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- Teigland, Robin, et al.
(author)
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Investigating the Uppsala Biotech Cluster : Baseline Results from the 2004 Uppsala Biotech Cluster Survey
- 2004
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Just 65 kilometers to the north of Stockholm, Sweden, the Uppsala region has beenincreasingly receiving worldwide recognition during the past five years as a strongand dynamic cluster in the field of biotechnology. In 2003, Vinnova and theVinnväxt Program awarded Uppsala BIO – the Life Science Initiative a package offinancial support for a period of ten years to further support the region’sdevelopment and competitiveness. Uppsala BIO contracted CIND to facilitate inthis process, and one of CIND’s first activities was to conduct the 2004 UppsalaBiotech Cluster Survey. This survey was designed to gain an understanding of thecurrent “state of affairs” in the Uppsala biotech cluster, and selected survey resultsare presented in this report.
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| 3. |
- Lindqvist, Anders
(author)
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Phenotypic modulation of vascular smooth muscle in organ culture
- 2001
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Contraction of blood vessels for the regulation of blood flow and pressure is dependent on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) located in the medial layer of the vascular wall. Adult, differentiated VSMC have a well developed contractile system and a low rate of proliferation. Under the influence of hormones, growth factors, inflammatory mediators and tissue factors, cells may modulate to a ”synthetic” phenotype, characterized by diminished contractility, a high rate of proliferation, and a tendency to migrate out of the organized tissue. Such cells are believed to form the ”neointima”, a thickening of the innermost layer of the wall characteristic of responses to endothelial injury, and important for the development of atherosclerotic lesions and of restenosis following vascular surgery. To study conditions of importance for maintaining the vessel wall in its contractile state, it is desirable to develop methods to keep blood vessels in organ culture, whereby tissue factors are preserved and experimental conditions can be well controlled. The aim of this thesis work was to study contractile and metabolic properties as well as biochemical composition and receptor expression in an arterial preparation (rat tail artery) kept in organ culture. After 4 days of culture arterial rings the morphology of the tissue was well preserved, but signs of phenotypic modulation were observed, particularly in the areas adjacent to the cut ends of the rings, where PDGF receptors appeared and the differentiation marker calponin was decreased. Culture with fetal calf serum (FCS) as growth promotor caused decreased contractility and ultrastructural signs of tissue damage. Detailed examination of this phenomenon disclosed that it is mainly caused by increased intracellular [Ca 2+ ]i , stimulated by vasoconstrictors present in FCS. Tight control of intracellular [Ca 2+ ]i is thus essential for tissue preservation. Cultured rings showed increased rate of lactate production but decreased O2 consumption, such that ATP production rate was the same as in fresh rings. Culture under hypoxia, however, caused reduced ATP production, suggesting decreased rate of energy consuming processes, such as protein turnover. Cultured rings maintained tension in hypoxic solution, in contrast to fresh rings. Reasons for this might be the increased reliance on glycolysis, and also an altered pattern of intracellular Ca 2+ waves, as revealed by laser scanning confocal microscopy. These results show that organ culture of vascular smooth muscle is useful for studying early events during phenotypic modulation in response to a variety of stimuli.
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| 5. |
- Lindqvist, Niclas
(author)
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Neurotrophic Factor Receptors in the Normal and Injured Visual System : Focus on Retinal Ganglion Cells
- 2003
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The focus of this thesis is the life and death of adult retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). RGCs are neurons that convey visual information from the retina to higher centers in the brain. If the optic nerve is transected (ONT), adult RGCs die by a form of cell death called apoptosis, and a general hypothesis is that neurotrophic factors can support the survival of injured neurons.With the intention to gain knowledge about systems that can be used to decrease RGC death after ONT, we have studied growth factor receptors belonging to the tyrosine kinase family of receptors (RTK), known to mediate important cell survival signals. We found that the RTK Ret and its coreceptor GFRα1 were expressed by RGCs, and to test the above-mentioned hypothesis, we intraocularly administered glial cell-line derived factor, which activates a Ret-GFRα1 complex, and found transiently mediated RGC survival after ONT.To identify new, potential neurotrophic factor receptors expressed by RGCs, with the aim to improve RGC survival after ONT, we developed a method for the molecular analysis of acutely isolated RGCs. The method involves retrograde neuronal tracing, mechanical retinal layer-separation, and isolation of individual RGCs under UV-light for RT-PCR analysis. Using this method, in combination with degenerate PCR directed towards the tyrosine kinase domain, several RTKs were identified. Axl, Sky, VEGFR-2, VEGFR-3, CSF-1R, and PDGF-βR are expressed by adult RGCs, and considered to be receptors with potential neurotrophic activity. Other results have shown that RGCs may require depolarization or increase in intracellular cAMP levels in order to fully respond to exogenously added trophic factors. We found that melanocortin receptors (MCRs) were expressed by RGCs, and MCRs can mediate elevation of intracellular AMP. We observed that α-MSH induced neurite outgrowth from embryonic retinal cells, indicating that MCR ligands have direct effects on retinal cells. RTKs and their ligands may be involved in endogenous systems for neuronal repair within the visual system. BDNF, NT-3, FGF2, and HGFR all increased in the retina after ONT and may be a part of an activated system for neuronal repair locally within the retina.Adult axotomized RGCs die by apoptosis, therefore we examined the regulation of apoptotic genes after ONT. Bim and Bax increased in the retina after ONT, and may promote death of axotomized RGCs, whereas the increase in Bcl-2 may contribute to limit RGC apoptosis after ONT.All in all, this thesis provides insights into the expression and regulation of molecules involved in the death and survival of RGCs. The results have revealed a number of potential neurotrophic receptors expressed by RGCs, and both identified RTKs and MCRs will serve as new targets in therapeutic approaches aiming at counteraction of RGC death after injury.
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| 6. |
- Lindqvist, Ulla, et al.
(author)
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[11C]Hyaluronan uptake with positron emission tomography in liver disease
- 2000
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In: European Journal of Clinical Investigation. - : Wiley. - 0014-2972 .- 1365-2362. ; 30:7, s. 600-607
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- BackgroundA hyaluronan-loading test has been developed for assessment of hyaluronan kinetics and applied in patients with liver and joint diseases. This test describes the metabolic process of hyaluronan but cannot define the specific contribution of different organs. A method for labelling of hyaluronan with the short-lived positron-emitting radionuclide 11C has been published and in this study applied in healthy subjects and liver diseases.Materials and methodsPositron emission tomography (PET) was used for the regional assessment and quantification of [11C]hyaluronan uptake in three healthy subjects, four patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis, one with alcoholic hepatitis and one with liver steatosis. After intravenous administration of 60 MBq of 11C-labelled hyaluronan, a 55-min PET scan was performed over the liver and plasma radioactivity was analysed. Rate constants describing the transport of the [11C]hyaluronan tracer from plasma to the liver were calculated.ResultsHigh uptake was observed in the liver combined with a rapid elimination of tracer from plasma. The liver uptake rate (k1) was significantly lower in patients (0.018 min−1) than in healthy subjects (0.043 min−1, P = 0.002). The rate constants seem to be related to the severity of the disease as defined by the Child–Pugh score.ConclusionsThe study suggests that PET with [11C]hyaluronan could be an accurate method by which to assess liver dysfunction, in conditions where endothelial cell function is impaired. The possibility of quantification over extended portions of the body also opens up possibilities to explore regional differences in liver function and to assess other elimination routes of hyaluronan.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Samuelsson, Bo, 1942, et al.
(author)
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From Here to Sustainability – Is the Lisbon/Göteborg agenda delivering?
- 2004
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Executive Summary The European Councils held in Lisbon (2000) and in Göteborg (2001) gave the Union a new direction by establishing a long term strategy with sustainable development as the overarching objective. Sustainable development means, in this context, goals for economic, social and environmental policy, which are both mutually consistent and capable of delivering enhanced economic growth. To assure progress towards an agreed range of targets, the open method of coordination (OMC) has been adopted as the process for the implementation of the strategy. The strategy for sustainable development is a long-term one and, although the deadline originally set for the Lisbon agenda was 2010, it is clear that sustainable development has a much longer time-horizon and also that there is a global dimension to sustainable development, not just an EU one. In the run up to the mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy, this report by the European Panel for Sustainable Development, EPSD, offers an assessment of the EU approach to sustainable development. The report is based on official documents, research reports and background reports prepared by researchers from different disciplines. It concentrates on the EU-15 Member States, because the ten new members that acceded to the EU in May 2004 have not (yet!) been subject to the same commitments in relation to sustainable development. However, in future work by the EPSD, it is anticipated that the coverage will be extended to embrace all 25 Member States. The report starts with a discussion on the political process, followed by an examination of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of the strategy, of the potential of new technologies, and of the results delivered by the Member States. The final chapters include discussions on impact assessment and the global dimension of sustainable development. The focus of the report is on: − The integration of the three dimensions of sustai nable development and the policies that affect them into one coherent strategy − The implementation of the strategy through the open method of co-ordination The main messages of the report are that it is vital to: • Maintain the original commitment to sustainable development as the overarching objective of the Lisbon strategy and improve the co-ordination between the three pillars of the strategy: the economic, social and environmental dimensions [...]
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