Co-transplantation of mesenchymal and neural stem cells and overexpressing stromal-derived factor-1 for treating spinal cord injury.

Genetic engineering of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and neuronal stem cells (NSCs) has been used to treat spinal cord injuries (SCI). As a mechanism of therapy, MSCs secrete high amounts of trophic factors, while NSCs can differentiate into neuronal lineages and aid in tissue replacement. Additionally, the forced overexpression of secreted proteins can enhance the secretome of transplanted cells, which can increase therapeutic efficacy.

Fluorogen-activating proteins as biosensors of cell-surface proteins in living cells.

This study explores the general utility of a new class of biosensor that allows one to selectively visualize molecules of a chosen membrane protein that are at the cell surface. These biosensors make use of recently described bipartite fluoromodules comprised of a fluorogen-activating protein (FAP) and a small molecule (fluorogen) whose fluorescence increases dramatically when noncovalently bound by the FAP (Szent-Gyorgyi et al., Nat Biotechnol 2010;00:000-000).