Point-of-Care Diagnostic Devices for Detection of O157:H7 Using Microfluidic Systems: A Focused Review.

Bacterial infections represent a serious and global threat in modern medicine; thus, it is very important to rapidly detect pathogenic bacteria, such as () O157:H7. Once treatments are delayed after the commencement of symptoms, the patient's health quickly deteriorates. Hence, real-time detection and monitoring of infectious agents are highly critical in early diagnosis for correct treatment and safeguarding public health.

Induction of Nanog in neural progenitor cells for adaptive regeneration of ischemic brain.

NANOG plays a key role in cellular plasticity and the acquisition of the stem cell state during reprogramming, but its role in the regenerative process remains unclear. Here, we show that the induction of NANOG in neuronal cells is necessary for the physiological initiation of neuronal regeneration in response to ischemic stress. Specifically, we found that NANOG was preferentially expressed in undifferentiated neuronal cells, and forced expression of Nanog in neural progenitor cells (NPCs) promoted their self-renewing expansion both in ex-vivo slice cultures and in vitro limiting dilution analysis.

Impaired migration of autologous induced neural stem cells from patients with schizophrenia and implications for genetic risk for psychosis.

Stem cell technologies have presented explicit evidence of the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia. However, few studies investigated relevance of the schizophrenia genetic liability and the use of genetic reprogramming on pluripotent stem cells to the impaired neurodevelopment shown by stem cells. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the cellular phenotypes of induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) derived without genetic modification from patients with schizophrenia and from genetic high risk (GHR) individuals.

Dual Effects of Korean Red Ginseng on Astrocytes and Neural Stem Cells in Traumatic Brain Injury: The HO-1-Tom20 Axis as a Putative Target for Mitochondrial Function.

Astrocytes display regenerative potential in pathophysiologic conditions. In our previous study, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) promoted astrocytic mitochondrial functions in mice via the peroxisome-proliferator-activating receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) pathway on administering Korean red ginseng extract (KRGE) after traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this study, KRGE promoted astrocytic mitochondrial functions, assessed with oxygen consumption and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, which could be regulated by the translocase of the outer membrane of mitochondria 20 (Tom20) pathway with a PGC-1α-independent pathway.

Repair Mechanisms of the Neurovascular Unit after Ischemic Stroke with a Focus on VEGF.

The functional neural circuits are partially repaired after an ischemic stroke in the central nervous system (CNS). In the CNS, neurovascular units, including neurons, endothelial cells, astrocytes, pericytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes maintain homeostasis; however, these cellular networks are damaged after an ischemic stroke. The present review discusses the repair potential of stem cells (i.

Endothelin-1 enhances the regenerative capability of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in a sciatic nerve injury mouse model.

We expanded the application of endothelin-1 (EDN1) by treating human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) organotypic spinal cord slice cultures with EDN1. EDN1-treated hMSCs significantly enhanced neuronal outgrowth. The underlying mechanism of this effect was evaluated via whole-genome methylation.

Glia-Like Cells from Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Protect Neural Stem Cells in an Model of Alzheimer's Disease by Reducing NLRP-3 Inflammasome.

Background And Purpose: Neural stem cells (NSCs) have the ability to regenerate, proliferate, and differentiate, enabling them to play important roles in the recovery of the damaged nervous system. However, in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), the NSCs are damaged as well. Glia-like cells from human mesenchymal stem cells (ghMSCs) are functionally enhanced adult stem cells.

Glia-Like Cells from Late-Passage Human MSCs Protect Against Ischemic Stroke Through IGFBP-4.

Stem cell therapy is considered to be a promising future treatment for intractable neurological diseases, although all the clinical trials using stem cells have not yet shown any good results. Early passage mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used in most clinical trials because of the issues on safety and efficacy. However, it is not easy to get plenty of cells enough for the treatment and it costs too much.

Olig2-expressing Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhance Functional Recovery after Contusive Spinal Cord Injury.

Background And Objectives: Glial scarring and inflammation after spinal cord injury (SCI) interfere with neural regeneration and functional recovery due to the inhibitory microenvironment of the injured spinal cord. Stem cell transplantation can improve functional recovery in experimental models of SCI, but many obstacles to clinical application remain due to concerns regarding the effectiveness and safety of stem cell transplantation for SCI patients. In this study, we investigated the effects of transplantation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) that were genetically modified to express Olig2 in a rat model of SCI.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-6 released from human mesenchymal stem cells confers neuronal protection through IGF-1R-mediated signaling.

Human bone marrow‑derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are a desirable cell source for cell‑based therapy to treat nervous system injuries due to their ability to differentiate into specific cell types. In addition to their multipotency, hMSCs render the tissue microenvironment more favorable for tissue repair by secreting various growth factors. Our previous study demonstrated that hMSCs secrete several growth factors, including several insulin‑like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs).

Small molecule-based lineage switch of human adipose-derived stem cells into neural stem cells and functional GABAergic neurons.

Cellular reprogramming using small molecules (SMs) without genetic modification provides a promising strategy for generating target cells for cell-based therapy. Human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) are a desirable cell source for clinical application due to their self-renewal capacity, easy obtainability and the lack of safety concerns, such as tumor formation. However, methods to convert hADSCs into neural cells, such as neural stem cells (NSCs), are inefficient, and few if any studies have achieved efficient reprogramming of hADSCs into functional neurons.

A Potential Mechanism for ADC-Induced Neutropenia: Role of Neutrophils in Their Own Demise.

Neutropenia is a common adverse event in cancer patients treated with antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) and we aimed to elucidate the potential mechanism of this toxicity. To investigate whether ADCs affect neutrophil production from bone marrow, an assay was developed in which hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) were differentiated to neutrophils. Several antibodies against targets absent in HSCs and neutrophils were conjugated to MMAE via a cleavable valine-citrulline linker (vcMMAE-ADC) or MMAF via a noncleavable maleimidocaproyl linker (mcMMAF-ADC), and their cytotoxicity was tested in the neutrophil differentiation assay.

Vascular endothelial growth factor enhances axonal outgrowth in organotypic spinal cord slices via vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 and 2.

Enhancing adult nerve regeneration is a potential therapeutic strategy for treating spinal cord injury. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a major contributor to angiogenesis, which can reduce the spinal cord injury by inhibiting the inflammation and improve recovery after spinal cord injury. We have previously demonstrated that exogenous VEGF has neurotrophic effects on injured spinal nerves in organotypic spinal cord slice cultures.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate prevents oxidative stress-induced cellular senescence in human mesenchymal stem cells via Nrf2.

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have great therapeutic potential due to their high plasticity, immune privileged status and ease of preparation, as well as a lack of ethical barriers to their use. However, their ultimate usefulness is limited by cellular senescence occurring secondary to increased cellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during their propagation in culture. The underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for this process in hMSCs remain unclear.

Efficient detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 using a reusable microfluidic chip embedded with antimicrobial peptide-labeled beads.

The ability of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) for effective binding to multiple target microbes has drawn lots of attention as an alternative to antibodies for detecting whole bacteria. We investigated pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) detection by applying a microfluidic based biosensing device embedded with AMP-labeled beads.

Sorting of human mesenchymal stem cells by applying optimally designed microfluidic chip filtration.

Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) consist of heterogeneous subpopulations with different multipotent properties: small and large cells with high and low multipotency, respectively. Accordingly, sorting out a target subpopulation from the others is very important to increase the effectiveness of cell-based therapy. We performed flow-based sorting of hMSCs by using optimally designed microfluidic chips based on the hydrodynamic filtration (HDF) principle.

Ankyrin repeat-rich membrane spanning (ARMS)/Kidins220 scaffold protein regulates neuroblastoma cell proliferation through p21.

Cell proliferation is tightly controlled by the cell-cycle regulatory proteins, primarily by cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) in the G1 phase. The ankyrin repeat-rich membrane spanning (ARMS) scaffold protein, also known as kinase D-interacting substrate of 220 kDa (Kidins 220), has been previously identified as a prominent downstream target of neurotrophin and ephrin receptors. Many studies have reported that ARMS/Kidins220 acts as a major signaling platform in organizing the signaling complex to regulate various cellular responses in the nervous and vascular systems.

Discoidin domain receptor 1 contributes to tumorigenesis through modulation of TGFBI expression.

Discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) is a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase family. The receptor is activated upon binding to its ligand, collagen, and plays a crucial role in many fundamental processes such as cell differentiation, adhesion, migration and invasion. Although DDR1 is expressed in many normal tissues, upregulated expression of DDR1 in a variety of human cancers such as lung, colon and brain cancers is known to be associated with poor prognosis.

Mechanistic rationale for targeting the unfolded protein response in pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway, a stress-induced signaling cascade emanating from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), regulates the expression and activity of molecules including BiP (HSPA5), IRE1 (ERN1), Blimp-1 (PRDM1), and X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1). These molecules are required for terminal differentiation of B cells into plasma cells and expressed at high levels in plasma cell-derived multiple myeloma. Although these molecules have no known role at early stages of B-cell development, here we show that their expression transiently peaks at the pre-B-cell receptor checkpoint.

Potentiated therapeutic angiogenesis by primed human mesenchymal stem cells in a mouse model of hindlimb ischemia.

Background: Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are advantageous for cell-based therapy to treat ischemic diseases owing to their capacity to secrete various paracrine factors with potent angiogenic activity.

Materials & Methods: In this study, we describe a method to increase secreted levels of VEGF and HGF from hMSCs without genetic modification.

Results: We demonstrated that transplantation of primed hMSCs into ischemic limbs led to significantly greater improvements in tissue perfusion and limb salvage by increasing capillary formation compared with nonprimed hMSCs.

A fosmid cloning strategy for detecting the widest possible spectrum of microbes from the international space station drinking water system.

In this study, fosmid cloning strategies were used to assess the microbial populations in water from the International Space Station (ISS) drinking water system (henceforth referred to as Prebiocide and Tank A water samples). The goals of this study were: to compare the sensitivity of the fosmid cloning strategy with that of traditional culture-based and 16S rRNA-based approaches and to detect the widest possible spectrum of microbial populations during the water purification process. Initially, microbes could not be cultivated, and conventional PCR failed to amplify 16S rDNA fragments from these low biomass samples.

A three dimensional observation of palatal vault growth in children using mixed effect analysis: a 9 year longitudinal study.

The understanding of palatine vault growth in normal subjects is important to orthodontists. The aim of this study was to evaluate three dimensional (3D) longitudinal changes in the palatal vault from 6 to 14 years of age. Complete dental stone casts were biennially prepared for 50 subjects (25 girls and 25 boys) followed up from 6 to 14 years of age.