Cell and Developmental Biology | Open Access Articles

Soluble Bone-Derived Osteopontin Promotes Migration And Stem-Like Behavior Of Breast Cancer Cells, Graciella M. Pio, Ying Xia, Matthew M. Piaseczny, Jenny E. Chu, Alison L. Allan

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in women, with the majority of these deaths caused by metastasis to distant organs. The most common site of breast cancer metastasis is the bone, which has been shown to provide a rich microenvironment that supports the migration and growth of breast cancer cells. Additionally, growing evidence suggests that breast cancer cells that do successfully metastasize have a stem-like phenotype including high activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and/or a CD44(+)CD24(-)phenotype. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that these ALDH (hi) CD44 (+) CD24(-)breast cancer cells interact with factors in …

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Evaluation Of Ct Perfusion Biomarkers Of Tumor Hypoxia, Qi Qi, Timothy Pok Chi Yeung, Ting-Yim Lee, Glenn Bauman, Cathie Crukley, Laura Morrison, Lisa Hoffman, Slav Yartsev

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Background Tumor hypoxia is associated with treatment resistance to cancer therapies. Hypoxia can be investigated by immunohistopathologic methods but such procedure is invasive. A non-invasive method to interrogate tumor hypoxia is an attractive option as such method can provide information before, during, and after treatment for personalized therapies. Our study evaluated the correlations between computed tomography (CT) perfusion parameters and immunohistopathologic measurement of tumor hypoxia. Methods Wistar rats, 18 controls and 19 treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), implanted with the C6 glioma tumor were imaged using CT perfusion on average every five days to monitor tumor growth. A final CT …

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Pulmonary Inflammation Is Regulated By The Levels Of The Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter, Nathalia M. Pinheiro, Claudia J. C. P. Miranda, Adenir Perini, Niels O. S. Camara, Soraia K. P. Costa, Maria Isabel C. Alonso-Vale, Luciana C. Caperuto, Iolanda F. L. C. Tiberio, Marco A. M. Prado, Milton A. Martins, Vania F. Prado, Carla M. Prado

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Acetylcholine (ACh) plays a crucial role in physiological responses of both the central and the peripheral nervous system. Moreover, ACh was described as an anti-inflammatory mediator involved in the suppression of exacerbated innate response and cytokine release in various organs. However, the specific contributions of endogenous release ACh for inflammatory responses in the lung are not well understood. To address this question we have used mice with reduced levels of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), a protein required for ACh storage in secretory vesicles. VAChT deficiency induced airway inflammation with enhanced TNF-alpha and IL-4 content, but not IL-6, IL-13 and …

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Skeletal Muscle Fibrosis In The Mdx/Utrn Plus /- Mouse Validates Its Suitability As A Murine Model Of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Kelly M. Gutpell, William T. Hrinivich, Lisa M. Hoffman

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Various therapeutic approaches have been studied for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), but none of these approaches have led to significant long-term effects in patients. One reason for this observed inefficacy may be the use of inappropriate animal models for the testing of therapeutic agents. The mdx mouse is the most widely used murine model of DMD, yet it does not model the fibrotic progression observed in patients. Other murine models of DMD are available that lack one or both alleles of utrophin, a functional analog of dystrophin. The aim of this study was to compare fibrosis and …

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Novel Strains Of Mice Deficient For The Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter: Insights On Transcriptional Regulation And Control Of Locomotor Behavior, Christina Martins-Silva, Xavier De Jaeger, Monica S. Guzman, Ricardo D. F. Lima, Magda S. Santos, Christopher Kushmerick, Marcus V. Gomez, Marc G. Caron, Marco A. M. Prado, Vania F. Prado

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Defining the contribution of acetylcholine to specific behaviors has been challenging, mainly because of the difficulty in generating suitable animal models of cholinergic dysfunction. We have recently shown that, by targeting the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) gene, it is possible to generate genetically modified mice with cholinergic deficiency. Here we describe novel VAChT mutant lines. VAChT gene is embedded within the first intron of the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) gene, which provides a unique arrangement and regulation for these two genes. We generated a VAChT allele that is flanked by loxP sequences and carries the resistance cassette placed in a ChAT …

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Role Of Alpha 7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor In Calcium Signaling Induced By Prion Protein Interaction With Stress-Inducible Protein 1, Flavio H. Beraldo, Camila P. Arantes, Tiago G. Santos, Nicolle G. T. Queiroz, Kirk Young, Jane R. Rylett, Regina P. Markus, Marco A. M. Prado, Vilma R. Martins

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

The prion protein (PrP(C)) is a conserved glycosylphosphatidyl-inositol-anchored cell surface protein expressed by neurons and other cells. Stress-inducible protein 1 (STI1) binds PrP(C) extracellularly, and this activated signaling complex promotes neuronal differentiation and neuroprotection via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase 1 (PKA) pathways. However, the mechanism by which the PrPC-STI1 interaction transduces extracellular signals to the intracellular environment is unknown. We found that in hippocampal neurons, STI1-PrP(C) engagement induces an increase in intracellular Ca(2+) levels. This effect was not detected in PrP(C)-null neurons or wild-type neurons treated with an STI1 mutant unable to …

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Endocytic Intermediates Involved With The Intracellular Trafficking Of A Fluorescent Cellular Prion Protein, Ac Magalhaes, Ja Silva, Vr Martins, Vf Prado, Ssg Ferguson, Mv Gomez, Rr Brentani, Mam Prado

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

We have investigated the intracellular traffic of PrPc, a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein implicated in spongiform encephalopathies. A fluorescent functional green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged version of PrPc is found at the cell surface and in intracellular compartments in SN56 cells. Confocal microscopy and organelle-specific markers suggest that the protein is found in both the Golgi and the recycling endosomal compartment. Perturbation of endocytosis with a dynamin I-K44A dominant-negative mutant altered the steady-state distribution of the GFP-PrPc, leading to the accumulation of fluorescence in unfissioned endocytic intermediates. These pre-endocytic intermediates did not seem to accumulate GFP-GPI, a minimum GPI-anchored protein, suggesting that …

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Full-Text Articles in Cell and Developmental Biology

Soluble Bone-Derived Osteopontin Promotes Migration And Stem-Like Behavior Of Breast Cancer Cells, Graciella M. Pio, Ying Xia, Matthew M. Piaseczny, Jenny E. Chu, Alison L. Allan

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Evaluation Of Ct Perfusion Biomarkers Of Tumor Hypoxia, Qi Qi, Timothy Pok Chi Yeung, Ting-Yim Lee, Glenn Bauman, Cathie Crukley, Laura Morrison, Lisa Hoffman, Slav Yartsev

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Skeletal Muscle Fibrosis In The Mdx/Utrn Plus /- Mouse Validates Its Suitability As A Murine Model Of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Kelly M. Gutpell, William T. Hrinivich, Lisa M. Hoffman

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Role Of Alpha 7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor In Calcium Signaling Induced By Prion Protein Interaction With Stress-Inducible Protein 1, Flavio H. Beraldo, Camila P. Arantes, Tiago G. Santos, Nicolle G. T. Queiroz, Kirk Young, Jane R. Rylett, Regina P. Markus, Marco A. M. Prado, Vilma R. Martins

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Endocytic Intermediates Involved With The Intracellular Trafficking Of A Fluorescent Cellular Prion Protein, Ac Magalhaes, Ja Silva, Vr Martins, Vf Prado, Ssg Ferguson, Mv Gomez, Rr Brentani, Mam Prado

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications