Rapid establishment of the European Bank for induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC):The Hot Start experience

A fast track “Hot Start” process was implemented to launch the European Bank for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC) to provide early release of a range of established control and disease linked human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines. Established practice amongst consortium members was surveyed to arrive at harmonised and publically accessible Standard Operations Procedures (SOPs) for tissue procurement, bio-sample tracking, iPSC expansion, cryopreservation, qualification and distribution to the research community. These were implemented to create a quality managed foundational collection of lines and associated data made available for distribution. Here we report on the successful outcome of this experience and work flow for banking and facilitating access to an otherwise disparate European resource, with lessons to benefit the international research community. eTOC: The report focuses on the EBiSC experience of rapidly establishing an operational capacity to procure, bank and distribute a foundational collection of established hiPSC lines. It validates the feasibility and defines the challenges of harnessing and integrating the capability and productivity of centres across Europe using commonly available resources currently in the field

Hot Start to European Pluripotent Stem Cell Banking

En los regímenes democráticos, los partidos políticos son imprescindibles para la relación entre los ciudadanos y las decisiones colectivas. Las teorías más influyentes sobre los partidos han restado importancia a su función mediadora en América Latina, al caracterizarlos como clientelistas, personalistas y/o no programáticos. Sin embargo, en los últimos años varios trabajos han mostrado que aún en la región los partidos políticos son capaces de proveer a la ciudadanía, con matices, vínculos programáticos y hasta congruencia ideológica. Teniendo en cuenta que las plataformas electorales son una dimensión importante de las definiciones programáticas de los partidos, el artículo analiza las plataformas electorales de los partidos más relevantes para las elecciones presidenciales en Argentina entre 1983 y 2011, utilizando la metodología provista por el Comparative Manifestos Project para analizar su contenido temático a través del tiempo.In democratic regimes, political parties are the main linkages between citizens and public decisions. It is traditionally considered that in Latin America these linkages are inchoate due to the absence of ideological nor programmatic political parties. Nonetheless, it has been recently stated that many Latin American parties are able to provide this kind of mediation, and even ideological coherence. Taking into account that platforms constitute an important dimension of parties’ programmatic definitions, this article analyses election programs as a relevant party information source for the case of Argentina. For the period between the transition to democracy (occurred in 1983) and 2011, it presents empirical findings employing the coding and analysis technique used by the Comparative Manifestos Project

D5.3 - Market analysis report

The deliverable describes the status of the market as of December 2020 for the audio-visual immersive products, with an emphasis in social VR platforms and related technologies. In addition, it provides a set of recommendations based on the market and customer research aiming to provide insightful and meaningful data towards the elaboration of an improved exploitation plan of the project results.The information, documentation and figures available in this deliverable, is written by the VRTogether – project consortium under EC grant agreement H2020-ICT-2016-2 762111 and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. The European Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained herein

CXCL5 as Regulator of Neutrophil Function in Cutaneous Melanoma

Chemokines mold the tumor microenvironment by recruiting distinct immune cell populations, thereby strongly influencing disease progression. Previously, we showed that CXCL5 expression is upregulated in advanced stages of primary melanomas, which correlates with the presence of neutrophils in the tumor. The analysis of neutrophil populations in various tissues revealed a distinct phenotype of tumor-associated neutrophils. Tumor-associated neutrophils expressed PD-L1, CXCR4, CCR5, Adam17, and Nos2 and were immunosuppressive in a T-cell proliferation assay. To investigate the impact of CXCL5 and neutrophils in vivo, we established a syngeneic mouse tumor transplantation model using CXCL5-overexpressing and control melanoma cell lines. Growth behavior or vascularization of primary tumors was not affected by CXCL5 expression and neutrophils alone. However, in combination with Poly(I:C), tumor-associated neutrophils were able to attenuate induced antitumoral T-cell responses. CXCL5-overexpressing tumors had reduced lung metastasis compared with control tumors. Neutrophil depletion reversed this effect. In vitro, unstimulated lung-derived neutrophils had higher levels of reactive oxygen species compared with tumor-associated neutrophils, and CXCL5 stimulation further increased reactive oxygen species levels. In summary, in melanoma, neutrophils play a context-dependent role that is influenced by local or systemic factors, and interfere with therapies activating the acquired immune system. Actively switching neutrophils into antitumorigenic mode might be a new therapeutic strategy.We thank Astrid Fabry, Tamara Prusa, Rita Böhs, Lea Gstöttner of the animal care facility; Bärbel Reininger, Monika Weiss, Ingrid Fae, Claudia Kokesch, Karin Neumüller for technical assistance and the imaging and flow cytometer core facility for their support. Liisa Andersen and Wilfried Ellmeier were supported by FWF grant P29790.S