De personae à personnages : fictionnaliser les stars : l'écosystème narratif des Beatles

Mémoire en recherche-créationCe projet de recherche-création explore le processus de fictionnalisation de la star de musique populaire au cinéma et dans les médias à travers l’exemple des Beatles. Nous observerons comment ces figures musicales iconiques, au fil de leurs multiples mises et remises en scène, se transformeront en quatre personnages transfictionnels autour desquels se développe un univers narratif transmédiatique entre réalité et fiction que nous tenterons de cartographier. Un univers dont nous décrirons la genèse, les principes et le fonctionnement et dont nous interrogerons les limites. Une exploration à la fois conceptuelle et créative qui s’accompagnera de la réalisation d’un long-métrage documentaire, Without the Beatles. Une symphonie d’incarnations et de variations autour des personnages de John, Paul, George et Ringo.This research-creation project is a study on the fictionalisation of pop stars in the context of cinema and media in general, focusing on The Beatles as an example. We observe how The Beatles, from iconic musical figures, transformed into four transfictional characters through their iterative transmedial storytelling. This process resulted in the formation of a narrative universe which blurred the lines of reality and fiction. A universe which we will attempt to map and explore while describing its genesis, principles and functioning as well as by questioning its limits. This study is both conceptual and creative and accompanies the production of a feature length documentary, Without the Beatles. A symphony of embodiments and variations centered around the personalities of John, Paul, George and Ringo

Human blood-vessel-derived stem cells for tissue repair and regeneration

Multipotent stem/progenitor cells with similar developmental potentials have been independently identified from diverse human tissue/organ cultures. The increasing recognition of the vascular/perivascular origin of mesenchymal precursors suggested blood vessels being a systemic source of adult stem/progenitor cells. Our group and other laboratories recently isolated multiple stem/progenitor cell subsets from blood vessels of adult human tissues. Each of the three structural layers of blood vessels: intima, media, and adventitia has been found to include at least one precursor population, that is, myogenic endothelial cells (MECs), pericytes, and adventitial cells (ACs), respectively. MECs and pericytes efficiently regenerate myofibers in injured and dystrophic skeletal muscles as well as improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction. The applications of ACs in vascular remodeling and angiogenesis/vasculogenesis have been examined. Our recent finding that MECs and pericytes can be purified from cryogenically banked human primary muscle cell culture further indicates their potential applications in personalized regenerative medicine. Copyright 2012 Chien-Wen Chen et al

Human blood-vessel-derived stem cells for tissue repair and regeneration

Multipotent stem/progenitor cells with similar developmental potentials have been independently identified from diverse human tissue/organ cultures. The increasing recognition of the vascular/perivascular origin of mesenchymal precursors suggested blood vessels being a systemic source of adult stem/progenitor cells. Our group and other laboratories recently isolated multiple stem/progenitor cell subsets from blood vessels of adult human tissues. Each of the three structural layers of blood vessels: intima, media, and adventitia has been found to include at least one precursor population, that is, myogenic endothelial cells (MECs), pericytes, and adventitial cells (ACs), respectively. MECs and pericytes efficiently regenerate myofibers in injured and dystrophic skeletal muscles as well as improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction. The applications of ACs in vascular remodeling and angiogenesis/vasculogenesis have been examined. Our recent finding that MECs and pericytes can be purified from cryogenically banked human primary muscle cell culture further indicates their potential applications in personalized regenerative medicine. Copyright 2012 Chien-Wen Chen et al

Human Blood-Vessel-Derived Stem Cells for Tissue Repair and Regeneration

Multipotent stem/progenitor cells with similar developmental potentials have been independently identified from diverse human tissue/organ cultures. The increasing recognition of the vascular/perivascular origin of mesenchymal precursors suggested blood vessels being a systemic source of adult stem/progenitor cells. Our group and other laboratories recently isolated multiple stem/progenitor cell subsets from blood vessels of adult human tissues. Each of the three structural layers of blood vessels: intima, media, and adventitia has been found to include at least one precursor population, that is, myogenic endothelial cells (MECs), pericytes, and adventitial cells (ACs), respectively. MECs and pericytes efficiently regenerate myofibers in injured and dystrophic skeletal muscles as well as improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction. The applications of ACs in vascular remodeling and angiogenesis/vasculogenesis have been examined. Our recent finding that MECs and pericytes can be purified from cryogenically banked human primary muscle cell culture further indicates their potential applications in personalized regenerative medicine

Cellular kinetics of perivascular MSC precursors

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) and MSC-like multipotent stem/progenitor cells have been widely investigated for regenerative medicine and deemed promising in clinical applications. In order to further improve MSC-based stem cell therapeutics, it is important to understand the cellular kinetics and functional roles of MSCs in the dynamic regenerative processes. However, due to the heterogeneous nature of typical MSC cultures, their native identity and anatomical localization in the body have remained unclear, making it difficult to decipher the existence of distinct cell subsets within the MSC entity. Recent studies have shown that several blood-vessel-derived precursor cell populations, purified by flow cytometry from multiple human organs, give rise to bona fide MSCs, suggesting that the vasculature serves as a systemic reservoir of MSC-like stem/progenitor cells. Using individually purified MSC-like precursor cell subsets, we and other researchers have been able to investigate the differential phenotypes and regenerative capacities of these contributing cellular constituents in the MSC pool. In this review, we will discuss the identification and characterization of perivascular MSC precursors, including pericytes and adventitial cells, and focus on their cellular kinetics: cell adhesion, migration, engraftment, homing, and intercellular cross-talk during tissue repair and regeneration. © 2013 William C. W. Chen et al

Isolation of Myogenic Stem Cells from Cultures of Cryopreserved Human Skeletal Muscle

We demonstrate that subpopulations of adult human skeletal muscle-derived stem cells, myogenic endothelial cells (MECs), and perivascular stem cells (PSCs) can be simultaneously purified by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) from cryopreserved human primary skeletal muscle cell cultures (cryo-hPSMCs). For FACS isolation, we utilized a combination of cell lineage markers: the myogenic cell marker CD56, the endothelial cell marker UEA-1 receptor (UEA-1R), and the perivascular cell marker CD146. MECs expressing all three cell lineage markers (CD56+UEA-1R+CD146+/CD45+) and PSCs expressing only CD146 (CD146+/CD45+CD56+UEA-1R+) were isolated by FACS. To evaluate their myogenic capacities, the sorted cells, with and without expansion in culture, were transplanted into the cardiotoxin-injured skeletal muscles of immunodeficient mice. The purified MECs exhibited the highest regenerative capacity in the injured mouse muscles among all cell fractions tested, while PSCs remained superior to myoblasts and the unpurified primary skeletal muscle cells. Our findings show that both MECs and PSCs retain their high myogenic potentials after in vitro expansion, cryopreservation, and FACS sorting. The current study demonstrates that myogenic stem cells are prospectively isolatable from long-term cryopreserved primary skeletal muscle cell cultures. We emphasize the potential application of this new approach to extract therapeutic stem cells from human muscle cells cryogenically banked for clinical purposes. © 2012 Cognizant Comm. Corp

Cellular kinetics of perivascular MSC precursors

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) and MSC-like multipotent stem/progenitor cells have been widely investigated for regenerative medicine and deemed promising in clinical applications. In order to further improve MSC-based stem cell therapeutics, it is important to understand the cellular kinetics and functional roles of MSCs in the dynamic regenerative processes. However, due to the heterogeneous nature of typical MSC cultures, their native identity and anatomical localization in the body have remained unclear, making it difficult to decipher the existence of distinct cell subsets within the MSC entity. Recent studies have shown that several blood-vessel-derived precursor cell populations, purified by flow cytometry from multiple human organs, give rise to bona fide MSCs, suggesting that the vasculature serves as a systemic reservoir of MSC-like stem/progenitor cells. Using individually purified MSC-like precursor cell subsets, we and other researchers have been able to investigate the differential phenotypes and regenerative capacities of these contributing cellular constituents in the MSC pool. In this review, we will discuss the identification and characterization of perivascular MSC precursors, including pericytes and adventitial cells, and focus on their cellular kinetics: cell adhesion, migration, engraftment, homing, and intercellular cross-talk during tissue repair and regeneration. © 2013 William C. W. Chen et al

Current trends in bone tissue engineering

The development of tissue engineering and regeneration constitutes a new platform for translational medical research. Effective therapies for bone engineering typically employ the coordinated manipulation of cells, biologically active signaling molecules, and biomimetic, biodegradable scaffolds. Bone tissue engineering has become increasingly dependent on the merging of innovations from each of these fields, as they continue to evolve independently. This foreword will highlight some of the most recent advances in bone tissue engineering and regeneration, emphasizing the interconnected fields of stem cell biology, cell signaling biology, and biomaterial research. These include, for example, novel methods for mesenchymal stem cell purification, new methods of Wnt signaling pathway manipulation, and cutting edge computer assisted nanoscale design of bone scaffold materials. In the following special issue, we sought to incorporate these diverse areas of emphasis in order to reflect current trends in the field