Targeting cargo to an unconventional secretory system within megakaryocytes allows the release of transgenic proteins from platelets.

Background: Platelets are essential for hemostasis and thrombosis and play vital roles during metastatic cancer progression and infection. Hallmarks of platelet function are activation, cytoskeletal rearrangements, and the degranulation of their cellular contents upon stimulation. While α-granules and dense granules are the most studied platelet secretory granules, the dense tubular system (DTS) also functions as a secretory system for vascular thiol isomerases.

High Sensitivity Singlet Oxygen Luminescence Sensor Using Computational Spectroscopy and Solid-State Detector.

This paper presents a technique for high sensitivity measurement of singlet oxygen luminescence generated during photodynamic therapy (PDT) and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on skin. The high measurement sensitivity is achieved by using a computational spectroscopy (CS) approach that provides improved photon detection efficiency compared to spectral filtering methodology. A solid-state InGaAs photodiode is used as the CS detector, which significantly reduces system cost and improves robustness compared to photomultiplier tubes.

The planarian wound epidermis gene equinox is required for blastema formation in regeneration.

Regeneration often involves the formation of a blastema, an outgrowth or regenerative bud formed at the plane of injury where missing tissues are produced. The mechanisms that trigger blastema formation are therefore fundamental for regeneration. Here, we identify a gene, which we named equinox, that is expressed within hours of injury in the planarian wound epidermis.

Assessment of breast cancer surgical margins with multimodal optical microscopy: A feasibility clinical study.

Providing surgical margin information during breast cancer surgery is crucial for the success of the procedure. The margin is defined as the distance from the tumor to the cut surface of the resection specimen. The consensus among surgeons and radiation oncologists is that there should be no tumor left within 1 to maximum 2 mm from the surface of the surgical specimen.

Muscle and neuronal guidepost-like cells facilitate planarian visual system regeneration.

Neuronal circuits damaged or lost after injury can be regenerated in some adult organisms, but the mechanisms enabling this process are largely unknown. We used the planarian to study visual system regeneration after injury. We identify a rare population of muscle cells tightly associated with photoreceptor axons at stereotyped positions in both uninjured and regenerating animals.