Cellulose (medium cotton linters, C6288) was from Sigma Chemical (St. Louis, MO). Other commercial chemicals were of reagent grade or better and were used without further purification. FluoroFlash fluorous silica gel was from Aldrich Chemical (Milwaukee, WI). The term “concentrated under reduced pressure” refers to the removal of solvents and other volatile materials using a rotary evaporator a...

AIM Intervertebral disc degeneration/low back pain is the number one global musculoskeletal condition in terms of disability and socioeconomic impact. MATERIALS & METHODS Multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were cultured in micromass pellets ± FGF-2 or -18 up to 41 days, matrix components were immunolocalized and gene expression monitored by quantitative-reverse transcription PCR. RES...

moiety, which can be monitored (Figure 1). However, this methodology can result in many false positives due to the nominal mass characteristic of these instruments. To eliminate this false positive potential, the extra selectivity and sensitivity of exact mass neutral loss measurement using a hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer can be an attractive alternative. Additionally, full...

Embryonic midbrain micromass cultures were exposed for five days to ochratoxin A (OTA) at seven concentrations (ranging from 0.16 to 10 microg/mL). Cell viability was assessed in neutral red uptake test (NRU), and differentiation - by immunoenzymatic determination of structural proteins (beta(III)-tubulin, MAP2, GFAP) expression level as well as by computer image analysis. Dose dependent decrea...

1. Introduction To identify proteins, a de novo sequencing algorithm computes the peptide sequences from MS/MS data without the need of a protein database. When proteins are heavily modified or from an organism whose genome is not sequenced, de novo sequencing is the only reliable approach to identify the proteins in a sample. De novo sequencing typically requires higher quality data than those...

Reciprocal defects in signaling between the myotome and the sclerotome compartments of the somites in PDGFRalpha and Myf5 mutant embryos lead to alterations in the formation of the vertebrae and the ribs. To investigate the significance of these observations, we have examined the role of PDGF signaling in the developing somite. PDGFA ligand expression was not detected in the myotome of Myf5 nul...

Biomechanical stimuli play important roles in the formation of articular cartilage during early foetal life, and optimal mechanical load is a crucial regulatory factor of adult chondrocyte metabolism and function. In this study, we undertook to analyse mechanotransduction pathways during in vitro chondrogenesis. Chondroprogenitor cells isolated from limb buds of 4-day-old chicken embryos were c...

Vertebrate Pax genes encode a family of transcription factors that play important roles in embryonic patterning and morphogenesis. Two closely related Pax genes, Pax-1 and Pax-9, are associated with early axial and limb skeleton development. To investigate the role of these genes in cartilage formation we have examined the expression profiles of Pax-1 and Pax-9 in developing chick limb mesenchy...