The definitive treatment for end-stage organ failure is orthotopic transplantation. However, the demand for transplantation far exceeds the number of available donor organs. A promising tissue-engineering/regenerative-medicine approach for functional organ replacement has emerged in recent years. Decellularization of donor organs such as heart, liver, and lung can provide an acellular, naturally occurring three-dimensional biologic scaffold material that can then be seeded with selected cell populations. Preliminary studies in animal models have provided encouraging results for the proof of concept. However, significant challenges for three-dimensional organ engineering approach remain. This manuscript describes the fundamental concepts of whole-organ engineering, including characterization of the extracellular matrix as a scaffold, methods for decellularization of vascular organs, potential cells to reseed such a scaffold, techniques for the recellularization process and important aspects regarding biore...

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-bioeng-071910-124743

Whole-Organ Tissue Engineering: Decellularization and Recellularization of Three-Dimensional Matrix Scaffolds

The definitive treatment for end-stage organ failure is orthotopic transplantation. However, the demand for transplantation far exceeds the number of available donor organs. A promising tissue-engineering/regenerativemedicine approach for functional organ replacement has emerged in recent years. Decellularization of donor organs such as heart, liver, and lung can provide an acellular, naturally occurring three-dimensional biologic scaffold material that can then be seeded with selected cell populations. Preliminary studies in animal models have provided encouraging results for the proof of concept. However, significant challenges for three-dimensional organ engineering approach remain. This manuscript describes the fundamental concepts of whole-organ engineering, including characterization of the extracellular matrix as a scaffold, methods for decellularization of vascular organs, potential cells to reseed such a scaffold, techniques for the recellularization process and important aspects regarding bioreactor design to support this approach. Critical challenges and future directions are also discussed.

Whole-Organ Tissue Engineering: Decellularization and Recellularization of Three-Dimensional

We report on recent work on the equation of state and pairing gap of neutron matter and cold atomic systems. Results of quantum Monte Carlo calculations show that the equations of state are very similar. The neutron matter pairing gap at low densities is found to be very large but, except at the smallest densities, significantly suppressed relative to cold atoms. We also discuss recent attempts to measure and extract the pairing gap in the fully paired superfluid state at unitarity.

https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc931165/m2/1/high_res_d/956660.pdf

Imbalance between pSmad3 and Notch induces CDK inhibitors in old muscle stem cells

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent progenitors that can commit to osteoblast, chondrocyte, adipocyte, and several other lineages. The proper utilization of stem cells for clinical applications requires an integrated understanding of multiple signal inputs that control maintenance of stemness, proliferation, commitment, and differentiation. Various signaling pathways have been implicated in the regulation of MSC differentiation; however, complexities of pathway interactions, as well as seemingly contradictory results in the literature, create an often confusing and disjointed knowledge base. Several recent publications explore the integration of signaling pathways such as BMP, Wnt, Notch, Hedgehog, and Fibroblast Growth Factors in MSC osteoblast differentiation. The transcription factor Cbfa1/Runx2 has been implicated in these pathways as a potential focal point for signaling integration. This review will outline the current understanding of these pathways and indicate where both spatiotemporal effects during differentiation and comparable experimental conditions need to be considered in order to clarify the outcome(s) of differing regulatory levels of these signaling pathways.

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Integration of BMP, Wnt, and notch signaling pathways in osteoblast differentiation.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are a group of clonogenic cells present among the bone marrow stroma and capable of multilineage differentiation into mesoderm-type cells such as osteoblasts, adipocytes and chondrocytes. Due to their ease of isolation and their differentiation potential, MSC are being introduced into clinical medicine in variety of applications and through different ways of administration. Here, we discuss approaches for isolation, characterization and directing differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC). An update of the current clinical use of the cells is also provided.

Human mesenchymal stem cells: from basic biology to clinical applications

FGF-2 suppresses cellular senescence of human mesenchymal stem cells by down-regulation of TGF-β2

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are able to self-replicate and differentiate into a variety of cell types including osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, endothelial cells, and muscle cells. It was reported that fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) increased the growth rate and multidifferentiation potentials of hMSCs. In this study, we investigated the genes involved in the promotion of osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potentials of hMSCs in the presence of FGF-2. hMSCs were maintained in the medium with FGF-2. hMSCs were harvested for the study of osteogenic or chondrogenic differentiation potential after 15 days’ culture. To investigate osteogenic differentiation, the protein levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and the mRNA expression levels of osteocalcin were measured after the induction of osteogenic differentiation. Moreover, the investigation for chondrogenic differentiation was performed by measuring the mRNA expression levels of type II and type X collagens after the induction of chondrogenic differentiation. The expression levels of ALP, type II collagen, and type X collagen of hMSCs cultured with FGF-2 were significantly higher than control. These results suggested that FGF-2 increased osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potentials of hMSCs. Furthermore, microarray analysis was performed after 15 days’ culture in the medium with FGF-2. We found that the overall insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathways were inactivated by FGF-2. These results suggested that the inactivation of IGF-I and TGF-β signaling promotes osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potential of hMSCs in the presence of FGF-2.

/pdf/fgf-2-increases-osteogenic-and-chondrogenic-differentiation-29dxrtaoa4.pdf

FGF-2 increases osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potentials of human mesenchymal stem cells by inactivation of TGF-β signaling

The purpose of tumorigenicity testing, as applied not only to cell substrates used for viral vaccine manufacture but also stem cells used for cell-based therapy, is to discriminate between cells that have the capacity to form tumors and cells that do not. Therefore, tumorigenicity testing is essential in assessing the safety of these biological materials. Recently developed NOD/Shi-scid IL2Rg(null) (NOG) mice have been shown to be superior to NOD/Shi-scid (SCID) mice for xenotransplantation of both normal and cancerous cells. To select a suitable mouse strain as a xenogenic host for tumorigenicity testing, we compared the susceptibility of NOG (T, B, and NK cell-defective), SCID (T and B cell-defective), and the traditionally used nude (T cell-defective) mice to tumor formation from xenotransplanted HeLa S3 cells. When 10(4) HeLa S3 cells were subcutaneously inoculated into the flanks of these mice, the tumor incidence on day 22 was 10/10 (100%) in NOG, 2/10 (20%) in SCID, and 0/10 (0%) in nude mice. The subcutaneous tumors formed reproducibly and semiquantitatively in a dose-dependent manner. Unexpectedly, half of the NOG mice (5/10) that had been inoculated with a mere 10(1) HeLa S3 cells formed progressively growing subcutaneous tumors on day 78. We confirmed that the engrafted tumors originated from inoculated HeLa S3 cells by immunohistochemical staining with anti-HLA antibodies. These data suggest that NOG mice may be the best choice as a suitable strain for testing tumorigenicity.

Higher susceptibility of NOG mice to xenotransplanted tumors.

We investigated the expression levels of several genes related to cell proliferation in human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) during in vitro culture for use in clinical applications. In this study, we focused on the relationship between hMSC proliferation and transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling during in vitro culture. The proliferation rate of hMSCs gradually decreased and marked changes in hMSC morphology were not observed in 3 months of in vitro culture. The mRNA expressions of TGFβ1, TGFβ2, and TGFβ receptor type I (TGFβRI) in hMSCs increased with the length of cell culture. There had been no change in the TGFβ3, TGFβRII, and TGFβRIII mRNA expressions by the 12th passage from the primary culture (at about 3 months). The mRNA expression of Smad3 increased, but those of c-myc and nucleostemin decreased with the length of hMSC in vitro culture. In addition, the expression profiles of the genes that regulate cellular proliferation in hMSCs were significantly different from those of cancer cells. In conclusion, hMSCs derived from bone marrow seldom underwent spontaneous transformation during 1–2 months of in vitro culture for use in clinical applications. In hMSCs as well as in epithelial cells, growth might be controlled by the TGFβ family signaling.

Changes in expression of genes related to cell proliferation in human mesenchymal stem cells during in vitro culture in comparison with cancer cells

In this study, a titanium surface was chemically modified with calcium ions and assessed for its influence on osteogenic differentiation and molecular responses of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Titanium disks were treated with NaOH (NaOH treatment), NaOH + CaCl2 (CaCl2 treatment), or NaOH + Ca(OH)2 (Ca(OH)2 treatment). Ca(OH)2 treatment caused significantly greater calcium incorporation onto the titanium surface and apatite formation than CaCl2 treatment. The morphology of hMSCs differed on CaCl2- and Ca(OH)2-treated disks. The osteopontin (OPN) expression in hMSCs cultured on CaCl2-treated titanium was significantly higher than that in cells cultured on NaOH-treated disks; OPN expression was significantly higher in cells cultured on Ca(OH)2-treated disks than on un-, NaOH-, and CaCl2-treated disks. Osteocalcin (OCN) protein expression in hMSCs cultured on Ca(OH)2-treated disks was significantly higher than that on all the other disks. Comparative expression profiling by DNA microarray and pathway analyses revealed that calcium modification of the titanium surface induced integrin β3 after OPN upregulation and promoted Wnt/β-catenin signaling in hMSCs. In addition, Ca(OH)2 treatment upregulated the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2, cyclooxygenase 2, and parathyroid hormone-like hormone in comparison to CaCl2 treatment. These observations suggest that calcium-modified titanium surfaces affect osteogenic differentiation in hMSCs and that Ca(OH)2 treatment induced osteogenic differentiation in hMSCs, whereas CaCl2 treatment had a limited effect. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 101A: 2573–2585, 2013. © 147.

Rumi Sawada

Papers

FGF-2 suppresses cellular senescence of human mesenchymal stem cells by down-regulation of TGF-β2

FGF-2 increases osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potentials of human mesenchymal stem cells by inactivation of TGF-β signaling

Higher susceptibility of NOG mice to xenotransplanted tumors.

Changes in expression of genes related to cell proliferation in human mesenchymal stem cells during in vitro culture in comparison with cancer cells

Calcium-incorporated titanium surfaces influence the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells.