Wnt Secretion from Epithelial Cells and Subepithelial Myofibroblasts Is Not Required in the Mouse Intestinal Stem Cell Niche In Vivo

Summary Wnt signaling is a crucial aspect of the intestinal stem cell niche required for crypt cell proliferation and differentiation. Paneth cells or subepithelial myofibroblasts are leading candidate sources of the required Wnt ligands, but this has not been tested in vivo. To abolish Wnt-ligand secretion, we used Porcupine (Porcn) conditional-null mice crossed to strains expressing inducible Cre recombinase in the epithelium, including Paneth cells (Villin-CreERT2); in smooth muscle, including subepithelial myofibroblasts (Myh11-CreERT2); and simultaneously in both compartments. Elimination of Wnt secretion from any of these compartments did not disrupt tissue morphology, cell proliferation, differentiation, or Wnt pathway activity. Thus, Wnt-ligand secretion from these cell populations is dispensable for intestinal homeostasis, revealing that a minor cell type or significant and unexpected redundancy is responsible for physiologic Wnt signaling in vivo

Engineering cartilage like tissue using polymeric systems derived from 2-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone-methacrylate combined with hyaluronic acid

Hydrogels are potential candidates for Tissue engineering (TE), because of their water content, transport properties, and tissue like physical and chemical behaviour. This project was based on the production and characterization of implantable stimuli responsive scaffolds made of hyaluronic acid (HA) that presents a high water retention character, in combination with 2-ethyl (2-pyrrolidone) methacrylate (EPM), possessing temperature-dependent solubility in water, by bulk polymerization. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biomimetic Ca-P coatings Incorporating bisphosphonates produced on starch-based degradable biomaterials

In this study, sodium clodronate, a well-known therapeutic agent from the family of bisphosphonates (BPs), is incorporated in a biomimetic calcium phosphate (CaP) coating, previously formed on the surface of a starch-based biomaterial by a sodium silicate methodology, as a strategy to develop a site-specific drug delivery system for bone tissue regeneration applications. The effects on the resulting CaP coatings were evaluated in terms of morphology, chemistry, and structure. The dissolution of Ca and P from the coating and the release profiles of sodium clodronate was also assessed. As a preliminary approach, this first study also aimed at evaluating the effects of this BP on the viability of a human osteoblastic cell line since there is still little information available on the interaction between BPs and this type of cells. Sodium clodronate was successfully incorporated, at different doses, in the structure of a biomimetic CaP layer previously formed by a sodium silicate process. This type of BPs had a stimulatory effect on osteoblastic activity, particularly at the specific concentration of 0.32 mg/mL. It is foreseen that these coatings can, for instances, be produced on the surface of degradable polymers and then used for regulating the equilibrium on osteoblastic/osteoclastic activity, leading to a controlled regenerative effect at the interface between the biomaterial and bone

Synthesis and characterization of sensitive hydrogels based on semi- interpenetrated networks of poly 2-ethyl-(2-pyrrolidone) methacrylate and hyaluronic acid

Sensitive hydrogels attract interest due to their soft wet appearance and shape response to environmental variations. The synthesis and characterization of semi-interpenetrated hydrogels obtained by radical-induced polymerization of 2-ethyl-(2-pyrrolidone)methacrylate (EPM) in the presence of different concentrations of hyaluronic acid (HA) using N,N′-methylene-bisacrylamide or triethylene glycol dimethacrylate as crosslinker, followed by freeze-drying, are described. Polymeric systems were characterized by NMR, FTIR, SEM, TGA, and DMA. PEPMHA hydrogels' mechanical properties and swelling were found to be intimately related to HA concentration and crosslinker. The swelling response was assessed for temperature and pH variation in order to study the behavior of the hydrogels. We found that the presence of HA in PEPM polymeric systems induced a sensitivity to pH variation rather than temperature. Finally, the biocompatibility profile of the hydrogels was evaluated, using mesenchymal stem cells. Cell adhesion and proliferation results revealed the non-cytotoxicity of the systems. We estimate that PEPMHA hydrogels can be used for applications in tissue engineering and for the controlled release of bioactive compounds.Contract grant sponsor: Marie Curie Early Stage Training Alea Jacta Est; contract grant number: MEST-CT-2004-8104The authors thank David Gomez, Sofia Caridade, and Justyna Chojnacka for their technical support and BIOIBERICA for the supply of hyaluronic acid. This work was carried out under the scope of the European NoE EXPERTISSUES, projects MAT 2007-63355, PTDC/QUI/68804/2006 (FCT), CIBER-BBN and Plan-E 2009-0144. In the memory of Prof. Roberto Sastre

J-PLUS: A wide-field multi-band study of the M15 globular cluster. Evidence of multiple stellar populations in the RGB

The Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS) provides wide field-of-view images in 12 narrow, intermediate and broad-band filters optimized for stellar photometry. Here we have applied J-PLUS data for the first time for the study of Galactic GCs using science verification data obtained for the very metal-poor GC M\,15. Our J-PLUS data provide low-resolution spectral energy distributions covering the near-UV to the near-IR, allowing us to search for MPs based on pseudo-spectral fitting diagnostics. J-PLUS CMDs are found to be particularly useful to search for splits in the sequences formed by the upper red giant branch (RGB) and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. We interpret these split sequences as evidence for the presence of MPs. This demonstrates that the J-PLUS survey will have sufficient spatial coverage and spectral resolution to perform a large statistical study of GCs through multi-band photometry in the coming years.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication @ A&

Polymyxin B in combination with doripenem against heteroresistant Acinetobacter baumannii : pharmacodynamics of new dosing strategies

Polymyxin B is being increasingly utilized as a last resort against resistant Gram-negative bacteria. We examined the pharmacodynamics of novel dosing strategies for polymyxin B combinations to maximize efficacy and minimize the emergence of resistance and drug exposure against Acinetobacter baumannii

The Gaia-ESO Survey: Detailed Abundances in the Metal-poor Globular Cluster NGC 4372

We present the abundance analysis for a sample of 7 red giant branch stars in the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 4372 based on UVES spectra acquired as part of the Gaia-ESO Survey. This is the first extensive study of this cluster from high resolution spectroscopy. We derive abundances of O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, Fe, Cr, Ni, Y, Ba, and La. We find a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -2.19 $\pm$ 0.03 and find no evidence for a metallicity spread. This metallicity makes NGC 4372 one of the most metal-poor galactic globular clusters. We also find an {\alpha}-enhancement typical of halo globular clusters at this metallicity. Significant spreads are observed in the abundances of light elements. In particular we find a Na-O anti-correlation. Abundances of O are relatively high compared with other globular clusters. This could indicate that NGC 4372 was formed in an environment with high O for its metallicity. A Mg-Al spread is also present which spans a range of more than 0.5 dex in Al abundances. Na is correlated with Al and Mg abundances at a lower significance level. This pattern suggests that the Mg-Al burning cycle is active. This behavior can also be seen in giant stars of other massive, metal-poor clusters. A relation between light and heavy s-process elements has been identified.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in A&

PHAT Stellar Cluster Survey I. Year 1 Catalog and Integrated Photometry

The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey is an on-going Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multi-cycle program to obtain high spatial resolution imaging of one-third of the M31 disk at ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths. In this paper, we present the first installment of the PHAT stellar cluster catalog. When completed, the PHAT cluster catalog will be among the largest and most comprehensive surveys of resolved star clusters in any galaxy. The exquisite spatial resolution achieved with HST has allowed us to identify hundreds of new clusters that were previously inaccessible with existing ground-based surveys. We identify 601 clusters in the Year 1 sample, representing more than a factor of four increase over previous catalogs within the current survey area (390 arcmin^2). This work presents results derived from the first \sim25% of the survey data; we estimate that the final sample will include \sim2500 clusters. For the Year 1 objects, we present a catalog with positions, radii, and six-band integrated photometry. Along with a general characterization of the cluster luminosities and colors, we discuss the cluster luminosity function, the cluster size distributions, and highlight a number of individually interesting clusters found in the Year 1 search.Comment: 26 pages, 22 figures, Accepted by Ap

Stellar populations of galaxies in the ALHAMBRA survey up to z∼1z \sim 1. II. Stellar content of quiescent galaxies within the dust-corrected stellar mass−-colour and the UVJUVJ colour−-colour diagrams

Our aim is to determine the distribution of stellar population parameters (extinction, age, metallicity, and star formation rate) of quiescent galaxies within the rest-frame stellar mass$-$colour and $UVJ$ colour$-$colour diagrams corrected for extinction up to $z\sim1$. These novel diagrams reduce the contamination in samples of quiescent galaxies owing to dust-reddened galaxies, and they provide useful constraints on stellar population parameters. We set constraints on the stellar population parameters of quiescent galaxies combining the ALHAMBRA multi-filter photo-spectra with our SED-fitting code MUFFIT, making use of composite stellar population models. The extinction obtained by MUFFIT allowed us to remove dusty star-forming (DSF) galaxies from the sample of red $UVJ$ galaxies. The distributions of stellar population parameters across these rest-frame diagrams are revealed after the dust correction and are fitted by the LOESS method to reduce uncertainty effects. Quiescent galaxy samples defined via classical $UVJ$ diagrams are typically contaminated by a $\sim20$% fraction of DSF galaxies. A significant part of the galaxies in the green valley are actually obscured star-forming galaxies ($\sim30-65$%). Consequently, the transition of galaxies from the blue cloud to the red sequence, and hence the related mechanisms for quenching, seems to be much more efficient and faster than previously reported. The rest-frame stellar mass$-$colour and $UVJ$ colour$-$colour diagrams are useful for constraining the age, metallicity, extinction, and star formation rate of quiescent galaxies by only their redshift, rest-frame colours, and/or stellar mass. Dust correction plays an important role in understanding how quiescent galaxies are distributed in these diagrams and is key to performing a pure selection of quiescent galaxies via intrinsic colours.Comment: (37 pages, 29 figures, accepted for publication in A&A