scholarly journals Immobilization of fish chromatophores for use as a micro-biosensor for biological toxins

2003 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 605-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ljiljana Mojovic ◽  
Goran Jovanovic

Chromatophores isolated from the Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens represent a class of living cells that provide a vivid color response to microbial pathogens and environmental toxins. The selection of the most appropriate microcarrier and the development of the optimal technique for the chromatophore immobilization in order to enable directed transport of the sensor cells throughout microchannels of the biosensor, as well to preserve the cell survival and its functionality was studied. Microcarriers derived from glass, polystyrene and gelatin (collagen) were tested as substrates for chromatophore attachement. Gelatin microcarriers were found to be the most suitable, due to high attachment efficiency (95% of attached cells), preservation of the cell viability and enhanced cell sensitivity. The optimum conditions for fish cell immobilization on collagen microcarriers were determined based on the cell-to-microcarrier bead ratio and the pH of the solution. The rate of cell attachment to the gelatin microcarrier followed first-order kinetics. Pretreatment of the gelatin beads with fibronectin, known as a cell attachment-promoting agent, resulted in a 10% higher attachment rate constant (k).

Author(s):  
W. Shain ◽  
H. Ancin ◽  
H.C. Craighead ◽  
M. Isaacson ◽  
L. Kam ◽  
...  

Neural protheses have potential to restore nervous system functions lost by trauma or disease. Nanofabrication extends this approach to implants for stimulating and recording from single or small groups of neurons in the spinal cord and brain; however, tissue compatibility is a major limitation to their practical application. We are using a cell culture method for quantitatively measuring cell attachment to surfaces designed for nanofabricated neural prostheses.Silicon wafer test surfaces composed of 50-μm bars separated by aliphatic regions were fabricated using methods similar to a procedure described by Kleinfeld et al. Test surfaces contained either a single or double positive charge/residue. Cyanine dyes (diIC18(3)) stained the background and cell membranes (Fig 1); however, identification of individual cells at higher densities was difficult (Fig 2). Nuclear staining with acriflavine allowed discrimination of individual cells and permitted automated counting of nuclei using 3-D data sets from the confocal microscope (Fig 3). For cell attachment assays, LRM5 5 astroglial cells and astrocytes in primary cell culture were plated at increasing cell densities on test substrates, incubated for 24 hr, fixed, stained, mounted on coverslips, and imaged with a 10x objective.


Author(s):  
YuE Kravchenko ◽  
SV Ivanov ◽  
DS Kravchenko ◽  
EI Frolova ◽  
SP Chumakov

Selection of antibodies using phage display involves the preliminary cloning of the repertoire of sequences encoding antigen-binding domains into phagemid, which is considered the bottleneck of the method, limiting the resulting diversity of libraries and leading to the loss of poorly represented variants before the start of the selection procedure. Selection in cell-free conditions using a ribosomal display is devoid from this drawback, however is highly sensitive to PCR artifacts and the RNase contamination. The aim of the study was to test the efficiency of a combination of both methods, including pre-selection in a cell-free system to enrich the source library, followed by cloning and final selection using phage display. This approach may eliminate the shortcomings of each method and increase the efficiency of selection. For selection, alpaca VHH antibody sequences suitable for building an immune library were used due to the lack of VL domains. Analysis of immune libraries from the genes of the VH3, VHH3 and VH4 families showed that the VHH antibodies share in the VH3 and VH4 gene groups is insignificant, and selection from the combined library is less effective than from the VHH3 family of sequences. We found that the combination of ribosomal and phage displays leads to a higher enrichment of high-affinity fragments and avoids the loss of the original diversity during cloning. The combined method allowed us to obtain a greater number of different high-affinity sequences, and all the tested VHH fragments were able to specifically recognize the target, including the total protein extracts of cell cultures.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088391152199784
Author(s):  
Nipun Jain ◽  
Shashi Singh

Development of an artificial tissue by tissue engineering is witnessed to be one of the long lasting clarified solutions for the damaged tissue function restoration. To accomplish this, a scaffold is designed as a cell carrier in which the extracellular matrix (ECM) performs a prominent task of controlling the inoculated cell’s destiny. ECM composition, topography and mechanical properties lead to different types of interactions between cells and ECM components that trigger an assortment of cellular reactions via diverse sensing mechanisms and downstream signaling pathways. The polysaccharides in the form of proteoglycans and glycoproteins yield better outcomes when included in the designed matrices. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains present on proteoglycans show a wide range of operations such as sequestering of critical effector morphogens which encourage proficient nutrient contribution toward the growing stem cells for their development and endurance. In this review we discuss how the glycosylation aspects are of considerable importance in everyday housekeeping functions of a cell especially when placed in a controlled environment under ideal growth conditions. Hydrogels made from these GAG chains have been used extensively as a resorbable material that mimics the natural ECM functions for an efficient control over cell attachment, permeability, viability, proliferation, and differentiation processes. Also the incorporation of non-mammalian polysaccharides can elicit specific receptor responses which authorize the creation of numerous vigorous frameworks while prolonging the low cost and immunogenicity of the substance.


In Vitro ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 389-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Wharton ◽  
R. D. Ellender ◽  
B. L. Middlebrooks ◽  
P. K. Stocks ◽  
Adrian R. Lawler ◽  
...  

Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 113 (19) ◽  
pp. 4711-4719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle J. Eash ◽  
Jacquelyn M. Means ◽  
Douglas W. White ◽  
Daniel C. Link

Abstract The number of neutrophils in the blood is tightly regulated to ensure adequate protection against microbial pathogens while minimizing damage to host tissue. Neutrophil homeostasis in the blood is achieved through a balance of neutrophil production, release from the bone marrow, and clearance from the circulation. Accumulating evidence suggests that signaling by CXCL12, through its major receptor CXCR4, plays a key role in maintaining neutrophil homeostasis. Herein, we generated mice with a myeloid lineage–restricted deletion of CXCR4 to define the mechanisms by which CXCR4 signals regulate this process. We show that CXCR4 negatively regulates neutrophil release from the bone marrow in a cell-autonomous fashion. However, CXCR4 is dispensable for neutrophil clearance from the circulation. Neutrophil mobilization responses to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), CXCL2, or Listeria monocytogenes infection are absent or impaired, suggesting that disruption of CXCR4 signaling may be a common step mediating neutrophil release. Collectively, these data suggest that CXCR4 signaling maintains neutrophil homeostasis in the blood under both basal and stress granulopoiesis conditions primarily by regulating neutrophil release from the bone marrow.


1995 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 473-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
U Nörenberg ◽  
M Hubert ◽  
T Brümmendorf ◽  
A Tárnok ◽  
F G Rathjen

The extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin-R (TN-R) is a multidomain protein implicated in neural cell adhesion. To analyze the structure-function relationship of the different domains of TN-R, several recombinant TN-R fragments were expressed in bacterial cells. Two distinct binding regions were localized on the TN-R polypeptide: a region binding the axon-associated immunoglobulin (Ig)-like F11 protein and a cell attachment site. The binding region of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored F11 was allocated to the second and third fibronectin type III (FNIII)-like domain within TN-R. By using a mutant polypeptide of F11 containing only Ig-like domains, a direct interaction between the Ig-like domains of F11 and FNIII-like domains 2-3 of TN-R was demonstrated. The interaction of TN-R with F11 in in vitro cultures enhanced F11-mediated neurite outgrowth, suggesting that the combined action of F11 and TN-R might be of regulatory influence on axon extension. A cell attachment region was identified in the FNIII-like domain eight of TN-R by domain-specific antibodies and fusion constructs. This site is distinct from the F11 binding site within TN-R.


2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 279-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birthe Fahrenkrog

The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is the sole gateway between the nucleus and the cytoplasm of interphase eukaryotic cells, and it mediates all trafficking between these 2 cellular compartments. As such, the NPC and nuclear transport play central roles in translocating death signals from the cell membrane to the nucleus where they initiate biochemical and morphological changes occurring during apoptosis. Recent findings suggest that the correlation between the NPC, nuclear transport, and apoptosis goes beyond the simple fact that NPCs mediate nuclear transport of key players involved in the cell death program. In this context, the accessibility of key regulators of apoptosis appears to be highly modulated by nuclear transport (e.g., impaired nuclear import might be an apoptotic trigger). In this review, recent findings concerning the unexpected tight link between NPCs, nuclear transport, and apoptosis will be presented and critically discussed.


Vaccines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Dubois ◽  
Andrés Pizzorno ◽  
Marie-Hélène Cavanagh ◽  
Blandine Padey ◽  
Claire Nicolas de Lamballerie ◽  
...  

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a major pediatric respiratory pathogen with currently no specific treatment or licensed vaccine. Different strategies to prevent this infection have been evaluated, including live-attenuated vaccines (LAV) based on SH and/or G protein deletions. This approach showed promising outcomes but has not been evaluated further using different viral strains. In that regard, we previously showed that different HMPV strains harbor distinct in vitro fusogenic and in vivo pathogenic phenotypes, possibly influencing the selection of vaccine strains. In this study, we investigated the putative contribution of the low conserved SH or G accessory proteins in such strain-dependent phenotypes and generated recombinant wild type (WT) and SH- or G-deleted viruses derived from two different patient-derived HMPV strains, A1/C-85473 and B2/CAN98-75. The ΔSH and ΔG deletions led to different strain-specific phenotypes in both LLC-MK2 cell and reconstituted human airway epithelium models. More interestingly, the ΔG-85473 and especially ΔSH-C-85473 recombinant viruses conferred significant protection against HMPV challenge and induced immunogenicity against a heterologous strain. In conclusion, our results show that the viral genetic backbone should be considered in the design of live-attenuated HMPV vaccines, and that a SH-deleted virus based on the A1/C-85473 HMPV strain could be a promising LAV candidate as it is both attenuated and protective in mice while being efficiently produced in a cell-based system.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiqiao Wang ◽  
Haohao Wu ◽  
Paula Fontanet ◽  
Simone Codeluppi ◽  
Natalia Akkuratova ◽  
...  

Abstract Developmental cell death plays an important role in the construction of functional neural circuits. In vertebrates, the canonical view proposes a selection of the surviving neurons through stochastic competition for target-derived neurotrophic signals, implying an equal potential for neurons to compete. Here we show an alternative cell fitness selection of neurons that is defined by a specific neuronal heterogeneity code. Proprioceptive sensory neurons that will undergo cell death and those that will survive exhibit different molecular signatures that are regulated by retinoic acid and transcription factors, and are independent of the target and neurotrophins. These molecular features are genetically encoded, representing two distinct subgroups of neurons with contrasted functional maturation states and survival outcome. Thus, in this model, a heterogeneous code of intrinsic cell fitness in neighboring neurons provides differential competitive advantage resulting in the selection of cells with higher capacity to survive and functionally integrate into neural networks.


1983 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
PJM Van Haaster ◽  
PR Van Der Heijden

Extracellular cAMP induces chemotaxis and cell aggregation in dictyostelium discoideum cells. cAMP added to a cell suspension is rapidly hydrolyzed (half-life of 10 s) and induces a rapid increase of intracellular cGMP levels, which reach a peak at 10 s and recover prestimulated levels at about 30 s. This recovery is not due to removal of the stimulus because the nonhydrolyzable analogue adenosine 3',5'-monophosphorothioate-Sp- stereoisomer (cAMPS) induced a comparable cGMP response, which peaked at 10 s, even at subsaturating cAMPS concentrations. When cells were stimulated twice with the same cAMP concentration at a 30-s interval, only the first stimulus produced a cGMP response. Cells did respond to the second stimulus when the concentration of the second stimulus was higher than that of the first stimulus. By increasing the interval between two identical stimuli, the response to the second stimulus gradually increased. Recovery from the first stimulus showed first-order kinetics with a half-life of 1-2 min. The stimulation period was shortened by adding phosphodieterase to the cell suspension. The cGMP response was unaltered if the half-life of cAMP was reduced to 2 S. The peak of the transient cGMP accumulation still appeared at 10 s even when the half- life of cAMP was 0.4 s; however, the height of the cGMP peak was reduced. The cGMP response at 10 s after stimulation was diminished by 50 percent when the half-life of 10(-7) M cAMP was 0.5 s or when the half-life of 10(-8) M cAMP was 3.0 s. These results show that the cAMP signal is transduced to two opposing processes: excitation and adaptation. Within 10 s after addition of cAMP to a cell suspension the level of adaptation reaches the level of excitation, which causes the extinction of the transduction of the signal. Deadaptation starts as soon as the signal is removed, and it has first-order kinetics with a half-life of 1-2 min.


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