Comparative Study on the Therapeutic Potential of Neurally Differentiated Stem Cells in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Transplantation of neural stem cells (NSCs) is a promising novel approach to the treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). NSCs can be derived from primary central nervous system (CNS) tissue or obtained by neural differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells, the latter having the advantage of readily providing an unlimited number of cells for therapeutic purposes. Using a mouse model of MS, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of NSCs derived from ES cells by two different neural differentiation protocols that utilized adherent culture conditions and compared their effect to primary NSCs derived from the subventricular zone (SVZ). Methodology/Principal Findings: The proliferation and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines by antigen-stimulated splenocytes was reduced in the presence of SVZ-NSCs, while ES cell-derived NSCs exerted differential immunosuppressive effects. Surprisingly, intravenously injected NSCs displayed no significant therapeutic impact on clinical and pathological disease outcomes in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by recombinant myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, independent of the cell source. Studies tracking the biodistribution of transplanted ES cellderived NSCs revealed that these cells were unable to traffic to the CNS or peripheral lymphoid tissues, consistent with the lack of cell surface homing molecules. Attenuation of peripheral immune responses could only be achieved through multiple high doses of NSCs administered intraperitoneally, which led to some neuroprotective effects within the CNS

An alternative real-time PCR method for the detection of thermotolerant Bacillus sensu lato contaminants in naturally contaminated gelatine

Comparison of an internally-controlled real-time PCR assay with the current plate-based assay for the detection of Bacillus sensu lato contaminants in gelatine. A comprehensive TaqMan((R)) probe was designed allowing the real-time PCR assay to be fully inclusive for the gelatine-contaminating Bacillus s.l. species. An internal amplification control was implemented at 500 copies per reaction without impact on target detection. Specific and selective detection of target cells was achieved with a quick and simple DNA preparation procedure. No significant difference (Kappa value = 0.94) was observed between the performance of the real-time PCR and the current plate-based method on naturally contaminated gelatines (n = 162). Relative accuracy, relative sensitivity and relative specificity were 97.5%. The real-time PCR assay is an adequate alternative of the current plate-based assay. The real-time PCR assay decreased the time between sample collection and result from 2 days to 2 h. The gelatine-producing industry can ensure gelatine quality in a much faster way

Degradation of the Formamidinium Cation and the Quantification of the Formamidinium–Methylammonium Ratio in Lead Iodide Hybrid Perovskites by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The highest efficiency in perovskite solar cells is currently achieved with mixed-cation hybrid perovskites. The ratio in which the cations are present in the perovskite structure has an important effect on the optical properties and the stability of these materials. At present, the formamidinium cation is an integral part of many of the highest efficiency perovskite systems. In this work, we introduce a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy protocol for the identification and differentiation of mixed perovskite phases and of a secondary phase due to formamidinium degradation. The influence of the cooling rate used in a precipitation method on the FA/MA ratio in formamidinium–methylammonium lead iodide perovskites (FA_<i>x</i>MA_1–<i>x</i>PbI₃) was investigated and compared to the FA/MA ratio in thin films. In order to obtain the FA/MA ratio from fast and accessible liquid-state ¹H NMR spectra, the influence of the acidity of the solution on the line width of the resonances was elucidated. The ratio of the organic cations incorporated into the perovskite structure could be reliably quantified in the presence of the secondary phase through a combination of liquid-state ¹H NMR and solid-state ¹³C NMR spectroscopic analysis