440 publications from this institution
<p>Effect of SnPP (10 μM, 24 h) on RMS cell lines. A - Expression of cMET, HGF, CXCR4 and SDF1 mRNAs in CW9019 aRMS cell line.</p>
Increased oxidative stress can slow down the regeneration of skeletal muscle and affect the activity of muscle satellite cells (mSCs). Therefore, we evaluated the role of the NRF2 transcription factor (encoded by the Nfe2l2 gene), the main regulator of the antioxidant response, in muscle cell biology. We used (i) an immortalized murine myoblast cell line (C2C12) with stable overexpression of NRF2 and (ii) primary mSCs isolated from wild-type and Nfe2l2 (transcriptionally)-deficient mice (Nfe2l2tKO). NRF2 promoted myoblast proliferation and viability under oxidative stress conditions and decreased the production of reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, NRF2 overexpression inhibited C2C12 cell differentiation by down-regulating the expression of myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs) and muscle-specific microRNAs. We also showed that NRF2 is indispensable for the viability of mSCs since the lack of its transcriptional activity caused high mortality of cells cultured in vitro under normoxic conditions. Concomitantly, Nfe2l2tKO mSCs grown and differentiated under hypoxic conditions were viable and much more differentiated compared to cells isolated from wild-type mice. Taken together, NRF2 significantly influences the properties of myoblasts and muscle satellite cells. This effect might be modulated by the muscle microenvironment.
Stem cells are self-renewing cells that can differentiate into specialized cell type(s). Pluripotent stem cells, i.e. embryonic stem cells (ESC) or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) differentiate into cells of all three embryonic lineages. Multipotent stem cells, like hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), can develop into multiple specialized cells in a specific tissue. Unipotent cells differentiate only into one cell type, like e.g. satellite cells of skeletal muscle. There are many examples of successful clinical applications of stem cells. Over million patients worldwide have benefited from bone marrow transplantations performed for treatment of leukemias, anemias or immunodeficiencies. Skin stem cells are used to heal severe burns, while limbal stem cells can regenerate the damaged cornea. Pluripotent stem cells, especially the patient-specific iPSC, have a tremendous therapeutic potential, but their clinical application will require overcoming numerous drawbacks. Therefore, the use of adult stem cells, which are multipotent or unipotent, can be at present a more achievable strategy. Noteworthy, some studies ascribed particular adult stem cells as pluripotent. However, despite efforts, the postulated pluripotency of such events like "spore-like cells", "very small embryonic-like stem cells" or "multipotent adult progenitor cells" have not been confirmed in stringent independent studies. Also plasticity of the bone marrow-derived cells which were suggested to differentiate e.g. into cardiomyocytes, has not been positively verified, and their therapeutic effect, if observed, results rather from the paracrine activity. Here we discuss the examples of recent studies on adult stem cells in the light of current understanding of stem cell biology.
The article examines the practice of cell therapies, often named as stem cell therapies. For the general public this is recognized as promising treatment for many diseases, offering hope for many people to restore health to themselves or their loved ones. However, despite the enormous potential that this type of treatment holds, it has its limitations. The tension between hope, science, truth and deception can come to the fore especially when someone is fighting for their life. Moral and ethical issues play a key role in such cases, serving as guideposts obscured, however, by information noise.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, tasteless and colorless gas which is generated by heme oxygenase enzymes (HOs). HOs degrade heme releasing equimolar amounts of CO, iron and biliverdin, which is subsequently reduced to bilirubin. CO shares many properties with nitric oxide (NO), an established cellular messenger. Both CO and NO are involved in neural transmission and modulation of blood vessel function, including their relaxation and inhibition of platelet aggregation. CO, like NO, binds to heme proteins, although CO binds only ferrous (FeII) heme, whereas NO binds both ferrous and ferric (FeIII). CO enhances the activity of guanylate cyclase although it is less potent than NO. In contrast, CO inhibits other heme proteins, such as catalase or cytochrome p450. The effects of CO on gene expression can be thus varied, depending on the cellular microenvironment and the metabolic pathway being influenced. In this review the regulation of gene expression by HO/CO in the cardiovascular system is discussed. Recent data, derived also from our studies, indicate that HO/CO are significant modulators of inflammatory reactions, influencing the underlying processes such as cell proliferation and production of cytokines and growth factors.
No abstract available.
