Stem cells can promote myocardial regeneration and accelerate the formation of new blood vessels. As such, transplanted stem cells represent a promising treatment modality for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Stem cells spontaneously home to the infarcted myocardium using chemotaxis, in which the stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1α) has been shown to be one of the most important chemokines. H...

Abbreviations: PI3K-Akt: Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase and Protein Kinase B; Rac1: Ras-Related C3 Botulinum Toxin Substrate 1; LN332: Laminin 332; EGF: Epidermal Growth Factor; EGF-R: Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor; IGF1&IGF-II: Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1&2; Gtpase: Guanosine 5’-Triphosphate Hydrolase Enzyme; IRS-1, IRS-2: Insulin Receptor Substrate 1&2; ERK: Extracellular Receptor Kinase; ...

We studied the number and function of angiogenic progenitor cells and growth factors in children aged 5-18 years without acute illness, 43 with Hemoglobin SS and 68 with normal hemoglobin. Hemoglobin SS subjects had at least twice as many mononuclear cell colonies and more circulating progenitor cell than Control subjects. Plasma concentrations of erythropoietin, angiopoietin-2, and stromal-der...

Solid tumors consist of malignant cells and associated stromal components, including fibroblastic cells that contribute to tumor growth and progression. Although tumor fibrosis and aberrant vascularization contribute to the hypoxia often found in advanced tumors, the contribution of hypoxic signaling within tumor-associated fibroblasts to tumorigenesis remains unknown. In this study, we used a ...

Bone marrow cells (BMC) are critical to the expansion of the tumor vessel network that supports Ewing sarcoma growth. BMCs migrate to the tumor and differentiate into endothelial cells and pericytes. We recently demonstrated that stromal-derived growth factor 1α (SDF-1α) regulates platelet-derived growth factor B (PDGF-B) and that this pathway plays a critical role in bone marrow-derived pericy...

We examined the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in targeting the stromal-derived factor 1α/CXCR4 (SDF-1α/CXCR4) axis to overcome chemoresistance of AML cells. Microarray analysis of OCI-AML3 cells revealed that the miRNA let-7a was downregulated by SDF-1α-mediated CXCR4 activation and increased by CXCR4 inhibition. Overexpression of let-7a in AML cell lines was associated with decreased c-Myc and BC...

Abbreviations: PI3K-Akt: Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase and Protein Kinase B; Rac1: Ras-Related C3 Botulinum Toxin Substrate 1; LN332: Laminin 332; EGF: Epidermal Growth Factor; EGF-R: Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor; IGF1&IGF-II: Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1&2; Gtpase: Guanosine 5’-Triphosphate Hydrolase Enzyme; IRS-1, IRS-2: Insulin Receptor Substrate 1&2; ERK: Extracellular Receptor Kinase; ...

Activation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) and macrophage infiltration of solid tumors independently promote tumor progression. As little is known how myeloid HIF affects tumor development, we injected the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and procarcinogen 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA; 100 μg/100 μl) subcutaneously into myeloid-specific Hif-1α and Hif-2α knockout mice (C57BL/6J) to induce f...

Surgical flaps are frequently affected by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) and stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) are closely associated with myocardial I/R injury. This study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of applying SDF-1α to counteract CaSR activation-mediated I/R injury in ischemic free flaps. Free flaps that underwent ischemia for 3 h were...