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Sciatic nerve regeneration in rats induced by transplantation of in vitro differentiated bone-marrow stromal cells.

Bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells that have the potential to differentiate into bone, cartilage, fat and muscle. We now demonstrate that MSCs can be induced to differentiate into cells with Schwann cell characteristics, capable of eliciting peripheral nervous system regeneration in adult rats. MSCs treated with beta-mercaptoethanol followed by retinoic acid and cultured in the presence of forskolin, basic-FGF, PDGF and heregulin, changed morphologically into cells resembling primary cultured Schwann cells and expressing p75, S-100, GFAP and O4. The MSCs were genetically engineered by transduction with retrovirus encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP), and then differentiated by treatment with factors described above. They were transplanted into the cut ends of sciatic nerves, which then responded with vigorous nerve fibre regeneration within 3 weeks of the operation. Myelination of regenerated fibers by GFP-expressing MSCs was recognized using confocal and immunoelectron microscopy. The results suggest that MSCs are able to differentiate into myelinating cells, capable of supporting nerve fibre re-growth, and they can therefore be applied to induce nerve regeneration.

Animals↗

Spatial differentiation of the intestinal epithelium: analysis of enteroendocrine cells containing immunoreactive serotonin, secretin, and substance P in normal and transgenic mice.

The mammalian intestinal epithelium undergoes continuous and rapid renewal of its four principal terminally differentiated cell types. These cells arise from multipotent stem cells located at or near the base of the crypts of Lieberkühn. The differentiation process is precisely organized along two spatial dimensions (axes)--from the crypt to the villus tip and from the duodenum to the colon. The enteroendocrine cell population provides a sensitive marker of the intestine's topologic differentiation. At least 15 different regionally distributed subsets have been described based on their principal neuroendocrine products. We have used immunocytochemical methods to characterize the spatial relationships of the serotonin-, secretin-, and substance P-containing enteroendocrine cell subsets in normal adult C57BL/6J x LT/Sv mice as well as in transgenic littermates that contain rat liver fatty acid-binding protein-human growth hormone fusion genes. Our results reveal precise spatial interrelationships between these populations and suggest a differentiation pathway that may involve the sequential expression of substance P, serotonin, and secretin.

Animals↗

Flow cytoenzymology of the early differentiation of mouse embryonal carcinoma cells.

Dual parameter flow cytoenzymology was used to detect biochemical differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cells, the undifferentiated, multipotent stem cells of teratocarcinomas. With the use of fluorogenic substrates, two enzyme systems, alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1.) and carboxyl esterase (EC 3.1.1.), were studied. Embryonal carcinoma cells passaged in vitro for several years retained high alkaline phosphatase activities similar to those of embryonal carcinoma cells in embryoid bodies grown in vivo. Similar to the embryonal carcinoma cells in vivo, the in vitro embryonal carcinoma cells were capable of giving rise to progeny with greatly decreased levels of alkaline phosphatase. The embryonal carcinoma cell alkaline phosphatase was inhibited by 1-p-bromotetramisole, suggesting a relationship between this enzyme and somatic, nonintestinal alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes. Determinations of esterase activities in viable teratocarcinoma cells showed that prior to any evidence of morphologic differentiation, the embryonal carcinoma cells are quite heterogeneous with regard to esterase activities.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Retinoic acid can induce markers of endocrine transdifferentiation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: preliminary observations from an in vitro cell line model.

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: The pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (HPAF) cells have a multipotent stem cell potential. It was hypothesised that all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) can induce transdifferentiation of these cells into cells with an endocrine phenotype. MATERIAL AND METHODS: To explore this hypothesis, an in vitro system of cells was established. Some cells were treated with atRA at concentrations of 100 nmol/l (non-apoptosis-inducing) and 5 micromol/l (apoptosis-inducing) and harvested. Cells were examined for cell cycle kinetics, apoptosis (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase assay and p53 protein expression) and immunomorphological features of redifferentiation (MUC1 and DUPAN-2) and endocrine transdifferentiation (insulin, somatostatin, glucagon, neurone-specific enolase) by using immunoperoxidase staining methods. Levels of insulin, transforming growth factor (TGF) beta2, TGFalpha and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The vehicle-treated cells served as a control group. RESULTS: When compared with untreated cells, cells treated with 100 nmol/l and 5 micromol/l atRA were observed to show (1) decreased proliferative activity (cpm) as indicated by decreased incorporation of thymidine labelled with hydrogen-3; (2) cell cycle arrest; (3) increased apoptotic activity associated with p53 protein overexpression; (4) upregulated expression of the transdifferentiation and redifferentiation markers; (5) morphological changes indicative of transdifferentiation (increased cell size and appearance of dendrites); (6) decreased production of EGFR; (7) upregulation of TGFalpha and TGFbeta2; and (8) increase in basal and glucose-induced insulin secretion. CONCLUSIONS: Functional endocrine transdifferentiation can be induced in HPAF lines by atRA. Further investigations are mandated to explore the underlying mechanisms of this transdifferentiation and to explore its in vivo extrapolation.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Time course of opsin expression in developing rod photoreceptors.

We have investigated the time course of rod photoreceptor determination in the goldfish retina. Rod precursor cells located in the outer nuclear layer of the mature retina continuously generate rod photoreceptors. In this study, we asked when rod precursor cells begin to express opsin, which would signal their commitment to the rod pathway of differentiation. There are three possibilities: a rod precursor could express opsin while still mitotic, at or shortly after the terminal mitosis but before differentiation, or during differentiation. We used immunocytochemistry with antibodies against bromodeoxyuridine, BrdU (a thymidine analogue) and against opsin to determine when during the mitotic history of a cell the expression of opsin first occurred, taking a double labelled cell to be evidence of commitment to the rod cell fate. We found that the first double labelled cells appeared at 4 days after BrdU injection. The number of double labelled cells increased to peak at 10 days, and then fell. These results support the hypothesis that dividing rod precursor cells are probably multipotent stem cells not committed to the rod cell fate.

Animals↗

Stem cell growth and differentiation in Hydra attenuata. I. Regulation of the self-renewal probability in multiclone aggregates.

Interstitial stem cells in Hydra are rapidly proliferating multipotent stem cells which continuously give rise to precursors for nerve and nematocyte differentiation. Growth of the stem cell population is controlled by the cell cycle time of the stem cells and the self-renewal probability, Ps (the fraction of stem cells in each generation which divide to yield more stem cells). In normal Hydra the stem cell generation time is 24 h and Ps = 0.6; under these conditions the stem cell population doubles in 3.5 days. In the present experiments we have systematically investigated the dependence of Ps on stem cell density. We culture stem cells in a feeder layer system consisting of aggregates of nitrogen-mustard (NM)-inactivated Hydra cells. In this system stem cell density can be varied over a wide range by changing the number of clone-forming units (CFU) added to the aggregates. We have measured the growth rate of the stem cell population and the cell cycle of stem cells in NM aggregates after 4--7 days of culture. From these data we calculate the value of Ps. The results indicate that the growth rate decreases 4-fold as the number of CFU seeded per aggregate increases from 10 to 400. Under these same conditions the cell cycle remains constant. The values of Ps calculated from these results indicate the Ps decreases from 0.75 in aggregates seeded with 10--30 CFU to 0.55 in aggregates seeded with 200--400 CFU. These results support a model in which Ps is controlled by negative feedback from neighbouring stem cells. In addition, our experiments indicate that Ps decreases during the growth of stem cell clones. When only a few stem cells are seeded in aggregates, they give rise to isolated clones distributed throughout the aggregate. Ps decreases markedly within such clones as they grow in size presumably due to increasing stem cell content of the clones. Since Ps in such isolated clones declines with growth, we infer that the local stem cell concentration is what controls Ps and that the spatial range of the negative feedback signal is short compared to the dimensions of NM aggregates.

Animals↗

Gene transfer as a future therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

Inhibiting key pathogenic processes within the rheumatoid synovium is a most attractive goal to achieve, and the number of potential intra- and extracellular pathways operative in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that could be used for a gene therapy strategy is increasing continuously. Gene transfer or gene therapy might also be one of the approaches to solve the problem of long-term expression of therapeutic genes, in order to replace the frequent application of recombinant proteins, in the future. However, at present, gene therapy has not reached a realistic clinical stage, which is mainly due to severe side effects in humans, the complexity of RA pathophysiology and the current state of available gene transfer techniques. On the other hand, novel gene delivery systems are not restricted to vectors or certain types of cells, as mobile cells including macrophages, dendritic cells, lymphocytes and multipotent stem cells can also be used as smart gene transfer vehicles. Moreover, the observation in animal models that application of viral vectors into a joint can exert additional therapeutic effects in nearby joints might also facilitate the transfer from animal to human gene therapy. Future strategies will also examine the potential of novel long-term expression vectors such as lentiviruses and cytomegalovirus (CMV)-based viruses as a basis for future clinical trials in RA.

Animals↗

Stem cells for neurodegenerative disorders: where can we go from here?

The use of stem cells in cell replacement therapy for neurodegenerative diseases has received a great deal of scientific and public interest in recent years. This is due to the remarkable pace at which paradigm-changing discoveries have been made regarding the neurogenic potential of embryonic, fetal, and adult cells. Over the last decade, clinical fetal tissue transplants have demonstrated that dopaminergic neurons can survive long term and provide functional clinical benefits for patients with Parkinson's disease. Pluripotent embryonic stem cells and multipotent neural stem cells may provide renewable sources that could replace these primary fetal grafts. Considerable advancement has been made in generating cultures with high numbers of neurons in general and of dopaminergic neurons using a varied array of techniques. However, much of this encouraging progress still remains to be tested on long-term expanded human cultures. Further problems include the low survival rate of these cells following transplantation and the tumorigenic tendencies of embryo-derived cells. However, pre-differentiation or genetic modification of stem cell cultures prior to transplantation may help lead to the generation of high numbers of cells of the desired phenotype following grafting. Boosting particular factors or substrates in the culture media may also protect grafted neurons from oxidative and metabolic stress, and provide epigenetic trophic support. Possible endogenous sources of cells for brain repair include the transdifferentiation of various types of adult cells into neurons. Despite the excitement generated by examples of this phenomenon, further work is needed in order to identify the precise instructive cues that generate neural cells from many other tissue types, and whether or not the new cells are functionally normal. Furthermore, issues such as cell homogeneity and fusion need to be addressed further before the true potential of transdifferentiation can be known. Endogenous stem cells also reside in the neurogenic zones of the adult brain (ventricle lining and hippocampus). Further elucidation of the mechanisms that stimulate cell division and migration are required in order to learn how to amplify the small amount of new cells generated by the adult brain and to direct these cells to areas of injury or degeneration. Finally, a more fundamental understanding of brain injury and disease is required in order to circumvent local brain environmental restrictions on endogenous cell differentiation and survival.

Brain↗

The bcr-abl gene in chronic myelogenous leukaemia.

The observation made over 30 years ago that the Philadelphia chromosome is present in nearly all patients with CML led to the identification of a novel fusion gene bcr-abl. In the past few years, the biochemical and biological properties of bcr-abl have been extensively explored. Bcr sequences appear to activate c-abl for transformation by binding to the SH2 domain of c-abl in an intramolecular interaction, presumably interfering with the adjacent SH3 regulatory domain. Upon introduction into bone marrow cells, bcr-abl can cause acute or chronic leukaemias in mice and can stimulate the growth of many cell types, including multipotent stem cells, in vitro. Although their growth is stimulated, these cells are not fully malignant blastic leukaemias. The molecular events that occur during the progression to blast crisis of CML remain largely undefined, but existing animal models and in vitro culture systems will be useful for identifying or testing candidate genes. The study of tyrosine kinase oncogenes in general will probably lead to the identification of relevant bcr-abl substrates. The elucidation of these molecules as well as more downstream events in the bcr-abl signalling pathway offers the hope for novel therapeutic interventions to control Philadelphia chromosome leukaemias.

Animals↗

[Repair of the mammalian central nervous system: the "spinal cord" model].

The central nervous system of adult mammals has been classically considered as structurally rigid, tightly wired, and unable to be repaired. We have shown that there exists a rather considerable degree of intrinsic plasticity due to the neurons themselves, but merely to glial cells and to multipotent stem cells. The spinal cord constitutes a good model on which we could demonstrate, with vascular and traumatic animal paradigms, that an early pharmacologic intervention could reduce significantly the extent of lesions and the subsequent functional deficit. Moreover, we showed that regeneration of severed central axons could occur, provided that the astrocytes' component of the glial scar was modified. Finally, transplants of embryonic neurons were shown to repair the axonal circuitry below a sectioned cord, and to restore reflex functions. All these data point to unprecedented perspectives of efficient therapies in acute and chronic neurological diseases.

Animals↗

[Differentiation potential of stem cells from bone marrow].

Hematopoietic organs such as bone marrow contain various stem and progenitor cells with a differentiation capability exceeding hematopoiesis, a process also referred to as plasticity. Stem cells in bone marrow are hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and multipotent progenitor cells. Several examples for the development of stem cells of hematopoietic organs into nonhematopoietic tissue open novel ways in regenerative medicine. Animal experiments showed generation of neuronal tissue, cardiomyocytes and functional hepatocytes in injured tissue from bone marrow stem cells. Interpreting these results one has to keep in mind that besides transdifferentiation also cell fusion or heterogeneous stem cell populations might contribute to tissue regeneration. First clinical studies on therapy with bone marrow stem cells in myocardial infarction or liver embolization showed promising results.

Antigens, CD34↗

[Umbilical cord blood as a source of stem cells].

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a source of the rare but precious primitive hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and progenitor cells that can reconstitute the hematopoietic system in patients with malignant and nonmalignant disorders treated with myeloablative therapy. UCB cells possess an enhanced capacity for progenitor cell proliferation and self-renewal in vitro. UCB is usually discarded, and it exists in almost limitless supply. The blood remaining in the delivered placenta is safely and easily collected and stored. The predominant collection procedure currently practiced involves a relatively simple venipuncture, followed by gravity drainage into a standard sterile anti-coagulant-filled blood bag, using a closed system, similar to the one utilized on whole blood collection. After aliquots have been removed for routine testing, the units are cryopreserved and stored in liquid nitrogen. UCB banks are being established throughout the world and UCB units are collected for allogeneic unrelated and related HSC transplantation. In unrelated cord blood banks donated UCB units are collected and stored for allogeneic use in patients who do not have an identified HLA matched relative. UCB banks report available units to national and international donor registries. The second model of UCB banking is referred to as family banking, where UCB is stored for the benefit of the donor or their family members. After more than one decade of clinical experience, it is currently accepted that UCB transplants, related and unrelated, are equivalent to or might compare favorably with bone marrow (BM) transplants, especially in children. Initial studies of long-term survival in children with both malignant and non-malignant hematologic disorders, who were transplanted with UCB from a sibling donor, demonstrated comparable or superior survival to children who received BM transplantation. One factor that limits the use of UCB transplantation in adult patients is the relatively limited number of HSC that may be harvested from umbilical cord, resulting in a slower time to engraftment and higher transplant related mortality, mainly due to the long aplasia period after transplantation and susceptibility to viral and fungal infections. Despite prolonged periods of aplasia, the apparent reduction in the incidence and severity of graft versus host disease (GVHD) may in turn underline comparable rates of survival in some series comparing UCB to adult-donor sources. The "naive" nature of UCB lymphocytes may explain the lower incidence and severity of GVHD encountered in UCB transplantation compared to the allogeneic BM transplant setting. UCB transplantation does not seem to be associated with increased rates of disease relapse. The available data suggest that nucleated cell dose in UK unit should be the primary criterion for donor selection. In 1991, the UCB transplantation program was established at the Zagreb University Hospital Center for related transplants, and until now 4 UCB transplantations have been performed successfully. In order to speed up the engraftment rate, several strategies such as multiple UCB transplants and ex vivo expansion of HSC have been assayed. The current strategies are focused on the development of much more efficient technologies for ex vivo production of progenitor cells, but whether expansion will speed engraftment and improve outcome after UCB remains to be determined. UCB is known to contain extremely immature stem cells. Consequently, such pluripotent or, perhaps, multipotent stem cells have been proposed as elements suitable for cellular therapy and regenerative medicine. Up to date there are no conclusive data regarding these possibilities but preliminary in vitro and animal studies in the field of tissue regeneration suggest some degree of plasticity and/or transdifferentiation. UCB cells are showing their unique qualities and potential, and consequently UCB banks might dramatically increase the scope of their clinical application.

Blood Banks↗

[Philadelphia chromosome-negative chronic myelogenous leukemia with trisomy 13].

Trisomy 13, as a sole karyotypic abnormality in acute leukemia, has been reported in several cases. However, in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), only two cases with this abnormality were reported so far. We describe herein a 68-year-old case with Philadelphia chromosome-negative CML and trisomy 13. Leukocytosis was pointed out during the treatment for other diseases. After 7 months, abrupt increase in leukocyte count (108,000/microliters) and splenomegaly developed. Decreased neutrophil alkaline phosphatase activity and morphological features fulfilled the diagnostic terms for CML. However, the karyotypic analysis revealed trisomy 13 instead of Philadelphia chromosome, and the BCR gene rearrangement was not detected. In cases with acute leukemia accompanied by trisomy 13, malignant transformation of an immature hematopoietic precursor cell has been suggested by the expression of antigens characteristic of both the myeloid and lymphoid lineage. In a few cases with myelodysplastic syndrome, a multipotent stem cell disorder, trisomy 13 has also been reported. From these standpoints, there might be a possibility that trisomy 13 as a sole abnormality in hematologic disorders would be related to tumorigenesis in the levels of multipotent stem cells.

Aged↗

c-Myc and epidermal stem cell fate determination.

The epidermis is sustained by a multipotent stem cell population that gives rise to cells of different fates including those forming hair follicles, interfollicular epidermis and associated glands such as sebaceous glands. The most intriguing evidence comes from using a variety of mouse models with which studies have found the WNT pathway to be involved in regulating stem cell fate decisions. These mouse models have been used to analyze different members of the WNT pathway in the epidermis and altogether suggest that different levels of beta-catenin correlate with the adoption of different epidermal stem cell fates. Recent data specifically analyzing c-Myc, a downstream target of the WNT pathway, has found that c-Myc can divert epidermal stem cells to a sebaceous gland fate at the expense of hair follicles. Also, newly emerging data using gene expression profiling techniques have uncovered a more direct role of c-Myc in stem cell fate determination.

Animals↗

Breast cancer, stem cells and prospects for therapy.

The mammary epithelium contains multipotent stem cells that give rise to all differentiated cell types present within the tissue. Mammary epithelial stem cells have been prospectively purified from dissociated mammary epithelium on the basis of cell surface antigen expression. It has become apparent in recent years that for breast cancer and other malignancies only a small proportion of tumour cells--'cancer stem cells'--have the capacity for extensive proliferation and transferral of the tumour. We review the evidence for breast cancer stem cells, we consider their relationship to mammary epithelial stem cells and we examine the implications for current and future therapeutic strategies.

Breast↗

Isolation of epithelial stem cells from dermis by a three-dimensional culture system.

Skin is a representative self-renewing tissue containing stem cells. Although many attempts have been made to define and isolate skin-derived stem cells, establishment of a simple and reliable isolation procedure remains a goal to be achieved. Here, we report the isolation of cells having stem cell properties from mouse embryonic skin using a simple selection method based on an assumption that stem cells may grow in an anchorage-independent manner. We inoculated single cell suspensions prepared from mouse embryonic dermis into a temperature-sensitive gel and propagated the resulting colonies in a monolayer culture. The cells named dermis-derived epithelial progenitor-1 (DEEP) showed epithelial morphology and grew rapidly to a more than 200 population doubling level over a period of 250 days. When the cells were kept confluent, they spontaneously formed spheroids and continuously grew even in spheroids. Immunostaining revealed that all of the clones were positive for the expression of cytokeratin-8, -18, -19, and E-cadherin and negative for the expression of cytokeratin-1, -5, -6, -14, -20, vimentin, nestin, a ckit. Furthermore, they expressed epithelial stem cell markers such as p63, integrin beta1, and S100A6. On exposure to TGFbeta in culture, some of DEEP-1 cells expressed alpha-smooth muscle actin. When the cells were transplanted into various organs of adult SCID mice, a part of the inoculated cell population acquired neural, hepatic, and renal cell properties. These results indicate that the cells we isolated were of epithelial stem cell origin and that our new approach is useful for isolation of multipotent stem cells from skin tissues.

Animals↗

Human mixed cell colonies: unicellular or multicellular origin--analysis by G-6-PD.

Marrow and peripheral blood cells from normal women heterozygous (GdB/GdA) at the X-chromosome-linked glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) locus were cultured at cell concentrations ranging from 2 X 10(4)/ml to 4 X 10(5)/ml to test formally the plating conditions necessary for reliable enumeration of multipotent stem cells (CFU-mix). The culture system was rigorously tested by plating cells obtained after velocity sedimentation and the G-6-PD enzyme type of individual colonies was determined. At cell concentrations less than or equal to 7.5 X 10(4)/ml for marrow and less than or equal to 1 X 25 X 10(5)/ml for peripheral blood, mixed-cell colonies had either type A or type B enzyme, but not both. At higher cell concentrations, significant numbers of colonies showed both enzyme types and therefore arose from more than one cell. These studies demonstrate that enumeration of CFU-mix by in vitro colony assay is accurate only at low cell concentrations. Studies of haematopoietic differentiation relying on in vitro colony assays of multipotent stem cells must be carefully analysed in light of these data.

Bone Marrow Cells↗

Magnetic force-based mesenchymal stem cell expansion using antibody-conjugated magnetoliposomes.

Recently, there has been an accumulation of evidence indicating that human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs, multipotent cells resident in the bone marrow) are useful for autologous cell transplantation. However, only small numbers of MSCs have been obtained in bone marrow aspirates. We have developed a novel methodology for enriching and proliferating MSCs from bone marrow aspirates using antibody-conjugated magnetoliposomes (AMLs). The AMLs are liposomes conjugated to anti-CD105 antibody (immunoliposomes) and contain magnetite nanoparticles (diameter 10 nm). In the present study, the AMLs were added to a small volume (1 mL) of human bone marrow aspirate. After a 1-h incubation period, the bone marrow aspirates containing AMLs were seeded into 10-cm tissue culture dishes, and a disk-shaped magnet (diameter 2.2 cm; height 1 cm; 4000 Gauss) was positioned under the dish to enrich MSCs by magnetic force. The MSCs proliferated, forming colonies at the site where the magnet was positioned. In contrast, no colonies and very few viable cells were observed in ordinary culture based on plastic-adherent tendencies of cells without use of AMLs. These results suggest that this AML culture method can rapidly and efficiently expand a small number of MSCs into numbers suitable for clinical application.

Animals↗