Transplantation Therapy (transplantation + therapy)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Optimization of the culturing conditions of human umbilical cord blood-derived endothelial colony-forming cells under xeno-free conditions applying a transcriptomic approach

GENES TO CELLS, Issue 7 2010
Steffen M. Zeisberger
Establishment of fetal bovine serum (FBS)-free cell culture conditions is essential for transplantation therapies. Blood-derived endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) are potential candidates for regenerative medicine applications. ECFCs were isolated from term umbilical cord blood units and characterized by flow cytometry, capillary formation and responsiveness to cytokines. ECFCs were expanded under standard, FBS-containing endothelial medium, or transferred to chemically defined endothelial media without FBS. Microarray expression profiling was applied to compare the transcriptome profiles in FBS-containing versus FBS-free culture. ECFC outgrowth in standard medium was successful in 92% of cord blood units. The karyotype of expanded ECFCs remained normal. Without FBS, ECFC initiation and expansion failed. Modest proliferation, changes in cell morphology and organization and cell death have been observed after passaging. Gene ontology analysis revealed a broad down-regulation of genes involved in cell cycle progression and up-regulation of genes involved in stress response and apoptosis. Interestingly, genes participating in lipid biosynthesis were markedly up-regulated. Detection of several endothelial cell-specific marker genes showed the maintenance of the endothelial cell characteristics during serum-free culture. Although ECFCs maintain their endothelial characteristics during serum-free culturing, they could not be expanded. Additional supply of FBS-free media with lipid concentrates might increase the ECFC survival. [source]


Muscle-derived stem cells: Implications for effective myoblast transfer therapy

IUBMB LIFE, Issue 11 2005
Tracey F. Lee-Pullen
Abstract Stem cells have been proposed as a wonder solution for tissue repair in many situations and have attracted much attention in the media for both their therapeutic potential and ethical implications. In addition to the excitement generated by embryonic stem cells, research has now identified a number of stem cells within adult tissues which pose much more realistic targets for therapeutic interventions. Myoblast transfer therapy (MTT) has long been viewed as a potential therapy for the debilitating muscle-wasting disorder Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This technique relies on the transplantation of committed muscle precursor cells directly into the muscle fibres but has had little success in clinical trials. The recent discovery of a population of cells within adult muscle with stem cell-like characteristics has interesting implications for the future of such putative cell transplantation therapies. This review focuses on the characterization and application of these potential muscle-derived stem cells (MDSC) to MTT. IUBMB Life, 57: 731-736, 2005 [source]


Surface protein patterns govern morphology, proliferation, and expression of cellular markers but have no effect on physiological properties of cortical precursor cells

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 11 2008
Anna K. Magnusson
Abstract The ability to differentiate and give rise to neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes is an inherent feature of neural stem cells, which raises hopes for cell-based therapies of neurodegenerative diseases. However, there are many hurdles to cross before such regimens can be applied clinically. A considerable challenge is to elucidate the factors that contribute to neural differentiation. In this study, we evaluated the possibility of steering neuronal maturation by growing cortical precursor cells on microscale surface patterns of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. When the cells were encouraged to extend processes along lines of ECM proteins, they displayed a much more mature morphology, less proliferation capacity, and greater expression of a neuronal marker in comparison with cells grown in clusters on ECM dots. This implied that the growth pattern alone could play a crucial role for neural differentiation. However, in spite of the strikingly different morphology, when performing whole-cell patch-clamp experiments, we never observed any differences in the functional properties between cells grown on the two patterns. These results clearly demonstrate that morphological appearances are not representative measures of the functional phenotype or grade of neuronal maturation, stressing the importance of complementary electrophysiological evidence. To develop successful transplantation therapies, increased cell survival is critical. Because process-bearing neurons are sensitive and break easily, it would be of clinical interest to explore further the differentiating capacity of the cells cultured on the ECM dot pattern, described in this article, which are devoid of processes but display the same functional properties as neurons with mature morphology. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Generation of dopamine neurons from embryonic stem cells in the presence of the neuralizing activity of bone marrow stromal cells derived from adult mice

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 13 2008
Aki Shintani
Abstract Stromal cell lines such as PA6 and MS5 have been employed for generating dopamine (DA) neurons from embryonic stem (ES) cells. The present study was designed to test whether bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) derived from adult mice might be available as a feeder layer to produce DA cells efficiently from ES cells. When ES cells were grown on BMSC in the presence of fibroblast growth factor 8 (FGF8) and sonic hedgehog (SHH), about 40% of TuJ1-positive neurons expressed tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Because these cells labeled with TH were negative for dopamine-,-hydroxylasae (DBH), the marker for noradrenergic and adrenergic neurons, the TH-positive cells were most likely DA neurons. They indeed expressed midbrain DA neuron markers such as Nurr 1, Ptx-3, and c-ret and were capable of synthesizing and releasing DA in vitro. Furthermore, DA neurons differentiated from ES cells in this differentiation protocol survived transplantation in rats with 6-hydroxydopamine lesions and reversed the lesion-induced circling behavior. The data indicate that BMSC can facilitate an efficient induction of DA neurons from ES cells and that the generated DA neurons are biologically functional both in vitro and in vivo. Insofar as BMSC have recently been employed in autologous cell therapy for ischemic heart and arteriosclerotic limb diseases, the present study raises the possibility that autologous BMSC can be applied in future cell transplantation therapy in Parkinson's disease. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Neural differentiation and potential use of stem cells from the human umbilical cord for central nervous system transplantation therapy

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 8 2008
Choon Bing Low
Abstract The human umbilical cord is a rich source of autologous stem and progenitor cells. Interestingly, subpopulations of these, particularly mesenchymal-like cells from both cord blood and the cord stroma, exhibited a potential to be differentiated into neuron-like cells in culture. Umbilical cord blood stem cells have demonstrated efficacy in reducing lesion sizes and enhancing behavioral recovery in animal models of ischemic and traumatic central nervous system (CNS) injury. Recent findings also suggest that neurons derived from cord stroma mesenchymal cells could alleviate movement disorders in hemiparkinsonian animal models. We review here the neurogenic potential of umbilical cord stem cells and discuss possibilities of their exploitation as an alternative to human embryonic stem cells or neural stem cells for transplantation therapy of traumatic CNS injury and neurodegenerative diseases. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Human bone marrow stromal cell cultures conditioned by traumatic brain tissue extracts: Growth factor production

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 5 2002
Xiaoguang Chen
Abstract Treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) with bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) improves functional outcome in the rat. However, the specific mechanisms by which introduced MSCs provide benefit remain to be elucidated. Currently, the ability of therapeutically transplanted MSCs to replace injured parenchymal CNS tissue appears limited at best. Tissue replacement, however, is not the only possible compensatory avenue in cell transplantation therapy. Various growth factors have been shown to mediate the repair and replacement of damaged tissue, so trophic support provided by transplanted MSCs may play a role in the treatment of damaged tissue. We therefore investigated the temporal profile of various growth factors, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), within cultures of human MSCs (hMSCs) conditioned with cerebral tissue extract from TBI. hMSCs were cultured with TBI extracts of rat brain in vitro and quantitative sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were performed. TBI-conditioned hMSCs cultures demonstrated a time-dependent increase of BDNF, NGF, VEGF, and HGF, indicating a responsive production of these growth factors by the hMSCs. The ELISA data suggest that transplanted hMSCs may provide therapeutic benefit via a responsive secretion of an array of growth factors that can foster neuroprotection and angiogenesis. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Role of hepatocytes and bile duct cells in preservation-reperfusion injury of liver grafts

LIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 5 2001
Marián Kukan
In liver transplantation, it is currently hypothesized that nonparenchymal cell damage and/or activation is the major cause of preservation-related graft injury. Because parenchymal cells (hepatocytes) appear morphologically well preserved even after extended cold preservation, their injury after warm reperfusion is ascribed to the consequences of nonparenchymal cell damage and/or activation. However, accumulating evidence over the past decade indicated that the current hypothesis cannot fully explain preservation-related liver graft injury. We review data obtained in animal and human liver transplantation and isolated perfused animal livers, as well as isolated cell models to highlight growing evidence of the importance of hepatocyte disturbances in the pathogenesis of normal and fatty graft injury. Particular attention is given to preservation time-dependent decreases in high-energy adenine nucleotide levels in liver cells, a circumstance that (1) sensitizes hepatocytes to various stimuli and insults, (2) correlates well with graft function after liver transplantation, and (3) may also underlie the preservation time-dependent increase in endothelial cell damage. We also review damage to bile duct cells, which is increasingly being recognized as important in the long-lasting phase of reperfusion injury. The role of hydrophobic bile salts in that context is particularly assessed. Finally, a number of avenues aimed at preserving hepatocyte and bile duct cell integrity are discussed in the context of liver transplantation therapy as a complement to reducing nonparenchymal cell damage and/or activation. [source]


Comparative proteomics of human embryonic stem cells and embryonal carcinoma cells

PROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 7 2010
Raghothama Chaerkady
Abstract Pluripotent human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) can be differentiated in vitro into a variety of cells which hold promise for transplantation therapy. Human embryonal carcinoma cells (ECCs), stem cells of human teratocarcinomas, are considered a close but malignant counterpart to human ESCs. In this study, a comprehensive quantitative proteomic analysis of ESCs and ECCs was carried out using the iTRAQ method. Using two-dimensional LC and MS/MS analyses, we identified and quantitated ,1800 proteins. Among these are proteins associated with pluripotency and development as well as tight junction signaling and TGF, receptor pathway. Nearly ,200 proteins exhibit more than twofold difference in abundance between ESCs and ECCs. Examples of early developmental markers high in ESCs include ,-galactoside-binding lectin, undifferentiated embryonic cell transcription factor-1, DNA cytosine methyltransferase 3, isoform-B, melanoma antigen family-A4, and interferon-induced transmembrane protein-1. In contrast, CD99-antigen (CD99), growth differentiation factor-3, cellular retinoic acid binding protein-2, and developmental pluripotency associated-4 were among the highly expressed proteins in ECCs. Several proteins that were highly expressed in ECCs such as heat shock 27,kDa protein-1, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1, nuclear factor of , light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor like-2, and S100 calcium-binding protein-A4 have also been attributed to malignancy in other systems. Importantly, immunocytochemistry was used to validate the proteomic analyses for a subset of the proteins. In summary, this is the first large-scale quantitative proteomic study of human ESCs and ECCs, which provides critical information about the regulators of these two closely related, but developmentally distinct, stem cells. [source]


Hemoglobin regulates the metabolic and synthetic function of rat insulinoma cells cultured in a hollow fiber bioreactor

BIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 3 2010
Sharon I. Gundersen
Abstract Pancreatic islet transplantation continues to benefit patients with type 1 diabetes by normalizing glucose metabolism and improving other complications of diabetes. However, islet transplantation therapy is limited by the inadequate availability of pancreatic islets. In order to address this concern, this work investigated the expansion of rat insulinoma cells (INS-1) and their ability to generate insulin in a hollow fiber bioreactor (HFB). The long-term goal of this project is to develop a bioartificial pancreas. HFBs were incubated at two different oxygenation conditions (10% and 19% O2) to determine the best scenario for O2 transport to cultured cells. Also, bovine hemoglobin (BvHb) was supplemented in the cell culture media of the HFBs in order to increase O2 transport under both oxygenation conditions. Our results show that INS-1 cells expanded under all oxygenation conditions after 2 weeks of culture, with a slightly higher cell expansion under normoxic oxygenation (19% O2) for both control HFBs and BvHb HFBs. In addition, cellular insulin production remained steady throughout the study for normoxic control HFBs and BvHb HFBs, while it increased under hypoxic oxygenation (10% O2) for both types of HFBs but to different extents. Under the two different oxygenation conditions, cellular insulin production was more uniform with time in BvHb HFBs versus control HFBs. These results, along with qRT-PCR analysis, suggest a possible dysregulation of the insulin-signaling pathway under hypoxic culture conditions. In conclusion, the HFB culture system is an environment capable of expanding insulinomas while maintaining their viability and insulin production capabilities. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;107: 582,592. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]