8. Data was normalized to corresponding non-infected controls. Engineering the Pericellular Matrix: Lentiviral Transduction of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Thakore, P I; Twomey, J D; Rastogi, A +Hsieh, A H +University of Maryland, College Park, MD; University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD [email protected] INTRODUCTION: Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have demonstrated great potential in the deve...

Osteopontin (OPN) is a multifunctional extracellular matrix (ECM) protein involved in multiple physiological processes. OPN expression is dramatically increased in visceral adipose tissue in obesity and the lack of OPN protects against the development of insulin resistance and inflammation in mice. We sought to unravel the potential mechanisms involved in the beneficial effects of the absence o...

BACKGROUND CD166, also known as activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM), is expressed by various cells in several tissues including cancer. However, the role of CD166 in malignant tumors is controversial, especially in pancreatic cancer. This study aimed to clarify the role and significance of CD166 expression in pancreatic cancer. METHODS We performed immunohistochemistry and flow...

BACKGROUND Because inbred rat strains are widely used as laboratory models, knowledge of phenotypic and genetic variations between strains will be useful to obtain insight into the relationship between different strains. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied phenotypic traits: of each strain--BN/K, DA/K and WOKW--10 male rats were studied for body weight and serum constituents at an age of 10 and 30...

Repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (r-mTBI) results in neuropathological and biochemical consequences in the human visual system. Using a recently developed mouse model of r-mTBI, with control mice receiving repetitive anesthesia alone (r-sham) we assessed the effects on the retina and optic nerve using histology, immunohistochemistry, proteomic and lipidomic analyses at 3 weeks post injury...

Down syndrome (DS), the principal cause for intellectual disability, is also associated with hormonal, immunological, and gastrointestinal abnormalities. Muscle hypotonia (MH) and congenital heart diseases (CHD) are also frequently observed. Collagen molecules are essential components for maintaining muscle integrity and are formed by the assembly of three chains, alpha 1-3. The type VI collage...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Approximately 6% of human beings harbor an unruptured intracranial aneurysm. Each year in the United States, >30 000 people suffer a ruptured intracranial aneurysm, resulting in subarachnoid hemorrhage. Despite the high incidence and catastrophic consequences of a ruptured intracranial aneurysm and the fact that there is considerable evidence that predisposition to intrac...

Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the primary risk factor for glaucoma, and lowering IOP remains the only effective treatment for glaucoma. The trabecular meshwork (TM) in the anterior chamber of the eye regulates IOP by generating resistance to aqueous humor outflow. Aqueous humor outflow is segmental, but molecular differences between high and low outflow regions of the TM are poorly und...