UNLABELLED Pancreatic cancer is characterized by an extensive desmoplastic stroma, the functional relevance of which is poorly understood. Activated fibroblasts are a prevalent component of the stroma, and traditionally, these cells have been considered as a homogenous population derived from pancreatic stellate cells. In this study, we highlight a previously unappreciated heterogeneity of the ...

PURPOSE To isolate fibroblast precursors from rabbit corneal stroma using a sphere-forming assay, to engineer corneal stroma with the precursors and gelatin, and to establish the therapeutic application of precursors in a rabbit corneal stroma. METHODS In the in vitro study, a sphere-forming assay was performed to produce precursors from rabbit corneal stroma. Corneal stroma was engineered by...

Reactive stromal changes in prostate cancer (PCa) are likely involved in the emergence of castration-resistant PCa (CRPC). This study was designed to investigate stromal changes in patients with clinically advanced PCa and analyze their prognostic significance. Prostate needle biopsies obtained from 148 patients before castration therapy were analyzed by Masson trichrome staining and immunohist...

Purpose: Marked reactive stroma formation is associated with poor outcome in clinically localized prostate cancer. We have previously identified genes with diverse functions that are upregulated in reactive stroma. This study tests the hypothesis that expression of these genes in stromal cells enhances prostate cancer growth in vivo. Experimental Design: The expression of reactive stroma genes ...

The chemical environment of bare, excised rabbit corneal stroma was varied to determine the effects of solutes on the swelling pressure. Measurements of changes in the thickness of the stroma are converted to hydration units which are in turn converted to a change in swelling pressure at the initial hydration. The order of effects on swelling pressure are compared to the Hofmeister series for p...

In recent years, a great deal has been learnt about the molecular regulation of kidney development. While most research has focused on the molecular regulation of ureteric branching morphogenesis and nephron formation, significant insights into the definition and functions of the renal stroma have emerged. Many molecules expressed in the developing renal stroma are now known to play significant...

mated Bowman layer preparation with a 90to 100-mm-thick donor lamella of anterior stroma (instead of an 8to 12-mm-thick isolated Bowman layer graft). In our experience, the presence of donor stroma seems to degrade the optical quality of the transplanted cornea (as Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty/Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty grafts containing donor stroma ma...

BACKGROUND The role that the peritumoral stroma plays in the growth of tumours is currently poorly understood. In this manuscript the morphometric characteristics of basal cell carcinoma subtypes and their associated peritumoral stromas are presented. METHODS Ninety eight digitized basal cell carcinoma histology slides were categorized as infiltrative, nodular, or superficial subtypes, and we...

Red cell stroma protein and hemoglobin can be labeled by feeding C(14) lysine during periods of active blood regeneration following anemia. Stroma proteins are produced and a maximum concentration of the C(14) label appears 2 to 3 days earlier than with hemoglobin,-which is to say that stroma building precedes hemoglobin construction. The concentration of isotope in stroma protein may exceed it...

The unusually dense stroma of pancreatic cancers is thought to play an important role in their biological aggression. The presence of hypoxia is also considered an adverse prognostic factor. Although it is usually assumed that this is the result of effects of hypoxia on the epithelial component, it is possible that hypoxia exerts indirect effects via the tumor stroma. We therefore measured hypo...