Expansion of Phenotypically Altered Dendritic Cell Populations in the Small Airways and Alveolar Parenchyma in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Contrasting the antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DCs) in the conducting airways, the alveolar DC populations in human lungs have remained poorly investigated. Consequently, little is known about how alveolar DCs are altered in diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study maps multiple tissue DC categories in the distal lung across COPD severities.

Kynurenine pathway is altered in patients with SLE and associated with severe fatigue.

Objective: Fatigue has been reported as the most disturbing symptom in a majority of patients with SLE. Depression is common and often severe. Together these symptoms cause significant morbidity and affect patients with otherwise relatively mild disease.

A data analysis framework for biomedical big data: Application on mesoderm differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells.

The development of high-throughput biomolecular technologies has resulted in generation of vast omics data at an unprecedented rate. This is transforming biomedical research into a big data discipline, where the main challenges relate to the analysis and interpretation of data into new biological knowledge. The aim of this study was to develop a framework for biomedical big data analytics, and apply it for analyzing transcriptomics time series data from early differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells towards the mesoderm and cardiac lineages.

Identification of novel biomarkers for doxorubicin-induced toxicity in human cardiomyocytes derived from pluripotent stem cells.

Doxorubicin is a chemotherapeutic agent indicated for the treatment of a variety of cancer types, including leukaemia, lymphomas, and many solid tumours. The use of doxorubicin is, however, associated with severe cardiotoxicity, often resulting in early discontinuation of the treatment. Importantly, the toxic symptoms can occur several years after the termination of the doxorubicin administration.

Molecular signature of cardiomyocyte clusters derived from human embryonic stem cells.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can differentiate in vitro into spontaneously contracting cardiomyocytes (CMs). These cells may prove extremely useful for various applications in basic research, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine. To fully use the potential of the cells, they need to be extensively characterized, and the regulatory mechanisms that control hESC differentiation toward the cardiac lineage need to be better defined.

Molecular and pharmacological properties of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can be coaxed to differentiate into specific cell types, including cardiomyocyte-like cells. These cells express cardiac-specific markers and display functional similarities to their adult counterparts. Based on these properties, hESC-derived cardiomyocytes have the potential to be extremely useful in various in vitro applications and to provide the opportunity for cardiac cell replacement therapies.