Characterization of Tight Junction Proteins in Cultured Human Urothelial Cells: related news

Characterization of Tight Junction Proteins in Cultured Human Urothelial Cells

Abstract Tight junctions (TJs) are essential for normal function of epithelia, restricting paracellular diffusion and contributing to the maintenance of cell surface polarity. Superficial cells of the urothelium develop TJs, the basis for the paracellular permeability barrier of the bladder against diffusion of urinary solutes. Focusing on the superficial cell layer of stratified cell cultures of an immortalized human ureteral cell line, TEU-2 cells, we have examined the presence of TJ and TJ-associated proteins. TEU-2 cells were treated with calcium chloride and fetal bovine serum culture conditions used to induce stratification that resembles the normal transitional epithelial phenotype. Cultures were examined for TJ and TJ-associated proteins by confocal immunofiuorescence microscopy and evaluated for TJ mRNA by reverse transcriptase-p

Stem Cells From Fat Create Beating Heart Cells

Amenacier writes "Melbourne scientists recently discovered that stem cells isolated from human fat could be made to turn into beating heart muscle cells when cultured with rat heart cells. This discovery may lead to the use of fat stem cells in repairing cardiac damage, or fixing such cardiac problems as holes in the heart. It is proposed that culturing the stem cells with rat heart cells allows them to differentiate into heart muscle through signals from the rat cells. In the future it may be possible to inject/transplant the stem cells into the damaged area and have them naturally differentiate into the type of cell required, with only the natural stimuli provided by surrounding cells, without any danger of rejection by the body. Quoting: 'The next step is to implant the human heart cells onto the damaged heart of a laboratory rat to se

Safe Stem Cells Produced From Adult Cells

hackingbear writes "Wired, citing a paper published in Science magazine, reports that Harvard scientists may have found a safer way of giving a flake of skin the biologically alchemical powers of embryonic stem cells by turning adult cells into versatile, embryonic-like cells without causing permanent damage. The technique involves 'adding cell-reprogramming genes to adenoviruses, a type of virus that infects cells without affecting their DNA.' Four-month trials on mice demonstrated that the resulting stem cells are free from unpredictable cancer-inducing mutations. This is definitely a breakthrough in stem cell research." Additional coverage is available at Yahoo, and Science hosts the research paper, although you'll need a subscription to see more than the abstract.

Stem Cell Breakthrough: Mass-Production Of 'Embryonic' Stem Cells From A Human Hair

The first reports of the successful reprogramming of adult human cells back into so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which by all appearances looked and acted like embryonic stem cells, created a media stir. But the process was woefully inefficient: Only one out of 10,000 cells could be persuaded to turn back the clock.

Blood Group ABO Antigen Expression in Human Embryonic Stem Cells and in Differentiated Hepatocyte- and Cardiomyocyte-Like Cells.

Blood Group ABO Antigen Expression in Human Embryonic Stem Cells and in Differentiated Hepatocyte- and Cardiomyocyte-Like Cells.

Scientists develop genome-wide platform to study how specialized proteins regulate RNA in living, intact cells

Add our medical news to StumbleUpon - Scientists develop genome-wide platform to study how specialized proteins regulate RNA in living, intact cells Add our medical news to Facebook - Scientists develop genome-wide platform to study how specialized proteins regulate RNA in living, intact cells

Imaging Induction of Cytoprotective Enzymes in Intact Human Cells: Coumberone, a Metabolic Reporter for Human AKR1C Enzymes Reveals Activation by Panaxytriol, an Active Component of Red Ginseng

We here present an optical method for monitoring the activity of the inducible aldo-keto reductases AKR1C2 and AKR1C3 in living human cells. The induction of these enzymes is regulated by the antioxidant response element (ARE), as demonstrated in recent literature, which in turn is dependent on the transcription factor Nrf2. The activation of ARE leads to the transcription of a coalition of cytoprotective enzymes and thus represents an important target for the development of new therapies in the area of neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Through the use of Coumberone, a metabolic fluorogenic probe, and isoform-selective inhibitors, the upregulation of cellular stress markers AKR1C2 and AKR1C3 can be quantitatively measured in the presence of ARE activator compounds, via either a fluorimetric assay or fluorescence microscopy imaging of

In Situ Monitoring of Bindings between Dasatinib and Its Target Protein Kinases Using Magnetic Nanoparticles in Live Cells

We report a novel technology, called InCell IT, for in situ monitoring of bindings between a small molecule kinase inhibitor and its target protein kinases in live cells using a kinase inhibitor, dasatinib, as a model compound. Streptavidin-attached MNPs were coated by biotinylated dasatinib, and then these dasatinib-MNPs were transferred into cells. In the cells, the MNPs were aligned to the same direction of the magnetic field and EGFP-tagged target protein kinases were bound to dasatinib-MNPs. Using this technology, we demonstrated the bindings between dasatinib and its target protein kinases including SRC, ABL1, and CSK in live cells. The specificity of these bindings was also confirmed by cold competition using unbiotinylated dasatinib in the same cells.

Korea - Scope of patent protection broadened

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced an amendment to its examination guidelines broadening the scope of patentable inventions using materials from human bodies (including materials from deceased persons), effective as of July 1 2008. Prior to this amendment, inventions using materials from human bodies were generally not patentable in Korea. Such inventions were believed to harm human dignity and be ethically unacceptable. Even inventions using materials from deceased persons were generally not allowed. The only exception to this prohibition under the previous examination guidelines was using parts of the human body that were obtained naturally and not artificially (e.g. surgery). For example, inventions using blood or placenta naturally discharged from the human body were allowed while use of cells removed through sur

Proteins in sperm unlock understanding of male infertility says new study

Proteins found in sperm are central to understanding male infertility and could be used to determine new diagnostic methods and fertility treatments according to a paper published by the journal Molecular and Cellular Proteomics (MCP). The article demonstrates how proteomics, a relatively new field focusing on the function of proteins in a cell, can be successfully applied to infertility, helping identify which proteins in sperm cells are dysfunctional.

Proteins in sperm unlock understanding of male infertility says new study

Proteins found in sperm are central to understanding male infertility and could be used to determine new diagnostic methods and fertility treatments according to a paper published by the journal Molecular and Cellular Proteomics (MCP). The article demonstrates how proteomics, a relatively new field focusing on the function of proteins in a cell, can be successfully applied to infertility, helping identify which proteins in sperm cells are dysfunctional.

Scientists Explore New Source of Stem Cells

Scientists have converted cells from human testes into stem cells that grew into muscle, nerve cells and other kinds of tissue, according to a study published Wednesday in the online edition of Nature.

Researchers make thought processes visible with fluorescent proteins in the brain

(Nanowerk News) Thought processes made visible: An international team of scientists headed by Mazahir Hasan of the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg has succeeded in optically detecting individual action potentials in the brains of living animals. The scientists introduced fluorescent indicator proteins into the brain cells of mice via viral gene vectors: the illumination of the fluorescent proteins indicates both when and which neurons are communicating with each other. This new method enables the observation of brain activity over a period of many months and provides new ways of identifying, for example, the early onset of dysfunction in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The fluorescent proteins could also provide scientists with information about the ways in which normal aging processes a

Testicle cells may rival embryonic stem cells

Cells taken from men's testicles seem as versatile as the stem cells derived from embryos, researchers reported Wednesday in what may be yet another new approach in a burgeoning scientific field.

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre Launches World's First Online Portal Profiling Human Rights Lawsuits Against Companies

(CSRwire) LONDON. - October 29, 2008 - Today the non-profit Business & Human Rights Resource Centre launches a free online portal – the first to bring together and demystify lawsuits from across the world alleging human rights abuses by companies. The portal summarises in non-legal language over 35 cases and the positions of each side, with more cases to be added soon. It also presents special commentaries by experts.

New insights into how cells accessorize their proteins

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have gained new insight into how the cell's vast array of proteins would instantly be reduced to a confusion of lethally malfunctioning molecules without a system for proteins to "accessorize" in order to regulate their function.

Selective Reprogramming Of General Cells? Compounds For Stem-cell Production From Adult Cells Identified

Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have identified a combination of small molecules that significantly improve the reprogramming of general adult cells into pluripotent stem cells, which can then develop into all cell types.

Scientists solve some safety issues in reprogrammed cells: New method uses a virus that doesn't stay in cells, cutting cancer risk

TMCNet: Scientists solve some safety issues in reprogrammed cells: New method uses a virus that doesn't stay in cells, cutting cancer risk

Programmable Genetic Clock Made Of Blinking Florescent Proteins Inside Bacteria Cells

UC San Diego bioengineers have created the first stable, fast and programmable genetic clock that reliably keeps time by the blinking of fluorescent proteins inside E. coli cells. The clock's blink rate changes when the temperature, energy source or other environmental conditions change, a fact that could lead to new kinds of sensors that convey information about the environment through the blinking rate.

Geron Announces Issuance of U.S. Patent for Cardiomyocytes From Human Embryonic Stem Cells

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 2008 - Geron Corporation (Nasdaq:GERN) today announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,425,448, with broad claims to cardiomyocytes derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The patent runs until at least April 2025 (subject to any patent term extension that may be available). Geron's GRNCM1 program is developing hESC-derived cardiomyocytes for the treatment of heart disease.

Human heart blood vessels thrive in lab mice

For the first time, researchers have successfully grown functional human blood vessels in mice using cells from adult human donors—an important step in developing clinical strategies to grow tissue, researchers report in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Proteins Controlled by Light

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., & DALLAS, Oct. 16, 2008 -- Scientists have discovered a way to use light to control the activity of certain proteins, which they said could one day let them turn off disease-causing aspects of proteins in cells.

Key Proteins In Blood Stem Cell Replication Pinpointed

A family of cancer-fighting molecules helps blood stem cells in mice decide when and how to divide, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Blocking the molecules' function spurs the normally resting cells to begin proliferating strangely - making too much of one kind of cell and not enough of another. Many types of human blood cancers involve a similar disruption in the expression of that same family of molecules.

Stem cells score over lab animals

Madison(Wisconsin), Sept 24: Advances in stem cell research offer a new way of studying human disease, allowing scientists to move beyond fruit flies and lab mice to see how human cells go awry and how drugs and other therapies might help, US researchers said.

Getting To Grips With The Complexity Of Disease Proteins

New research into how proteins in human cells interact and 'talk' to each other is leading to a better understanding of how drug molecules work and should result in more effective therapies, according to a leading European scientist.

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