<p>A modified method for isolating human quiescent pancreatic stellate cells</p>

Modified methods for isolation of pancreatic stellate cells from human and rodent pancreas

Primary cultures of pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) remain an important basis for in vitro study. However, effective methods for isolating abundant PSCs are currently lacking. We report on a novel approach to isolating PSCs from normal rat pancreases and human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tissue. After anaesthesia and laparotomy of the rat, a blunt cannula was inserted into the panc...

Pancreatic stellate cell: Pandora's box for pancreatic disease biology

Pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) were identified in the early 1980s, but received much attention after 1998 when the methods to isolate and culture them from murine and human sources were developed. PSCs contribute to a small proportion of all pancreatic cells under physiological condition, but are essential for maintaining the normal pancreatic architecture. Quiescent PSCs are characterized by...

Pancreatic cancer-associated stellate cells

Pancreatic cancer-associated stellate cells secrete soluble factors, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), that promote the accumulation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells via a signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)-dependent mechanism. Targeting components of the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling axis within the tumor stroma could therefore inhibit local immunosuppression and improve the ...

Integrative miRNA and Gene Expression Profiling Analysis of Human Quiescent Hepatic Stellate Cells

Unveiling the regulatory pathways maintaining hepatic stellate cells (HSC) in a quiescent (q) phenotype is essential to develop new therapeutic strategies to treat fibrogenic diseases. To uncover the miRNA-mRNA regulatory interactions in qHSCs, HSCs were FACS-sorted from healthy livers and activated HSCs (aHSCs) were generated in vitro. MiRNA Taqman array analysis showed HSCs expressed a low nu...

A simple method for isolating individual microbes.