The primordial germ cells (PGCs) in the oligochaete annelid Tubifex tubifex are descentants of the mesodermal (M) teloblast and are located in the two midbody segments X and XI in which they serve as germline precursors forming the testicular gonad and the ovarian gonad, respectively. During embryogenesis, vasa-expressing cells (termed ...

BACKGROUND: Localized scleroderma (morphea) is characterized by hardening and thickening of the dermis due to excessive collagen deposition. A decreased number of CD34+ cells and an increased number of Factor XIIIa+ cells are seen in the affected skin. The flashlamp pulsed dye laser (FLPDL) has been used in the treatment ...

As the use of various anticancer drugs is associated with many undesirable side effects, there is an urgent need for the discovery of new, better, and specific anticancer compounds. Antioxidant and antiproliferative activities as well as effects on cell morphology were investigated for methanol (M), chloroform (C), ethyl acetate (E), ...

Purpose: Therapeutically induced autophagic cell death has been proven to be effective in cases of solid tumors. The dual phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor NVP-BEZ235 possesses antitumor activity against solid tumors. Inhibition of mTOR has been shown to elicit autophagy. In this study, we examined ...

We describe two cases of adrenohepatic fusion (AHF) in domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). This condition is defined as the union of hepatic tissue with the adrenal gland with close fusion of the respective parenchymal cells and lack of a fibrous capsule between the two cell populations. AHF is believed ...

Objective To explore the relationship between DNA polymerase β (pol β) overexpression and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) carcinogenesis. Methods Firstly, mouse embryonic fibroblasts that express wild-type level of DNA polymerase β (pol β cell) and high level of pol β (pol β oe cell) were treated by various concentrations of BaP to ...

PURPOSE: Increased expression of αvβ3 integrins is involved in tumour angiogenesis. Targeting these receptors with a dedicated peptide containing the RGD sequence may provide information about the receptor status in and around the tumour and about the angiogenesis process involved. The aim of this study was to compare the uptake ...

Interferon (IFN)-β has efficient antitumor effect both in vitro and in vivo, but its clinical implication is limited by short half-life and systemic toxicities. Gene therapy could be the choice to avoid the defects. Adenovirus vector containing human IFN-β gene was transfected into esophageal squamous cell carcinoma KYSE150 cells. Expression ...

ABSTRACT α1-microglobulin (A1M) is a 26 kDa plasma and tissue protein belonging to the lipocalin family. The reductase and free radical scavenger A1M has been shown to protect cells and extracellular matrix against oxidative and irradiation-induced damage. The reductase activity was previously shown to depend upon an unpaired cysteinyl side-chain, ...

Using a single-RNA detection technique in live Escherichia coli cells, we measure, for each cell, the waiting time for the production of the first RNA under the control of PBAD promoter after induction by arabinose, and subsequent intervals between transcription events. We find that the kinetics of the arabinose intake ...

Adult neural stem cells (NSC) generate neurons throughout life, but little is known about the sequence of events involved in the transition from NSC to neurons. Studying the intermediary steps involved in the specification of neuronal cells from NSCs requires observation of cells in real time. Here we describe a ...

Understanding how arsenic exacts its diverse, global disease burden is hampered by a limited understanding of the particular biological pathways that are disrupted by arsenic and underlie pathogenesis. A reductionist view would predict that a small number of basic pathways are generally perturbed by arsenic, and manifest as diverse diseases. ...

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a highly conserved morphogenic process defined by the loss of epithelial characteristics and the acquisition of a mesenchymal phenotype. EMT is associated with increased aggressiveness, invasiveness, and metastatic potential in carcinoma cells. To assess the contribution of extracellular vesicles during EMT, we conducted a proteomic analysis ...

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) are investigated as a source of authentic human cardiac cells for drug discovery and toxicological tests. Cell-based assays using automated fluorescence imaging platform and high-content analysis characterize hypertrophic and toxicity profiles of compounds in hPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CM) at the cellular and subcellular levels. In purified ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: One of the new challenges to improve radiotherapy is to increase the ionizing effect by using nanoparticles. The interest of titanate nanotubes (TiONts) associated with radiotherapy was evaluated in two human glioblastoma cell lines (SNB-19 and U87MG). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Titanate nanotubes were synthetized by the hydrothermal ...

ABSTRACT The mucociliary system, consisting of mucus-secreting goblet cells and ciliated cells, generates a constant overturning layer of protective mucus that lines the airway epithelium. Mucus hypersecretion and the pathophysiological changes associated are hallmarks of many pulmonary diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cystic fibrosis. Excessive mucus production ...

Oncogenic mutations in RAS or BRAF can drive the inappropriate activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases, ERK1/2. In many cases tumour cells adapt to become addicted to this deregulated ERK1/2 signalling for their proliferation, providing a therapeutic window for tumour-selective growth inhibition. As a result, inhibition of ERK1/2 signalling by ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Our previous study demonstrated that 6-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)-2-(3-methoxyphenyl)quinazolin-4-one (HMJ38) was the most potent antitubulin agent. Here, HMJ38 was used as a lead compound to develop more potent anticancer agents and examine the anticancer mechanisms. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: According to computer-aided drug design, 2-aryl-6-substituted quinazolinones (MJ compounds) were designed and synthesized ...

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an established treatment for multiple myeloma (MM), a plasma cell malignancy. In order to identify an improved pre-transplant conditioning regimen, we investigated the cytotoxicity of gemcitabine (Gem) and clofarabine (Clo) combinations toward MM cell lines and patient cell samples. A strong synergism of the ...

An electrochemical disinfection system employing a honeycombed platinum coated titanium electrode was developed for the disinfection of seawater. Cell suspensions (2 l, 10(3) cells/ml) of the fish pathogens, Vibrio alginolyticus, Edwardsiella tarda, Lactococcus garvieae and Vibrio anguillarum were circulated in a reactor equipped with 10 sets of these electrodes at a flow ...

FTIR micro-spectral images of Caki-2 cells cytospun onto calcium fluoride (CaF2) slides were used to build a computational model in order to discriminate between the biochemical events of the continuous cell cycle during proliferation. Multivariate analysis and machine learning techniques such as PCA, PLSR and SVMs were used to highlight ...

Functionalization is an important technique to increase the solubility and biocompatibility of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). In this study, we investigated the cytotoxicity of four types of SWCNTs functionalized with hydroxyl, amino, carboxyl and polyethyleneglycol on MCF7 cells. These functionalized SWCNTs (f-SWCNTs) have insignificant effects on mitochondrial activity and ROS ...

ZNF313 encoding a zinc-binding protein is located at chromosome 20q13.13, which exhibits a frequent genomic amplification in multiple human cancers. However, the biological function of ZNF313 remains largely undefined. Here we report that ZNF313 is an ubiquitin E3 ligase that has a critical role in the regulation of cell cycle ...

A novel series of naphthalimide polyamine conjugates were designed, synthesized and evaluated for in vitro antiproliferative activity against human leukemia (Jurkat), human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa), human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cell lines. From the six derivatives, the new I1 and A3 exhibited highest antiproliferative activity with ...

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic disease resulting from destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic β cells. Genetic and environmental factors contribute to T1DM onset. Use of high-throughput DNA sequencing has allowed geneticists to perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify novel gene loci associated with T1DM. Interestingly, >50% of ...

OBJECTIVE: The biocompatibility of materials used in endodontic treatment is of high importance, because they can come in contact with periradicular tissues and there is a risk of possible systemic toxicity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the in vitro reaction to a bioceramic based root end ...

HOXA cluster antisense RNA 2 (HOXA-AS2) is a long non-coding RNA located between the HOXA3 and HOXA4 genes in the HOXA cluster. Its transcript is expressed in NB4 promyelocytic leukemia cells and human peripheral blood neutrophils, and expression is increased in NB4 cells treated with all trans retinoic acid (ATRA). ...

It is considered that all growing cells, for exception of acidophilic bacteria, have negatively charged inside cytoplasmic membrane (Δψ(-) - cells). Here we show that growing populations of microbial cells contain a small portion of cells with positively charged inside cytoplasmic membrane (Δψ(+) - cells). These cells were detected after ...

The neural crest is a population of mesenchymal cells that after migrating from the neural tube give rise to a structures and cell-types: jaw, part of the peripheral ganglia and melanocytes. Although much is known about neural crest development in jawed vertebrates, a clear picture of trunk neural crest development ...

microRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNA molecules, which post-transcriptionally regulate genes expression and play crucial roles in diverse biological processes, such as development, differentiation, apoptosis, and proliferation. Here, we investigated the possible role of miRNAs in the development of drug resistance in human lung cancer cell line. We found that ...

The integration of microfabrication and biomaterials enables construction of miniaturized 3D microenvironments with biomimetic micro-architectural and functional features to advance cell-based assays for mechanism investigation of physio/pathology and for prediction of drug responses. However, current biomaterials-assisted constructions of miniaturized 3D cellular microenvironments usually involve cells in the microfabrication process, limiting ...

BACKGROUND: We have recently characterized two distinct populations of Satellite Cells (SCs) that differ in proliferation, regenerative potential, and mitochondrial coupling efficiency and classified these in Low Proliferative Clones (LPC) and High Proliferative Clones (HPC). Herewith, we have investigated their cell metabolism and individuated features that remark an intrinsic difference ...

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are unipotent cells committed to germ lineage: PGCs can only differentiate into gametes in vivo. However, upon fertilization, germ cells acquire the capacity to differentiate into all cell types in the body, including germ cells. Therefore, germ cells are thought to have the potential for pluripotency. ...

Cell-based therapies represent promising strategies for tissue repair, particularly in cases in which host cells, due to disease, age, or excessive trauma, are unable to repair the defect or deficiency alone, even with additional delivered therapeutics. Current cell therapies fail to address long-term engraftment or delivery timing and location and ...

The periodontal ligament (PDL) contains various cell populations and plays a central role in the maintenance, repair, and regeneration of the periodontium, i.e., tooth-supporting structures. Because primary cells isolated from PDL tissue are heterogeneous, the establishment of an effective isolation method for cells of interest is desired. In the present ...

PURPOSE: Reports on cytotoxic effects of rigid gas-permeable lens multipurpose solutions, which remain important because of increasing popularity of orthokeratology, are limited. This study determined cytotoxic effects of rigid gas-permeable lens multipurpose solutions on human corneal epithelial cells and assessed the proliferation rate at different levels of cell membrane damage. ...

The use of injectable scaffolding materials for in vivo tissue regeneration has raised great interest in various clinical applications because it allows cell implantation through minimally invasive surgical procedures. In case of cartilage repair, a tissue engineered construct should provide a support for the cell and allow sustained in situ ...

Increased glucose catabolism and resistance to cell death are hallmarks of cancers, but the link between them remains elusive. Remarkably, under conditions where caspases are inhibited, the process of cell death is delayed but rarely blocked, leading to the occurrence of caspase-independent cell death (CICD). Escape from CICD is particularly ...

BACKGROUND: The nuclear transcription factor c-Jun is preferentially expressed in basal-cell carcinoma. Dz13 is a deoxyribozyme that targets JUN messenger RNA and has inhibited the growth of a range of tumours in mice. We did a phase 1 study to assess safety and tolerability in human beings. METHODS: Adults with ...

G-rich T-oligos (GT-oligos; oligonucleotides with homology to telomeres) elicit a DNA damage response in cells and induce cytotoxic effects in certain tumor cell lines. We have previously shown that GT-oligo inhibits growth, arrests cell cycle, and induces apoptosis in ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancer cells. However, not all ovarian cancer ...

Interleukin (IL)-2 has been used in culture of primary T cell to maintain cell proliferation. We have previously reported that IL-27 inhibits HIV-1 replication in primary T cells in the presence of IL-2. To gain a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in this inhibitory effect, we attempted to investigate ...

Distinction between closely related and morphologically similar cells is difficult by conventional methods especially without labelling. Using nuclear targeted gold nanoparticles as intracellular probes we demonstrate the ability to distinguish between progenitor and differentiated cell types in a human neuroblastoma cell line using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). SERS spectra from ...

Many sponge-derived natural products with applications to human health have been discovered over the past three decades. In vitro production has been proposed as one biological alternative to ensure adequate supply of marine natural products for preclinical and clinical development of drugs. Although primary cell cultures have been established for ...

This paper presents a novel microfluidic cytometer for mammalian cells that rapidly measures the irreversible photobleaching of red fluorescent proteins expressed within each cell and achieves high purity (>99%) selection of individual cells based on these measurements. The selection is achieved by using sub-millisecond timed control of a piezo-tilt mirror ...

This protocol describes the production and operation of a microfluidic dissection platform for long-term, high-resolution imaging of budding yeast cells. At the core of this platform is an array of micropads that trap yeast cells in a single focal plane. Newly formed daughter cells are subsequently washed away by a ...

A simple and low-energy-consuming approach to synthesize highly stable and dispersive silver nanoparticle-graphene (AgNP-GE) nanocomposites has been developed, in which the stability and dispersivity of the composites are varied greatly with the pH value and temperature of the reaction. The results demonstrate that the optimal reaction conditions are pH 11 ...

It is well known that cellular responses to materials, in terms of adhesion, migration and proliferation, are highly affected by the surface characteristics of the materials. The investigation of the effect of material surface topography on cell behaviors is of great importance for the development of implanted biomaterials in tissue ...

The manufacture of complex therapeutic proteins using mammalian cells is well established, with several strategies developed to improve productivity. The application of sustained mild hypothermic conditions during culture has been associated with increases in product titer and improved product quality. However, despite associated cell physiological effects, very few studies have ...

Recent reports demonstrate that the plasticity of mammalian somatic cells is much higher than previously assumed and that ectopic expression of transcription factors may have the potential to induce the conversion of any cell type into another. Fibroblast cells can be converted into embryonic stem cell-like cells, neurons, cardiomyocytes, macrophage-like ...

The SOX10 transcription factor is a characteristic marker for migratory multipotent neural crest (NC) progenitors as well as several of their differentiated derivatives. The involvement of SOX10 in Waardenburg-Hirschsprung disease (pigmentation defects, deafness and intestinal aganglionosis) and studies of mutant animal models have contributed significantly to the understanding of its ...