Visualization of Bonghan Microcells by Electron and Atomic Force Microscopy

Cancer microcell initiation and determination

BACKGROUND

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, despite the possibilities to detect early onset of the most common cancer types. The search for the optimal therapy is complicated by the cancer diversity within tumors and the unsynchronized development of cancerous cells. Therefore, it is necessary to characterize cancer cell populations after treatment has been applied, because cancer recurrence is not rare. In our research, we concentrated on small cancer cell subpopulation (microcells) that has a potential to be cancer resistance source. Previously made experiments has shown that these cells in small numbers form in specific circumstances after anticancer treatment.

METHODS

In experiments described in this research, the anticancer agents' paclitaxel and doxorubicin were used to stimulate the induction of microcells in fibroblast, cervix adenocarcinoma, and melanoma cell lines. Mainly for the formation of microcells in melanoma cells. The drug-stimulated cells were then characterized in terms of their formation efficiency, morphology, and metabolic activity.

RESULTS

We observed the development of cancer microcells and green fluorescent protein (GFP) transfection efficiency after stress. In the time-lapse experiment, we observed microcell formation through a renewal process and GFP expression in the microcells. Additionally, the microcells were viable after anticancer treatment, as indicated by the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogen phosphate (NADPH) enzyme activity assay results. Taken together, these findings indicate that cancer microcells are viable and capable of resisting the stress induced by anticancer drugs, and these cells are prone to chemical substance uptake from the environment.

CONCLUSION

Microcells are not only common to a specific cancer type, but can be found in any tumor type. This study could help to understand cancer emergence and recurrence. The appearance of microcells in the studied cancer cell population could be an indicator of the individual anticancer therapy effectiveness and patient survival.

Recent Approaches on Signal Transduction and Transmission in Acupuncture: A Biophysical Overview for Medical Sciences

Acupuncture is one of the areas among the alternative therapies that arise high curiosity in the biomedical scientific community. It is particularly popular for treatment of chronic diseases and addictions. However, contrasting with its evidence-based effectiveness, the lack of reasonable explanations for its mode of action divides that scientific community. Difficulties also arise to those responsible for providing information for clinicians and professionals who wish to acquire competencies leading to the acupuncture practice and have a background based on biochemistry and physiology. The classic theories of nerve conduction do not fully explain how information is read and transmitted during the acupuncture treatment. Other theories have been proposed, but they are based on concepts such as biophotonic waves and quantum biochemistry that are difficult to read and understand by those who do not have knowledge in physics. It is the main objective of this review to provide a summary of the main theories and explanatory approaches to the signal transduction and conduction in acupuncture and to describe them in terms of their explanatory hypotheses, limitations, and weaknesses. The most of the literature found support theories for neural conduction, including gate control. They explain the effects of acupuncture in pain relief; few studies have been conducted concerning the conduction based on biophotons. The primo vascular system has been referred as a possible anatomic support for conduction of information during an acupuncture treatment, which could be connected to biophoton transmission.

Is the Newly Described Interstitial Network the Anatomical Basis of Acupuncture Meridians? A Commentary

A network passing through interstitial tissues of the human body has been recently described. Despite its functional importance is yet unknown, we try to briefly summarize the known data and to interpret it from the viewpoint of Traditional Chinese medicine. We consider the peculiarities of the interstitium to be the morphological basis of at least some of the known phenomena along acupuncture meridians.

Various stem cells in acupuncture meridians and points and their putative roles

Traditional Chinese and Korean medicine uses various manipulations on acupuncture points/acupoints that are located along imaginary lines on the surface of a human body, which are called 'meridians'. Acupuncture has been used from the ancient time till now to cure various diseases, including for the purpose of regenerative medicine. In various studies, meridians are alternatively called as Bong-Han ducts, primo vessels, or hyaluronic-acid rich ducts, while acupoints are called Bong-Han corpuscles, primo nodes, or hyaluronic-acid rich nodes. Meridians and acupuncture points form a system that is now called primo vascular system (PVS), which is claimed to contain various kinds of stem cells. The stem cell size is between 1-5 microns. The smallest is the primo microcells that have a putative role in regeneration. Other stem cells are adult pluripotent and hematopoietic stem cells that play a role in extra bone marrow hematopoiesis. The presence of PVS has been reproduced by many studies. However, the various stem cells need further studies to prove their existence and function, and harvesting PVS to isolate the stem cells might harm the health of the donor.

A Hyaluronic Acid-Rich Node and Duct System in Which Pluripotent Adult Stem Cells Circulate

Regenerative medicine is in demand of adult pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). The "Bonghan System (BHS)" was discovered and suggested to contain cells with regenerative capacity in the early 1960s. It had been ignored for a long time due to the lack of sufficient details of experiments, but about 37 years after the initial report, the BHS was rediscovered and named as the "primo vascular system." Recently, we have discovered a similar structure, which contained a high level of hyaluronic acid, and hence, named the structure as hyaluronic acid-rich node and duct system (HAR-NDS). Here we discuss the HAR-NDS concept starting from the discovery of BHS, and findings pointing to its importance in regenerative medicine. This HAR-NDS contained adult PSCs, called node and duct stem cells (NDSCs), which appeared to circulate in it. We describe the evidence that NDSCs can differentiate into hemangioblasts that further produced differentiated blood cells. The NDSCs had a potential to differentiate into neuronal cells and hepatocytes; thus, NDSCs had a capability to become cells from all three germ layers. This system appears to be a promising alternative source of adult stem cells that can be easily delivered to their target tissues and participate in tissue regeneration.

Motion properties of the sanals of the primo vascular system under a magnetic field

The motion properties of the sanals of the primo vascular system were investigated under a low static magnetic field of 100 Oe. Sanals of about 1 μm were selected and separated from the primo vessels and nodes on a rabbit's organ surface. The average velocity of five sanals in a physiologic saline solution parallel and perpendicular to the direction of the applied magnetic field was approximately 1.0 pixel/second in random directions, which implies that the rotating motion of sanals with nuclei composed of DNA containing many inorganic magnetic elements such as manganese and cobalt is monotonically weakened by increasing an applied magnetic field.

Expression of stem cell markers in primo vessel of rat

Accumulating line of evidence support that adult tissues contain a rare population of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), which differentiate into all types of cells in our body. Bonghan microcell (primo microcells (PMCs)) discovered in 1960s was reported to have a pluripotency like a stem cell in vivo as well as in vitro condition. Here, we describe the detailed morphology and molecular features of PMCs. PMCs reside in Bonghan duct (primo vessel (PV)) reported as a corresponding structure of acupuncture points and meridian system. We found that PMCs were frequently observed in the liver surface of the rat between 300 g and 400 g from April to June, suggesting that the their detection frequency depends on the weight, the season, and the organ of rat. As reported, PMCs freshly isolated from PVs were spherical ~1-2  μ m microsized cells. In contrast, a unique bithread or budding-shaped PMCs emerged during tissue culture around 8 days. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that PVs-derived cells express the Oct4, the most important PSCs gene, in addition to several PSCs markers (Sox2, Stella, Rex1, and Klf4). Thus, we for the first time provide the evidence about Oct4-expressing stem-like characteristics for cells resident in PVs, a possible novel stem cell enriched niche.

50 years of bong-han theory and 10 years of primo vascular system

The primo vascular system (PVS) was first introduced by Bong-Han Kim via his five research reports. Among these the third report was most extensive and conclusive in terms of the PVS anatomy and physiology relating to the acupuncture meridians. His study results, unfortunately, were not reproduced by other scientists because he did not describe the materials and methods in detail. In 2002, a research team in Seoul National University reinitiated the PVS research, confirmed the existence of PVS in various organs, and discovered new characteristics of PVS. Two important examples are as follows: PVS was found in the adipose tissue and around cancer tissues. In parallel to these new findings, new methods for observing and identifying PVS were developed. Studies on the cell and material content inside the PVS, including the immune function cells and stem cells, are being progressed. In this review, Bong-Han Kim's study results in his third report are summarized, and the new results after him are briefly reviewed. In the last section, the obstacles in finding the PVS in the skin as an anatomical structure of acupuncture meridian are discussed.

Primo vascular system accompanying a blood vessel from tumor tissue and a method to distinguish it from the blood or the lymph system

A primo vessel was observed in the abdominal cavity in the lung cancer mouse model, and its function as an extra metastatic path was observed. In this work, we found a primo vessel accompanying a blood vessel emanating from a tumor in the skin. We also presented simple and efficient criteria to distinguish a primo vessel from a blood or a lymph vessel and from a nerve. The criteria for using DAPI and Phalloidin will be useful in clinical situations to find and identify the primo vessels among the blood vessels, lymph vessels, or nerves in the tissue surrounding a tumor such as a melanoma or breast cancer.

Evidence for the fusion of extracellular vesicles with/without DNA to form specific structures in fertilized chicken eggs, mice and rats

With a combination of cultivation and phase-contrast and fluorescence microscopic observation, we first found that fusion of extracellular vesicles with or without membranes occurred in fertilized chicken eggs. In order to find solid evidence for fusion, we collected many fusion data from various tissues; primo vessels and pancreases of mice and pancreases and omentums of rats. Especially, by using acridine orange vital staining to demonstrate DNA and phase-contrast and fluorescence microscopy for long real-time observation, we found that many of the extracellular vesicles involved in the fusion process contained DNAs. The fusions fall into two main patterns: pattern A characterizes a fusion of less agitated extracellular vesicles without membranes. Pattern B is a fusion of vigorously vibrating extracellular vesicles in a certain membrane. Considering all data, tables, pictures and movies, we were able to show fusions of DNA extracellular vesicles without or with membranes in several tissues of three species. Interestingly, some of the fused structures share the same morphology as normal cell's in terms of overall shape, size and DNA signals in the center. Thus, in this article we first report the evidence for the fusion of extracellular vesicles with/without DNA toward a specific structure and discuss our findings by comparing with those of other pioneer's works in search for a mitosis-free alternative pathway for generating new cells.

Growth of microgranules into cell-like structures in fertilized chicken eggs: hypothesis for a mitosis-free alternative pathway

According to Bonghan Kim's theory of anatomical reality for acupuncture meridians, DNA microgranules known as Sanals are key functional components in the primo vascular system (formerly the Bonghan system). To investigate this issue, we developed a new system, an incubator bound to a phase-contrast microscope, in which we cultivated and then observed for 10 hours microgranules taken from 3-day-old chick embryos and from blastoderms of fertilized chicken eggs. With this system, we found that, over time, the microgranules grew in circular patterns to become cell-like structures. In the embryo specimens, we found two distinctive microgranule growths, which developed into cell-like structures over 10 hours. In the first case, a microgranule of about 1.0 μm in size developed into a 3.3-μm-sized cell-like structure, with a pattern of concentric circles. The growth rate of the diameter of the first microgranule was, on average, 0.23 μm/hour. In the second case, a 2.5-μm-sized microgranule developed into a 5.4-μm-sized cell-like structure, which also exhibited a pattern of concentric circles. The average growth rate of the diameter of the second microgranule was 0.31 μm/hour. In the blastoderm specimens from the fertilized chicken egg, we also found three distinctive concentric growths. Interestingly, one of the three blastoderm microgranules grew very quickly, from about 2.5 μm in size to about 5.5 μm in size during 5 minutes of incubation. This was followed by steady growth to about 7.0 μm in size during the next 10 hours of incubation. In the final step of our investigation, we confirmed that the cell-like structures that had grown from the microgranules stained by acridine orange had DNA signals. We believe that the data obtained with our experimental method provide a clue that a mitosis-free alternative pathway for cell formation may, indeed, exist. We also suggest that this new function of microgranules (Sanals) might be related with the acupuncture meridian called the primo vascular system.

Estimating the density of fluorescent nanoparticles in the primo vessels in the fourth ventricle and the spinal cord of a rat

The primo vascular system is a novel circulatory system forming a network throughout an animal's body. Primo vessels were recently observed in the fourth ventricle of the brain and in the spinal cord of a rat by using fluorescent nanoparticles. In order to quantify the nanoparticles in the primo vessels, we measured the florescence of the nanoparticles and calibrated the measurements by using a reference suspension. We removed the noise due to autofluorescence with the technique of multispectral imaging. The line densities of nanoparticles and the contrast values of their images were, respectively, 0.5 ± 0.5 ng/mm and 0.7 ± 0.5 for primo vessels in the fourth ventricle, and 1.3 ± 0.6 ng/mm and 1.4 ± 0.2 for primo vessels in the spinal cord. The data obtained from and the procedures used in this work could be useful in evaluating the feasibility of using nanoparticles as a contrast agent during MRI or CT imaging of primo vessels in the brain or the spinal cord.