Establishment, characterization and immortalization of a fibroblast cell line from the Chinese red belly toad Bombina maxima skin.
AuthorsXiang Y, Gao Q, Su W, Zeng L, Wang J, Hu Y, Nie W, Ma X, Zhang Y, Lee W, Zhang Y
JournalCytotechnology
PubMed ID21948116
The skin of the amphibian Bombina maxima is rich in biologically active proteins and peptides, most of which have mammalian analogues. The physiological functions of most of the mammalian analogues are still unknown. Thus, Bombina maxima skin may be a promising model to reveal the physiological role of these proteins ... More
Targeting cancer stem-like cells as an approach to defeating cellular heterogeneity in Ewing sarcoma.
AuthorsCornaz-Buros S, Riggi N, DeVito C, Sarre A, Letovanec I, Provero P, Stamenkovic I
Journal
PubMed ID25261238
'Plasticity in cancer stem-like cells (CSC) may provide a key basis for cancer heterogeneity and therapeutic response. In this study, we assessed the effect of combining a drug that abrogates CSC properties with standard-of-care therapy in a Ewing sarcoma family tumor (ESFT). Emergence of CSC in this setting has been ... More
A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based approach to characterize the substrate specificity of mammalian heparanase.
AuthorsMao Y, Huang Y, Buczek-Thomas JA, Ethen CM, Nugent MA, Wu ZL, Zaia J
Journal
PubMed ID25336655
'Extracellular heparanase activity releases growth factors and angiogenic factors from heparan sulfate (HS) storage sites and alters the integrity of the extracellular matrix. These activities lead to a loss of normal cell matrix adherent junctions and correlate with invasive cellular phenotypes. Elevated expression of heparanase is associated with several human ... More
Differentiation of neural precursors and dopaminergic neurons from human embryonic stem cells.
AuthorsZhang XQ, Zhang SC
JournalMethods Mol Biol
PubMed ID19907987
'Directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to a functional cell type, including neurons, is the foundation for application of hESCs. We describe here a reproducible, chemically defined protocol that allows directed differentiation of hESCs to nearly pure neuroectodermal cells and neurons. First, hESC colonies are detached from mouse ... More
Identification of Jmjd1a as a STAT3 downstream gene in mES cells.
AuthorsKo SY, Kang HY, Lee HS, Han SY, Hong SH
JournalCell Struct Funct
PubMed ID16988490
'Mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells can be maintained in undifferentiated state in the presence of a cytokine, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). Many investigators found that STAT3 activation is important for the maintenance of pluripotency by LIF. However, the downstream pathways of STAT3 activation are still unknown. To look for STAT3-downstream ... More
Cooperative effects of EGF, FGF, and TGF-ß1 in prostate stromal cells are different from responses to single growth factors.
AuthorsHennenberg M, Schreiber A, Ciotkowska A, Rutz B, Waidelich R, Strittmatter F, Stief CG, Gratzke C
Journal
PubMed ID25529149
Stromal growth is critical for prostate enlargement during benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). While responses of prostate cells to single growth factors have been well characterized, responses to multiple growth factors at once are poorly understood. Here, we examined the effects of combinations between epidermal growth factor (EGF), fibroblast growth factor ... More
Human trigeminal ganglionic explants as a model to study alphaherpesvirus reactivation.
AuthorsAzarkh Y, Bos N, Gilden D, Cohrs RJ
JournalJ Neurovirol
PubMed ID22851387
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) latency is characterized by limited virus gene expression and the absence of virus DNA replication. Investigations of VZV latency and reactivation have been hindered by the lack of an in vitro model of virus latency. Since VZV is an exclusively human pathogen, we used naturally infected ... More
Striatal progenitors derived from human ES cells mature into DARPP32 neurons in vitro and in quinolinic acid-lesioned rats.
AuthorsAubry L, Bugi A, Lefort N, Rousseau F, Peschanski M, Perrier AL
JournalProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
PubMed ID18922775
Substitutive cell therapy using fetal striatal grafts has demonstrated preliminary clinical success in patients with Huntington's disease, but the logistics required for accessing fetal cells preclude its extension to the relevant population of patients. Human embryonic stem (hES) cells theoretically meet this challenge, because they can be expanded indefinitely and ... More
Transcription factors expressed in embryonic and adult olfactory bulb neural stem cells reveal distinct proliferation, differentiation and epigenetic control.
AuthorsMarei HE, Ahmed AE
JournalGenomics
PubMed ID23041222
TF genomic markers associated with neurogenesis, proliferation, differentiation, and epigenetic control in human embryonic neural stem cells (hENSC(, and adult human olfactory bulb neural stem cells (OBNSC) were studied by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and DNA microarray. The biological impact of TF gene changes in the examined cell types was estimated using ... More
Effect of bFGF on invasion of ovarian cancer cells through the regulation of Ets-1 and urokinase-type plasminogen activator.
AuthorsLi T, Jiang S
JournalPharm Biol
PubMed ID20645833
The aim of the study was to explore the role of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in ovarian cancer progression. This was done by investigating the effects of bFGF on both the secretion of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and the invasion of tumor cells in SKOV(3) ovarian cancer cells. Human ... More
Embryonic stem cells neural differentiation qualifies the role of Wnt/ß-Catenin signals in human telencephalic specification and regionalization.
AuthorsNicoleau C, Varela C, Bonnefond C, Maury Y, Bugi A, Aubry L, Viegas P, Bourgois-Rocha F, Peschanski M, Perrier AL
Journal
PubMed ID23818270
Wnt-ligands are among key morphogens that mediate patterning of the anterior territories of the developing brain in mammals. We qualified the role of Wnt-signals in regional specification and subregional organization of the human telencephalon using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). One step neural conversion of hPSCs using SMAD inhibitors leads ... More
Heparan sulfate-dependent signaling of fibroblast growth factor 18 by chondrocyte-derived perlecan.
AuthorsChuang CY, Lord MS, Melrose J, Rees MD, Knox SM, Freeman C, Iozzo RV, Whitelock JM
JournalBiochemistry
PubMed ID20507176
Perlecan is a large multidomain proteoglycan that is essential for normal cartilage development. In this study, perlecan was localized in the pericellular matrix of hypertrophic chondrocytes in developing human cartilage rudiments. Perlecan immunopurified from medium conditioned by cultured human fetal chondrocytes was found to be substituted with heparan sulfate (HS), ... More
Microfluidic analysis of extracellular matrix-bFGF crosstalk on primary human myoblast chemoproliferation, chemokinesis, and chemotaxis.
AuthorsFerreira MM, Dewi RE, Heilshorn SC
Journal
PubMed ID25909157
Exposing myoblasts to basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), which is released after muscle injury, results in receptor phosphorylation, faster migration, and increased proliferation. These effects occur on time scales that extend across three orders of magnitude (10(0)-10(3) minutes). Finite element modeling of Transwell assays, which are traditionally used to assess ... More
Inhibition of PHOSPHO1 activity results in impaired skeletal mineralization during limb development of the chick.
AuthorsMacrae VE, Davey MG, McTeir L, Narisawa S, Yadav MC, Millan JL, Farquharson C
JournalBone
PubMed ID20053388
PHOSPHO1 is a bone-specific phosphatase implicated in the initiation of inorganic phosphate generation for matrix mineralization. The control of mineralization is attributed to the actions of tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP). However, matrix vesicles (MVs) containing apatite crystals are present in patients with hypophosphatasia as well as TNAP null (Akp2(-/-)) mice. ... More
Monoclonal antibody antagonists of hypothalamic FGFR1 cause potent but reversible hypophagia and weight loss in rodents and monkeys.
We generated three fully human monoclonal antibody antagonists against fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR1) that potently block FGF signaling. We found that antibodies targeting the c-splice form of the receptor (FGFR1c) were anorexigenic when administered intraperitoneally three times weekly to mice, resulting in rapid, dose-dependent weight loss that plateaued (for ... More
Gene expression profile of adult human olfactory bulb and embryonic neural stem cell suggests distinct signaling pathways and epigenetic control.
AuthorsMarei HE, Ahmed AE, Michetti F, Pescatori M, Pallini R, Casalbore P, Cenciarelli C, Elhadidy M
JournalPLoS One
PubMed ID22485144
Global gene expression profiling was performed using RNA from human embryonic neural stem cells (hENSC), and adult human olfactory bulb-derived neural stem cells (OBNSCs), to define a gene expression pattern and signaling pathways that are specific for each cell lineage. We have demonstrated large differences in the gene expression profile ... More
Robust generation and expansion of skeletal muscle progenitors and myocytes from human pluripotent stem cells.
AuthorsShelton M, Kocharyan A, Liu J, Skerjanc IS, Stanford WL
JournalMethods
PubMed ID26404920
Human pluripotent stem cells provide a developmental model to study early embryonic and tissue development, tease apart human disease processes, perform drug screens to identify potential molecular effectors of in situ regeneration, and provide a source for cell and tissue based transplantation. Highly efficient differentiation protocols have been established for ... More