Massively parallel flow-cytometry-based screening of hematopoietic lineage cell populations from up to 25 donors simultaneously.

This study aimed to develop a method allowing high-dimensional and technically uniform screening of surface markers on cells of hematopoietic origin. High-dimensional screening of cell phenotypes is primarily the domain of single-cell RNA sequencing (RNAseq), which allows simultaneous analysis of the expression of thousands of genes in several thousands of cells. However, rare cell populations can often substantially impact tissue homeostasis or disease pathogenesis, and dysregulation of rare populations can easily be missed when only a few thousand cells are analyzed.

The Expression of Toll-like Receptors in Cartilage Endplate Cells: A Role of Toll-like Receptor 2 in Pro-Inflammatory and Pro-Catabolic Gene Expression.

Introduction: The vertebral cartilage endplate (CEP), crucial for intervertebral disc health, is prone to degeneration linked to chronic low back pain, disc degeneration, and Modic changes (MC). While it is known that disc cells express toll-like receptors (TLRs) that recognize pathogen- and damage-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs and DAMPs), it is unclear if CEP cells (CEPCs) share this trait. The CEP has a higher cell density than the disc, making CEPCs an important contributor.

Proteomic analysis of serum in a population-based cohort did not reveal a biomarker for Modic changes.

Introduction: Modic changes (MC) are bone marrow lesions of vertebral bones, which can be detected with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) adjacent to degenerated intervertebral discs. Defined by their appearance on T1 and T2 weighted images, there are three interconvertible types: MC1, MC2, and MC3. The inter-observer variability of the MRI diagnosis is high, therefore a diagnostic serum biomarker complementing the MRI to facilitate diagnosis and follow-up would be of great value.

Impacts of priming on distinct immunosuppressive mechanisms of mesenchymal stromal cells under translationally relevant conditions.

Background: The multimodal properties of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), particularly their ability to modulate immune responses is of high interest in translational research. Pro-inflammatory, hypoxic, and 3D culture priming are promising and often used strategies to improve the immunosuppressive potency of MSCs, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Therefore, the aims of this study were (i) to compare the effects of pro-inflammatory, hypoxic, and 3D culture priming on the in vitro immunosuppressive potential of MSCs, (ii) to assess if immunosuppressive priming effects are temporally preserved under standard and translationally relevant culture conditions, and (iii) to investigate if the three priming strategies engage the same immunosuppressive mechanisms.