We have previously reported on both the osteogenic potential of hydroxyapatite (HA) combined with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and a method involving osteogenic matrix cell sheet transplantation of BMSCs. In the present study, we assessed the osteogenic potential of serially-passaged BMSCs, both in vitro and in vivo. We also assessed whether an additional cell-loading tech...

Zebrafish (ZF, Danio rerio) has emerged as an important and popular model species to study different human diseases. Key regulators of skeletal development and calcium metabolism are highly conserved between mammals and ZF. The corresponding orthologs share significant sequence similarities and an overlap in expression patterns when compared to mammals, making ZF a potential model for the study...

The present studies show for the first time that demineralized bone re-calcifies rapidly when incubated at 37 °C in rat serum: re-calcification can be demonstrated by Alizarin Red and von Kossa stains, by depletion of serum calcium, and by uptake of calcium and phosphate by bone matrix. Re-calcification is specific for the type I collagen matrix structures that were calcified in the original bo...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) in the osteogenic differentiation of human alveolar bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hABMMSCs). To investigate whether Sema3A affects hABMMSC proliferation and osteogenic differentiation, a stable Sema3A-overexpression cell line was generated by infection with the pAdCMV-SEMA3A-MCS-EGFP vector. Cell counting k...

It is known that multipotent stromal cells (MSCs) and thymocytes possess membrane affinity and interaction in the thymic niches that is essentially important for thymocytes differentiation. However there are no data about possible influence of intercellular contacts in the reverse direction: from the thymocytes to the MSCs. MATERIALS AND METHODS. The MSCs were obtained from the thymuses of С57В...

Atherosclerotic plaques have a high probability of undergoing rapid progression to stenosis, becoming responsible of acute coronary syndrome or stroke. Microcalcifications may act as enhancers of atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability. Considering that calcifications with a diameter smaller than 10 mm in paraffin embedded tissue are rather difficult to detect, our aim was to analyze microcalcific...

OBJECTIVES Oestrogen has been proven to significantly enhance osteogenic potency, while oestrogen deficiency usually leads to impaired osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. However, little is known concerning direct effects of oestrogen on differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, human DPSCs were isolated and treated with 10...

Objective. To investigate the effects of Toll-like receptors in stem cell osteogenesis. Methods. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were divided into the blank group, the TLR-3 activated group, and the TLR-4 activated group. After 10 days' osteogenic-promoting culture, expression of type I collagen and osteocalcin was determined by Western blot. Osteoblasts (OBs) were also divided into ...