Ex vivo 3D osteocyte network construction with primary murine bone cells

Osteocytes reside as three-dimensionally（3D） networked cells in the lacunocanalicular structure of bones and regulate bone and mineral homeostasis. Despite of their important regulatory roles, in vitro studies of osteocytes have been challenging because：（1） current cell lines do not sufficiently represent the phenotypic features of mature osteocytes and（2） primary cells rapidly differentiate to osteoblasts upon isolation. In this study, we used a 3D perfusion culture approach to：（1） construct the 3D cellular network of primary murine osteocytes by biomimetic assembly with microbeads and（2） reproduce ex vivo the phenotype of primary murine osteocytes, for the first time to our best knowledge. In order to enable 3D construction with a sufficient number of viable cells, we used a proliferated osteoblastic population of healthy cells outgrown from digested bone chips. The diameter of microbeads was controlled to：（1） distribute and entrap cells within the interstitial spaces between the microbeads and（2） maintain average cell-to-cell distance to be about 19 mm. The entrapped cells formed a 3D cellular network by extending and connecting their processes through openings between the microbeads. Also, with increasing culture time, the entrapped cells exhibited the characteristic gene expressions（SOST and FGF23） and nonproliferative behavior of mature osteocytes. In contrast, 2D-cultured cells continued their osteoblastic differentiation and proliferation. This 3D biomimetic approach is expected to provide a new means of：（1） studying flow-induced shear stress on the mechanotransduction function of primary osteocytes,（2） studying physiological functions of 3D-networked osteocytes with in vitro convenience,and（3） developing clinically relevant human bone disease models.

Studies on the Construction Parameter of an Artificial Occluded Cell for In-situ Inspection of the Propagation Rate of Localized Corrosion

An artificial localized corrosion system is assembled and some parameters related to the localized corrosion in active dissolution state (i.e., non-passive state) have been studied. The results showed that the developed electrochemical system can satisfactorily imitate a naturally formed localized corrosion and the coupling current can indicate the maximum localized propagating rate. In this artificial system, the anodic dissolution reaction followed the auto-catalytic mechanism. The localized corrosion current density was dependent on the area ratio R of the cathode to the occluded anode. While R was equal to or more than 6, the coupling current reached at a maximum value and did not alter with the increase in R-value. Therefore, R=7 is chosen as one of these optimum parameters used in constructing the system, with which the biggest galvanic current might be obtained. In contrast, the thickness of the polymer filler separating the occluded anode area from the bulk electrolyte solution and the volume of the occluded anode area did not affect the corrosion current obviously. They might affect the response time to approach a steady state.

Construction and screening of suppression subtractive hybridization library of renal cell carcinoma

Objective To construct and screen the suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) library of human renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Methods Poly A+ RNA was isolated from RCC lines 786-O(tester) and renal cell(RC) lines HK-2 ( driver), respectiely. SSH procedure was performed according to the protocol of the PCR-Select cDNA Subtraction Kit ( Clontech), and PCR products were cloned into pT-Adv vector and transformed E. coli TOP10F’. All positive clones picked out were digested and some of which were sequenced. Results The SSH library contained 362 clones with SSH cDNA fragments distributed mainly from 0.3 to 0.9 kb. Among 50 clones sequenced randomly,2 represented unknown genes and the other 48 derived from 36 known genes. Conclusion The quality of the SSH library of human RCC is reliable and is construction is the basis for further screening differentially expressed genes of RCC. 6 refs,4 figs, 1 tab.

RP215 and GHR106 Monoclonal Antibodies and Potential Therapeutic Applications

During the last two decades, two distinct monoclonal antibodies, RP215 and GHR106 were generated, respectively and extensively characterized, biologically and immunologically. Both antibodies target separately specific pan cancer markers and are being evaluated preclinically for potential therapeutic applications in cancer immunotherapy and/or fertility regulations. RP215 was shown to react specifically with carbohydrate-associated epitope located in the heavy chain variable regions of cancer cell expressed specific immunoglobulins, designated as CA215 which are distinct from those of normal B cell origins. The cancerous immunoglobulins may function to react with specific human serum proteins to facilitate growth/proliferation as well as protection of cancer cells in circulations. RP215-based enzyme immunoassays were designed to monitor serum CA215 levels among cancer patients. On the other hand, GHR106 was generated against N1-29 oligopeptide located in the extracellular domains of human GnRH receptor found either in the anterior pituitary or in most of the cancer cells. In vitro culture of cancer cells revealed that either of these two antibodies can induce apoptosis of cancer cells following 24 - 48 hours incubations. Anti-tumor activities of both antibodies were evaluated by typical nude mouse experiments. Either one was shown to effectively reduce the volumes of implanted tumors, dose-dependently. Humanized forms of either antibody were made available in CAR (chimeric antigen receptor)-T cell constructs. They were shown separately to induce cytotoxic killings of cancer cells in vitro by releasing cytokines upon incubations of tumor cells with either of CAR-T cell constructs. In addition, GHR106 also acts as GnRH antagonist by a specific targeting to pituitary GnRH receptor for reversible suppressions of reproductive hormones such as LH, testosterone or estradiol. Based on the above preclinical assessments, it can be generally concluded that both RP215 and GHR106 are restricted in normal tissue expressions and suitable for targeting cancerous immunoglobulins and GnRH receptor, respectively for cancer immunotherapy. Furthermore, specific targeting of pituitary GnRH receptor may suggest that the long acting GHR106 (5 - 21 days half-life) is an adequate GnRH antagonist for numerous gynecological treatments including ovulation inhibition in IVF/ART, endometriosis, premenstrual syndrome, precocious puberty, uterine fibroids and/or polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Constructing robust all-inorganic contacts enable stable perovskite solar cells with efficiencies over 20%

Developing photovoltaic(PV)cells for harvesting renewable and clean solar energy is a promising strategy to meet the growing energy demand.Perovskite solar cells(PSCs),as a new player in the photovoltaic field,exhibit rapid development with an original power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 3.81%in 2009,a promising PCE of over 20%in 2014 and a record PCE of 22.1%in