Alien Registration- Aube, Marie Alice E. (Auburn, Androscoggin County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/31166/thumbnail.jp

Cellular heterogeneity in the mouse esophagus implicates the presence of a nonquiescent epithelial stem cell population

Because the esophageal epithelium lacks a defined stem cell niche, it is unclear whether all basal epithelial cells in the adult esophagus are functionally equivalent. In this study, we showed that basal cells in the mouse esophagus contained a heterogeneous population of epithelial cells, similar to other rapidly cycling tissues such as the intestine or skin. Using a combination of cell-surface markers, we separated primary esophageal tissue into distinct cell populations that harbored differences in stem cell potential. We also used an in vitro 3D organoid assay to demonstrate that Sox2, Wnt, and bone morphogenetic protein signaling regulate esophageal self-renewal. Finally, we labeled proliferating basal epithelial cells in vivo to show differing cell-cycle profiles and proliferation kinetics. Based on our results, we propose that a nonquiescent stem cell population resides in the basal epithelium of the mouse esophagus

Distinct human stem cell populations in small and large intestine

The intestine is composed of an epithelial layer containing rapidly proliferating cells that mature into two regions, the small and the large intestine. Although previous studies have identified stem cells as the cell-of-origin for intestinal epithelial cells, no studies have directly compared stem cells derived from these anatomically distinct regions. Here, we examine intrinsic differences between primary epithelial cells isolated from human fetal small and large intestine, after in vitro expansion, using the Wnt agonist R-spondin 2.We utilized flow cytometry, fluorescence-activated cell sorting, gene expression analysis and a three-dimensional in vitro differentiation assay to characterize their stemcell properties. We identified stem cell markers that separate subpopulations of colony-forming cells in the small and large intestine and revealed important differences in differentiation, proliferation and disease pathways using gene expression analysis. Single cells from small and large intestine cultures formed organoids that reflect the distinct cellular hierarchy found in vivo and respond differently to identical exogenous cues. Our characterization identified numerous differences between small and large intestine epithelial stem cells suggesting possible connections to intestinal disease

TB174: Maine Wild Blueberries Field Winnowing Systems

The objective of this study was to determine if there were differences in berry quality between the two winnowing systems currently used in the Maine wild blueberry industry. The following experiment was performed three times during the 1997 field season.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1034/thumbnail.jp

Overexpression of Mcl-1 exacerbates lymphocyte accumulation and autoimmune kidney disease in lpr mice

Cell death by apoptosis has a critical role during embryonic development and in maintaining tissue homeostasis. In mammals, there are two converging apoptosis pathways: the ‘extrinsic’ pathway, which is triggered by engagement of cell surface ‘death receptors’ such as Fas/APO-1; and the ‘intrinsic’ pathway, which is triggered by diverse cellular stresses, and is regulated by prosurvival and pro-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family of proteins. Pro-survival Mcl-1, which can block activation of the proapoptotic proteins, Bax and Bak, appears critical for the survival and maintenance of multiple haemopoietic cell types. To investigate the impact on haemopoiesis of simultaneously inhibiting both apoptosis pathways, we introduced the vavP-Mcl-1 transgene, which causes overexpression of Mcl-1 protein in all haemopoietic lineages, into Faslpr/lpr mice, which lack functional Fas and are prone to autoimmunity. The combined mutations had a modest impact on myelopoiesis, primarily an increase in the macrophage/monocyte population in Mcl-1tg/lpr mice compared with lpr or Mcl-1tg mice. The impact on lymphopoiesis was striking, with a marked elevation in all major lymphoid subsets, including the non-conventional double-negative (DN) T cells (TCRβ+ CD4– CD8– B220+ ) characteristic of Faslpr/lpr mice. Of note, the onset of autoimmunity was markedly accelerated in Mcl-1tg/lpr mice compared with lpr mice, and this was preceded by an increase in immunoglobulin (Ig)-producing cells and circulating autoantibodies. This degree of impact was surprising, given the relatively mild phenotype conferred by the vavP-Mcl-1 transgene by itself: a two- to threefold elevation of peripheral B and T cells, no significant increase in the non-conventional DN T-cell population and no autoimmune disease. Comparison of the phenotype with that of other susceptible mice suggests that the development of autoimmune disease in Mcl-1tg/lpr mice may be influenced not only by Ig-producing cells but also other haemopoietic cell types