The critical role of ECM proteins within the human MSC niche in endothelial differentiation.

Interactions between blood vessels and osteoblasts-bone-forming cells-are critical for successful bone development. We therefore investigated the endothelial differentiation capacity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from bone tissue. We found that fetal pre-osteoblast and adult trabecular bone-derived (TB) MSCs express similar surface markers as bone marrow (BM) MSCs and can differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts, and chondrocytes.

The role of RhoA kinase inhibition in human placenta-derived multipotent cells on neural phenotype and cell survival.

Current advances in stem cell biology have brought much hope for therapy of neuro-degenerative diseases. However, neural stem cells (NSCs) are rare adult stem cells, and the use of non-NSCs requires efficient and high-yielding lineage-specific differentiation prior to transplantation for efficacy. We report on the efficient differentiation of placental-derived multipotent cells (PDMCs) into a neural phenotype with use of Y-27632, a clinically compliant small molecular inhibitor of Rho kinase (ROCK) which is a major mediator of cytoskeleton dynamics.

Stromal-derived factor-1 gene variations in pediatric patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia.

Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) of childhood is an autoimmune disease characterized by abnormally increased destruction of platelets and decreased megakaryopoiesis. Stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) plays a role in megakaryopoiesis and may be involved in the pathogenesis of ITP. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the SDF-1 gene, including rs1801157, rs2839693, rs2297630, rs1065297, and rs266085, were assessed in 100 children with ITP and 126 healthy controls.

Xenobiotic substrate reduces yield of activated sludge in a continuous flow system.

The biomass yield of a continuous flow activated sludge system varied when the system treated influent containing different compositions of biogenic and xenobiotic substrates. Both the biogenic substrate and a test xenobiotic 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) were degraded at steady-state activated sludge operations. The true yields, determined from steady-state activated sludge treatment performances, were at the maximum and the minimum when the activated sludge treated the influent of sole biogenic substrate and sole 2,4-D, respectively.

Concerted actions of multiple transcription elements confer differential transactivation of HSP90 isoforms in geldanamycin-treated 9L rat gliosarcoma cells.

HSP90 chaperones are transducer proteins of many signaling pathways in cells. Using a highly specific inhibitor, geldanamycin (GA), an increasing number of the HSP90 client proteins have been identified. Nevertheless, there is little information on the differential transactivation of the two isoforms of the hsp90 genes, hsp90alpha and beta, in cells under stress conditions.

Heteroleptic cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes displaying blue phosphorescence in solution and solid state at room temperature.

A series of heteroleptic Ir(III) metal complexes 1-3 bearing two N-phenyl-substituted pyrazoles and one 2-pyridyl pyrazole (or triazole) ligands were synthesized and characterized to attain highly efficient, room-temperature blue phosphorescence. The N-phenylpyrazole ligands, dfpzH = 1-(2,4-difluorophenyl)pyrazole, fpzH = 1-(4-fluorophenyl)pyrazole, dfmpzH = 1-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-3,5-dimethylpyrazole, and fmpzH = 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-3,5-dimethylpyrazole, show a similar reaction pattern with respect to the typical cyclometalated (C(wedge)N) chelate, which utilizes its ortho-substituted phenyl segment to link with the central Ir(III) atom, while the second 2-pyridylpyrazole (or triazole) ligand, namely, fppzH = 3-(trifluoromethyl)-5-(2-pyridyl)pyrazole, fptzH = 3-(trifluoromethyl)-5-(2-pyridyl)triazole, and hptzH = 3-(heptafluoropropyl)-5-(2-pyridyl)triazole, undergoes typical anionic (N--N) chelation to complete the octahedral framework. X-ray structural analyses on complexes [(dfpz)(2)Ir(fppz)] (1a) and [(fmpz)(2)Ir(hptz)] (3d) were established to confirm their molecular structures.