Amoebae feed on bacteria, and few bacteria can resist their microbicidal ability. Amoebal coculture could therefore be used to selectively grow these amoebae-resisting bacteria (ARB), which may be human pathogens. To isolate new ARB, we performed amoebal coculture from 444 nasal samples. We recovered 7 (1.6%) ARB from 444 nasal swabs, including 4 new species provisionally named Candidatus Roseo...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are recruited to the tumor microenvironment and influence tumor progression; however, how MSCs induce the invasion of cancer cells is not completely understood. Here, we used a 3D coculture model to determine how MSCs affect the migration of invasive breast cancer cells. Coculture with MSCs increases the elongation, directional migration, and traction generation of...

Human bone marrow-derived mast cells (hBMMCs), differentiated in vitro in suspension culture and under the influence of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells conditioned medium (hCM), were tested for their response to recombinant human interleukin-3 (rhIL-3) and for their behavior in different microenvironments. The hBMMCs were incubated in the presence of rhIL-3 and the changes in their pro...

PURPOSE During in vivo stem cell differentiation, mature cells often induce the differentiation of nearby stem cells. Accordingly, prior studies indicate that a randomly mixed coculture can help transform mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) into nucleus pulposus cells (NPC). However, because in vivo signaling typically occurs heterotopically between adjacent cell layers, we hypothesized that a structu...

Metabolism is one of the important determinants of the overall disposition of drugs, and the profile of metabolites can have an impact on efficacy and safety. Predicting which drug metabolites will be quantitatively predominant in humans has become increasingly important in the research and development of new drugs. In this study, a novel micropatterned hepatocyte coculture system was evaluated...

The microenvironment of cancer cells has been implicated in cancer development and progression. Cancer-associated fibroblast constitutes a major stromal component of the microenvironment. To analyze interaction between cancer cells and fibroblasts, we have developed a new bilateral coculture system using a two-sided microporous collagen membrane. Human normal skin fibroblasts were cocultured wi...

Using an in vitro coculture system to mimic the interactions between the cells of the vessel wall, we have previously shown that pericytes and smooth muscle cells (SMC) inhibit the growth of capillary endothelial cells (EC). We have undertaken studies to determine the mechanism of this inhibition. Using conditioned media and affinity-purified antibodies to transforming growth factor beta (TGF-b...

Overproduction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been linked with the pathogenesis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Here, we examined why the high levels of TNF-inducing activity associated with P. falciparum-parasitized erythrocytes (PE) appear to be lost after cell lysis. Static coculture of PE and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), with or without separation by porous membranes, de...

Molecular information about the bacterial composition of a coculture capable of sulfate reduction after exposure to oxic and microoxic conditions was used to identify and subsequently to isolate the components of the mixture in pure culture. PCR amplification of 16S ribosomal DNA fragments from the coculture, analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, resulted in two distinct 16S ribo...