BACKGROUND Several studies have demonstrated the derivation of multi- or pluripotent stem cells from testicular cells of both newborn and adult mice by a spontaneous conversion process, when these cells are cultured in vitro for an extended time. To obtain a better and robust derivation, we have attempted to identify small molecules (SMs) that induce reprogramming of testicular cells in culture...

Most stem cell laboratories still rely on old culture methods to support the expansion and maintenance of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. These involve growing cells on mouse embryonic fibroblast feeder cells or on gelatin in media supplemented with fetal bovine serum and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). However, these techniques have several drawbacks including the need for feeder-cells and/...

CRMP-2 plays a pivotal role in promoting axon formation, neurite outgrowth and elongation in neuronal cells. CRMP-2's role in other cells is unknown. Our preliminary results showed CRMP-2 expression in cilia of fibroblasts. To localize CRMP-2, define its role and study the regulation of CRMP-2's expression in cilia we carried out the following experiments. We find that in fibroblasts CRMP-2 loc...

Emerging evidence indicates that human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) can be recruited to tumor sites, and affect the growth of human malignancies. However, little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms. Here, we observed the effects of hMSCs on the human cholangiocarcinoma cell line, HCCC-9810, using an animal transplantation model, and conditioned media from human umbilical cord-d...

Background: Relatively little has been reported comparing the ability of different induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and protocols to derive human intestinal organoids (HIO), although there is potential to supply HIO for translational research and regenerative medicine. In view of the time and effort required to differentiate HIO, protocols for differentiation were compared and five iPSC l...

Many studies are based on the hypothesis that recurrence and drug resistance in lung carcinoma are due to a subpopulation of cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) in solid tumors. Therefore it is crucial to screen for and recognize lung CSLCs. In this study, we stimulated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) A549 cells to display stem cell-like characteristics using a combination of five small molecule ...

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neuroinflammatory disease resulting in degeneration of the myelin sheaths and death of oligodendrocytes. So far, several strategies have been introduced to control the disease. Treatment with small molecules is one of the strategies that have recently attracted the attention in the scientific community. These molecules that target epigenetic and other cellular proce...

Cell-based therapy is expected as an alternative treatment for Parkinson’s disease. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, two accompanying papers (Kim et al., 2021Kim T.W. Piao J. Koo S.Y. Kriks S. Chung Betel D. Socci N.D. Choi S.J. Zabierowski Dubose B.N. al.Biphasic activation WNT signaling facilitates the derivation midbrain dopamine neurons translational use.Cell Cell. 2021; 28 (this issue): 34...

Background Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common chronic joint disease and characterized by damage to articular cartilage. To date, no cure exists (1). Previously, an association between polymorphisms in acidic leucine-rich nuclear phosphoprotein-32A (ANP32A) gene OA was described (2). Our group showed that ANP32A plays a key protective role preventing oxidative stress (3). In cartilage, downr...