scholarly journals Fetal microchimerism and maternal health during and after pregnancy

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keelin O'Donoghue
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Autoimmune Disease ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Tissue Injury ◽  
Incidental Finding ◽  
Functional Improvement ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Fetal Cells ◽  
Fetal Microchimerism ◽  
In Pregnancy

Trafficking of fetal cells into the maternal circulation begins very early in pregnancy and the effects of this cell traffic are longlasting. All types of fetal cells, including stem cells, cross the placenta during normal pregnancy to enter maternal blood, from where they may be recovered in pregnancy for the purpose of genetic prenatal diagnosis. Fetal cells can also be located in maternal tissues during and after pregnancy, and persist as microchimeric cells for decades in marrow and other organs. Although persistent fetal cells were first implicated in autoimmune disease, subsequent reports routinely found microchimeric cells in healthy tissues and in non-autoimmune disease. Parallel studies in animal and human pregnancy now suggest instead that microchimeric fetal cells play a role in the response to tissue injury. However, it is still not clear whether microchimeric fetal cells persisting in the mother are an incidental finding, are naturally pathogenic or act as reparative stem cells, and the environmental or biological stimuli that determine microchimeric cell fate are as yet undetermined. Future studies must also focus on investigating whether fetal cells create functional improvement in response to maternal injury and whether this response can be manipulated. The pregnancy-acquired low-grade chimeric state of women could have far-reaching implications, influencing recovery after injury or surgery, ageing, graft survival after transplantation, survival after cancer as well as deciding the protective effect of pregnancy against diseases later in life. Lifelong persistence of fetal cells in maternal tissues may even explain why women live longer than men.

Centromere assembly and non-random sister chromatid segregation in stem cells

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben L. Carty ◽  
Elaine M. Dunleavy
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Sister Chromatid ◽  
Asymmetric Cell Division ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Germline Stem Cells ◽  
Sister Chromatids ◽  
Centromere Protein A ◽  
Oocyte Meiosis

Abstract Asymmetric cell division (ACD) produces daughter cells with separate distinct cell fates and is critical for the development and regulation of multicellular organisms. Epigenetic mechanisms are key players in cell fate determination. Centromeres, epigenetically specified loci defined by the presence of the histone H3-variant, centromere protein A (CENP-A), are essential for chromosome segregation at cell division. ACDs in stem cells and in oocyte meiosis have been proposed to be reliant on centromere integrity for the regulation of the non-random segregation of chromosomes. It has recently been shown that CENP-A is asymmetrically distributed between the centromeres of sister chromatids in male and female Drosophila germline stem cells (GSCs), with more CENP-A on sister chromatids to be segregated to the GSC. This imbalance in centromere strength correlates with the temporal and asymmetric assembly of the mitotic spindle and potentially orientates the cell to allow for biased sister chromatid retention in stem cells. In this essay, we discuss the recent evidence for asymmetric sister centromeres in stem cells. Thereafter, we discuss mechanistic avenues to establish this sister centromere asymmetry and how it ultimately might influence cell fate.

CD133/CD166/Ki-67 Triple Immunouorescence Assessment for Putative Cancer Stem Cells in Colon Carcinoma*

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudiu Margaritescu ◽  
Daniel Pirici ◽  
Irina Cherciu ◽  
Alexandru Barbalan ◽  
Tatiana Cârtâna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Colon Cancer ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Colon Carcinoma ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
High Grade Dysplasia ◽  
Early Event ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
High Grade

Background & Aims: Colorectal cancer represents the third most common malignancy and the fourth most common cause of cancer death worldwide. The existence of drug-resistant colon cancer stem cells is thought to be one of the most important reasons behind treatment failure in colon cancer, their existence putatively leading to metastasis and recurrences. The aim of our study was to investigate the immunoexpression patterns of CD133 and CD166 in colon carcinoma, both individually and in combination, assessing their significance as prognostic markers.Methods. A total of 45 retrospective colon adenocarcinoma cases were investigated by enzymatic and multiple fluorescence immunohistochemistry for their CD133 and CD166 expression and colocalization.Results. Both CD133 and CD166 were expressed to different extents in all cancer specimens, with apredominant cytoplasmic pattern for CD133 and a more obvious membranous-like pattern for CD166.Overall, when comparing their reactivity for the tumoral tissue, CD166 expression areas seemed to be smaller than those of CD133. However, there was a direct correlation between CD133 and CD166 expression levels throughout the entire spectrum of lesions, with higher values for dysplastic lesions. Colocalization of CD133/ CD166 was obvious at the level of cells membranes, with higher coeficients in high grade dysplasia, followed by well and moderate differentiated tumours.Conclusions. CD133/CD166 colocalization is an early event occurring in colon tumorigenesis, with thehighest coeficients recorded for patients with high grade dysplasia, followed by well differentiated tumours. Thus, we consider that the coexpression of these two markers could be useful for further prognostic andtherapeutically stratification of patients with colon cancer.Abbreviations: AJCC - American Joint Committee on Cancer; CCD - charge-coupled device camera sensor; CD133 - prominin-1 (PROM1); CD166 - Activated Leukocyte Cell Adhesion Molecule (ALCAM); CRC - colorectal cancer; CSC - cancer stem cells; DAB - 3,3'-diaminobenzidine chromogen; DAPI - 4',6-diamidino- 2-phenylindole; HE - Hematoxylin and eosin staining; HGD - high grade dysplasia; HRP - horseradish peroxidase; LGD - low grade dysplasia; SDS - sodium dodecyl sulfate*Part of this work has been accepted as a poster presentation at the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) meeting, Chicago, IL, USA May 3-6, 2014

scholarly journals EBF1 is expressed in pericytes and contributes to pericyte cell commitment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Pagani ◽  
Elisa Tratta ◽  
Patrizia Dell’Era ◽  
Manuela Cominelli ◽  
Pietro Luigi Poliani
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Cell Lineage ◽  
Cell Maturation ◽  
Cell Commitment

AbstractEarly B-cell factor-1 (EBF1) is a transcription factor with an important role in cell lineage specification and commitment during the early stage of cell maturation. Originally described during B-cell maturation, EBF1 was subsequently identified as a crucial molecule for proper cell fate commitment of mesenchymal stem cells into adipocytes, osteoblasts and muscle cells. In vessels, EBF1 expression and function have never been documented. Our data indicate that EBF1 is highly expressed in peri-endothelial cells in both tumor vessels and in physiological conditions. Immunohistochemistry, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis suggest that EBF1-expressing peri-endothelial cells represent bona fide pericytes and selectively express well-recognized markers employed in the identification of the pericyte phenotype (SMA, PDGFRβ, CD146, NG2). This observation was also confirmed in vitro in human placenta-derived pericytes and in human brain vascular pericytes (HBVP). Of note, in accord with the key role of EBF1 in the cell lineage commitment of mesenchymal stem cells, EBF1-silenced HBVP cells showed a significant reduction in PDGFRβ and CD146, but not CD90, a marker mostly associated with a prominent mesenchymal phenotype. Moreover, the expression levels of VEGF, angiopoietin-1, NG2 and TGF-β, cytokines produced by pericytes during angiogenesis and linked to their differentiation and activation, were also significantly reduced. Overall, the data suggest a functional role of EBF1 in the cell fate commitment toward the pericyte phenotype.

scholarly journals Stamina-Enhancing Effects of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 096368972110354
Author(s):  
Eun-Jung Yoon ◽  
Hye Rim Seong ◽  
Jangbeen Kyung ◽  
Dajeong Kim ◽  
Sangryong Park ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Tissue Injury ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Adipose Derived Stem Cells ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Serum Triglycerides

Stamina-enhancing effects of human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs) were investigated in young Sprague-Dawley rats. Ten-day-old male rats were transplanted intravenously (IV) or intracerebroventricularly (ICV) with hADSCs (1 × 106 cells/rat), and physical activity was measured by locomotor activity and rota-rod performance at post-natal day (PND) 14, 20, 30, and 40, as well as a forced swimming test at PND 41. hADSCs injection increased the moving time in locomotor activity, the latency in rota-rod performance, and the maximum swimming time. For the improvement of physical activity, ICV transplantation was superior to IV injection. In biochemical analyses, ICV transplantation of hADSCs markedly reduced serum creatine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, alanine transaminase, and muscular lipid peroxidation, the markers for muscular and hepatic injuries, despite the reduction in muscular glycogen and serum triglycerides as energy sources. Notably, hADSCs secreted brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor in vitro, and increased the level of BDNF in the brain and muscles in vivo. The results indicate that hADSCs enhance physical activity including stamina not only by attenuating tissue injury, but also by strengthening the muscles via production of BDNF.

scholarly journals Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis as a Promising Tool to Study Pluripotent Stem Cell Reprogramming

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5988
Author(s):  
Hyun Kyu Kim ◽  
Tae Won Ha ◽  
Man Ryul Lee
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Single Cell ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Human Cell ◽  
Transcriptome Analysis ◽  
Single Cell Analysis ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Single Cell Level ◽  
Cell Analysis ◽  
Cell Level

Cells are the basic units of all organisms and are involved in all vital activities, such as proliferation, differentiation, senescence, and apoptosis. A human body consists of more than 30 trillion cells generated through repeated division and differentiation from a single-cell fertilized egg in a highly organized programmatic fashion. Since the recent formation of the Human Cell Atlas consortium, establishing the Human Cell Atlas at the single-cell level has been an ongoing activity with the goal of understanding the mechanisms underlying diseases and vital cellular activities at the level of the single cell. In particular, transcriptome analysis of embryonic stem cells at the single-cell level is of great importance, as these cells are responsible for determining cell fate. Here, we review single-cell analysis techniques that have been actively used in recent years, introduce the single-cell analysis studies currently in progress in pluripotent stem cells and reprogramming, and forecast future studies.

scholarly journals Nicotinamide promotes pancreatic differentiation through the dual inhibition of CK1 and ROCK kinases in human embryonic stem cells

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yumeng Zhang ◽  
Jiaqi Xu ◽  
Zhili Ren ◽  
Ya Meng ◽  
Weiwei Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Human Embryonic Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Cell Fate Determination ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Pancreatic Cell ◽  
Pancreatic Progenitor ◽  
Pancreatic Progenitors ◽  
Rock Inhibition

Abstract Background Vitamin B3 (nicotinamide) plays important roles in metabolism as well as in SIRT and PARP pathways. It is also recently reported as a novel kinase inhibitor with multiple targets. Nicotinamide promotes pancreatic cell differentiation from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). However, its molecular mechanism is still unclear. In order to understand the molecular mechanism involved in pancreatic cell fate determination, we analyzed the downstream pathways of nicotinamide in the derivation of NKX6.1+ pancreatic progenitors from hESCs. Methods We applied downstream modulators of nicotinamide during the induction from posterior foregut to pancreatic progenitors, including niacin, PARP inhibitor, SIRT inhibitor, CK1 inhibitor and ROCK inhibitor. The impact of those treatments was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR, flow cytometry and immunostaining of pancreatic markers. Furthermore, CK1 isoforms were knocked down to validate CK1 function in the induction of pancreatic progenitors. Finally, RNA-seq was used to demonstrate pancreatic induction on the transcriptomic level. Results First, we demonstrated that nicotinamide promoted pancreatic progenitor differentiation in chemically defined conditions, but it did not act through either niacin-associated metabolism or the inhibition of PARP and SIRT pathways. In contrast, nicotinamide modulated differentiation through CK1 and ROCK inhibition. We demonstrated that CK1 inhibitors promoted the generation of PDX1/NKX6.1 double-positive pancreatic progenitor cells. shRNA knockdown revealed that the inhibition of CK1α and CK1ε promoted pancreatic progenitor differentiation. We then showed that nicotinamide also improved pancreatic progenitor differentiation through ROCK inhibition. Finally, RNA-seq data showed that CK1 and ROCK inhibition led to pancreatic gene expression, similar to nicotinamide treatment. Conclusions In this report, we revealed that nicotinamide promotes generation of pancreatic progenitors from hESCs through CK1 and ROCK inhibition. Furthermore, we discovered the novel role of CK1 in pancreatic cell fate determination.

scholarly journals Histone Acetyltransferases and Stem Cell Identity

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2407
Author(s):  
Ruicen He ◽  
Arthur Dantas ◽  
Karl Riabowol
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Epigenetic Modification ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Histone Acetyltransferases ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
Cell Fates ◽  
Cell Identity ◽  
Hematopoietic Stem

Acetylation of histones is a key epigenetic modification involved in transcriptional regulation. The addition of acetyl groups to histone tails generally reduces histone-DNA interactions in the nucleosome leading to increased accessibility for transcription factors and core transcriptional machinery to bind their target sequences. There are approximately 30 histone acetyltransferases and their corresponding complexes, each of which affect the expression of a subset of genes. Because cell identity is determined by gene expression profile, it is unsurprising that the HATs responsible for inducing expression of these genes play a crucial role in determining cell fate. Here, we explore the role of HATs in the maintenance and differentiation of various stem cell types. Several HAT complexes have been characterized to play an important role in activating genes that allow stem cells to self-renew. Knockdown or loss of their activity leads to reduced expression and or differentiation while particular HATs drive differentiation towards specific cell fates. In this study we review functions of the HAT complexes active in pluripotent stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells, muscle satellite cells, mesenchymal stem cells, neural stem cells, and cancer stem cells.

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