De novo formed satellite DNA-based mammalian artificial chromosomes and their possible applications.

Mammalian artificial chromosomes (MACs) are non-integrating, autonomously replicating natural chromosome-based vectors that may carry a vast amount of genetic material, which in turn enable potentially prolonged, safe, and regulated therapeutic transgene expression and render MACs as attractive genetic vectors for "gene replacement" or for controlling differentiation pathways in target cells. Satellite-DNA-based artificial chromosomes (SATACs) can be made by induced de novo chromosome formation in cells of different mammalian and plant species. These artificially generated accessory chromosomes are composed of predictable DNA sequences, and they contain defined genetic information. SATACs have already passed a number of obstacles crucial to their further development as gene therapy vectors, including large-scale purification, transfer of purified artificial chromosomes into different cells and embryos, generation of transgenic animals and germline transmission with purified SATACs, and the tissue-specific expression of a therapeutic gene from an artificial chromosome in the milk of transgenic animals. SATACs could be used in cell therapy protocols. For these methods, the most versatile target cell would be one that was pluripotent and self-renewing to address multiple disease target cell types, thus making multilineage stem cells, such as adult derived early progenitor cells and embryonic stem cells, as attractive universal host cells

Polyploid Adipose Stem Cells Shift the Balance of IGF1/IGFBP2 to Promote the Growth of Breast Cancer

Background: The close proximity of adipose tissue and mammary epithelium predispose involvement of adipose cells in breast cancer development. Adipose-tissue stem cells (ASCs) contribute to tumor stroma and promote growth of cancer cells. In our previous study, we have shown that murine ASCs, which undergo polyploidization during their prolonged in vitro culturing, enhanced the proliferation of 4T1 murine breast cancer cells in IGF1 dependent manner. Aims: In the present study, our aim was to clarify the regulation of ASC-derived IGF1. Methods: 4T1 murine breast carcinoma cells were co-transplanted with visceral fat-derived ASCs (vASC) or with the polyploid ASC.B6 cell line into female BALB/c mice and tumor growth and lung metastasis were monitored. The conditioned media of vASCs and ASC.B6 cells were subjected to LC-MS/MS analysis and the production of IGFBP2 was verified by Western blotting. The regulatory effect was examined by adding recombinant IGFBP2 to the co-culture of ASC.B6 and 4T1. Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) activation was detected by Western blotting. Results: Polyploid ASCs promoted the tumor growth and metastasis more potently than vASCs with normal karyotype. vASCs produced the IGF1 regulator IGFBP2, which inhibited proliferation of 4T1 cells. Downregulation of IGFBP2 by polyploidization of ASCs and enhanced secretion of IGF1 allowed survival signaling in 4T1 cells, leading to Akt phosphorylation. Conclusions: Our results implicate that ASCs in the tumor microenvironment actively regulate the growth of breast cancer cells through the IGF/IGFBP system

A kőrösladányi vadaskert vaddisznó állományának hatása a védett növényekre.

A vaddisznó negatív hatását különböző veszélyeztetett növény- és állatfajok populációira számos vizsgálat igazolta, ugyanakkor egyes kutatások jelzik lehetséges pozitív ökológiai szerepét is. A DALERD Zrt kőrösladányi vaddisznóskertjében 2007-2010. között vizsgáltuk két védett növényfaj állományának alakulását. Random módon elhelyezett 35 db nyílt és 10 db elkerített 10 m2-es kvadrátban becsültük a tőszámokat és a bolygatást a vadászkertben, a nevelőkertben és a kerten kívül. A vaddisznó populációsűrűsége a nevelőkertben a legmagasabb, míg a kerten kívül szinte nincsen vaddisznó. A két faj, a sziki kocsord (Peucedanum officinale) és a pettyegetett őszirózsa (Aster sedifolius) esetében nem találtunk jelentős károsítást a vizsgálati időszak alatt. Néhány helyen megtúrták az állatok a talajt a növények körül, de a legtöbb kvadrátban inkább tőszámnövekedést lehetett kimutatni mindkét növényfaj esetében. A elkerített és a nyílt kvadrátok tőszáma között sem találtunk szignifikáns eltérést a négy év során. Ezek alapján látszik, hogy érdemes a hatás valós mértékét felmérni minden esetben, hogy megtaláljuk a legjobb technológiát és a megfelelő populáció sűrűséget, amellyel a legkisebb mértékre csökkenthetjük a károkozást és a konfliktusokat

Novel electrocardiographic criteria may render possible the more accurate recognition of cardiac amyloidosis

The early diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is paramount, since there are effective therapies that improve patient survival. The diagnostic accuracy of classical electrocardiographic (ECG) signs, such as low voltage, pseudoinfarct pattern, and conduction disturbances in the diagnosis of CA, is inferior to that of the echocardiographic myocardial deformation criteria; therefore, our aim was to find more accurate novel ECG criteria for this purpose.We tested the diagnostic value of five novel ECG criteria, two of them devised by us, in 34 patients with confirmed CA (20 transthyretin amyloidosis and 14 AL amyloidosis) and 45 control patients with left ventricular hypertrophy on echocardiography due to hypertension, valvular aortic stenosis and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The following novel ECG criteria, that suggested CA, were tested: QRS amplitude in lead I 4.1 (TA: 77%, SE: 93%, SP: 38%, PPV: 79%, NPV: 69%, AUC: 0.65) echocardiographic criteria. Among the classical criteria, the low voltage in limb leads criterion was present most frequently (in 73.5%) in patients with CA, with slightly worse diagnostic value than the novel ECG criteria (TA: 78.5%, SE: 73.5%, SP: 82.2%, PPV: 75.8%, NPV: 80.4%).The novel ECG criteria [mostly the aVR < 0.5, (I + aVR)/(V1-4 ) < 0.375] seem at least as reliable in the diagnosis of CA as the best echocardiographic myocardial deformation criteria and might be used either together with the echocardiographic criteria or as stand-alone criteria to diagnose CA in the future

Licensing by Inflammatory Cytokines Abolishes Heterogeneity of Immunosuppressive Function of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Population

When mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are used for therapy of immunological pathologies, they get into an inflammatory environment, altering the effectiveness of the treatment. To establish the impact of environmental inflammatory factors on MSCs' immunofunction in the mirror of intrinsic heterogeneity of mouse MSC population, individual MSC clones were generated and characterized. Adipogenic but not osteogenic differentiation and pro-angiogenic activity of five independent MSC cell lines were similar. Regarding osteogenic differentiation, clones MSC3 and MSC6 exhibited poorer capacity than MSC2, MSC4, and MSC5. To study the immunosuppressive heterogeneity, in vitro and in vivo experiments have been carried out using T-cell proliferation assay and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response, respectively. A remarkable difference was found between the clones in their ability to inhibit T-cell proliferation in the following order: MSC2MSC5>MSC4>MSC3>>MSC6. Nevertheless, the differences between the immunosuppressive activities of the individual clones disappeared on pretreatment of the cells with pro-inflammatory cytokines, a procedure called licensing. Stimulation of all clones with IFN- and TNF- resulted in elevation of their inhibitory capability to a similar level. Nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were identified as major mediators of immunofunction of the MSC clones. The earlier findings were also supported by in vivo results. Without licensing, MSC2 inhibited DTH response, while MSC6 did not affect DTH response. In contrast, prestimulation of MSC6 with inflammatory cytokines resulted in strong suppression by this clone as well. Here, we have showed that MSC population is functionally heterogeneous in terms of immunosuppressive function; however, this variability is largely reduced under pro-inflammatory conditions

Identification of Galectin-1 as a Critical Factor in Function of Mouse Mesenchymal Stromal Cell-Mediated Tumor Promotion

Bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have recently been implicated as one source of the tumor-associated stroma, which plays essential role in regulating tumor progression. In spite of the intensive research, the individual factors in MSCs controlling tumor progression have not been adequately defined. In the present study we have examined the role of galectin-1 (Gal-1), a protein highly expressed in tumors with poor prognosis, in MSCs in the course of tumor development. Co-transplantation of wild type MSCs with 4T1 mouse breast carcinoma cells enhances the incidence of palpable tumors, growth, vascularization and metastasis. It also reduces survival compared to animals treated with tumor cells alone or in combination with Gal-1 knockout MSCs. In vitro studies show that the absence of Gal-1 in MSCs does not affect the number of migrating MSCs toward the tumor cells, which is supported by the in vivo migration of intravenously injected MSCs into the tumor. Moreover, differentiation of endothelial cells into blood vessel-like structures strongly depends on the expression of Gal-1 in MSCs. Vital role of Gal-1 in MSCs has been further verified in Gal-1 knockout mice. By administering B16F10 melanoma cells into Gal-1 deficient animals, tumor growth is highly reduced compared to wild type animals. Nevertheless, co-injection of wild type but not Gal-1 deficient MSCs results in dramatic tumor growth and development. These results confirm that galectin-1 is one of the critical factors in MSCs regulating tumor progression