Human Liver Spheroids from Peripheral Blood for Liver Disease Studies.

Human liver cells can form a three-dimensional (3D) structure capable of growing in culture for some weeks, preserving their functional capacity. Due to their nature to cluster in the culture dishes with low or no adhesive characteristics, they form aggregates of multiple liver cells that are called human liver spheroids. The forming of 3D liver spheroids relies on the natural tendency of hepatic cells to aggregate in the absence of an adhesive substrate.

GM-Free Generation of Blood-Derived Neuronal Cells.

Many human neurological disorders are caused by degeneration of neurons and glial cells in the brain. Due to limitations in pharmacological and other therapeutic strategies, there is currently no cure available for the injured or diseased brain. Cell replacement appears as a promising therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative conditions.

Activation by ACA induces pluripotency in human blood progenitor cells.

Reprogramming of human somatic cells by transcription factors to pluripotent state holds great promise for regenerative medicine. However, low efficiencies of current reprogramming methods, immunogenicity and lack of understanding regarding the molecular mechanisms responsible for their generation, limits their utilization and raises questions regarding safety for therapeutic application. Here we report that ACA signaling via PI3K/Akt/mTor induces sustained de-differentiation of human blood progenitor cells leading to generation of ACA pluripotent stem cells.

A novel human glycoprotein ACA is an upstream regulator of human hematopoiesis.

A central issue in stem cell biology is a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate self-renewal of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Control of the specific function of HSCs like self-renewal and differentiation might be regulated by a common set of critical genes. However, the regulation among these genes is yet to be elucidated.

Expression and intracellular localization of ACA and TRA-1-81 in smooth muscle cell tumors.

We studied the expression and intracellular localization of ACA and TRA-1-81 in smooth muscle cell tumors. The study was performed on tissue specimens obtained during surgery from patients with uterine leiomyoma and leiomyosarcoma (mean age 34 and 51 years, respectively). ACA was present in leiomyoma, leiomyosarcoma, and control myometrium.

A novel human erythrocyte glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored glycoprotein ACA. Isolation, purification, primary structure determination, and molecular parameters of its lipid structure.

A method has been elaborated to isolate and purify up to homogeneity a novel membrane glycoprotein containing a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor by means of salting out with ammonium sulfate (40-80% saturation), followed by preparative SDS-PAGE, chromatography and acetone precipitation. The preparation obtained was homogeneous upon electrophoresis in the presence of 0.1% SDS after reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol.