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Summary: Adipose-derived adult stem (ADAS) cells can be easily obtained in large quantities. Previous studies have suggested that all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) plays an important role in the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells toward an epithelial lineage. In order to verify that ADAS-cells can differentiate into an epithelial lineage retaining most of the characteristics of stem cells, ADAS-cells were isolated and cultured. They were induced to differentiate toward an epithelial lineage in vitro. Differentiated epithelial cells were assayed as to whether they retain characteristics of stem cells by RT-PCR and cell cycle stage analysis, and were further induced to differentiate toward an osteogenic lineage. RT-PCR analysis revealed that no CK5, CK10 or CK19 mRNA was detected in ADAS-cells, CK19 but not CK5 or CK10 mRNA was detected in differentiated cells at passage 1, CK10 and CK19 expression but not CK5 mRNA was detected in differentiated cells at passage 10. After induction, the expression of CK19 was observed by immunofluorescent staining. Positive staining with alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and Von Kossa staining verified that differentiated epithelial cells still had potential to further differentiate toward an osteogenic lineage. These experiments provide proof that ADAS-cells can differentiate into an epithelial lineage retaining most of the characteristics of stem cells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: We evaluated the effect of human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs), human adipose tissue–derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAD-MSCs), and umbilical cord–derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) in bone tissue engineering and identified a reliable cell source. Study Design: Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to evaluate osteogenic in vitro, X-ray and histologic analysis in vivo. Results: hBMSCs exhibited strongest ALP staining, followed by hAD-MSCs and hUC-MSCs. At 7 days, hUC-MSCs and hAD-MSCs had higher expression of collagen type I and Runt-related transcription factor 2 than hBMSCs, and hUC-MSCs showed higher osteopontin expression. Bone structure was observed in the hUC-MSC group. Defects showed good healing in the hBMSC and hAD-MSC groups. Enhanced green fluorescent protein and osteopontin were detected in newly formed bone at 8 weeks. Conclusions: Our results suggested that hUC-MSCs and hAD-MSCs could be used for bone tissue engineering effectively; hUC-MSCs could serve as a new alternative cell source. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To enhance the separation efficiency of vanadium from impurities, the highly selective separation of vanadium from multiple impurities and the transport mechanism of vanadium from a black shale leaching-solution, by a supported liquid membrane (SLM) using trialkylamine (N235) as the carrier, were investigated. The effects of parameters such as feed-solution pH, carrier concentration, stripping-solution species, and diluent nature were studied. The separation performance of the SLM system for vanadium from the main impurities in the black shale acid leaching-solution-Fe, Al, P, Si, K, and Mg-was also discussed. The diffusion parameters and facilitated transport mechanism were evaluated using a first-order kinetic model. By enhancing the mass transfer of vanadium and the competitive extraction between vanadium and the impurity ions, the performance of the SLM system for the separation of vanadium from the highly impure black shale leaching-solution was significantly improved. These results show that highly selective separation of vanadium from impurities can be achieved using the N235-SLM system, indicating promising prospects for application in the vanadium industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies showed improvement in heart function by injecting bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) after AMI. Emerging evidence suggested that both the number and function of BMSCs decline with ageing. We designed a randomized, controlled trial to further investigate the safety and efficacy of this treatment. Methods: Patients with ST-elevation AMI undergoing successful reperfusion treatment within 12hours were randomly assigned to receive an intracoronary infusion of BMSCs (n=21) or standard medical treatment (n=22) (the numbers of patients were limited because of the complication of coronary artery obstruction). Results: There is a closely positive correlation of the number and function of BMSCs vs. the cardiac function reflected by LVEF at baseline (r=0.679, P=0.001) and at 12-month follow-up (r=0.477, P=0.039). Six months after cell administration, myocardial viability within the infarct area by 18-FDG SPECT was improved in both groups compared with baseline, but no significant difference in the BMSCs compared with control groups (4.0±0.4% 95%CI 3.1–4.9 vs. 3.2±0.5% 95%CI 2.1–4.3, P=0.237). 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT demonstrated that myocardial perfusion within the infarct area in the BMSCs did not differ from the control group (4.4±0.5% 95%CI 3.2–5.5 vs. 3.9±0.6% 95%CI 2.6–5.2, P=0.594). Similarly, LVEF after 12 and 24months follow-up did not show any difference between the two groups. In the BMSCs group, one patient suffered a serious complication of coronary artery occlusion during the BMSCs injection procedure. Conclusions: The clinical benefits of intracoronary injection of autologous BMSCs in acute STEMI patients need further investigation and reevaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Human or mouse Spindlin1 is expressed in various tissues and cells, but its biological functions are poorly understood. In this study, we show that human SPINDLIN1 is localized to interphase nucleus and mitotic chromosomes, and its expression in HeLa cells is not regulated in a cell cycle-dependent manner. When SPINDLIN1 is stably overexpressed in HeLa cells, it results in multinucleation of cells, and these multinucleated cells exhibits characteristic features of senescence and apoptosis shown by growth and morphological alterations, β-galactosidase activity, and Annexin V/7-Aminoactinomycin D staining. Mouse Spindlin1 is highly homologous with human Spindlin1, when overexpressed in NIH3T3 cells, it also induces multinucleation, senescence and apoptosis in murine cells. Our results demonstrate that SPINDLIN1 is an important gene for mammalian mitotic chromosome functions, and disrupted regulation results in abnormal cell division, a mechanism that may be involved in tumorigenesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]