Control of stem cell fate by engineering their micro and nanoenvironment

Stem cells are capable of long-term self-renewal and differentiation into specialised cell types, making them an ideal candidate for a cell source for regenerative medicine. The control of stem cell fate has become a major area of interest in the field of regenerative medicine and therapeutic intervention. Conventional methods of chemically inducing stem cells into specific lineages is being challenged by the advances in biomaterial technology, with evidence highlighting that material properties are capable of driving stem cell fate. Materials are being designed to mimic the clues stem cells receive in their in vivo stem cell niche including topographical and chemical instructions. Nanotopographical clues that mimic the extracellular matrix(ECM) in vivo have shown to regulate stem cell differentiation. The delivery of ECM components on biomaterials in the form of short peptides sequences has also proved successful in directing stem cell lineage. Growth factors responsible for controlling stem cell fate in vivo have also been delivered via biomaterials to provide clues to determine stem cell differentiation. An alternative approach to guide stem cells fate is to provide genetic clues including delivering DNA plasmids and small interfering RNAs via scaffolds. This review, aims to provide an overview of the topographical, chemical and molecular clues that biomaterials can provide to guide stem cell fate. The promising features and challenges of such approaches will be highlighted, to provide directions for future advancements in this exciting area of stem cell translation for regenerative medicine.     

Basisphenoid and basioccipital pits in microchiropteran bats

We examined 686 skulls of 420 species of microchiropteran bats in 16 families to assess variation in pits in the basisphenoid and basioccipital bones. A total of 26 measurements were used to describe variation in pits, and patterns in the distribution of pits were examined across the families. Pits were absent from 154 species and present in 266 species. While some species had as many as four basisphenoid pits, basioccipital pits, when present, always occurred as a single pair. No species had more than four pits (basisphenoid or basioccipital and basisphenoid) in total. In some families all species either had pits (e.g. Emballonuridae) or none had pits (e.g. Rhinolophidae), but the incidence of pits usually was variable within families. The results of a cluster analysis of families based on the incidence of pits and morphological features of pits bore little resemblance to a recent phylogeny of Microchiroptera. A discriminant function analysis of features of pits of Emballonuridae, Phyllostomidae, Vespertilionidae and Molossidae correctly classified 66% of species to family revealing some continuity in pit structure among related species. There was no evidence of significant sexual dimorphism in the incidence or features of pits. Basisphenoid and basioccipital pits tended to increase in size with skull size. Neither the incidence nor the morphology of basisphenoid nor basioccipital pits was consistently associated with echolocation, diet or foraging behaviour. Pits were present or absent from species using either high‐intensity or low‐intensity echolocation calls, and the same was true of bats using high or low duty cycle modes of echolocation. Furthermore, the presence or absence of pits did not correspond to the presence or absence of harmonics in echolocation calls. We propose that basisphenoid and basioccipital pits are oscillators in the vocal tract and contribute to the production of non‐linear phenomena in vocalizations made by bats. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2003, 78 , 215–233.     

Genetic covariance between indices of body condition and immunocompetence in a passerine bird

Background  

Condition-dependence is a ubiquitous feature of animal life histories and has important implications for both natural and sexual selection. Mate choice, for instance, is typically based on condition-dependent signals. Theory predicts that one reason why condition-dependent signals may be special is that they allow females to scan for genes that confer high parasite resistance. Such explanations require a genetic link between immunocompetence and body condition, but existing evidence is limited to phenotypic associations. It remains unknown, therefore, whether females selecting males with good body condition simply obtain a healthy mate, or if they acquire genes for their offspring that confer high immunocompetence.     

Mediation of pinocytosis in cultured arterial smooth muscle and endothelial cells by platelet-derived growth factor

Pinocytosis was measured in monkey aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC), bovine aortic endothelial cells, and Swiss 3T3 cells in culture as cellular uptake of [U-(14)C]sucrose and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) from the tissue culture medium. Monkey arterial SMC and Swiss 3T3 cells were maintained in a quiescent state of growth at low cells density in medium containing 5 percent monkey plasma-derived serum (PDS). Replacement of PDS with 5 percent monkey whole blood serum (WBS) from the same donor, or addition to PDS of partially purified platelet-derived growth factor(s) (PF), resulted in a marked stimulation of pinocytosis as well as of cellular proliferation. In SMC, enhancement of the rate of pinocytosis occurred 4-6 h after exposure to WBS or PF, and the rate was up to twofold higher than the rate in medium containing PDS. In contrast, [(3)H]thymidine uptake by SMC did not increase until 12-16 h after exposure to PF. In endothelial cells the presence of PF or WBS did not enhance either the rate of pinocytosis or the rate of proliferation over that in PDS. Thus, endothelial cells did not become quiescent at subconfluent densities in PDS but maintained rates of proliferation and pinocytosis that were equivalent to those in WBS. By autoradiography, the fraction of labeled nuclei in SMC cultures 24 h after change of medium increased from 0.061 +/- 0.004 in quiescent cultures to 0.313 +/- 0.028 after exposure to WBS or PF. In contrast, labeling indices of endothelial cells were similar for cultures grown in PDS, WBS, or PF at any single time point after change of medium. These findings suggest that the rate of pinocytosis maybe be coupled in some fashion to growth regulation, which may be mediated in part by specific growth factors, such as that derived from the thrombocyte.     

Analysis of clonal diversity of the peach–potato aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), in Scotland, UK and evidence for the existence of a predominant clone

Clones of the peach–potato aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), mostly from Scotland, UK were examined using an rDNA fingerprinting technique. Eighty patterns (genotypes) were found amongst the 276 clones. A large number of clones (30%) from all sample areas in Scotland exhibited the same simple pattern, suggesting the presence of a single M. persicae clone. There was no difference in genotype distributions between M. persicae collected from brassica or potato crops, suggesting that host-adapted genotypes have no advantage in the field. Different fingerprints were randomly distributed in the environment, although clones taken from the same leaf were more often the same fingerprint. Highly distinctive fingerprints, which were more widely distributed, suggest that this technique could be used to follow individual clones. In addition to the common clonal type, multiple fingerprint bands were found over successive years, implying that, in Scotland, local overwintering asexual populations are the most common source of M. persicae in the following year.