Search results for " STEM"

Labdane Diterpenes from Stachys plumosa

2000

Three new labdane diterpenoids were isolated from the aerial parts of Stachys plumosa. The first two (1, 2) were the dextrorotatory enantiomers of the known 6-deoxyandalusol and 13-epijabugodiol. Structures were determined using NMR and MS techniques. The absolute stereochemistry of the third compound (3) was not experimentally proved.

Reverse engineering a mouse embryonic stem cell-specific transcriptional network reveals a new modulator of neuronal differentiation

2012

Gene expression profiles can be used to infer previously unknown transcriptional regulatory interaction among thousands of genes, via systems biology 'reverse engineering' approaches. We 'reverse engineered' an embryonic stem (ES)-specific transcriptional network from 171 gene expression profiles, measured in ES cells, to identify master regulators of gene expression ('hubs'). We discovered that E130012A19Rik (E13), highly expressed in mouse ES cells as compared with differentiated cells, was a central 'hub' of the network. We demonstrated that E13 is a protein-coding gene implicated in regulating the commitment towards the different neuronal subtypes and glia cells. The overexpression and …

Maternal Oct-4 is a potential key regulator of the developmental competence of mouse oocytes

2008

Abstract Background The maternal contribution of transcripts and proteins supplied to the zygote is crucial for the progression from a gametic to an embryonic control of preimplantation development. Here we compared the transcriptional profiles of two types of mouse MII oocytes, one which is developmentally competent (MIISN oocyte), the other that ceases development at the 2-cell stage (MIINSN oocyte), with the aim of identifying genes and gene expression networks whose misregulated expression would contribute to a reduced developmental competence. Results We report that: 1) the transcription factor Oct-4 is absent in MIINSN oocytes, accounting for 2) the down-regulation of Stella, a matern…

Ancistectorine D, a naphthylisoquinoline alkaloid with antiprotozoal and antileukemic activities, and further 5,8'- and 7,1'-linked metabolites from …

2016

From the twigs and stems of the Chinese liana Ancistrocladus tectorius (Ancistrocladaceae), two new 5,8'-coupled naphthylisoquinolines, ancistectorine D (5) and its 6-O-demethyl derivative 6, were isolated, along with two new 7,1'-linked alkaloids, 6-O-methylancistectorine B1 (7) and ancistectorine B2 (8). Two further compounds, ancistroealaine A (4) and 6-O-demethyl-8-O-methyl-7-epi-ancistrobrevine D (10), already known from related Asian and African Ancistrocladus species, were discovered for the first time in A. tectorius. The structure elucidation was achieved by spectroscopic analysis including HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR, and by chemical (oxidative degradation) and chiroptical (circular di…

Recurrent deficit irrigation and fruit harvest affect tree water relations and fruitlet growth in ‘valencia’ orange

2019

Background – Partial rootzone drying is an irrigation strategy known for increasing water use efficiency without significantly affecting tree water status. ‘Valencia’ oranges have a very long development period and nearly mature fruit and new fruitlets may be present at the same time on the tree, competing for water and assimilates. Objectives – The present study investigates the effect of recurrent deficit irrigation and fruit harvest on tree water status and fruitlet growth of ‘Valencia’ orange. Methods – Forty-eight adult trees were exposed to three irrigation treatments for seven years (2007–2013): irrigation with 100% of ETc (CI), continuous deficit irrigation (DI, 50% of CI) and parti…

Therapeutic implications of Cancer Initiating Cells.

2009

Background: Until few years ago, all neoplastic cells within a tumour were suggested to have tumorigenic capacity, but recent evidences hint to the possibility that such feature is confined to a subset of Cancer Initiating Cells (CICs), also called Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs). These cells are the reservoir of the heterogeneous populations of differentiated cancer cells constituting the tumour bulk. Mechanisms shared with somatic stem cells, such as quiescence, self-renewal ability, asymmetric division and multidrug resistance, allow to these cells to drive tumour growth and to evade conventional therapy. Objective: Here, we give a brief overview on the origin of CICs, the mechanisms involved i…

Changing paradigm in mild traumatic brain injury research

2016

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability among young adults. Recent data show that TBI affects about 1.7 million people annually in the United States (Faul and Coronado, 2015). After TBI, the primary injury produces almost irreparable brain damage. However, recent experimental studies have shown evidence for dynamic brain repair following TBI because endogenous progenitor cells may play regenerative roles in response to injuries (McGinn and Povlishock, 2015). In surviving patients, what plays a critical role in the clinical prognosis is the subsequent secondary injury; without effective treat- ment, cascades that include glutamatergic excitotoxicity and calcium …

Possible clinical usefulness of embryonic stem cells

2012

Abstract Are embryonic stem cells being used for therapeutic purposes? The aim of this short report is to review to what extent are embryonic stem cells currently used for therapeutic purposes. To the best of our knowledge, only four clinical trials have been authorised so far to use human embryonic stem cells for therapeutic purposes; two of these are included in the ClinicalTrials.gov data base, and the other two, the study sponsored by Geron and the last one initiated by Advanced Cell Technology in the United Kingdom, are not. But, in addition, Geron withdrew the clinical trial which had been originally proposed by the company itself. This brief review focuses the debate on the use of em…

New emerging potentials for human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells: immunological features and hepatocyte-like differentiative capacity.

2010

In recent years, human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have been extensively studied. Their key characteristics of long-term self-renewal and a capacity to differentiate into diverse mature tissues favour their use in regenerative medicine applications. Stem cells can be found in embryonic and extra-embryonic tissues as well as in adult organs. Several reports indicate that cells of Wharton's jelly (WJ), the main component of umbilical cord extracellular matrix, are multipotent stem cells, expressing markers of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC), and giving rise to different cellular types of both connective and nervous tissues. Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSC) express …

2013

The amyloid-β42 (Aβ42) peptide plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting the elderly. Over the past years, several approaches and compounds developed for the treatment of AD have failed in clinical studies, likely in part due to their low penetration of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Since nanotechnology-based strategies offer new possibilities for the delivery of drugs to the brain, this technique is studied intensively for the treatment of AD and other neurological disorders. The Aβ42 lowering drug flurbiprofen was embedded in polylactide (PLA) nanoparticles by emulsification-diffusion technique and their pot…