Biocompatibility of tungsten disulfide inorganic nanotubes and fullerene-like nanoparticles with salivary gland cells.

Impaired salivary gland (SG) function leading to oral diseases is relatively common with no adequate solution. Previously, tissue engineering of SG had been proposed to overcome this morbidity, however, not yet clinically available. Multiwall inorganic (tungsten disulfide [WS2]) nanotubes (INT-WS2) and fullerene-like nanoparticles (IF-WS2) have many potential medical applications.

Toward salivary gland stem cell regeneration.

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, resulting in ~ 640,000 cases. Most of these patients have irreversible damage to their salivary glands due to irradiation therapy, which typically leads to significant decrease in quality of life. In the last 2 decades, several strategies have been suggested to overcome this problem; however, no biologically based treatments are available.

Effect of irradiation on cell transcriptome and proteome of rat submandibular salivary glands.

Salivary glands (SGs) are irreversibly damaged by irradiation (IR) treatment in head and neck cancer patients. Here, we used an animal irradiation model to investigate and define the molecular mechanisms affecting SGs following IR, focusing on saliva proteome and global transcription profile of submandibular salivary gland (SSG) tissue.We show that saliva secretion was gradually reduced to 50% of its initial level 12 weeks post-IR.

Long-term cryopreservation model of rat salivary gland stem cells for future therapy in irradiated head and neck cancer patients.

Irradiated head and neck cancer patients suffer from irreversible loss of salivary gland (SG) function, along with significant morbidity and compromised quality of life. To date there is no biologically-based treatment for this distress. Adult salivary gland stem cells are promising candidates for autologous transplantation therapy in the context of tissue-engineered artificial SGs or direct cell therapy.

High-efficiency immunomagnetic isolation of solid tissue-originated integrin-expressing adult stem cells.

Isolation of highly pure specific cell types is crucial for successful adult stem cell-based therapy. As the number of such cells in adult tissue is low, an extremely efficient method is needed for their isolation. Here, we describe cell-separation methodologies based on magnetic-affinity cell sorting (MACS) MicroBeads with monoclonal antibodies against specific membrane proteins conjugated to superparamagnetic particles.

Establishment of immortal multipotent rat salivary progenitor cell line toward salivary gland regeneration.

Adult salivary gland stem cells are promising candidates for cell therapy and tissue regeneration in cases of irreversible damage to salivary glands in head and neck cancer patients undergoing irradiation therapy. At present, the major restriction in handling such cells is their relatively limited life span during in vitro cultivation, resulting in an inadequate experimental platform to explore the salivary gland-originated stem cells as candidates for future clinical application in therapy. We established a spontaneous immortal integrin α6β1-expressing cell line of adult salivary progenitor cells from rats (rat salivary clone [RSC]) and investigated their ability to sustain cellular properties.