U-M Researchers Find Indirect Path to Attack Breast Cancer Stem Cells Scientists have identified a potential new way of attacking breast cancer stem cells. Researchers found that breast cancer stem cells are regulated by mesenchymal stem cells. These cells are drawn from the bone marrow to the cancer and create a “niche” for the cancer stem cells, allowing them to replicate. [Press release from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center discussing online prepublication in Cancer Research ]
Irradiation Induces Bone Injury by Damaging Bone Marrow Microenvironment for Stem Cells Researchers irradiated the distal half of the mouse left femur to study the mechanism of irradiation-induced bone injury and found that no mesenchymal stem cells were detected in irradiated distal femora or nonirradiated proximal femora. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA]
Breast Cancer Stem Cells Are Regulated by Mesenchymal Stem Cells through Cytokine Networks Researchers have used in vitro and mouse xenograft models to examine the interaction between breast cancer stem cells (CSC) and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Researchers show that both of these cell populations are organized in a cellular hierarchy in which primitive aldehyde dehydrogenase expressing mesenchymal cells regulate breast CSCs through cytokine loops involving IL6 and CXCL7. [Cancer Res]
NANOG has a Role in Mesenchymal Stem Cells’ Immunomodulatory Effect Researchers measured the mesenchymal stem cells’ (MSCs) immuno-modulation capacity for suppression of T cells activation and proliferation before or after endogenous NANOG interference, showing that the MSCs’ immuno-modulation capacity was significantly weakened after NANOG knockdown. [Stem Cells Dev]
Transduction of Wnt11 Promotes Mesenchymal Stem Cells Transdifferentiation into Cardiac Phenotypes Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) has emerged as a potential treatment for ischemic heart repair. Previous studies have suggested that Wnt11 plays a critical role in cardiac specification and morphogenesis. In this study, researchers examined whether transduction of Wnt11 directly increases MSC differentiation into cardiac phenotypes. [Stem Cells Dev]
The Ratio of VEGF/PEDF Expression in Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Regulates Neovascularization The results indicate that, rather than being progenitors of endothelial cells, bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) play an important role in regulating the neovascularization process, and that the ratio of VEGF and PEDF may, in effect, be an indicator of the pro- or anti-angiogenic activities of BMSCs. [Differentiation]
Enhanced Differentiation and Clonogenicity of Human Endometrial Polyp Stem Cells Experimental results demonstrate that endometrial polyp mesenchymal stem cells are a population of mesenchymal progenitor cells existing in human endometrial polyps that are capable of proliferation, differentiation, and colonogenicity exceeding that of bone marrow stem cells and endometrial stromal cells. [Differentiation]
