p53 Plays a Role in Mesenchymal Differentiation Programs, in a Cell Fate Dependent Manner

Background: The tumor suppressor p53 is an important regulator that controls various cellular networks, including cell differentiation. Interestingly, some studies suggest that p53 facilitates cell differentiation, whereas others claim that it suppresses differentiation. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate whether this inconsistency represents an authentic differential p53 activity manifested in the various differentiation programs. Methodology/Principal Findings: To clarify this important issue, we conducted a comparative study of several mesenchymal differentiation programs. The effects of p53 knockdown or enhanced activity were analyzed in mouse and human mesenchymal cells, representing various stages of several differentiation programs. We found that p53 downregulated the expression of master differentiation-inducing transcription factors, thereby inhibiting osteogenic, adipogenic and smooth muscle differentiation of multiple mesenchymal cell types. In contrast, p53 is essential for skeletal muscle differentiation and osteogenic re-programming of skeletal muscle committed cells. Conclusions: These comparative studies suggest that, depending on the specific cell type and the specific differentiatio

Differences in the pattern and regulation of mineral deposition in human cell lines of osteogenic and non-osteogenic origin

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widely used as a cellular model of bone formation, and can mineralize in vitro in response to osteogenic medium (OM). It is unclear, however, whether this property is specific to cells of mesenchymal origin. We analysed the OM response in 3 non-osteogenic lines, HEK293, HeLa and NTera, compared to MSCs. Whereas HEK293 cells failed to respond to OM conditions, the 2 carcinoma-derived lines NTera and HeLa deposited a calcium phosphate mineral comparable to that present in MSC cultures. However, unlike MSCs, HeLa and NTera cultures did so in the absence of dexamethasone. This discrepancy was confirmed, as bone morphogenetic protein inhibition obliterated the OM response in MSCs but not in HeLa or NTera, indicating that these 2 models can deposit mineral through a mechanism independent of established dexamethasone or bone morphogenetic protein signalling

Lens–Based Beamformer for Low–Complexity Millimeter–Wave Cellular Systems

Data rate requirements for cellular communications are expected to increase 1000–fold by 2020, compared to 2010. This is mainly because of the rapid increase in the number of wireless devices and data hungry applications per–device. This creates a formidable bandwidth crisis. Milimeter–wave (mmWave) systems with massive multiple–input multiple–output (MIMO) operation are two complementary concepts poised to meet this exploding demand, as verified by the wealth of investigations by both industry and academia. Nevertheless, existing MIMO processing techniques, requiring a dedicated radio–frequency (RF) up/down–conversion chain per antenna, results in prohibitively high complexity and cost of the mmWave prototypes. The primary objective of this paper is to present a complete feasibility study on alternative beamforming techniques targeted to reduce the system complexity without drastically compromising its performance. More precisely, at 28 GHz, we investigate the end–to–end performance of two different lens–based beamforming topologies. Our study is an amalgam of theoretical modelling, electromagnetic design, and prototype manufacturing, yielding a comprehensive mmWave, massive MIMO performance evaluation

Energy Storage Fuel Cell Vehicle Analysis

In recent years, hydrogen fuel cell (FC) vehicle technology has received considerable attention as a strategy to decrease oil consumption and reduce harmful emissions. However, the cost, transient response, and cold performance of FC systems may present significant challenges to widespread adoption of the technology for transportation in the next 15 years. The objectives of this effort were to perform energy storage modeling with fuel cell vehicle simulations to quantify the benefits of hybridization and to identify a process for setting the requirements of ES for hydrogen-powered FC vehicles for U.S. Department of Energys Energy Storage Program

613 cases of splenic rupture without risk factors or previously diagnosed disease: a systematic review

Background Rupture of the spleen in the absence of trauma or previously diagnosed disease is largely ignored in the emergency literature and is often not documented as such in journals from other fields. We have conducted a systematic review of the literature to highlight the surprisingly frequent occurrence of this phenomenon and to document the diversity of diseases that can present in this fashion. Methods Systematic review of English and French language publications catalogued in Pubmed, Embase and CINAHL between 1950 and 2011. Results We found 613 cases of splenic rupture meeting the criteria above, 327 of which occurred as the presenting complaint of an underlying disease and 112 of which occurred following a medical procedure. Rupture appeared to occur spontaneously in histologically normal (but not necessarily normal size) spleens in 35 cases and after minor trauma in 23 cases. Medications were implicated in 47 cases, a splenic or adjacent anatomical abnormality in 31 cases and pregnancy or its complications in 38 cases. The most common associated diseases were infectious (n = 143), haematologic (n = 84) and non-haematologic neoplasms (n = 48). Amyloidosis (n = 24), internal trauma such as cough or vomiting (n = 17) and rheumatologic diseases (n = 10) are less frequently reported. Colonoscopy (n = 87) was the procedure reported most frequently as a cause of rupture. The anatomic abnormalities associated with rupture include splenic cysts (n = 6), infarction (n = 6) and hamartomata (n = 5). Medications associated with rupture include anticoagulants (n = 21), thrombolytics (n = 13) and recombinant G-CSF (n = 10). Other causes or associations reported very infrequently include other endoscopy, pulmonary, cardiac or abdominal surgery, hysterectomy, peliosis, empyema, remote pancreato-renal transplant, thrombosed splenic vein, hemangiomata, pancreatic pseudocysts, splenic artery aneurysm, cholesterol embolism, splenic granuloma, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, rib exostosis, pancreatitis, Gaucher's disease, Wilson's disease, pheochromocytoma, afibrinogenemia and ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Conclusions Emergency physicians should be attuned to the fact that rupture of the spleen can occur in the absence of major trauma or previously diagnosed splenic disease. The occurrence of such a rupture is likely to be the manifesting complaint of an underlying disease. Furthermore, colonoscopy should be more widely documented as a cause of splenic rupture

Osteogenic differentiation of mouse adipose-derived adult stromal cells requires retinoic acid and bone morphogenetic protein receptor type IB signaling

Although the multilineage potential of human adipose-derived adult stromal cells (ADAS) has been well described, few published studies have investigated the biological and molecular mechanisms underlying osteogenic differentiation of mouse ADAS. We report here that significant osteogenesis, as determined by gene expression and histological analysis, is induced only when mouse ADAS are cultured in the presence of retinoic acid with or without recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 supplementation. Furthermore, a dynamic expression profile for the BMP receptor (BMPR) isoform IB was observed, with dramatic up-regulation during osteogenesis. Western blot analysis revealed that retinoic acid enhanced levels of BMPR-IB protein during the first 7 days of osteogenic differentiation and that RNAi-mediated suppression of BMPR-IB dramatically impaired the ability of ADAS to form bone in vitro. In contrast, absence of BMPR-IA did not significantly diminish ADAS osteogenesis. Our data therefore demonstrate that the osteogenic commitment of multipotent mouse ADAS requires retinoic acid, which enhances expression of the critical BMPR-IB isoform

Metastatic osteosarcoma induced by inactivation of Rb and p53 in the osteoblast lineage

Mutation of the RB-1 and p53 tumor suppressors is associated with the development of human osteosarcoma. With the goal of generating a mouse model of this disease, we used conditional and transgenic mouse strains to inactivate Rb and/or p53 specifically in osteoblast precursors. The resulting Rb;p53 double mutant (DKO) animals are viable but develop early onset osteosarcomas with complete penetrance. These tumors display many of the characteristics of human osteosarcomas, including being highly metastatic. We established cell lines from the DKO osteosarcomas to further investigate their properties. These immortalized cell lines are highly proliferative and they retain their tumorigenic potential, as judged by their ability to form metastatic tumors in immunocompromised mice. Moreover, they can be induced to differentiate and, depending on the inductive signal, will adopt either the osteogenic or adipogenic fate. Consistent with this multipotency, a significant portion of these tumor cells express Sca-1, a marker that is typically associated with stem cells/uncommitted progenitors. By assaying sorted cells in transplant assays, we demonstrate that the tumorigenicity of the osteosarcoma cell lines correlates with the presence of the Sca-1 marker. Finally, we show that loss of Rb and p53 in Sca-1-positive mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells is sufficient to yield transformed cells that can initiate osteosarcoma formation in vivo

Thin films of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes as suitable scaffold materials for stem cells proliferation and bone formation

10.1021/nn102738cACS Nano4127717-772