Search results for " STEM"

Liver-specific Ldb1 deletion results in enhanced liver cancer development.

2009

Background & Aims LIM-domain-binding (Ldb) proteins have been demonstrated to be essential not only to key embryonic developmental processes but also to carcinogenesis. We have previously demonstrated Ldb1 to be of high biological and developmental relevance, as a targeted deletion of the Ldb1 gene in mice results in an embryonic lethal and pleiotropic phenotype. Methods We have now established a liver-specific Ldb1 knock out to investigate the role of Ldb1 in carcinogenesis, in particular in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, in vivo . Results These mice demonstrated a significantly enhanced growth of liver cancer by means of tumor size and number, advocating for an essential role…

Induced pluripotent stem cells in liver disease

2021

Abstract The development of suitable and reproducible liver cell models is fundamental for regenerative medicine, drug screening, and disease modeling. Human primary hepatocytes are the gold standard not only for hepatic cell therapy but also for preclinical toxicological screening or the study of liver disease; however, their limited availability, variability, and phenotypic instability hamper their use. Recent advances in stem cell technology have allowed the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from different somatic cell types and their differentiation into hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs), which can provide unlimited cell source for their use in hepatology studies. We revie…

Mesenchymal stem cells display hepato-protective activity in lymphoma bearing xenografts.

2012

A disseminated model of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with prevalent liver metastasis was generated by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of EBV(+) B lymphoblastoid SKW6.4 in nude-SCID mice. The survival of SKW6.4 xenografts (median survival = 27 days) was significantly improved when hyaluronan scaffolds embedded with mesenchimal stem cells (MSC) were implanted in the abdominal area 4 days after SKW6.4 injection (median survival = 39.5 days). Mice implanted with MSC showed a significant improvement of hepatic functionality in lymphoma xenografts, as demonstrated by measurement of serum ALT/AST levels. Co-culture of MSC with lymphoma cells enhanced the release of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) by MSC…

Elimination of quiescent/slow-proliferating cancer stem cells by Bcl-XL inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer

2014

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, urging the discovery of novel molecular targets and therapeutic strategies. Stem cells have been recently isolated from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), thus allowing the investigation of molecular pathways specifically active in the tumorigenic population. We have found that Bcl-XL is constantly expressed by lung cancer stem cells (LCSCs) and has a prominent role in regulating LCSC survival. Whereas chemotherapeutic agents were scarcely effective against LCSC, the small molecule Bcl-2/Bcl-XL inhibitor ABT-737, but not the selective Bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-199, induced LCSC death at nanomolar concentrations. Differen…

3D printing novel in vitro cancer cell culture model systems for lung cancer stem cell study

2021

Two-dimensional (2D) in vitro cell cultures and laboratory animals have been used traditionally as the gold-standard preclinical cancer model systems. However, for cancer stem cell (CSC) studies, they exhibit notable limitations on simulating native environment, which depreciate their translatability for clinical development purposes. In this study, different three-dimensional (3D) printing platforms were used to establish novel 3D cell cultures enriched in CSCs from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and cell lines. Rigid scaffolds with an elevated compressive modulus and uniform pores and channels were produced using different filaments. Hydrogel-based scaffolds were printed with…

An expression signature characterizes cancer stem cells from lung adenocarcinoma patients

2018

Hepatitis C virus - associated B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

2016

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients are prone to develop bone marrow or various tissue infiltrates with monoclonal B cells, monoclonal B lymphocytosis or different types of B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (BCNHL), of which the most common are splenic marginal zone BCNHL, diffuse large BCNHL and follicular lymphoma. The association between chronic HCV infection and non Hodgkin's lymphoma has been observed especially in areas with high prevalence of this viral infection. Outside the limitations of some studies that have been conducted, there are also geographic, environmental, and genetic factors that contribute to the epidemiological differences. Various microenvironmental signals, s…

Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/PTEN/Akt/mTOR inhibitors: Rationale and importance to inhibiting these pathways in human health

2011

William H. Chappell 1 , Linda S. Steelman 1,2 , Jacquelyn M. Long 2 , Ruth C. Kempf 2 , Stephen L. Abrams 1 , Richard A. Franklin 1 , Jorg Basecke 3 , Franca Stivala 4 , Marco Donia 4 , Paolo Fagone 4 , Graziella Malaponte 4 , Maria C. Mazzarino 4 , Ferdinando Nicoletti 4 , Massimo Libra 4 , Danijela Maksimovic-Ivanic 5 , Sanja Mijatovic 5 , Giuseppe Montalto 6 , Melchiorre Cervello 7 , Piotr Laidler 8 , Michele Milella 9 , Agostino Tafuri 10 , Antonio Bonati 11 , Camilla Evangelisti 12 , Lucio Cocco 12 , Alberto M. Martelli 12,13 , and James A. McCubrey 1 1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University 2 Department of Physics, Greenville, N…

Multifaceted roles of GSK-3 and Wnt/beta-catenin in hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis: opportunities for therapeutic intervention

2013

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is well documented to participate in a complex array of critical cellular processes. It was initially identified in rat skeletal muscle as a serine/threonine kinase that phosphorylated and inactivated glycogen synthase. This versatile protein is involved in numerous signaling pathways that influence metabolism, embryogenesis, differentiation, migration, cell cycle progression and survival. Recently, GSK-3 has been implicated in leukemia stem cell pathophysiology and may be an appropriate target for its eradication. In this review, we will discuss the roles that GSK-3 plays in hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis as how this pivotal kinase can interact with mul…

Cancer-associated fibroblasts do not respond to combined irradiation and kinase inhibitor treatment

2012

The emergence of radioresistance is a significant issue in the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma. We recently demonstrated that post-radiogenic extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling might decrease radiosensitivity in this cancer type. To further elucidate how tumor-organizing cell types respond to irradiation and ERK pathway inhibition, we analyzed one oral squamous cell carcinoma and one lung cancer cell line (HNSCCUM-02T, A549), fibroblasts (NIH3T3), primary normal and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in vitro. Irradiated cells treated with mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor U0126 were screened for pERK levels. Post-radiogenic cellular responses were …