The actin cortex that lines the plasma membrane of most eukaryotic cells resists external mechanical forces and plays critical roles in a variety of cellular processes including morphogenesis, cytokinesis, and cell migration. Despite its ubiquity and significance, we understand relatively little about the composition, dynamics, and structure of the actin cortex. Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) proteins regulate the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons through a variety of mechanisms, and in some contexts, APC proteins are cortically enriched.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTeratoma formation in xenografts is a sufficiently stringent pluripotency assay for stem cells. However, little is known about the composition and spatial relationships of tissues within teratomas that may provide clues about development and platforms for studying organ development. Additionally, teratoma formation and analysis lack standards for reporting as assays of pluripotency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeciding to exit pluripotency and undergo differentiation is of singular importance for pluripotent cells, including embryonic stem cells (ESCs). The molecular mechanisms for these decisions to differentiate, as well as reversing those decisions during induced pluripotency (iPS), have focused largely on transcriptomic controls. Here, we explore the role of translational control for the maintenance of pluripotency and the decisions to differentiate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHere we have developed protocols using the baboon as a complementary alternative Old World Primate to rhesus and other macaques which have severe limitations in their availability. Baboons are not limited as research resources, they are evolutionarily closer to humans, and the multiple generations of pedigreed colonies which display complex human disease phenotypes all support their further optimization as an invaluable primate model. Since neither baboon-assisted reproductive technologies nor baboon embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have been reported, here we describe the first derivations and characterization of baboon ESC lines from IVF-generated blastocysts.
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