Generation of functional hepatocyte-like cells from human deciduous periodontal ligament stem cells10/4/2016 Abstract:
Human deciduous periodontal ligament stem cells have been introduced for as an easily accessible source of stem cells from dental origin. Although recent studies have revealed the ability of these stem cells in multipotential attribute, their efficiency of hepatic lineage differentiation has not been addressed so far. The aim of this study is to investigate hepatic lineage fate competence of periodontal ligament stem cells through direct media induction. Differentiation of periodontal ligament stem cells into hepatocyte-like cells was conducted by the exposure of two phase media induction. First phase was performed in the presence of hepatocyte growth factors to induce a definitive endoderm formation. In the subsequent phase, the cells were treated with oncostatin M and dexamethosone followed by insulin and transferrin to generate hepatocyte-like cells. Hepatic-related characters of the generated hepatocyte-like cells were determined at both mRNA and protein level followed by functional assays. Foremost changes observed in the generation of hepatocyte-like cells were the morphological features in which these cells were transformed from fibroblastic shape to polygonal shape. Temporal expression of hepatic markers ranging from early endodermal up to late markers were detected in the hepatocyte-like cells. Crucial hepatic markers such as glycogen storage, albumin, and urea secretion were also shown. These findings exhibited the ability of periodontal ligament stem cells of dental origin to be directed into hepatic lineage fate. These cells can be regarded as an alternative autologous source in the usage of stem cell-based treatment for liver diseases. Source: SCIENCE OF NATURE Author: Vasanthan P, Jayaraman P, Kunasekaran W, Lawrence A, Gnanasegaran N, Govindasamy V, Musa S, Abu Kasim NH Status: Paid open access available at Springer
0 Comments
Abstract:
The effect of pressureless sintering on the properties of magnesium orthosilicate-hydroxyapatite (MO-HA) ceramic has been studied. The amount of MO composition in the green body was varied from 10 wt% to 50 wt% through mechanical ball milling and was subsequently sintered at varying temperatures in air atmosphere from 1000 degrees C to 1300 degrees C for 2 h. The magnesium orthosilicate phase was stable during sintering but the hydroxyapatite phase decomposed to tricalcium phosphate. The MO-HA composites generally exhibited lower mechanical properties across all the investigated composition. Nevertheless, a high fracture toughness of 2.5 MPam(1/2) was recorded for sintered body that contained 20 wt% MO. This finding indicates the potential of this ceramic composite to be used for biomedical applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved. Source: CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL Author: Ramesh S, Jeffrey CKL, Tan CY, Wong YH, Ganesan P, Ramesh S, Kutty MG, Chandran H, Devaraj P. Status; Paid open access available at ElSevier Abstract:
Aptamers are single-stranded nucleic acids or peptides identified from a randomized combinatorial library through specific interaction with the target of interest. Targets can be of any size, from small molecules to whole cells, attesting to the versatility of aptamers for binding a wide range of targets. Aptamers show drug properties that are analogous to antibodies, with high specificity and affinity to their target molecules. Aptamers can penetrate disease-causing microbial and mammalian cells. Generated aptamers that target surface biomarkers act as cell-targeting agents and intracellular delivery vehicles. Within this context, the "cell-internalizing aptamers" are widely investigated via the process of cell uptake with selective binding during in vivo systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) or by cell-internalization SELEX, which targets cell surface antigens to be receptors. These internalizing aptamers are highly preferable for the localization and functional analyses of multiple targets. In this overview, we discuss the ways by which internalizing aptamers are generated and their successful applications. Furthermore, theranostic approaches featuring cell-internalized aptamers are discussed with the purpose of analyzing and diagnosing disease-causing pathogens. Source: APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY Author: Gopinath SCB, Lakshmipriya T, Chen Y, Arshad MKM, Kerishnan JP, Ruslinda AR, Al-Douri Y, Voon CH, Hashim U. Status: Paid open access available at Springer |