Organic cation transporters (Octs) play an important role in transporting cationic xeno- and endobiotics across biological membranes. Little is known about Octs in mice; therefore, the tissue distribution and developmental changes in the mRNA expression of Octs in mice were quantified. Oct1, Oct2, Oct3, Octn1, Octn2, and Octn3 mRNA expression was quantified in 14 tissues from male and female mi...

Mouse and human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) may represent a novel approach for modeling diabetes. Taking this into consideration, the aim of this study was to generate and evaluate differentiation potential of iPSCs from lep(db/db) (db/db) mice, the model of diabetes type 2 as well as from patients with Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young 3 (HNF1A MODY). Murine iPSC colonies from bo...

BACKGROUND Reprogramming human somatic cells to pluripotency represents a valuable resource for the development of in vitro based models for human disease and holds tremendous potential for deriving patient-specific pluripotent stem cells. Recently, mouse neural stem cells (NSCs) have been shown capable of reprogramming into a pluripotent state by forced expression of Oct3/4 and Klf4; however i...

Sox family transcription factors play essential roles in cell differentiation, development, and sex determination. Sox2 was previously thought to be the sole Sox protein expressed in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Sox2 associates with Oct3/4 to maintain self-renewal of ES cells. In the current study, digital differential display identified transcripts for an additional Sox family member, Sox1...

Picoplatin, a third-generation platinum agent, is efficacious against lung cancers that are otherwise resistant or become refractory during platinum treatment. This effort was aimed at the determination of the influence of organic cation transporters 1, 2, and 3 (OCT1, OCT2, and OCT3) and their genetic variants on cellular uptake of picoplatin and on the individual components of the ensuing cyt...

NF-κB signaling plays an essential role in maintaining the undifferentiated state of embryonic stem (ES) cells. However, opposing roles of NF-κB have been reported in mouse and human ES cells, and the role of NF-κB in human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has not yet been clarified. Here, we report the role of NF-κB signaling in maintaining the undifferentiated state of human iPS cells. Co...

The biological properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are influenced by donor age, gender and/or tissue sources. The present study investigated the cellular and molecular properties of porcine mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) isolated from different tissues (adipose & dermal skin) and sex at different ages (1 week & 8 months after birth) with similar genetic and environmental backgrou...

The drug–drug interaction (DDI) potential of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) as interacting drugs via transporter inhibition has not been fully assessed. Here, we estimated the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values for 8 small-molecule TKIs (imatinib, dasatinib, nilotinib, gefitinib, erlotinib, sunitinib, lapatinib, and sorafenib) on [C]metformin transport by human organic cation...

Mood disorders cause much suffering and are the single greatest cause of lost productivity worldwide. Although multiple medications, along with behavioral therapies, have proven effective for some individuals, millions of people lack an effective therapeutic option. A common serotonin (5-HT) transporter (5-HTT/SERT, SLC6A4) polymorphism is believed to confer lower 5-HTT expression in vivo and e...

The function of the visceral yolk sac (VYS) is critical for embryo organogenesis until final fetal development in rats, and can be affected by conditions such as diabetes. In view of the importance of diabetes during pregnancy for maternal and neonatal health, the objective of this study was to assess fetal weight, VYS cell markers, and viability in female Wistar rats (200-250 g) with induced d...