人白血病细胞系KG-1a中肿瘤干细胞样亚群细胞的初步研究

探讨人白血病细胞系KG-1a中是否存在具有肿瘤干细胞样生物学特性的亚群细胞.瑞氏染色和吖啶橙染色分别观察白血病细胞系KG-1a细胞形态和RNA含量:流式细胞术检测细胞周期分布;免疫组化和流式细胞术检测KG-1a细胞CD34的表达;流式细胞术检测CD34 CD38-亚群细胞;烟酸己可碱Hoechst33342染色后用荧光显微镜观察KG-1a细胞中侧群(side population,SP)样细胞所占比例.结果显示,白血病细胞系KG-1a细胞核仁易见,形态原始;部分细胞RNA含量低,细胞处于G0/G1期的比例占15.5%.绝大多数细胞的胞浆和胞膜皆表达CD34抗原,KG-1a中CD34 细胞占96.3%,CD34 CD38-亚群细胞占7.02%;SP样细胞大致比例为7.60%.本研究表明.人白血病细胞系KG-1a中存在具有肿瘤干细胞样生物学特性的亚群细胞.     

川芎嗪对急性髓性白血病KG-1a细胞表面标志物的影响

目的:探讨川芎嗪对急性髓性白血病KG-1a细胞表面标志物的影响。方法:通过体外细胞培养技术,利用中药有效成分单体干预细胞生长,运用MTT法及流式细胞术检测了经川芎嗪干预后的KG-1a细胞表面标志物CD34、CD33、CD123与CD7、CD56、CD44表达。结果:川芎嗪干预KG-1a细胞48小时后,细胞表面标志物CD34+CD33+、CD34+CD123+、CD33+CD123+表达率较对照组明显减少(P0.05),但是对于CD34+表达率无明显作用,同时,川芎嗪干预KG-1a细胞48小时后,KG-1a细胞表面标志物CD7、CD56、CD44荧光强度与对照组比较明显降低(P0.05),但是对KG-1a细胞表面标志物CD7、CD56、CD44表达率无明显影响,与对照组比较无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:川芎嗪逆转白血病耐药作用,除能够降低MDR、P-gp高表达外,能够降低白血病干细胞特异性表面标志物CD34+CD123+、CD34+CD33+、CD33+CD123+、CD7、CD56、CD44表达水平,从白血病干细胞水平逆转多药耐药。     

从鼠黑色素瘤细胞系中分离和鉴定癌干细胞样细胞

目的：从鼠黑色素瘤BL6F10细胞系中分离与鉴定癌干细胞（CSC）样细胞,为今后对CSC的鉴定及靶向治疗奠定基础。方法：用不同免疫磁珠标记的单克隆抗体,从BL6F10细胞系中分离有特征性CD表型的瘤细胞,体外观察不同CD表型瘤细胞在软琼脂培养基上形成克隆的能力;将这些瘤细胞皮下注射到C57BL/6小鼠,比较其致瘤性。结果：从BL6F10细胞系中分离出不同CD表型的特征性瘤细胞;在软琼脂培养基上,CD133^＋、CD44^＋和CD44^＋CD133^＋细胞克隆形成率分别高于CD133^-、CD44^-和CD44^＋CD133^-细胞;CD133^＋、CD44^＋、CD44^＋CD133^＋和CD44^＋CD133^＋CD24＋细胞在小鼠体内的致瘤性分别强于CD133^-、CD44^-、CD44^＋CD133^-和CD44^＋CD133^＋CD24^-细胞。结论：CD44^＋CD133^＋CD24＋表型的BL6F10细胞的某些生物学特性与CSC样细胞相似,具有CSC特征,这些实验结果为进一步鉴定BL6F10细胞系中的CSC提供了重要的实验资料。     

RAB5A基因表达改变对人肺腺癌细胞系GLC-82和SPC-a1的分化和侵袭特性影响

为探讨RAB5A基因对两种人肺腺癌细胞系GLC－82和SPC－al分化及侵袭特性的影响。利用细胞转染技术将构建的RAB5A反义RNA重组质粒（pcDNA3-AntiRAB5A)和RAB5A正义真核表达载体分别转染入低分化人肺腺癌细胞系GLC－82和低转移人肺腺癌细胞系SPC－al中,在稳定筛选后,通过裸鼠体内实验和体外人工基底膜侵袭和细胞趋化运动实验,观察观察转染后细胞分化和转移特性的改变,观察转染前后细胞,发现转染后GLC－82细胞体外侵袭重组基底膜能力及趋化运动能力降低（t检验P＜0．02）;裸鼠体内成瘤实验,瘤块切片病理观察转染后GLC－82细胞出现腺腔样及基底模样结构,分化程度增高,转染后SPC－al细胞体外趋化运动能力,侵袭重组基底膜能力均增强(t检验P＜0．02）。RAB5A基因通过影响细胞的体外趋化运动能力,侵袭重组基底膜能力等对GLC－82和SPC－al细胞的侵袭表型形成及GLC－82细胞的分性发挥重要作用。     

低氧通过上调Wnt5a促进人胚胎干细胞向生血内皮细胞分化

胚胎的早期发育是在低氧条件下进行的,低氧环境在胚胎血管发生及造血发育中起着重要作用,低氧条件能促进胚胎干细胞在体外向内皮细胞和造血细胞的分化,但低氧条件对造血细胞产生的具体作用及相应机制尚不清楚．本研究利用人Es细胞向造血祖细胞定向分化体系,发现低氧环境可以促进CD31＋TIE2＋造血内皮祖细胞的产生,2天后造血内皮祖细胞开始表达终生造血基因．进一步研究发现,低氧能够上调Wnt5a的表达,干涉Wnt5a能够抑制低氧环境对生血内皮细胞分化的促进作用．在正常氧环境下加入Wnt5a产生促进生血内皮细胞分化的效应,该效应与低氧处理促进生血内皮细胞产生的作用相似．本研究首次证明了低氧通过上调Wnt5a的表达促进人Es细胞向生血内皮细胞的分化,为ES细胞向生血内皮细胞的分化及造血祖细胞分化的研究提供了新的线索．     

miR-15a 和miR-16-1 模拟物对人骨肉瘤细胞系SOSP-9607 凋亡 和增殖的影响

目的:探讨miR-15a和miR-16-1模拟物对于人骨肉瘤细胞系SOSP-9607凋亡和增殖的影响。方法:将SOSP-9607细胞分为实验组和对照组。实验组分为miR-15a组、miR-16-1组、miR-15a+miR-16-1组。以miR-15a组为例,采用miR-15a模拟物(hsa-miR-15a mimics)上调SOSP-9607细胞内的miR-15a表达量。对照组分为阴性对照组和空白对照组。采用流式细胞仪测定细胞凋亡率,四甲基偶氮唑蓝(MTT)法测定细胞增殖,并计算细胞增殖效率。结果:通过统计学分析,实验组凋亡率与阴性对照组凋亡率相比明显增高(P<0.05);实验组的细胞增殖率明显低于对照组(P<0.05)。结论:上调SOSP-9607细胞内miR-15a和miR-16-1的表达量可促进SOSP-9607细胞的凋亡并抑制其增殖。     

miR-15a和miR-16-1模拟物对人骨肉瘤细胞系SOSP-9607凋亡和增殖的影响

目的：探讨miR-15a和miR-16-1模拟物对于人骨肉瘤细胞系SOSP-9607凋亡和增殖的影响。方法：将SOSP-9607细胞分为实验组和对照组。实验组分为miR-15a组、miR-16-1组、miR-15a＋miR-16-1组。以miR-15a组为例,采用miR-15a模拟物（hsa-miR-15a mimics）上调SOSP-9607细胞内的miR-15a表达量。对照组分为阴性对照组和空白对照组。采用流式细胞仪测定细胞凋亡率,四甲基偶氮唑蓝（MTT）法测定细胞增殖,并计算细胞增殖效率。结果：通过统计学分析,实验组凋亡率与阴性对照组凋亡率相比明显增高（P〈0.05）;实验组的细胞增殖率明显低于对照组（P〈0.05）。结论：上调SOSP-9607细胞内miR-15a和miR-16-1的表达量可促进SOSP-9607细胞的凋亡并抑制其增殖。     

表达K1-5 蛋白的人胎盘间充质干细胞抑制大鼠主动脉环血管生成的实验研究

目的:观察表达外源性Kringle1-5(K1-5)蛋白的人胎盘组织的间充质干细胞(HPMSCs)在体外对大鼠主动脉环血管生成的影响。方法:用胶原酶和贴壁法从人胎盘组织中提取间充质干细胞。选取感染复数MOI:50,将重组腺病毒载体rAd-K1-5感染HPMSCs至48 h;应用荧光显微镜观察转染效率。取8周雌性SD大鼠的腹主动脉,建立主动脉环血管生成体外模型,6天后观察基质胶内微血管形成的情况。结果:从人胎盘组织提取的成纤维样细胞具有贴壁生长特性,可向成骨细胞、脂肪细胞分化,证明从胎盘提取的细胞是间充质干细胞。采用rAd-K1-5腺病毒载体感染的HPMSCs可分泌Kringle1-5蛋白,表达K1-5蛋白的转基因HPMSCs处理的基质胶栓中管样结构的形成明显减少。结论:表达外源性Kringle1-5蛋白的HPMSCs能够体外抑制大鼠主动脉环新生血管生成。     

干细胞样记忆型T细胞在HIV-1感染中作用的研究

干细胞样记忆型T细胞(Stem memory T cells,Tscm)是最早期分化的、存活时间最长的一类记忆型T细胞。这类细胞具有自我更新及多能分化等干细胞特性,其在抗肿瘤中具有重要的作用,在HIV-1感染中的作用也开始成为研究热点。本文对Tscm细胞的特点、CD4+Tscm细胞在HIV-1病毒储藏库中的重要性及CD8+Tscm细胞抗病毒作用的最新研究进行介绍。了解并充分利用Tscm细胞的特性及其在HIV-1感染中的作用,将有助于开发以Tscm为靶点的HIV-1疫苗及免疫治疗新方法,为HIV-1的防控及功能性治愈提供新的策略。     

Enrichment for Chemoresistant Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells from Human Cell Lines

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are defined as a subset of slow cycling and undifferentiated cells that divide asymmetrically to generate highly proliferative, invasive, and chemoresistant tumor cells. Therefore, CSCs are an attractive population of cells to target therapeutically. CSCs are predicted to contribute to a number of types of malignancies including those in the blood, brain, lung, gastrointestinal tract, prostate, and ovary. Isolating and enriching a tumor cell population for CSCs will enable researchers to study the properties, genetics, and therapeutic response of CSCs. We generated a protocol that reproducibly enriches for ovarian cancer CSCs from ovarian cancer cell lines (SKOV3 and OVCA429). Cell lines are treated with 20 µM cisplatin for 3 days. Surviving cells are isolated and cultured in a serum-free stem cell media containing cytokines and growth factors. We demonstrate an enrichment of these purified CSCs by analyzing the isolated cells for known stem cell markers Oct4, Nanog, and Prom1 (CD133) and cell surface expression of CD177 and CD133. The CSCs exhibit increased chemoresistance. This method for isolation of CSCs is a useful tool for studying the role of CSCs in chemoresistance and tumor relapse.     

Study on The Proliferation and Drug-resistance of Human Brain Tumor Stem-like Cells

Brain tumor stem-like cells (BTSLCs) have been implied to play an important role in genesis and development of glioma. However, their characteristics on proliferation and drug-resistance are uncertain thoroughly. In this experiment, some of the biological characteristics about BTSLCs were explored. Twenty cases of different grades of human glioma tissues were obtained from clinic. The primary glioma cells were collected and CD133⁺ cells from them were purified by magnetic cell sorting assay. The BTSLCs were identified by testing the expression of CD133, Nestin, NSE, and GFAP, along with the culture process. WST-8 assay kit was used to evaluate the proliferating situation of CD133⁺ cells in the different grade gliomas, and to compare the drug-resistance between the CD133⁺ and CD133 ⁻ cells in the medium containing different concentrations of teniposide (VM-26). The results showed that the CD133⁺ cells could regenerate by self-renewal, then generate and different into NSE⁺ and GFAP⁺ cells, respectively. CD133⁺ cells in the high grade of gliomas showed the faster generation than the ones in the low grade. The number of survived CD133⁺ cells in the medium containing VM-26 was much more than the CD133⁻ ones in it. Therefore, it was implied that the CD133⁺ BTSLCs existed in the glioma tissues possessed the more tolerant ability to the VM-26, and could proliferate much more easily in the high-grade glioma.     

Cellular Resistance Against Troxacitabine in Human Cell Lines and Pediatric Patient Acute Myeloid Leukemia Blast Cells

Troxacitabine is a cytotoxic deoxycytidine analogue with an unnatural L-configuration, which is activated by deoxycytidine kinase (dCK). The configuration is responsible for differences in the uptake and metabolism of troxacitabine compared to other deoxynucleoside analogues. To determine whether troxacitabine has an advantage over other nucleoside analogues several cell lines resistant to cladribine and gemcitabine were exposed to troxacitabine, while blast cells from pediatric leukemia patients were tested for cross-resistance with other deoxynucleoside analogues. The gemcitabine resistant AG6000 (IC₅₀: >3000 nM), and the cladribine resistant CEM (IC₅₀: 150 nM) and HL-60 (IC₅₀: >3000 nM) cell lines, all with no or decreased dCK expression, were less sensitive to troxacitabine than their wild type counterparts (IC₅₀; A2780: 410, CEM: 71 and HL-60: 158 nM). dCK protein expression in CEM was higher than in HL-60, which, in turn, was higher than in A2780. Catalytically inactive p53 seems to increase the sensitivity to troxacitabine. The patient samples showed a large range of sensitivity to troxacitabine, similar to other deoxynucleoside analogues. Cross-resistance with all other deoxynucleoside analogues was observed.     

Microenvironment Promotes Tumor Cell Reprogramming in Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines

The microenvironment drives mammary gland development and function, and may influence significantly both malignant behavior and cell growth of mammary cancer cells. By restoring context, and forcing cells to properly interpret native signals from the microenvironment, the cancer cell aberrant behavior can be quelled, and organization re-established. In order to restore functional and morphological differentiation, human mammary MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells were allowed to grow in a culture medium filled with a 10% of the albumen (EW, Egg White) from unfertilized chicken egg. That unique microenvironment behaves akin a 3D culture and induces MCF-7 cells to produce acini and branching duct-like structures, distinctive of mammary gland differentiation. EW-treated MDA-MB-231 cells developed buds of acini and duct-like structures. Both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells produced β-casein, a key milk component. Furthermore, E-cadherin expression was reactivated in MDA-MB-231 cells, as a consequence of the increased cdh1 expression; meanwhile β-catenin – a key cytoskeleton component – was displaced behind the inner cell membrane. Such modification hinders the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in MDA-MB-231 cells. This differentiating pathway is supported by the contemporary down-regulation of canonical pluripotency markers (Klf4, Nanog). Given that egg-conditioned medium behaves as a 3D-medium, it is likely that cancer phenotype reversion could be ascribed to the changed interactions between cells and their microenvironment.     

Human Neuroendocrine Tumor Cell Lines as a Three-Dimensional Model for the Study of Human Neuroendocrine Tumor Therapy

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare tumors, with an incidence of two per 100, 000 individuals per year, and they account for 0.5% of all human malignancies.¹ Other than surgery for the minority of patients who present with localized disease, there is little or no survival benefit of systemic therapy. Therefore, there is a great need to better understand the biology of NETs, and in particular define new therapeutic targets for patients with nonresectable or metastatic neuroendocrine tumors. 3D cell culture is becoming a popular method for drug screening due to its relevance in modeling the in vivo tumor tissue organization and microenvironment.^2,3 The 3D multicellular spheroids could provide valuable information in a more timely and less expensive manner than directly proceeding from 2D cell culture experiments to animal (murine) models.To facilitate the discovery of new therapeutics for NET patients, we have developed an in vitro 3D multicellular spheroids model using the human NET cell lines. The NET cells are plated in a non-adhesive agarose-coated 24-well plate and incubated under physiological conditions (5% CO₂, 37 °C) with a very slow agitation for 16-24 hr after plating. The cells form multicellular spheroids starting on the 3^rd or 4^th day. The spheroids become more spherical by the 6^th day, at which point the drug treatments are initiated. The efficacy of the drug treatments on the NET spheroids is monitored based on the morphology, shape and size of the spheroids with a phase-contrast light microscope. The size of the spheroids is estimated automatically using a custom-developed MATLAB program based on an active contour algorithm. Further, we demonstrate a simple method to process the HistoGel embedding on these 3D spheroids, allowing the use of standard histological and immunohistochemical techniques. This is the first report on generating 3D spheroids using NET cell lines to examine the effect of therapeutic drugs. We have also performed histology on these 3D spheroids, and displayed an example of a single drug''s effect on growth and proliferation of the NET spheroids. Our results support that the NET spheroids are valuable for further studies of NET biology and drug development.     

Blocking KCa3.1 Channels Increases Tumor Cell Killing by a Subpopulation of Human Natural Killer Lymphocytes

Natural killer (NK) cells are large granular lymphocytes that participate in both innate and adaptive immune responses against tumors and pathogens. They are also involved in other conditions, including organ rejection, graft-versus-host disease, recurrent spontaneous abortions, and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. We demonstrate that human NK cells express the potassium channels Kv1.3 and KCa3.1. Expression of these channels does not vary with expression levels of maturation markers but varies between adherent and non-adherent NK cell subpopulations. Upon activation by mitogens or tumor cells, adherent NK (A-NK) cells preferentially up-regulate KCa3.1 and non-adherent (NA-NK) cells preferentially up-regulate Kv1.3. Consistent with this different phenotype, A-NK and NA-NK do not display the same sensitivity to the selective KCa3.1 blockers TRAM-34 and NS6180 and to the selective Kv1.3 blockers ShK-186 and PAP-1 in functional assays. Kv1.3 block inhibits the proliferation and degranulation of NA-NK cells with minimal effects on A-NK cells. In contrast, blocking KCa3.1 increases the degranulation and cytotoxicity of A-NK cells, but not of NA-NK cells. TRAM-34, however, does not affect their ability to form conjugates with target tumor cells, to migrate, or to express chemokine receptors. TRAM-34 and NS6180 also increase the proliferation of both A-NK and NA-NK cells. This results in a TRAM-34-induced increased ability of A-NK cells to reduce in vivo tumor growth. Taken together, our results suggest that targeting KCa3.1 on NK cells with selective blockers may be beneficial in cancer immunotherapy.