Therapeutic Manipulation of Ageing: Repurposing Old Dogs and Discovering New Tricks

Ageing is a leading risk factor for many debilitating diseases. While age-related diseases have been the subject of over a century of intense investigation, until recently, physiological ageing was considered unavoidable. Pharmacological and genetic studies have since shown that ageing is a malleable process and that its abrogation can prevent its associated diseases. This review summarises a sample of the most promising efforts to deliver the products of ageing research to the clinic. Current efforts include the use of clinically approved drugs that have since been repurposed, as well as the development of novel therapeutics, to target ageing. Furthermore, ongoing research has sought reliable biomarkers of ageing that will accelerate the development of such therapeutics. Development of these technologies will improve quality of late-life and help relieve the enormous stress placed on state healthcare systems by a rapidly ageing global population. Thus, for both medical and socioeconomic reasons, it is imperative that ageing is made to yield to intervention.<br/

Roles of Cross-Membrane Transport and Signaling in the Maintenance of Cellular Homeostasis

Organelles allow specialized functions within cells to be localized, contained and independently regulated. This separation is oftentimes achieved by selectively permeable membranes, which enable control of molecular transport, signaling between compartments and containment of stress-inducing factors. Here we consider the role of a number of membrane systems within the cell: the plasma membrane, that of the endoplasmic reticulum, and then focusing on the nucleus, depository for chromatin and regulatory centre of the cell. Nuclear pores allow shuttling of ions, metabolites, proteins and mRNA to and from the nucleus. The activity of transcription factors and signaling molecules is also modulated by translocation across the nuclear envelope. Many of these processes require 'active transportation' against a concentration gradient and may be regulated by the nuclear pores, Ran-GTP activity and the nuclear lamina. Cells must respond to a combination of biochemical and physical inputs and we discuss too how mechanical signals are carried from outside the cell into the nucleus through integrins, the cytoskeleton and the 'linker of nucleo- and cyto-skeletal' (LINC) complex which spans the nuclear envelope. Regulation and response to signals and stresses, both internal and external, allow cells to maintain homeostasis within functional tissue

A Simulation Model Examining Boll Weevil Dispersal: Historical and Current Situations

A linear deterministic simulation model was developed to examine the historical rate of movement of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman, across the southeastern United States. This manuscript addresses the hypotheses proposed during the initial invasion of the boll weevil that cotton production and prevailing winds were the primary factors regulating movement of this pest. A modification of the historical model was used to predict defensive strategies required to maintain boll weevil-free areas resulting from the current program effort

Using Assessment to Improve Teacher Efficacy in the Actualization of Student Outcomes: An Instrumental Case Study Approach

The present study was designed to explore the relationship between perceived teaching style (PTS) and student outcomes in the classroom at a small Midwestern liberal arts college. A case study method was used to explore the relationship between PTS and learning outcomes. Quantitative data in the form of both survey assessment and posttest measures provided information about student outcomes; this information was coupled with a phenomenological inquiry process that was used to explicate PTS. The data suggests that student perceptions regarding “care” significantly relate with affective, behavioral, and cognitive outcomes; these findings fill a gap in the literature on the topic of face support, care, and empathy as it relates with student learning outcomes. Extrapolating these findings beyond the small Midwestern liberal arts college must be done with caution, and while the authors are certainly aware of this exigency, the feedback provided was used as part of an assessment cycle to guide the development of new faculty

"Marker of Self" CD47 on lentiviral vectors decreases macrophage-mediated clearance and increases delivery to SIRPA-expressing lung carcinoma tumors

Lentiviruses infect many cell types and are now widely used for gene delivery in vitro, but in vivo uptake of these foreign vectors by macrophages is a limitation. Lentivectors are produced here from packaging cells that overexpress “Marker of Self” CD47, which inhibits macrophage uptake of cells when prophagocytic factors are also displayed. Single particle analyses show “hCD47-Lenti” display properly oriented human-CD47 for interactions with the macrophage's inhibitory receptor SIRPA. Macrophages derived from human and NOD/SCID/Il2rg−/− (NSG) mice show a SIRPA-dependent decrease in transduction, i.e., transgene expression, by hCD47-Lenti compared to control Lenti. Consistent with known “Self” signaling pathways, macrophage transduction by control Lenti is decreased by drug inhibition of Myosin-II to the same levels as hCD47-Lenti. In contrast, human lung carcinoma cells express SIRPA and use it to enhance transduction by hCD47-Lenti- as illustrated by more efficient gene deletion using CRISPR/Cas9. Intravenous injection of hCD47-Lenti into NSG mice shows hCD47 prolongs circulation, unless a blocking anti-SIRPA is preinjected. In vivo transduction of spleen and liver macrophages also decreases for hCD47-Lenti while transduction of lung carcinoma xenografts increases. hCD47 could be useful when macrophage uptake is limiting on other viral vectors that are emerging in cancer treatments (e.g., Measles glycoprotein-pseudotyped lentivectors) and also in targeting various SIRPA-expressing tumors such as glioblastomas

An immortalised mesenchymal stem cell line maintains mechano-responsive behaviour and can be used as a reporter of substrate stiffness

The mechanical environment can influence cell behaviour, including changes to transcriptional and proteomic regulation, morphology and, in the case of stem cells, commitment to lineage. However, current tools for characterizing substrates’ mechanical properties, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), often do not fully recapitulate the length and time scales over which cells ‘feel’ substrates. Here, we show that an immortalised, clonal line of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) maintains the responsiveness to substrate mechanics observed in primary cells, and can be used as a reporter of stiffness. MSCs were cultured on soft and stiff polyacrylamide hydrogels. In both primary and immortalised MSCs, stiffer substrates promoted increased cell spreading, expression of lamin-A/C and translocation of mechano-sensitive proteins YAP1 and MKL1 to the nucleus. Stiffness was also found to regulate transcriptional markers of lineage. A GFP-YAP/RFP-H2B reporter construct was designed and virally delivered to the immortalised MSCs for in situ detection of substrate stiffness. MSCs with stable expression of the reporter showed GFP-YAP to be colocalised with nuclear RFP-H2B on stiff substrates, enabling development of a cellular reporter of substrate stiffness. This will facilitate mechanical characterisation of new materials developed for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine