搜索结果: 'methocult media formulations for mouse hematopoietic cells serum containing'

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We describe a novel form of tumor cell plasticity characterized by reversible adaptive plasticity in murine and human neuroblastoma. Two cellular phenotypes were defined by their ability to exhibit adhered,anchorage dependent (AD) or sphere forming,anchorage independent (AI) growth. The tumor cells could transition back and forth between the two phenotypes and the transition was dependent on the culture conditions. Both cell phenotypes exhibited stem-like features such as expression of nestin,self-renewal capacity,and mesenchymal differentiation potential. The AI tumorspheres were found to be more resistant to chemotherapy and proliferated slower in vitro compared to the AD cells. Identification of specific molecular markers like MAP2,β-catenin,and PDGFRβ enabled us to characterize and observe both phenotypes in established mouse tumors. Irrespective of the phenotype originally implanted in mice,tumors grown in vivo show phenotypic heterogeneity in molecular marker signatures and are indistinguishable in growth or histologic appearance. Similar molecular marker heterogeneity was demonstrated in primary human tumor specimens. Chemotherapy or growth factor receptor inhibition slowed tumor growth in mice and promoted initial loss of AD or AI heterogeneity,respectively. Simultaneous targeting of both phenotypes led to further tumor growth delay with emergence of new unique phenotypes. Our results demonstrate that neuroblastoma cells are plastic,dynamic,and may optimize their ability to survive by changing their phenotype. Phenotypic switching appears to be an adaptive mechanism to unfavorable selection pressure and could explain the phenotypic and functional heterogeneity of neuroblastoma. View Publication

Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) are a new class of engineered nucleases that are easier to design to cleave at desired sites in a genome than previous types of nucleases. We report here the use of TALENs to rapidly and efficiently generate mutant alleles of 15 genes in cultured somatic cells or human pluripotent stem cells,the latter for which we differentiated both the targeted lines and isogenic control lines into various metabolic cell types. We demonstrate cell-autonomous phenotypes directly linked to disease - dyslipidemia,insulin resistance,hypoglycemia,lipodystrophy,motor-neuron death,and hepatitis C infection. We found little evidence of TALEN off-target effects,but each clonal line nevertheless harbors a significant number of unique mutations. Given the speed and ease with which we were able to derive and characterize these cell lines,we anticipate TALEN-mediated genome editing of human cells becoming a mainstay for the investigation of human biology and disease. textcopyright 2013 Elsevier Inc. View Publication

Realization of the full potential of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) in clinical applications requires development of well-defined conditions for their growth and differentiation. A novel fully defined polyvinyl alcohol/hyaluronan (PVA/HA) polysaccharide nanofiber was developed for hiPSCs culture in commercially available xeno-free,chemically defined medium. Vitronectin peptide (VP) was immobilized to PVA/HA nanofibers through NHS/EDC chemistry. The hiPSCs successfully grew and proliferated on the VP-decorated PVA/HA nanofibers,similar to those on MatrigelTM. Such well-defined,xeno-free and safe nanofiber substrate that supports culture of hiPSCs will not only help to accelerate the translational perspectives of hiPSCs,but also provide a platform to investigate the cell-nanofiber interaction mechanisms that regulate stem cell proliferation and differentiation. ?? 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. View Publication

Genetically modified stem and progenitor cells have emerged as a promising regenerative platform in the treatment of genetic and degenerative disorders,highlighted by their successful therapeutic use in inherent immunodeficiencies. However,biosafety concerns over insertional mutagenesis resulting from integrating recombinant viral vectors have overshadowed the widespread clinical applications of genetically modified stem cells. Here,we report an RNA-based episomal vector system,amenable for long-term transgene expression in stem cells. Specifically,we used a unique intranuclear RNA virus,Borna disease virus (BDV),as the gene transfer vehicle,capable of persistent infections in various cell types. BDV-based vectors allowed for long-term transgene expression in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) without affecting cellular morphology,cell surface CD105 expression,or the adipogenicity of MSCs. Similarly,replication-defective BDV vectors achieved long-term transduction of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs),while maintaining the ability to differentiate into three embryonic germ layers. Thus,the BDV-based vectors offer a genomic modification-free,episomal RNA delivery system for sustained stem cell transduction.Gene Therapy accepted article preview online,03 December 2015. doi:10.1038/gt.2015.108. View Publication

A large number of EBV immortalized LCLs have been generated and maintained in genetic/epidemiological studies as a perpetual source of DNA and as a surrogate in vitro cell model. Recent successes in reprograming LCLs into iPSCs have paved the way for generating more relevant in vitro disease models using this existing bioresource. However,the overall reprogramming efficiency and success rate remain poor and very little is known about the mechanistic changes that take place at the transcriptome and cellular functional level during LCL-to-iPSC reprogramming. Here,we report a new optimized LCL-to-iPSC reprogramming protocol using episomal plasmids encoding pluripotency transcription factors and mouse p53DD (p53 carboxy-terminal dominant-negative fragment) and commercially available reprogramming media. We achieved a consistently high reprogramming efficiency and 100% success rate using this optimized protocol. Further,we investigated the transcriptional changes in mRNA and miRNA levels,using FC-abs ≥ 2.0 and FDR ≤ 0.05 cutoffs; 5,228 mRNAs and 77 miRNAs were differentially expressed during LCL-to-iPSC reprogramming. The functional enrichment analysis of the upregulated genes and activation of human pluripotency pathways in the reprogrammed iPSCs showed that the generated iPSCs possess transcriptional and functional profiles very similar to those of human ESCs. View Publication

A fundamental impediment to understanding the brain is the availability of inexpensive and robust methods for targeting and manipulating specific neuronal populations. The need to overcome this barrier is pressing because there are considerable anatomical,physiological,cognitive and behavioral differences between mice and higher mammalian species in which it is difficult to specifically target and manipulate genetically defined functional cell types. In particular,it is unclear the degree to which insights from mouse models can shed light on the neural mechanisms that mediate cognitive functions in higher species,including humans. Here we describe a novel recombinant adeno-associated virus that restricts gene expression to GABAergic interneurons within the telencephalon. We demonstrate that the viral expression is specific and robust,allowing for morphological visualization,activity monitoring and functional manipulation of interneurons in both mice and non-genetically tractable species,thus opening the possibility to study GABAergic function in virtually any vertebrate species. View Publication

Small molecules will need to be identified and/or developed that target protein classes limiting reprogramming efficiency. A specific class of proteins includes epigenetic regulators that silence,or minimize expression,of pluripotency genes in differentiated cells. To better understand the role of specific epigenetic modulators in reprogramming,we have used shRNA delivered by lentivirus to assess the significance of individual epi-proteins in reprogramming pluripotent gene expression. View Publication

The vacuolar H+ ATPase (V-ATPase) is a proton pump responsible for acidification of cellular microenvironments,an activity exploited by tumors to survive,proliferate and resist to therapy. Despite few observations,the role of V-ATPase in human tumorigenesis remains unclear.We investigated the expression of ATP6V0C,ATP6V0A2,encoding two subunits belonging to the V-ATPase V0 sector and ATP6V1C,ATP6V1G1,ATPT6V1G2,ATP6V1G3,which are part of the V1 sector,in series of adult gliomas and in cancer stem cell-enriched neurospheres isolated from glioblastoma (GBM) patients. ATP6V1G1 expression resulted significantly upregulated in tissues of patients with GBM and correlated with shorter patients' overall survival independent of clinical variables.ATP6V1G1 knockdown in GBM neurospheres hampered sphere-forming ability,induced cell death,and decreased matrix invasion,a phenotype not observed in GBM monolayer cultures. Treating GBM organotypic cultures or neurospheres with the selective V-ATPase inhibitor bafilomycin A1 reproduced the effects of ATP6V1G1 siRNA and strongly suppressed expression of the stem cell markers Nestin,CD133 and transcription factors SALL2 and POU3F2 in neurospheres.These data point to ATP6V1G1 as a novel marker of poor prognosis in GBM patients and identify V-ATPase inhibition as an innovative therapeutic strategy for GBM. View Publication

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) derived from healthy individuals are important controls for disease-modeling studies. Here we apply precision health to create a high-quality resource of control iPSCs. Footprint-free lines were reprogrammed from four volunteers of the Personal Genome Project Canada (PGPC). Multilineage-directed differentiation efficiently produced functional cortical neurons,cardiomyocytes and hepatocytes. Pilot users demonstrated versatility by generating kidney organoids,T lymphocytes,and sensory neurons. A frameshift knockout was introduced into MYBPC3 and these cardiomyocytes exhibited the expected hypertrophic phenotype. Whole-genome sequencing-based annotation of PGPC lines revealed on average 20 coding variants. Importantly,nearly all annotated PGPC and HipSci lines harbored at least one pre-existing or acquired variant with cardiac,neurological,or other disease associations. Overall,PGPC lines were efficiently differentiated by multiple users into cells from six tissues for disease modeling,and variant-preferred healthy control lines were identified for specific disease settings. View Publication

Genetically modified T lymphocytes expressing chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are becoming increasingly important in the treatment of hematologic malignancies and are also intensively being investigated for other diseases such as autoimmune disorders and HIV. Current CAR T cell therapies predominantly use viral transduction methods which,despite their efficacy,raise safety concerns related to genomic integration and potentially associated malignancies as well as labor- and cost-intensive manufacturing. Therefore,non-viral gene transfer methods,especially mRNA-based approaches,have attracted research interest due to their transient modification and enhanced safety profile. In this study,the optimization of CAR-mRNA for T cell applications is investigated,focusing on the impact of mRNA modifications,in vitro transcription protocols,and purification techniques on the translation efficiency and immunogenicity of mRNA. Furthermore,the refined CAR-mRNA was used to generate transient CAR T cells from acute myeloid leukemia patient samples,demonstrating efficacy in vitro and proof-of-concept for clinically relevant settings. These results highlight the potential of optimized mRNA to produce transient and safe CAR T cells. View Publication