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Biomedical subjects

Michael Cross

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Cross.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Endostatin regulates endothelial cell adhesion and cytoskeletal organization.

Endostatin, an endogenous angiogenesis inhibitor, attenuates endothelial cell migration through an unknown mechanism. We show that endostatin induced tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and paxillin, and promoted formation of focal adhesions and actin stress fibers, similar to fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2). In cells cotreated with endostatin and FGF-2, focal adhesions and actin stress fibers were decreased, indicating that endostatin disturbs cell-matrix adhesion. Reduced tyrosine phosphorylation and cytoplasmic relocalization of beta-catenin in cells treated with FGF-2 and endostatin indicates that loosening of cell-cell adhesion is also disturbed by endostatin. These data provide a molecular basis both for the lack of effect of endostatin on the normal, quiescent vasculature, and its antagonistic effects on stimulated tumor vessels.

Actins↗
PubMed2002

Novobiocin is a novel inducer of CD38 on cells of the myelomonocytic lineage.

KG-1a, HL-60 and U-937 cells, which represent different stages of myelopoiesis, showed growth retardation in response to the coumarin antibiotic novobiocin. Novobiocin was found to increase CD38 expression (in all three cell lines) and to induce differentiation along the monocytic path in HL-60 and U-937 cells but not in KG-1a cells. The increase in surface expression of CD38 was matched by NAD glycohydrolase activity and by increases in the level of specific mRNA, indicating that the gene product is active and that regulation occurs at the level of transcription or mRNA stability. Of the three cell lines tested, only the early KG-1a expressed N-cadherin, a member of Ca(2+)-dependent adhesion molecules involved in embryonic differentiation processes. In contrast to CD38, N-cadherin was slightly down-regulated pointing to a specific role of novobiocin in gene regulation.

ADP-ribosyl Cyclase↗
PubMed2002

Role of the Src homology 2 domain-containing protein Shb in murine brain endothelial cell proliferation and differentiation.

To study the role of the Src homology 2 (SH2) domain-containing protein Shb in angiogenesis, wild-type Shb and SH2 domain-mutated Shb (R522K Shb) were overexpressed in murine immortalized brain endothelial cells. The wild-type Shb cells exhibited an increased rate of apoptosis on serum withdrawal. Both wild-type Shb and R522K Shb cells exhibited enhanced spreading concomitant with cytoskeletal rearrangements that occurred independently of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 stimulation. However, these effects may partly be caused by altered regulation of Rac1 and Rap1 activation in the Shb cells. The Shb-induced cytoskeletal rearrangements were not dependent on phosphatidylinositol 3' kinase activity, but could be reversed by inhibition of Src family kinases. FGF-2 failed to further enhance migration of wild-type Shb and R522K Shb cells. The R522K Shb cells cultured in collagen gels exhibit diminished tubular morphogenesis when treated with FGF-2, implicating the need for a functional Shb molecule in this process. These data suggest that Shb plays a role in the proliferation and differentiation of endothelial cells and, hence, participates in angiogenesis.

3-Phosphoinositide-Dependent Protein Kinases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Potential of embryonic and adult stem cells in vitro.

Recent developments in the field of stem cell research indicate their enormous potential as a source of tissue for regenerative therapies. The success of such applications will depend on the precise properties and potentials of stem cells isolated either from embryonic, fetal or adult tissues. Embryonic stem cells established from the inner cell mass of early mouse embryos are characterized by nearly unlimited proliferation, and the capacity to differentiate into derivatives of essentially all lineages. The recent isolation and culture of human embryonic stem cell lines presents new opportunities for reconstructive medicine. However, important problems remain; first, the derivation of human embryonic stem cells from in vitro fertilized blastocysts creates ethical problems, and second, the current techniques for the directed differentiation into somatic cell populations yield impure products with tumorigenic potential. Recent studies have also suggested an unexpectedly wide developmental potential of adult tissue-specific stem cells. Here too, many questions remain concerning the nature and status of adult stem cells both in vivo and in vitro and their proliferation and differentiation/transdifferentiation capacity. This review focuses on those issues of embryonic and adult stem cell biology most relevant to their in vitro propagation and differentiation. Questions and problems related to the use of human embryonic and adult stem cells in tissue regeneration and transplantation are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Duplex polymerase chain reaction quantification of human cells in a murine background.

Studies of the regenerative potential of human stem cells commonly involve their transplantation into immune-deficient mice or in vitro coculture with mouse cells. The optimal use of such models requires the detection and quantification of relatively low numbers of human cells in a murine background. We report here a duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach involving the coamplification of human-and mouse-specific repetitive sequences. The determination of product ratios compensates against variations in sample quality and enables quantitation from >50% down to 0.01% human-in-mouse from a single reaction. Product ratios are determined by standard electrophoresis of end-stage PCR reactions followed by image analysis techniques using freely available software, with no requirement for real-time PCR. The approach has been used to analyze tissue from mice transplanted with human cells and cocultures between differentiating mouse embryonal stem cells and human umbilical cord blood cells.

AC133 Antigen↗