Search results for "Adult stem cells"
showing 6 items of 46 documents
In Vitro Generation of Pancreatic Endocrine Cells from Human Adult Fibroblast-Like Limbal Stem Cells
2012
Stem cells might provide unlimited supply of transplantable cells for β-cell replacement therapy in diabetes. The human limbus is a highly specialized region hosting a well-recognized population of epithelial stem cells, which sustain the continuous renewal of the cornea, and the recently identified stromal fibroblast-like stem cells (f-LSCs), with apparent broader plasticity. However, the lack of specific molecular markers for the identification of the multipotent limbal subpopulation has so far limited the investigation of their differentiation potential. In this study we show that the human limbus contains uncommitted cells that could be potentially harnessed for the treatment of diabete…
Purinergic receptors influence the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells
2011
Adult stem cells, including adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) or ectomesenchymal dental follicle cells (DFCs), attract considerable attention for their potential to differentiate into lineages, which are of major interest in the field of Regenerative Medicine. Purinergic receptors exert a wide range of biological actions in many cell and tissue types through extracellular nucleotides. Little is known about P2 receptors in adult stem cells and changes in their expression levels during differentiation. All known P2 receptors have been investigated, and a variety of P2X and P2Y receptor subtypes were detected in MSCs. Studies investigating intracellular calcium levels on rec…
Channeled scaffolds implanted in adult rat brain.
2012
Scaffolds with aligned channels based on acrylate copolymers, which had previously demonstrated good com- patibility with neural progenitor cells were studied as coloniz- able structures both in vitro with neural progenitor cells and in vivo, implanted without cells in two different locations, in the cortical plate of adult rat brains and close to the subven- tricular zone. In vitro, neuroprogenitors colonize the scaffold and differentiate into neurons and glia within its channels. When implanted in vivo immunohistochemical analysis by confocal microscopy for neural and endothelial cells markers demonstrated that the scaffolds maintained continuity with the surrounding neural tissue and wer…
OPLA scaffold, collagen I, and horse serum induce a higher degree of myogenic differentiation of adult rat cardiac stem cells
2009
In the last few years, a major goal of cardiac research has been to drive stem cell differentiation to replace damaged myocardium. Several research groups have attempted to differentiate potential cardiac stem cells (CSCs) using bi- or three-dimensional systems supplemented with growth factors or molecules acting as differentiating substances. We hypothesize that these systems failed to induce a complete differentiation because they lacked an architectural space. In the present study, we isolated a pool of small proliferating and fibroblast-like cells from adult rat myocardium. The phenotype of these cells was assessed and the characterized cells were cultured in a collagen I/OPLA scaffold …
In vitro and in vivo arterial differentiation of human multipotent adult progenitor cells
2006
Many stem cell types have been shown to differentiate into endothelial cells (ECs); however, their specification to arterial or venous endothelium remains unexplored. We tested whether a specific arterial or venous EC fate could be induced in human multipotent adult progenitor cells (hMAPCs) and AC133(+) cells (hAC133(+)). In vitro, in the presence of VEGF(165), hAC133(+) cells only adopted a venous and microvascular EC phenotype, while hMAPCs differentiated into both arterial and venous ECs, possibly because hMAPCs expressed significantly more sonic hedgehog (Shh) and its receptors as well as Notch 1 and 3 receptors and some of their ligands. Accordingly, blocking either of those pathways …
Somatic stem cells and tissue engineering shed light on unsolved clinical issues in reproductive medicine: in stem cells we trust
2012
Three experts in regenerative medicine explore the evidence and expanding future clinical applicability of the human ovarian and endometrial stem cell population, and tissue engineering of reproductive organs and tissues.