Mobilisation of hematopoietic CD34+ precursor cells in patients with acute stroke is safe--results of an open-labeled non randomized phase I/II trial.

Background: Regenerative strategies in the treatment of acute stroke may have great potential. Hematopoietic growth factors mobilize hematopoietic stem cells and may convey neuroprotective effects. We examined the safety, potential functional and structural changes, and CD34(+) cell-mobilization characteristics of G-CSF treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Mobilization of CD34+ hematopoietic cells, colony-forming cells and long-term culture-initiating cells into the peripheral blood of patients with an acute cerebral ischemic insult.

Background: In vitro and in vivo data indicate that stem cells found in the bone marrow (BM) are capable of differentiating into neural cells. The aim of this study was to investigate whether potentially pluripotent hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells are recruited from the BM into the peripheral blood as a reaction to ischemic damage of neural tissues.

Materials: The number of CD34+ cells, colony-forming cells (CFC) and long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-IC) was measured within 24 h and on day 7 after stroke onset by flow cytometry, or in functional assays in the peripheral blood of 10 patients with acute middle cerebral artery infarct.

Detection of adiponectin in cerebrospinal fluid in humans.

Adiponectin circulates in the body in high concentrations, and 100-fold lower amounts were described in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of mice, whereas in humans, contradictory results have been published. To clarify whether adiponectin is present in human CSF and is derived from the circulation, it was determined in human CSF and plasma of 52 nonselected patients. Adiponectin was detected by immunoblot in CSF and was quantified in CSF and serum by ELISA.

Hydrogen peroxide and ADP-ribose induce TRPM2-mediated calcium influx and cation currents in microglia.

Microglial cells are the host macrophages in the central nervous system and respond to brain injury and various neurological diseases. In this process, microglial cells undergo multiple morphological and functional changes from the resting cell toward a fully activated, phagocyting tissue macrophage. In culture, bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a frequently used tool to induce this activation.

Molecular and functional characterization of the melastatin-related cation channel TRPM3.

Proteins of the mammalian TRP (transient receptor potential) family form a heterogenous group of cation channels important for cellular Ca2+ signaling and homeostasis. Here we present the full-length sequence of TRPM3, a member of the melastatin-like subfamily (TRPM) of TRP channels. TRPM3 expression was found in human kidney and brain.