Biomarker screen for efficacy of oncolytic virotherapy in patient-derived pancreatic cancer cultures.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a tumour entity with unmet medical need. To assess the therapeutic potential of oncolytic virotherapy (OVT) against PDAC, different oncolytic viruses (OVs) are currently investigated in clinical trials. However, systematic comparisons of these different OVs in terms of efficacy against PDAC and biomarkers predicting therapeutic response are lacking.

Differentiation-Dependent Motility-Responses of Developing Neural Progenitors to Optogenetic Stimulation.

During neural tissue genesis, neural stem/progenitor cells are exposed to bioelectric stimuli well before synaptogenesis and neural circuit formation. Fluctuations in the electrochemical potential in the vicinity of developing cells influence the genesis, migration and maturation of neuronal precursors. The complexity of the environment and the coexistence of various progenitor populations hinder the understanding of the significance of ionic/bioelectric stimuli in the early phases of neuronal differentiation.

Differential signal sensitivities can contribute to the stability of multispecies bacterial communities.

Background: Bacterial species present in multispecies microbial communities often react to the same chemical signal but at vastly different concentrations. The existence of different response thresholds with respect to the same signal molecule has been well documented in quorum sensing which is one of the best studied inter-cellular signalling mechanisms in bacteria. The biological significance of this phenomenon is still poorly understood, and cannot be easily studied in nature or in laboratory models.

Differentiation-Dependent Energy Production and Metabolite Utilization: A Comparative Study on Neural Stem Cells, Neurons, and Astrocytes.

While it is evident that the metabolic machinery of stem cells should be fairly different from that of differentiated neurons, the basic energy production pathways in neural stem cells (NSCs) or in neurons are far from clear. Using the model of in vitro neuron production by NE-4C NSCs, this study focused on the metabolic changes taking place during the in vitro neuronal differentiation. O2 consumption, H(+) production, and metabolic responses to single metabolites were measured in cultures of NSCs and in their neuronal derivatives, as well as in primary neuronal and astroglial cultures.