXA5,and HOXB6. Many genes upregulated in MSC are involved in extracellular matrix,morphogenesis,and development,whereas several inhibitors of the Wnt pathway (DKK1,DKK3,SFRP1) were highly expressed in fibroblasts. CONCLUSION: Our results have provided a foundation for a more reproducible and reliable quality control using genotypic analysis for defining MSC. View Publication

Epithelial to mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) are key events during embryonic development and cancer progression. It has been proposed that Src plays a major role in some EMT models,as shown by the overexpression of viral Src (v-Src) in epithelial cells. It is clear that Src family kinases can regulate the integrity of both adherens junctions and focal adhesions; however,their significance in EMT,especially in the physiological context,remains to be elucidated. Here we showed that Src is activated in transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1)-mediated EMT in mammary epithelial cells and that the Src family kinase inhibitor,PP1,prevents EMT. However,neither a more specific Src family kinase inhibitor,SU6656,nor a dominant-negative Src inhibited TGF-beta1-mediated EMT,leading us to speculate that Src activation is not an essential component of TGF-beta1-mediated EMT. Unexpectedly,PP1 prevented Smad2/3 activation by TGF-beta1,whereas SU6656 did not. Most interestingly,an in vitro kinase assay showed that PP1 strongly inhibited the TGF-beta receptor type I,and to a lesser extent,the TGF-beta receptor type II. Taken together,our data indicated that PP1 interferes with TGF-beta1-mediated EMT not by inhibiting Src family kinases but by inhibiting the Smad pathway via a direct inhibition of TGF-beta receptor kinase activity. View Publication

The development of novel cell-based therapies requires understanding of distinct human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell populations. We recently isolated reconstituting hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) by lineage depletion and purification based on high aldehyde dehydrogenase activity (ALDH(hi)Lin- cells). Here,we further dissected the ALDH(hi)-Lin- population by selection for CD133,a surface molecule expressed on progenitors from hematopoietic,endothelial,and neural lineages. ALDH(hi)CD133+Lin- cells were primarily CD34+,but also included CD34-CD38-CD133+ cells,a phenotype previously associated with repopulating function. Both ALDH(hi)CD133-Lin- and ALDH(hi)CD133+Lin- cells demonstrated distinct clonogenic progenitor function in vitro,whereas only the ALDH(hi)CD133+Lin- population seeded the murine bone marrow 48 hours after transplantation. Significant human cell repopulation was observed only in NOD/SCID and NOD/SCID beta2M-null mice that received transplants of ALDH(hi)CD133+Lin- cells. Limiting dilution analysis demonstrated a 10-fold increase in the frequency of NOD/SCID repopulating cells compared with CD133+Lin- cells,suggesting that high ALDH activity further purified cells with repopulating function. Transplanted ALDH(hi)CD133+Lin- cells also maintained primitive hematopoietic phenotypes (CD34+CD38-) and demonstrated enhanced repopulating function in recipients of serial,secondary transplants. Cell selection based on ALDH activity and CD133 expression provides a novel purification of HSCs with long-term repopulating function and may be considered an alternative to CD34 cell selection for stem cell therapies. View Publication