In Vivo Expansion of Co-Transplanted T Cells Impacts on Tumor Re-Initiating Activity of Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia in NSG Mice

Human cells from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients are frequently transplanted into immune-compromised mouse strains to provide an in vivo environment for studies on the biology of the disease. Since frequencies of leukemia re-initiating cells are low and a unique cell surface phenotype that includes all tumor re-initiating activity remains unknown, the underlying mechanisms leading to limitations in the xenotransplantation assay need to be understood and overcome to obtain robust engraftment of AML-containing samples. We report here that in the NSG xenotransplantation assay, the large majority of mononucleated cells from patients with AML fail to establish a reproducible myeloid engraftment despite high donor chimerism. Instead, donor-derived cells mainly consist of polyclonal disease-unrelated expanded co-transplanted human T lymphocytes that induce xenogeneic graft versus host disease and mask the engraftment of human AML in mice. Engraftment of mainly myeloid cell types can be enforced by the prevention of T cell expansion through the depletion of lymphocytes from the graft prior transplantation

Rheology, clinical efficacy and sensorial of a silicone-based formulation containing pearl extract

In traditional Chinese medicine, pearl extract is believed to nourish skin and prevent the aging process. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate rheological characteristics, immediate effects on skin, and sensory properties of a silicone-based cosmetic formulation containing pearl extract. Formulations containing pearl extract or not were submitted to physical stability assays by determinations of its rheological behavior during 28 days storage. Once confirmed the formulation’s stability, they were applied on the volar forearm of 15 healthy female to evaluate skin properties by non-invasive techniques. After a single application, formulations increased the stratum corneum water content. Once applied on the volar forearm for sensory analysis, the volunteer’s majority noted that both formulations improved all the sensory skin attributes, but only the pearl extract formulation has shown the higher scores for all attributes. Results suggested that the silicone-based formulation supplemented with the pearl extract could combine unique sensory properties and effectiveness to better meet consumer’s demand