| 1. |
- Aldskogius, Håkan, et al.
(författare)
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Microglia and Neuropathic Pain
- 2013
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Ingår i: CNS & Neurological Disorders. - : Wiley. - 1871-5273 .- 1996-3181. ; 12:6, s. 768-772
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neuropathic pain is a serious consequence of injury or disease in the nervous system itself. Current treatment options for this condition are often unsatisfactory. From being originally viewed as a diseased caused by neuronal dysfunction, a growing body of evidence implicate activated microglia as a key player in the development of this pain condition. In this review, some of the evidence for this proposal is briefly discussed and placed in a translational context, pointing out the difficulties in translating commonly used animal models of neuropathic pain to the clinical condition, as well as emphasizing the broader role of activated microglia in the injured or diseased nervous system.
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| 2. |
- Garcia-Bennett, Alfonso E., et al.
(författare)
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Delivery of Differentiation Factors by Mesoporous Silica Particles Assists Advanced Differentiation of Transplanted Murine Embryonic Stem Cells
- 2013
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Ingår i: Stem Cells Translational Medicine. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2157-6564 .- 2157-6580. ; 2:11, s. 906-915
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Stem cell transplantation holds great hope for the replacement of damaged cells in the nervous system. However, poor long-term survival after transplantation and insufficiently robust differentiation of stem cells into specialized cell types in vivo remain major obstacles for clinical application. Here, we report the development of a novel technological approach for the local delivery of exogenous trophic factor mimetics to transplanted cells using specifically designed silica nanoporous particles. We demonstrated that delivering Cintrofin and Gliafin, established peptide mimetics of the ciliary neurotrophic factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, respectively, with these particles enabled not only robust functional differentiation of motor neurons from transplanted embryonic stem cells but also their long-term survival in vivo. We propose that the delivery of growth factors by mesoporous nanoparticles is a potentially versatile and widely applicable strategy for efficient differentiation and functional integration of stem cell derivatives upon transplantation.
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| 3. |
- Garcia-Bennett, Alfonso E., et al.
(författare)
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In vitro generation of motor neuron precursors from mouse embryonic stem cells using mesoporous nanoparticles
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nanomedicine. - 1743-5889 .- 1748-6963. ; 9:16, s. 2457-2466
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: Stem cell-derived motor neurons (MNs) are utilized to develop replacement strategies for spinal cord disorders. Differentiation of embryonic stem cells into MN precursors involves factors and their repeated administration. We investigated if delivery of factors loaded into mesoporous nanoparticles could be effective for stem cell differentiation in vitro. Materials & methods: We used a mouse embryonic stem cell line expressing green fluorescent protein under the promoter for the MN-specific gene Hb9 to visualize the level of MN differentiation. The differentiation of stem cells was evaluated by expression of MN-specific transcription factors monitored by quantitative real-time PCR reactions and immunocytochemistry. Results: Mesoporous nanoparticles have strong affiliation to the embryoid bodies, penetrate inside the embryoid bodies and come in contact with differentiating cells. Conclusion: Repeated administration of soluble factors into a culture medium can be avoided due to a sustained release effect using mesoporous silica.
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| 4. |
- Grouwels, G., et al.
(författare)
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Differentiating neural crest stem cells induce proliferation of cultured rodent islet beta cells
- 2012
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Ingår i: Diabetologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0012-186X .- 1432-0428. ; 55:7, s. 2016-2025
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims/hypothesisEfficient stimulation of cycling activity in cultured beta cells would allow the design of new strategies for cell therapy in diabetes. Neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) play a role in beta cell development and maturation and increase the beta cell number in co-transplants. The mechanism behind NCSC-induced beta cell proliferation and the functional capacity of the new beta cells is not known.MethodsWe developed a new in vitro co-culture system that enables the dissection of the elements that control the cellular interactions that lead to NCSC-dependent increase in islet beta cells.ResultsMouse NCSCs were cultured in vitro, first in medium that stimulated their proliferation, then under conditions that supported their differentiation. When mouse islet cells were cultured together with the NCSCs, more than 35% of the beta cells showed cycle activity. This labelling index is more than tenfold higher than control islets cultured without NCSCs. Beta cells that proliferated under these culture conditions were fully glucose responsive in terms of insulin secretion. NCSCs also induced beta cell proliferation in islets isolated from 1-year-old mice, but not in dissociated islet cells isolated from human donor pancreas tissue. To stimulate beta cell proliferation, NCSCs need to be in intimate contact with the beta cells.Conclusions/interpretationCulture of islet cells in contact with NCSCs induces highly efficient beta cell proliferation. The reported culture system is an excellent platform for further dissection of the minimal set of factors needed to drive this process and explore its potential for translation to diabetes therapy.
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| 5. |
- Kanaykina, Nadya, et al.
(författare)
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In vitro and in vivo effects on neural crest stem celldifferentiation by conditional activation of Runx1 short isoform and its effecton neuropathic pain behavior
- 2010
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Ingår i: Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences. - : Uppsala Medical Society. - 0300-9734 .- 2000-1967. ; 115:1, s. 56-64
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Runx1, a Runt domain transcription factor, controls thedifferentiation of nociceptors that express the neurotrophin receptor Ret,regulates the expression of many ion channels and receptors, and controls thelamina-specific innervation pattern of nociceptive afferents in the spinal cord. Moreover, mice lacking Runx1 exhibit specific defects in thermal and neuropathic pain. We investigated whether conditional activation of Runx1 short isoform(Runx1a), which lacks a transcription activation domain, influencesdifferentiation of neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) in vitro and in vivo duringdevelopment and whether postnatal Runx1a activation affects the sensitivity toneuropathic pain. METHODS: We activated ectopic expression of Runx1a in cultured NCSCs using the Tet-ON gene regulatory system during the formation ofneurospheres and analyzed the proportion of neurons and glial cells originatingfrom NCSCs. In in vivo experiments we applied doxycycline (DOX) to pregnant mice (days 8-11), i.e. when NCSCs actively migrate, and examined the phenotype ofoffsprings. We also examined whether DOX-induced activation of Runx1a in adultmice affects their sensitivity to mechanical stimulation following a constrictioninjury of the sciatic nerve. RESULTS: Ectopic Runx1a expression in cultured NCSCsresulted in predominantly glial differentiation. Offsprings in which Runx1a hadbeen activated showed retarded growth and displayed megacolon, pigment defects,and dystrophic dorsal root ganglia. In the neuropathic pain model, the threshold for mechanical sensitivity was markedly increased following activation of Runx1a.CONCLUSION: These data suggest that Runx1a has a specific role in NCSCdevelopment and that modulation of Runx1a activity may reduce mechanicalhypersensitivity associated with neuropathic pain.
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| 6. |
- König, Niclas, et al.
(författare)
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Forced Runx1 expression in human neural stem/progenitor cells transplanted to the rat dorsal root ganglion cavity results in extensive axonal growth specifically from spinal cord-derived neurospheres
- 2011
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Ingår i: Stem Cells and Development. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc. - 1547-3287 .- 1557-8534. ; 20:11, s. 1847-1857
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cell replacement therapy holds great promise for treating a wide range of human disorders. However, ensuring the predictable differentiation of transplanted stem cells, eliminating their risk of tumor formation, and generating fully functional cells after transplantation remain major challenges in regenerative medicine. Here, we explore the potential of human neural stem/progenitor cells isolated from the embryonic forebrain (hfNSPCs) or the spinal cord (hscNSPCs) to differentiate to projection neurons when transplanted into the dorsal root ganglion cavity of adult recipient rats. To stimulate axonal growth, we transfected hfNSPC- and hscNSPC-derived neurospheres, prior to their transplantation, with a Tet-Off Runx1-overexpressing plasmid to maintain Runx1 expression in vivo after transplantation. Although pronounced cell differentiation was found in the Runx1-expressing transplants from both cell sources, we observed extensive, long-distance growth of axons exclusively from hscNSPC-derived transplants. These axons ultimately reached the dorsal root transitional zone, the boundary separating peripheral and central nervous systems. Our data show that hscNSPCs have the potential to differentiate to projection neurons with long-distance axonal outgrowth and that Runx1 overexpression is a useful approach to induce such outgrowth in specific sources of NSPCs.
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| 7. |
- Ngamjariyawat, Anongnad, et al.
(författare)
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Co-Culture of Neural Crest Stem Cells (NCSC) and Insulin Producing Beta-TC6 Cells Results in Cadherin Junctions and Protection against Cytokine-Induced Beta-Cell Death
- 2013
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 8:4, s. e61828-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: Transplantation of pancreatic islets to Type 1 diabetes patients is hampered by inflammatory reactions at the transplantation site leading to dysfunction and death of insulin producing beta-cells. Recently we have shown that co-transplantation of neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) together with the islet cells improves transplantation outcome. The aim of the present investigation was to describe in vitro interactions between NCSCs and insulin producing beta-TC6 cells that may mediate protection against cytokine-induced beta-cell death.PROCEDURES: Beta-TC6 and NCSC cells were cultured either alone or together, and either with or without cell culture inserts. The cultures were then exposed to the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IFN-γ for 48 hours followed by analysis of cell death rates (flow cytometry), nitrite production (Griess reagent), protein localization (immunofluorescence) and protein phosphorylation (flow cytometry).RESULTS: We observed that beta-TC6 cells co-cultured with NCSCs were protected against cytokine-induced cell death, but not when separated by cell culture inserts. This occurred in parallel with (i) augmented production of nitrite from beta-TC6 cells, indicating that increased cell survival allows a sustained production of nitric oxide; (ii) NCSC-derived laminin production; (iii) decreased phospho-FAK staining in beta-TC6 cell focal adhesions, and (iv) decreased beta-TC6 cell phosphorylation of ERK(T202/Y204), FAK(Y397) and FAK(Y576). Furthermore, co-culture also resulted in cadherin and beta-catenin accumulations at the NCSC/beta-TC6 cell junctions. Finally, the gap junction inhibitor carbenoxolone did not affect cytokine-induced beta-cell death during co-culture with NCSCs.CONCLUSION: In summary, direct contacts, but not soluble factors, promote improved beta-TC6 viability when co-cultured with NCSCs. We hypothesize that cadherin junctions between NCSC and beta-TC6 cells promote powerful signals that maintain beta-cell survival even though ERK and FAK signaling are suppressed. It may be that future strategies to improve islet transplantation outcome may benefit from attempts to increase beta-cell cadherin junctions to neighboring cells.
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