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Robertson JM. Astrocyte domains and the three-dimensional and seamless expression of consciousness and explicit memories. Med Hypotheses 2013; 81:1017-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2013.09.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2013] [Revised: 08/30/2013] [Accepted: 09/13/2013] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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Christ GJ, Saul JM, Furth ME, Andersson KE. The pharmacology of regenerative medicine. Pharmacol Rev 2013; 65:1091-133. [PMID: 23818131 DOI: 10.1124/pr.112.007393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Regenerative medicine is a rapidly evolving multidisciplinary, translational research enterprise whose explicit purpose is to advance technologies for the repair and replacement of damaged cells, tissues, and organs. Scientific progress in the field has been steady and expectations for its robust clinical application continue to rise. The major thesis of this review is that the pharmacological sciences will contribute critically to the accelerated translational progress and clinical utility of regenerative medicine technologies. In 2007, we coined the phrase "regenerative pharmacology" to describe the enormous possibilities that could occur at the interface between pharmacology, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineering. The operational definition of regenerative pharmacology is "the application of pharmacological sciences to accelerate, optimize, and characterize (either in vitro or in vivo) the development, maturation, and function of bioengineered and regenerating tissues." As such, regenerative pharmacology seeks to cure disease through restoration of tissue/organ function. This strategy is distinct from standard pharmacotherapy, which is often limited to the amelioration of symptoms. Our goal here is to get pharmacologists more involved in this field of research by exposing them to the tools, opportunities, challenges, and interdisciplinary expertise that will be required to ensure awareness and galvanize involvement. To this end, we illustrate ways in which the pharmacological sciences can drive future innovations in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering and thus help to revolutionize the discovery of curative therapeutics. Hopefully, the broad foundational knowledge provided herein will spark sustained conversations among experts in diverse fields of scientific research to the benefit of all.
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Affiliation(s)
- George J Christ
- Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA.
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Lobikin M, Chernet B, Lobo D, Levin M. Resting potential, oncogene-induced tumorigenesis, and metastasis: the bioelectric basis of cancer in vivo. Phys Biol 2012. [PMID: 23196890 DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/9/6/065002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Cancer may result from localized failure of instructive cues that normally orchestrate cell behaviors toward the patterning needs of the organism. Steady-state gradients of transmembrane voltage (V(mem)) in non-neural cells are instructive, epigenetic signals that regulate pattern formation during embryogenesis and morphostatic repair. Here, we review molecular data on the role of bioelectric cues in cancer and present new findings in the Xenopus laevis model on how the microenvironment's biophysical properties contribute to cancer in vivo. First, we investigated the melanoma-like phenotype arising from serotonergic signaling by 'instructor' cells-a cell population that is able to induce a metastatic phenotype in normal melanocytes. We show that when these instructor cells are depolarized, blood vessel patterning is disrupted in addition to the metastatic phenotype induced in melanocytes. Surprisingly, very few instructor cells need to be depolarized for the hyperpigmentation phenotype to occur; we present a model of antagonistic signaling by serotonin receptors that explains the unusual all-or-none nature of this effect. In addition to the body-wide depolarization-induced metastatic phenotype, we investigated the bioelectrical properties of tumor-like structures induced by canonical oncogenes and cancer-causing compounds. Exposure to carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) induces localized tumors, but has a broad (and variable) effect on the bioelectric properties of the whole body. Tumors induced by oncogenes show aberrantly high sodium content, representing a non-invasive diagnostic modality. Importantly, depolarized transmembrane potential is not only a marker of cancer but is functionally instructive: susceptibility to oncogene-induced tumorigenesis is significantly reduced by forced prior expression of hyperpolarizing ion channels. Importantly, the same effect can be achieved by pharmacological manipulation of endogenous chloride channels, suggesting a strategy for cancer suppression that does not require gene therapy. Together, these data extend our understanding of the recently demonstrated role of transmembrane potential in tumor formation and metastatic cell behavior. V(mem) is an important non-genetic biophysical aspect of the microenvironment that regulates the balance between normally patterned growth and carcinogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Lobikin
- Biology Department and Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology, Tufts University, 200 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, USA
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Rennie K, Gruslin A, Hengstschläger M, Pei D, Cai J, Nikaido T, Bani-Yaghoub M. Applications of amniotic membrane and fluid in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Stem Cells Int 2012; 2012:721538. [PMID: 23093978 PMCID: PMC3474290 DOI: 10.1155/2012/721538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2012] [Accepted: 09/07/2012] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The amniotic membrane (AM) and amniotic fluid (AF) have a long history of use in surgical and prenatal diagnostic applications, respectively. In addition, the discovery of cell populations in AM and AF which are widely accessible, nontumorigenic and capable of differentiating into a variety of cell types has stimulated a flurry of research aimed at characterizing the cells and evaluating their potential utility in regenerative medicine. While a major focus of research has been the use of amniotic membrane and fluid in tissue engineering and cell replacement, AM- and AF-derived cells may also have capabilities in protecting and stimulating the repair of injured tissues via paracrine actions, and acting as vectors for biodelivery of exogenous factors to treat injury and diseases. Much progress has been made since the discovery of AM and AF cells with stem cell characteristics nearly a decade ago, but there remain a number of problematic issues stemming from the inherent heterogeneity of these cells as well as inconsistencies in isolation and culturing methods which must be addressed to advance the field towards the development of cell-based therapies. Here, we provide an overview of the recent progress and future perspectives in the use of AM- and AF-derived cells for therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerry Rennie
- Neurogenesis and Brain Repair, National Research Council-Institute for Biological Sciences, Bldg. M-54, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0R6
| | - Andrée Gruslin
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada KIH 845
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada KIH 845
| | - Markus Hengstschläger
- Institute of Medical Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Straße 10, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Duanqing Pei
- Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 190 Kai Yuan Avenue, Science Park, Guangzhou 510530, China
| | - Jinglei Cai
- Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 190 Kai Yuan Avenue, Science Park, Guangzhou 510530, China
| | - Toshio Nikaido
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Mahmud Bani-Yaghoub
- Neurogenesis and Brain Repair, National Research Council-Institute for Biological Sciences, Bldg. M-54, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0R6
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada KIH 845
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