Autophagy protects pancreatic beta cell mass and function in the setting of a high-fat and high-glucose diet.

Autophagy is a major regulator of pancreatic beta cell homeostasis. Altered autophagic activity has been implicated in the beta cells of patients with type 2 diabetes, and in the beta cells of obese diabetic rodents. Here, we show that autophagy was induced in beta cells by either a high-fat diet or a combined high-fat and high-glucose diet, but not by high-glucose alone.

PARP inhibitor activates the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis in primary lung cancer cells.

This investigation was aimed to see whether PJ34(TM), a PARP inhibitor, could exert cytotoxicity in six nonsmall cell lung cancer cell lines developed from surgically resected tissues. Using various biochemical assays, we have seen that PJ34(TM) effects are consistent between untreated and treated samples but still somewhat variable between each cell line. Changes in protein expression and mitochondrial membrane potential between treated and untreated cells were indicating the possibility of apoptosis induction through an intrinsic pathway which causes cytotoxicity.

Inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) induces apoptosis in lung cancer cell lines.

We have tested PJ34, a potent inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), against various lung cancer cell lines (Calu-6, A549, and H460) and normal human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs). While using WST1 dye assay, lung cancer cells exhibited LD(50) values of approximately 30 μM PJ34 (72-hr assay). Molecular data showed that the effect of PJ34-induced apoptosis on lung cancer cells occurs via a caspase-dependent pathway.

Bone marrow-derived CD8alpha+TCR- cells that facilitate allogeneic bone marrow transplantation are a mixed population of lymphoid and myeloid progenitors.

Objective: We have characterized a hematopoietic cell population isolated from murine bone marrow that can facilitate purified hematopoietic stem cell engraftment across fully allogeneic major histocompatibility complex barriers. These facilitating cells (FCs) are classically identified as CD8alpha(+)TCR(-) by flow cytometry. Prior work has demonstrated that FCs are comprised of a heterogeneous cell population with both lymphoid and myeloid phenotypes.

Isolation and tracking of a rare lymphoid progenitor cell which facilitates bone marrow transplantation in mice.

Bone marrow cells are composed of pluripotent stem cells to terminally differentiated cells, with a wide variety of abundance of each cell type. In the past, many of the cell types within this heterogeneous population have been characterized either by expression of specific proteins or using functional markers. In spite of promising results obtained with the latter method, various cell types within bone marrow have not been well characterized due to the low abundance of a specific cell type.