The human sub-epicardial area contains an unexplored cellular population under a layer of mesothelial cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the existence of interstitial Cajal-like cells (ICLCs), isolated smooth muscle cells (iSMC) and mesenchymal cells besides other well-known cells. The presence of iSMC in the sub-epicardial space is quite unique and could explain why epicardial-de...

RATIONALE Wt1-Cre-based tools are important reagents for studying epicardial cell fate and gene function. OBJECTIVE To better describe the properties of Wt1-Cre-based tools to enhance their use in Cre-loxP-based experiments. METHODS AND RESULTS In contrast to recently reported results, we show that constitutive Wt1(GFPCre) in combination with certain Cre-activated reporters can be used to t...

A 67-year-old Caucasian male was referred by the urology service with a history of incomplete bowel emptying. He complained of tenesmus. MRI scan suggested a leiomyoma lying anterior to the rectum. He underwent examination under anaesthesia and attempted endorectal ultrasound and biopsy. However, the lesion seemed to migrate cranially and was impalpable. At laparoscopy, a mobile, unattached, 5....

Early diagnosis of postoperative inflammatory intra-abdominal complications is an urgent issue due to the lack sufficiently informative methods. Our previous studies revealed that measurement venous blood plasma optical density parameters (ODVBP) at a wavelength l = 310 nm criterion for presence and destructive pathology abdominal organs. Therefore, it would be logical assume such indicator can...

Ovarian cancers metastasize by attaching to and invading through the mesothelium, a single layer of mesothelial cells lining the peritoneal cavity. The presence of invasive peritoneal metastases is associated with a poor prognosis for ovarian cancer (5-year survival <25%). Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is a cell surface receptor that mediates leukocyte attachment and extravasation ...

Lenses were removed from chick embryos at 4 days of incubation and the corneas were studied at various time intervals postoperatively through 17 days of incubation. Approximately 2 to 4 hours postoperatively a wave of mesenchymal tissue, presumably perilimbic in origin, moved in to cover the posterior surface of the cornea. This retrocorneal sheet of tissue grew in thickness and differentiated ...

Recent studies have shown that mesothelial progenitors contribute to mesenchymal lineages of developing organs. To what extent the overlying mesothelium contributes to lung development remains unknown. To rigorously address this question, we employed Wt1(CreERT2/+) mice for high-fidelity lineage tracing after confirming that Cre recombinase was mesothelial specific and faithfully recapitulated ...