植物干细胞与动物干细胞的比较研究可以深入认识干细胞生物学的核心问题。植物干细胞与动物干细胞在细胞特征、功能、信号传导、研究方法等方面均有所不同。但是近年来对argonaute(AGO)与polycomb group proteins(PcG)蛋白研究表明动、...植物干细胞与动物干细胞的比较研究可以深入认识干细胞生物学的核心问题。植物干细胞与动物干细胞在细胞特征、功能、信号传导、研究方法等方面均有所不同。但是近年来对argonaute(AGO)与polycomb group proteins(PcG)蛋白研究表明动、植物干细胞行为之间有着某种分子相似性。展开更多
Infections by coronaviruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS） coronavirus （SCoV） and mouse hepatitis virus A59 （MHV-A59） result in very little type I interferon （IFN） production by host cells, w...Infections by coronaviruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS） coronavirus （SCoV） and mouse hepatitis virus A59 （MHV-A59） result in very little type I interferon （IFN） production by host cells, which is potentially responsible for the rapid viral growth and severe immunopathology associated with SARS. However, the molecular mechanisms for the low IFN production in cells infected with coronaviruses remain unclear. Here, we provide evidence that Papain-like protease domain 2 （PLP2）, a catalytic domain of the nonstructural protein 3 （nsp3） of MHV-A59, can bind to IRF3, cause its deubiquitination and prevent its nuclear translocation. As a consequence, co-expression of PLP2 strongly inhibits CARDIF-, TBK1- and IRF3-mediated IFNp reporter activities. In addition, we show that wild-type PLP2 but not the mutant PLP2 lacking the deubiquitinase （DUB） activity can reduce IFN induction and promote viral growth in cells infected with VSV. Thus, our study uncovered a viral DUB which coronaviruses may use to escape from the host innate antiviral responses.展开更多
Human mesenchymal stem cells （hMSCs） can home to tumor sites and inhibit the growth of tumor cells. Little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms that link hMSCs to the targeted inhibition of tumor cells...Human mesenchymal stem cells （hMSCs） can home to tumor sites and inhibit the growth of tumor cells. Little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms that link hMSCs to the targeted inhibition of tumor cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of hMSCs on two human hepatoma cell lines （H7402 and HepG2） using an animal transplantation model, a co-culture system and conditioned media from hMSCs. Animal transplantation studies showed that the latent time for tumor formation was prolonged and that the tumor size was smaller when SCID mice were injected with H7402 cells and an equal number of Z3 hMSCs. When co-cultured with Z3 cells, H7402 cell proliferation decreased, apoptosis increased, and the expression of Bcl-2, c-Myc, proliferating cell nuclear antigen （PCNA） and survivin was downregulated. After treatment with conditioned media derived from Z3 hMSC cultures, H4702 cells showed decreased colony-forming ability and decreased proliferation. Immunoblot analysis showed that β-catenin, Bcl-2, c-Myc, PCNA and survivin expression was downregulated in H7402 and HepG2 cells. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that hMSCs inhibit the malignant phenotypes of the H7402 and HepG2 human liver cancer cell lines, which include proliferation, colony-forming ability and oncogene expression both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, our studies provide evidence that the Wnt signaling pathway may have a role in hMSC-mediated targeting and tumor cell inhibition.展开更多
AIM: To investigate the mechanism and regulation of differentiation from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into hepatocytes and to find a new source of celltypes for therapies of hepatic diseases. METHODS: MSC...AIM: To investigate the mechanism and regulation of differentiation from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into hepatocytes and to find a new source of celltypes for therapies of hepatic diseases. METHODS: MSCs were isolated by combining gradient density centrifugation with plastic adherence. The cells were cultured in osteogenic or adipogenic differentiation medium and determined by histochemical staining. MSCs were plated in plastic culture flasks that were not coated with components of extracellular matrix (ECM). When MSCs reached 70% confluence, they were cultured in low glucose Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10 mL/L fetal bovine serum, 20 ng/mL hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and 10 ng/mL fibroblast growth factor-4 (FGF-4). The medium was changed every 3 d and stored for albumin, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and urea assay. Glycogen store of hepatocytes was determined by periodic acid-Schiff staining.RESULTS: By combining gradient density centrifugation with plastic adherence, we isolated a homogeneous population of cells from rat bone marrow and differentiated them into osteocytes and adipocytes. When MSCs were cultured withFGF-4 and HGF, approximately 56.6% of cells became smallround and epithelioid on d 24 by morphology. Compared with the control, levels of AFP increased significantly from d 12 to 15.5±1.4 μg/L (t = 2.31, P＜0.05) in MSCs cultured with FGF-4and HGF, and were higher (46.2±1.5 μg/L)ond 21 (t = 41.926, P＜0.01), then decreased to 24.8±2.2 μg/L on d 24 (t = 10.345, P＜0.01). Albumin increased significantly on d 21 (t= 3.325, P＜0.01) to 1.4±0.2 μg/mL,and to 2.1±0.7 μg/mL on d 24 (t= 3.646, P＜0.01). Urea(2.3±0.4 mmol/L) was first detected on d 21 (t = 6.739, P＜0.01), and continued to increase to 2.6±0.9 mmol/Lon d 24 (t= 4.753, P＜0.01). Glycogen storage was first seen on d 21.CONCLUSION: The method combining gradient density centrifugation with plastic adherence can isolate MSCs. Rat MSCs may be differentiated into hepatocytes by FGF-4 and HGF. Cytokines may play a more important role in differentiation from rat MSCs into hepatocytes.展开更多
To investigate the feasibility of implanting the biocomposite of calcium phosphate cement(CPC)/polylactic acid-polyglycolic acid(PLGA) into animals for bone defects repairing,the biocomposite of CPC/PLGA was prepared ...To investigate the feasibility of implanting the biocomposite of calcium phosphate cement(CPC)/polylactic acid-polyglycolic acid(PLGA) into animals for bone defects repairing,the biocomposite of CPC/PLGA was prepared and its setting time,compressive strength,elastic modulus,pH values,phase composition of the samples,degradability and biocompatibility in vitro were tested.The above-mentioned composite implanted with bone marrow stromal cells was used to repair defects of the radius in rabbits.Osteogenesis was histomorphologically observed by using an electron-microscope.The results show that compared with the CPC,the physical and chemical properties of CPC/PLGA composite have some differences in which CPC/PLGA composite has better biological properties.The CPC/PLGA composite combined with seed cells is superior to the control in terms of the amount of new bones formed after CPC/PLGA composite is implanted into the rabbits,as well as the speed of repairing bone defects.The results suggest that the constructed CPC/PLGA composite basically meets the requirements of tissue engineering scaffold materials and that the CPC/PLGA composite implanted with bone marrow stromal cells may be a new artificial bone material for repairing bone defects because it can promote the growth of bone tissues.展开更多
Nitric oxide （NO） has been implicated in the promotion of neurodegeneration. However, little is known about the relationship between NO and the self-renewal or differentiation capacity of neural stem cells （NSCs） ...Nitric oxide （NO） has been implicated in the promotion of neurodegeneration. However, little is known about the relationship between NO and the self-renewal or differentiation capacity of neural stem cells （NSCs） in neurodegenerative disease. In this study, we investigated the effect of NO on self-renewal of NSCs in an animal model for Niemann-Pick type C （NPC） disease. We found that NO production was significantly increased in NSCs from NPCl-deficient mice （NPCI^-/-）, which showed reduced NSC self-renewal. The number of nestin-positive cells and the size of neurospheres were both significantly decreased. The expression of NO synthase （NOS） was increased in neurospheres derived from the brain of NPC1^-/- mice in comparison to wild-type neurospheres. NO-mediated activation of glycogen synthase ki- nase-3β （GSK3β） and caspase-3 was also observed in NSCs from NPC1^-/- mice. The self-renewal ability of NSCs from NPC1^-/- mice was restored by an NOS inhibitor, L-NAME, which resulted in the inhibition of GSK3β and caspase-3. In addition, the differentiation ability of NSCs was partially restored and the number of Fluoro-Jade C-positive degenerating neurons was reduced. These data suggest that overproduction of NO in NPC disease impaired the self-renewal of NSCs. Control of NO production may be key for the treatment of NPC disease.展开更多
AIM： TO accurately and realistically elucidate human stem cell behaviors in vivo and the fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in vivo, which is urgently required in regenerative medicine and treat...AIM： TO accurately and realistically elucidate human stem cell behaviors in vivo and the fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in vivo, which is urgently required in regenerative medicine and treatments for some human diseases, a surrogate human-rat chimera model was developed. METHODS： Human-rat chimeras were achieved by in utero transplanting low-density mononuclear cells from human umbilical cord blood into the fetal rats at 9-11 d of gestation, and subsequently, a variety of methods, including flow cytometry, PCR as well as immunohistochemical assay, were used to test the human donor contribution in the recipients. RESULTS： Of 29 live-born recipients, 19 had the presence of human CD45^＋ cells in peripheral blood （PB） detected by flow cytometry, while PCR analysis on genomic DNA from 11 different adult tissues showed that 14 selected from flow cytometry-positive 19 animals possessed of donor-derived human cell engraftment in multiple tissues （i.e. liver, spleen, thymus, heart, kidney, blood, lung, muscle, gut and skin） examined at the time of tissue collection, as confirmed by detecting human 132- microglobulin expression using immunohistochemistry. Tn this xenogeneic system, the engrafted donor-derived human cells persisted in multiple tissues for at least 6 mo after birth. Moreover, transplanted human donor cells underwent site-specific differentiation into CK18-positive human cells in chimeric liver and CEHS-positive human cells in chimeric spleen and thymus of recipients. CONCLUSION： Taken together, these findings suggest that we successfully developed human-rat chimeras, in which xenogeneic human cells exist up to 6 mo later. This humanized small animal model, which offers an in vivo environment more closely resembling to the situations in human, provides an invaluable and effective approach for in vivo investigating human stem cell behaviors, and further in vivo examining fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in the future. The potential for new advances in our better understanding the living biological systems in human provided by investigators in humanized animals will remain promising.展开更多
Strategies to fill the huge gap in supply versus demand of human organs include bioartificial organs, growing humanized organs in animals, cell therapy, and implantable bioengineered constructs. Reproducing the comple...Strategies to fill the huge gap in supply versus demand of human organs include bioartificial organs, growing humanized organs in animals, cell therapy, and implantable bioengineered constructs. Reproducing the complex relations between different cell types, generation of adequate vasculature, and immunological complications are road blocks in generation of bioengineered organs, while immunological complications limit the use of humanized organs produced in animals. Recent developments in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) biology offer a possibility of generating human, patient-specific organs in non-human primates (NHP) using patient-derived iPSC and NHP-derived iPSC lacking the critical developmental genes for the organ of interest complementing a NHP tetraploid embryo. The organ derived in this way will have the same human leukocyte antigen (HLA) profile as the patient. This approach can be curative in genetic disorders as this offers the possibility of gene manipulation and correction of the patient's genome at the iPSC stage before tetraploid complementation. The process of generation of patient-specific organs such as the liver in this way has the great advantage of making use of the natural signaling cascades in the natural milieu probably resulting in organs of great quality for transplantation. However, the inexorable scientific developments in this direction involve several social issues and hence we need to educate and prepare society in advance to accept the revolutionary consequences, good, bad and ugly.展开更多
In this study, Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) is used to investigate and compare the impact of bioreactor parameters(such as its geometry, medium flow-rate, scaffold configuration) on the local transport phenomena ...In this study, Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) is used to investigate and compare the impact of bioreactor parameters(such as its geometry, medium flow-rate, scaffold configuration) on the local transport phenomena and, hence, their impact on human mesenchymal stem cell(hM SC) expansion. The geometric characteristics of the TissueFlex174;(Zyoxel Limited, Oxford, UK) microbioreactor were considered to set up a virtual bioreactor containing alginate(in both slab and bead configuration) scaffolds. The bioreactor and scaffolds were seeded with cells that were modelled as glucose consuming entities. The widely used glucose medium, Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium(DMEM), supplied at two inlet flow rates of 25 and 100 μl·h^(-1), was modelled as the fluid phase inside the bioreactors. The investigation, based on applying dimensional analysis to this problem, as well as on detailed three-dimensional transient CFD results, revealed that the default bioreactor design and boundary conditions led to internal and external glucose transport, as well as shear stresses, that are conducive to h MSC growth and expansion. Furthermore, results indicated that the ‘top-inout' design(as opposed to its symmetric counterpart) led to higher shear stress for the same media inlet rate(25 μl·h^(-1)), a feature that can be easily exploited to induce shear-dependent differentiation. These findings further confirm the suitability of CFD as a robust design tool.展开更多
Objective: To evaluate the osteogenic potential of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 gene transfected goat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Methods: Goat bone marrow- derived MSCs were transfected b...Objective: To evaluate the osteogenic potential of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 gene transfected goat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Methods: Goat bone marrow- derived MSCs were transfected by Adv-human bone morphogenetic protein (hBMP)-2 gene(Group 1), Adv-beta gal transfected MSCs (Group 2)and uninfected MSCs(Group 3). Western blot analysis, alkaline phosphatase staining, Von Kossa staining and transmission electron microscopy were adopted to determine the phenotype of MSCs. Then the cells were injected into thigh muscles of the nude mice. Radiographical and histological evaluations were performed at different intervals. Results: Only Adv-hBMP-2 transfected MSCs produced hBMP-2. These cells were positive for alkaline phosphatase staining at the 12th day and were positive for Von Kossa staining at the 16th day after gene transfer. Electron microscopic observation showed that there were more rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and lysosomes in Adv-hBMP-2 transfected MSCs compared to MSCs of other two groups. At the 3rd and 6th weeks after cell injection, ectopic bones were observed in muscles of nude mice of Group 1. Only fibrous tissue or a little bone was found in other two groups. Conclusions: BMP-2 gene transfected MSCs can differentiate into osteoblasts in vitro and induce bone formation in vivo.展开更多
基金These authors contributed equally to this work. We thank Drs S Vaidya and E Chow （University of California Los Angeles, USA） for their help in setting up critical experimental systems. We greatly thank Dr K Holmes （University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, USA） for sharing with us 17C1-1 cell line and helping to optimize the protocol to produce high titered MHV-A59 virus stock. We also thank Drs R Baric and L Su （University of North Carolina, USA） for the gift of MHV-A59 and guidance of virus infection. We thank Dr K Lim （National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore） for the gift of Ubi plasmids. We thank Dr M Wathelet （University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, USA） for sharing the nsp3 construct. Also we thank Dr G Gao （Institute of Biophysics, CAS） for providing us with VSV. This research was partly supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China （30728006） to Genhong Cheng and the National Basic Research Program of MOST （2004BA519A61, 2006CB504300, 2007DFC30190） to Hong Tang.
文摘Infections by coronaviruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS） coronavirus （SCoV） and mouse hepatitis virus A59 （MHV-A59） result in very little type I interferon （IFN） production by host cells, which is potentially responsible for the rapid viral growth and severe immunopathology associated with SARS. However, the molecular mechanisms for the low IFN production in cells infected with coronaviruses remain unclear. Here, we provide evidence that Papain-like protease domain 2 （PLP2）, a catalytic domain of the nonstructural protein 3 （nsp3） of MHV-A59, can bind to IRF3, cause its deubiquitination and prevent its nuclear translocation. As a consequence, co-expression of PLP2 strongly inhibits CARDIF-, TBK1- and IRF3-mediated IFNp reporter activities. In addition, we show that wild-type PLP2 but not the mutant PLP2 lacking the deubiquitinase （DUB） activity can reduce IFN induction and promote viral growth in cells infected with VSV. Thus, our study uncovered a viral DUB which coronaviruses may use to escape from the host innate antiviral responses.
基金This work was supported by grants from the National Basic Research Program of China （973 Program, No. 2007CB914800 to Xiaodong Zhang）, National Natural Science Foundation of China （No. 30570698 to Xiaodong Zhang） and Tianjin Natural Scientific Foundation （No. 033801211 to Xiaodong Zhang）.
文摘Human mesenchymal stem cells （hMSCs） can home to tumor sites and inhibit the growth of tumor cells. Little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms that link hMSCs to the targeted inhibition of tumor cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of hMSCs on two human hepatoma cell lines （H7402 and HepG2） using an animal transplantation model, a co-culture system and conditioned media from hMSCs. Animal transplantation studies showed that the latent time for tumor formation was prolonged and that the tumor size was smaller when SCID mice were injected with H7402 cells and an equal number of Z3 hMSCs. When co-cultured with Z3 cells, H7402 cell proliferation decreased, apoptosis increased, and the expression of Bcl-2, c-Myc, proliferating cell nuclear antigen （PCNA） and survivin was downregulated. After treatment with conditioned media derived from Z3 hMSC cultures, H4702 cells showed decreased colony-forming ability and decreased proliferation. Immunoblot analysis showed that β-catenin, Bcl-2, c-Myc, PCNA and survivin expression was downregulated in H7402 and HepG2 cells. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that hMSCs inhibit the malignant phenotypes of the H7402 and HepG2 human liver cancer cell lines, which include proliferation, colony-forming ability and oncogene expression both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, our studies provide evidence that the Wnt signaling pathway may have a role in hMSC-mediated targeting and tumor cell inhibition.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30270554the Doctoral Foundation of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. DFXJTU2002-16
文摘AIM: To investigate the mechanism and regulation of differentiation from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into hepatocytes and to find a new source of celltypes for therapies of hepatic diseases. METHODS: MSCs were isolated by combining gradient density centrifugation with plastic adherence. The cells were cultured in osteogenic or adipogenic differentiation medium and determined by histochemical staining. MSCs were plated in plastic culture flasks that were not coated with components of extracellular matrix (ECM). When MSCs reached 70% confluence, they were cultured in low glucose Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10 mL/L fetal bovine serum, 20 ng/mL hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and 10 ng/mL fibroblast growth factor-4 (FGF-4). The medium was changed every 3 d and stored for albumin, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and urea assay. Glycogen store of hepatocytes was determined by periodic acid-Schiff staining.RESULTS: By combining gradient density centrifugation with plastic adherence, we isolated a homogeneous population of cells from rat bone marrow and differentiated them into osteocytes and adipocytes. When MSCs were cultured withFGF-4 and HGF, approximately 56.6% of cells became smallround and epithelioid on d 24 by morphology. Compared with the control, levels of AFP increased significantly from d 12 to 15.5±1.4 μg/L (t = 2.31, P＜0.05) in MSCs cultured with FGF-4and HGF, and were higher (46.2±1.5 μg/L)ond 21 (t = 41.926, P＜0.01), then decreased to 24.8±2.2 μg/L on d 24 (t = 10.345, P＜0.01). Albumin increased significantly on d 21 (t= 3.325, P＜0.01) to 1.4±0.2 μg/mL,and to 2.1±0.7 μg/mL on d 24 (t= 3.646, P＜0.01). Urea(2.3±0.4 mmol/L) was first detected on d 21 (t = 6.739, P＜0.01), and continued to increase to 2.6±0.9 mmol/Lon d 24 (t= 4.753, P＜0.01). Glycogen storage was first seen on d 21.CONCLUSION: The method combining gradient density centrifugation with plastic adherence can isolate MSCs. Rat MSCs may be differentiated into hepatocytes by FGF-4 and HGF. Cytokines may play a more important role in differentiation from rat MSCs into hepatocytes.
基金Projects(30370412, 30670558) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘To investigate the feasibility of implanting the biocomposite of calcium phosphate cement(CPC)/polylactic acid-polyglycolic acid(PLGA) into animals for bone defects repairing,the biocomposite of CPC/PLGA was prepared and its setting time,compressive strength,elastic modulus,pH values,phase composition of the samples,degradability and biocompatibility in vitro were tested.The above-mentioned composite implanted with bone marrow stromal cells was used to repair defects of the radius in rabbits.Osteogenesis was histomorphologically observed by using an electron-microscope.The results show that compared with the CPC,the physical and chemical properties of CPC/PLGA composite have some differences in which CPC/PLGA composite has better biological properties.The CPC/PLGA composite combined with seed cells is superior to the control in terms of the amount of new bones formed after CPC/PLGA composite is implanted into the rabbits,as well as the speed of repairing bone defects.The results suggest that the constructed CPC/PLGA composite basically meets the requirements of tissue engineering scaffold materials and that the CPC/PLGA composite implanted with bone marrow stromal cells may be a new artificial bone material for repairing bone defects because it can promote the growth of bone tissues.
文摘Nitric oxide （NO） has been implicated in the promotion of neurodegeneration. However, little is known about the relationship between NO and the self-renewal or differentiation capacity of neural stem cells （NSCs） in neurodegenerative disease. In this study, we investigated the effect of NO on self-renewal of NSCs in an animal model for Niemann-Pick type C （NPC） disease. We found that NO production was significantly increased in NSCs from NPCl-deficient mice （NPCI^-/-）, which showed reduced NSC self-renewal. The number of nestin-positive cells and the size of neurospheres were both significantly decreased. The expression of NO synthase （NOS） was increased in neurospheres derived from the brain of NPC1^-/- mice in comparison to wild-type neurospheres. NO-mediated activation of glycogen synthase ki- nase-3β （GSK3β） and caspase-3 was also observed in NSCs from NPC1^-/- mice. The self-renewal ability of NSCs from NPC1^-/- mice was restored by an NOS inhibitor, L-NAME, which resulted in the inhibition of GSK3β and caspase-3. In addition, the differentiation ability of NSCs was partially restored and the number of Fluoro-Jade C-positive degenerating neurons was reduced. These data suggest that overproduction of NO in NPC disease impaired the self-renewal of NSCs. Control of NO production may be key for the treatment of NPC disease.
基金Supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30271177 and No. 39870676 the National 9th Five-year Program, No. 101033+3 种基金 The Major Science and Technology Projects of Guangdong Province, No. B602 Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, No. 021903 The Postdoctoral Fellowship Foundation of China (Series 29)The Special Fund of Scientifi c Instrument Collaborative Share-net in Guangzhou, No. 2006176
文摘AIM： TO accurately and realistically elucidate human stem cell behaviors in vivo and the fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in vivo, which is urgently required in regenerative medicine and treatments for some human diseases, a surrogate human-rat chimera model was developed. METHODS： Human-rat chimeras were achieved by in utero transplanting low-density mononuclear cells from human umbilical cord blood into the fetal rats at 9-11 d of gestation, and subsequently, a variety of methods, including flow cytometry, PCR as well as immunohistochemical assay, were used to test the human donor contribution in the recipients. RESULTS： Of 29 live-born recipients, 19 had the presence of human CD45^＋ cells in peripheral blood （PB） detected by flow cytometry, while PCR analysis on genomic DNA from 11 different adult tissues showed that 14 selected from flow cytometry-positive 19 animals possessed of donor-derived human cell engraftment in multiple tissues （i.e. liver, spleen, thymus, heart, kidney, blood, lung, muscle, gut and skin） examined at the time of tissue collection, as confirmed by detecting human 132- microglobulin expression using immunohistochemistry. Tn this xenogeneic system, the engrafted donor-derived human cells persisted in multiple tissues for at least 6 mo after birth. Moreover, transplanted human donor cells underwent site-specific differentiation into CK18-positive human cells in chimeric liver and CEHS-positive human cells in chimeric spleen and thymus of recipients. CONCLUSION： Taken together, these findings suggest that we successfully developed human-rat chimeras, in which xenogeneic human cells exist up to 6 mo later. This humanized small animal model, which offers an in vivo environment more closely resembling to the situations in human, provides an invaluable and effective approach for in vivo investigating human stem cell behaviors, and further in vivo examining fundamental mechanisms controlling human stem cell fates in the future. The potential for new advances in our better understanding the living biological systems in human provided by investigators in humanized animals will remain promising.
文摘Strategies to fill the huge gap in supply versus demand of human organs include bioartificial organs, growing humanized organs in animals, cell therapy, and implantable bioengineered constructs. Reproducing the complex relations between different cell types, generation of adequate vasculature, and immunological complications are road blocks in generation of bioengineered organs, while immunological complications limit the use of humanized organs produced in animals. Recent developments in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) biology offer a possibility of generating human, patient-specific organs in non-human primates (NHP) using patient-derived iPSC and NHP-derived iPSC lacking the critical developmental genes for the organ of interest complementing a NHP tetraploid embryo. The organ derived in this way will have the same human leukocyte antigen (HLA) profile as the patient. This approach can be curative in genetic disorders as this offers the possibility of gene manipulation and correction of the patient's genome at the iPSC stage before tetraploid complementation. The process of generation of patient-specific organs such as the liver in this way has the great advantage of making use of the natural signaling cascades in the natural milieu probably resulting in organs of great quality for transplantation. However, the inexorable scientific developments in this direction involve several social issues and hence we need to educate and prepare society in advance to accept the revolutionary consequences, good, bad and ugly.
基金Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Scholarship
文摘In this study, Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) is used to investigate and compare the impact of bioreactor parameters(such as its geometry, medium flow-rate, scaffold configuration) on the local transport phenomena and, hence, their impact on human mesenchymal stem cell(hM SC) expansion. The geometric characteristics of the TissueFlex174;(Zyoxel Limited, Oxford, UK) microbioreactor were considered to set up a virtual bioreactor containing alginate(in both slab and bead configuration) scaffolds. The bioreactor and scaffolds were seeded with cells that were modelled as glucose consuming entities. The widely used glucose medium, Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium(DMEM), supplied at two inlet flow rates of 25 and 100 μl·h^(-1), was modelled as the fluid phase inside the bioreactors. The investigation, based on applying dimensional analysis to this problem, as well as on detailed three-dimensional transient CFD results, revealed that the default bioreactor design and boundary conditions led to internal and external glucose transport, as well as shear stresses, that are conducive to h MSC growth and expansion. Furthermore, results indicated that the ‘top-inout' design(as opposed to its symmetric counterpart) led to higher shear stress for the same media inlet rate(25 μl·h^(-1)), a feature that can be easily exploited to induce shear-dependent differentiation. These findings further confirm the suitability of CFD as a robust design tool.
文摘Objective: To evaluate the osteogenic potential of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 gene transfected goat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Methods: Goat bone marrow- derived MSCs were transfected by Adv-human bone morphogenetic protein (hBMP)-2 gene(Group 1), Adv-beta gal transfected MSCs (Group 2)and uninfected MSCs(Group 3). Western blot analysis, alkaline phosphatase staining, Von Kossa staining and transmission electron microscopy were adopted to determine the phenotype of MSCs. Then the cells were injected into thigh muscles of the nude mice. Radiographical and histological evaluations were performed at different intervals. Results: Only Adv-hBMP-2 transfected MSCs produced hBMP-2. These cells were positive for alkaline phosphatase staining at the 12th day and were positive for Von Kossa staining at the 16th day after gene transfer. Electron microscopic observation showed that there were more rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and lysosomes in Adv-hBMP-2 transfected MSCs compared to MSCs of other two groups. At the 3rd and 6th weeks after cell injection, ectopic bones were observed in muscles of nude mice of Group 1. Only fibrous tissue or a little bone was found in other two groups. Conclusions: BMP-2 gene transfected MSCs can differentiate into osteoblasts in vitro and induce bone formation in vivo.
