Sample records for taxus suspension cell

  1. Gravisensing, apoptosis, and drug recovery in Taxus cell suspensions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Durzan, D. J.

    1999-01-01

    Haploid and diploid cell suspensions of Taxus spp. were examined for their adaptive plasticity in response to simulated microgravity, unit gravity, and hypergravity. Cell suspensions produced the taxane, paclitaxel, (TAXOL (R)), which is useful for the treatment of various cancers. Amyloplasts contributed to taxane ring biosynthesis and to drug release at the cell wall. Drug-producing cells reacted as gravisensing osmotic tensiometers. In stressed cells, amyloplasts docked and fused in clusters to sites on the plasmalemma before taxane discharge into the culture medium. In simulated microgravity and compared to all other treatments, taxane production was reduced nearly 100-fold. The percent paclitaxel of total taxanes remained 3-to 6-fold greater, and biomass doubled. When p53-independent programmed cell death was induced, taxanes were released into the culture medium as free molecules (soluble and insoluble) or bound to membranes, nuclear fragments, xylan residues, and other particulate materials. Unit gravity and especially hypergravity promoted xylogenesis and significant drug overproduction. A model relating families of >touch = (TCH), taxane early response (TER), nuclear cycling, and apoptosis-regulating genes to gravisensing, cell wall modifications, and to taxane recovery accounted for most but not all of the observations.

  2. Assessment of genetic and epigenetic variation during long-term Taxus cell culture.

    PubMed

    Fu, Chunhua; Li, Liqin; Wu, Wenjuan; Li, Maoteng; Yu, Xiaoqing; Yu, Longjiang

    2012-07-01

    Gradual loss of secondary metabolite production is a common obstacle in the development of a large-scale plant cell production system. In this study, cell morphology, paclitaxel (Taxol®) biosynthetic ability, and genetic and epigenetic variations in the long-term culture of Taxus media cv Hicksii cells were assessed over a 5-year period to evaluate the mechanisms of the loss of secondary metabolites biosynthesis capacity in Taxus cell. The results revealed that morphological variations, gradual loss of paclitaxel yield and decreased transcriptional level of paclitaxel biosynthesis key genes occurred during long-term subculture. Genetic and epigenetic variations in these cultures were also studied at different times during culture using amplified fragment-length polymorphism (AFLP), methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses. A total of 32 primer combinations were used in AFLP amplification, and none of the AFLP loci were found to be polymorphic, thus no major genetic rearrangements were detected in any of the tested samples. However, results from both MSAP and HPLC indicated that there was a higher level of DNA methylation in the low-paclitaxel yielding cell line after long-term culture. Based on these results, we proposed that accumulation of paclitaxel in Taxus cell cultures might be regulated by DNA methylation. To our knowledge, this is the first report of increased methylation with the prolongation of culture time in Taxus cell culture. It provides substantial clues for exploring the gradual loss of the taxol biosynthesis capacity of Taxus cell lines during long-term subculture. DNA methylation maybe involved in the regulation of paclitaxel biosynthesis in Taxus cell culture.

  3. Taxane recovery from cells of Taxus in micro- and hypergravity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Durzan, D. J.; Ventimiglia, F.; Havel, L.

    1998-01-01

    Cell suspension cultures of Taxus cuspidata produce taxanes that are released from the outer surface of cells into the culture medium as free and bound alkaloids. Paclitaxel (Taxol (TM)), is an anti-cancer drug in short supply. It has a taxane ring derived from baccatin III and a C-13 phenylisoserine side-chain. This drug is produced over a wide range of gravitational forces. Monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to paclitaxel, baccatin III, and the C-13 phenylisoserine side chain were combined in multiple-labeling studies to localize taxanes and paclitaxel on cell surfaces or on particles released into the culture medium. Bioreactor vessel design altered the composition of taxanes recovered from cells in simulated microgravity. At 10(-2) and 2x10(-4)g, taxane recovery was reduced but biomass growth and percent paclitaxel was significantly increased. At 1 to 24g, growth was reduced with a significant recovery of total taxanes with low percent paclitaxel. Bound paclitaxel was also localized in endonuclease-rich fragmenting nuclei of individual apoptotic cells. A model is presented comprising TCH (touch) genes encoding enzymes that modify taxane-bearing xylan residues in cell walls, the calcium-sensing of gravitational forces by the cytoplasm, and the predisposition of nuclei to apoptosis. This integrates the adaptive physiological and biochemical responses of drug-producing genomes with gravitational forces.

  4. Functional analysis of a WRKY transcription factor involved in transcriptional activation of the DBAT gene in Taxus chinensis.

    PubMed

    Li, S; Zhang, P; Zhang, M; Fu, C; Yu, L

    2013-01-01

    Although the regulation of taxol biosynthesis at the transcriptional level remains unclear, 10-deacetylbaccatin III-10 β-O-acetyl transferase (DBAT) is a critical enzyme in the biosynthesis of taxol. The 1740 bp fragment 5'-flanking sequence of the dbat gene was cloned from Taxus chinensis cells. Important regulatory elements needed for activity of the dbat promoter were located by deletion analyses in T. chinensis cells. A novel WRKY transcription factor, TcWRKY1, was isolated with the yeast one-hybrid system from a T. chinensis cell cDNA library using the important regulatory elements as bait. The gene expression of TcWRKY1 in T. chinensis suspension cells was specifically induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Biochemical analysis indicated that TcWRKY1 protein specifically interacts with the two W-box (TGAC) cis-elements among the important regulatory elements. Overexpression of TcWRKY1 enhanced dbat expression in T. chinensis suspension cells, and RNA interference (RNAi) reduced the level of transcripts of dbat. These results suggest that TcWRKY1 participates in regulation of taxol biosynthesis in T. chinensis cells, and that dbat is a target gene of this transcription factor. This research also provides a potential candidate gene for engineering increased taxol accumulation in Taxus cell cultures. © 2012 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  5. Economic modeling of new stent platforms to evaluate cost effectiveness: analysis of the TAXUS Liberté versus TAXUS express stents.

    PubMed

    Turco, Mark A; Kansal, Anuraag R; Stern, Sean; Amorosi, Stacey L; Underwood, Paul L; Lissovoy, Greg D E; Dawkins, Keith D

    2012-08-01

    With the changing health care environment, cost effectiveness is an important adjunct to clinical investigation when assessing new medical devices. This study presents an economic model to evaluate cost effectiveness of coronary stents. Markov modeling was developed comparing total costs (Medicare payer perspective) between TAXUS Liberté and TAXUS Express based on 3-year clinical outcomes from the TAXUS ATLAS Small Vessel and Long Lesion trials. The TAXUS Liberté 2.25-mm stent provided cost savings relative to TAXUS Express from a payer perspective ($17,605 vs. $20,281), driven by reduced target vessel revascularization (0.16 events/patient vs. 0.33 events/patient). In probabilistic sensitivity analyses, TAXUS Liberté was less costly with fewer major adverse cardiac events in over 99% of parameter sets. The TAXUS Liberté Long (38 mm) stent was cost neutral relative to TAXUS Express from a payer perspective ($18,545 vs. $18,551) with fewer myocardial infarctions and cardiac deaths. Accounting for angiography-driven revascularizations, TAXUS Liberté 2.25 mm still provided cost savings relative to TAXUS Express ($16,822 vs. $19,139), although TAXUS Liberté Long was more expensive than TAXUS Express ($17,886 vs. $17,652). From a hospital perspective, TAXUS Liberté Long provided cost savings up to a price premium of $671/stent, driven by fewer stents employed per patient. This analysis confirms the utility of economic modeling in assessing new stent platforms. TAXUS Liberté 2.25 mm is economically dominant relative to TAXUS Express when treating small vessels. TAXUS Liberté Long is cost neutral to modestly more costly than TAXUS Express 2.25 mm from a payer perspective. ©2012, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Taxus ingredients in the red arils of Taxus baccata L. determined by HPLC-MS/MS.

    PubMed

    Siegle, Lydia; Pietsch, Jörg

    2018-02-09

    Taxus baccata L. is an evergreen conifer whose plant parts are cardiotoxic. Only the red arils of the berries are described as non-toxic and taxane-free. Extraction and HPLC-MS/MS methods were developed for the investigation of the Taxus compounds 3,5-dimethoxyphenol, 10-deacetylbaccatin III, baccatin III, cephalomannine, taxol A and taxinine M in the red arils of the yew berries. MethodologyA liquid-liquid extraction method for the red arils of the fruits from three yews were developed. An accurate (ESI+) HPLC-MS/MS method was performed for the simultaneous detection and determination of the target compounds in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. All Taxus agents obtained were detected in the red arils. Highest concentrations were determined for baccatin III and 10-deacetylbaccatin III. The developed quantitative method is reliable and selective and was successfully applied for quantification of selected Taxus ingredients in red arils of Taxus baccata. It was disproved that the red arils of the berries do not contain the selected Taxus compounds. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Deep sequencing reveals transcriptome re-programming of Taxus × media cells to the elicitation with methyl jasmonate.

    PubMed

    Sun, Guiling; Yang, Yanfang; Xie, Fuliang; Wen, Jian-Fan; Wu, Jianqiang; Wilson, Iain W; Tang, Qi; Liu, Hongwei; Qiu, Deyou

    2013-01-01

    Plant cell culture represents an alternative source for producing high-value secondary metabolites including paclitaxel (Taxol®), which is mainly produced in Taxus and has been widely used in cancer chemotherapy. The phytohormone methyl jasmonate (MeJA) can significantly increase the production of paclitaxel, which is induced in plants as a secondary metabolite possibly in defense against herbivores and pathogens. In cell culture, MeJA also elicits the accumulation of paclitaxel; however, the mechanism is still largely unknown. To obtain insight into the global regulation mechanism of MeJA in the steady state of paclitaxel production (7 days after MeJA addition), especially on paclitaxel biosynthesis, we sequenced the transcriptomes of MeJA-treated and untreated Taxus × media cells and obtained ∼ 32.5 M high quality reads, from which 40,348 unique sequences were obtained by de novo assembly. Expression level analysis indicated that a large number of genes were associated with transcriptional regulation, DNA and histone modification, and MeJA signaling network. All the 29 known genes involved in the biosynthesis of terpenoid backbone and paclitaxel were found with 18 genes showing increased transcript abundance following elicitation of MeJA. The significantly up-regulated changes of 9 genes in paclitaxel biosynthesis were validated by qRT-PCR assays. According to the expression changes and the previously proposed enzyme functions, multiple candidates for the unknown steps in paclitaxel biosynthesis were identified. We also found some genes putatively involved in the transport and degradation of paclitaxel. Potential target prediction of miRNAs indicated that miRNAs may play an important role in the gene expression regulation following the elicitation of MeJA. Our results shed new light on the global regulation mechanism by which MeJA regulates the physiology of Taxus cells and is helpful to understand how MeJA elicits other plant species besides Taxus.

  8. Chemical components of heartwood and sapwood of common Yew (Taxus baccata L.).

    PubMed

    Mertoğlu-Elmas, Gülnur

    2003-10-01

    Cell-wall components and solubility characteristics of the heartwood and sapwood of Taxus baccata L. were determined by methods of wood analysis and the differences between heartwood and sapwood were established. When we observe the data obtained, it is seen that the amount of extractive material found in the heartwood is substantially higher than the sapwood. The extractive material in Taxus baccata L. is originated from the hidden epithelial cells surrounded by resin canals.

  9. Usage patterns and 1-year outcomes with the TAXUS Liberté stent: results of the TAXUS OLYMPIA registry.

    PubMed

    Ahmed, Waqar H; Mendiz, Oscar A; Thomas, Martyn R

    2011-06-01

    The TAXUS OLYMPIA registry is a prospective, global, post-approval program designed to collect clinical outcome data through 1 year from patients receiving the TAXUS Liberté paclitaxel-eluting stent in routine interventional cardiology practice. The thin-strut TAXUS Liberté stent has been studied in ongoing clinical trials with specific inclusion/exclusion criteria. Between September 2005 and April 2007, a total of 21,954 patients from 365 sites in 57 countries eligible to receive a TAXUS Liberté stent were enrolled in the TAXUS OLYMPIA registry. Baseline characteristics and procedure patterns were collected and clinical follow-up is available for 1 year. The primary endpoint was the composite cardiac event (cardiac death, MI, and reintervention of the target vessel) rate related to the TAXUS Liberté stent at 1 year. All cardiac events were monitored and all endpoints were independently adjudicated. Complex patients and lesions were prevalent, including: 27% medically-treated diabetes, 58% ACC/AHA type B2/C lesions, 32% multiple stenting, 13% long lesions (>28 mm), and 10% small vessels (<2.5 mm). At 1 year, the composite cardiac event rate was 4.4%, including 1.4% cardiac death, 1.0% MI, and 3.2% TVR. Stent thrombosis (ST, angiographically confirmed) occurred in 0.8% of patients, with 0.4% ST occurring >30 days postprocedure. The composite cardiac event rate related to the TAXUS Liberté stent was 3.8% at 1 year. Low 1-year cardiac event rates were reported with TAXUS Liberté in a broad spectrum of patients, thereby confirming the technical and clinical performance of this stent in a "real-world" setting. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  10. Perfluorodecalins and Hexenol as Inducers of Secondary Metabolism in Taxus media and Vitis vinifera Cell Cultures.

    PubMed

    Vidal-Limon, Heriberto R; Almagro, Lorena; Moyano, Elisabeth; Palazon, Javier; Pedreño, Maria A; Cusido, Rosa M

    2018-01-01

    Plant cell cultures constitute a potentially efficient and sustainable tool for the production of high added-value bioactive compounds. However, due to the inherent restrictions in the expression of secondary metabolism, to date the yields obtained have generally been low. Plant cell culture elicitation can boost production, sometimes leading to dramatic improvements in yield, as well as providing insight into the target biosynthetic pathways and the regulation of the genes involved. Among the secondary compounds successfully being produced in biotechnological platforms are taxanes and trans -resveratrol ( t -R). In the current study, perfluorodecalins (PFDs) and hexenol (Hex) were tested for the first time with Taxus media and Vitis vinifera cell cultures to explore their effect on plant cell growth and secondary metabolite production, either alone or combined with other elicitors already established as highly effective, such as methyl jasmonate (MeJa), coronatine (Coro) or randomly methylated β-cyclodextrins (β-CDs). The total taxane content at the peak of production in T. media cell cultures treated with PFDs together with Coro plus β-CDs was 3.3-fold higher than in the control, whereas the t -R production in MeJa and β-CD-treated V. vinifera cell cultures increased 552.6-fold compared to the extremely low-yielding control. Hex was ineffective as an elicitor in V. vinifera cell cultures, and in T. media cell suspensions it blocked the taxol production but induced a clear enhancement of baccatin III. Regarding biosynthetic gene expression, a strong positive relationship was observed between the transcript level of targeted genes and taxol production in the T. media cell cultures, but not with t -R production in the elicited V. vinifera cell cultures.

  11. Perfluorodecalins and Hexenol as Inducers of Secondary Metabolism in Taxus media and Vitis vinifera Cell Cultures

    PubMed Central

    Vidal-Limon, Heriberto R.; Almagro, Lorena; Moyano, Elisabeth; Palazon, Javier; Pedreño, Maria A.; Cusido, Rosa M.

    2018-01-01

    Plant cell cultures constitute a potentially efficient and sustainable tool for the production of high added-value bioactive compounds. However, due to the inherent restrictions in the expression of secondary metabolism, to date the yields obtained have generally been low. Plant cell culture elicitation can boost production, sometimes leading to dramatic improvements in yield, as well as providing insight into the target biosynthetic pathways and the regulation of the genes involved. Among the secondary compounds successfully being produced in biotechnological platforms are taxanes and trans-resveratrol (t-R). In the current study, perfluorodecalins (PFDs) and hexenol (Hex) were tested for the first time with Taxus media and Vitis vinifera cell cultures to explore their effect on plant cell growth and secondary metabolite production, either alone or combined with other elicitors already established as highly effective, such as methyl jasmonate (MeJa), coronatine (Coro) or randomly methylated β-cyclodextrins (β-CDs). The total taxane content at the peak of production in T. media cell cultures treated with PFDs together with Coro plus β-CDs was 3.3-fold higher than in the control, whereas the t-R production in MeJa and β-CD-treated V. vinifera cell cultures increased 552.6-fold compared to the extremely low-yielding control. Hex was ineffective as an elicitor in V. vinifera cell cultures, and in T. media cell suspensions it blocked the taxol production but induced a clear enhancement of baccatin III. Regarding biosynthetic gene expression, a strong positive relationship was observed between the transcript level of targeted genes and taxol production in the T. media cell cultures, but not with t-R production in the elicited V. vinifera cell cultures. PMID:29616056

  12. One-year outcomes with the Taxus Liberté stent in the real world: the Taxus Olympia registry (phase I).

    PubMed

    Ahmed, Waqar Habib; Zambahari, Robaayah; Al-Rashdan, Ibrahim; Al Naeemi, Abdullah; Saeed, Fuad A; Mascioli, Stephen

    2008-12-01

    The Taxus Olympia registry is a prospective, postapproval registry collecting clinical outcomes data on patients receiving the Taxus Liberté paclitaxel-eluting stent during routine interventional cardiology practice. Between February and July 2005, 529 patients receiving the Taxus Liberté stent at 16 centers in the Middle East, South/Central America, and Asia/Pacific regions were enrolled in Phase I of Olympia. The primary end-point was Taxus Liberté stent-related cardiac events (cardiac death, MI, and revascularization) at 30 days postimplant. Additional clinical assessment was conducted at 6 and 12 months. Olympia phases II and III are in clinical follow-up and will be reported separately. One-year clinical follow-up is available for 98% of patients. Complex patients and lesions were prevalent, including: 50% diabetes mellitus, 49% multivessel disease, 30% multiple stenting, 48% AHA/ACC type B2/C lesions, 19% long lesions (>26 mm), and 40% small vessels (TAXUS Liberté stent-related cardiac event rate was 3.7% at 1 year. Stent thrombosis (ST) occurred in 1.7% of patients, with three cases occurring >30 days postprocedure. One-year cardiac event rates among complex subpopulations (diabetics 5.0%, multiple stents 3.8%, long lesions 3.1%, and small vessels 2.9%) were comparable to the overall study population. In conclusion, this first report of real-world experience with the Taxus Liberté stent demonstrates the safety and clinical utility of this stent in the broader spectrum of coronary disease treated in everyday practice.

  13. In vitro cell cultures obtained from different explants of Corylus avellana produce Taxol and taxanes

    PubMed Central

    Bestoso, Federica; Ottaggio, Laura; Armirotti, Andrea; Balbi, Alessandro; Damonte, Gianluca; Degan, Paolo; Mazzei, Mauro; Cavalli, Francesca; Ledda, Bernardetta; Miele, Mariangela

    2006-01-01

    Background Taxol is an effective antineoplastic agent, originally extracted from the bark of Taxus brevifolia with a low yield. Many attempts have been made to produce Taxol by chemical synthesis, semi-synthesis and plant tissue cultures. However, to date, the availability of this compound is not sufficient to satisfy the commercial requirements. The aim of the present work was to produce suspension cell cultures from plants not belonging to Taxus genus and to verify whether they produced Taxol and taxanes. For this purpose different explants of hazel (Corylus avellana species) were used to optimize the protocol for inducing in vitro callus, an undifferentiated tissue from which suspension cell cultures were established. Results Calli were successfully induced from stems, leaves and seeds grown in various hormone concentrations and combinations. The most suitable callus to establish suspension cell cultures was obtained from seeds. Media recovered from suspension cell cultures contained taxanes, and showed antiproliferative activity on human tumour cells. Taxol, 10-deacetyltaxol and 10-deacetylbaccatin III were the main taxanes identified. The level of Taxol recovered from the media of hazel cultures was similar to that found in yew cultures. Moreover, the production of taxanes in hazel cell cultures increased when elicitors were used. Conclusion Here we show that hazel cell cultures produce Taxol and taxanes under controlled conditions. This result suggests that hazel possesses the enzymes for Taxol production, which until now was considered to be a pathway particular to Taxus genus. The main benefit of producing taxanes through hazel cell cultures is that hazel is widely available, grows at a much faster rate in vivo, and is easier to cultivate in vitro than yew. In addition, the production of callus directly from hazel seeds shortens the culture time and minimizes the probability of contamination. Therefore, hazel could become a commercial source of Taxol and

  14. Bacterial diversity of Taxus rhizosphere: culture-independent and culture-dependent approaches.

    PubMed

    Hao, Da Cheng; Ge, Guang Bo; Yang, Ling

    2008-07-01

    The regional variability of Taxus rhizosphere bacterial community composition and diversity was studied by comparative analysis of three large 16S rRNA gene clone libraries from the Taxus rhizosphere in different regions of China (subtropical and temperate regions). One hundred and forty-six clones were screened for three libraries. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences demonstrated that the abundance of sequences affiliated with Gammaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Actinobacteria was higher in the library from the T. xmedia rhizosphere of the temperate region compared with the subtropical Taxus mairei rhizosphere. On the other hand, Acidobacteria was more abundant in libraries from the subtropical Taxus mairei rhizosphere. Richness estimates and diversity indices of three libraries revealed major differences, indicating a higher richness in the Taxus rhizosphere bacterial communities of the subtropical region and considerable variability in the bacterial community composition within this region. By enrichment culture, a novel Actinobacteria strain DICP16 was isolated from the T. xmedia rhizosphere of the temperate region and was identified as Leifsonia shinshuensis sp. via 16S rRNA gene and gyrase B sequence analyses. DICP16 was able to remove the xylosyl group from 7-xylosyl-10-deacetylbaccatin III and 7-xylosyl-10-deacetylpaclitaxel, thereby making the xylosyltaxanes available as sources of 10-deacetylbaccatin III and the anticancer drug paclitaxel. Taken together, the present studies provide, for the first time, the knowledge of the biodiversity of microorganisms populating Taxus rhizospheres.

  15. Genous™ endothelial progenitor cell capturing stent vs. the Taxus Liberté stent in patients with de novo coronary lesions with a high-risk of coronary restenosis: a randomized, single-centre, pilot study

    PubMed Central

    Beijk, Marcel A.M.; Klomp, Margo; Verouden, Niels J.W.; van Geloven, Nan; Koch, Karel T.; Henriques, José P.S.; Baan, Jan; Vis, Marije M.; Scheunhage, Esther; Piek, Jan J.; Tijssen, Jan G.P.; de Winter, Robbert J.

    2010-01-01

    Aims The purpose of this study was to evaluate the GenousTM endothelial progenitor cell capturing stent vs. the Taxus Liberté paclitaxel-eluting stent in patients with de novo coronary lesions with a high-risk of coronary restenosis. Methods and results We randomly assigned 193 patients with lesions carrying a high risk of restenosis to have the Genous stent or the Taxus stent implanted. Lesions were considered high risk of restenosis if one of the following applied: chronic total occlusion, lesion length >23 mm, vessel diameter <2.8 mm, or any lesion in a diabetic patient. At 1-year, the rate of the primary end point, target vessel failure (TVF), was 17.3% in the Genous stent group when compared with 10.5% in the Taxus stent group [risk difference (RD) 6.8%, 95% CI −3.1 to 16.7%], a difference predominantly due to a higher incidence of repeat revascularization in patients treated with the Genous stent. In contrast, no stent thrombosis was observed in the Genous stent group compared to 4 stent thromboses in the Taxus stent group (RD −4.2%; 95% CI −10.3 to 0.3%). Repeat angiography between 6 and 12 months in a subgroup of patients showed a significantly higher late loss in the Genous stent compared with the Taxus stent (1.14 ± 0.64 and 0.55 ± 0.61 mm). Conclusion In patients with lesions carrying a high risk of restenosis, the Genous stent resulted in a non-significant higher rate of TVF compared with the Taxus stent mainly due to more repeat revascularizations in the Genous stent group. There were four stent thromboses with Taxus stent, none with the Genous stent. PMID:19933225

  16. Molecular cloning and characterization of a cytochrome P450 taxoid 9á-hydroxylase in Ginkgo biloba cells.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Nan; Han, Zhentai; Sun, Guiling; Hoffman, Angela; Wilson, Iain W; Yang, Yanfang; Gao, Qian; Wu, Jianqiang; Xie, Dan; Dai, Jungui; Qiu, Deyou

    2014-01-17

    Taxol is a well-known effective anticancer compound. Due to the inability to synthesize sufficient quantities of taxol to satisfy commercial demand, a biotechnological approach for a large-scale cell or cell-free system for its production is highly desirable. Several important genes in taxol biosynthesis are currently still unknown and have been shown to be difficult to isolate directly from Taxus, including the gene encoding taxoid 9α-hydroxylase. Ginkgo biloba suspension cells exhibit taxoid hydroxylation activity and provides an alternate means of identifying genes encoding enzymes with taxoid 9α-hydroxylation activity. Through analysis of high throughput RNA sequencing data from G. biloba, we identified two candidate genes with high similarity to Taxus CYP450s. Using in vitro cell-free protein synthesis assays and LC-MS analysis, we show that one candidate that belongs to the CYP716B, a subfamily whose biochemical functions have not been previously studied, possessed 9α-hydroxylation activity. This work will aid future identification of the taxoid 9α-hydroxylase gene from Taxus sp. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Baseline survey of root-associated microbes of Taxus chinensis (Pilger) Rehd.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Qian; Liu, Hongwei; Sun, Guiling; Wilson, Iain W; Wu, Jianqiang; Hoffman, Angela; Cheng, Junwen; Qiu, Deyou

    2015-01-01

    Taxol (paclitaxel) a diterpenoid is one of the most effective anticancer drugs identified. Biosynthesis of taxol was considered restricted to the Taxus genera until Stierle et al. discovered that an endophytic fungus isolated from Taxus brevifolia could independently synthesize taxol. Little is known about the mechanism of taxol biosynthesis in microbes, but it has been speculated that its biosynthesis may differ from plants. The microbiome from the roots of Taxus chinensis have been extensively investigated with culture-dependent methods to identify taxol synthesizing microbes, but not using culture independent methods.,Using bar-coded high-throughput sequencing in combination with a metagenomics approach, we surveyed the microbial diversity and gene composition of the root-associated microbiomefrom Taxus chinensis (Pilger) Rehd. High-throughput amplicon sequencing revealed 187 fungal OTUs which is higher than any previously reported fungal number identified with the culture-dependent method, suggesting that T. chinensis roots harbor novel and diverse fungi. Some operational taxonomic units (OTU) identified were identical to reported microbe strains possessing the ability to synthesis taxol and several genes previously associated with taxol biosynthesis were identified through metagenomics analysis.

  18. Baseline Survey of Root-Associated Microbes of Taxus chinensis (Pilger) Rehd

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Guiling; Wilson, Iain W.; Wu, Jianqiang; Hoffman, Angela; Cheng, Junwen; Qiu, Deyou

    2015-01-01

    Taxol (paclitaxel) a diterpenoid is one of the most effective anticancer drugs identified. Biosynthesis of taxol was considered restricted to the Taxus genera until Stierle et al. discovered that an endophytic fungus isolated from Taxus brevifolia could independently synthesize taxol. Little is known about the mechanism of taxol biosynthesis in microbes, but it has been speculated that its biosynthesis may differ from plants. The microbiome from the roots of Taxus chinensis have been extensively investigated with culture-dependent methods to identify taxol synthesizing microbes, but not using culture independent methods.,Using bar-coded high-throughput sequencing in combination with a metagenomics approach, we surveyed the microbial diversity and gene composition of the root-associated microbiomefrom Taxus chinensis (Pilger) Rehd. High-throughput amplicon sequencing revealed 187 fungal OTUs which is higher than any previously reported fungal number identified with the culture-dependent method, suggesting that T. chinensis roots harbor novel and diverse fungi. Some operational taxonomic units (OTU) identified were identical to reported microbe strains possessing the ability to synthesis taxol and several genes previously associated with taxol biosynthesis were identified through metagenomics analysis. PMID:25821956

  19. Development of suspension cell culture model to mimic circulating tumor cells

    PubMed Central

    Park, Ji Young; Jeong, Ae Lee; Joo, Hyun Jeong; Han, Sora; Kim, So-Hyun; Kim, Hye-Youn; Lim, Jong-Seok; Lee, Myeong-Sok; Choi, Hyung-Kyoon; Yang, Young

    2018-01-01

    Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are essential for the establishment of distant metastasis. Numerous studies have characterized CTCs as metastatic precursors; however, the molecular nature of CTCs has not been completely revealed yet due to the low number of CTCs in the blood stream. As an alternative approach, we developed a long-term suspension cell culture model using human breast cancer cell lines to mimic CTCs. We found that more than 40 passaged suspension cells acquired the ability to enhance metastasis like cancer stem cells. To identify molecular changes acquired during the suspension cell culture, we analyzed metabolic and lipidomic profiles as well as transcriptome in MDA-MB-468 suspension cells. Glutamate and leucine levels increased in suspension cells, and cholesterol synthesis pathway was altered. The inhibition of glutamate metabolic pathway decreased the proliferation of suspension cells compared to that of adherent cells. In the lipidomic profile, PC species containing long chain and polyunsaturated fatty acids increased in suspension cells and these species could be authentic and specific biomarkers for highly metastatic cancers. As this CTC-mimicking suspension cell culture model may easily apply to various types of cancer, we suggest this model as a great tool to develop therapeutic targets and drugs to eradicate metastatic cancer cells. PMID:29416640

  20. 2-year results of the AUTAX (Austrian Multivessel TAXUS-Stent) registry beyond the SYNTAX (synergy between percutaneous coronary intervention with TAXUS and cardiac surgery) study.

    PubMed

    Gyöngyösi, Mariann; Christ, Günter; Lang, Irene; Kreiner, Gerhard; Sochor, Heinz; Probst, Peter; Neunteufl, Thomas; Badr-Eslam, Rosa; Winkler, Susanne; Nyolczas, Noemi; Posa, Aniko; Leisch, Franz; Karnik, Ronald; Siostrzonek, Peter; Harb, Stefan; Heigert, Matthias; Zenker, Gerald; Benzer, Werner; Bonner, Gerhard; Kaider, Alexandra; Glogar, Dietmar

    2009-08-01

    The multicenter AUTAX (Austrian Multivessel TAXUS-Stent) registry investigated the 2-year clinical/angiographic outcomes of patients with multivessel coronary artery disease after implantation of TAXUS Express stents (Boston Scientific, Natick, Massachusetts), in a "real-world" setting. The AUTAX registry included patients with 2- or 3-vessel disease, with/without previous percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and concomitant surgery. Patients (n = 441, 64 +/- 12 years, 78% men) (n = 1,080 lesions) with possible complete revascularization by PCI were prospectively included. Median clinical follow-up was 753 (quartiles 728 to 775) days after PCI in 95.7%, with control angiography of 78% at 6 months. The primary end point was the composite of major adverse cardiac (nonfatal acute myocardial infarction [AMI], all-cause mortality, target lesion revascularization [TLR]) and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). Potential risk factor effects on 2-year MACCE were evaluated using Cox regression. Complete revascularization was successful in 90.5%, with left main PCI of 6.8%. Rates of acute, subacute, and late stent thrombosis were 0.7%, 0.5%, and 0.5%. Two-year follow-up identified AMI (1.4%), death (3.6%), stroke (0.2%), and TLR (13.1%), for a composite MACCE of 18.3%. The binary restenosis rate was 10.8%. The median of cumulative SYNTAX score was 23.0 (range 12.0 to 56.5). The SYNTAX score did not predict TLR or MACCE, due to lack of scoring of restenotic or bypass stenoses (29.8%). Age (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.03, p = 0.019) and acute coronary syndrome (HR: 2.1, p = 0.001) were significant predictors of 2-year MACCE. Incomplete revascularization predicted death or AMI (HR: 3.84, p = 0.002). With the aim of complete revascularization, TAXUS stent implantations can be safe for patients with multivessel disease. The AUTAX registry including patients with post-PCI lesions provides additional information to the SYNTAX (Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With TAXUS

  1. Impact of Drug Metabolism/Pharmacokinetics and Their Relevance upon Taxus-based Drug Development.

    PubMed

    Hao, Da-Cheng; Ge, Guang-Bo; Wang, Ping; Yang, Ling

    2018-05-22

    Drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic (DMPK) studies of Taxus natural products, their semi-synthetic derivatives and analogs are indispensable in the optimization of lead compounds and clinical therapy. These studies can lead to development of new drug entities with improved absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADME/T) profiles. To date, there have been no comprehensive reviews of the DMPK features of Taxus derived medicinal compounds.Natural and semi-synthetic taxanes may cause and could be affected by drug-drug interaction (DDI). Hence ADME/T studies of various taxane-containing formulations are important; to date these studies indicate that the role of cytochrome p450s and drug transporters is more prominent than phase II drug metabolizing enzymes. Mechanisms of taxane DMPK mediated by nuclear receptors, microRNAs, and single nucleotide polymorphisms are being revealed. Herein we review the latest knowledge on these topics, as well as the gaps in knowledge of the DMPK issues of Taxus compounds. DDIs significantly impact the PK/pharmacodynamics performance of taxanes and co-administered chemicals, which may inspire researchers to develop novel formula. While the ADME/T profiles of some taxanes are well defined, DMPK studies should be extended to more Taxus compounds, species, and Taxus -involved formulations, which would be streamlined by versatile omics platforms and computational analyses. Further biopharmaceutical investigations will be beneficial tothe translation of bench findings to the clinical applications. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  2. Effect of the components extracted from the needles of Taxus baccata on protein biosynthesis in a cell-free rat liver system.

    PubMed

    Sredzińska, K; Gajko, A; Gałasiński, W; Gindzieński, A

    1999-01-01

    Various species of Taxus contain taxanes that promote polymerization and stabilization of microtubules. They have been reported as antineoplastic compounds with highly effective chemiotherapeutic application. A decrease in incorporation of the radiolabelled precursors into DNA, RNA and proteins in vivo has been reported too. The preliminary results have shown that also the other compounds present in the aqueous extract from Taxus baccata needles, participate in the inhibition of the protein biosynthesis. The binding site of eEF-2 on the ribosome seems to be the target of this inhibition process.

  3. [Community types, phenology and propagation characteristics of Taxus mairei in north Guangdong].

    PubMed

    Liao, Wenbo; Zhang, Zhiqian; Chen, Zhiming; Tang, Changgen; Deng, Shifu

    2002-07-01

    Community types, phenology and propagation characteristics of Taxus mairei in north Guangdong were studied. The results showed that in north Guangdong province, Taxus mairei mainly distributed in the typical ever-green broad-leaf forest of lower and mid-subtropics dispersedly. Terminal bud of Taxus mairei was formed in late October and begun to grow foliages in mid-April, male flower bud was appeared in mid-May and the efflorescence was from late July to late November, female flower bud was formed in late August and the efflorescence was from late October to late January of second year, and the fruit mature period was in early October of second year. Under natural condition, the seed germination needed 2-3 years. Under experimental condition, the germination rate could be up to 82.2%. The effect of cuttage was better by taking mature annual twig and pretreatment by ABT1(100 mg.L-1) from October to November every year, and the rooting rate could be up to 95%.

  4. Intracerebral Cell Implantation: Preparation and Characterization of Cell Suspensions.

    PubMed

    Rossetti, Tiziana; Nicholls, Francesca; Modo, Michel

    2016-01-01

    Intracerebral cell transplantation is increasingly finding a clinical translation. However, the number of cells surviving after implantation is low (5-10%) compared to the number of cells injected. Although significant efforts have been made with regard to the investigation of apoptosis of cells after implantation, very little optimization of cell preparation and administration has been undertaken. Moreover, there is a general neglect of the biophysical aspects of cell injection. Cell transplantation can only be an efficient therapeutic approach if an optimal transfer of cells from the dish to the brain can be ensured. We therefore focused on the in vitro aspects of cell preparation of a clinical-grade human neural stem cell (NSC) line for intracerebral cell implantation. NSCs were suspended in five different vehicles: phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM), artificial cerebral spinal fluid (aCSF), HypoThermosol, and Pluronic. Suspension accuracy, consistency, and cell settling were determined for different cell volume fractions in addition to cell viability, cell membrane damage, and clumping. Maintenance of cells in suspension was evaluated while being stored for 8 h on ice, at room temperature, or physiological normothermia. Significant differences between suspension vehicles and cellular volume fractions were evident. HypoThermosol and Pluronic performed best, with PBS, aCSF, and DMEM exhibiting less consistency, especially in maintaining a suspension and preserving viability under different storage conditions. These results provide the basis to further investigate these preparation parameters during the intracerebral delivery of NSCs to provide an optimized delivery process that can ensure an efficient clinical translation.

  5. Climate warming and the decline of Taxus airborne pollen in urban pollen rain (Emilia Romagna, northern Italy).

    PubMed

    Mercuri, A M; Torri, P; Casini, E; Olmi, L

    2013-01-01

    Woody plant performance in a changing global environment has always been at the centre of palaeoenvironmental and long-term climate reconstructions carried out by means of pollen analysis. In Mediterranean regions, Taxus constitutes the highest percentage in past pollen diagrams from cold or cool periods, and therefore it is generally considered a good index to infer climate features from past records. However, a comparison of these inferences with the true current trends in pollen production has not been attemped until now. This study reports the decline of airborne pollen of Taxus observed in Emilia Romagna, a region of northern Italy, during the period 1990-2007. Phenological observations on four male specimens and microscopic examination of fresh pollen were made in order to check Taxus flowering time and pollen morphology. Airborne pollen was monitored through continuous sampling with a Hirst volumetric sampler. In the 18-year long period of investigation, Taxus pollen production has decreased, while total woody pollen abundance in air has increased. The trend of the Taxus pollen season shows a delay at the beginning, a shortening of the pollen period, and an advance of the end of the pollen season. This was interpreted as a response to climate warming. In particular, Taxus follows the behaviour of winter-flowering plants, and therefore earlier pollination is favoured at low autumn temperatures, while late pollination occurs more often, most likely after warm autumn temperatures. © 2012 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  6. Development of SCoT-Based SCAR Marker for Rapid Authentication of Taxus Media.

    PubMed

    Hao, Juan; Jiao, Kaili; Yu, Chenliang; Guo, Hong; Zhu, Yujia; Yang, Xiao; Zhang, Siyang; Zhang, Lei; Feng, Shangguo; Song, Yaobin; Dong, Ming; Wang, Huizhong; Shen, Chenjia

    2018-06-01

    Taxus media is an important species in the family Taxaceae with high medicinal and commercial value. Overexploitation and illegal trade have led T. media to a severe threat of extinction. In addition, T. media and other Taxus species have similar morphological traits and are easily misidentified, particularly during the seedling stage. The purpose of this study is to develop a species-specific marker for T. media. Through a screening of 36 start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism primers, among 15 individuals of 4 Taxus species (T. media, T. chinensis, T. cuspidate and T. fuana), a clear species-specific DNA fragment (amplified by primer SCoT3) for T. media was identified. After isolation and sequencing, a DNA sequence with 530 bp was obtained. Based on this DNA fragment, a primer pair for the sequence-characterized amplified region marker was designed and named MHSF/MHSR. PCR analysis with primer pair MHSF/MHSR revealed a clear amplified band for all individuals of T. media but not for T. chinensis, T. cuspidate and T. fuana. Therefore, this marker can be used as a quick, efficient and reliable tool to identify T. media among other related Taxus species. The results of this study will lay an important foundation for the protection and management of T. media as a natural resource.

  7. Interactions between Co-Habitating fungi Elicit Synthesis of Taxol from an Endophytic Fungus in Host Taxus Plants

    PubMed Central

    Soliman, Sameh S. M.; Raizada, Manish N.

    2012-01-01

    Within a plant, there can exist an ecosystem of pathogens and endophytes, the latter described as bacterial and fungal inhabitants that thrive without causing disease to the host. Interactions between microbial inhabitants represent a novel area of study for natural products research. Here we analyzed the interactions between the fungal endophytes of Taxus (yew) trees. Fungal endophytes of Taxus have been proposed to produce the terpenoid secondary metabolite, Taxol, an anti-cancer drug. It is widely reported that plant extracts stimulate endophytic fungal Taxol production, but the underlying mechanism is not understood. Here, Taxus bark extracts stimulated fungal Taxol production 30-fold compared to a 10-fold induction with wood extracts. However, candidate plant-derived defense compounds (i.e., salicylic acid, benzoic acid) were found to act only as modest elicitors of fungal Taxol production from the endophytic fungus Paraconiothyrium SSM001, consistent with previous studies. We hypothesized the Taxus plant extracts may contain elicitors derived from other microbes inhabiting these tissues. We investigated the effects of co-culturing SSM001 with other fungi observed to inhabit Taxus bark, but not wood. Surprisingly, co-culture of SSM001 with a bark fungus (Alternaria) caused a ∼threefold increase in Taxol production. When SSM001 was pyramided with both the Alternaria endophyte along with another fungus (Phomopsis) observed to inhabit Taxus, there was an ∼eightfold increase in fungal Taxol production from SSM001. These results suggest that resident fungi within a host plant interact with one another to stimulate Taxol biosynthesis, either directly or through their metabolites. More generally, our results suggest that endophyte secondary metabolism should be studied in the context of its native ecosystem. PMID:23346084

  8. The first Taxus rhizosphere microbiome revealed by shotgun metagenomic sequencing.

    PubMed

    Hao, Da-Cheng; Zhang, Cai-Rong; Xiao, Pei-Gen

    2018-06-01

    In the present study, the shotgun high throughput metagenomic sequencing was implemented to globally capture the features of Taxus rhizosphere microbiome. Total reads could be assigned to 6925 species belonging to 113 bacteria phyla and 301 species of nine fungi phyla. For archaea and virus, 263 and 134 species were for the first time identified, respectively. More than 720,000 Unigenes were identified by clean reads assembly. The top five assigned phyla were Actinobacteria (363,941 Unigenes), Proteobacteria (182,053), Acidobacteria (44,527), Ascomycota (fungi; 18,267), and Chloroflexi (15,539). KEGG analysis predicted numerous functional genes; 7101 Unigenes belong to "Xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism." A total of 12,040 Unigenes involved in defense mechanisms (e.g., xenobiotic metabolism) were annotated by eggNOG. Talaromyces addition could influence not only the diversity and structure of microbial communities of Taxus rhizosphere, but also the relative abundance of functional genes, including metabolic genes, antibiotic resistant genes, and genes involved in pathogen-host interaction, bacterial virulence, and bacterial secretion system. The structure and function of rhizosphere microbiome could be sensitive to non-native microbe addition, which could impact on the pollutant degradation. This study, complementary to the amplicon sequencing, more objectively reflects the native microbiome of Taxus rhizosphere and its response to environmental pressure, and lays a foundation for potential combination of phytoremediation and bioaugmentation. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. Suspension culture of pluripotent stem cells: effect of shear on stem cell fate.

    PubMed

    Keller, Kevin C; Rodrigues, Beatriz; zur Nieden, Nicole I

    2014-01-01

    Despite significant promise, the routine usage of suspension cell culture to manufacture stem cell-derived differentiated cells has progressed slowly. Suspension culture is an innovative way of either expanding or differentiating cells and sometimes both are combined into a single bioprocess. Its advantages over static 2D culturing include a homogeneous and controllable culture environment and producing a large quantity of cells in a fraction of time. This feature makes suspension cell culture ideal for use in stem cell research and eventually ideal in the large-scale production of differentiated cells for regenerative medicine. Because of their tremendous differentiation capacities and unlimited growth properties, pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) in particular are considered potential sources for future cell-replacement therapies. Currently, expansion of PSCs is accomplished in 2D, which only permits a limited amount of cell growth per culture flask before cells need to be passaged. However, before stem cells can be applied clinically, several aspects of their expansion, such as directed growth, but also differentiation, need to be better controlled. This review will summarize recent advantages in suspension culture of PSCs, while at the same time highlighting current challenges.

  10. Importance of Interaction between Integrin and Actin Cytoskeleton in Suspension Adaptation of CHO cells.

    PubMed

    Walther, Christa G; Whitfield, Robert; James, David C

    2016-04-01

    The biopharmaceutical production process relies upon mammalian cell technology where single cells proliferate in suspension in a chemically defined synthetic environment. This environment lacks exogenous growth factors, usually contributing to proliferation of fibroblastic cell types such as Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Use of CHO cells for production hence requires a lengthy 'adaptation' process to select clones capable of proliferation as single cells in suspension. The underlying molecular changes permitting proliferation in suspension are not known. Comparison of the non-suspension-adapted clone CHO-AD and a suspension-adapted propriety cell line CHO-SA by flow cytometric analysis revealed a highly variable bi-modal expression pattern for cell-to-cell contact proteins in contrast to the expression pattern seen for integrins. Those have a uni-modal expression on suspension and adherent cells. Integrins showed a conformation distinguished by regularly distributed clusters forming a sphere on the cell membrane of suspension-adapted cells. Actin cytoskeleton analysis revealed reorganisation from the typical fibrillar morphology found in adherent cells to an enforced spherical subcortical actin sheath in suspension cells. The uni-modal expression and specific clustering of integrins could be confirmed for CHO-S, another suspension cell line. Cytochalasin D treatment resulted in breakdown of the actin sheath and the sphere-like integrin conformation demonstrating the link between integrins and actin in suspension-adapted CHO cells. The data demonstrates the importance of signalling changes, leading to an integrin rearrangement on the cell surface, and the necessity of the reinforcement of the actin cytoskeleton for proliferation in suspension conditions.

  11. Do rice suspension-cultured cells treated with abscisic acid mimic developing seeds?

    PubMed

    Matsuno, Koya; Fujimura, Tatsuhito

    2015-08-01

    Starch synthesis is activated in the endosperm during seed development and also in rice suspension cells cultured with abscisic acid. In the anticipation that the mechanisms of starch synthesis are similar between the endosperm and the suspension cells cultured with abscisic acid, expression of genes involved in starch synthesis was evaluated in the suspension cells after abscisic acid treatment. However, it was found that the regulatory mechanism of starch synthesis in the suspension cells cultured with abscisic acid was different from that in developing seeds. Expression analyses of genes involved in oil bodies, which accumulate in the embryo and aleurone layer, and seed storage proteins, which accumulate mainly in the endosperm, showed that the former were activated in the suspension cells cultured with abscisic acid, but the latter were not. Master regulators for embryogenesis, OsVP1 (homologue of AtABI3) and OsLFL1 (homologue of AtFUS3 or AtLFL2), were expressed in the suspension cells at levels comparable to those in the embryo. From these results, it is suggested that interactions between regulators and abscisic acid control the synthesis of phytic acid and oil bodies in the cultured cells and embryo. We suggest that the system of suspension cells cultured with abscisic acid helps to reveal the mechanisms of phytic acid and oil body synthesis in embryo.

  12. Dynamic and rheological properties of soft biological cell suspensions

    PubMed Central

    Yazdani, Alireza; Li, Xuejin

    2016-01-01

    Quantifying dynamic and rheological properties of suspensions of soft biological particles such as vesicles, capsules, and red blood cells (RBCs) is fundamentally important in computational biology and biomedical engineering. In this review, recent studies on dynamic and rheological behavior of soft biological cell suspensions by computer simulations are presented, considering both unbounded and confined shear flow. Furthermore, the hemodynamic and hemorheological characteristics of RBCs in diseases such as malaria and sickle cell anemia are highlighted. PMID:27540271

  13. Suspension state increases reattachment of breast cancer cells by up-regulating lamin A/C.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xiaomei; Lv, Yonggang

    2017-12-01

    Extravasation is a rate-limiting step of tumor metastasis, for which adhesion to endothelium of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is the prerequisite. The suspension state of CTCs undergoing detachment from primary tumor is a persistent biomechanical cue, which potentially regulates the biophysical characteristics and cellular behaviors of tumor cells. In this study, breast tumor cells MDA-MB-231 in suspension culture condition were used to investigate the effect of suspension state on reattachment of CTCs. Our study demonstrated that suspension state significantly increased the adhesion ability of breast tumor cells. In addition, suspension state markedly promoted the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions and reduced the motility in reattached breast cancer cells. Moreover, lamin A/C was reversibly accumulated at posttranscriptional level under suspension state, improving the cell stiffness of reattached breast cancer cells. Disruption of actin cytoskeleton by cytochalasin D caused lamin A/C accumulation. Conversely, decreasing actomyosin contraction by ROCK inhibitor Y27632 reduced lamin A/C level. Knocking down lamin A/C weakened the suspension-induced increase of adhesion, and also abolished the suspension-induced decrease of motility and increase of stress fibers and focal adhesion in reattaching tumor cells, suggesting a crucial role of lamin A/C. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that suspension state promoted the reattachment of breast tumor cells by up-regulating lamin A/C via cytoskeleton disruption. These findings highlight the important role of suspension state for tumor cells in tumor metastasis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Three-dimensional behavior of ice crystals and biological cells during freezing of cell suspensions.

    PubMed

    Ishiguro, H; Koike, K

    1998-09-11

    Behavior of ice crystals and human red blood cells during extracellular-freezing was investigated in three-dimensions using a confocal laser scanning microscope(CLSM), which noninvasively produces tomograms of biological materials. Physiological saline and physiological saline with 2.4 M glycerol were used for suspension. Various cooling rates for directional solidification were used for distinctive morphology of the ice crystals. Addition of acridine orange as a fluorescent dye into the cell suspension enabled ice crystal, cells and unfrozen solution to be distinguished by different colors. The results indicate that the microscopic structure is three-dimensional for flat, cellular, and dendritic solid-liquid interfaces and that a CLSM is very effective in studying three-dimensional structure during the freezing of cell suspensions.

  15. A Versatile Bioreactor for Dynamic Suspension Cell Culture. Application to the Culture of Cancer Cell Spheroids

    PubMed Central

    Madeddu, Denise; Cerino, Giulia; Falco, Angela; Frati, Caterina; Gallo, Diego; Deriu, Marco A.; Falvo D’Urso Labate, Giuseppe; Quaini, Federico; Audenino, Alberto; Morbiducci, Umberto

    2016-01-01

    A versatile bioreactor suitable for dynamic suspension cell culture under tunable shear stress conditions has been developed and preliminarily tested culturing cancer cell spheroids. By adopting simple technological solutions and avoiding rotating components, the bioreactor exploits the laminar hydrodynamics establishing within the culture chamber enabling dynamic cell suspension in an environment favourable to mass transport, under a wide range of tunable shear stress conditions. The design phase of the device has been supported by multiphysics modelling and has provided a comprehensive analysis of the operating principles of the bioreactor. Moreover, an explanatory example is herein presented with multiphysics simulations used to set the proper bioreactor operating conditions for preliminary in vitro biological tests on a human lung carcinoma cell line. The biological results demonstrate that the ultralow shear dynamic suspension provided by the device is beneficial for culturing cancer cell spheroids. In comparison to the static suspension control, dynamic cell suspension preserves morphological features, promotes intercellular connection, increases spheroid size (2.4-fold increase) and number of cycling cells (1.58-fold increase), and reduces double strand DNA damage (1.5-fold reduction). It is envisioned that the versatility of this bioreactor could allow investigation and expansion of different cell types in the future. PMID:27144306

  16. A Versatile Bioreactor for Dynamic Suspension Cell Culture. Application to the Culture of Cancer Cell Spheroids.

    PubMed

    Massai, Diana; Isu, Giuseppe; Madeddu, Denise; Cerino, Giulia; Falco, Angela; Frati, Caterina; Gallo, Diego; Deriu, Marco A; Falvo D'Urso Labate, Giuseppe; Quaini, Federico; Audenino, Alberto; Morbiducci, Umberto

    2016-01-01

    A versatile bioreactor suitable for dynamic suspension cell culture under tunable shear stress conditions has been developed and preliminarily tested culturing cancer cell spheroids. By adopting simple technological solutions and avoiding rotating components, the bioreactor exploits the laminar hydrodynamics establishing within the culture chamber enabling dynamic cell suspension in an environment favourable to mass transport, under a wide range of tunable shear stress conditions. The design phase of the device has been supported by multiphysics modelling and has provided a comprehensive analysis of the operating principles of the bioreactor. Moreover, an explanatory example is herein presented with multiphysics simulations used to set the proper bioreactor operating conditions for preliminary in vitro biological tests on a human lung carcinoma cell line. The biological results demonstrate that the ultralow shear dynamic suspension provided by the device is beneficial for culturing cancer cell spheroids. In comparison to the static suspension control, dynamic cell suspension preserves morphological features, promotes intercellular connection, increases spheroid size (2.4-fold increase) and number of cycling cells (1.58-fold increase), and reduces double strand DNA damage (1.5-fold reduction). It is envisioned that the versatility of this bioreactor could allow investigation and expansion of different cell types in the future.

  17. DNA and Flavonoids Leach out from Active Nuclei of Taxus and Tsuga after Extreme Climate Stresses

    PubMed Central

    Feucht, Walter; Schmid, Markus; Treutter, Dieter

    2015-01-01

    Severe over-stresses of climate caused dramatic changes in the intracellular distribution of the flavonoids. This was studied in needles from the current year’s growth of the following species and varieties: Tsuga canadensis, Taxus baccata, T. aurea, T. repens, T. nana, and T. compacta. The mode of steady changes in flavonoids was evaluated by microscopic techniques. Most of the flavonoids stain visibly yellow by themselves. The colorless flavanol subgroup can be stained blue by the DMACA reagent. In mid-summer 2013, outstanding high temperatures and intense photo-oxidative irradiation caused in a free-standing tree of Taxus baccata dramatic heat damage in a limited number of cells of the palisade layers. In these cells, the cytoplasm was burned brown. However, the nucleus maintained its healthy “blue” colored appearance which apparently was a result of antioxidant barrier effects by these flavanols. In late May 2014, excessive rainfall greatly affected all study trees. Collectively, in all study trees, a limited number of the mesophyll nuclei from the needless grown in 2013 and 2014 became overly turgid, enlarged in size and the flavanols leached outward through the damaged nuclear membranes. This diffusive stress event was followed one to three days later by a similar efflux of DNA. Such a complete dissolution of the nuclei in young tissues was the most spectacular phenomenon of the present study. As a common feature, leaching of both flavanols and DNA was markedly enhanced with increasing size and age of the cells. There is evidence that signalling flavonoids are sensitized to provide in nuclei and cytoplasm multiple mutual protective mechanisms. However, this well-orchestrated flavonoid system is broken down by extreme climate events. PMID:27135348

  18. Protopine production by fumaria cell suspension cultures: effect of light.

    PubMed

    Georgieva, Lidiya; Ivanov, Ivan; Marchev, Andrey; Aneva, Ina; Denev, Panteley; Georgiev, Vasil; Pavlov, Atanas

    2015-05-01

    Protopine biosynthesis in Fumaria rostellata and Fumaria officinalis cell suspensions was investigated. For the first time, we reported for calli and cell suspensions obtained from F. rostellata and F. officinalis. Callus induction was initiated on a Murashige and Skoog medium, supplemented with sucrose and various concentrations of plant growth regulators: 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). The best morphological characteristics, growth behavior, and protopine biosynthesis were observed for two callus lines (5FRL14 and 12FOL1) cultivated under submerged conditions, at low concentration of 2,4-D (0.2 and 0.5 mg/L) and higher concentration of BAP (2.0 and 3.0 mg/L). The maximal yield of protopine was accumulated from cell suspension of F. rostellata (line 5FRL14) cultivated under illumination-49.6 mg/L. Time courses of utilization of sucrose, ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate ions in cultural liquid and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of alkaloid extracts of studied suspensions are also presented.

  19. Evaluation of balloon withdrawal forces with bare-metal stents, compared with Taxus and Cypher drug-eluting coronary stents: balloon, stent and polymer interactions.

    PubMed

    Turk, Marvee; Gupta, Vishal; Fischell, Tim A

    2010-03-01

    There have been reports of serious complications related to difficulty removing the deflated Taxus stent delivery balloon after stent deployment. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Taxus SIBS polymer was "sticky" and associated with an increase in the force required to remove the stent delivery balloon after stent deployment, using a quantitative, ex-vivo model. Balloon-polymer-stent interactions during balloon withdrawal were measured with the Taxus Liberté, Liberté bare-metal stent (BMS; no polymer = control), the Cordis Cypher drug-eluting stent (DES; PEVA/PBMA polymer) and the BX Velocity (no polymer). We quantitatively measured the force required to remove the deflated stent delivery balloon from each of these stents in simulated vessels at 37 degrees C in a water bath. Balloon withdrawal forces were measured in straight (0 degree curve), mildly curved (20 degree curve) and moderately curved (40 degree curve) simulated vessel segments. The average peak force required to remove the deflated balloon catheter from the Taxus Liberté DES, the Liberté BMS, the Cypher DES, and the Bx Velocity BMS were similar in straight segments, but were much greater for the Taxus Liberté in the moderately curved segments (1.4 lbs vs. 0.11 lbs, 0.11 lbs and 0.12 lbs, respectively; p < 0.0001). The SIBS polymer of the Taxus Liberté DES appears to be "sticky" and is associated with high forces required to withdraw the deflated balloon from the deployed stent in curved segments. This withdrawal issue may help to explain the clinical complications that have been reported with this device.

  20. Chlorogenic acid in a Nicotiana plumbaginifolia cell suspension.

    PubMed

    Gillet; Mesnard; Fliniaux; Monti; Fliniaux

    1999-11-01

    A phenylpropanoid compound has been characterized in a Nicotiana plumbaginifolia cell suspension. This compound has been isolated and purified by semi-preparative reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography. Its structure has been identified by NMR spectroscopy as 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid, which is chlorogenic acid (CA). The influence of culture conditions on the accumulation of this metabolite by N. plumbaginifolia cell suspensions has been studied. Darkness strongly inhibits the CA accumulation. Moreover, it has been shown that feeding experiments with caffeic acid had a deleterious effect upon the CA content. This one was not influenced by a supplementation with quinic acid.

  1. Biolistic transformation of tobacco and maize suspension cells using bacterial cells as microprojectiles.

    PubMed

    Rasmussen, J L; Kikkert, J R; Roy, M K; Sanford, J C

    1994-01-01

    We have used both Escherichia coli cells and Agrobacterium tumefaciens cells as microprojectiles to deliver DNA into suspension-cultured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. line NT1) cells using a helium powered biolistic device. In addition, E. coli cells were used as microprojectiles for the transformation of suspension-cultured maize (Zea mays cv. Black Mexican Sweet) cells. Pretreating the bacterial cells with phenol at a concentration of 1.0%, and combining the bacterial cells with tungsten particles increased the rates of transformation. In N. tabacum, we obtained hundreds of transient transformants per bombardment, but were unable to recover any stable transformants. In Z. mays we obtained thousands of transient transformants and an average of six stable transformants per bombardment. This difference is discussed.

  2. Derivation, expansion and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells in continuous suspension cultures

    PubMed Central

    Fluri, David A.; Tonge, Peter D.; Song, Hannah; Baptista, Ricardo P.; Shakiba, Nika; Shukla, Shreya; Clarke, Geoffrey; Nagy, Andras; Zandstra, Peter W.

    2016-01-01

    We demonstrate derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from terminally differentiated mouse cells in serum- and feeder-free stirred suspension cultures. Temporal analysis of global gene expression revealed high correlations between cells reprogrammed in suspension and cells reprogrammed in adhesion-dependent conditions. Suspension (S) reprogrammed iPSCs (SiPSCs) could be differentiated into all three germ layers in vitro and contributed to chimeric embryos in vivo. SiPSC generation allowed for efficient selection of reprogramming factor expressing cells based on their differential survival and proliferation in suspension. Seamless integration of SiPSC reprogramming and directed differentiation enabled the scalable production of functionally and phenotypically defined cardiac cells in a continuous single cell- and small aggregate-based process. This method is an important step towards the development of a robust PSC generation, expansion and differentiation technology. PMID:22447133

  3. [Clinical and experimental study of treating aplastic anemia with fetal liver cell suspension and fetal liver cell-free suspension].

    PubMed

    Han, J R; Yuan, S W; Ren, Q F

    1990-06-01

    Fresh fetal liver obtained from 3- to 6-month fetus was prepared. Fetal liver cell suspension (FLC) or fetal liver cell-free suspension (FLCF) were then transfused into two groups of patient of aplastic anemia. 15 of 21 patients of aplastic anemia treated with FLC showed reconstitution of haemopoietic function or improvement of peripheral blood pictures, while 27 of 30 patients treated with FLCF showed reconstitution or improvement. It is verified that there is a stimulating factor for CFU-CM, BFU-E, and CFU-E and also a immunologic stimulant for improving the nonspecific immunologic function of the organism as shown by clinical analysis and experimental study. It is obvious that the therapeutic effect of FLCF is much better than that of the FLC.

  4. Restenosis of the CYPHER-Select, TAXUS-Express, and Polyzene-F Nanocoated Cobalt-Chromium Stents in the Minipig Coronary Artery Model

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Radeleff, Boris, E-mail: Boris.radeleff@med.uni-heidelberg.de; Thierjung, Heidi; Stampfl, Ulrike

    2008-09-15

    PurposeTo date no direct experimental comparison between the CYPHER-Select and TAXUS-Express stents is available. Therefore, we investigated late in-stent stenosis, thrombogenicity, and inflammation, comparing the CYPHER-Select, TAXUS-Express, and custom-made cobalt chromium Polyzene-F nanocoated stents (CCPS) in the minipig coronary artery model.MethodsThe three stent types were implanted in the right coronary artery of 30 minipigs. The primary endpoint was in-stent stenosis assessed by quantitative angiography and microscopy. Secondary endpoints were inflammation and thrombogenicity evaluated by scores for inflammation and immunoreactivity (C-reactive protein and transforming growth factor beta). Follow-up was at 4 and 12 weeks.ResultsStent placement was successful in all animals; nomore » thrombus deposition occurred. Quantitative angiography did not depict statistically significant differences between the three stent types after 4 and 12 weeks. Quantitative microscopy at 4 weeks showed a statistically significant thicker neointima (p = 0.0431) for the CYPHER (105.034 {+-} 62.52 {mu}m) versus the TAXUS (74.864 {+-} 66.03 {mu}m) and versus the CCPS (63.542 {+-} 39.57 {mu}m). At 12 weeks there were no statistically significant differences. Inflammation scores at 4 weeks were significantly lower for the CCPS and CYPHER compared with the TAXUS stent (p = 0.0431). After 12 weeks statistical significance was only found for the CYPHER versus the TAXUS stent (p = 0.0431). The semiquantitative immunoreactivity scores for C-reactive protein and transforming growth factor beta showed no statistically significant differences between the three stent types after 4 and 12 weeks.ConclusionsThe CCPS provided effective control of late in-stent stenosis and thrombogenicity in this porcine model compared with the two drug-eluting stents. Its low inflammation score underscores its noninflammatory potential and might explain its equivalence to the two DES.« less

  5. Unearthing microbial diversity of Taxus rhizosphere via MiSeq high-throughput amplicon sequencing and isolate characterization

    PubMed Central

    Hao, Da Cheng; Song, Si Meng; Mu, Jun; Hu, Wen Li; Xiao, Pei Gen

    2016-01-01

    The species variability and potential environmental functions of Taxus rhizosphere microbial community were studied by comparative analyses of 15 16S rRNA and 15 ITS MiSeq sequencing libraries from Taxus rhizospheres in subtropical and temperate regions of China, as well as by isolating laccase-producing strains and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading strains. Total reads could be assigned to 2,141 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) belonging to 31 bacteria phyla and 2,904 OTUs of at least seven fungi phyla. The abundance of Planctomycetes, Actinobacteria, and Chloroflexi was higher in T. cuspidata var. nana and T. × media rhizospheres than in T. mairei rhizosphere (NF), while Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, Nitrospirae, and unclassified bacteria were more abundant in the latter. Ascomycota and Zygomycota were predominant in NF, while two temperate Taxus rhizospheres had more unclassified fungi, Basidiomycota, and Chytridiomycota. The bacterial/fungal community richness and diversity were lower in NF than in other two. Three dye decolorizing fungal isolates were shown to be highly efficient in removing three classes of reactive dye, while two PAH-degrading fungi were able to degrade recalcitrant benzo[a]pyrene. The present studies extend the knowledge pedigree of the microbial diversity populating rhizospheres, and exemplify the method shift in research and development of resource plant rhizosphere. PMID:27080869

  6. Unearthing microbial diversity of Taxus rhizosphere via MiSeq high-throughput amplicon sequencing and isolate characterization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hao, Da Cheng; Song, Si Meng; Mu, Jun; Hu, Wen Li; Xiao, Pei Gen

    2016-04-01

    The species variability and potential environmental functions of Taxus rhizosphere microbial community were studied by comparative analyses of 15 16S rRNA and 15 ITS MiSeq sequencing libraries from Taxus rhizospheres in subtropical and temperate regions of China, as well as by isolating laccase-producing strains and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading strains. Total reads could be assigned to 2,141 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) belonging to 31 bacteria phyla and 2,904 OTUs of at least seven fungi phyla. The abundance of Planctomycetes, Actinobacteria, and Chloroflexi was higher in T. cuspidata var. nana and T. × media rhizospheres than in T. mairei rhizosphere (NF), while Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, Nitrospirae, and unclassified bacteria were more abundant in the latter. Ascomycota and Zygomycota were predominant in NF, while two temperate Taxus rhizospheres had more unclassified fungi, Basidiomycota, and Chytridiomycota. The bacterial/fungal community richness and diversity were lower in NF than in other two. Three dye decolorizing fungal isolates were shown to be highly efficient in removing three classes of reactive dye, while two PAH-degrading fungi were able to degrade recalcitrant benzo[a]pyrene. The present studies extend the knowledge pedigree of the microbial diversity populating rhizospheres, and exemplify the method shift in research and development of resource plant rhizosphere.

  7. Extraction and Estimation of Secondary Metabolites from Date Palm Cell Suspension Cultures.

    PubMed

    Naik, Poornananda M; Al-Khayri, Jameel M

    2017-01-01

    The health benefits of dates arise from their content of phytochemicals, known for having pharmacological properties, including flavonoids, carotenoids, phenolic acids, sterols, procyanidins, and anthocyanins. In vitro cell culture technology has become an attractive means for the production of biomass and bioactive compounds. This chapter describes step-by-step procedures for the induction and proliferation of callus from date palm offshoots on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with plant growth regulators. Subsequently cell suspension cultures are established for optimum biomass accumulation, based on the growth curve developed by packed cell volume as well as fresh and dry weights. The highest production of biomass occurs at the 11th week after culturing. Moreover, this chapter describes methodologies for the extraction and analysis of secondary metabolites of date palm cell suspension cultures using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The optimum level of catechin, caffeic acid, apigenin, and kaempferol from the cell suspension cultures establishes after the 11th and 12th weeks of culture. This protocol is useful for scale-up production of secondary metabolites from date palm cell suspension cultures.

  8. Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from cell suspension cultures of Cucumis sativus L.

    PubMed

    Chee, P P; Tricoli, D M

    1988-06-01

    A procedure for the regeneration of whole cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Poinsett 76) by embryogenesis from cell suspension cultures is described. Embryogenic callus was initiated from the primary leaves of 14-17 day old plants. Suspension cultures of embryogenic cells were grown in liquid Murashige and Skoog basal medium containing 5 uM 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 4 uM 6-benzylaminopurine. Suspension cultures were composed of a population of cells that were densely cytoplasmic and potentially embryogenic. Differentiation of embryos was enhanced by washing the suspension culture cells with MS basal medium containing 0.5% activated charcoal and twice with MS basal medium followed by liquid shake cultures in MS basal medium. Sixty to 70 percent of the embryos prewashed with activated charcoal germinated into plantlets with normal morphology. Embryos obtained from suspension cultured cells without prewashing with activated charcoal organized into plantlets with abnormal primary leaves. Morphologically normal plantlets were obtained by excising the shoot tips and transferring them to fresh medium.

  9. Myosin II Activity Softens Cells in Suspension.

    PubMed

    Chan, Chii J; Ekpenyong, Andrew E; Golfier, Stefan; Li, Wenhong; Chalut, Kevin J; Otto, Oliver; Elgeti, Jens; Guck, Jochen; Lautenschläger, Franziska

    2015-04-21

    The cellular cytoskeleton is crucial for many cellular functions such as cell motility and wound healing, as well as other processes that require shape change or force generation. Actin is one cytoskeleton component that regulates cell mechanics. Important properties driving this regulation include the amount of actin, its level of cross-linking, and its coordination with the activity of specific molecular motors like myosin. While studies investigating the contribution of myosin activity to cell mechanics have been performed on cells attached to a substrate, we investigated mechanical properties of cells in suspension. To do this, we used multiple probes for cell mechanics including a microfluidic optical stretcher, a microfluidic microcirculation mimetic, and real-time deformability cytometry. We found that nonadherent blood cells, cells arrested in mitosis, and naturally adherent cells brought into suspension, stiffen and become more solidlike upon myosin inhibition across multiple timescales (milliseconds to minutes). Our results hold across several pharmacological and genetic perturbations targeting myosin. Our findings suggest that myosin II activity contributes to increased whole-cell compliance and fluidity. This finding is contrary to what has been reported for cells attached to a substrate, which stiffen via active myosin driven prestress. Our results establish the importance of myosin II as an active component in modulating suspended cell mechanics, with a functional role distinctly different from that for substrate-adhered cells. Copyright © 2015 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Optimizing cryopreservation of human spermatogonial stem cells: comparing the effectiveness of testicular tissue and single cell suspension cryopreservation

    PubMed Central

    Yango, Pamela; Altman, Eran; Smith, James F.; Klatsky, Peter C.; Tran, Nam D.

    2015-01-01

    Objective To determine whether optimal human spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) cryopreservation is best achieved with testicular tissue or single cell suspension cryopreservation. This study compares the effectiveness between these two approaches by using testicular SSEA-4+ cells, a known population containing SSCs. Design In vitro human testicular tissues. Setting Academic research unit. Patients Adult testicular tissues (n = 4) collected from subjects with normal spermatogenesis and normal fetal testicular tissues (n = 3). Intervention(s) Testicular tissue vs. single cell suspension cryopreservation. Main Outcome Measures Cell viability, total cell recovery per milligram of tissue, as well as, viable and SSEA-4+ cell recovery. Results Single cell suspension cryopreservation yielded higher recovery of SSEA-4+ cells enriched in adult SSCs whereas fetal SSEA-4+ cell recovery was similar between testicular tissue and single cell suspension cryopreservation. Conclusions Adult and fetal human SSEA-4+ populations exhibited differential sensitivity to cryopreservation based on whether they were cryopreserved in situ as testicular tissues or as single cells. Thus, optimal preservation of human SSCs depends on the patient age, type of samples cryopreserved, and end points of therapeutic applications. PMID:25241367

  11. Integrating a comprehensive DNA barcode reference library with a global map of yews (Taxus L.) for forensic identification.

    PubMed

    Liu, Jie; Milne, Richard I; Möller, Michael; Zhu, Guang-Fu; Ye, Lin-Jiang; Luo, Ya-Huang; Yang, Jun-Bo; Wambulwa, Moses C; Wang, Chun-Neng; Li, De-Zhu; Gao, Lian-Ming

    2018-05-22

    Rapid and accurate identification of endangered species is a critical component of biosurveillance and conservation management, and potentially policing illegal trades. However, this is often not possible using traditional taxonomy, especially where only small or preprocessed parts of plants are available. Reliable identification can be achieved via a comprehensive DNA barcode reference library, accompanied by precise distribution data. However, these require extensive sampling at spatial and taxonomic scales, which has rarely been achieved for cosmopolitan taxa. Here, we construct a comprehensive DNA barcode reference library and generate distribution maps using species distribution modelling (SDM), for all 15 Taxus species worldwide. We find that trnL-trnF is the ideal barcode for Taxus: It can distinguish all Taxus species and in combination with ITS identify hybrids. Among five analysis methods tested, NJ was the most effective. Among 4,151 individuals screened for trnL-trnF, 73 haplotypes were detected, all species-specific and some population private. Taxonomical, geographical and genetic dimensions of sampling strategy were all found to affect the comprehensiveness of the resulting DNA barcode library. Maps from SDM showed that most species had allopatric distributions, except T. mairei in the Sino-Himalayan region. Using the barcode library and distribution map data, two unknown forensic samples were identified to species (and in one case, population) level and another was determined as a putative interspecific hybrid. This integrated species identification system for Taxus can be used for biosurveillance, conservation management and to monitor and prosecute illegal trade. Similar identification systems are recommended for other IUCN- and CITES-listed taxa. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Separation of cancer cells from a red blood cell suspension using inertial force.

    PubMed

    Tanaka, Tatsuya; Ishikawa, Takuji; Numayama-Tsuruta, Keiko; Imai, Yohsuke; Ueno, Hironori; Matsuki, Noriaki; Yamaguchi, Takami

    2012-11-07

    The circulating tumor cell (CTC) test has recently become popular for evaluating prognosis and treatment efficacy in cancer patients. The accuracy of the test is strongly dependent on the precision of the cancer cell separation. In this study, we developed a multistage microfluidic device to separate cancer cells from a red blood cell (RBC) suspension using inertial migration forces. The device was able to effectively remove RBCs up to the 1% hematocrit (Hct) condition with a throughput of 565 μL min(-1). The collection efficiency of cancer cells from a RBC suspension was about 85%, and the enrichment of cancer cells was about 120-fold. Further improvements can be easily achieved by parallelizing the device. These results illustrate that the separation of cancer cells from RBCs is possible using only inertial migration forces, thus paving the way for the development of a novel microfluidic device for future CTC tests.

  13. Diversity of endophytic fungi and screening of fungal paclitaxel producer from Anglojap yew, Taxus x media

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Endophytic fungi represent underexplored resource of novel lead compounds and have a capacity to produce diverse class of plant secondary metabolites. Here we investigated endophytic fungi diversity and screening of paclitaxel-producing fungi from Taxus x media. Results Eighty-one endophytic fungi isolated from T. media were grouped into 8 genera based on the morphological and molecular identification. Guignardia and Colletotrichum were the dominant genera, whereas the remaining genera were infrequent groups. The genera Glomerella and Gibberella were first reported in Taxus. Three representative species of the distinct genera gave positive hits by molecular marker screening and were capable of producing taxol which were validated by HPLC-MS. Among these 3 taxol-producing fungi, the highest yield of taxol was 720 ng/l by Guignardia mangiferae HAA11 compared with those of Fusarium proliferatum HBA29 (240 ng/l) and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides TA67 (120 ng/l). This is the first report of taxol producer from Guignardia. Moreover, the lower similarities of ts and bapt between microbial and plant origin suggested that fungal taxol biosynthetic cluster might be repeatedly invented during evolution, nor horizontal gene transfer from Taxus species. Conclusions Taxol-producing endophytic fungi could be a fascinating reservoir to generate taxol-related drug lead and to elucidate the remained 5 unknown genes or the potential regulation mechanism in the taxol biosynthesis pathway. PMID:23537181

  14. Growing Arabidopsis in vitro: cell suspensions, in vitro culture, and regeneration.

    PubMed

    Barkla, Bronwyn J; Vera-Estrella, Rosario; Pantoja, Omar

    2014-01-01

    An understanding of basic methods in Arabidopsis tissue culture is beneficial for any laboratory working on this model plant. Tissue culture refers to the aseptic growth of cells, organs, or plants in a controlled environment, in which physical, nutrient, and hormonal conditions can all be easily manipulated and monitored. The methodology facilitates the production of a large number of plants that are genetically identical over a relatively short growth period. Techniques, including callus production, cell suspension cultures, and plant regeneration, are all indispensable tools for the study of cellular biochemical and molecular processes. Plant regeneration is a key technology for successful stable plant transformation, while cell suspension cultures can be exploited for metabolite profiling and mining. In this chapter we report methods for the successful and highly efficient in vitro regeneration of plants and production of stable cell suspension lines from leaf explants of both Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabidopsis halleri.

  15. Phagocytes in cell suspensions of human colon mucosa.

    PubMed Central

    Beeken, W; Northwood, I; Beliveau, C; Gump, D

    1987-01-01

    Because little is known of the phagocytes of the human colon we enumerated these cells in mucosal suspensions and studied their phagocytic activity. Phagocyte rich suspensions were made by EDTA collagenase dissociation followed by elutriation centrifugation. Phagocytosis was evaluated by measuring cellular radioactivity after incubation of phagocytes with 3H-adenine labelled E coli ON2 and checked microscopically. Dissociation of normal mucosa from colorectal neoplasms yielded means of 1.9 X 10(6) eosinophils, 1.4 X 10(6) macrophages and 2 X 10(5) neutrophils per gram of mucosa. Visually normal mucosa of inflammatory states yielded 2.2 X 10(6) eosinophils, 2.3 X 10(6) macrophages and 7 X 10(5) neutrophils per gram of mucosa. Phagocyte rich suspensions of normal mucosa from tumour patients phagocytosed 21.8% of a pool of opsonised tritiated E coli ON2 and by microscopy 100% of mucosal neutrophils ingested bacteria, 83% of eosinophils were phagocytic, and 53% of macrophages contained bacteria. These results suggest that in the human colonic mucosa, the eosinophil is more abundant than the macrophage and the per cent of those cells exhibiting phagocytosis is intermediate between that of the macrophage and the neutrophil. Thus these three types of cells are actively phagocytic and share the potential for a major role in host defence against invasive enteric bacteria. PMID:3666566

  16. Establishment and characterization of American elm cell suspension cultures

    Treesearch

    Steven M. Eshita; Joseph C. Kamalay; Vicki M. Gingas; Daniel A. Yaussy

    2000-01-01

    Cell suspension cultures of Dutch elm disease (DED)-tolerant and DED-susceptible American elms clones have been established and characterized as prerequisites for contrasts of cellular responses to pathogen-derived elicitors. Characteristics of cultured elm cell growth were monitored by A700 and media conductivity. Combined cell growth data for all experiments within a...

  17. Scale-up of hydrophobin-assisted recombinant protein production in tobacco BY-2 suspension cells.

    PubMed

    Reuter, Lauri J; Bailey, Michael J; Joensuu, Jussi J; Ritala, Anneli

    2014-05-01

    Plant suspension cell cultures are emerging as an alternative to mammalian cells for production of complex recombinant proteins. Plant cell cultures provide low production cost, intrinsic safety and adherence to current regulations, but low yields and costly purification technology hinder their commercialization. Fungal hydrophobins have been utilized as fusion tags to improve yields and facilitate efficient low-cost purification by surfactant-based aqueous two-phase separation (ATPS) in plant, fungal and insect cells. In this work, we report the utilization of hydrophobin fusion technology in tobacco bright yellow 2 (BY-2) suspension cell platform and the establishment of pilot-scale propagation and downstream processing including first-step purification by ATPS. Green fluorescent protein-hydrophobin fusion (GFP-HFBI) induced the formation of protein bodies in tobacco suspension cells, thus encapsulating the fusion protein into discrete compartments. Cultivation of the BY-2 suspension cells was scaled up in standard stirred tank bioreactors up to 600 L production volume, with no apparent change in growth kinetics. Subsequently, ATPS was applied to selectively capture the GFP-HFBI product from crude cell lysate, resulting in threefold concentration, good purity and up to 60% recovery. The ATPS was scaled up to 20 L volume, without loss off efficiency. This study provides the first proof of concept for large-scale hydrophobin-assisted production of recombinant proteins in tobacco BY-2 cell suspensions. © 2013 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Optimization of Native and Formaldehyde iPOND Techniques for Use in Suspension Cells.

    PubMed

    Wiest, Nathaniel E; Tomkinson, Alan E

    2017-01-01

    The isolation of proteins on nascent DNA (iPOND) technique developed by the Cortez laboratory allows a previously unparalleled ability to examine proteins associated with replicating and newly synthesized DNA in mammalian cells. Both the original, formaldehyde-based iPOND technique and a more recent derivative, accelerated native iPOND (aniPOND), have mostly been performed in adherent cell lines. Here, we describe modifications to both protocols for use with suspension cell lines. These include cell culture, pulse, and chase conditions that optimize sample recovery in both protocols using suspension cells and several key improvements to the published aniPOND technique that reduce sample loss, increase signal to noise, and maximize sample recovery. Additionally, we directly and quantitatively compare the iPOND and aniPOND protocols to test the strengths and limitations of both. Finally, we present a detailed protocol to perform the optimized aniPOND protocol in suspension cell lines. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Bioactive Constituents from an Endophytic Fungus, Penicillium polonicum NFW9, Associated with Taxus fauna.

    PubMed

    Fatima, Nighat; Sripisut, Tawanun; Youn, Ui J; Ahmed, Safia; Ul-Haq, Ihsan; Munoz-Acuna, Ulyana; Simmons, Charles J; Qazi, Muneer A; Jadoon, Muniba; Tan, Ghee T; de Blanco, Esperanza J C; Chang, Leng C

    2017-01-01

    Endophytic fungi are being recognized as vital and untapped sources of a variety of structurally novel and unique bioactive secondary metabolites in the field of natural products drug discovery. Herein, this study reports the isolation and characterization of secondary metabolites from an endophytic fungus Penicillium polonicum (NFW9) associated with Taxus fuana. The extracts of the endophytic fungus cultured on potato dextrose agar were purified using several chromatographic techniques. Biological evaluation was performed based on their abilities to inhibit tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-induced nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and cytotoxicity assays. Bioactivity-directed fractionation of the ethyl acetate extract of a fermentation culture of an endophytic fungus, Penicillium polonicum led to the isolation of a dimeric anthraquinone, (R)- 1,1',3,3',5,5'-hexahydroxy-7,7'-dimethyl[2,2'-bianthracene]-9,9',10,10'-tetraone (1), a steroidal furanoid (-)-wortmannolone (2), along with three other compounds (3-4). Moreover, this is the first report on the isolation of compound 1 from an endophytic fungus. All purified metabolites were characterized by NMR and MS data analyses. The stereo structure of compound 1 was determined by the measurement of specific optical rotation and CD spectrum. The relative stereochemistry of 2 was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 2-3 showed inhibitory activities in the TNF-α-induced NF-κB assay with IC50 values in the range of 0.47-2.11 µM. Compounds 1, 4 and 5 showed moderate inhibition against NF-κB and cancer cell lines. The endophytic fungus Penicillium polonicum of Taxus fuana is capable of producing biologically active natural compounds. Our results provide a scientific rationale for further chemical investigations into endophyte-producing natural products, drug discovery and development. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  20. Alkaloid production in Vernonia cinerea: Callus, cell suspension and root cultures.

    PubMed

    Maheshwari, Priti; Songara, Bharti; Kumar, Shailesh; Jain, Prachi; Srivastava, Kamini; Kumar, Anil

    2007-08-01

    Fast-growing callus, cell suspension and root cultures of Vernonia cinerea, a medicinal plant, were analyzed for the presence of alkaloids. Callus and root cultures were established from young leaf explants in Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal media supplemented with combinations of auxins and cytokinins, whereas cell suspension cultures were established from callus cultures. Maximum biomass of callus, cell suspension and root cultures were obtained in the medium supplemented with 1 mg/L alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 5 mg/L benzylaminopurine (BA), 1.0 mg/L NAA and 0.1 mg/L BA and 1.5 mg/L NAA, respectively. The 5-week-old callus cultures resulted in maximum biomass and alkaloid contents (750 microg/g). Cell suspension growth and alkaloid contents were maximal in 20-day-old cultures and alkaloid contents were 1.15 mg/g. A 0.2-g sample of root tissue regenerated in semi-solid medium upon transfer to liquid MS medium containing 1.5 mg/L NAA regenerated a maximum increase in biomass of 6.3-fold over a period of 5 weeks. The highest root growth and alkaloid contents of 2 mg/g dry weight were obtained in 5-week-old cultures. Maximum alkaloid contents were obtained in root cultures in vitro compared to all others including the alkaloid content of in vivo obtained with aerial parts and roots (800 microg/g and 1.2 mg/g dry weight, respectively) of V. cinerea.

  1. Effect of Antioxidants and Carbohydrates in Callus Cultures of Taxus brevifolia: Evaluation of Browning, Callus Growth, Total Phenolics and Paclitaxel Production

    PubMed Central

    Yari Khosroushahi, Ahmad; Naderi-Manesh, Hossein; Toft Simonsen, Henrik

    2011-01-01

    Introduction To control the tissue browning phenomenon, callus growth, total phenolics and paclitaxel production, in the current investigation, we evaluated the effects of citric acid and ascorbic acid (as antioxidants) and glucose, fructose and sucrose in callus cultures of Taxus brevifolia. Methods To obtain healthy callus/cell lines of Taxus brevifolia, the effects of two antioxidants ascorbic acid (100-1000 mg/L) and citric acid (50-500 mg/L), and three carbohydrates (glucose, fructose and sucrose (5-10 g/L)) were studied evaluating activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (PO) enzymes, callus growth/browning, total phenolics and paclitaxel production. Results These antioxidants (ascorbic acid and citric acid) failed to show significant effects on callus growth, browning intensity or paclitaxel production. However, the carbohydrates imposed significant effects on the parameters studied. High concentrations of both glucose and sucrose increased the browning intensity, thus decreased callus growth. Glucose increased paclitaxel production, but sucrose decreased it. Conclusion These results revealed that the browning phenomenon can be controlled through supplementation of the growth media with glucose, sucrose (5 g/L) and fructose (10 g/L), while increased paclitaxel production can be obtain by the optimized media supplemented with glucose (10 g/L), sucrose and fructose (5 g/L). PMID:23678406

  2. Rheology of dilute suspensions of red blood cells: experimental and theoretical approaches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drochon, A.

    2003-05-01

    Shear viscosity measurements with dilute suspensions of red blood cells are interpreted using a microrheological model that relates the bulk measurements to the physical properties of the suspended cells. It is thus possible to quantify the average deformability of a RBC population in terms of a mean value of the membrane shear elastic modulus E_s. The values obtained for normal cells are in good agreement with those given in the literature. The method allows to discriminate between normal and altered (diamide or glutaraldehyde treated) cells or pathological cells (scleroderma). The predictions of the microrheological model, based on analytic calculations, are also compared with the numerical results of Ramanujan and Pozrikidis (JFM 361, 1998) for dilute suspensions of capsules in simple shear flow.

  3. Transcriptome-wide identification and screening of WRKY factors involved in the regulation of taxol biosynthesis in Taxus chinensis.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Meng; Chen, Ying; Nie, Lin; Jin, Xiaofei; Liao, Weifang; Zhao, Shengying; Fu, Chunhua; Yu, Longjiang

    2018-03-26

    WRKY, a plant-specific transcription factor family, plays important roles in pathogen defense, abiotic cues, phytohormone signaling, and regulation of plant secondary metabolism. However, little is known about the roles, functions, and mechanisms of WRKY in taxane biosynthesis in Taxus spp. In this study, 61 transcripts were identified from Taxus chinensis transcriptome datasets by using hidden Markov model search. All of these transcripts encoded proteins containing WRKY domains, which were designated as TcWRKY1-61. After phylogenetic analysis of the WRKY domains of TcWRKYs and AtWRKYs, 16, 8, 10, 14, 5, 7, and 1 TcWRKYs were cladded into Group I, IIa-IIe, and III, respectively. Then, six representative TcWRKYs were selected to classify their effects on taxol biosynthesis. After MeJA (methyl jasmonate acid) and SA (salicylic acid) treatments, all of the six TcWRKYs were upregulated by MeJA treatment. TcWRKY44 (IId) and TcWRKY47 (IIa) were upregulated, whereas TcWRKY8 (IIc), TcWRKY20 (III), TcWRKY26 (I), TcWRKY41 (IIe), and TcWRKY52 (IIb) were downregulated by SA treatment. Overexpression experiments showed that the six selected TcWRKYs exerted different effects on taxol biosynthesis. In specific, TcWRKY8 and TcWRKY47 significantly improved the expression levels of taxol-biosynthesis-related genes. Transcriptome-wide identification of WRKY factors in Taxus not only enhances our understanding of plant WRKY factors but also identifies candidate regulators of taxol biosynthesis.

  4. The effects of cadmium chloride on secondary metabolite production in Vitis vinifera cv. cell suspension cultures.

    PubMed

    Cetin, Emine Sema; Babalik, Zehra; Hallac-Turk, Filiz; Gokturk-Baydar, Nilgun

    2014-09-23

    Plant secondary metabolites are possess several biological activities such as anti-mutagenic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-aging, etc. Cell suspension culture is one of the most effective systems to produce secondary metabolites. It is possible to increase the phenolic compounds and tocopherols by using cell suspensions. Studies on tocopherols production by cell suspension cultures are seldom and generally focused on seed oil plants. Although fresh grape, grape seed, pomace and grape seed oil had tocopherols, with our best knowledge, there is no research on tocopherol accumulation in the grape cell suspension cultures. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effects of cadmium chloride treatments on secondary metabolite production in cell suspension cultures of grapevine. Cell suspensions initiated from callus belonging to petiole tissue was used as a plant material. Cadmium chloride was applied to cell suspension cultures in different concentration (1.0 mM and 1.5 mM) to enhance secondary metabolite (total phenolics, total flavanols, total flavonols, trans-resveratrol, and α-, β-, γ- δ-tocopherols) production. Cells were harvested at two days intervals until the 6th day of cultures. Amounts of total phenolics, total flavanols and total flavonols; trans-resveratrol and tocopherols (α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocopherols) and dry cell weights were determined in the harvested cells. Phenolic contents were significantly affected by the sampling time and cadmium concentrations. The highest values of total phenolic (168.82 mg/100 g), total flavanol (15.94 mg/100 g), total flavonol (14.73 mg/100 g) and trans-resveratrol (490.76 μg/100 g) were found in cells treated with 1.0 mM CdCl2 and harvested at day 2. Contents of tocopherols in the cells cultured in the presence of 1.0 mM CdCl2 gradually increased during the culture period and the highest values of α, β and γ tocopherols (145.61, 25.52 and 18.56 μg/100 g) were detected in the cell cultures collected at day 6

  5. Fast Micromethod: Determination of DNA Integrity in Cell Suspensions and in Solid Tissues.

    PubMed

    Bihari, Nevenka

    2017-01-01

    The Fast Micromethod is a rapid and convenient microplate procedure for the determination of DNA integrity in cell suspensions and in solid tissues. The procedure is based on the ability of fluorochromes to preferentially interact with double-stranded DNA in alkaline conditions. Rapid sample lysis is followed by denaturation at high pH during 15 min. Only 30 ng of DNA from cell suspensions or tissue homogenates per single well are required for the analyses. The whole analysis is performed within 3 h or less (for one 96-well microplate).The Fast Micromethod is broadly used in biology and medicine. Its applications range from environmental pollution tests in marine invertebrates to the analysis of biopsy samples in cancer patients to detect DNA alterations caused by irradiation or chemotherapy.The procedure presented here describes the Fast Micromethod applied for the determination of DNA integrity in cell suspensions (HeLa cells) and solid tissues (mussel gills).

  6. Taxol-producing [corrected] fungal endophyte, Pestalotiopsis species isolated from Taxus cuspidata.

    PubMed

    Kumaran, Rangarajulu Senthil; Kim, Hyung Joo; Hur, Byung-Ki

    2010-11-01

    The endophytic fungi, Pestalotiopsis versicolor and Pestalotiopsis neglecta, were isolated from the healthy leaves and bark of the Japanese Yew tree, Taxus cuspidata. The fungal species were identified by their characteristic culture morphology and molecular analysis. For the first time, the test fungi were screened for the production of taxol in modified liquid medium. The presence of taxol was confirmed by HPLC, (1)H NMR, and LC-MS methods of analysis. The maximum amount of taxol production in P. versicolor was recorded as 478 μg/l. The production rate was increased to 9560-fold than that found in the culture broth of earlier reported fungus, Taxomyces andreanae. The extracted fungal taxol showed a strong cytotoxic activity in the in vitro culture of tested human cancer cells by apoptotic assay indicating that the increase in taxol concentration induces increased cell death. A PCR-based screening for ts, a unique gene in the formation of the taxane skeleton, confirmed the molecular blueprint for taxol biosynthesis. The results designate that the fungal endophyte, P. versicolor, is an excellent candidate for an alternate source of taxol supply and can also serve as a potential species for genetic engineering to enhance the production of taxol to a higher level. Copyright © 2010 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Biotechnological enhancement of capsaicin biosynthesis in cell suspension cultures of Naga King Chili (Capsicum chinense Jacq.).

    PubMed

    Kehie, Mechuselie; Kumaria, Suman; Tandon, Pramod

    2016-01-01

    Cell suspension cultures were initiated from hypocotyl derived callus to induce capsaicin biosynthesis in suspension cultures of Naga King Chili (Capsicum chinense Jacq.). Efficient capsaicin production with high growth index (GI) was obtained by exposing cells to salicylic acid (SA) and calcium channel modulators in suspension cultures. The time course of capsaicin formation is related to the cell growth profile in a batch culture. Cells cultivated in the standard medium (SM) initially showed low level of capsaicin yield during active growth. When the cells approached stationary phase, cell growth and cell viability decreased whereas capsaicin production increased continuously. In the fed-batch cultures, the highest capsaicin yield (567.4 ± 8.1 μgg(1) fresh weight) (f.wt) was obtained by feeding the cells with 1 mM SA. However, SA feeding during cultivation repressed the cell growth. Enhanced cell growth (3.1 ± 0.1 GI/culture) and capsaicin yield (534 ± 7.8 μgg(-1)f.wt) were obtained when the cells were fed with calcium ionophore A23187 (0.5 mM) on day 25 as compared to the control. Addition of the calcium channel blocker verapamil hydrochloride (100 mM) inhibited cell growth and capsaicin production in Naga King Chili suspension cell cultures.

  8. Comparison of the oxygen exchange between photosynthetic cell suspensions and detached leaves of Euphorbia characias L

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Carrier, P.; Chagvardieff, P.; Tapie, P.

    1989-11-01

    Using a mass-spectrometric {sup 16}O{sub 2}/{sup 18}O{sub 2}-isotope technique, we compared the nature and the relative importance of oxygen exchange in photomixotrophic (PM) and photoautotrophic (PA) suspensions of Euphorbia characias L. with those in intact leaves of the same species. Young and mature leaves, dividing and nondividing cell suspensions were characterized in short-term experiments. On chlorophyll basis, the gross photosynthetic activities at CO{sub 2} saturating concentration of PA and PM suspensions varied little from those of leaves. On dry weight basis, gross photosynthesis of PA suspensions was equal to that of leaves because of their similar chlorophyll content. This wasmore » not the case in PM suspensions where gross photosynthesis was lower and largely varied during the growth cycle. The CO{sub 2} compensation point of PA cells was much higher than that of leaves. Oxygen uptakes were analyzed in terms of mitochondrial respiration, photorespiration and light stimulation of oxygen uptake (LSOU), often identified to Mehler-type reactions. In Pa and PM suspensions, mitochondrial respiration rates were higher than in leaves by a factor of 1.5 to 4.5. In PM suspensions, photorespiration and LSOU were observed only in nondividing cells. Photorespiration and LSOU rates were comparable in PA suspensions and leaves. Our results demonstrate that photorespiration of PA suspensions has not been affected by the 2% CO{sub 2} concentration imposed during 2 years of culture.« less

  9. Enhanced Mulberroside A Production from Cell Suspension and Root Cultures of Morus alba Using Elicitation.

    PubMed

    Komaikul, Jukrapun; Kitisripanya, Tharita; Tanaka, Hiroyuki; Sritularak, Boonchoo; Putalun, Waraporn

    2015-07-01

    Morus alba L. has been used in Asian traditional medicine as an anti-inflammatory, anti-asthmatic, anthelmintic and as a whitening agent in cosmetic products. Mulberroside A is the major active compound from M. alba root bark. In this study, cell suspension and root cultures of M. alba were established, and the effect of the elicitors on the enhancement of mulberroside A production in M. alba was investigated. The cell suspension and root cultures of M. alba were exposed to elicitors and then mulberroside A contents were determined by an indirect competitive ELISA method. High levels of mulberroside A were obtained by addition of 100 and 200 μM salicylic acid with 24 h exposure time in cell suspension cultures (37.9 ± 1.5 and 34.0 ± 4.7 mg/g dry wt., respectively). Furthermore, addition of yeast extract at 2 mg/mL with 24 h exposure time can significantly increase mulberroside A contents from both cell suspension (3.2-fold) and root cultures (6.6-fold). Mulberroside A contents from both cell suspension and root cultures after treatment with elicitors are similar or higher than those found in the intact root and root bark of several years old M. alba. These results indicate that mulberry tissue cultures using the elicitation method are interesting alternative sources for mulberroside A production.

  10. Studies on Rapidly Frozen Suspensions of Yeast Cells by Differential Thermal Analysis and Conductometry

    PubMed Central

    Mazur, Peter

    1963-01-01

    Few, if any, yeast cells survived rapid cooling to -196°C and subsequent slow warming. After rapid freezing, the suspensions absorbed latent heat of fusion between -15° and 0°C during warming, and the relation between the amount of heat absorbed and the concentration of cells was the same as that in equivalent KCl solutions, indicating that frozen suspensions behave thermally like frozen solutions. The amount of heat absorbed was such that more than 80 per cent of the intracellular solution had to be frozen. The conductometric behavior of frozen suspensions showed that cell solutes were still inside the cells and surrounded by an intact cell membrane at the time heat was being absorbed. Two models are consistent with these findings. The first assumes that intracellular freezing has taken place; the second that all freezable water has left the cells and frozen externally. The latter model is ruled out because rapidly cooled cells do not shrink by an amount equal to the volume of water that would have to be withdrawn to prevent internal freezing. PMID:13934216

  11. Large-Scale Transient Transfection of Suspension Mammalian Cells for VLP Production.

    PubMed

    Cervera, Laura; Kamen, Amine A

    2018-01-01

    Large-scale transient transfection of mammalian cell suspension cultures enables the production of biological products in sufficient quantity and under stringent quality attributes to perform accelerated in vitro evaluations and has the potential to support preclinical or even clinical studies. Here we describe the methodology to produce VLPs in a 3L bioreactor, using suspension HEK 293 cells and PEIPro as a transfection reagent. Cells are grown in the bioreactor to 1 × 10 6 cells/mL and transfected with a plasmid DNA-PEI complex at a ratio of 1:2. Dissolved oxygen and pH are controlled and are online monitored during the production phase and cell growth and viability can be measured off line taking samples from the bioreactor. If the product is labeled with a fluorescent marker, transfection efficiency can be also assessed using flow cytometry analysis. Typically, the production phase lasts between 48 and 96 h until the product is harvested.

  12. Prasugrel plus aspirin beyond 12 months is associated with improved outcomes after TAXUS Liberté paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent placement.

    PubMed

    Garratt, Kirk N; Weaver, W Douglas; Jenkins, Ronald G; Pow, Thomas K; Mauri, Laura; Kereiakes, Dean J; Winters, Kenneth J; Christen, Thomas; Allocco, Dominic J; Lee, David P

    2015-01-06

    The TAXUS Liberté Post Approval Study (TL-PAS) contributed patients treated with TAXUS Liberté paclitaxel-eluting stent and prasugrel to the Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Study (DAPT) that compared 12 and 30 months thienopyridine plus aspirin therapy after drug-eluting stents. Outcomes for 2191 TL-PAS patients enrolled into DAPT were assessed. The DAPT coprimary composite end point (death, myocardial infarction [MI], or stroke) was lower with 30 compared with 12 months prasugrel treatment (3.7% versus 8.8%; hazard ratio [HR], 0.407; P<0.001). Rates of death and stroke were similar between groups, but MI was significantly reduced with prolonged prasugrel treatment (1.9% versus 7.1%; HR, 0.255; P<0.001). The DAPT coprimary end point, stent thrombosis, was also lower with longer therapy (0.2% versus 2.9%; HR, 0.063; P<0.001). MI related to stent thrombosis (0% versus 2.6%; P<0.001) and occurring spontaneously (1.9% versus 4.5%; HR, 0.407; P=0.007) were both reduced with prolonged prasugrel. MI rates increased within 90 days of prasugrel cessation after both 12 and 30 months treatment. Composite Global Utilization of Streptokinase and Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Occluded Coronary Arteries (GUSTO) moderate or severe bleeds were modestly increased (2.4% versus 1.7%; HR, 1.438; P=0.234) but severe bleeds were not more frequent (0.3% versus 0.5%; HR, 0.549; P=0.471) in the prolonged treatment group. Prasugrel and aspirin continued for 30 months reduced ischemic events for the TAXUS Liberté paclitaxel-eluting stent patient subset from DAPT through reductions in MI and stent thrombosis. Withdrawal of prasugrel was followed by an increase in MI after both 12 and 30 months therapy. The optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy with prasugrel after TAXUS Liberté paclitaxel-eluting stent remains unknown, but appears to be >30 months. http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00997503. © 2014 American Heart Association, Inc.

  13. Reduced Differentiation Efficiency of Murine Embryonic Stem Cells in Stirred Suspension Bioreactors

    PubMed Central

    Taiani, Jaymi T.; Krawetz, Roman J.; zur Nieden, Nicole I.; Wu, Yiru Elizabeth; Kallos, Michael S.; Matyas, John R.

    2010-01-01

    The use of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) for regenerative medicine has generated increased attention due to the favorable attributes of these cells; namely, they are pluripotent and possess long-term self-renewal capacity. The initial aims of the present study were: (i) to use stirred suspension bioreactors to expand and differentiate ESCs into osteogenic and chondrogenic cell types and (ii) to explore if these ESC-derived cells influenced skeletal healing in an in vivo fracture model. We show that differentiation protocols used in static culture are insufficient when applied directly to suspension culture bioreactors. Moreover, when bioreactor-differentiated cells are transplanted into a burr-hole defect in bone, severe disruption of the bone architecture was noted at the fracture site, as determined by microcomputed tomography (microCT) imaging and histopathology. Further characterization of the bioreactor-differentiated cultures revealed that a subpopulation of cells in the resulting aggregates expressed the pluripotency marker Oct-4 in the nucleus. Nuclear Oct-4 expression persisted even after 30 days of culture in the absence of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). Remarkably, and unlike ESCs differentiated into skeletal cell types in static cultures, bioreactor-differentiated aggregates implanted subcutaneously into SCID mice formed teratomas. The development of effective ESC differentiation protocols for suspension bioreactors will require a more complete understanding of the environmental conditions within these culture systems and the influence that these conditions have on the regulation of pluripotency and differentiation in ESCs. PMID:19775198

  14. Strategies to Suspension Serum-Free Adaptation of Mammalian Cell Lines for Recombinant Glycoprotein Production.

    PubMed

    Caron, Angelo Luis; Biaggio, Rafael Tagé; Swiech, Kamilla

    2018-01-01

    Serum-free suspension cultures are preferably required for recombinant protein production due to its readiness in upstream/downstream processing and scale-up, therefore increasing process productivity and competitiveness. This type of culture replaces traditional cell culturing as the presence of animal-derived components may introduce lot-a-lot variability and adventitious pathogens to the process. However, adapting cells to serum-free conditions is challenging, time-consuming, and cell line and medium dependent. In this chapter, we present different approaches that can be used to adapt mammalian cell lines from an anchorage-dependent serum supplemented culture to a suspension serum-free culture.

  15. Validation of Flow Cytometry and Magnetic Bead-Based Methods to Enrich CNS Single Cell Suspensions for Quiescent Microglia.

    PubMed

    Volden, T A; Reyelts, C D; Hoke, T A; Arikkath, J; Bonasera, S J

    2015-12-01

    Microglia are resident mononuclear phagocytes within the CNS parenchyma that intimately interact with neurons and astrocytes to remodel synapses and extracellular matrix. We briefly review studies elucidating the molecular pathways that underlie microglial surveillance, activation, chemotaxis, and phagocytosis; we additionally place these studies in a clinical context. We describe and validate an inexpensive and simple approach to obtain enriched single cell suspensions of quiescent parenchymal and perivascular microglia from the mouse cerebellum and hypothalamus. Following preparation of regional CNS single cell suspensions, we remove myelin debris, and then perform two serial enrichment steps for cells expressing surface CD11b. Myelin depletion and CD11b enrichment are both accomplished using antigen-specific magnetic beads in an automated cell separation system. Flow cytometry of the resultant suspensions shows a significant enrichment for CD11b(+)/CD45(+) cells (perivascular microglia) and CD11b(+)/CD45(-) cells (parenchymal microglia) compared to starting suspensions. Of note, cells from these enriched suspensions minimally express Aif1 (aka Iba1), suggesting that the enrichment process does not evoke significant microglial activation. However, these cells readily respond to a functional challenge (LPS) with significant changes in the expression of molecules specifically associated with microglia. We conclude that methods employing a combination of magnetic-bead based sorting and flow cytometry produce suspensions highly enriched for microglia that are appropriate for a variety of molecular and cellular assays.

  16. Regio-selective deglycosylation of icariin by cell suspension cultures of Glycyrrhiza uralensis and Morus alba.

    PubMed

    Zhang, De-Wu; Tao, Xiao-Yu; Chen, Ri-Dao; Yu, Li-Yan; Dai, Jun-Gui

    2015-01-01

    Biotransformations of icariin (1) by cell suspension cultures of Glycyrrhiza uralensis and Morus alba yielded two new metabolites, icaruralins A and B (2 and 3), and one known metabolite, baohuoside I (4). Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. This is the first report that the cell suspension cultures of G. uralensis and M. alba possess deglycosylation functionality.

  17. Behavior of yeast cells in aqueous suspension affected by pulsed electric field.

    PubMed

    El Zakhem, H; Lanoisellé, J-L; Lebovka, N I; Nonus, M; Vorobiev, E

    2006-08-15

    This work discusses pulsed electric fields (PEF) induced effects in treatment of aqueous suspensions of concentrated yeast cells (S. cerevisiae). The PEF treatment was done using pulses of near-rectangular shape, electric field strength was within E=2-5 kV/cm and the total time of treatment was t(PEF)=10(-4)-0.1 s. The concentration of aqueous yeast suspensions was in the interval of C(Y)=0-22 (wt%), where 1% concentration corresponds to the cellular density of 2x10(8) cells/mL. Triton X-100 was used for studying non-ionic surfactant additive effects. The electric current peak value I was measured during each pulse application, and from these data the electrical conductivity sigma was estimated. The PEF-induced damage results in increase of sigma with t(PEF) increasing and attains its saturation level sigma approximately sigma(max) at long time of PEF treatment. The value of sigma(max) reflects the efficiency of damage. The reduced efficiency of damage at suspension volume concentration higher than phi(Y) approximately 32 vol% is explained by the percolation phenomenon in the randomly packed suspension of near-spherical cells. The higher cytoplasmic ions leakage was observed in presence of surfactant. Experiments were carried out in the static and continuous flow treatment chambers in order to reveal the effects of mixing in PEF-treatment efficiency. A noticeable aggregation of the yeast cells was observed in the static flow chamber during the PEF treatment, while aggregation was not so pronounced in the continuous flow chamber. The nature of the enhanced aggregation under the PEF treatment was revealed by the zeta-potential measurements: these data demonstrate different zeta-potential signs for alive and dead cells. The effect of the electric field strength on the PEF-induced extraction of the intracellular components of S. cerevisiae is discussed.

  18. Yews (Taxus) along the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region: exploring the ethnopharmacological relevance among communities of Mongol and Caucasian origins.

    PubMed

    Poudel, Ram C; Gao, Lian-Ming; Möller, Michael; Baral, Sushim R; Uprety, Yadav; Liu, Jie; Li, De-Zhu

    2013-05-02

    Three species of yews Taxus contorta Griff., Taxus mairei (Lemée & Lév.) S.Y. Hu ex T.S. Liu and Taxus wallichiana Zucc. distributed in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region have been commercially exploited in recent decades to extract an anticancer chemotherapeutic drug 'Taxol'. Additionally, indigenous people of this region are using yews for several other purposes including gastro-intestinal disorders, respiratory problems, skeletal system disorders, and as edible fruit, fodder, fish poison, traditional veterinary medicine, among others. The study was designed to document and evaluate knowledge concerning uses of yews among indigenous communities of Mongol and Caucasian origins. Ethnobotanical knowledge from 10 major ethnic/caste groups of Mongol and Caucasian origins in the Nepal Himalayas was documented in 2010 and 2011 from 27 sites covering the extant distribution range of the three species of Taxus. A total of 72 key informants (60 men, 12 women), recommended by the majority of people in informal group discussions at each study site, were interviewed to collect information on the importance of yews. This study reports multidimensional uses of yews commonly practiced by different indigenous communities of Nepal and compared those with published uses along the HKH region. The key informants cited a total 45 uses under 21 categories. A greater use diversity and high consensus value for use types were recorded for medicinal uses (gastro-intestinal ailments, cough and cold, skeleto-muscular system problem and others medicinal importance) followed by fruit consumption, household tools, agriculture implements and timber. A decline of yew populations and associated traditional knowledge among the younger generations of indigenous people was found. The present study shows a strong agreement of ethnobotanical knowledge on yews between communities of Mongols and Caucasian origins. Our findings further revealed the potential for additional therapeutic applications in

  19. Stirred suspension bioreactors as a novel method to enrich germ cells from pre-pubertal pig testis

    PubMed Central

    Dores, Camila; Rancourt, Derrick; Dobrinski, Ina

    2015-01-01

    To study spermatogonial stem cells the heterogeneous testicular cell population first needs to be enriched for undifferentiated spermatogonia, which contain the stem cell population. When working with non-rodent models, this step requires working with large numbers of cells. Available cell separation methods rely on differential properties of testicular cell types such as expression of specific cell surface proteins, size, density or differential adhesion to substrates to separate germ cells from somatic cells. The objective of this study was to develop an approach that allowed germ cell enrichment while providing efficiency of handling large cell numbers. Here we report the use of stirred suspension bioreactors to exploit the adhesion properties of Sertoli cells to enrich cells obtained from pre-pubertal porcine testes for undifferentiated spermatogonia. We also compared the bioreactor approach with an established differential plating method and the combination of both: stirred suspension bioreactor followed by differential plating. After 66 hours of culture, germ cell enrichment in stirred suspension bioreactors provided 7.3±1.0 fold (n=9), differential plating 9.8±2.4 fold (n=6) and combination of both methods resulted in 9.1±0.3 fold enrichment of germ cells from the initial germ cell population (n=3). To document functionality of cells recovered from the bioreactor, we demonstrated that cells retained their functional ability to reassemble seminiferous tubules de novo after grafting to mouse hosts and to support spermatogenesis. These results demonstrate that the stirred suspension bioreactor allows enrichment of germ cells in a controlled and scalable environment providing an efficient method when handling large cell numbers while reducing variability due to handling. PMID:25877677

  20. Stable expression of recombinant human coagulation factor XIII in protein-free suspension culture of Chinese hamster ovary cells.

    PubMed

    Chun, B H; Bang, W G; Park, Y K; Woo, S K

    2001-11-01

    The recombinant a and bsubunits for human coagulation factor XIII were transfected into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. CHO cells were amplified and selected with methotrexate in adherent cultures containing serum, and CHO 1-62 cells were later selected in protein-free medium. To develop a recombinant factor XIII production process in a suspension culture, we have investigated the growth characteristics of CHO cells and the maintenance of factor XIII expression in the culture medium. Suspension adaptation of CHO cells was performed in protein-free medium, GC-CHO-PI, by two methods, such as serum weaning and direct switching from serum containing media to protein-free media. Although the growth of CHO cells in suspension culture was affected initially by serum depletion, cell specific productivity of factor XIII showed only minor changes by the direct switching to protein-free medium during a suspension culture. As for the long-term stability of factor XIII, CHO 1-62 cells showed a stable expression of factor XIII in protein-free condition for 1000 h. These results indicate that the CHO 1-62cells can be adapted to express recombinant human factor XIII in a stable maimer in suspension culture using a protein-free medium. Our results demonstrate that enhanced cell growth in a continuous manner is achievable for factor XIII production in a protein-free medium when a perfusion bioreactor culture system with a spin filter is employed.

  1. Structural characterization and in vitro antitumor activity of a novel polysaccharide from Taxus yunnanensis.

    PubMed

    Yan, Chunyan; Yin, Yin; Zhang, Dawei; Yang, Wei; Yu, Rongmin

    2013-07-25

    The shrub, Taxus yunnanensis is famed as the source of the important anticancer drug, paclitaxel. But research on its polysaccharides contents has been scarce. The present research aimed to investigate the polysaccharide content of T. yunnanensis leaves and study the antitumor activities of isolated polysaccharide(s) using human tumor cells (K-562 and MCF). A novel heteropolysaccharide (TMP70W) was isolated and purified by anion-exchange and gel-permeation chromatography. Its molecular weight was 36.94 kDa and structural features were elucidated by partial acid hydrolysis, periodate oxidation-Smith degradation, methylation analysis, GC-MS, HPAEC-PAD, FT-IR, and NMR. The repeating unit of TMP70W had a backbone composed of (1→5)-linked-α-l-Araf, (1→2,5)-linked-α-l-Araf, and (1→6)-linked-β-d-Galp with a branch of α-d-Glcp-(1→2)-α-d-Galp-(1→ at the position of C-2 of arabinose. TMP70W displayed mild cytotoxicity against K562 cells with the IC50 value of 39.63 ± 2.37 μg/mL and inhibitory activity against MCF-7 cells (32.08 ± 0.39% at the concentration of 400 μg/mL) in a concentration-dependent manner. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Enhanced Production of Anthraquinones and Phenolic Compounds and Biological Activities in the Cell Suspension Cultures of Polygonum multiflorum

    PubMed Central

    Thiruvengadam, Muthu; Rekha, Kaliyaperumal; Rajakumar, Govindasamy; Lee, Taek-Jun; Kim, Seung-Hyun; Chung, Ill-Min

    2016-01-01

    Anthraquinones (AQs) and phenolic compounds are important phytochemicals that are biosynthesized in cell suspension cultures of Polygonum multiflorum. We wanted to optimize the effects of plant growth regulators (PGRs), media, sucrose, l-glutamine, jasmonic acid (JA), and salicylic acid (SA) for the production of phytochemicals and biomass accumulation in a cell suspension culture of P. multiflorum. The medium containing Murashige and Skoog (MS) salts and 4% sucrose supplemented with 1 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 0.5 mg/L thidiazuron, and 100 µM l-glutamine at 28 days of cell suspension culture was suitable for biomass accumulation and AQ production. Maximum biomass accumulation (12.5 and 12.35 g fresh mass (FM); 3 and 2.93 g dry mass (DM)) and AQ production (emodin 295.20 and 282 mg/g DM; physcion 421.55 and 410.25 mg/g DM) were observed using 100 µM JA and SA, respectively. JA- and SA-elicited cell cultures showed several-fold higher biomass accumulation and AQ production than the control cell cultures. Furthermore, the cell suspension cultures effectively produced 23 phenolic compounds, such as flavonols and hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives. PGR-, JA-, and SA-elicited cell cultures produced a higher amount of AQs and phenolic compounds. Because of these metabolic changes, the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities were high in the PGR-, JA-, and SA-elicited cell cultures. The results showed that the elicitors (JA and SA) induced the enhancement of biomass accumulation and phytochemical (AQs and phenolic compounds) production as well as biological activities in the cell suspension cultures of P. multiflorum. This optimized protocol can be developed for large-scale biomass accumulation and production of phytochemicals (AQs and phenolic compounds) from cell suspension cultures, and the phytochemicals can be used for various biological activities. PMID:27854330

  3. Effect of Magnetic Nanoparticles on Tobacco BY-2 Cell Suspension Culture

    PubMed Central

    Krystofova, Olga; Sochor, Jiri; Zitka, Ondrej; Babula, Petr; Kudrle, Vit; Adam, Vojtech; Kizek, Rene

    2012-01-01

    Nanomaterials are structures whose exceptionality is based on their large surface, which is closely connected with reactivity and modification possibilities. Due to these properties nanomaterials are used in textile industry (antibacterial textiles with silver nanoparticles), electronics (high-resolution imaging, logical circuits on the molecular level) and medicine. Medicine represents one of the most important fields of application of nanomaterials. They are investigated in connection with targeted therapy (infectious diseases, malignant diseases) or imaging (contrast agents). Nanomaterials including nanoparticles have a great application potential in the targeted transport of pharmaceuticals. However, there are some negative properties of nanoparticles, which must be carefully solved, as hydrophobic properties leading to instability in aqueous environment, and especially their possible toxicity. Data about toxicity of nanomaterials are still scarce. Due to this fact, in this work we focused on studying of the effect of magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) and modified magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) on tobacco BY-2 plant cell suspension culture. We aimed at examining the effect of NPs and MNPs on growth, proteosynthesis—total protein content, thiols—reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione, phytochelatins PC2-5, glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity and antioxidant activity of BY-2 cells. Whereas the effect of NPs and MNPs on growth of cell suspension culture was only moderate, significant changes were detected in all other biochemical parameters. Significant changes in protein content, phytochelatins levels and GST activity were observed in BY-2 cells treated with MNPs nanoparticles treatment. Changes were also clearly evident in the case of application of NPs. Our results demonstrate the ability of MNPs to negatively affect metabolism and induce biosynthesis of protective compounds in a plant cell model represented by BY-2 cell suspension culture. The

  4. Antibacterial Activities of Endophytic Bacteria Isolated from Taxus brevifolia Against Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria.

    PubMed

    Islam, Nurul; Choi, Jaehyuk; Baek, Kwang-Hyun

    2018-05-01

    Endophytes are a potential source of novel bioactive compounds with medicinal properties. In this study, 41 endophytic bacteria (EB) were isolated from tissues of a medicinally important plant Taxus brevifolia (Pacific yew). The objective was to screen all the EB isolates for their antibacterial effects against five foodborne pathogenic bacteria: Bacillus cereus ATCC10876, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC12600, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC19115, Escherichia coli ATCC43890, and Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC19585. Among the EB isolates, T. brevifolia seed (TbS)-8, T. brevifolia fleshy part of fruit (TbFl)-10, T. brevifolia leaf (TbL)-22, TbS-29, and TbL-34 exerted significant antibacterial activity against the tested foodborne pathogens. Especially TbFl-10 showed the highest antibacterial activity against all the tested bacteria and was identified as Paenibacillus kribbensis (Pk). Furthermore, an ethyl acetate extract of Pk-TbFl-10 possessed antibacterial activities against the tested five foodborne pathogenic bacteria, with zones of inhibition from 15.71 ± 2.85 to 13.01 ± 2.12 mm. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed ruptured, lysed, shrunk, and swollen cells of all the tested foodborne pathogens treated with the ethyl acetate extract of Pk-TbFl-10, suggesting that a metabolite(s) of Pk-TbFl-10 penetrates the cell membrane and causes cell lysis leading to cell death. Our results indicate that Pk-TbFl-10 isolated from T. brevifolia can serve as a novel source of natural antibacterial agents against foodborne pathogenic bacteria, with potential applications in the pharmaceutical industry.

  5. Impact of stirred suspension bioreactor culture on the differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells into cardiomyocytes.

    PubMed

    Shafa, Mehdi; Krawetz, Roman; Zhang, Yuan; Rattner, Jerome B; Godollei, Anna; Duff, Henry J; Rancourt, Derrick E

    2011-12-14

    Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) can proliferate endlessly and are able to differentiate into all cell lineages that make up the adult organism. Under particular in vitro culture conditions, ESCs can be expanded and induced to differentiate into cardiomyocytes in stirred suspension bioreactors (SSBs). However, in using these systems we must be cognizant of the mechanical forces acting upon the cells. The effect of mechanical forces and shear stress on ESC pluripotency and differentiation has yet to be clarified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the suspension culture environment on ESC pluripotency during cardiomyocyte differentiation. Murine D3-MHC-neo(r) ESCs formed embyroid bodies (EBs) and differentiated into cardiomyocytes over 25 days in static culture and suspension bioreactors. G418 (Geneticin) was used in both systems from day 10 to enrich for cardiomyocytes by eliminating non-resistant, undifferentiated cells. Treatment of EBs with 1 mM ascorbic acid and 0.5% dimethyl sulfoxide from day 3 markedly increased the number of beating EBs, which displayed spontaneous and cadenced contractile beating on day 11 in the bioreactor. Our results showed that the bioreactor differentiated cells displayed the characteristics of fully functional cardiomyocytes. Remarkably, however, our results demonstrated that the bioreactor differentiated ESCs retained their ability to express pluripotency markers, to form ESC-like colonies, and to generate teratomas upon transplantation, whereas the cells differentiated in adherent culture lost these characteristics. This study demonstrates that although cardiomyocyte differentiation can be achieved in stirred suspension bioreactors, the addition of medium enhancers is not adequate to force complete differentiation as fluid shear forces appear to maintain a subpopulation of cells in a transient pluripotent state. The development of successful ESC differentiation protocols within suspension bioreactors demands a

  6. Impact of fluidic agitation on human pluripotent stem cells in stirred suspension culture.

    PubMed

    Nampe, Daniel; Joshi, Ronak; Keller, Kevin; Zur Nieden, Nicole I; Tsutsui, Hideaki

    2017-09-01

    The success of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) as a source of future cell therapies hinges, in part, on the availability of a robust and scalable culture system that can readily produce a clinically relevant number of cells and their derivatives. Stirred suspension culture has been identified as one such promising platform due to its ease of use, scalability, and widespread use in the pharmaceutical industry (e.g., CHO cell-based production of therapeutic proteins) among others. However, culture of undifferentiated hPSCs in stirred suspension is a relatively new development within the past several years, and little is known beyond empirically optimized culture parameters. In particular, detailed characterizations of different agitation rates and their influence on the propagation of hPSCs are often not reported in the literature. In the current study, we systematically investigated various agitation rates to characterize their impact on cell yield, viability, and the maintenance of pluripotency. Additionally, we closely examined the distribution of cell aggregates and how the observed culture outcomes are attributed to their size distribution. Overall, our results showed that moderate agitation maximized the propagation of hPSCs to approximately 38-fold over 7 days by keeping the cell aggregates below the critical size, beyond which the cells are impacted by the diffusion limit, while limiting cell death caused by excessive fluidic forces. Furthermore, we observed that fluidic agitation could regulate not only cell aggregation, but also expression of some key signaling proteins in hPSCs. This indicates a new possibility to guide stem cell fate determination by fluidic agitation in stirred suspension cultures. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 2109-2120. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Production and purification of lentiviral vectors generated in 293T suspension cells with baculoviral vectors.

    PubMed

    Lesch, H P; Laitinen, A; Peixoto, C; Vicente, T; Makkonen, K-E; Laitinen, L; Pikkarainen, J T; Samaranayake, H; Alves, P M; Carrondo, M J T; Ylä-Herttuala, S; Airenne, K J

    2011-06-01

    Lentivirus can be engineered to be a highly potent vector for gene therapy applications. However, generation of clinical grade vectors in enough quantities for therapeutic use is still troublesome and limits the preclinical and clinical experiments. As a first step to solve this unmet need we recently introduced a baculovirus-based production system for lentiviral vector (LV) production using adherent cells. Herein, we have adapted and optimized the production of these vectors to a suspension cell culture system using recombinant baculoviruses delivering all elements required for a safe latest generation LV preparation. High-titer LV stocks were achieved in 293T cells grown in suspension. Produced viruses were accurately characterized and the functionality was also tested in vivo. Produced viruses were compared with viruses produced by calcium phosphate transfection method in adherent cells and polyethylenimine transfection method in suspension cells. Furthermore, a scalable and cost-effective capture purification step was developed based on a diethylaminoethyl monolithic column capable of removing most of the baculoviruses from the LV pool with 65% recovery.

  8. Simple suspension culture system of human iPS cells maintaining their pluripotency for cardiac cell sheet engineering.

    PubMed

    Haraguchi, Yuji; Matsuura, Katsuhisa; Shimizu, Tatsuya; Yamato, Masayuki; Okano, Teruo

    2015-12-01

    In this study, a simple three-dimensional (3D) suspension culture method for the expansion and cardiac differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) is reported. The culture methods were easily adapted from two-dimensional (2D) to 3D culture without any additional manipulations. When hiPSCs were directly applied to 3D culture from 2D in a single-cell suspension, only a few aggregated cells were observed. However, after 3 days, culture of the small hiPSC aggregates in a spinner flask at the optimal agitation rate created aggregates which were capable of cell passages from the single-cell suspension. Cell numbers increased to approximately 10-fold after 12 days of culture. The undifferentiated state of expanded hiPSCs was confirmed by flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry and quantitative RT-PCR, and the hiPSCs differentiated into three germ layers. When the hiPSCs were subsequently cultured in a flask using cardiac differentiation medium, expression of cardiac cell-specific genes and beating cardiomyocytes were observed. Furthermore, the culture of hiPSCs on Matrigel-coated dishes with serum-free medium containing activin A, BMP4 and FGF-2 enabled it to generate robust spontaneous beating cardiomyocytes and these cells expressed several cardiac cell-related genes, including HCN4, MLC-2a and MLC-2v. This suggests that the expanded hiPSCs might maintain the potential to differentiate into several types of cardiomyocytes, including pacemakers. Moreover, when cardiac cell sheets were fabricated using differentiated cardiomyocytes, they beat spontaneously and synchronously, indicating electrically communicative tissue. This simple culture system might enable the generation of sufficient amounts of beating cardiomyocytes for use in cardiac regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. Outcomes with the paclitaxel-eluting stent in patients with acute coronary syndromes: analysis from the TAXUS-IV trial.

    PubMed

    Moses, Jeffrey W; Mehran, Roxana; Nikolsky, Eugenia; Lasala, John M; Corey, Woodrow; Albin, Glenn; Hirsch, Cary; Leon, Martin B; Russell, Mary E; Ellis, Stephen G; Stone, Gregg W

    2005-04-19

    We sought to investigate the outcomes of paclitaxel-eluting stent implantation in patients with unstable angina or non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Whether the paclitaxel-eluting stent is safe and effective in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is unknown. In the TAXUS-IV trial, 1,314 patients with stable or unstable ischemic syndromes undergoing PCI were randomized to treatment with either the slow-release, polymer-based, paclitaxel-eluting TAXUS stent or a bare-metal EXPRESS stent (Boston Scientific Corp., Natick, Massachusetts). The results were stratified by the acuity of the presenting clinical syndrome. Acute coronary syndromes were present in 450 patients (34.2%), 237 of whom were assigned to paclitaxel-eluting stents and 213 to bare-metal stents. The baseline and procedural characteristics were well matched between the groups. Clinical outcomes at 30 days were similar with both stents. At one-year follow-up, patients with ACS assigned to the paclitaxel-eluting stent compared to the control stent had strikingly lower rates of target lesion revascularization (TLR) (3.9% vs. 16.0%, p < 0.0001) and major adverse cardiac events (11.1 vs. 21.7%, p = 0.002). By multivariate analysis, ACS was an independent predictor of in-stent restenosis in the cohort treated with bare-metal stents (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.03 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05 to 3.92], p = 0.035), while among patients randomized to the paclitaxel-eluting stents, ACS was an independent predictor of freedom from restenosis (HR = 0.27 [95% CI 0.08 to 0.97], p = 0.04). The use of the paclitaxel-eluting TAXUS stent was safe in patients with unstable ischemic syndromes, and was associated with marked reduction of ischemia-driven TLR and adverse cardiac events at one year.

  10. Dynamic changes in transcriptome and cell wall composition underlying brassinosteroid-mediated lignification of switchgrass suspension cells.

    PubMed

    Rao, Xiaolan; Shen, Hui; Pattathil, Sivakumar; Hahn, Michael G; Gelineo-Albersheim, Ivana; Mohnen, Debra; Pu, Yunqiao; Ragauskas, Arthur J; Chen, Xin; Chen, Fang; Dixon, Richard A

    2017-01-01

    Plant cell walls contribute the majority of plant biomass that can be used to produce transportation fuels. However, the complexity and variability in composition and structure of cell walls, particularly the presence of lignin, negatively impacts their deconstruction for bioenergy. Metabolic and genetic changes associated with secondary wall development in the biofuel crop switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ) have yet to be reported. Our previous studies have established a cell suspension system for switchgrass, in which cell wall lignification can be induced by application of brassinolide (BL). We have now collected cell wall composition and microarray-based transcriptome profiles for BL-induced and non-induced suspension cultures to provide an overview of the dynamic changes in transcriptional reprogramming during BL-induced cell wall modification. From this analysis, we have identified changes in candidate genes involved in cell wall precursor synthesis, cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin formation and ester-linkage generation. We have also identified a large number of transcription factors with expression correlated with lignin biosynthesis genes, among which are candidates for control of syringyl (S) lignin accumulation. Together, this work provides an overview of the dynamic compositional changes during brassinosteroid-induced cell wall remodeling, and identifies candidate genes for future plant genetic engineering to overcome cell wall recalcitrance.

  11. Evaluation of XIENCE V everolimus-eluting and Taxus Express2 paclitaxel-eluting coronary stents in patients with jailed side branches from the SPIRIT IV trial at 2 years.

    PubMed

    Forrest, John K; Lansky, Alexandra J; Meller, Stephanie M; Hou, Liming; Sood, Poornima; Applegate, Robert J; Wang, John C; Skelding, Kimberly A; Shah, Aakar; Kereiakes, Dean J; Sudhir, Krishnankutty; Cristea, Ecaterina; Yaqub, Manejeh; Stone, Gregg W

    2013-06-01

    The aim of this study was to determine whether patients from the Clinical Evaluation of the XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System in the Treatment of Patients With de Novo Native Coronary Artery Lesions (SPIRIT) IV trial who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, who had target lesions with jailed side branches, had improved clinical outcomes when treated with the XIENCE V versus Taxus Express(2) drug-eluting stent. In the SPIRIT III randomized trial, patients with target lesions with jailed side branches after XIENCE V compared with Taxus Express(2) implantation had lower 2-year rates of major adverse cardiac events. The SPIRIT IV trial represents a larger more diverse patient population compared with SPIRIT III. In the large-scale, prospective, multicenter, randomized SPIRIT IV trial, 3,687 patients who underwent coronary stenting with up to 3 de novo native coronary artery lesions were randomized 2:1 to receive XIENCE V versus Taxus Express(2) stents. Two-year clinical outcomes of patients with or without jailed side branches after stenting were compared. A jailed side branch was defined as any side branch >1.0 mm in diameter within the target segment being stented, excluding bifurcations deemed to require treatment. Of the 3,687 patients in SPIRIT IV, a total of 1,426 had side branches that were jailed during angioplasty of the target lesion. Patients with jailed side branches after XIENCE V compared with Taxus Express(2) implantation had significantly lower 2-year rates of target lesion failure (6.5% vs 11.9%, p = 0.001), major adverse cardiac events (6.6% vs 12.2%, p = 0.0008), ischemia-driven target vessel revascularization (4.1% vs 7.9%, p = 0.004), and stent thrombosis (0.6% vs 2.8%, p = 0.001). In conclusion, patients with jailed side branches after stenting with XIENCE V compared to Taxus Express(2) devices had superior clinical outcomes at 2 years in the large-scale randomized SPIRIT IV trial. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All

  12. Nanometer-scale sizing accuracy of particle suspensions on an unmodified cell phone using elastic light scattering.

    PubMed

    Smith, Zachary J; Chu, Kaiqin; Wachsmann-Hogiu, Sebastian

    2012-01-01

    We report on the construction of a Fourier plane imaging system attached to a cell phone. By illuminating particle suspensions with a collimated beam from an inexpensive diode laser, angularly resolved scattering patterns are imaged by the phone's camera. Analyzing these patterns with Mie theory results in predictions of size distributions of the particles in suspension. Despite using consumer grade electronics, we extracted size distributions of sphere suspensions with better than 20 nm accuracy in determining the mean size. We also show results from milk, yeast, and blood cells. Performing these measurements on a portable device presents opportunities for field-testing of food quality, process monitoring, and medical diagnosis.

  13. A transgenic plant cell-suspension system for expression of epitopes on chimeric Bamboo mosaic virus particles.

    PubMed

    Muthamilselvan, Thangarasu; Lee, Chin-Wei; Cho, Yu-Hsin; Wu, Feng-Chao; Hu, Chung-Chi; Liang, Yu-Chuan; Lin, Na-Sheng; Hsu, Yau-Heiu

    2016-01-01

    We describe a novel strategy to produce vaccine antigens using a plant cell-suspension culture system in lieu of the conventional bacterial or animal cell-culture systems. We generated transgenic cell-suspension cultures from Nicotiana benthamiana leaves carrying wild-type or chimeric Bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV) expression constructs encoding the viral protein 1 (VP1) epitope of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). Antigens accumulated to high levels in BdT38 and BdT19 transgenic cell lines co-expressing silencing suppressor protein P38 or P19. BaMV chimeric virus particles (CVPs) were subsequently purified from the respective cell lines (1.5 and 2.1 mg CVPs/20 g fresh weight of suspended biomass, respectively), and the resulting CVPs displayed VP1 epitope on the surfaces. Guinea pigs vaccinated with purified CVPs produced humoral antibodies. This study represents an important advance in the large-scale production of immunopeptide vaccines in a cost-effective manner using a plant cell-suspension culture system. © 2015 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Protein Adsorption Alters Hydrophobic Surfaces Used for Suspension Culture of Pluripotent Stem Cells.

    PubMed

    Jonas, Steven J; Stieg, Adam Z; Richardson, Wade; Guo, Shuling; Powers, David N; Wohlschlegel, James; Dunn, Bruce

    2015-02-05

    This Letter examines the physical and chemical changes that occur at the interface of methyl-terminated alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) after exposure to cell culture media used to derive embryoid bodies (EBs) from pluripotent stem cells. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy analysis of the SAMs indicates that protein components within the EB cell culture medium preferentially adsorb at the hydrophobic interface. In addition, we examined the adsorption process using surface plasmon resonance and atomic force microscopy. These studies identify the formation of a porous, mat-like adsorbed protein film with an approximate thickness of 2.5 nm. Captive bubble contact angle analysis reveals a shift toward superhydrophilic wetting behavior at the cell culture interface due to adsorption of these proteins. These results show how EBs are able to remain in suspension when derived on hydrophobic materials, which carries implications for the rational design of suspension culture interfaces for lineage specific stem-cell differentiation.

  15. [Massive multiplication of coffee (Coffee arabica L. cv. Catimor) through embryogenic cell suspension culture].

    PubMed

    Flermoso-Gallardo, L; Menóndez-Yuffá, A

    2000-01-01

    Cell suspensions offer several advantages as a system for massive propagation because of the high rates of multiplication, the higher homogeneity in the culture conditions and the possibility of automatization. In this study, different experimental conditions were analyzed to establish embryogenic cell suspension cultures of coffee. The best conditions to establish the embryogenic cell suspension cultures of coffee were as follows: coffee leaf sections were cultivated during 12 weeks (Stage I) in a solid medium with the Murashige and Skoog salts, 2 mg/l kinetin and 0.5 mg/l 2,4-dichlorophenoxiacetic acid (medium 1). Under these conditions the explants formed a callus tissue that was transferred to a liquid medium containing 5 mg/l of 6-benzylamlno-purine (medium 2). After 12 days in a shaking liquid medium (Stage II), the cultures were sieved and were maintained In the same media, which was renewed every eight days (Stage III). This method yielded 1884 embryos in 50 ml; placing the embryos under conditions for germination yielded plantlets of normal appearance.

  16. The development of cat testicular sperm cryopreservation protocols: Effects of tissue fragments or sperm cell suspension.

    PubMed

    Chatdarong, Kaywalee; Thuwanut, Paweena; Morrell, Jane M

    2016-01-15

    In endangered animals that have been found dead or sterilized for medical reasons, testis is the ultimate source of haploid DNA or sperm. Thus, preservation of testicular sperm may be performed to rescue their genetics. The aim of this study was to evaluate protocols for testicular sperm freezing: as tissue fragments or cell suspension in domestic cats as a model. A pair of testes from each cat (n = 9) were cut into eight equal pieces. Four randomly selected pieces were cryopreserved as: (1) tissue pieces using two-step freezing; (2) tissue pieces using a slow passive cooling device (CoolCell); (3) sperm suspension after single-layer centrifugation (SLC) through colloids; and (4) sperm suspension without being processed through SLC. A testicular piece from each cat served as fresh control. Testicular sperm membrane and DNA integrity were evaluated before, and after, the cryopreservation process. In addition, spermatogenic cell types (testicular sperm, spermatogonia, spermatocyte, and spermatid) present in the suspension samples were counted before and after SLC. The results found that testicular sperm membrane integrity in the suspension after SLC process was higher than that in the fragment form neither using the two-step nor CoolCell freezing, both before and after freezing (before freezing: 92.3 ± 3.4 vs. 81 ± 4.5 and 80.0 ± 7.0; after freezing: 84.5 ± 4.6 vs. 71.2 ± 12 and 76.2 ± 4.6; P ≤ 0.05). Testicular sperm DNA integrity was, however, not different among groups. Furthermore, the samples processed through the SLC had higher ration of sperm cells: other spermatogenic cells than those were not processed through the SLC (88.9 ± 3.8 vs. 30 ± 7.9; P ≤ 0.05). In summary, testicular sperm cryopreserved as a minced suspension is considered suitable in terms of preventing sperm membrane integrity, and SLC is considered a selection tool for enriching haploid sperm cells from castrated or postmortem cats. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier

  17. Oxidative stress, cytoxicity, and cell mortality induced by nano-sized lead in aqueous suspensions.

    PubMed

    Cornejo-Garrido, Hilda; Kibanova, Daria; Nieto-Camacho, Antonio; Guzmán, José; Ramírez-Apan, Teresa; Fernández-Lomelín, Pilar; Garduño, Maria Laura; Cervini-Silva, Javiera

    2011-09-01

    This paper reports on the effect of aqueous and nano-particulated Pb on oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation), cytoxicity, and cell mortality. As determined by the Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) method, only 6h after incubation aqueous suspensions bearing nano-sized PbO(2), soluble Pb(II), and brain-homogenate only suspensions, were determined to contain as much as ca. 7, 5, and 1 nmol TBARS mg protein(-1), respectively. Exposure of human cells (central nervous system, prostate, leukemia, colon, breast, lung cells) to nano-PbO(2) led to cell-growth inhibition values (%) ca. ≤18.7%. Finally, as estimated by the Artemia salina test, cell mortality values were found to show high-survival larvae rates. Microscopic observations revealed that Pb particles were swallowed, but caused no mortality, however. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Impact of stirred suspension bioreactor culture on the differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells into cardiomyocytes

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) can proliferate endlessly and are able to differentiate into all cell lineages that make up the adult organism. Under particular in vitro culture conditions, ESCs can be expanded and induced to differentiate into cardiomyocytes in stirred suspension bioreactors (SSBs). However, in using these systems we must be cognizant of the mechanical forces acting upon the cells. The effect of mechanical forces and shear stress on ESC pluripotency and differentiation has yet to be clarified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the suspension culture environment on ESC pluripotency during cardiomyocyte differentiation. Results Murine D3-MHC-neor ESCs formed embyroid bodies (EBs) and differentiated into cardiomyocytes over 25 days in static culture and suspension bioreactors. G418 (Geneticin) was used in both systems from day 10 to enrich for cardiomyocytes by eliminating non-resistant, undifferentiated cells. Treatment of EBs with 1 mM ascorbic acid and 0.5% dimethyl sulfoxide from day 3 markedly increased the number of beating EBs, which displayed spontaneous and cadenced contractile beating on day 11 in the bioreactor. Our results showed that the bioreactor differentiated cells displayed the characteristics of fully functional cardiomyocytes. Remarkably, however, our results demonstrated that the bioreactor differentiated ESCs retained their ability to express pluripotency markers, to form ESC-like colonies, and to generate teratomas upon transplantation, whereas the cells differentiated in adherent culture lost these characteristics. Conclusions This study demonstrates that although cardiomyocyte differentiation can be achieved in stirred suspension bioreactors, the addition of medium enhancers is not adequate to force complete differentiation as fluid shear forces appear to maintain a subpopulation of cells in a transient pluripotent state. The development of successful ESC differentiation protocols within

  19. A system and methodology for high-content visual screening of individual intact living cells in suspension

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Renaud, Olivier; Heintzmann, Rainer; Sáez-Cirión, Asier; Schnelle, Thomas; Mueller, Torsten; Shorte, Spencer

    2007-02-01

    Three dimensional imaging provides high-content information from living intact biology, and can serve as a visual screening cue. In the case of single cell imaging the current state of the art uses so-called "axial through-stacking". However, three-dimensional axial through-stacking requires that the object (i.e. a living cell) be adherently stabilized on an optically transparent surface, usually glass; evidently precluding use of cells in suspension. Aiming to overcome this limitation we present here the utility of dielectric field trapping of single cells in three-dimensional electrode cages. Our approach allows gentle and precise spatial orientation and vectored rotation of living, non-adherent cells in fluid suspension. Using various modes of widefield, and confocal microscope imaging we show how so-called "microrotation" can provide a unique and powerful method for multiple point-of-view (three-dimensional) interrogation of intact living biological micro-objects (e.g. single-cells, cell aggregates, and embryos). Further, we show how visual screening by micro-rotation imaging can be combined with micro-fluidic sorting, allowing selection of rare phenotype targets from small populations of cells in suspension, and subsequent one-step single cell cloning (with high-viability). Our methodology combining high-content 3D visual screening with one-step single cell cloning, will impact diverse paradigms, for example cytological and cytogenetic analysis on haematopoietic stem cells, blood cells including lymphocytes, and cancer cells.

  20. Chitosan mediated enhancement of hydrolysable tannin in Phyllanthus debilis Klein ex Willd via plant cell suspension culture.

    PubMed

    V, Malayaman; N, Sisubalan; R P, Senthilkumar; S, Sheik Mohamed; R, Ranjithkumar; M, Ghouse Basha

    2017-11-01

    Phyllanthus debilis Klein ex Willd. is wild medicinal plant used in the traditional system of medicine. This plant has been actively used for hepatoprotection and to cure many diseases including jaundice and so on; which leads to complete extinction of this particular species. Therefore, the chitosan mediated cost effective cell suspension method has been developed for the production of hydrolysable tannin. The hydrolysable tannins are the main therapeutically active constituents with antioxidant, anticancer, and antimicrobial properties. An in vitro cell suspension culture was optimized by adding chitosan for production of hydrolysable tannin. According to the growth kinetics, a maximum biomass of 4.46±0.06g fresh cell weight and 1.33±0.04g dry cell weight were obtained from the optimal suspension medium consisted of MS medium+0.5mgL -1 BAP+1.5mgL -1 NAA. Chitosan was treated at the stationary phase which leads to the highest accumulation of hydrolysable tannin compared to the untreated control. Hydrolysable tannin was observed and compared using HPLC at the Rt of 4.91 in both chitosan treated and untreated cells. This is the first ever report where use of chitosan has been done to enhance the production of the hydrolysable tannin in P. debilis using cell suspension culture technique. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Opposite extremes in ethylene/nitric oxide ratio induce cell death in suspension culture and root apices of tomato exposed to salt stress.

    PubMed

    Poór, P; Borbély, P; Kovács, Judit; Papp, Anita; Szepesi, Ágnes; Takács, Z; Tari, Irma

    2014-12-01

    The plant hormone ethylene or the gaseous signalling molecule nitric oxide (NO) may enhance salt stress tolerance by maintaining ion homeostasis, first of all K+/Na+ ratio of tissues. Ethylene and NO accumulation increased in the root apices and suspension culture cells of tomato at sublethal salt stress caused by 100 mM NaCl, however, the induction phase of programmed cell death (PCD) was different at lethal salt concentration. The production of ethylene by root apices and the accumulation of NO in the cells of suspension culture did not increase during the initiation of PCD after 250 mM NaCl treatment. Moreover, cells in suspension culture accumulated higher amount of reactive oxygen species which, along with NO deficiency contributed to cell death induction. The absence of ethylene in the apical root segments and the absence of NO accumulation in the cell suspension resulted in similar ion disequilibrium, namely K+/Na+ ratio of 1.41 ± 0.1 and 1.68 ± 0.3 in intact plant tissues and suspension culture cells, respectively that was not tolerated by tomato.

  2. [Determination of Azospirillum Brasilense Cells With Bacteriophages via Electrooptical Analysis of Microbial Suspensions].

    PubMed

    Gulii, O I; Karavayeva, O A; Pavlii, S A; Sokolov, O I; Bunin, V D; Ignatov, O V

    2015-01-01

    The dependence-of changes in the electrooptical properties of Azospirillum brasilense cell suspension Sp7 during interaction with bacteriophage ΦAb-Sp7 on the number and time of interactions was studied. Incubation of cells with bacteriophage significantly changed the electrooptical signal within one minute. The selective effect of bacteriophage ΦAb on 18 strains of bacteria of the genus Azospirillum was studied: A. amazonense Ami4, A. brasilense Sp7, Cd, Sp107, Sp245, Jm6B2, Brl4, KR77, S17, S27, SR55, SR75, A. halopraeferans Au4, A. irakense KBC1, K A3, A. lipoferum Sp59b, SR65 and RG20a. We determined the limit of reliable determination of microbial cells infected with bacteriophage: - 10(4) cells/mL. The presence of foreign cell cultures of E. coli B-878 and E. coli XL-1 did not complicate the detection of A brasilense Sp7 cells with the use of bacteriophage ΦAb-Sp7. The results demonstrated that bacteriophage (ΦAb-Sp7 can be used for the detection of Azospirillum microbial cells via t electrooptical analysis of cell suspensions.

  3. Comparison of in-hospital and long-term outcomes between a Cypher stent and a Taxus stent in Chinese diabetic patients with coronary artery disease.

    PubMed

    Yang, Yue-jin; Xu, Bo; Kang, Sheng; Pei, Wei-dong; Chen, Ji-lin; Qiao, Shu-bin; Qin, Xue-wen; Yao, Min; Chen, Jue; Wu, Yong-jian; Liu, Hai-Bo; You, Shi-Jie; Li, Jian-Jun; Dai, Jun; Gao, Run-Lin

    2007-11-05

    The sirolimus and paclitaxel distribution patterns and tissue residence time may be modified in atherosclerotic lesions for patients with diabetes, and the biological mechanisms of action for these agents differ significantly. Previous clinical trials have yielded discrepant results of major adverse cardiac events and restenosis between a sirolimus-eluting stent and a paclitaxel-eluting stent in coronary artery disease. Therefore, this study was conducted to compare in-hospital and long-term clinical outcomes between patients receiving sirolimus-eluting stent (Cypher or Cypher Select stent) and paclitaxel-eluting stent (Taxus Express stent) after percutaneous intervention (PCI) in Chinese patients with diabetes. One hundred and sixty-four consecutive diabetic patients underwent PCI in Fuwai Hospital from April 2004 to December 2004. Of them, 101 patients received Cypher or Cypher Select stents (Cypher group, 145 stents) and 63 patients received Taxus Express stents (Taxus group, 129 stents). Repeat coronary angiography was performed at 6-month and clinical outcomes were evaluated at 1- and 3-year follow-up. Stent thrombosis was classified according to Academic Research Consortium (ARC). The two groups did not differ significantly with respect to cardiac death, recurrent myocardial infarction (re-MI), target vessel revascularization (TVR) and occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE). And the MACE-free cumulative survival at 1- and 3-year follow-up and early, late and very late thrombosis rates were also similar in the two groups (all P > 0.05). There was a trend favoring PES over SES with regard to reducing cardiac death (0 vs 2.0%, P = 0.524), re-MI (0 vs 2.0%, P = 0.524), the composite of the cardiac death and re-MI (0 vs 4.0%, P = 0.299) and very late thrombosis (0 vs 3.0%, P = 0.295) between 1-year and 3-year follow-up. The study indicates that PCI with either Cypher or Taxus stents is associated with similar efficacy and safety in the small population

  4. Single-Beam Acoustic Trapping of Red Blood Cells and Polystyrene Microspheres in Flowing Red Blood Cell Saline and Plasma Suspensions.

    PubMed

    Liu, Hsiao-Chuan; Li, Ying; Chen, Ruimin; Jung, Hayong; Shung, K Kirk

    2017-04-01

    Single-beam acoustic tweezers (SBATs) represent a new technology for particle and cell trapping. The advantages of SBATs are their deep penetration into tissues, reduction of tissue damage and ease of application to in vivo studies. The use of these tools for applications in drug delivery in vivo must meet the following conditions: large penetration depth, strong trapping force and tissue safety. A reasonable penetration depth for SBATs in the development of in vivo applications was established in a previous study conducted in water with zero velocity. However, capturing objects in flowing fluid can provide more meaningful results. In this study, we investigated the capability of SBATs to trap red blood cells (RBCs) and polystyrene microspheres in flowing RBC suspensions. Two different types of RBC suspension were prepared in this work: an RBC phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) suspension and an RBC plasma suspension. The results indicated that SBATs successfully trapped RBCs and polystyrene microspheres in a flowing RBC PBS suspension with an average steady velocity of 1.6 cm/s in a 2-mm-diameter polyimide. Furthermore, SBATs were found able to trap RBCs in a flowing RBC PBS suspension at speeds as high as 7.9 cm/s in a polyimide tube, which is higher than the velocity in capillaries (0.03 cm/s) and approaches the velocity in arterioles and venules. Moreover, the results also indicated that polystyrene microspheres can be trapped in an RBC plasma suspension, where aggregation is observed. This work represents a step forward in using this tool in actual in vivo experimentation. Copyright © 2016 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Aggregate formation and suspension culture of human pluripotent stem cells and differentiated progeny.

    PubMed

    Hookway, Tracy A; Butts, Jessica C; Lee, Emily; Tang, Hengli; McDevitt, Todd C

    2016-05-15

    Culture of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) as in vitro multicellular aggregates has been increasingly used as a method to model early embryonic development. Three-dimensional assemblies of hPSCs facilitate interactions between cells and their microenvironment to promote morphogenesis, analogous to the multicellular organization that accompanies embryogenesis. In this paper, we describe a method for reproducibly generating and maintaining populations of homogeneous three-dimensional hPSC aggregates using forced aggregation and rotary orbital suspension culture. We propose solutions to several challenges associated with the consistent formation and extended culture of cell spheroids generated from hPSCs and their differentiated progeny. Further, we provide examples to demonstrate how aggregation can be used as a tool to select specific subpopulations of cells to create homotypic spheroids, or as a means to introduce multiple cell types to create heterotypic tissue constructs. Finally, we demonstrate that the aggregation and rotary suspension method can be used to support culture and maintenance of hPSC-derived cell populations representing each of the three germ layers, underscoring the utility of this platform for culturing many different cell types. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Detection of Changes in the Medicago sativa Retinoblastoma-Related Protein (MsRBR1) Phosphorylation During Cell Cycle Progression in Synchronized Cell Suspension Culture.

    PubMed

    Ayaydin, Ferhan; Kotogány, Edit; Ábrahám, Edit; Horváth, Gábor V

    2017-01-01

    Deepening our knowledge on the regulation of the plant cell division cycle depends on techniques that allow for the enrichment of cell populations in defined cell cycle phases. Synchronization of cell division can be achieved using different plant tissues; however, well-established cell suspension cultures provide large amount of biological sample for further analyses. Here, we describe the methodology of the establishment, propagation, and analysis of a Medicago sativa suspension culture that can be used for efficient synchronization of the cell division. A novel 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU)-based method is used for the estimation of cell fraction that enters DNA synthesis phase of the cell cycle and we also demonstrate the changes in the phosphorylation level of Medicago sativa retinoblastoma-related protein (MsRBR1) during cell cycle progression.

  7. Proper selection of 1 g controls in simulated microgravity research as illustrated with clinorotated plant cell suspension cultures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kamal, Khaled Y.; Hemmersbach, Ruth; Medina, F. Javier; Herranz, Raúl

    2015-04-01

    Understanding the physical and biological effects of the absence of gravity is necessary to conduct operations on space environments. It has been previously shown that the microgravity environment induces the dissociation of cell proliferation from cell growth in young seedling root meristems, but this source material is limited to few cells in each row of meristematic layers. Plant cell cultures, composed by a large and homogeneous population of proliferating cells, are an ideal model to study the effects of altered gravity on cellular mechanisms regulating cell proliferation and associated cell growth. Cell suspension cultures of Arabidopsis thaliana cell line (MM2d) were exposed to 2D-clinorotation in a pipette clinostat for 3.5 or 14 h, respectively, and were then processed either by quick freezing, to be used in flow cytometry, or by chemical fixation, for microscopy techniques. After long-term clinorotation, the proportion of cells in G1 phase was increased and the nucleolus area, as revealed by immunofluorescence staining with anti-nucleolin, was decreased. Despite the compatibility of these results with those obtained in real microgravity on seedling meristems, we provide a technical discussion in the context of clinorotation and proper 1 g controls with respect to suspension cultures. Standard 1 g procedure of sustaining the cell suspension is achieved by continuously shaking. Thus, we compare the mechanical forces acting on cells in clinorotated samples, in a control static sample and in the standard 1 g conditions of suspension cultures in order to define the conditions of a complete and reliable experiment in simulated microgravity with corresponding 1 g controls.

  8. Cold storage of rat hepatocyte suspensions for one week in a customized cold storage solution--preservation of cell attachment and metabolism.

    PubMed

    Pless-Petig, Gesine; Singer, Bernhard B; Rauen, Ursula

    2012-01-01

    Primary hepatocytes are of great importance for basic research as well as cell transplantation. However, their stability, especially in suspension, is very low. This feature severely compromises storage and shipment. Based on previous studies with adherent cells, we here assessed cold storage injury in rat hepatocyte suspensions and aimed to find a cold storage solution that preserves viability, attachment ability and functionality of these cells. Rat hepatocyte suspensions were stored in cell culture medium, organ preservation solutions and modified TiProtec solutions at 4°C for one week. Viability and cell volume were determined by flow cytometry. Thereafter, cells were seeded and density and metabolic capacity (reductive metabolism, forskolin-induced glucose release, urea production) of adherent cells were assessed. Cold storage injury in hepatocyte suspensions became evident as cell death occurring during cold storage or rewarming or as loss of attachment ability. Cell death during cold storage was not dependent on cell swelling and was almost completely inhibited in the presence of glycine and L-alanine. Cell attachment could be greatly improved by use of chloride-poor solutions and addition of iron chelators. Using a chloride-poor, potassium-rich storage solution containing glycine, alanine and iron chelators, cultures with 75% of the density of control cultures and with practically normal cell metabolism could be obtained after one week of cold storage. In the solution presented here, cold storage injury of hepatocyte suspensions, differing from that of adherent hepatocytes, was effectively inhibited. The components which acted on the different injurious processes were identified.

  9. Optimized suspension culture: the rotating-wall vessel

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hammond, T. G.; Hammond, J. M.

    2001-01-01

    Suspension culture remains a popular modality, which manipulates mechanical culture conditions to maintain the specialized features of cultured cells. The rotating-wall vessel is a suspension culture vessel optimized to produce laminar flow and minimize the mechanical stresses on cell aggregates in culture. This review summarizes the engineering principles, which allow optimal suspension culture conditions to be established, and the boundary conditions, which limit this process. We suggest that to minimize mechanical damage and optimize differentiation of cultured cells, suspension culture should be performed in a solid-body rotation Couette-flow, zero-headspace culture vessel such as the rotating-wall vessel. This provides fluid dynamic operating principles characterized by 1) solid body rotation about a horizontal axis, characterized by colocalization of cells and aggregates of different sedimentation rates, optimally reduced fluid shear and turbulence, and three-dimensional spatial freedom; and 2) oxygenation by diffusion. Optimization of suspension culture is achieved by applying three tradeoffs. First, terminal velocity should be minimized by choosing microcarrier beads and culture media as close in density as possible. Next, rotation in the rotating-wall vessel induces both Coriolis and centrifugal forces, directly dependent on terminal velocity and minimized as terminal velocity is minimized. Last, mass transport of nutrients to a cell in suspension culture depends on both terminal velocity and diffusion of nutrients. In the transduction of mechanical culture conditions into cellular effects, several lines of evidence support a role for multiple molecular mechanisms. These include effects of shear stress, changes in cell cycle and cell death pathways, and upstream regulation of secondary messengers such as protein kinase C. The discipline of suspension culture needs a systematic analysis of the relationship between mechanical culture conditions and

  10. Isolation of plasmodesmata from Arabidopsis suspension culture cells.

    PubMed

    Grison, Magali S; Fernandez-Calvino, Lourdes; Mongrand, Sébastien; Bayer, Emmanuelle M F

    2015-01-01

    Due to their position firmly anchored within the plant cell wall, plasmodesmata (PD) are notoriously difficult to isolate from plant tissue. Yet, getting access to isolated PD represents the most straightforward strategy for the identification of their molecular components. Proteomic and lipidomic analyses of such PD fractions have provided and will continue to provide critical information on the functional and structural elements that define these membranous nano-pores. Here, we describe a two-step simple purification procedure that allows isolation of pure PD-derived membranes from Arabidopsis suspension cells. The first step of this procedure consists in isolating cell wall fragments containing intact PD while free of contamination from other cellular compartments. The second step relies on an enzymatic degradation of the wall matrix and the subsequent release of "free" PD. Isolated PD membranes provide a suitable starting material for the analysis of PD-associated proteins and lipids.

  11. Uniform Embryoid Body Production and Enhanced Mesendoderm Differentiation with Murine Embryonic Stem Cells in a Rotary Suspension Bioreactor.

    PubMed

    Lei, Xiaohua; Deng, Zhili; Duan, Enkui

    2016-01-01

    Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are capable of differentiating into almost all cell types in vitro and hold great promise for drug screening, developmental studies and have a huge potential in many therapeutic areas. ESCs can aggregate to form embryoid body (EB) in static suspension culture by spontaneous differentiation, which resembles an intact embryo; while static suspension culture cannot prevent agglomeration of cells and offers little control over the size and shape of EBs, it results in aggregation of EBs into large, irregular masses, which prejudice the efficiency of differentiation of cells. Recently, bioreactor-based platforms have been shown to not only offer a beneficial effect on increasing diffusion of nutrients and oxygen which promotes cell viability and proliferation but also display local biomechanical properties (e.g., low fluid shear stresses and hydrodynamic force) in tissue development and organogenesis. This chapter describes a protocol for using a rotary suspension bioreactor to produce embryoid bodies and process the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), and to assess the efficiency of EB differentiation in the bioreactor by real-time PCR and immunostaining.

  12. Production of Gymnemic Acid from Cell Suspension Cultures of Gymnema sylvestre.

    PubMed

    Nagella, Praveen; Dandin, Vijayalaxmi S; Murthy, Hosakatte Niranjana

    2016-01-01

    Gymnema sylvestre R. Br. is a popular herbal medicine. It has been used in ayurvedic system of medicine for thousands of years. It is popularly called as "Gur-mar" for its distinctive property of temporarily destroying the taste of sweetness and is used in the treatment of diabetes. The leaves of gymnema possess antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anti-hypercholesterolemic, anti-sweetener, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective properties and have traditional uses in the treatment of asthma, eye complaints, and snake bite. The leaves contain triterpene saponins such as gymnemic acid which is an active ingredient of Gymnema. Since the cultivation of G. sylvestre is a very slow process and the content of gymnemic acid depends on the environmental factors, cell suspension culture is sought as an alternative means for the production of Gymnema biomass and to enhance the gymnemic acid content. In this chapter, the methods employed for the induction of callus and subsequent establishment of cell suspension cultures for the production of biomass and analysis of gymnemic acid using high performance liquid chromatography are described.

  13. Generation of Neural Progenitor Spheres from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells in a Suspension Bioreactor.

    PubMed

    Yan, Yuanwei; Song, Liqing; Tsai, Ang-Chen; Ma, Teng; Li, Yan

    2016-01-01

    Conventional two-dimensional (2-D) culture systems cannot provide large numbers of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and their derivatives that are demanded for commercial and clinical applications in in vitro drug screening, disease modeling, and potentially cell therapy. The technologies that support three-dimensional (3-D) suspension culture, such as a stirred bioreactor, are generally considered as promising approaches to produce the required cells. Recently, suspension bioreactors have also been used to generate mini-brain-like structure from hPSCs for disease modeling, showing the important role of bioreactor in stem cell culture. This chapter describes a detailed culture protocol for neural commitment of hPSCs into neural progenitor cell (NPC) spheres using a spinner bioreactor. The basic steps to prepare hPSCs for bioreactor inoculation are illustrated from cell thawing to cell propagation. The method for generating NPCs from hPSCs in the spinner bioreactor along with the static control is then described. The protocol in this study can be applied to the generation of NPCs from hPSCs for further neural subtype specification, 3-D neural tissue development, or potential preclinical studies or clinical applications in neurological diseases.

  14. Large-Scale Transient Transfection of Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells in Suspension.

    PubMed

    Rajendra, Yashas; Balasubramanian, Sowmya; Hacker, David L

    2017-01-01

    We describe a one-liter transfection of suspension-adapted Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-DG44) cells using polyethyleneimine (PEI) for DNA delivery. The method involves transfection at a high cell density (5 × 10 6 cells/mL) by direct addition of plasmid DNA (pDNA) and PEI to the culture and subsequent incubation at 31 °C with agitation by orbital shaking. We also describe an alternative method in which 90% of the pDNA is replaced by nonspecific (filler) DNA, and the production phase is performed at 31 °C in the presence of 0.25% N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMA).

  15. Sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) marker as a new method for identification of endophytic fungi from Taxus.

    PubMed

    Ren, Na; Liu, Jiajia; Yang, Dongliang; Chen, Jianhua; Luan, Mingbao; Hong, Juan

    2012-01-01

    A total of 20 endophytic fungi stains were classified into four groups using traditional morphological identification method, and were studied for genetic diversity by sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) technique. Genomic DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of these strains was extracted with CTAB method. SRAP analysis was done with 24 pairs of primers. All strains could be uniquely distinguished with 584 bands and 446 polymorphism bands which generated 76.4% of polymorphic ratio. Unweighted pair-group method with arithmetical averages cluster analysis enabled construction of a dendrogram for estimating genetic distances between different strains. All strains, which were just divided into four groups by traditional morphology identification, were clustered into four major groups at GS = 0.603 and further separated into eight sub-groups at GS = 0.921. Dendrogram also revealed a large genetic variation in 20 strains; different primer combinations allowed them distinctly distinguished one from others with relatively low genetic similarity. The results show that the SRAP technology is more efficient than traditional morphology identification. It is found that SRAP markers could more really reflect the genetic diversity of endophytic fungi strains from Taxus, and also could be used as a method for identification of endophytic fungi from Taxus. It also suggests that SRAP can be used to establish foundation for further screening of taxol-producing endophytic fungi strains which can produce high levels of paclitaxel.

  16. Rapid preparation of a noncultured skin cell suspension that promotes wound healing.

    PubMed

    Yoon, Cheonjae; Lee, Jungsuk; Jeong, Hyosun; Lee, Sungjun; Sohn, Taesik; Chung, Sungphil

    2017-06-01

    Autologous skin cell suspensions have been used for wound healing in patients with burns and against normal pigmentation in vitiligo. To separate cells and the extracellular matrix from skin tissue, most researchers use enzymatic digestion. Therefore, this process is difficult to perform during a routine surgical procedure. We aimed to prepare a suspension of noncultured autologous skin cells (NCSCs) using a tissue homogenizer as a new method instead of harsh biochemical reagents. The potential clinical applicability of NCSCs was analyzed using a nude-rat model of burn healing. After optimization of the homogenizer settings, cell viability ranged from 52 to 89%. Scanning electron microscopy showed evidence of keratinocyte-like cell morphology, and several growth factors, including epidermal growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor, were present in the NCSCs. The rat model revealed that NCSCs accelerated skin regeneration. NCSCs could be generated using a tissue homogenizer for enhancement of wound healing in vivo. In the NCSC group of wounds, on day 7 of epithelialization, granulation was observed, whereas on day 14, there was a significant increase in skin adnexa regeneration as compared to the control group (PBS treatment; p < 0.05). This study suggests that the proposed process is rapid and does not require the use of biochemical agents. Thus, we recommend a combination of surgical treatment with the new therapy for a burn as an effective method.

  17. A photonic crystal hydrogel suspension array for the capture of blood cells from whole blood

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Bin; Cai, Yunlang; Shang, Luoran; Wang, Huan; Cheng, Yao; Rong, Fei; Gu, Zhongze; Zhao, Yuanjin

    2016-02-01

    Diagnosing hematological disorders based on the separation and detection of cells in the patient's blood is a significant challenge. We have developed a novel barcode particle-based suspension array that can simultaneously capture and detect multiple types of blood cells. The barcode particles are polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogel inverse opal microcarriers with characteristic reflection peak codes that remain stable during cell capture on their surfaces. The hydrophilic PAAm hydrogel scaffolds of the barcode particles can entrap various plasma proteins to capture different cells in the blood, with little damage to captured cells.Diagnosing hematological disorders based on the separation and detection of cells in the patient's blood is a significant challenge. We have developed a novel barcode particle-based suspension array that can simultaneously capture and detect multiple types of blood cells. The barcode particles are polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogel inverse opal microcarriers with characteristic reflection peak codes that remain stable during cell capture on their surfaces. The hydrophilic PAAm hydrogel scaffolds of the barcode particles can entrap various plasma proteins to capture different cells in the blood, with little damage to captured cells. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr06368j

  18. Jasmonic and salicylic acids enhanced phytochemical production and biological activities in cell suspension cultures of spine gourd (Momordica dioica Roxb).

    PubMed

    Chung, Ill-Min; Rekha, Kaliyaperumal; Rajakumar, Govindasamy; Thiruvengadam, Muthu

    2017-03-01

    In vitro cell suspension culture was established for the production of commercially valuable phytochemicals in Momordica dioica. The influence of elicitors in jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) increased their effect on phytochemical production and biomass accumulation in M. dioica. The results indicate that compared with non-elicited cultures, JA- and SA-elicited cell suspension cultures had significantly enhanced phenolic, flavonoid, and carotenoid production, as well as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antiproliferative activities. Furthermore, elicited cultures produced 22 phenolic compounds, such as flavonols, hydroxycinnamic acids, and hydroxybenzoic acids. Greater biomass production, phytochemical accumulation, and biological activity occurred in JA- than in SA-elicited cell cultures. This study is the first to successfully establish M. dioica cell suspension cultures for the production of phenolic compounds and carotenoids, as well as for biomass accumulation.

  19. Gene Inactivation by CRISPR-Cas9 in Nicotiana tabacum BY-2 Suspension Cells.

    PubMed

    Mercx, Sébastien; Tollet, Jérémie; Magy, Bertrand; Navarre, Catherine; Boutry, Marc

    2016-01-01

    Plant suspension cells are interesting hosts for the heterologous production of pharmacological proteins such as antibodies. They have the advantage to facilitate the containment and the application of good manufacturing practices. Furthermore, antibodies can be secreted to the extracellular medium, which makes the purification steps much simpler. However, improvements are still to be made regarding the quality and the production yield. For instance, the inactivation of proteases and the humanization of glycosylation are both important targets which require either gene silencing or gene inactivation. To this purpose, CRISPR-Cas9 is a very promising technique which has been used recently in a series of plant species, but not yet in plant suspension cells. Here, we sought to use the CRISPR-Cas9 system for gene inactivation in Nicotiana tabacum BY-2 suspension cells. We transformed a transgenic line expressing a red fluorescent protein (mCherry) with a binary vector containing genes coding for Cas9 and three guide RNAs targeting mCherry restriction sites, as well as a bialaphos-resistant (bar) gene for selection. To demonstrate gene inactivation in the transgenic lines, the mCherry gene was PCR-amplified and analyzed by electrophoresis. Seven out of 20 transformants displayed a shortened fragment, indicating that a deletion occurred between two target sites. We also analyzed the transformants by restriction fragment length polymorphism and observed that the three targeted restriction sites were hit. DNA sequencing of the PCR fragments confirmed either deletion between two target sites or single nucleotide deletion. We therefore conclude that CRISPR-Cas9 can be used in N. tabacum BY2 cells.

  20. Acoustic manipulation of bacteria cells suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    GutiéRrez-Ramos, Salomé; Hoyos, Mauricio; Aider, Jean Luc; Ruiz, Carlos; Acoustofluidics Team Team; Soft; Bio Group Collaboration

    An acoustic contacless manipulation gives advantages in the exploration of the complex dynamics enviroment that active matter exhibits. Our works reports the control confinement and dispersion of Escherichia coliRP437-pZA3R-YFP suspensions (M9Glu-Ca) via acoustic levitation.The manipulation of the bacteria bath in a parallel plate resonator is achieved using the acoustic radiation force and the secondary radiation force. The primary radiation force generates levitation of the bacteria cells at the nodal plane of the ultrasonic standing wave generated inside the resonator. On the other side, secondary forces leads to the consolidation of stable aggregates. All the experiments were performed in the acoustic trap described, where we excite the emission plate with a continuous sinusoidal signal at a frequency in the order of MHz and a quartz slide as the reflector plate. In a typical experiment we observed that, before the input of the signal, the bacteria cells exhibit their typical run and tumble behavior and after the sound is turned on all of them displace towards the nodal plane, and instantaneously the aggregation begins in this region. CNRS French National Space Studies, CONACYT Mexico.

  1. Hindlimb suspension reduces muscle regeneration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mozdziak, P. E.; Truong, Q.; Macius, A.; Schultz, E.

    1998-01-01

    Exposure of juvenile skeletal muscle to a weightless environment reduces growth and satellite cell mitotic activity. However, the effect of a weightless environment on the satellite cell population during muscle repair remains unknown. Muscle injury was induced in rat soleus muscles using the myotoxic snake venom, notexin. Rats were placed into hindlimb-suspended or weightbearing groups for 10 days following injury. Cellular proliferation during regeneration was evaluated using 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry and image analysis. Hindlimb suspension reduced (P < 0.05) regenerated muscle mass, regenerated myofiber diameter, uninjured muscle mass, and uninjured myofiber diameter compared to weightbearing rats. Hindlimb suspension reduced (P < 0.05) BrdU labeling in uninjured soleus muscles compared to weight-bearing muscles. However, hindlimb suspension did not abolish muscle regeneration because myofibers formed in the injured soleus muscles of hindlimb-suspended rats, and BrdU labeling was equivalent (P > 0.10) on myofiber segments isolated from the soleus muscles of hindlimb-suspended and weightbearing rats following injury. Thus, hindlimb suspension (weightlessness) does not suppress satellite cell mitotic activity in regenerating muscles before myofiber formation, but reduces growth of the newly formed myofibers.

  2. Neuropharmacological and neuroprotective activities of some metabolites produced by cell suspension culture of Waltheria americana Linn.

    PubMed

    Mundo, Jorge; Villeda-Hernández, Juana; Herrera-Ruiz, Maribel; Gutiérrez, María Del Carmen; Arellano-García, Jesús; León-Rivera, Ismael; Perea-Arango, Irene

    2017-10-01

    Waltheria americana is a plant used in Mexican traditional medicine to treat some nervous system disorders. The aims of the present study were to isolate and determine the neuropharmacological and neurprotective activities of metabolites produced by a cell suspension culture of Waltheria americana. Submerged cultivation of W. americana cells provided biomass. A methanol-soluble extract (WAsc) was obtained from biomass. WAsc was fractionated yielding the chromatographic fractions 4WAsc-H 2 O and WAsc-CH 2 Cl 2 . For the determination of anticonvulsant activity in vivo, seizures were induced in mice by pentylenetetrazol (PTZ). Neuropharmacological activities (release of gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) and neuroprotection) of chromatographic fractions were determined by in vitro histological analysis of brain sections of mice post mortem. Fraction 4WAsc-H 2 O (containing saccharides) did not produce neuronal damage, neurodegeneration, interstitial tissue edema, astrocytic activation, nor cell death. Pretreatment of animals with 4WAsc-H 2 O and WAsc-CH 2 Cl 2 from W. americana cell suspensions induced an increase in: GABA release, seizure latency, survival time, neuroprotection, and a decrease in the degree of severity of tonic/tonic-clonic convulsions, preventing PTZ-induced death of up to 100% of animals of study. Bioactive compounds produced in suspension cell culture of W. americana produce neuroprotective and neuropharmacological activities associated with the GABAergic neurotransmission system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  3. Reparable Cell Sonoporation in Suspension: Theranostic Potential of Microbubble.

    PubMed

    Nejad, S Moosavi; Hosseini, Hamid; Akiyama, Hidenori; Tachibana, Katsuro

    2016-01-01

    The conjunction of low intensity ultrasound and encapsulated microbubbles can alter the permeability of cell membrane, offering a promising theranostic technique for non-invasive gene/drug delivery. Despite its great potential, the biophysical mechanisms of the delivery at the cellular level remains poorly understood. Here, the first direct high-speed micro-photographic images of human lymphoma cell and microbubble interaction dynamics are provided in a completely free suspension environment without any boundary parameter defect. Our real-time images and theoretical analyses prove that the negative divergence side of the microbubble's dipole microstreaming locally pulls the cell membrane, causing transient local protrusion of 2.5 µm in the cell membrane. The linear oscillation of microbubble caused microstreaming well below the inertial cavitation threshold, and imposed 35.3 Pa shear stress on the membrane, promoting an area strain of 0.12%, less than the membrane critical areal strain to cause cell rupture. Positive transfected cells with pEGFP-N1 confirm that the interaction causes membrane poration without cell disruption. The results show that the overstretched cell membrane causes reparable submicron pore formation, providing primary evidence of low amplitude (0.12 MPa at 0.834 MHz) ultrasound sonoporation mechanism.

  4. Design of serum-free medium for suspension culture of CHO cells on the basis of general commercial media.

    PubMed

    Miki, Hideo; Takagi, Mutsumi

    2015-08-01

    The design of serum-free media for suspension culture of genetically engineered Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells using general commercial media as a basis was investigated. Subcultivation using a commercial serum-free medium containing insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 with or without FCS necessitated additives other than IGF-1 to compensate for the lack of FCS and improve cell growth. Suspension culture with media containing several combinations of growth factors suggested the effectiveness of addition of both IGF-1 and the lipid signaling molecule lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) for promoting cell growth. Subcultivation of CHO cells in suspension culture using the commercial serum-free medium EX-CELL™302, which contained an IGF-1 analog, supplemented with LPA resulted in gradually increasing specific growth rate comparable to the serum-containing medium and in almost the same high antibody production regardless of the number of generations. The culture with EX-CELL™302 supplemented with LPA in a jar fermentor with pH control at 6.9 showed an apparently higher cell growth rate than the cultures without pH control and with pH control at 6.8. The cell growth in the medium supplemented with aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA), which was much cheaper than IGF-1, in combination with LPA was synergistically promoted similarly to that in the medium supplemented with IGF-1 and LPA. In conclusion, the serum-free medium designed on the basis of general commercial media could support the growth of CHO cells and antibody production comparable to serum-containing medium in suspension culture. Moreover, the possibility of cost reduction by the substitution of IGF-1 with ATA was also shown.

  5. Electrochemical performance of solid oxide fuel cells having electrolytes made by suspension and solution precursor plasma spraying

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marr, M.; Kuhn, J.; Metcalfe, C.; Harris, J.; Kesler, O.

    2014-01-01

    Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolytes were deposited by suspension plasma spraying (SPS) and solution precursor plasma spraying (SPPS). The electrolytes were evaluated for permeability, microstructure, and electrochemical performance. With SPS, three different suspensions were tested to explore the influence of powder size distribution and liquid properties. Electrolytes made from suspensions of a powder with d50 = 2.6 μm were more gas-tight than those made from suspensions of a powder with d50 = 0.6 μm. A peak open circuit voltage of 1.00 V was measured at 750 °C with a cell with an electrolyte made from a suspension of d50 = 2.6 μm powder. The use of a flammable suspension liquid was beneficial for improving electrolyte conductivity when using lower energy plasmas, but the choice of liquid was less important when using higher energy plasmas. With SPPS, peak electrolyte conductivities were comparable to the peak conductivities of the SPS electrolytes. However, leak rates through the SPPS electrolytes were higher than those through the electrolytes made from suspensions of d50 = 2.6 μm powder. The electrochemical test data on SPPS electrolytes are the first reported in the literature.

  6. Evaluation of Simulated Microgravity Environments Induced by Diamagnetic Levitation of Plant Cell Suspension Cultures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kamal, Khaled Y.; Herranz, Raúl; van Loon, Jack J. W. A.; Christianen, Peter C. M.; Medina, F. Javier

    2016-06-01

    Ground-Based Facilities (GBF) are essetial tools to understand the physical and biological effects of the absence of gravity and they are necessary to prepare and complement space experiments. It has been shown previously that a real microgravity environment induces the dissociation of cell proliferation from cell growth in seedling root meristems, which are limited populations of proliferating cells. Plant cell cultures are large and homogeneous populations of proliferating cells, so that they are a convenient model to study the effects of altered gravity on cellular mechanisms regulating cell proliferation and associated cell growth. Cell suspension cultures of the Arabidopsis thaliana cell line MM2d were exposed to four altered gravity and magnetic field environments in a magnetic levitation facility for 3 hours, including two simulated microgravity and Mars-like gravity levels obtained with different magnetic field intensities. Samples were processed either by quick freezing, to be used in flow cytometry for cell cycle studies, or by chemical fixation for microscopy techniques to measure parameters of the nucleolus. Although the trend of the results was the same as those obtained in real microgravity on meristems (increased cell proliferation and decreased cell growth), we provide a technical discussion in the context of validation of proper conditions to achieve true cell levitation inside a levitating droplet. We conclude that the use of magnetic levitation as a simulated microgravity GBF for cell suspension cultures is not recommended.

  7. Effects of Selected Physicochemical Parameters on Zerumbone Production of Zingiber zerumbet Smith Cell Suspension Culture.

    PubMed

    Jalil, Mahanom; Annuar, Mohamad Suffian Mohamad; Tan, Boon Chin; Khalid, Norzulaani

    2015-01-01

    Zingiber zerumbet Smith is an important herb that contains bioactive phytomedicinal compound, zerumbone. To enhance cell growth and production of this useful compound, we investigated the growth conditions of cell suspension culture. Embryogenic callus generated from shoot bud was used to initiate cell suspension culture. The highest specific growth rate of cells was recorded when it was cultured in liquid Murashige and Skoog basal medium containing 3% sucrose with pH 5.7 and incubated under continuous shaking condition of 70 rpm for 16 h light and 8 h dark cycle at 24°C. Our results also revealed that the type of carbohydrate substrate, light regime, agitation speed, and incubation temperature could affect the production of zerumbone. Although the zerumbone produced in this study was not abundant compared to rhizome of Z. zerumbet, the possibility of producing zerumbone during early stage could serve as a model for subsequent improvement.

  8. Effects of Selected Physicochemical Parameters on Zerumbone Production of Zingiber zerumbet Smith Cell Suspension Culture

    PubMed Central

    Annuar, Mohamad Suffian Mohamad; Khalid, Norzulaani

    2015-01-01

    Zingiber zerumbet Smith is an important herb that contains bioactive phytomedicinal compound, zerumbone. To enhance cell growth and production of this useful compound, we investigated the growth conditions of cell suspension culture. Embryogenic callus generated from shoot bud was used to initiate cell suspension culture. The highest specific growth rate of cells was recorded when it was cultured in liquid Murashige and Skoog basal medium containing 3% sucrose with pH 5.7 and incubated under continuous shaking condition of 70 rpm for 16 h light and 8 h dark cycle at 24°C. Our results also revealed that the type of carbohydrate substrate, light regime, agitation speed, and incubation temperature could affect the production of zerumbone. Although the zerumbone produced in this study was not abundant compared to rhizome of Z. zerumbet, the possibility of producing zerumbone during early stage could serve as a model for subsequent improvement. PMID:25767555

  9. Development and characterization of microsatellite loci in the endangered species Taxus wallichiana (Taxaceae).

    PubMed

    Gajurel, Jyoti Prasad; Cornejo, Carolina; Werth, Silke; Shrestha, Krishna Kumar; Scheidegger, Christoph

    2013-03-01

    Microsatellite primers were developed in the endangered tree species Taxus wallichiana from Nepal to investigate regional genetic differentiation, local genetic diversity, and gene flow for the conservation of this species under climate- and land-use change scenarios in mountain regions of Nepal. • We developed 10 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers from 454 DNA sequencing. Characterization of the new microsatellite loci was done in 99 individuals collected from three valleys with different climatic regimes. The number of alleles per locus varied from four to 12. Observed heterozygosity of populations, averaged across loci, ranged from 0.30 to 0.59. • The new markers provided by this study will substantially increase the resolution for detailed studies in phylogeography, population genetics, and parentage analysis.

  10. Efficient Secretion of Recombinant Proteins from Rice Suspension-Cultured Cells Modulated by the Choice of Signal Peptide.

    PubMed

    Huang, Li-Fen; Tan, Chia-Chun; Yeh, Ju-Fang; Liu, Hsin-Yi; Liu, Yu-Kuo; Ho, Shin-Lon; Lu, Chung-An

    2015-01-01

    Plant-based expression systems have emerged as a competitive platform in the large-scale production of recombinant proteins. By adding a signal peptide, αAmy3sp, the desired recombinant proteins can be secreted outside transgenic rice cells, making them easy to harvest. In this work, to improve the secretion efficiency of recombinant proteins in rice expression systems, various signal peptides including αAmy3sp, CIN1sp, and 33KDsp have been fused to the N-terminus of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and introduced into rice cells to explore the efficiency of secretion of foreign proteins. 33KDsp had better efficiency than αAmy3sp and CIN1sp for the secretion of GFP from calli and suspension-cultured cells. 33KDsp was further applied for the secretion of mouse granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (mGM-CSF) from transgenic rice suspension-cultured cells; approximately 76%-92% of total rice-derived mGM-CSF (rmGM-CSF) was detected in the culture medium. The rmGM-CSF was bioactive and could stimulate the proliferation of a murine myeloblastic leukemia cell line, NSF-60. The extracellular yield of rmGM-CSF reached 31.7 mg/L. Our study indicates that 33KDsp is better at promoting the secretion of recombinant proteins in rice suspension-cultured cell systems than the commonly used αAmy3sp.

  11. Immune suppression of human lymphoid tissues and cells in rotating suspension culture and onboard the International Space Station

    PubMed Central

    Fitzgerald, Wendy; Chen, Silvia; Walz, Carl; Zimmerberg, Joshua; Margolis, Leonid

    2013-01-01

    The immune responses of human lymphoid tissue explants or cells isolated from this tissue were studied quantitatively under normal gravity and microgravity. Microgravity was either modeled by solid body suspension in a rotating, oxygenated culture vessel or was actually achieved on the International Space Station (ISS). Our experiments demonstrate that tissues or cells challenged by recall antigen or by polyclonal activator in modeled microgravity lose all their ability to produce antibodies and cytokines and to increase their metabolic activity. In contrast, if the cells were challenged before being exposed to modeled microgravity suspension culture, they maintained their responses. Similarly, in microgravity in the ISS, lymphoid cells did not respond to antigenic or polyclonal challenge, whereas cells challenged prior to the space flight maintained their antibody and cytokine responses in space. Thus, immune activation of cells of lymphoid tissue is severely blunted both in modeled and true microgravity. This suggests that suspension culture via solid body rotation is sufficient to induce the changes in cellular physiology seen in true microgravity. This phenomenon may reflect immune dysfunction observed in astronauts during space flights. If so, the ex vivo system described above can be used to understand cellular and molecular mechanisms of this dysfunction. PMID:19609626

  12. Induction of phytic acid synthesis by abscisic acid in suspension-cultured cells of rice.

    PubMed

    Matsuno, Koya; Fujimura, Tatsuhito

    2014-03-01

    A pathway of phytic acid (PA) synthesis in plants has been revealed via investigations of low phytic acid mutants. However, the regulation of this pathway is not well understood because it is difficult to control the environments of cells in the seeds, where PA is mainly synthesized. We modified a rice suspension culture system in order to study the regulation of PA synthesis. Rice cells cultured with abscisic acid (ABA) accumulate PA at higher levels than cells cultured without ABA, and PA accumulation levels increase with ABA concentration. On the other hand, higher concentrations of sucrose or inorganic phosphorus do not affect PA accumulation. Mutations in the genes RINO1, OsMIK, OsIPK1 and OsLPA1 have each been reported to confer low phytic acid phenotypes in seeds. Each of these genes is upregulated in cells cultured with ABA. OsITPK4 and OsITPK6 are upregulated in cells cultured with ABA and in developing seeds. These results suggest that the regulation of PA synthesis is similar between developing seeds and cells in this suspension culture system. This system will be a powerful tool for elucidating the regulation of PA synthesis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Plant regeneration from haploid cell suspension-derived protoplasts of Mediterranean rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Miara).

    PubMed

    Guiderdoni, E; Chaïr, H

    1992-11-01

    More than 750 plants were regenerated from protoplasts isolated from microspore callus-derived cell suspensions of the Mediterranean japonica rice Miara, using a nurse-feeder technique and N6-based culture medium. The mean plating efficiency and the mean regeneration ability of the protocalluses were 0.5% and 49% respectively. Flow cytometric evaluation of the DNA contents of 7 month old-cell and protoplast suspensions showed that they were still haploid. Contrastingly, the DNA contents of leaf cell nuclei of the regenerated protoclones ranged from 1C to 5C including 60% 2C plants. This was consistent with the morphological type and the fertility of the mature plants. These results and the absence of chimeric plants suggest that polyploidization occurred during the early phase of protoplast culture.

  14. Use of Stirred Suspension Bioreactors for Male Germ Cell Enrichment.

    PubMed

    Sakib, Sadman; Dores, Camila; Rancourt, Derrick; Dobrinski, Ina

    2016-01-01

    Spermatogenesis is a stem cell based system. Both therapeutic and biomedical research applications of spermatogonial stem cells require a large number of cells. However, there are only few germ line stem cells in the testis, contained in the fraction of undifferentiated spermatogonia. The lack of specific markers makes it difficult to isolate these cells. The long term maintenance and proliferation of nonrodent germ cells in culture has so far been met with limited success, partially due to the lack of highly enriched starting populations. Differential plating, which depends on the differential adhesion properties of testicular somatic and germ cells to tissue culture dishes, has been the method of choice for germ cell enrichment, especially for nonrodent germ cells. However, for large animals, this process becomes labor intensive and increases variability due to the need for extensive handling. Here, we describe the use of stirred suspension bioreactors, as a novel system for enriching undifferentiated germ cells from 1-week-old pigs. This method capitalizes on the adherent properties of somatic cells within a controlled environment, thus promoting the enrichment of progenitor cells with minimal handling and variability.

  15. Generation of functional hepatocyte-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells in a scalable suspension culture.

    PubMed

    Vosough, Massoud; Omidinia, Eskandar; Kadivar, Mehdi; Shokrgozar, Mohammad-Ali; Pournasr, Behshad; Aghdami, Nasser; Baharvand, Hossein

    2013-10-15

    Recent advances in human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cell-based therapies in animal models of hepatic failure have led to an increased appreciation of the need to translate the proof-of-principle concepts into more practical and feasible protocols for scale up and manufacturing of functional hepatocytes. In this study, we describe a scalable stirred-suspension bioreactor culture of functional hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) from the human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). To promote the initial differentiation of hPSCs in a carrier-free suspension stirred bioreactor into definitive endoderm, we used rapamycin for "priming" phase and activin A for induction. The cells were further differentiated into HLCs in the same system. HLCs were characterized and then purified based on their physiological function, the uptake of DiI-acetylated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) by flow cytometry without genetic manipulation or antibody labeling. The sorted cells were transplanted into the spleens of mice with acute liver injury from carbon tetrachloride. The differentiated HLCs had multiple features of primary hepatocytes, for example, the expression patterns of liver-specific marker genes, albumin secretion, urea production, collagen synthesis, indocyanin green and LDL uptake, glycogen storage, and inducible cytochrome P450 activity. They increased the survival rate, engrafted successfully into the liver, and continued to present hepatic function (i.e., albumin secretion after implantation). This amenable scaling up and outlined enrichment strategy provides a new platform for generating functional HLCs. This integrated approach may facilitate biomedical applications of the hPSC-derived hepatocytes.

  16. Pathogen and rodenticide exposure in American badgers (Taxidea taxus) in California.

    PubMed

    Quinn, Jessica H; Girard, Yvette A; Gilardi, Kirsten; Hernandez, Yvette; Poppenga, Robert; Chomel, Bruno B; Foley, Janet E; Johnson, Christine K

    2012-04-01

    Urban and agricultural land use may increase the risk of disease transmission among wildlife, domestic animals, and humans as we share ever-shrinking and fragmented habitat. American badgers (Taxidae taxus), a species of special concern in California, USA, live in proximity to urban development and often share habitat with livestock and small peridomestic mammals. As such, they may be susceptible to pathogens commonly transmitted at this interface and to anticoagulant rodenticides used to control nuisance wildlife on agricultural lands. We evaluated free-ranging badgers in California for exposure to pathogens and anticoagulant rodenticides that pose a risk to wildlife, domestic animals, or public health. We found serologic evidence of badger exposure to Francisella tularensis, Toxoplasma gondii, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, canine distemper virus, and three Bartonella species: B. henselae, B. clarridgeiae, and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii. Badger tissues contained anticoagulant rodenticides brodifacoum and bromadiolone, commonly used to control periurban rodent pests. These data provide a preliminary investigation of pathogen and toxicant exposure in the wild badger population.

  17. Cell Size Clues for the Allee Effect in Vegetative Amoeba Suspension Culture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Franck, Carl; Rappazzo, Brendan; Wang, Xiaoning; Segota, Igor

    That cells proliferate at higher rates with increasing density helps us appreciate and understand the development of multicellular behavior through the study of dilute cell systems. However, arduous cell counting with a microscope reveals that in the model eukaryote, Dictyostelium discoideum this transition is difficult to ascertain and thereby further explore despite our earlier progress (Phys. Rev. E 77, 041905, (2008)). Here we report preliminary evidence that the slow proliferation phase is well characterized by reduced cell size compared to the wide distribution of cell sizes in the familiar exponential proliferation phase of moderate densities. This observation is enabled by a new system for characterizing cells in stirred suspension cultures. Our technique relies on quickly acquiring magnitude distributions of detected flashes of laser light scattered in situ by cell targets.

  18. Glycyrrhiza glabra (Linn.) and Lavandula officinalis (L.) cell suspension cultures-based biotransformation of β-artemether.

    PubMed

    Patel, Suman; Gaur, Rashmi; Upadhyaya, Mohita; Mathur, Archana; Mathur, Ajay K; Bhakuni, Rajendra S

    2011-07-01

    The biotransformation of β-artemether (1) by cell suspension cultures of Glycyrrhiza glabra and Lavandula officinalis is reported here for the first time. The major biotransformed product appeared as a grayish-blue color spot on thin-layer chromatography (TLC) with transparent crystal-like texture. Based on its infrared (IR) and (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, the product was characterized as a tetrahydrofuran (THF)-acetate derivative (2). The highest conversion efficiencies of 57 and 60% were obtained when 8-9-day-old cell suspensions of G. glabra and L. officinalis were respectively fed with 4-7 mg of compound 1 in 40 ml of medium per culture and the cells were harvested after 2-5 days of incubation. The addition of compound 1 at the beginning of the culture cycle caused severe growth depression in a dose-dependent manner, resulting in poor bioconversion efficiency of ~25% at 2-5 mg/culture dose only.

  19. Cytoplasmic Acidification and Secondary Metabolite Production in Different Plant Cell Suspensions (A Comparative Study).

    PubMed Central

    Hagendoorn, MJM.; Wagner, A. M.; Segers, G.; Van Der Plas, LHW.; Oostdam, A.; Van Walraven, H. S.

    1994-01-01

    In this study, a correlation is described between low cytoplasmic pH, measured with the fluorescent probes 2[prime],7[prime]-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein (acetoxymethyl ester) and bis- [3-propyl-5-oxoisoxazol-4-yl]pentamethine oxonol, and the production of secondary metabolites for several plant cell-suspension systems. Anthraquinone production in Morinda citrifolia suspensions is negligible in the presence of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), whereas with naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) a significant accumulation is realized. NAA-grown cells showed a lower cytoplasmic pH than did 2,4-D-grown cells. Addition of 2,4-D or parachlorophenoxy acetic acid to NAA-grown cells resulted in an inhibition of anthraquinone production and an increase of the cytoplasmic pH, whereas addition of parachlorophenyl acetic acid had no effect on either parameter. Lignin production in Petunia hybrida cells could be induced by subculturing them in a medium without iron. These cells showed a lower cytoplasmic pH than control cells. Addition of Fe3+ led to a decreased lignin content and an increased cytoplasmic pH. Two cell lines of Linum flavum showed a different level of coniferin and lignin concentration in their cells. Cells that accumulated coniferin and lignin had a lower cytoplasmic pH than cells that did not accumulate these secondary metabolites. Apparently, in different species and after different kinds of treatment there is a correlation between acidification of the cytoplasm and the production of different secondary metabolites. The possible role of this acidification in secondary metabolite production is discussed. PMID:12232364

  20. Cytoplasmic Acidification and Secondary Metabolite Production in Different Plant Cell Suspensions (A Comparative Study).

    PubMed

    Hagendoorn, MJM.; Wagner, A. M.; Segers, G.; Van Der Plas, LHW.; Oostdam, A.; Van Walraven, H. S.

    1994-10-01

    In this study, a correlation is described between low cytoplasmic pH, measured with the fluorescent probes 2[prime],7[prime]-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein (acetoxymethyl ester) and bis- [3-propyl-5-oxoisoxazol-4-yl]pentamethine oxonol, and the production of secondary metabolites for several plant cell-suspension systems. Anthraquinone production in Morinda citrifolia suspensions is negligible in the presence of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), whereas with naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) a significant accumulation is realized. NAA-grown cells showed a lower cytoplasmic pH than did 2,4-D-grown cells. Addition of 2,4-D or parachlorophenoxy acetic acid to NAA-grown cells resulted in an inhibition of anthraquinone production and an increase of the cytoplasmic pH, whereas addition of parachlorophenyl acetic acid had no effect on either parameter. Lignin production in Petunia hybrida cells could be induced by subculturing them in a medium without iron. These cells showed a lower cytoplasmic pH than control cells. Addition of Fe3+ led to a decreased lignin content and an increased cytoplasmic pH. Two cell lines of Linum flavum showed a different level of coniferin and lignin concentration in their cells. Cells that accumulated coniferin and lignin had a lower cytoplasmic pH than cells that did not accumulate these secondary metabolites. Apparently, in different species and after different kinds of treatment there is a correlation between acidification of the cytoplasm and the production of different secondary metabolites. The possible role of this acidification in secondary metabolite production is discussed.

  1. Cultivation of cottontail rabbit epidermal (Sf1Ep) cells on microcarrier beads and their use for suspension cultivation of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum.

    PubMed Central

    Riley, B S; Cox, D L

    1988-01-01

    In vitro propagation of Treponema pallidum can be achieved by cocultivation with Sf1Ep cells. This study had two objectives: (i) to achieve suspension cultivation of Sf1Ep cells and (ii) to develop procedures for achieving the replication of T. pallidum in those cell cultures. Seven suspension cultures of Sf1Ep cells yielded an average of 7.2 x 10(8) T. pallidum (36-fold increase) after 12 days. Images PMID:3063209

  2. Shear stress influences the pluripotency of murine embryonic stem cells in stirred suspension bioreactors.

    PubMed

    Gareau, Tia; Lara, Giovanna G; Shepherd, Robert D; Krawetz, Roman; Rancourt, Derrick E; Rinker, Kristina D; Kallos, Michael S

    2014-04-01

    Pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have been used increasingly in research as primary material for various tissue-engineering applications. Pluripotency, or the ability to give rise to all cells of the body, is an important characteristic of ESCs. Traditional methods use leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) to maintain murine embryonic stem cell (mESC) pluripotency in static and bioreactor cultures. When LIF is removed from mESCs in static cultures, pluripotency genes are downregulated and the cultures will spontaneously differentiate. Recently we have shown the maintenance of pluripotency gene expression of mESCs in stirred suspension bioreactors during differentiation experiments in the absence of LIF. This is undesired in a differentiation experiment, where the goal is downregulation of pluripotency gene expression and upregulation of gene expression characteristic to the differentiation. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine how effectively different levels of shear stress [100 rpm (6 dyne/cm(2) ), 60 rpm (3 dyne/cm(2) )] maintained and influenced pluripotency in suspension bioreactors. The pluripotency markers Oct-4, Nanog, Sox-2 and Rex-1 were assessed using gene expression profiles and flow-cytometry analysis and showed that shear stress does maintain and influence the gene expression of certain pluripotency markers. Some significant differences between the two levels of shear stress were seen and the combination of shear stress and LIF was observed to synergistically increase the expression of certain pluripotency markers. Overall, this study provides a better understanding of the environmental conditions within suspension bioreactors and how these conditions affect the pluripotency of mESCs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Suspension cell culture in microgravity and development of a space bioreactor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Morrison, Dennis R.

    1987-01-01

    NASA has methodically developed unique suspension type cell and recovery apparatus culture systems for bioprocess technology experiments and production of biological products in microgravity. The first space bioreactor has been designed for microprocessor control, no gaseous headspace, circulation and resupply of culture medium, and slow mixing in very low shear regimes. Various ground based bioreactors are being used to test reactor vessel design, on-line sensors, effects of shear, nutrient supply, and waste removal from continuous culture of human cells attached to microcarriers. The small (500 ml) bioreactor is being constructed for flight experiments in the Shuttle middeck to verify systems operation under microgravity conditions and to measure the efficiencies of mass transport, gas transfer, oxygen consumption, and control of low shear stress on cells.

  4. Motor characteristics determine the rheological behavior of a suspension of microswimmers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karmakar, Richa; Gulvady, Ranjit; Tirumkudulu, Mahesh S.; Venkatesh, K. V.

    2014-07-01

    A suspension of motile cells exhibits complex rheological properties due to their collective motion. We measure the shear viscosity of a suspension of Escherichia coli strains varying in motor characteristics such as duration of run and tumble. At low cell densities, all strains irrespective of their motor characteristics exhibit a linear increase in viscosity with cell density suggesting that the cells behave as a suspension of passive rods with an effective aspect ratio set by the motor characteristics of the bacteria. As the cell density is increased beyond a critical value, the viscosity drops sharply signaling the presence of strongly coordinated motion among bacteria. The critical density depends not only on the magnitude of shear but also the motor characteristics of individual cells. High shear rate disrupts the coordinated motion reducing its behavior, once again, to a suspension of inactive particles.

  5. Reflection coefficients of permeant molecules in human red cell suspensions.

    PubMed

    Owen, J D; Eyring, E M

    1975-08-01

    The Staverman reflection coefficient, sigma for several permeant molecules was determined in human red cell suspensions with a Durrum stopped-flow spectrophotometer. This procedure was first used with dog, cat, and beef red cells and with human red cells. The stopped-flow technique used was similar to the rapid-flow method used by those who originally reported sigma measurements in human red cells for molecules which rapidly penetrate the red cell membrane. The sigma values we obtained agreed with those previously reported for most of the slow penetrants, except malonamide, but disagreed with all the sigma values previously reported for the rapid penetrants. We were unable to calculate an "equivalent pore radius" with our sigma data. The advantages of our equipment and our experimental procedure are discussed. Our sigma data suggest that sigma is indirectly proportional to the log of the nonelectrolyte permeability coefficient, omega. Since a similar trend has been previously shown for log omega and molar volume of the permeant molecules, a correlatioo was shown between sigma and molar volume suggesting the membrane acts as a sieve.

  6. Suspension survival mediated by PP2A-STAT3-Col XVII determines tumour initiation and metastasis in cancer stem cells

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Chen-Chi; Lin, Shih-Pei; Hsu, Han-Shui; Yang, Shung-Haur; Lin, Chiu-Hua; Yang, Muh-Hwa; Hung, Mien-Chie; Hung, Shih-Chieh

    2016-01-01

    Targeting tumour-initiating cells (TICs) would lead to new therapies to cure cancer. We previously demonstrated that TICs have the capacity to survive under suspension conditions, while other cells undergo anoikis. Here we show that TICs exhibit increased phosphorylation levels of S727STAT3 because of PP2A inactivation. Collagen 17 gene expression is upregulated in a STAT3-dependent manner, which also stabilizes laminin 5 and engages cells to form hemidesmosome-like junctions in response. Blocking the PP2A-S727STAT3-collagen 17 pathway inhibits the suspension survival of TICs and their ability to form tumours in mice, while activation of the same pathway increases the suspension survival and tumour-initiation capacities of bulk cancer cells. The S727STAT3 phosphorylation levels correlate with collagen 17 expression in colon tumour samples, and correlate inversely with survival. Finally, this signalling axis enhances the ability of TIC to form tumours in mouse models of malignant lung cancer pleural effusion and spontaneous colon cancer metastasis. PMID:27306323

  7. Suspension survival mediated by PP2A-STAT3-Col XVII determines tumour initiation and metastasis in cancer stem cells.

    PubMed

    Liu, Chen-Chi; Lin, Shih-Pei; Hsu, Han-Shui; Yang, Shung-Haur; Lin, Chiu-Hua; Yang, Muh-Hwa; Hung, Mien-Chie; Hung, Shih-Chieh

    2016-06-16

    Targeting tumour-initiating cells (TICs) would lead to new therapies to cure cancer. We previously demonstrated that TICs have the capacity to survive under suspension conditions, while other cells undergo anoikis. Here we show that TICs exhibit increased phosphorylation levels of S727STAT3 because of PP2A inactivation. Collagen 17 gene expression is upregulated in a STAT3-dependent manner, which also stabilizes laminin 5 and engages cells to form hemidesmosome-like junctions in response. Blocking the PP2A-S727STAT3-collagen 17 pathway inhibits the suspension survival of TICs and their ability to form tumours in mice, while activation of the same pathway increases the suspension survival and tumour-initiation capacities of bulk cancer cells. The S727STAT3 phosphorylation levels correlate with collagen 17 expression in colon tumour samples, and correlate inversely with survival. Finally, this signalling axis enhances the ability of TIC to form tumours in mouse models of malignant lung cancer pleural effusion and spontaneous colon cancer metastasis.

  8. Characterization of Ni-YSZ anodes for solid oxide fuel cells fabricated by suspension plasma spraying with axial feedstock injection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Metcalfe, Craig; Kuhn, Joel; Kesler, Olivera

    2013-12-01

    Composite Ni-Y0.15Zr0.85O1.925 anodes were fabricated by axial-injection suspension plasma spraying in open atmosphere conditions. The composition of the anode is controllable by adjustment of the plasma gas composition, stand-off distance, and suspension feed rate. The total porosity is controllable through the addition of carbon black to the suspension as a sacrificial pore-forming material as well as by adjustment of the suspension feed rate. The size of the NiO particles in suspension affects both the composition and total porosity, with larger NiO particles leading to increased Ni content and porosity in the deposited coatings. The surface roughness increases with a decrease of the in-flight droplet momentum, which results from both smaller NiO particles in suspension and the addition of low density pore-forming materials. A solid oxide fuel cell was fabricated with both electrodes and electrolyte fabricated by axial-injection plasma spraying. Peak power densities of 0.718 W cm-2 and 1.13 W cm-2 at 750 °C and 850 °C, respectively, were achieved.

  9. Osteoarthritic human chondrocytes proliferate in 3D co-culture with mesenchymal stem cells in suspension bioreactors.

    PubMed

    Khurshid, Madiha; Mulet-Sierra, Aillette; Adesida, Adetola; Sen, Arindom

    2018-03-01

    Osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful disease, characterized by progressive surface erosion of articular cartilage. The use of human articular chondrocytes (hACs) sourced from OA patients has been proposed as a potential therapy for cartilage repair, but this approach is limited by the lack of scalable methods to produce clinically relevant quantities of cartilage-generating cells. Previous studies in static culture have shown that hACs co-cultured with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) as 3D pellets can upregulate proliferation and generate neocartilage with enhanced functional matrix formation relative to that produced from either cell type alone. However, because static culture flasks are not readily amenable to scale up, scalable suspension bioreactors were investigated to determine if they could support the co-culture of hMSCs and OA hACs under serum-free conditions to facilitate clinical translation of this approach. When hACs and hMSCs (1:3 ratio) were inoculated at 20,000 cells/ml into 125-ml suspension bioreactors and fed weekly, they spontaneously formed 3D aggregates and proliferated, resulting in a 4.75-fold increase over 16 days. Whereas the apparent growth rate was lower than that achieved during co-culture as a 2D monolayer in static culture flasks, bioreactor co-culture as 3D aggregates resulted in a significantly lower collagen I to II mRNA expression ratio and more than double the glycosaminoglycan/DNA content (5.8 vs. 2.5 μg/μg). The proliferation of hMSCs and hACs as 3D aggregates in serum-free suspension culture demonstrates that scalable bioreactors represent an accessible platform capable of supporting the generation of clinical quantities of cells for use in cell-based cartilage repair. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Rheological behaviour of a suspension of microswimmers varying in motor characteristics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tirumkudulu, Mahesh; Karmakar, Richa; Gulvady, Ranjit; Venkatesh, K. V.

    2013-11-01

    A suspension of motile cells exhibits complex rheological properties due to their collective motion. We measure the shear viscosity of suspensions of Escherichia coli strains varying in motor characteristics such as duration of run and tumble. At low cell densities, all strains irrespective of their motor characteristics exhibiting a linear increase in viscosity with cell density suggesting that the cells behave as a suspension of rods with an effective aspect ratio set by the motor characteristics of the bacteria. As the cell density is increased beyond a critical value, the viscosity drops sharply signaling the presence of strongly coordinated motion among bacteria. The critical density depends not only on the magnitude of shear but also the motor characteristics of individual cells. High shear rate disrupts the coordinated motion reducing its behavior, once again, to a suspension of inactive particles. The authors acknowldege financial support from Department of Science and Technology, India.

  11. Role of Abscisic Acid in the Induction of Freezing Tolerance in Brassica napus Suspension-Cultured Cells 1

    PubMed Central

    Johnson-Flanagan, Anne M.; Huiwen, Zhong; Thiagarajah, Mohan R.; Saini, Hargurdeep S.

    1991-01-01

    Brassica napus suspension-cultured cells could be hardened in 6 days at 25°C by the addition of mefluidide or ABA to the culture medium. Cells treated with mefluidide (10 milligrams per liter) or ABA (50 micromolar) attained an LT50 of −17.5°C or −18°C, respectively, while the LT50 for the comparable nonhardened control (sucrose) was −10°C. The increased freezing tolerance of mefluidide-treated cells was paralleled by a 4- to 23-fold increase in ABA, as measured by gas-liquid chromatography using electron capture detection. Application of 1 milligram per liter of fluridone, an inhibitor of abscisic acid biosynthesis, prevented the mefluidide-induced increase in freezing tolerance and the accumulation of ABA. Both these inhibitory effects of fluridone were overridden by 50 micromolar ABA in the culture medium. On the basis of these results, we concluded that increased ABA levels are important for the induction of freezing tolerance in suspension-cultured cells. PMID:16668089

  12. Isolation and characterization of endophytic taxol-producing fungi from Taxus chinensis.

    PubMed

    Liu, Kaihui; Ding, Xiaowei; Deng, Baiwan; Chen, Wenqiang

    2009-09-01

    This study investigated the endophytic fungi diversity of Taxus chinensis and screened the taxol-producing fungi in the host. A total of 115 endophytic fungi isolates obtained from bark segments of T. chinensis were grouped into 23 genera based on the morphological traits and sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2), indicating endophytic fungi in T. chinensis are diverse and abundant. Diaporthe, Phomopsis (anamorph of Diaporthe), Acremonium, and Pezicula were the dominant genera, whereas the remaining genera were infrequent groups. The 13 representative species of the distinct genera were capable of producing taxol verified by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Among the taxol-producing fungi, the yield of taxol produced by the Metarhizium anisopliae, H-27 was 846.1 microg l(-1) in reformative potato dextrose liquid medium, and the fungal taxol was further validated by mass spectrometry (MS). The taxol-producing fungi (92.3%) were infrequent communities, suggesting that infrequent fungi associated with T. chinensis might be a fascinating reservoir of taxol-generating fungi.

  13. Regulation of DNA synthesis and cell division by polyamines in Catharanthus roseus suspension cultures

    Treesearch

    R. Minocha; S.C. Minocha; A. Komamine; W.C. Shortle

    1991-01-01

    Various inhibitors of polyamine biosynthesis were used to study the role of polyamines in DNA synthesis and cell division in suspension cultures of Catharanthus roseus (L) G. Don. Arginine decarboxylase (ADC; EC 4.1.1.19) was the major enzyme responsible for putrescine production. DL α-difluoromethylarginine inhibited ADC activity, cellular...

  14. Expression of a highly basic peroxidase gene in NaCl-adapted tomato cell suspensions.

    PubMed

    Medina, M I; Botella, M A; Quesada, M A; Valpuesta, V

    1997-05-05

    A tomato peroxidase gene, TPX2, that is only weakly expressed in the roots of young tomato seedlings is highly expressed in tomato suspension cells adapted to high external NaCl concentration. The protein encoded by this gene, with an isolectric point value of approximately 9.6, is found in the culture medium of the growing cells. Our data suggest that the expression of TPX2 in the salt-adapted cells is not the result of the elicitation imposed by the in vitro culture or the presence of high NaCl concentration in the medium.

  15. Aboveground predation by an American badger (Taxidea taxus) on black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Eads, D.A.; Biggins, D.E.

    2008-01-01

    During research on black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), we repeatedly observed a female American badger (Taxidea taxus) hunting prairie dogs on a colony in southern Phillips County, Montana. During 1-14 June 2006, we observed 7 aboveground attacks (2 successful) and 3 successful excavations of prairie dogs. The locations and circumstances of aboveground attacks suggested that the badger improved her probability of capturing prairie dogs by planning the aboveground attacks based on perceptions of speeds, angles, distances, and predicted escape responses of prey. Our observations add to previous reports on the complex and varied predatory methods and cognitive capacities of badgers. These observations also underscore the individuality of predators and support the concept that predators are active participants in predator-prey interactions.

  16. Convection in a colloidal suspension in a closed horizontal cell

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Smorodin, B. L., E-mail: bsmorodin@yandex.ru; Cherepanov, I. N.

    2015-02-15

    The experimentally detected [1] oscillatory regimes of convection in a colloidal suspension of nanoparticles with a large anomalous thermal diffusivity in a closed horizontal cell heated from below have been simulated numerically. The concentration inhomogeneity near the vertical cavity boundaries arising from the interaction of thermal-diffusion separation and convective mixing has been proven to serve as a source of oscillatory regimes (traveling waves). The dependence of the Rayleigh number at the boundary of existence of the traveling-wave regime on the aspect ratio of the closed cavity has been established. The spatial characteristics of the emerging traveling waves have been determined.

  17. Ectopic lignification in primary cellulose-deficient cell walls of maize cell suspension cultures.

    PubMed

    Mélida, Hugo; Largo-Gosens, Asier; Novo-Uzal, Esther; Santiago, Rogelio; Pomar, Federico; García, Pedro; García-Angulo, Penélope; Acebes, José Luis; Álvarez, Jesús; Encina, Antonio

    2015-04-01

    Maize (Zea mays L.) suspension-cultured cells with up to 70% less cellulose were obtained by stepwise habituation to dichlobenil (DCB), a cellulose biosynthesis inhibitor. Cellulose deficiency was accompanied by marked changes in cell wall matrix polysaccharides and phenolics as revealed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Cell wall compositional analysis indicated that the cellulose-deficient cell walls showed an enhancement of highly branched and cross-linked arabinoxylans, as well as an increased content in ferulic acid, diferulates and p-coumaric acid, and the presence of a polymer that stained positive for phloroglucinol. In accordance with this, cellulose-deficient cell walls showed a fivefold increase in Klason-type lignin. Thioacidolysis/GC-MS analysis of cellulose-deficient cell walls indicated the presence of a lignin-like polymer with a Syringyl/Guaiacyl ratio of 1.45, which differed from the sensu stricto stress-related lignin that arose in response to short-term DCB-treatments. Gene expression analysis of these cells indicated an overexpression of genes specific for the biosynthesis of monolignol units of lignin. A study of stress signaling pathways revealed an overexpression of some of the jasmonate signaling pathway genes, which might trigger ectopic lignification in response to cell wall integrity disruptions. In summary, the structural plasticity of primary cell walls is proven, since a lignification process is possible in response to cellulose impoverishment. © 2015 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  18. Dynamic shear jamming in granular suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peters, Ivo; Majumdar, Sayantan; Jaeger, Heinrich

    2014-11-01

    Jamming by shear allows a frictional granular packing to transition from an unjammed state into a jammed state while keeping the system volume and average packing fraction constant. Shear jamming of dry granular media can occur quasi-statically, but boundaries are crucial to confine the material. We perform experiments in aqueous starch suspension where we apply shear using a rheometer with a large volume (400 ml) cylindrical Couette cell. In our suspensions the packing fraction is sufficiently low that quasi-static deformation does not induce a shear jammed state. Applying a shock-like deformation however, will turn the suspension into a jammed solid. A fully jammed state is reached within tens of microseconds, and can be sustained for at least several seconds. High speed imaging of the initial process reveals a jamming front propagating radially outward through the suspension, while the suspension near the outer boundary remains quiescent. This indicates that granular suspensions can be shear jammed without the need of confining solid boundaries. Instead, confinement is most likely provided by the dynamics in the front region.

  19. Bicarbonate Induced Redox Proteome Changes in Arabidopsis Suspension Cells.

    PubMed

    Yin, Zepeng; Balmant, Kelly; Geng, Sisi; Zhu, Ning; Zhang, Tong; Dufresne, Craig; Dai, Shaojun; Chen, Sixue

    2017-01-01

    Climate change as a result of increasing atmospheric CO 2 affects plant growth and productivity. CO 2 is not only a carbon donor for photosynthesis but also an environmental signal that can perturb cellular redox homeostasis and lead to modifications of redox-sensitive proteins. Although redox regulation of protein functions has emerged as an important mechanism in several biological processes, protein redox modifications and how they function in plant CO 2 response remain unclear. Here a new iodoTMTRAQ proteomics technology was employed to analyze changes in protein redox modifications in Arabidopsis thaliana suspension cells in response to bicarbonate (mimic of elevated CO 2 ) in a time-course study. A total of 47 potential redox-regulated proteins were identified with functions in carbohydrate and energy metabolism, transport, ROS scavenging, cell structure modulation and protein turnover. This inventory of previously unknown redox responsive proteins in Arabidopsis bicarbonate responses lays a foundation for future research toward understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying plant CO 2 responses.

  20. Bicarbonate Induced Redox Proteome Changes in Arabidopsis Suspension Cells

    PubMed Central

    Yin, Zepeng; Balmant, Kelly; Geng, Sisi; Zhu, Ning; Zhang, Tong; Dufresne, Craig; Dai, Shaojun; Chen, Sixue

    2017-01-01

    Climate change as a result of increasing atmospheric CO2 affects plant growth and productivity. CO2 is not only a carbon donor for photosynthesis but also an environmental signal that can perturb cellular redox homeostasis and lead to modifications of redox-sensitive proteins. Although redox regulation of protein functions has emerged as an important mechanism in several biological processes, protein redox modifications and how they function in plant CO2 response remain unclear. Here a new iodoTMTRAQ proteomics technology was employed to analyze changes in protein redox modifications in Arabidopsis thaliana suspension cells in response to bicarbonate (mimic of elevated CO2) in a time-course study. A total of 47 potential redox-regulated proteins were identified with functions in carbohydrate and energy metabolism, transport, ROS scavenging, cell structure modulation and protein turnover. This inventory of previously unknown redox responsive proteins in Arabidopsis bicarbonate responses lays a foundation for future research toward understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying plant CO2 responses. PMID:28184230

  1. Unexpected features of exponentially growing Tobacco Bright Yellow-2 cell suspension culture in relation to excreted extracellular polysaccharides and cell wall composition.

    PubMed

    Issawi, Mohammad; Muhieddine, Mohammad; Girard, Celine; Sol, Vincent; Riou, Catherine

    2017-10-01

    This article presents a new insight about TBY-2 cells; from extracellular polysaccharides secretion to cell wall composition during cell suspension culture. In the medium of cells taken 2 days after dilution (end of lag phase), a two unit pH decrease from 5.38 to 3.45 was observed and linked to a high uronic acid (UA) amount secretion (47.8%) while, in 4 and 7 day-old spent media, pH increased and UA amounts decreased 35.6 and 42.3% UA, respectively. To attain deeper knowledge of the putative link between extracellular polysaccharide excretion and cell wall composition, we determined cell wall UA and neutral sugar composition of cells from D2 to D12 cultures. While cell walls from D2 and D3 cells contained a large amount of uronic acid (twice as much as the other analysed cell walls), similar amounts of neutral sugar were detected in cells from lag to end of exponential phase cells suggesting an enriched pectin network in young cultures. Indeed, monosaccharide composition analysis leads to an estimated percentage of pectins of 56% for D3 cell wall against 45% D7 cell walls indicating that the cells at the mid-exponential growth phase re-organized their cell wall linked to a decrease in secreted UA that finally led to a stabilization of the spent medium pH to 5.4. In conclusion, TBY-2 cell suspension from lag to stationary phase showed cell wall remodeling that could be of interest in drug interaction and internalization study.

  2. Putting the Spotlight Back on Plant Suspension Cultures

    PubMed Central

    Santos, Rita B.; Abranches, Rita; Fischer, Rainer; Sack, Markus; Holland, Tanja

    2016-01-01

    Plant cell suspension cultures have several advantages that make them suitable for the production of recombinant proteins. They can be cultivated under aseptic conditions using classical fermentation technology, they are easy to scale-up for manufacturing, and the regulatory requirements are similar to those established for well-characterized production systems based on microbial and mammalian cells. It is therefore no surprise that taliglucerase alfa (Elelyso®)—the first licensed recombinant pharmaceutical protein derived from plants—is produced in plant cell suspension cultures. But despite this breakthrough, plant cells are still largely neglected compared to transgenic plants and the more recent plant-based transient expression systems. Here, we revisit plant cell suspension cultures and highlight recent developments in the field that show how the rise of plant cells parallels that of Chinese hamster ovary cells, currently the most widespread and successful manufacturing platform for biologics. These developments include medium optimization, process engineering, statistical experimental designs, scale-up/scale-down models, and process analytical technologies. Significant yield increases for diverse target proteins will encourage a gold rush to adopt plant cells as a platform technology, and the first indications of this breakthrough are already on the horizon. PMID:27014320

  3. Characterization of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells in suspension

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Introduction Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) are a heterogeneous population of postnatal precursor cells with the capacity of adhering to culture dishes generating colony-forming unit-fibroblasts (CFU-F). Here we identify a new subset of BMMSCs that fail to adhere to plastic culture dishes and remain in culture suspension (S-BMMSCs). Methods To catch S-BMMSCs, we used BMMSCs-produced extracellular cell matrix (ECM)-coated dishes. Isolated S-BMMSCs were analyzed by in vitro stem cell analysis approaches, including flow cytometry, inductive multiple differentiation, western blot and in vivo implantation to assess the bone regeneration ability of S-BMMSCs. Furthermore, we performed systemic S-BMMSCs transplantation to treat systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-like MRL/lpr mice. Results S-BMMSCs are capable of adhering to ECM-coated dishes and showing mesenchymal stem cell characteristics with distinction from hematopoietic cells as evidenced by co-expression of CD73 or Oct-4 with CD34, forming a single colony cluster on ECM, and failure to differentiate into hematopoietic cell lineage. Moreover, we found that culture-expanded S-BMMSCs exhibited significantly increased immunomodulatory capacities in vitro and an efficacious treatment for SLE-like MRL/lpr mice by rebalancing regulatory T cells (Tregs) and T helper 17 cells (Th17) through high NO production. Conclusions These data suggest that it is feasible to improve immunotherapy by identifying a new subset BMMSCs. PMID:23083975

  4. Nonviral transfection of suspension cells in ultrasound standing wave fields.

    PubMed

    Lee, Yu-Hsiang; Peng, Ching-An

    2007-05-01

    Ultrasound-induced cavitation has been widely used for delivering DNA vectors into cells. However, this approach may seriously disrupt cell membranes and cause lethal damage when cells are exposed to the inertial cavitation field. In this study, instead of using sonoporation, ultrasound standing wave fields (USWF) were explored for nonviral transfection of suspension cells. Acoustic resonance in a tubular chamber was generated from the interference of waves emitted from a piezoelectric transducer and consequently reflected from a borosilicate glass coverslip. The suspended K562 erythroleukemia cells were transfected by polyethyleneimine (PEI)/DNA complexes with and without exposure to 1-MHz USWF for 5 min. During USWF exposure, K562 cells moved to the pressure nodal planes first and formed cell bands by the primary radiation force. Nanometer-sized PEI/DNA complexes, circulated between nodal planes by acoustic microstreaming, then used the cell agglomerates as the nucleating sites on which to attach. After incubation at 37 degrees C for 48 h, the efficiency of nonviral transfection based on EGFP transgene expression was determined by fluorescent microscopy and fluorometry. Both studies showed that USWF brought suspended K562 cells and PEI/DNA complexes into close contact at the pressure nodal planes, yielding an approximately 10-fold increment of EGFP transgene expression compared with the group without ultrasonic treatment.

  5. A reliable method for spectrophotometric determination of glycine betaine in cell suspension and other systems.

    PubMed

    Valadez-Bustos, Ma Guadalupe; Aguado-Santacruz, Gerardo Armando; Tiessen-Favier, Axel; Robledo-Paz, Alejandrina; Muñoz-Orozco, Abel; Rascón-Cruz, Quintin; Santacruz-Varela, Amalio

    2016-04-01

    Glycine betaine is a quaternary ammonium compound that accumulates in a large variety of species in response to different types of stress. Glycine betaine counteracts adverse effects caused by abiotic factors, preventing the denaturation and inactivation of proteins. Thus, its determination is important, particularly for scientists focused on relating structural, biochemical, physiological, and/or molecular responses to plant water status. In the current work, we optimized the periodide technique for the determination of glycine betaine levels. This modification permitted large numbers of samples taken from a chlorophyllic cell line of the grass Bouteloua gracilis to be analyzed. Growth kinetics were assessed using the chlorophyllic suspension to determine glycine betaine levels in control (no stress) cells and cells osmotically stressed with 14 or 21% polyethylene glycol 8000. After glycine extraction, different wavelengths and reading times were evaluated in a spectrophotometer to determine the optimal quantification conditions for this osmolyte. Optimal results were obtained when readings were taken at a wavelength of 290 nm at 48 h after dissolving glycine betaine crystals in dichloroethane. We expect this modification to provide a simple, rapid, reliable, and cheap method for glycine betaine determination in plant samples and cell suspension cultures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Enhanced production of phenolic acids in cell suspension culture of Salvia leriifolia Benth. using growth regulators and sucrose.

    PubMed

    Modarres, Masoomeh; Esmaeilzadeh Bahabadi, Sedigheh; Taghavizadeh Yazdi, Mohammad Ehsan

    2018-04-01

    Salvia leriifolia Benth. (Lamiaceae) is an endangered medicinal plant with hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Many of the beneficial effects of Salvia spp. are attributed to the phenolic compounds. In the present study, an efficient procedure has been developed for establishment of cell suspension culture of S. leriifolia as a strategy to obtain an in vitro phenolic acids producing cell line for the first time. The effect of growth regulators and various concentrations of sucrose have been analyzed, to optimize biomass growth and phenolic acids production. The callus used for this purpose was obtained from leaves of 15-day-old in vitro seedlings, on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with different hormone balances including benzylaminopurine (BAP) and indole butyric acid (IBA); 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and kinetin (KIN); naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and BAP. Modified MS medium supplemented with 5 mg/L BAP and 5 mg/L NAA was the optimal condition for callus formation with the highest induction rate (100%), the best callus growth and the highest phenolic acids content. No callus induction was observed in combinations of IBA and BAP. Cell suspension cultures were established by transferring 0.5 g of callus to 30 mL liquid MS medium supplemented with 5 mg/L BAP and 5 mg/L NAA. Dynamics of phenolic acids production has been investigated during the growth cycle of the suspension cultures. The maximum content of caffeic acid and salvianolic acid B were observed on the 15th day of the cultivation cycle while the highest amount of rosmarinic acid was observed on the first day. In response to various sucrose concentrations, cell cultures with 40 g/L sucrose not only produced the highest dry biomass but also the highest induction of caffeic acid and salvianolic acid B. The highest amount of rosmarinic acid was observed in media containing 50 g/L sucrose. These prepared cell suspension cultures provided a useful

  7. Biochemical precursor effects on the fatty acid production in cell suspension cultures of Theobroma cacao L.

    PubMed

    Parra, O; Gallego, A M; Urrea, A; Rojas, L F; Correa, C; Atehortúa, L

    2017-02-01

    Cocoa butter (CB) is composed of 96% palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic fatty acids that are responsible for the hardness, texture and fusion properties of chocolate. Through in vitro plant cell culture it is possible to modify CB lipid profiles and to study the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway on a subcellular level, evaluating fundamental aspects to enhance in vitro fatty acid production in a specific and controlled way. In this research, culture media was supplemented with acetate, biotin, pyruvate, bicarbonate and glycerol at three different concentrations and the effects on the biomass production (g/L), cell viability, and fatty acids profile and production was evaluated in in vitro cell suspensions culture. It was found that biotin stimulated fatty acid synthesis without altering cell viability and cell growth. It was also evident a change in the lipid profile of cell suspensions, increasing middle and long chain fatty acids proportion, which are unusual to those reported in seeds; thus implying that it is possible to modify lipid profiles according to the treatment used. According to the results of sucrose gradients and enzyme assays performed, it is proposed that cacao cells probably use the pentose phosphate pathway, mitochondria being the key organelle in the carbon flux for the synthesis of reductant power and fatty acid precursors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  8. Impedance spectroscopy assisted by magnetic nanoparticles as a potential biosensor principle for breast cancer cells in suspension.

    PubMed

    Silva, Jesús G; Cárdenas, Rey A; Quiróz, Alan R; Sánchez, Virginia; Lozano, Lucila M; Pérez, Nadia M; López, Jaime; Villanueva, Cleva; González, César A

    2014-06-01

    Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide, with a higher mortality reported in undeveloped countries. Ideal adjuvant therapeutic strategies require the continuous monitoring of patients by regular blood tests to detect circulating cancer cells, in order to determine whether additional treatment is necessary to prevent cancer dissemination. This circumstance requires a non-complex design of tumor cell biosensor in whole blood with feasibility for use in poor regions. In this work we have evaluated an inexpensive and simple technique of relative bioimpedance measurement, assisted by magnetic nanoparticles, as a potential biosensor of BC cells in suspension. Measurements represent the relative impedance changes caused by the magnetic holding of an interphase of tumor cells versus a homogenous condition in the frequency range of 10-100 kHz. The results indicate that use of a magnet to separate tumor cells in suspension, coupled to magnetic nanoparticles, is a feasible technique to fix an interphase of tumor cells in close proximity to gold electrodes. Relative impedance changes were shown to have potential value as a biosensor method for BC cells in whole blood, at frequencies around 20 kHz. Additional studies are warranted with respect to electrode design and sensitivity at micro-scale levels, according to the proposed technique.

  9. Changes in Cell Wall Properties Coincide with Overexpression of Extensin Fusion Proteins in Suspension Cultured Tobacco Cells

    DOE PAGES

    Tan, Li; Pu, Yunqiao; Pattathil, Sivakumar; ...

    2014-12-23

    Extensins are one subfamily of the cell wall hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins, containing characteristic SerHyp4 glycosylation motifs and intermolecular cross-linking motifs such as the TyrXaaTyr sequence. Extensins are believed to form a cross-linked network in the plant cell wall through the tyrosine-derivatives isodityrosine, pulcherosine, and di-isodityrosine. Overexpression of three synthetic genes encoding different elastin-arabinogalactan protein-extensin hybrids in tobacco suspension cultured cells yielded novel cross-linking glycoproteins that shared features of the extensins, arabinogalactan proteins and elastin. The cell wall properties of the three transgenic cell lines were all changed, but in different ways. One transgenic cell line showed decreased cellulose crystallinity and increasedmore » wall xyloglucan content; the second transgenic cell line contained dramatically increased hydration capacity and notably increased cell wall biomass, increased di-isodityrosine, and increased protein content; the third transgenic cell line displayed wall phenotypes similar to wild type cells, except changed xyloglucan epitope extractability. In conclusion, these data indicate that overexpression of modified extensins may be a route to engineer plants for bioenergy and biomaterial production.« less

  10. Changes in cell wall properties coincide with overexpression of extensin fusion proteins in suspension cultured tobacco cells.

    PubMed

    Tan, Li; Pu, Yunqiao; Pattathil, Sivakumar; Avci, Utku; Qian, Jin; Arter, Allison; Chen, Liwei; Hahn, Michael G; Ragauskas, Arthur J; Kieliszewski, Marcia J

    2014-01-01

    Extensins are one subfamily of the cell wall hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins, containing characteristic SerHyp4 glycosylation motifs and intermolecular cross-linking motifs such as the TyrXaaTyr sequence. Extensins are believed to form a cross-linked network in the plant cell wall through the tyrosine-derivatives isodityrosine, pulcherosine, and di-isodityrosine. Overexpression of three synthetic genes encoding different elastin-arabinogalactan protein-extensin hybrids in tobacco suspension cultured cells yielded novel cross-linking glycoproteins that shared features of the extensins, arabinogalactan proteins and elastin. The cell wall properties of the three transgenic cell lines were all changed, but in different ways. One transgenic cell line showed decreased cellulose crystallinity and increased wall xyloglucan content; the second transgenic cell line contained dramatically increased hydration capacity and notably increased cell wall biomass, increased di-isodityrosine, and increased protein content; the third transgenic cell line displayed wall phenotypes similar to wild type cells, except changed xyloglucan epitope extractability. These data indicate that overexpression of modified extensins may be a route to engineer plants for bioenergy and biomaterial production.

  11. Aqueous extract of Taxus chinensis (Pilger) Rehd inhibits lung carcinoma A549 cells through the epidermal growth factor receptor/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in vitro and in vivo.

    PubMed

    Shu, Qijin; Shen, Minhe; Wang, Binbin; Cui, Qingli; Zhou, Xiaoying; Zhu, Luming

    2014-06-01

    To explore the anticancer mechanism of aqueous extract of Taxus Chinensis (Pilger) Rehd (AETC). The serum pharmacological method was used to avoid interference from administration of the crude medicinal herbs. Eight purebred New Zealand rabbits were used for preparation of serum containing various concentrations of AETC. Forty-eight Balb/c-nu mice were used for in vivo experiments. The effects of serum containing AETC on the proliferation of A549 cells and expression levels of the epidermal growth factor receptor/mitogen-activated protein kinase (EGFR/MAPK) pathway-related proteins in vitro were investigated. Additionally, the effects on the growth of A549 xenografts in nude mice, and expression levels of the EGFR/MAPK pathway-related proteins in the xenografts, were investigated. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay revealed that the serum containing AETC significantly decreased the viability of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Western blot showed that the serum containing various concentrations of AETC strongly reduced the levels of phospho-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK) and phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinasel/2 (ERK1/2) while it increased the level of p-p38. However, no significant effects on the expression levels of JNK, ERK1/2, and p38 MAPK were found. In addition, an anticancer effect from AETC was observed in vivo in the Balb/c-nu mice bearing A549 xenografts. AETC has significant effects on the growth of A549 xenografts and on the activity of the EGFR/MAPK pathway. Therefore, AETC may be beneficial in lung carcinoma treatment.

  12. Manipulation of culture strategies to enhance capsaicin biosynthesis in suspension and immobilized cell cultures of Capsicum chinense Jacq. cv. Naga King Chili.

    PubMed

    Kehie, Mechuselie; Kumaria, Suman; Tandon, Pramod

    2014-06-01

    Manipulation of culture strategies was adopted to study the influence of nutrient stress, pH stress and precursor feeding on the biosynthesis of capsaicin in suspension and immobilized cell cultures of C. chinense. Cells cultured in the absence of one of the four nutrients (ammonium and potassium nitrate for nitrate and potassium stress, potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate for phosphorus stress, and sucrose for sugar stress) influenced the accumulation of capsaicin. Among the stress factors studied, nitrate stress showed maximal capsaicin production on day 20 (505.9 ± 2.8 μg g(-1) f.wt) in immobilized cell, whereas in suspension cultures the maximum accumulation (345.5 ± 2.9 μg g(-1) f.wt) was obtained on day 10. Different pH affected capsaicin accumulation; enhanced accumulation of capsaicin (261.6 ± 3.4 μg g(-1) f.wt) was observed in suspension cultures at pH 6 on day 15, whereas in case of immobilized cultures the highest capsaicin content (433.3 ± 3.3 μg g(-1) f.wt) was obtained at pH 5 on day 10. Addition of capsaicin precursors and intermediates significantly enhanced the biosynthesis of capsaicin, incorporation of vanillin at 100 μM in both suspension and immobilized cell cultures resulted in maximum capsaicin content with 499.1 ± 5.5 μg g(-1) f.wt on day 20 and 1,315.3 ± 10 μg g(-1) f.wt on day 10, respectively. Among the different culture strategies adopted to enhance capsaicin biosynthesis in cell cultures of C. chinense, cells fed with vanillin resulted in the maximum capsaicin accumulation. The rate of capsaicin production was significantly higher in immobilized cells as compared to freely suspended cells.

  13. Single cell dual adherent-suspension co-culture micro-environment for studying tumor-stromal interactions with functionally selected cancer stem-like cells.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yu-Chih; Zhang, Zhixiong; Fouladdel, Shamileh; Deol, Yadwinder; Ingram, Patrick N; McDermott, Sean P; Azizi, Ebrahim; Wicha, Max S; Yoon, Euisik

    2016-08-07

    Considerable evidence suggests that cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) are critical in tumor pathogenesis, but their rarity and transience has led to much controversy about their exact nature. Although CSCs can be functionally identified using dish-based tumorsphere assays, it is difficult to handle and monitor single cells in dish-based approaches; single cell-based microfluidic approaches offer better control and reliable single cell derived sphere formation. However, like normal stem cells, CSCs are heavily regulated by their microenvironment, requiring tumor-stromal interactions for tumorigenic and proliferative behaviors. To enable single cell derived tumorsphere formation within a stromal microenvironment, we present a dual adherent/suspension co-culture device, which combines a suspension environment for single-cell tumorsphere assays and an adherent environment for co-culturing stromal cells in close proximity by selectively patterning polyHEMA in indented microwells. By minimizing dead volume and improving cell capture efficiency, the presented platform allows for the use of small numbers of cells (<100 cells). As a proof of concept, we co-cultured single T47D (breast cancer) cells and primary cancer associated fibroblasts (CAF) on-chip for 14 days to monitor sphere formation and growth. Compared to mono-culture, co-cultured T47D have higher tumorigenic potential (sphere formation rate) and proliferation rates (larger sphere size). Furthermore, 96-multiplexed single-cell transcriptome analyses were performed to compare the gene expression of co-cultured and mono-cultured T47D cells. Phenotypic changes observed in co-culture correlated with expression changes in genes associated with proliferation, apoptotic suppression, tumorigenicity and even epithelial-to-mesechymal transition. Combining the presented platform with single cell transcriptome analysis, we successfully identified functional CSCs and investigated the phenotypic and transcriptome effects induced

  14. Rotary orbital suspension culture of embryonic stem cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cells: impact of hydrodynamic culture on aggregate yield, morphology and cell phenotype.

    PubMed

    Laundos, Tiago L; Silva, Joana; Assunção, Marisa; Quelhas, Pedro; Monteiro, Cátia; Oliveira, Carla; Oliveira, Maria J; Pêgo, Ana P; Amaral, Isabel F

    2017-08-01

    Embryonic stem (ES)-derived neural stem/progenitor cells (ES-NSPCs) constitute a promising cell source for application in cell therapies for the treatment of central nervous system disorders. In this study, a rotary orbital hydrodynamic culture system was applied to single-cell suspensions of ES-NSPCs, to obtain homogeneously-sized ES-NSPC cellular aggregates (neurospheres). Hydrodynamic culture allowed the formation of ES-NSPC neurospheres with a narrower size distribution than statically cultured neurospheres, increasing orbital speeds leading to smaller-sized neurospheres and higher neurosphere yield. Neurospheres formed under hydrodynamic conditions (72 h at 55 rpm) showed higher cell compaction and comparable percentages of viable, dead, apoptotic and proliferative cells. Further characterization of cellular aggregates provided new insights into the effect of hydrodynamic shear on ES-NSPC behaviour. Rotary neurospheres exhibited reduced protein levels of N-cadherin and β-catenin, and higher deposition of laminin (without impacting fibronectin deposition), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) activity and percentage of neuronal cells. In line with the increased MMP-2 activity levels found, hydrodynamically-cultured neurospheres showed higher outward migration on laminin. Moreover, when cultured in a 3D fibrin hydrogel, rotary neurospheres generated an increased percentage of neuronal cells. In conclusion, the application of a constant orbital speed to single-cell suspensions of ES-NSPCs, besides allowing the formation of homogeneously-sized neurospheres, promoted ES-NSPC differentiation and outward migration, possibly by influencing the expression of cell-cell adhesion molecules and the secretion of proteases/extracellular matrix proteins. These findings are important when establishing the culture conditions needed to obtain uniformly-sized ES-NSPC aggregates, either for use in regenerative therapies or in in vitro platforms for biomaterial development or

  15. A nitric oxide burst precedes apoptosis in angiosperm and gymnosperm callus cells and foliar tissues.

    PubMed

    Pedroso, M C; Magalhaes, J R; Durzan, D

    2000-06-01

    Leaves and callus of Kalanchoë daigremontiana and Taxus brevifolia were used to investigate nitric oxide-induced apoptosis in plant cells. The effect of nitric oxide (NO) was studied by using a NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a nitric oxide-synthase (NOS) inhibitor, N:(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (NMMA), and centrifugation (an apoptosis-inducing treatment in these species). NO production was visualized in cells and tissues with a specific probe, diaminofluorescein diacetate (DAF-2 DA). DNA fragmentation was detected in situ by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) method. In both species, NO was detected diffused in the cytosol of epidermal cells and in chloroplasts of guard cells and leaf parenchyma cells. Centrifugation increased NO production, DNA fragmentation and subsequent cell death by apoptosis. SNP mimicked centrifugation results. NMMA significantly decreased NO production and apoptosis in both species. The inhibitory effect of NMMA on NO production suggests that a putative NOS is present in Kalanchoë and Taxus cells. The present results demonstrated the involvement of NO on DNA damage leading to cell death, and point to a potential role of NO as a signal molecule in these plants.

  16. Brefeldin A, a cytotoxin produced by Paecilomyces sp. and Aspergillus clavatus isolated from Taxus mairei and Torreya grandis.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jianfeng; Huang, Yaojian; Fang, Meijuan; Zhang, Yongjie; Zheng, Zhonghui; Zhao, Yufen; Su, Wenjin

    2002-09-06

    Paecilomyces sp. and Aspergillus clavatus, which were isolated from Taxus mairei and Torreya grandis from southeast China, produced toxic metabolites when grown in liquid culture. Nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, infrared spectrometry, electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy and X-ray analysis identified brefeldin A, a bioactive metabolite produced by a number of fungal species belonging to the genera Alternaria, Ascochyta, Penicillium, Curvularia, Cercospora and Phyllosticta. This is the first report of the isolation of the cytotoxin from Paecilomyces sp. and A. clavatus. The relevance of brefeldin A to the association between these fungi and their host plants is discussed. Copyright 2002 Federation of European Microbiological Societies

  17. Evaluation of treatment response to autologous transplantation of noncultured melanocyte/keratinocyte cell suspension in patients with stable vitiligo.

    PubMed

    Ramos, Mariana Gontijo; Ramos, Daniel Gontijo; Ramos, Camila Gontijo

    2017-01-01

    Vitiligo is a chronic disease characterized by the appearance of achromic macules caused by melanocyte destruction. Surgical treatments with melanocyte transplantation can be used for stable vitiligo cases. To evaluate treatment response to the autologous transplantation of noncultured epidermal cell suspension in patients with stable vitiligo. Case series study in patients with stable vitiligo submitted to noncultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation and evaluated at least once, between 3 and 6 months after the procedure, to observe repigmentation and possible adverse effects. The maximum follow-up period for some patients was 24 months. Of the 20 patients who underwent 24 procedures, 25% showed an excellent rate of repigmentation, 50% good repigmentation, 15% regular, and 10% poor response. The best results were observed in face and neck lesions, while the worst in extremity lesions (88% and 33% of satisfactory responses, respectively). Patients with segmental vitiligo had a better response (84%) compared to non-segmental ones (63%). As side effects were observed hyperpigmentation of the treated area and the appearance of Koebner phenomenon in the donor area. Some limitations of the study included the small number of patients, a subjective evaluation, and the lack of long-term follow-up on the results. CONCLUSION: Noncultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation is efficient and well tolerated for stable vitiligo treatment, especially for segmental vitiligo on the face and neck.

  18. Photomixing of chlamydomonas rheinhardtii suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dervaux, Julien; Capellazzi Resta, Marina; Abou, Bérengère; Brunet, Philippe

    2014-11-01

    Chlamydomonas rheinhardtii is a fast swimming unicellular alga able to bias its swimming direction in gradients of light intensity, an ability know as phototaxis. We have investigated experimentally both the swimming behavior of individual cells and the macroscopic response of shallow suspensions of these micro-organisms in response to a localized light source. At low light intensity, algae exhibit positive phototaxis and accumulate beneath the excitation light. In weakly concentrated thin layers, the balance between phototaxis and cell motility results in steady symmetrical patterns compatible with a purely diffusive model using effective diffusion coefficients extracted from the analysis of individual cell trajectories. However, at higher cell density and layer depth, collective effects induce convective flows around the light source. These flows disturb the cell concentration patterns which spread and may then becomes unstable. Using large passive tracer particles, we have characterized the velocity fields associated with this forced bioconvection and their dependence on the cell density and layer depth. By tuning the light distribution, this mechanism of photo-bioconvection allows a fine control over the local fluid flows, and thus the mixing efficiency, in algal suspensions.

  19. High-level production of human interleukin-10 fusions in tobacco cell suspension cultures

    PubMed Central

    Kaldis, Angelo; Ahmad, Adil; Reid, Alexandra; McGarvey, Brian; Brandle, Jim; Ma, Shengwu; Jevnikar, Anthony; Kohalmi, Susanne E; Menassa, Rima

    2013-01-01

    The production of pharmaceutical proteins in plants has made much progress in recent years with the development of transient expression systems, transplastomic technology and humanizing glycosylation patterns in plants. However, the first therapeutic proteins approved for administration to humans and animals were made in plant cell suspensions for reasons of containment, rapid scale-up and lack of toxic contaminants. In this study, we have investigated the production of human interleukin-10 (IL-10) in tobacco BY-2 cell suspension and evaluated the effect of an elastin-like polypeptide tag (ELP) and a green fluorescent protein (GFP) tag on IL-10 accumulation. We report the highest accumulation levels of hIL-10 obtained with any stable plant expression system using the ELP fusion strategy. Although IL-10-ELP has cytokine activity, its activity is reduced compared to unfused IL-10, likely caused by interference of ELP with folding of IL-10. Green fluorescent protein has no effect on IL-10 accumulation, but examining the trafficking of IL-10-GFP over the cell culture cycle revealed fluorescence in the vacuole during the stationary phase of the culture growth cycle. Analysis of isolated vacuoles indicated that GFP alone is found in vacuoles, while the full-size fusion remains in the whole-cell extract. This indicates that GFP is cleaved off prior to its trafficking to the vacuole. On the other hand, IL-10-GFP-ELP remains mostly in the ER and accumulates to high levels. Protein bodies were observed at the end of the culture cycle and are thought to arise as a consequence of high levels of accumulation in the ER. PMID:23297698

  20. Effects of flame made zinc oxide particles in human lung cells - a comparison of aerosol and suspension exposures

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Predominantly, studies of nanoparticle (NPs) toxicology in vitro are based upon the exposure of submerged cell cultures to particle suspensions. Such an approach however, does not reflect particle inhalation. As a more realistic simulation of such a scenario, efforts were made towards direct delivery of aerosols to air-liquid-interface cultivated cell cultures by the use of aerosol exposure systems. This study aims to provide a direct comparison of the effects of zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs when delivered as either an aerosol, or in suspension to a triple cell co-culture model of the epithelial airway barrier. To ensure dose–equivalence, ZnO-deposition was determined in each exposure scenario by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Biological endpoints being investigated after 4 or 24h incubation include cytotoxicity, total reduced glutathione, induction of antioxidative genes such as heme-oxygenase 1 (HO–1) as well as the release of the (pro)-inflammatory cytokine TNFα. Results Off-gases released as by-product of flame ZnO synthesis caused a significant decrease of total reduced GSH and induced further the release of the cytokine TNFα, demonstrating the influence of the gas phase on aerosol toxicology. No direct effects could be attributed to ZnO particles. By performing suspension exposure to avoid the factor “flame-gases”, particle specific effects become apparent. Other parameters such as LDH and HO–1 were not influenced by gaseous compounds: Following aerosol exposure, LDH levels appeared elevated at both timepoints and the HO–1 transcript correlated positively with deposited ZnO-dose. Under submerged conditions, the HO–1 induction scheme deviated for 4 and 24h and increased extracellular LDH was found following 24h exposure. Conclusion In the current study, aerosol and suspension-exposure has been compared by exposing cell cultures to equivalent amounts of ZnO. Both exposure strategies differ fundamentally in their dose–response pattern

  1. Elicitation of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) cell suspension culture for enhancement of inulin production and altered degree of polymerisation.

    PubMed

    Ma, Chunquan; Zhou, Dong; Wang, Haitao; Han, Dongming; Wang, Yang; Yan, Xiufeng

    2017-01-01

    Plant cell suspension cultures have emerged as a potential source of secondary metabolites for food additives and pharmaceuticals. In this study inulin accumulation and its degree of polymerisation (DP) in the treated cells in the same medium were investigated after treatment with six types of elicitors. An in vitro cell suspension culture of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) was optimised by adding an extra nitrogen source. According to the growth kinetics, a maximum biomass of 5.48 g L -1 was obtained from the optimal cell suspension medium consisted of Murashige and Skoog basic medium (MS) + 1.0 mg L -1 α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) + 1.0 mg L -1 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA) + 0.5 mg L -1 proline + 1.0 mg L -1 glutamine. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA, 250 µmol L -1 ) treatment for 15 days led to the highest levels of inulin (2955.27 ± 9.81 mg L -1 compared to control of 1217.46 ± 0.26 mg L -1 ). The elicited effect of five elicitors to the suspension cells of Jerusalem artichoke is as follows: AgNO 3 (Ag, 10 µmol L -1 ), salicylic acid (SA, 75 µmol L -1 ), chitosan (KJT, 40 mg L -1 ), Trichoderma viride (Tv, 90 mg L -1 ), yeast extract (YE, 0.25 mg L -1 ), and the corresponding content of inulin is increased by 2.05-, 1.93-, 1.76-, 1.44- and 1.18-fold compared to control, respectively. The obvious effect on the percentage of lower DP in inulin was observed in cells treated with 40 mg L -1 KJT, 0.25 mg L -1 YE and 10 µmol L -1 Ag. Among the six types of elicitors, the descending order of inulin content is MeJA > Ag > SA > KJT > Tv > YE. For the purpose inulin with lower DP and its application to prebiotic food, three elicitors, including KJT, YE and Ag, can be used for the elicitation. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  2. Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Differential Responses of Pinus massoniana and Taxus wallichiana var. mairei to Simulated Acid Rain

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Wen-Jun; Chen, Juan; Liu, Ting-Wu; Simon, Martin; Wang, Wen-Hua; Chen, Juan; Wu, Fei-Hua; Liu, Xiang; Shen, Zhi-Jun; Zheng, Hai-Lei

    2014-01-01

    Acid rain (AR), a serious environmental issue, severely affects plant growth and development. As the gymnosperms of conifer woody plants, Pinus massoniana (AR-sensitive) and Taxus wallichiana var. mairei (AR-resistant) are widely distributed in southern China. Under AR stress, significant necrosis and collapsed lesions were found in P. massoniana needles with remarkable yellowing and wilting tips, whereas T. wallichiana var. mairei did not exhibit chlorosis and visible damage. Due to the activation of a large number of stress-related genes and the synthesis of various functional proteins to counteract AR stress, it is important to study the differences in AR-tolerance mechanisms by comparative proteomic analysis of tolerant and sensitive species. This study revealed a total of 65 and 26 differentially expressed proteins that were identified in P. massoniana and T. wallichiana var. mairei, respectively. Among them, proteins involved in metabolism, photosynthesis, signal transduction and transcription were drastically down-regulated in P. massoniana, whereas most of the proteins participating in metabolism, cell structure, photosynthesis and transcription were increased in T. wallichiana var. mairei. These results suggest the distinct patterns of protein expression in the two woody species in response to AR, allowing a deeper understanding of diversity on AR tolerance in forest tree species. PMID:24625662

  3. Rapid 3D Refractive‐Index Imaging of Live Cells in Suspension without Labeling Using Dielectrophoretic Cell Rotation

    PubMed Central

    Habaza, Mor; Kirschbaum, Michael; Guernth‐Marschner, Christian; Dardikman, Gili; Barnea, Itay; Korenstein, Rafi; Duschl, Claus

    2016-01-01

    A major challenge in the field of optical imaging of live cells is achieving rapid, 3D, and noninvasive imaging of isolated cells without labeling. If successful, many clinical procedures involving analysis and sorting of cells drawn from body fluids, including blood, can be significantly improved. A new label‐free tomographic interferometry approach is presented. This approach provides rapid capturing of the 3D refractive‐index distribution of single cells in suspension. The cells flow in a microfluidic channel, are trapped, and then rapidly rotated by dielectrophoretic forces in a noninvasive and precise manner. Interferometric projections of the rotated cell are acquired and processed into the cellular 3D refractive‐index map. Uniquely, this approach provides full (360°) coverage of the rotation angular range around any axis, and knowledge on the viewing angle. The experimental demonstrations presented include 3D, label‐free imaging of cancer cells and three types of white blood cells. This approach is expected to be useful for label‐free cell sorting, as well as for detection and monitoring of pathological conditions resulting in cellular morphology changes or occurrence of specific cell types in blood or other body fluids. PMID:28251046

  4. The acoustic sensor for rapid analysis of bacterial cells in the conductive suspensions.

    PubMed

    Borodina, I A; Zaitsev, B D; Guliy, O; Teplykh, A A; Shikhabudinov, A M

    2017-11-01

    The possibility of using the acoustic sensor on the basis of a two-channel delay line for rapid analysis of bacterial cells in the conductive suspensions was investigated. The dependencies of change in phase and insertion loss of output signal of the sensor on conductivity of buffer solution with various concentrations of cells due to a specific interaction "bacterial cells - mini-antibodies" for electrically open and electrically shorted channels of delay line were measured. It has been found that these changes have the most values for the electrically open channel. It has been also shown that the sensor rapidly responds to the specific interaction and the time stabilization of the phase and insertion loss of output signal is less than 10min. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Administrative license suspension: Does length of suspension matter?

    PubMed

    Fell, James C; Scherer, Michael

    2017-08-18

    Administrative license revocation (ALR) laws, which provide that the license of a driver with a blood alcohol concentration at or over the illegal limit is subject to an immediate suspension by the state department of motor vehicles, are an example of a traffic law in which the sanction rapidly follows the offense. The power of ALR laws has been attributed to how swiftly the sanction is applied, but does the length of suspension matter? Our objectives were to (a) determine the relationship of the ALR suspension length to the prevalence of drinking drivers relative to sober drivers in fatal crashes and (b) estimate the extent to which the relationship is associated to the general deterrent effect compared to the specific deterrent effect of the law. Data comparing the impact of ALR law implementation and ALR law suspension periods were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques on the ratio of drinking drivers to nondrinking drivers in fatal crashes from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). States with an ALR law with a short suspension period (1-30 days) had a significantly lower drinking driver ratio than states with no ALR law. States with a suspension period of 91-180 days had significantly lower ratios than states with shorter suspension periods, while the three states with suspension lengths of 181 days or longer had significantly lower ratios than states with shorter suspension periods. The implementation of any ALR law was associated with a 13.1% decrease in the drinking/nondrinking driver fatal crash ratio but only a 1.8% decrease in the intoxicated/nonintoxicated fatal crash ratio. The ALR laws and suspension lengths had a significant general deterrent effect, but no specific deterrent effect. States might want to keep (or adopt) ALR laws for their general deterrent effects and pursue alternatives for specific deterrent effects. States with short ALR suspension periods should consider lengthening them to 91 days or longer.

  6. Transgenic Russian wildrye (Psathyrostachys juncea) plants obtained by biolistic transformation of embryogenic suspension cells.

    PubMed

    Wang, Z-Y; Bell, J; Lehmann, D

    2004-07-01

    Russian wildrye (Psathyrostachys juncea (Fisch.) Nevski) is a cool-season forage species well adapted to semi-arid climates. We are interested in developing biotechnological methods to improve this monocot forage species. Single genotype-derived embryogenic suspension cultures were established from the Russian wildrye cultivar Bozoisky-Select, and were used as target cells for biolistic transformation. A chimeric hygromycin phosphotransferase gene (hph) was used as the selectable marker, and a chimeric beta-glucuronidase (gusA) gene was co-transformed with hph. Resistant calli were obtained from 29% of the bombarded dishes after selection with 200 mg/l hygromycin. Plants were regenerated from 45% of the hygromycin resistant calli. Thirty-six transgenic Russian wildrye plants were recovered after microprojectile bombardment of suspension cells and subsequent hygromycin selection. The transgenic nature of the regenerated plants was demonstrated by Southern hybridization analysis using undigested and digested genomic DNA samples. When a second gene (gusA) was co-transformed with hph, a reasonably high co-transformation frequency of 78% was observed. Transgenic expression of gusA was confirmed by GUS staining of shoot and leaf tissues. Fertile transgenic plants were obtained after two winters of vernalization under field conditions. This is the first report on the generation of transgenic plants in Russian wildrye.

  7. Characterization of metal-supported axial injection plasma sprayed solid oxide fuel cells with aqueous suspension plasma sprayed electrolyte layers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Waldbillig, D.; Kesler, O.

    A method for manufacturing metal-supported SOFCs with atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) is presented, making use of aqueous suspension feedstock for the electrolyte layer and dry powder feedstock for the anode and cathode layers. The cathode layer was deposited first directly onto a metal support, in order to minimize contact resistance, and to allow the introduction of added porosity. The electrolyte layers produced by suspension plasma spraying (SPS) were characterized in terms of thickness, permeability, and microstructure, and the impact of substrate morphology on electrolyte properties was investigated. Fuel cells produced by APS were electrochemically tested at temperatures ranging from 650 to 750 °C. The substrate morphology had little effect on open circuit voltage, but substrates with finer porosity resulted in lower kinetic losses in the fuel cell polarization.

  8. Iron Induction of Ferritin Synthesis in Soybean Cell Suspensions

    PubMed Central

    Proudhon, Dominique; Briat, Jean-François; Lescure, Anne-Marie

    1989-01-01

    In animal cells specialized for iron storage, iron-induced accumulation of ferritin is known to result from a shift of stored mRNA from the ribonucleoprotein fraction to polysomes. Previous reports with bean leaves suggested that in plants iron induction of ferritin synthesis would result from a regulation at the transcriptional level (F van der Mark, F Bienfait, H van der Ende [1983] Biochem Biophys Res Commun 115:463-469). Soybean (Glycine max, cv Mandarin) cell suspension cultures have been used here to support these findings. Ferritin induction is obtained by addition of Fe-citrate to the culture medium. A good correlation is found between cellular iron content and the amount of ferritin accumulation. This protein accumulation corresponds to an increase of in vitro translatable ferritin mRNA. Addition of 4 micrograms actinomycin D per milliliter to the cultures inhibits completely in vivo RNA synthesis, whereas protein synthesis was poorly affected, at least for 24 hours. During the same time, this concentration of actinomycin D strongly inhibits the iron-induced synthesis of ferritin. These results show that in soybean cell cultures, the mechanism of regulation of ferritin synthesis in response to iron does not result from recruitment of preexisting mRNA. They confirm that in plant systems, ferritin synthesis results from increased transcription of the corresponding genes. Images Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 5 PMID:16666812

  9. Iron induction of ferritin synthesis in soybean cell suspensions.

    PubMed

    Proudhon, D; Briat, J F; Lescure, A M

    1989-06-01

    In animal cells specialized for iron storage, iron-induced accumulation of ferritin is known to result from a shift of stored mRNA from the ribonucleoprotein fraction to polysomes. Previous reports with bean leaves suggested that in plants iron induction of ferritin synthesis would result from a regulation at the transcriptional level (F van der Mark, F Bienfait, H van der Ende [1983] Biochem Biophys Res Commun 115:463-469). Soybean (Glycine max, cv Mandarin) cell suspension cultures have been used here to support these findings. Ferritin induction is obtained by addition of Fe-citrate to the culture medium. A good correlation is found between cellular iron content and the amount of ferritin accumulation. This protein accumulation corresponds to an increase of in vitro translatable ferritin mRNA. Addition of 4 micrograms actinomycin D per milliliter to the cultures inhibits completely in vivo RNA synthesis, whereas protein synthesis was poorly affected, at least for 24 hours. During the same time, this concentration of actinomycin D strongly inhibits the iron-induced synthesis of ferritin. These results show that in soybean cell cultures, the mechanism of regulation of ferritin synthesis in response to iron does not result from recruitment of preexisting mRNA. They confirm that in plant systems, ferritin synthesis results from increased transcription of the corresponding genes.

  10. Fracture in Kaolinite clay suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kosgodagan Acharige, Sebastien; Jerolmack, Douglas J.; Arratia, Paulo E.

    2017-11-01

    Clay minerals are involved in many natural (landslides, river channels) and industrial processes (ceramics, cosmetics, oil recovery). They are plate shaped charged colloids and exhibit different flow properties than simpler colloids when suspended in a liquid such as thixotropy and shear-banding. kaolinite platelets are non-swelling, meaning that the stacks formed by the platelets do not have water layers, and thus the suspension does not have a sol-gel transition. However, it has been shown that kaolinite suspensions possesses a non-zero yield stress even at low concentrations, indicating that the particles arrange themselves in a structure through attractive interactions. Here, we experimentally investigate the sedimentation of kaolinite suspensions in a Hele-Shaw cell. The sedimentation of these dilute suspensions can display solid behavior like fracture, revealed in cross-polarized light, which is linked to the failure of the weakly-bonded structure (typical yield stress 10-2 Pa). By changing the interaction potential of the particles (by sonication or introducing salts), we show through these sedimentation experiments, how the fracture pattern can be avoided. Research was sponsored by the Army Research Laboratory and was accomplished under Grant Number 569074.

  11. Signal transduction in artichoke [Cynara cardunculus L. subsp. scolymus (L.) Hayek] callus and cell suspension cultures under nutritional stress.

    PubMed

    Lattanzio, Vincenzo; Caretto, Sofia; Linsalata, Vito; Colella, Giovanni; Mita, Giovanni

    2018-06-01

    Stimulated production of secondary phenolic metabolites and proline was studied by using cell cultures of artichoke [Cynara cardunculus L. subsp. scolymus (L.) Hayek] submitted to nutritional stress. Artichoke cell cultures accumulated phenolic secondary metabolites in a pattern similar to that seen in artichoke leaves and heads (capitula). This paper shows that both callus and cell suspension cultures under nutritional stress accumulated phenolic compounds and proline, at the same time their biomass production was negatively affected by nutrient deficiency. The results obtained strongly suggest that plant tissues respond to nutrient deprivation by a defensive costly mechanism, which determines the establishment of a mechanism of trade-off between growth and adaptive response. Furthermore, the results of this research suggest that perception of abiotic stress and increased phenolic metabolites are linked by a sequence of biochemical processes that also involves the intracellular free proline and the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. The main conclusion of this paper is that, once calli and cell suspension cultures respond to nutrient deficiency, in acclimated cells the establishment of a negative correlation between primary metabolism (growth) and secondary metabolism (defence compounds) is observed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  12. Suspension Matrices for Improved Schwann-Cell Survival after Implantation into the Injured Rat Spinal Cord

    PubMed Central

    Patel, Vivek; Joseph, Gravil; Patel, Amit; Patel, Samik; Bustin, Devin; Mawson, David; Tuesta, Luis M.; Puentes, Rocio; Ghosh, Mousumi

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Trauma to the spinal cord produces endogenously irreversible tissue and functional loss, requiring the application of therapeutic approaches to achieve meaningful restoration. Cellular strategies, in particular Schwann-cell implantation, have shown promise in overcoming many of the obstacles facing successful repair of the injured spinal cord. Here, we show that the implantation of Schwann cells as cell suspensions with in-situ gelling laminin:collagen matrices after spinal-cord contusion significantly enhances long-term cell survival but not proliferation, as well as improves graft vascularization and the degree of axonal in-growth over the standard implantation vehicle, minimal media. The use of a matrix to suspend cells prior to implantation should be an important consideration for achieving improved survival and effectiveness of cellular therapies for future clinical application. PMID:20144012

  13. Inactivation of Leishmania donovani infantum and Trypanosoma cruzi in red cell suspensions with thiazole orange.

    PubMed

    Wagner, Stephen J; Skripchenko, Andrey; Salata, Jeanne; O'Sullivan, Anne Marie; Cardo, Lisa J

    2008-07-01

    Methods for pathogen inactivation are currently available in some European countries for treatment of plasma and platelet (PLT) components; no approved method for treatment of red cells (RBCs) or whole blood is ready for implementation. In a previous study, thiazole orange (TO), a dye commonly used to count reticulated RBCs and PLTs, exhibited potent photoactivity against human immunodeficiency virus-1 and several model viruses in RBC suspensions. The aim of this study is to further evaluate the ability of TO to inactivate pathogens by measuring its activity against the protozoa Leishmania donovani infantum and Trypanosoma cruzi. RBC suspensions were deliberately contaminated with L. donovani infantum promastigotes or T. cruzi trypomastigotes and either maintained as an untreated control, incubated with 80 mumol per L TO in the dark, or treated with TO and light. Control and treated samples were inoculated into medium and subsequently microscopically examined for growth. No growth was observed in samples treated with TO in the presence or absence of light, while matched control samples lacking TO and diluted up to 5 log consistently demonstrated Leishmania or T. cruzi growth (n = 3). TO inactivated Leishmania or T. cruzi to the limit of detection in RBC suspensions without intentional illumination.

  14. Transient GFP expression in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia suspension cells: the role of gene silencing, cell death and T-DNA loss.

    PubMed

    Weld, R; Heinemann, J; Eady, C

    2001-03-01

    The transient nature of T-DNA expression was studied with a gfp reporter gene transferred to Nicotiana plumbaginifolia suspension cells from Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Individual GFP-expressing protoplasts were isolated after 4 days' co-cultivation. The protoplasts were cultured without selection and 4 weeks later the surviving proto-calluses were again screened for GFP expression. Of the proto-calluses initially expressing GFP, 50% had lost detectable GFP activity during the first 4 weeks of culture. Multiple T-DNA copies of the gfp gene were detected in 10 of 17 proto-calluses lacking visible GFP activity. The remaining 7 cell lines contained no gfp sequences. Our results confirm that transiently expressed T-DNAs can be lost during growth of somatic cells and demonstrate that transiently expressing cells frequently integrate multiple T-DNAs that become silenced. In cells competent for DNA uptake, cell death and gene silencing were more important barriers to the recovery of stably expressing transformants than lack of T-DNA integration.

  15. Electrical Counting and Sizing of Mammalian Cells in Suspension

    PubMed Central

    Gregg, E. C.; Steidley, K. David

    1965-01-01

    A recently developed method of determining the number and size of particles suspended in a conducting solution is to pump the suspension through a small orifice having an immersed electrode on each side to supply electrical current. The current changes due to the passage of particles of resistivity different from that of the solution. Theoretical expressions are developed which relate the current change caused by such particles to their volume and shape. It is found that most biological cells may be treated as dielectric particles whose capacitive effects are negligible. Electrolytic tank measurements on models confirm the theoretical development, and electric field plots of model orifices are used to predict the observed pulse shapes. An equivalent circuit of the orifice-electrode system is analyzed and shows that the current pulse may be made conductivity-independent when observed with a zero input impedance amplifier. PMID:5861698

  16. In vitro cytotoxic effects of benzalkonium chloride in corticosteroid injection suspension.

    PubMed

    Davis, Daniel; Cyriac, Mathew; Ge, Dongxia; You, Zongbing; Savoie, Felix H

    2010-01-01

    Some deleterious effects on cartilage and even severe arthropathy have been reported after intra-articular corticosteroid injections. The objective of the present in vitro study was to determine if an injectable corticosteroid suspension is toxic to articular chondrocytes and synovial cells. Human and bovine articular chondrocytes, bovine synovial cells, mouse C3H10T1/2 cells, and human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells were treated for thirty minutes in monolayer or suspension culture with an injectable corticosteroid suspension or its chemical components, including betamethasone sodium phosphate, betamethasone acetate, and benzalkonium chloride (as preservative). Cell viability was determined by means of microscopy or flow cytometry analysis. In monolayer culture, the betamethasone corticosteroids per se did not cause cell death, whereas benzalkonium chloride caused death of articular chondrocytes. In suspension culture, betamethasone sodium phosphate at dosages of as high as 6 mg/mL did not cause significant death of human or bovine articular chondrocytes (p > 0.05). In contrast, benzalkonium chloride caused a death rate of 10.6% in human articular chondrocytes at a dosage of 10 microg/mL (p < 0.01), 21.0% at a dosage of 13.3 microg/mL (p < 0.01), and 99.3% and 99.4% at dosages of 20 and 200 microg/mL, respectively (p < 0.001 for both). Similarly, benzalkonium chloride caused death of bovine articular chondrocytes, bovine synovial cells, C3H10T1/2 cells, and MG-63 cells in a dose-dependent manner. When treated with a combination of betamethasone sodium phosphate and 200 microg/mL benzalkonium chloride, >99% of human or bovine articular chondrocytes were dead (p < 0.001). The injectable corticosteroid suspension caused death in in vitro culture of human and bovine articular chondrocytes as well as bovine synovial cells because of its preservative benzalkonium chloride. The betamethasone corticosteroids per se did not cause significant chondrocyte death under the

  17. Plant protein hydrolysates support CHO-320 cells proliferation and recombinant IFN-gamma production in suspension and inside microcarriers in protein-free media.

    PubMed

    Ballez, J S; Mols, J; Burteau, C; Agathos, S N; Schneider, Y J

    2004-03-01

    We have recently developed a protein-free medium (PFS) able to support the growth of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells in suspension. Upon further supplementation with some plant protein hydrolysates, medium performances reached what could be observed in serum-containing media [Burteau et al. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol.-Anim. 39 (2003) 291]. Now, we describe the use of rice and wheat protein hydrolysates, as non-nutritional additives to the culture medium to support productivity and cell growth in suspension or in microcarriers. When CHO-320 cells secreting recombinant interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) were cultivated in suspension in a bioreactor with our PFS supplemented with wheat hydrolysates, the maximum cell density increased by 25% and the IFN-gamma secretion by 60% compared to the control PFS. A small-scale perfusion system consisting of CHO-320 cells growing on and inside fibrous microcarriers under discontinuous operation was first developed. Under these conditions, rice protein hydrolysates stimulated recombinant IFN-gamma secretion by 30% compared to the control PFS. At the bioreactorscale, similar results were obtained but when compared to shake-flasks studies, nutrients, oxygen or toxic by-products gradients inside the microcarriers seemed to be the main limitation of the system. An increase of the perfusion rate to maintain glucose concentration over 5.5 mM and dissolved oxygen (DO) at 60% was able to stimulate the production of IFN-gamma to a level of 6.6 mug h(-1) g(-1) of microcarriers after 160 h when a cellular density of about 4 x 10(8) cell g(-1) of carriers was reached.

  18. Development, characterization, and optimization of a new suspension chicken-induced pluripotent stem cell line for the production of Newcastle disease vaccine

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Traditionally, substrates for production of vaccines have been embryonated eggs or adherent cell culture. The daunting challenge of scaling up these technologies in the face of an outbreak has been a limitation for industrial applicability. Suspension cell lines are better suited in many ways to e...

  19. Suspension culture process for H9N2 avian influenza virus (strain Re-2).

    PubMed

    Wang, Honglin; Guo, Suying; Li, Zhenguang; Xu, Xiaoqin; Shao, Zexiang; Song, Guicai

    2017-10-01

    H9N2 avian influenza virus has caused huge economic loss for the Chinese poultry industry since it was first identified. Vaccination is frequently used as a control method for the disease. Meanwhile suspension culture has become an important tool for the development of influenza vaccines. To optimize the suspension culture conditions for the avian influenza H9N2 virus (Re-2 strain) in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells, we studied the culture conditions for cell growth and proliferation parameters for H9N2 virus replication. MDCK cells were successfully cultured in suspension, from a small scale to industrial levels of production, with passage time and initial cell density being optimized. The influence of pH on the culture process in the reactor has been discussed and the process parameters for industrial production were explored via amplification of the 650L reactor. Subsequently, we cultivated cells at high cell density and harvested high amounts of virus, reaching 10log2 (1:1024). Furthermore an animal experiment was conducted to detect antibody. Compared to the chicken embryo virus vaccine, virus cultured from MDCK suspension cells can produce a higher amount of antibodies. The suspension culture process is simple and cost efficient, thus providing a solid foundation for the realization of large-scale avian influenza vaccine production.

  20. Biostimulation effects of low-energy laser radiation on yeast cell suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anghel, Sorin; Stanescu, Constantin S.; Giosanu, Dana; Neagu, Ionica; Savulescu, Geta; Iorga-Siman, Ion

    2000-02-01

    This paper presents work to determine the effects produced by low energy laser radiation on the metabolism and growth of a yeast cell suspension. As experimental material, we used young yeast culture in liquid medium, then distributed on a solid medium, to obtain isolated colonies. As laser source, we used a He-Ne laser, and the irradiation was made with different exposure times. Form each irradiated material, a sample of white grape sterile must was sowed, that has fermented at 18 divided by 20 degrees C for 10 divided by 15 days, after that some properties was tested. Some microscopic studies were also made. The results prove some influence of low energy laser irradiation, which can induce mutations, with new properties of the irradiated material. These mutations can be obtained in a positive sense, with new and important perspectives in wine industry. Also, we observed an inhibitory effect of the laser radiation on the yeast cell growth, due, probably to the too high values of the exposure.

  1. [Extraction of 10-Deacetyl Baccatin by Supercritical CO2 from Taxus yunnanensis Branches and Leaves].

    PubMed

    Tang, Yang-qin; Li, Hai-chi; Huang, Wen-jie; Xiong, Yan; Ge, Fa-huan

    2015-04-01

    To study the supercritical CO2 fluids extraction (SFE) method to extract the components from Taxus yunnanensis. Medicinal meterials were extracted by supercritical CO2, and then purified by industrial chromatography. Using the extraction yield of 10-DAB as the index,single factor test was carried out to investigate the effect of co-solvent, extraction time, extraction pressure, extraction temperature, pressure and temperature of separation kettle I. Then orthogonal experiment was used to optimize the best extraction condition. The suitable extraction condition was as follows: the ratio of co-solvent (80% ethanol) amount and the madicinal materials was 3: 1, Separation kettle I pressure was 14 MPa, separation kettle I temperature was 40 °C, extraction pressure was 25 MPa, extraction temperature was 60 T and extraction time was 90 min. The extract was separated by industrial chromatographic and then crystallized. The supercritical CO2 extraction and purification process of 10-DAB were simple and feasible.

  2. Transient transfection of serum-free suspension HEK 293 cell culture for efficient production of human rFVIII.

    PubMed

    Swiech, Kamilla; Kamen, Amine; Ansorge, Sven; Durocher, Yves; Picanço-Castro, Virgínia; Russo-Carbolante, Elisa M S; Neto, Mário S A; Covas, Dimas T

    2011-11-24

    Hemophilia A is a bleeding disorder caused by deficiency in coagulation factor VIII. Recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII) is an alternative to plasma-derived FVIII for the treatment of hemophilia A. However, commercial manufacturing of rFVIII products is inefficient and costly and is associated to high prices and product shortage, even in economically privileged countries. This situation may be solved by adopting more efficient production methods. Here, we evaluated the potential of transient transfection in producing rFVIII in serum-free suspension HEK 293 cell cultures and investigated the effects of different DNA concentration (0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 μg/106 cells) and repeated transfections done at 34° and 37 °C. We observed a decrease in cell growth when high DNA concentrations were used, but no significant differences in transfection efficiency and in the biological activity of the rFVIII were noticed. The best condition for rFVIII production was obtained with repeated transfections at 34 °C using 0.4 μg DNA/106 cells through which almost 50 IU of active rFVIII was produced six days post-transfection. Serum-free suspension transient transfection is thus a viable option for high-yield-rFVIII production. Work is in progress to further optimize the process and validate its scalability.

  3. Enhanced extracellular production of trans-resveratrol in Vitis vinifera suspension cultured cells by using cyclodextrins and methyljasmonate.

    PubMed

    Belchí-Navarro, Sarai; Almagro, Lorena; Lijavetzky, Diego; Bru, Roque; Pedreño, María A

    2012-01-01

    In this work, the effect of different inducing factors on trans-resveratrol extracellular production in Monastrell grapevine suspension cultured cells is evaluated. A detailed analysis provides the optimal concentrations of cyclodextrins, methyljasmonate and UV irradiation dosage, optimal cell density, elicitation time and sucrose content in the culture media. The results indicate that trans-resveratrol production decreases as the initial cell density increases for a constant elicitor concentration in Monastrell suspension cultured cells treated with cyclodextrins individually or in combination with methyljasmonate; the decrease observed in cell cultures elicited with cyclodextrins alone is far more drastic than those observed in the combined treatment. trans-Resveratrol extracellular production observed by the joint use of cyclodextrins and methyljasmonate (1,447.8 ± 60.4 μmol trans-resveratrol g(-1) dry weight) is lower when these chemical compounds are combined with UV light short exposure (669.9 ± 45.2 μmol trans-resveratrol g(-1) dry weight). Likewise, trans-resveratrol production is dependent on levels of sucrose in the elicitation medium with the maximal levels observed with 20 g l(-1) sucrose and the joint action of cyclodextrins and 100 μM methyljasmonate. The sucrose concentration did not seem to limit the process although it affects significantly the specific productivity since the lowest sucrose concentration is 10 g l(-1), the highest productivity is reached (100.7 ± 5.8 μmol trans-resveratrol g(-1) dry weight g(-1) sucrose) using cyclodextrins and 25 μM methyljasmonate.

  4. Zinc tolerance and accumulation in stable cell suspension cultures and in vitro regenerated plants of the emerging model plant Arabidopsis halleri (Brassicaceae).

    PubMed

    Vera-Estrella, Rosario; Miranda-Vergara, Maria Cristina; Barkla, Bronwyn J

    2009-03-01

    Arabidopsis halleri is increasingly employed as a model plant for studying heavy metal hyperaccumulation. With the aim of providing valuable tools for studies on cellular physiology and molecular biology of metal tolerance and transport, this study reports the development of successful and highly efficient methods for the in vitro regeneration of A. halleri plants and production of stable cell suspension lines. Plants were regenerated from leaf explants of A. halleri via a three-step procedure: callus induction, somatic embryogenesis and shoot development. Efficiency of callus proliferation and regeneration depended on the initial callus induction media and was optimal in the presence of 1 mg L(-1) 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and 0.05 mg L(-1) benzylaminopurine. Subsequent shoot and root regeneration from callus initiated under these conditions reached levels of 100% efficiency. High friability of the callus supported the development of cell suspension cultures with minimal cellular aggregates. Characterization of regenerated plants and cell cultures determined that they maintained not only the zinc tolerance and requirement of the whole plant but also the ability to accumulate zinc; with plants accumulating up to 50.0 micromoles zinc g(-1) FW, and cell suspension cultures 30.9 micromoles zinc g(-1) DW. Together this work will provide the experimental basis for furthering our knowledge of A. halleri as a model heavy metal hyperaccumulating plant.

  5. Elicitation of gymnemic acid production in cell suspension cultures of Gymnema sylvestre R.Br. through endophytic fungi.

    PubMed

    Netala, Vasudeva Reddy; Kotakadi, Venkata Subbaiah; Gaddam, Susmila Aparna; Ghosh, Sukhendu Bikash; Tartte, Vijaya

    2016-12-01

    The enhancement of plant secondary metabolite production in cell suspension cultures through biotic or abiotic elicitation has become a potential biotechnological approach for commercialization or large-scale production of bioactive compounds. Gymnema sylvestre R.Br. is an important medicinal plant, rich in a group of oleanane triterpenoid saponins called gymnemic acid, well known for its anti-diabetic activity. Two endophytic fungal strains were isolated from the leaves of G. sylvestre and identified as Polyancora globosa and Xylaria sp. based on the PCR amplification and internal transcribed spacer (ITS 1-5.8S-ITS 2) sequencing of 18S rRNA gene. The process of elicitation of cell suspension cultures of G. sylvestre with dried powder of fungal mycelia (DPFM) and extracellular culture filtrate (ECF) of endophytic fungi consistently enhanced the accumulation of gymnemic acid and the DPFM was proved to be an effective elicitor when compared to the ECF. The DPFM elicited the gymnemic acid content in the range of 2.57-10.45-fold, while the ECF elicited the gymnemic acid content in the range of 2.39-7.8-fold. P. globosa, a novel and a rare endophytic fungal strain, has shown a great influence on the production of gymnemic acid. Cell suspension cultures elicited with DPFM of P. globosa produced higher amount of gymnemic acid content (124.23 mg/g dried cell weight) compared to the cultures elicited with DPFM of Xylaria sp. (102.24 mg/g DCW). But the cultures treated with consortium of DPFM of both fungi showed great influence on the production of gymnemic acid (139.98 mg/g DCW) than the cultures treated with DPFM alone. Similarly, cultures treated with consortium of ECF of both fungi produced more gymnemic acid content (94.86 mg/g DCW) compared with cultures treated with ECF of Xylaria sp. (77.93 mg/g DCW) and ECF of P. globosa (78.65 mg/g DCW) alone.

  6. Biosynthesis of phenolic compounds inVitis vinifera cell suspension cultures: Study on hydroxycinnamoyl CoA:ligase.

    PubMed

    Lotfy, S; Lofty, S; Fleuriet, A; Ramos, T; Macheix, J J

    1989-02-01

    In cell suspensions cultures from grape berry pulp (Vitis vinifera cv. Gamay fréaux)hydroxycinnamoyl CoA ligase (CoAL) displayed maximum activity (100 %) forp-coumaric acid and then, in decreasing order, for ferulic acid (81.3 %) and caffeic acid (60.4 %). No activity was detected with sinapic and cinnamic acids. The changes in CoAL activity during the growth cycle of the culture displayed two peaks : the highest (6 h after subculturing) was linked with a strong increase in protein caused by dilution ; the second was weaker and occurred on the 7th day of culture.Grape cell suspension accumulated mainly peonidin (Pn) and cyanidin (Cy) glucosides (Pn 3-glucoside, Cy 3-glucoside, Pn 3-acetylglucoside, Pn 3-caffeylglucoside, Pn 3-p-coumarylglucoside, and Cy 3-p-coumarylglucoside). Maximum accumulation of anthocyanins was associated with the exponential growth phase of the culture and might be the result of the substantial increase in CoAL activity resulting from the effect of dilution. The second enzyme activity peak was probably oriented towards the acylation of anthocyanins since the percentage of acylated forms increased with time after subculturing.

  7. Red blood cell (RBC) suspensions in confined microflows: Pressure-flow relationship.

    PubMed

    Stauber, Hagit; Waisman, Dan; Korin, Netanel; Sznitman, Josué

    2017-10-01

    Microfluidic-based assays have become increasingly popular to explore microcirculation in vitro. In these experiments, blood is resuspended to a desired haematocrit level in a buffer solution, where frequent choices for preparing RBC suspensions comprise notably Dextran and physiological buffer. Yet, the rational for selecting one buffer versus another is often ill-defined and lacks detailed quantification, including ensuing changes in RBC flow characteristics. Here, we revisit RBC suspensions in microflows and attempt to quantify systematically some of the differences emanating between buffers. We measure bulk flow rate (Q) of RBC suspensions, using PBS- and Dextran-40, as a function of the applied pressure drop (ΔP) for two hematocrits (∼0% and 23%). Two distinct microfluidic designs of varying dimensions are employed: a straight channel larger than and a network array similar to the size of individual RBCs. Using the resulting pressure-flow curves, we extract the equivalent hydrodynamic resistances and estimate the relative viscosities. These efforts are a first step in rigorously quantifying the influence of the 'background' buffer on RBC flows within microfluidic devices and thereby underline the importance of purposefully selecting buffer suspensions for microfluidic in vitro assays. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  8. Fluid flows created by swimming bacteria drive self-organization in confined suspensions

    PubMed Central

    Lushi, Enkeleida; Wioland, Hugo; Goldstein, Raymond E.

    2014-01-01

    Concentrated suspensions of swimming microorganisms and other forms of active matter are known to display complex, self-organized spatiotemporal patterns on scales that are large compared with those of the individual motile units. Despite intensive experimental and theoretical study, it has remained unclear the extent to which the hydrodynamic flows generated by swimming cells, rather than purely steric interactions between them, drive the self-organization. Here we use the recent discovery of a spiral-vortex state in confined suspensions of Bacillus subtilis to study this issue in detail. Those experiments showed that if the radius of confinement in a thin cylindrical chamber is below a critical value, the suspension will spontaneously form a steady single-vortex state encircled by a counter-rotating cell boundary layer, with spiral cell orientation within the vortex. Left unclear, however, was the flagellar orientation, and hence the cell swimming direction, within the spiral vortex. Here, using a fast simulation method that captures oriented cell–cell and cell–fluid interactions in a minimal model of discrete particle systems, we predict the striking, counterintuitive result that in the presence of collectively generated fluid motion, the cells within the spiral vortex actually swim upstream against those flows. This prediction is then confirmed by the experiments reported here, which include measurements of flagella bundle orientation and cell tracking in the self-organized state. These results highlight the complex interplay between cell orientation and hydrodynamic flows in concentrated suspensions of microorganisms. PMID:24958878

  9. Bio-inactivation of human malignant cells through highly responsive diluted colloidal suspension of functionalized magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferreira, Roberta V.; Silva-Caldeira, Priscila P.; Pereira-Maia, Elene C.; Fabris, José D.; Cavalcante, Luis Carlos D.; Ardisson, José D.; Domingues, Rosana Z.

    2016-04-01

    Magnetic fluids, more specifically aqueous colloidal suspensions containing certain magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), have recently been gaining special interest due to their potential use in clinical treatments of cancerous formations in mammalians. The technological application arises mainly from their hyperthermic behavior, which means that the nanoparticles dissipate heat upon being exposed to an alternating magnetic field (AMF). If the temperature is raised to slightly above 43 °C, cancer cells are functionally inactivated or killed; however, normal cells tend to survive under those same conditions, entirely maintaining their bioactivity. Recent in vitro studies have revealed that under simultaneous exposure to an AMF and magnetic nanoparticles, certain lines of cancer cells are bio-inactivated even without experiencing a significant temperature increase. This non-thermal effect is cell specific, indicating that MNPs, under alternating magnetic fields, may effectively kill cancer cells under conditions that were previously thought to be implausible, considering that the temperature does not increase more than 5 °C, which is also true in cases for which the concentration of MNPs is too low. To experimentally test for this effect, this study focused on the feasibility of inducing K562 cell death using an AMF and aqueous suspensions containing very low concentrations of MNPs. The assay was designed for a ferrofluid containing magnetite nanoparticles, which were obtained through the co-precipitation method and were functionalized with citric acid; the particles had an average diameter of 10 ± 2 nm and a mean hydrodynamic diameter of approximately 40 nm. Experiments were first performed to test for the ability of the ferrofluid to release heat under an AMF. The results show that for concentrations ranging from 2.5 to 1.0 × 103 mg L-1, the maximum temperature increase was actually less than 2 °C. However, the in vitro test results from K562 cells and suspensions

  10. Source of cytotoxicity in a colloidal silver nanoparticle suspension.

    PubMed

    Hatipoglu, Manolya Kukut; Keleştemur, Seda; Altunbek, Mine; Culha, Mustafa

    2015-05-15

    Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are increasingly used in a variety of applications because of their potential antimicrobial activity and their plasmonic and conductivity properties. In this study, we investigated the source of cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production on human dermal fibroblast and human lung cancer (A549) cell lines upon exposure to AgNP colloidal suspensions prepared with the simplest and most commonly used Lee–Meisel method with a variety of reaction times and the concentrations of the reducing agent. The AgNPs synthesized with shorter reaction times were more cytotoxic and genotoxic due to the presence of a few nanometer-sized AgNP seeds. The suspensions prepared with an increased citrate concentration were not cytotoxic, but they induced more ROS generation on A549 cells due to the high citrate concentration. The genotoxicity of the suspension decreased significantly at the higher citrate concentrations. The analysis of both transmission electron microscopy images from the dried droplet areas of the colloidal suspensions and toxicity data indicated that the AgNP seeds were the major source of toxicity. The completion of the nucleation step and the formation of larger AgNPs effectively decreased the toxicity.

  11. SUSPENSION CULTURE AND PLANT REGENERATION OF TYPHA LATIFOLIA

    EPA Science Inventory

    This study is the first reported attempt to generate a growth curve from Typha latifolia L. (broadleaf cattail) callus cells in suspension culture. Several media and hormone combinations were tested for their capacity to induce callus cell formation from T. latifolia leaf section...

  12. In Vitro Evaluation of the Link Between Cell Activation State and Its Rheological Impact on the Microscale Flow of Neutrophil Suspensions

    PubMed Central

    Akenhead, Michael L.; Horrall, Nolan M.; Rowe, Dylan; Sethu, Palaniappan; Shin, Hainsworth Y.

    2015-01-01

    Activated neutrophils have been reported to affect peripheral resistance, for example, by plugging capillaries or adhering to the microvasculature. In vivo and ex vivo data indicate that activated neutrophils circulating in the blood also influence peripheral resistance. We used viscometry and microvascular mimics for in vitro corroboration. The rheological impact of differentiated neutrophil-like HL-60 promyelocytes (dHL60s) or human neutrophil suspensions stimulated with 10 nM fMet-Leu-Phe (fMLP) was quantified using a cone-plate rheometer (450 s−1 shear rate). To evaluate their impact on microscale flow resistance, we used 10-μm Isopore® membranes to model capillaries as well as single 200 × 50 μm microchannels and networks of twenty 20 × 50 μm microfluidic channels to mimic noncapillary microvasculature. Stimulation of dHL60 and neutrophil populations significantly altered their flow behavior as evidenced by their impact on suspension viscosity. Notably, hematocrit abrogated the impact of leukocyte activation on blood cell suspension viscosity. In micropore filters, activated cell suspensions enhanced flow resistance. This effect was further enhanced by the presence of erythrocytes. The resistance of our noncapillary microvascular mimics to flow of activated neutrophil suspensions was significantly increased only with hematocrit. Notably, it was elevated to a higher extent within the micronetwork chambers compared to the single-channel chambers. Collectively, our findings provide supportive evidence that activated neutrophils passing through the microcirculation may alter hemodynamic resistance due to their altered rheology in the noncapillary microvasculature. This effect is another way neutrophil activation due to chronic inflammation may, at least in part, contribute to the elevated hemodynamic resistance associated with cardiovascular diseases (e.g., hypertension and hypercholesterolemia). PMID:26065495

  13. In Vitro Evaluation of the Link Between Cell Activation State and Its Rheological Impact on the Microscale Flow of Neutrophil Suspensions.

    PubMed

    Akenhead, Michael L; Horrall, Nolan M; Rowe, Dylan; Sethu, Palaniappan; Shin, Hainsworth Y

    2015-09-01

    Activated neutrophils have been reported to affect peripheral resistance, for example, by plugging capillaries or adhering to the microvasculature. In vivo and ex vivo data indicate that activated neutrophils circulating in the blood also influence peripheral resistance. We used viscometry and microvascular mimics for in vitro corroboration. The rheological impact of differentiated neutrophil-like HL-60 promyelocytes (dHL60s) or human neutrophil suspensions stimulated with 10 nM fMet-Leu-Phe (fMLP) was quantified using a cone-plate rheometer (450 s(-1) shear rate). To evaluate their impact on microscale flow resistance, we used 10-μm Isopore® membranes to model capillaries as well as single 200 × 50 μm microchannels and networks of twenty 20 × 50 μm microfluidic channels to mimic noncapillary microvasculature. Stimulation of dHL60 and neutrophil populations significantly altered their flow behavior as evidenced by their impact on suspension viscosity. Notably, hematocrit abrogated the impact of leukocyte activation on blood cell suspension viscosity. In micropore filters, activated cell suspensions enhanced flow resistance. This effect was further enhanced by the presence of erythrocytes. The resistance of our noncapillary microvascular mimics to flow of activated neutrophil suspensions was significantly increased only with hematocrit. Notably, it was elevated to a higher extent within the micronetwork chambers compared to the single-channel chambers. Collectively, our findings provide supportive evidence that activated neutrophils passing through the microcirculation may alter hemodynamic resistance due to their altered rheology in the noncapillary microvasculature. This effect is another way neutrophil activation due to chronic inflammation may, at least in part, contribute to the elevated hemodynamic resistance associated with cardiovascular diseases (e.g., hypertension and hypercholesterolemia).

  14. Reprogramming of enteroendocrine K cells to pancreatic β-cells through the combined expression of Nkx6.1 and Neurogenin3, and reaggregation in suspension culture

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lee, Esder; Ryu, Gyeong Ryul; Moon, Sung-Dae

    2014-01-17

    Highlights: •K cells were selected from STC-1 cells, a heterogeneous enteroendocrine cell line. •K cells did not express Nkx6.1 and Neurogenin3. •Combined expression of Nkx6.1 and Neurogenin3 reprogrammed K cells to β-cells. •Reprogramming of K cells to β-cells was not complete. -- Abstract: Recent studies have demonstrated that adult cells such as pancreatic exocrine cells can be converted to pancreatic β-cells in a process called cell reprogramming. Enteroendocrine cells and β-cells share similar pathways of differentiation during embryonic development. Notably, enteroendocrine K cells express many of the key proteins found in β-cells. Thus, K cells could be reprogrammed to β-cellsmore » under certain conditions. However, there is no clear evidence on whether these cells convert to β-cells. K cells were selected from STC-1 cells, an enteroendocrine cell line expressing multiple hormones. K cells were found to express many genes of transcription factors crucial for islet development and differentiation except for Nkx6.1 and Neurogenin3. A K cell clone stably expressing Nkx6.1 (Nkx6.1{sup +}-K cells) was established. Induction of Neurogenin3 expression in Nkx6.1{sup +}-K cells, by either treatment with a γ-secretase inhibitor or infection with a recombinant adenovirus expressing Neurogenin3, led to a significant increase in Insulin1 mRNA expression. After infection with the adenovirus expressing Neurogenin3 and reaggregation in suspension culture, about 50% of Nkx6.1{sup +}-K cells expressed insulin as determined by immunostaining. The intracellular insulin content was increased markedly. Electron microscopy revealed the presence of insulin granules. However, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was defective, and there was no glucose lowering effect after transplantation of these cells in diabetic mice. In conclusion, we demonstrated that K cells could be reprogrammed partially to β-cells through the combined expression of Nkx6.1 and Neurogenin3

  15. Solid oxide fuel cell electrolytes produced via very low pressure suspension plasma spray and electrophoretic deposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fleetwood, James D.

    Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are a promising element of comprehensive energy policies due to their direct mechanism for converting the oxidization of fuel, such as hydrogen, into electrical energy. Both very low pressure plasma spray and electrophoretic deposition allow working with high melting temperature SOFC suspension based feedstock on complex surfaces, such as in non-planar SOFC designs. Dense, thin electrolytes of ideal composition for SOFCs can be fabricated with each of these processes, while compositional control is achieved with dissolved dopant compounds that are incorporated into the coating during deposition. In the work reported, sub-micron 8 mole % Y2O3-ZrO2 (YSZ) and gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC), powders, including those in suspension with scandium-nitrate dopants, were deposited on NiO-YSZ anodes, via very low pressure suspension plasma spray (VLPSPS) at Sandia National Laboratories' Thermal Spray Research Laboratory and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) at Purdue University. Plasma spray was carried out in a chamber held at 320 - 1300 Pa, with the plasma composed of argon, hydrogen, and helium. EPD was characterized utilizing constant current deposition at 10 mm electrode separation, with deposits sintered from 1300 -- 1500 °C for 2 hours. The role of suspension constituents in EPD was analyzed based on a parametric study of powder loading, powder specific surface area, polyvinyl butyral (PVB) content, polyethyleneimine (PEI) content, and acetic acid content. Increasing PVB content and reduction of particle specific surface area were found to eliminate the formation of cracks when drying. PEI and acetic acid content were used to control suspension stability and the adhesion of deposits. Additionally, EPD was used to fabricate YSZ/GDC bilayer electrolyte systems. The resultant YSZ electrolytes were 2-27 microns thick and up to 97% dense. Electrolyte performance as part of a SOFC system with screen printed LSCF cathodes was evaluated with peak

  16. Evaluation of analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant and anti-coagulant properties of Lactuca sativa (CV. Grand Rapids) plant tissues and cell suspension in rats.

    PubMed

    Ismail, Hammad; Mirza, Bushra

    2015-06-27

    Lactuca sativa (lettuce) has been traditionally used for relieving pain, inflammation, stomach problems including indigestion and lack of appetite. Moreover, the therapeutic significance of L. sativa includes its anticonvulsant, sedative-hypnotic and antioxidant properties. In the present study, the MC (methanol and chloroform; 1:1) and aqueous extracts of seed and leaf along with cell suspension exudate were prepared. These extracts were explored for their analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant and anticoagulant effects by hot plate analgesic assay; carrageenan induced hind paw edema test, forced swimming test and capillary method for blood clotting respectively in a rat model. The results were analyzed using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) followed by Turkey multiple comparison test. Interestingly, the extracts and the cell suspension exudate showed dual inhibition by reducing pain and inflammation. The results indicated that the aqueous extracts of leaf exhibited highest analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities followed by leaf MC, cell suspension exudate, seed aqueous and seed MC extracts. The current findings show that aqueous and MC extracts of seed have the least immobility time in the forced swimming test, which could act as an anti-depressant on the central nervous system. The leaf extracts and cell suspension exudate also expressed moderate anti-depressant activities. In anticoagulant assay, the coagulation time of aspirin (positive control) and MC extract of leaf was comparable, suggesting strong anti-coagulant effect. Additionally, no abnormal behavior or lethality was observed in any animal tested. Taken together, L. sativa can potentially act as a strong herbal drug due to its multiple pharmaceutical effects and is therefore of interest in drug discovery and development of formulations.

  17. Three sesquiterpene compounds biosynthesised from artemisinic acid using suspension-cultured cells of Averrhoa carambola (Oxalidaceae).

    PubMed

    Yang, Li; Zhu, Jianhua; Song, Liyan; Shi, Xiaojian; Li, Xingyi; Yu, Rongmin

    2012-01-01

    A new sesquiterpene glycoside, artemisinic acid 3-β-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3, 31.24%) and other two biotransformation products, 3-β-hydroxyartemisinic acid (2, 36.69%) and 3-β-hydroxyartemisinic acid β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (4, 7.03%), were biosynthesised after artemisinic acid (1) was administered to the cultured cells of Averrhoa carambola. The three biotransformation products were obtained for the first time by using the suspension-cultured cells of A. carambola as a new biocatalyst system, and their structures were identified on the basis of the physico-chemical properties, NMR and mass spectral analyses. The results indicate that the cultured cells of A. carambola have the abilities to hydroxylate and glycosylate sesquiterpene compounds in a regio- and stereoselective manner. Furthermore, the anti-tumour activity of compounds 3 and 4 was evaluated against K562 and HeLa cell lines. Compound 4 showed strong activity against HeLa cell line, with the IC₅₀ value of 0.56 µmol mL⁻¹.

  18. Combination of Follicular and Epidermal Cell Suspension as a Novel Surgical Approach in Difficult-to-Treat Vitiligo: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

    PubMed

    Razmi T, Muhammed; Kumar, Ravinder; Rani, Seema; Kumaran, Sendhil M; Tanwar, Sushma; Parsad, Davinder

    2018-03-01

    Epidermal cell suspension (ECS) and follicular cell suspension (FCS) are successful surgical modalities for the treatment of stable vitiligo. However, repigmentation in generalized and acrofacial vitiligo and over acral or bony sites (eg, elbows, knees, iliac crests, and malleoli), which are difficult to treat, is challenging. To study the efficacy of transplanting a combination of autologous, noncultured ECS and FCS (ECS + FCS) compared with ECS alone in stable vitiligo. A prospective, observer-blinded, active-controlled, randomized clinical trial was conducted at a tertiary care hospital, with treatment administered as an outpatient procedure. Thirty participants who had stable vitiligo with symmetrical lesions were recruited between October 18, 2013, and October 28, 2016. All of the lesions were resistant to medical modalities with minimum lesional stability of 1 year. Intent-to-treat analysis was used. ECS + FCS was prepared by mixing equal amounts (in cell number) of FCS with ECS. After manual dermabrasion, ECS was applied to 1 lesion and ECS + FCS was applied to the anatomically based paired lesion of the same patient. No adjuvant treatment was given. Patients were followed up at 4, 8, and 16 weeks by a blinded observer and extent of repigmentation, color match, pattern of repigmentation, patient satisfaction and complications were noted. Both the visual and the computerized image analysis methods were used for outcome assessment. Cell suspensions were assessed post hoc for OCT4+ stem cell counts using flow cytometry; expression of stem cell factor and basic fibroblast growth factor was evaluated using quantitative relative messenger RNA expression. Of the 30 patients included in the study, 18 (60%) were women; mean (SD) age was 23.4 (6.4) years. Seventy-four percent of the lesions (62 of 84) were difficult-to-treat vitiligo. ECS + FCS showed superior repigmentation outcomes compared with ECS: extent (76% vs 57%, P < .001), rapidity (48

  19. Plant regeneration from protoplasts of embryogenic cell suspensions of Coffea arabica L. cv. caturra.

    PubMed

    Acuna, J R; de Pena, M

    1991-09-01

    Coffee plants were regenerated from protoplasts isolated from embryogenic cell suspension cultures derived from somatic embryos of Coffea arabica L. cv. caturra. Yields of viable protoplasts ranged from 1×10(5) to 6×10(5) protoplast/g fresh weight. Protoplast preparations usually contained no contaminating cells, and when present, the number of cells never exceeded 0.1% of the total. Plating efficiencies of protoplast ranged from 1 to 10%. Embryogenic protocolonies obtained after several subcultures in a medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l each of benzylaminopurine, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and naphtaleneacetic acid, were transferred to a medium lacking plant growth regulators. Well differentiated embryos were formed in selected protocolonies that contained many embryos-like structures. Approximately 70% of the somatic embryos developed into green rooted plantlets which were succesfully transferred to vessels containing sterilized scoria. Plants grown for two months in scoria were finally transferred to greenhouse.

  20. Subepidermal vesiculobullous filarial dermatitis in free-ranging American badgers (Taxidea taxus).

    PubMed

    O'Toole, D; Williams, E S; Welch, V; Nunamaker, C E; Lynn, C

    1993-07-01

    Skin and superficial lymph nodes from the 65 juvenile (< 1 year old) and adult free-ranging American badgers (Taxidea taxus) of both sexes that were killed from late July to late October 1991 as part of the recovery program for the endangered black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) were examined for evidence of Filaria taxideae. Fifty-one badgers (51/64, 80%) were infected. Both adult badgers (30/32, 94%) and juvenile badgers (21/32, 67%) were infected by adult filarial worms, which occurred most commonly in subcutaneous tissues of the inguinal area, proximal thigh, and ventral abdomen. Sections of formalin-fixed skin and, from many badgers, subcutaneous lymph nodes were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, Jones' methenamine silver (for basement membrane), and an avidin biotin peroxidase complex method (for factor VIII-related antigen). Superficial dermatitis attributable to embryonated filarial ova and larvae was present in 26/64 badgers (41%), all of them adult (> 1 year old). Acute lesions consisted of multifocal vesiculobullous dermoepidermal separation and superficial perivascular dermatitis. Ultrastructural examination and Jones' silver-stained sections revealed separation between basal keratinocytes and the basal lamina (subepidermal vesiculation). Older lesions consisted of ulcerative superficial granulomatous dermatitis associated with ova and larvae. Multifocal granulomatous endolymphangitis, which involved afferent lymphatics of subcutaneous lymph nodes, was associated with viable as well as degenerative ova and larvae. Adult filarial worms were found in the subcutis alone and did not provoke an inflammatory reaction.

  1. Establishment and validation of new complementing cells for production of E1-deleted adenovirus vectors in serum-free suspension culture.

    PubMed

    Gilbert, Rénald; Guilbault, Claire; Gagnon, David; Bernier, Alice; Bourget, Lucie; Elahi, Seyyed Mehdy; Kamen, Amine; Massie, Bernard

    2014-11-01

    E1-deleted adenovirus vectors (AdV) are important gene transfer vehicles for gene therapy and vaccination. Amplification of AdV must take place in cells that express the adenovirus E1A and E1B genes. Sequence homology between AdV and the E1 genes integrated within the complementing cells should be minimal to reduce the odds of generating replication-competent adenovirus (RCA). The present study describes the establishment of AdV complementing cells constructed by stable transfection of the minimal E1A and E1B genes into human lung carcinoma (A549). Because some transgene products can be cytotoxic, the cells were engineered to stably express the repressor of the cumate-switch (CymR) to silence transgene transcription during vector growth. For regulatory compliance and to facilitate the scale-up, the resulting complementing cells (SF-BMAdR) were adapted to serum-free suspension culture. The best clone of SF-BMAdR produced AdV carrying an innocuous transgene to the same level as 293 cells, but titers were better for AdV carrying transgene for a cytotoxic product. Elevated titers were maintained for at least two months in suspension culture in the absence of selective agent and the cells did not produce RCA. Because of their advantageous properties, SF-BMAdR cells should become an important tool for developing large-scale production processes of AdV for research and clinical applications. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  2. Suspension Bridge Structural Systems: Cable Suspension & Anchorage; Warren Stiffening ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Suspension Bridge Structural Systems: Cable Suspension & Anchorage; Warren Stiffening Truss; Upper & Lower Decks; Assembled System - San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, Spanning San Francisco Bay, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA

  3. Oxygen transport and stem cell aggregation in stirred-suspension bioreactor cultures.

    PubMed

    Wu, Jincheng; Rostami, Mahboubeh Rahmati; Cadavid Olaya, Diana P; Tzanakakis, Emmanuel S

    2014-01-01

    Stirred-suspension bioreactors are a promising modality for large-scale culture of 3D aggregates of pluripotent stem cells and their progeny. Yet, cells within these clusters experience limitations in the transfer of factors and particularly O2 which is characterized by low solubility in aqueous media. Cultured stem cells under different O2 levels may exhibit significantly different proliferation, viability and differentiation potential. Here, a transient diffusion-reaction model was built encompassing the size distribution and ultrastructural characteristics of embryonic stem cell (ESC) aggregates. The model was coupled to experimental data from bioreactor and static cultures for extracting the effective diffusivity and kinetics of consumption of O2 within mouse (mESC) and human ESC (hESC) clusters. Under agitation, mESC aggregates exhibited a higher maximum consumption rate than hESC aggregates. Moreover, the reaction-diffusion model was integrated with a population balance equation (PBE) for the temporal distribution of ESC clusters changing due to aggregation and cell proliferation. Hypoxia was found to be negligible for ESCs with a smaller radius than 100 µm but became appreciable for aggregates larger than 300 µm. The integrated model not only captured the O2 profile both in the bioreactor bulk and inside ESC aggregates but also led to the calculation of the duration that fractions of cells experience a certain range of O2 concentrations. The approach described in this study can be employed for gaining a deeper understanding of the effects of O2 on the physiology of stem cells organized in 3D structures. Such frameworks can be extended to encompass the spatial and temporal availability of nutrients and differentiation factors and facilitate the design and control of relevant bioprocesses for the production of stem cell therapeutics.

  4. Enhanced resveratrol production in Vitis vinifera cell suspension cultures by heavy metals without loss of cell viability.

    PubMed

    Cai, Zhenzhen; Kastell, Anja; Speiser, Claire; Smetanska, Iryna

    2013-09-01

    The effects of heavy metal ions (Co(2+), Ag(+), Cd(2+)) on cell viability and secondary metabolite production, particularly anthocyanins and phenolic acids in Vitis vinifera cell suspension cultures, were investigated. Of these, Co at all three used concentrations (5.0, 25, and 50 μM), Ag, and Cd at low concentration (5.0 μM) were most effective to stimulate the phenolic acid production, increasing the 3-O-glucosyl-resveratrol up to 1.6-fold of the control level (250.5 versus 152.4 μmol/g), 4 h after the treatments. Meanwhile, the elicitors at effective concentrations did not suppress cell growth, while the cell viability maintained. In contrast, Ag and Cd at high concentrations (25 and 50 μM) remarkably reduced the cell viability, decreasing the cell viability up to about 15 % of the control level, 24 h after the treatments. The heavy metal ions did not affect the anthocyanin production. These observations show how, in a single system, different groups of secondary products can show distinct differences in their responses to potential elicitors. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, peroxidase activity, medium pH value, and conductivity were only slightly elevated by the heavy metal ions. The results suggest that some of the secondary metabolites production was stimulated by the used elicitors, but there was not a stress response of the cells.

  5. Articulated suspension system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bickler, Donald B. (Inventor)

    1989-01-01

    The invention provides a rough terrain vehicle which maintains a substantially constant weight, and therefore traction, on all wheels, despite one wheel moving considerably higher or lower than the others, while avoiding a very soft spring suspension. The vehicle includes a chassis or body to be supported and a pair of side suspensions at either side of the body. In a six wheel vehicle, each side suspension includes a middle wheel, and front and rear linkages respectively coupling the front and rear wheels to the middle wheel. A body link pivotally connects the front and rear linkages together, with the middle of the body link rising or falling by only a fraction of the rise or fall of any of the three wheels. The body link pivotally supports the middle of the length of the body. A transverse suspension for suspending the end of the body on the side suspensions includes a middle part pivotally connected to the body about a longitudinal axis and opposite ends each pivotally connected to one of the side suspensions along at least a longitudinal axis.

  6. Auxin Deprivation Induces Synchronous Golgi Differentiation in Suspension-Cultured Tobacco BY-2 Cells1

    PubMed Central

    Winicur, Zev M.; Feng Zhang, Guo; Andrew Staehelin, L.

    1998-01-01

    To date, the lack of a method for inducing plant cells and their Golgi stacks to differentiate in a synchronous manner has made it difficult to characterize the nature and extent of Golgi retailoring in biochemical terms. Here we report that auxin deprivation can be used to induce a uniform population of suspension-cultured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv BY-2) cells to differentiate synchronously during a 4-d period. Upon removal of auxin, the cells stop dividing, undergo elongation, and differentiate in a manner that mimics the formation of slime-secreting epidermal and peripheral root-cap cells. The morphological changes to the Golgi apparatus include a proportional increase in the number of trans-Golgi cisternae, a switch to larger-sized secretory vesicles that bud from the trans-Golgi cisternae, and an increase in osmium staining of the secretory products. Biochemical alterations include an increase in large, fucosylated, mucin-type glycoproteins, changes in the types of secreted arabinogalactan proteins, and an increase in the amounts and types of molecules containing the peripheral root-cap-cell-specific epitope JIM 13. Taken together, these findings support the hypothesis that auxin deprivation can be used to induce tobacco BY-2 cells to differentiate synchronously into mucilage-secreting cells. PMID:9625703

  7. Mitochondrial Impairment as a Key Factor for the Lack of Attachment after Cold Storage of Hepatocyte Suspensions

    PubMed Central

    Pless-Petig, Gesine; Walter, Björn; Bienholz, Anja

    2018-01-01

    Isolated primary hepatocytes, which are widely used for pharmacological and clinical purposes, usually undergo certain periods of cold storage in suspension during processing. While adherent hepatocytes were shown previously to suffer iron-dependent cell death during cold (4 °C) storage and early rewarming, we previously found little iron-dependent hepatocyte death in suspension but severely decreased attachment ability unless iron chelators were added. Here, we focus on the role of mitochondrial impairment in this nonattachment of hepatocyte suspensions. Rat hepatocyte suspensions were stored in a chloride-poor, glycine-containing cold storage solution with and without iron chelators at 4 °C. After 1 wk of cold storage in the basic cold storage solution, cell viability in suspension was unchanged, while cell attachment was decreased by >80%. In the stored cells, a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), a decrease in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content (2 ± 2 nmol/106 cells after cold storage, 5 ± 3 nmol/106 cells after rewarming vs. control 29 ± 6 nmol/106 cells), and a decrease in oxygen consumption (101 ± 59 pmol sec−1 per 106 cells after rewarming vs. control 232 ± 83 pmol sec−1 per 106 cells) were observed. Addition of iron chelators to the cold storage solution increased cell attachment to 53% ± 20% and protected against loss of MMP, and cells were able to partially regenerate ATP during rewarming (15 ± 10 nmol/106 cells). Increased attachment could also be achieved by addition of the inhibitor combination of mitochondrial permeability transition, trifluoperazine + fructose. Attached hepatocytes displayed normal MMP and mitochondrial morphology. Additional experiments with freshly isolated hepatocytes confirmed that impaired energy production—as elicited by an inhibitor of the respiratory chain, antimycin A—can decrease cell attachment without decreasing viability. Taken together, these results suggest that mitochondrial impairment

  8. Mitochondrial Impairment as a Key Factor for the Lack of Attachment after Cold Storage of Hepatocyte Suspensions.

    PubMed

    Pless-Petig, Gesine; Walter, Björn; Bienholz, Anja; Rauen, Ursula

    2017-12-01

    Isolated primary hepatocytes, which are widely used for pharmacological and clinical purposes, usually undergo certain periods of cold storage in suspension during processing. While adherent hepatocytes were shown previously to suffer iron-dependent cell death during cold (4 °C) storage and early rewarming, we previously found little iron-dependent hepatocyte death in suspension but severely decreased attachment ability unless iron chelators were added. Here, we focus on the role of mitochondrial impairment in this nonattachment of hepatocyte suspensions. Rat hepatocyte suspensions were stored in a chloride-poor, glycine-containing cold storage solution with and without iron chelators at 4 °C. After 1 wk of cold storage in the basic cold storage solution, cell viability in suspension was unchanged, while cell attachment was decreased by >80%. In the stored cells, a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), a decrease in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content (2 ± 2 nmol/10 6 cells after cold storage, 5 ± 3 nmol/10 6 cells after rewarming vs. control 29 ± 6 nmol/10 6 cells), and a decrease in oxygen consumption (101 ± 59 pmol sec -1 per 10 6 cells after rewarming vs. control 232 ± 83 pmol sec -1 per 10 6 cells) were observed. Addition of iron chelators to the cold storage solution increased cell attachment to 53% ± 20% and protected against loss of MMP, and cells were able to partially regenerate ATP during rewarming (15 ± 10 nmol/10 6 cells). Increased attachment could also be achieved by addition of the inhibitor combination of mitochondrial permeability transition, trifluoperazine + fructose. Attached hepatocytes displayed normal MMP and mitochondrial morphology. Additional experiments with freshly isolated hepatocytes confirmed that impaired energy production-as elicited by an inhibitor of the respiratory chain, antimycin A-can decrease cell attachment without decreasing viability. Taken together, these results suggest that mitochondrial impairment

  9. CNT loading into cationic cholesterol suspensions show improved DNA binding and serum stability and ability to internalize into cancer cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chhikara, Bhupender S.; Misra, Santosh K.; Bhattacharya, Santanu

    2012-02-01

    Methods which disperse single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in water as ‘debundled’, while maintaining their unique physical properties are highly useful. We present here a family of cationic cholesterol compounds (Chol+) {Cholest-5en-3β-oxyethyl pyridinium bromide (Chol-PB+), Cholest-5en-3β-oxyethyl N-methyl pyrrolidinium bromide (Chol-MPB+), Cholest-5en-3β-oxyethyl N-methyl morpholinium bromide (Chol-MMB+) and Cholest-5en-3β-oxyethyl diazabicyclo octanium bromide (Chol-DOB+)}. Each of these could be easily dispersed in water. The resulting cationic cholesterol (Chol+) suspensions solubilized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) by the non-specific physical adsorption of Chol+ to form stable, transparent, dark aqueous suspensions at room temperature. Electron microscopy reveals the existence of highly segregated CNTs in these samples. Zeta potential measurements showed an increase in potential of cationic cholesterol aggregates on addition of CNTs. The CNT-Chol+ suspensions were capable of forming stable complexes with genes (DNA) efficiently. The release of double-helical DNA from such CNT-Chol+ complexes could be induced upon the addition of anionic micellar solution of SDS. Furthermore, the CNT-based DNA complexes containing cationic cholesterol aggregates showed higher stability in fetal bovine serum media at physiological conditions. Confocal studies confirm that CNT-Chol+ formulations adhere to HeLa cell surfaces and get internalized more efficiently than the cationic cholesterol suspensions alone (devoid of any CNTs). These cationic cholesterol-CNT suspensions therefore appear to be a promising system for further use in biological applications.

  10. Shear thinning in soft particle suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Voudouris, Panayiotis; van der Zanden, Berco; Florea, Daniel; Fahimi, Zahra; Wyss, Hans

    2012-02-01

    Suspensions of soft deformable particles are encountered in a wide range of food and biological materials. Examples are biological cells, micelles, vesicles or microgel particles. While the behavior of suspenions of hard spheres - the classical model system of colloid science - is reasonably well understood, a full understanding of these soft particle suspensions remains elusive. The relation between single particle properties and macroscopic mechanical behavior still remains poorly understood in these materials. Here we examine the surprising shear thinning behavior that is observed in soft particle suspensions as a function of particle softness. We use poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (p-NIPAM) microgel particles as a model system to study this effect in detail. These soft spheres show significant shear thinning even at very large Peclet numbers, where this would not be observed for hard particles. The degree of shear thinning is directly related to the single particle elastic properties, which we characterize by the recently developed Capillary Micromechanics technique. We present a simple model that qualitatively accounts for the observed behavior.

  11. Crossflow microfiltration of yeast suspensions in tubular filters.

    PubMed

    Redkar, S G; Davis, R H

    1993-01-01

    Crossflow microfiltration experiments were performed on yeast suspensions through 0.2-microns pore size ceramic and polypropylene tubes at various operating conditions. The initial transient flux decline follows dead-end filtration theory, with the membrane resistance determined from the initial flux and the specific cake resistance determined from the rate of flux decline due to cake buildup. For long times, the observed fluxes reach steady or nearly steady values, presumably as a result of the cake growth being arrested by the shear exerted at its surface. The steady-state fluxes increase with increasing shear rate and decreasing feed concentration, and they are nearly independent of transmembrane pressure. The steady-state fluxes for unwashed yeast in deionized water or fermentation media are typically 2-4 times lower than those predicted by a model based on the properties of nonadhesive, rigid spheres undergoing shear-induced back-diffusion. In contrast, the steady-state fluxes observed for washed yeast cells in deionized water are only 10-30% below the predicted values. The washed yeast cells also exhibited specific cake resistances that are an order of magnitude lower than those for the unwashed yeast. The differences are due to the presence of extracellular proteins and other macromolecules in the unwashed yeast suspensions. These biopolymers cause higher cell adhesion and resistance in the cake layer, so that the cells at the top edge are not free to diffuse away. This is manifested as a concentration jump from the edge of the cake layer to the sheared suspension adjacent to it.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  12. Regulation of lithospermic acid B and shikonin production in Lithospermum erythrorhizon cell suspension cultures.

    PubMed

    Yamamoto, Hirobumi; Zhao, Ping; Yazaki, Kazufumi; Inoue, Kenichiro

    2002-08-01

    Cell suspension cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon produced a large amount of lithospermic acid B, a caffeic acid tetramer, as well as shikonin derivatives (each ca. 10% of dry wt.) when cultured in shikonin production medium M-9. Various culture factors for increasing the production of lithospermic acid B were investigated. Lithospermic acid B production was inhibited by 2, 4-D or NH4+, whereas it was stimulated by Cu2+. These regulatory patterns were similar to those for the production of shikonin derivatives in these cell cultures, suggestive of close relations and similar metabolic regulation between the production of these compounds. Cultivation under light illumination, however, showed that these metabolisms were independently regulated. In particular, blue light showed a stimulatory effect on lithospermic acid B production, while shikonin production was strongly inhibited, indicative of an effective condition for lithospermic acid B production.

  13. Stability of Extemporaneously Prepared Hydroxycarbamide Oral Suspensions.

    PubMed

    Kabiche, Djamila; Balde, Issa-Bella; Majoul, Elyes; Kabiche, Sofiane; Bourguignon, Elodie; Fontan, Jean-Eudes; Cisternino, Salvatore; Schlatter, Jöel

    2017-01-01

    Hydroxycarbamide, available as tablets, is a pharmacological agent for fetal hemoglobin induction such as sickle cell anemia. The need for alternative dosage form options for patients unable to take tablets led hospital pharmacies to prepare solutions and suspensions. The objective of this study was to determine the stability of hydroxycarbamide in Ora-Plus in combination with either Ora-Sweet or Ora-Sweet SF, Ora-Blend, or Ora-Blend SF suspending agents. The studied samples were compounded into 100-mg/mL suspensions and stored in 60-mL amber glass bottles at room (22°C to 25°C) or refrigerated (4°C to 8°C) temperature. Samples were assayed at each time point out to 120 days by a stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography method. The samples were examined for any change in color, odor, visual microbiology, and pH on initial and final day of analysis. At least 90% of hydroxycarbamide concentration remained in all suspensions at the end of the 120-day study period in both conditions. There was no appreciable change in color, odor, or taste. The pH values of suspensions stored at 25°C changed by at least 1 unit at the end of the study period. Based on the data collected, the beyond-use date of these suspensions is 120 days when stored in 60-mL amber glass bottles at both temperature storage conditions. Copyright© by International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding, Inc.

  14. 46 CFR 565.10 - Suspension procedures, period of suspension, and replacement rates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Suspension procedures, period of suspension, and replacement rates. 565.10 Section 565.10 Shipping FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION REGULATIONS AND ACTIONS TO ADDRESS RESTRICTIVE FOREIGN MARITIME PRACTICES CONTROLLED CARRIERS § 565.10 Suspension procedures, period...

  15. F-actin and microtubule suspensions as indeterminate fluids.

    PubMed

    Buxbaum, R E; Dennerll, T; Weiss, S; Heidemann, S R

    1987-03-20

    The viscosity of F-actin and microtubule suspensions has been measured as a function of shear rate with a Weissenberg rheogoniometer. At shear rates of less than 1.0 per second the viscosity of suspensions of these two structural proteins is inversely proportional to shear rate. These results are consistent with previous in vivo measurements of the viscosity of cytoplasm. This power law implies that shear stress is independent of shear rate; that is, shear stress is a constant at all shear rates less than 1.0 per second. Thus the flow profile of these fluids is indeterminate, or nearly so. This flow property may explain several aspects of intracellular motility in living cells. Possible explanations for this flow property are based on a recent model for semidilute suspensions of rigid rods or a classical friction model for liquid crystals.

  16. Biosynthesis of 14C-phytoene from tomato cell suspension cultures (Lycopersicon esculentum) for utilization in prostate cancer cell culture studies.

    PubMed

    Campbell, Jessica K; Rogers, Randy B; Lila, Mary Ann; Erdman, John W

    2006-02-08

    This work describes the development and utilization of a plant cell culture production approach to biosynthesize and radiolabel phytoene and phytofluene for prostate cancer cell culture studies. The herbicide norflurazon was added to established cell suspension cultures of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. VFNT cherry), to induce the biosynthesis and accumulation of the lycopene precursors, phytoene and phytofluene, in their natural isomeric forms (15-cis-phytoene and two cis-phytofluene isomers). Norflurazon concentrations, solvent carrier type and concentration, and duration of culture exposure to norflurazon were screened to optimize phytoene and phytofluene synthesis. Maximum yields of both phytoene and phytofluene were achieved after 7 days of treatment with 0.03 mg norflurazon/40 mL fresh medium, provided in 0.07% solvent carrier. Introduction of 14C-sucrose to the tomato cell culture medium enabled the production of 14C-labeled phytoene for subsequent prostate tumor cell uptake studies. In DU 145 prostate tumor cells, it was determined that 15-cis-phytoene and an oxidized product of phytoene were taken up and partially metabolized by the cells. The ability to biosynthesize, radiolabel, and isolate these carotenoids from tomato cell cultures is a novel, valuable methodology for further in vitro and in vivo investigations into the roles of phytoene and phytofluene in cancer chemoprevention.

  17. [Establishment of embryogenic cell suspension culture and plant regeneration of edible banana Musa acuminata cv. Mas (AA)].

    PubMed

    Wei, Yue-Rong; Huang, Xue-Lin; Li, Jia; Huang, Xia; Li, Zhe; Li, Xiao-Ju

    2005-01-01

    Conventional breeding for dual resistance of disease and pest of Musa cultivars remains a difficult endeavor, as the plant is polyploidic and high in sterility. Biotechnological techniques, eg., genetic engineering, in vitro mutation breeding, or protoplast fusion, may overcome the difficulties and improve the germplasm. Establishment of a stable embryogenic cell suspension (ECS) is a prerequisite for any of the biotechnological breeding methods. In this study an embryogenic cell suspension was established from immature male flower of Musa acuminata cv. Mas (AA), a popular commercial variety of banana in the South-East Asian region. After culture for 5-6 months on callus induction media, which consisted of MS salts, different concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 4.1 micromol/L biotin, 5.7 micromol/L indoleacetic acid (IAA), 5.4 micromol/L naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), other vitamins, 87 mmol/L sucrose, and solidified with 7 g/L agarose, meristematic globules and yellow, friable embryogenic cultures were induced from the explants of 1-15th row young floral hands of immature male flowers. Of the four treatments of 2,4-D, 9 micromol/L was the most effective on the callus induction, it transformed 40.96% and 7.45% of the cultivated male floral hands into callus and embryogenic callus respectively. The explants to produce highest frequency of the embryogenic calli were floral hands of 6 to 12th rows, which generated 5.79% of the embryogenic calli. Suspension cultures were initiated from these embryogenic calli in liquid medium supplemented with 4.5 micromol/L 2, 4-D. After sieving selection of the cultures using a stainless steel metallic strainer with pore sizes of 154 microm at 15 day intervals for 3 months, homogeneous and yellow embryogenic cell suspensions, composed of single cells and small cell aggregates, were established. Based upon the growth quantity and growth rate of ECS, it was determined that the appropriate inoculum was 2.0 mL PCV

  18. Multivariate analyses of salt stress and metabolite sensing in auto- and heterotroph Chenopodium cell suspensions.

    PubMed

    Wongchai, C; Chaidee, A; Pfeiffer, W

    2012-01-01

    Global warming increases plant salt stress via evaporation after irrigation, but how plant cells sense salt stress remains unknown. Here, we searched for correlation-based targets of salt stress sensing in Chenopodium rubrum cell suspension cultures. We proposed a linkage between the sensing of salt stress and the sensing of distinct metabolites. Consequently, we analysed various extracellular pH signals in autotroph and heterotroph cell suspensions. Our search included signals after 52 treatments: salt and osmotic stress, ion channel inhibitors (amiloride, quinidine), salt-sensing modulators (proline), amino acids, carboxylic acids and regulators (salicylic acid, 2,4-dichlorphenoxyacetic acid). Multivariate analyses revealed hirarchical clusters of signals and five principal components of extracellular proton flux. The principal component correlated with salt stress was an antagonism of γ-aminobutyric and salicylic acid, confirming involvement of acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) in salt stress sensing. Proline, short non-substituted mono-carboxylic acids (C2-C6), lactic acid and amiloride characterised the four uncorrelated principal components of proton flux. The proline-associated principal component included an antagonism of 2,4-dichlorphenoxyacetic acid and a set of amino acids (hydrophobic, polar, acidic, basic). The five principal components captured 100% of variance of extracellular proton flux. Thus, a bias-free, functional high-throughput screening was established to extract new clusters of response elements and potential signalling pathways, and to serve as a core for quantitative meta-analysis in plant biology. The eigenvectors reorient research, associating proline with development instead of salt stress, and the proof of existence of multiple components of proton flux can help to resolve controversy about the acid growth theory. © 2011 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  19. Biochemical properties of the matrix metalloproteinase NtMMP1 from Nicotiana tabacum cv. BY-2 suspension cells.

    PubMed

    Mandal, Manoj K; Fischer, Rainer; Schillberg, Stefan; Schiermeyer, Andreas

    2010-09-01

    A zinc-dependent matrix metalloproteinase (NtMMP1) found in the plasma membrane of Nicotiana tabacum cv. Bright Yellow 2 (BY-2) suspension cells is thought to be responsible for the degradation of recombinant proteins secreted into the culture supernatant. We have characterized the proteolytic activity of NtMMP1 by expressing a recombinant derivative lacking the C-terminal transmembrane domain in yeast. After purifying the protein by affinity chromatography, its autocatalytic activity was analyzed using monoclonal antibodies raised against its N-terminal and C-terminal portions. Both the unprocessed and processed forms of NtMMP1 displayed caseinolytic activity and N-terminal sequencing identified an autocatalytic cleavage site within the sequence motif HFSFFP, which is similar to the corresponding sequences of the human matrix metalloproteinases stromelysin-1 (MMP-3) and stromelysin-2 (MMP-10). Unlike all other matrix metalloproteinases investigated so far, NtMMP1 contains a disulfide bond within its propeptide thus rendering the proenzyme catalytically active. Kinetic analysis of NtMMP1 with a synthetic substrate revealed a K(m) of 10.55 +/- 0.9 microM, a k(cat) of 0.6 +/- 0.01 s(-1) and maximum activity at pH 7.5. We found that NtMMP1 degrades Desmodus rotundus salivary plasminogen activator alpha 1 (DSPAalpha1), a biopharmaceutical protein, that has proven difficult to produce in tobacco BY-2 cells. This provides a likely explanation for the frequent instability of secreted recombinant biopharmaceuticals produced in plant suspension cell cultures. Our data suggest new avenues that can be explored to improve the production of pharmaceutical proteins in plants and plant cells.

  20. The development of concentration gradients in a suspension of chemotactic bacteria

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hillesdon, A. J.; Pedley, T. J.; Kessler, J. O.

    1995-01-01

    When a suspension of bacterial cells of the species Bacillus subtilis is placed in a chamber with its upper surface open to the atmosphere complex bioconvection patterns are observed. These arise because the cells: (1) are denser than water; and (2) usually swim upwards, so that the density of an initially uniform suspension becomes greater at the top than the bottom. When the vertical density gradient becomes large enough, an overturning instability occurs which ultimately evolves into the observed patterns. The reason that the cells swim upwards is that they are aerotactic, i.e., they swim up gradients of oxygen, and they consume oxygen. These properties are incorporated in conservation equations for the cell (N) and oxygen (C) concentrations, and these are solved in the pre-instability phase of development when N and C depend only on the vertical coordinate and time. Numerical results are obtained for both shallow- and deep-layer chambers, which are intrinsically different and require different mathematical and numerical treatments. It is found that, for both shallow and deep chambers, a thin boundary layer, densely packed with cells, forms near the surface. Beneath this layer the suspension becomes severely depleted of cells. Furthermore, in the deep chamber cases, a discontinuity in the cell concentration arises between this cell-depleted region and a cell-rich region further below, where no significant oxygen concentration gradients develop before the oxygen is fully consumed. The results obtained from the model are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental observations.

  1. In vitro production of azadirachtin from cell suspension cultures of Azadirachta indica.

    PubMed

    Sujanya, S; Devi, B Poornasri; Sai, Isha

    2008-03-01

    The present study aimed to elucidate the effect of nutritional alteration on biomass content and azadirachtin production in cell suspensions of the elite neem variety crida-8. Variations in total nitrogen availability in the medium in terms of different ratios of nitrate: ammonium showed that the ratio 4:1 revealed a profound effect, leading to a 1.5-fold increase in the total extracellular azadirachtin production (5.59 mg/l) over the standard MS medium. Reduction in sucrose (15 mg/l) in the medium exhibited a reduction in biomass and absence of azadirachtin, whereas total phosphate reduction raised intracellular azadirachtin production (6.98 mg/l). An altered medium with a nitrate: ammonium ratio of 4:1 coupled with complete elimination of phosphate enhanced biomass by 36% (59.36 g/l).

  2. Improved All-Terrain Suspension System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bickler, Donald B.

    1994-01-01

    Redesigned suspension system for all-terrain vehicle exhibits enhanced ability to negotiate sand and rocks. Improved six-wheel suspension system includes only two links on each side. Bogie tends to pull rear wheels with it as it climbs. Designed for rover vehicle for exploration of Mars, also has potential application in off-road vehicles, military scout vehicles, robotic emergency vehicles, and toys. Predecessors of suspension system described in "Articulated Suspension Without Springs" (NPO-17354), "Four-Wheel Vehicle Suspension System" (NPO-17407), and "High-Clearance Six-Wheel Suspension" (NPO-17821).

  3. Simultaneous reduction of nitrate and selenate by cell suspensions of selenium-respiring bacteria

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Oremland, R.S.; Blum, J.S.; Bindi, A.B.; Dowdle, P.R.; Herbel, M.; Stolz, J.F.

    1999-01-01

    Washed-cell suspensions of Sulfurospirillum barnesii reduced selenate [Se(VI)] when cells were cultured with nitrate, thiosulfate, arsenate, or fumarate as the electron acceptor. When the concentration of the electron donor was limiting, Se(VI) reduction in whole cells was approximately fourfold greater in Se(VI)-grown cells than was observed in nitrate-grown cells; correspondingly, nitrate reduction was ~11-fold higher in nitrate-grown cells than in Se(VI)-grown cells. However, a simultaneous reduction of nitrate and Se(VI) was observed in both cases. At nonlimiting electron donor concentrations, nitrate- grown cells suspended with equimolar nitrate and selenate achieved a complete reductive removal of nitrogen and selenium oxyanions, with the bulk of nitrate reduction preceding that of selenate reduction. Chloramphenicol did not inhibit these reductions. The Se(VI)-respiring haloalkaliphile Bacillus arsenicoselenatis gave similar results, but its Se(VI) reductase was not constitutive in nitrate-grown cells. No reduction of Se(VI) was noted for Bacillus selenitireducens, which respires selenite. The results of kinetic experiments with cell membrane preparations of S. barnesii suggest the presence of constitutive selenate and nitrate reduction, as well as an inducible, high- affinity nitrate reductase in nitrate-grown cells which also has a low affinity for selenate. The simultaneous reduction of micromolar Se(VI) in the presence of millimolar nitrate indicates that these organisms may have a functional use in bioremediating nitrate-rich, seleniferous agricultural wastewaters. Results with 75Se-selenate tracer show that these organisms can lower ambient Se(VI) concentrations to levels in compliance with new regulations proposed for release of selenium oxyanions into the environment.

  4. Investigating high-concentration monoclonal antibody powder suspension in nonaqueous suspension vehicles for subcutaneous injection.

    PubMed

    Bowen, Mayumi; Armstrong, Nick; Maa, Yuh-Fun

    2012-12-01

    Developing high-concentration monoclonal antibody (mAb) liquid formulations for subcutaneous (s.c.) administration is challenging because increased viscosity makes injection difficult. To overcome this obstacle, we investigated a nonaqueous powder suspension approach. Three IgG1 mAbs were spray dried and suspended at different concentrations in Miglyol® 840, benzyl benzoate, or ethyl lactate. Suspensions were characterized for viscosity, particle size, and syringeability; physical stability was visually inspected. Suspensions generally outperformed liquid solutions for injectability despite higher viscosity at the same mAb concentrations. Powder formulations and properties had little effect on viscosity or injectability. Ethyl lactate suspensions had lowest viscosity (<20 cP) and lowest syringe injection glide force (<15 N) at mAb concentrations as high as 333 mg/mL (500 mg powder/mL). Inverse gas chromatography analysis indicated that the vehicle was the most important factor impacting suspension performance. Ethyl lactate rendered greater heat of sorption (suggesting strong particle-suspension vehicle interaction may reduce particle-particle self-association, leading to low suspension viscosity and glide force) but lacked the physical suspension stability exhibited by the other vehicles. Specific mixtures of ethyl lactate and Miglyol® 840 improved overall performance in high mAb concentration suspensions. This study demonstrated the viability of high mAb concentration (>300 mg/mL) in suspension formulations for s.c. administration. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. A zeta potential value determines the aggregate's size of penta-substituted [60]fullerene derivatives in aqueous suspension whereas positive charge is required for toxicity against bacterial cells.

    PubMed

    Deryabin, Dmitry G; Efremova, Ludmila V; Vasilchenko, Alexey S; Saidakova, Evgeniya V; Sizova, Elena A; Troshin, Pavel A; Zhilenkov, Alexander V; Khakina, Ekaterina A; Khakina, Ekaterina E

    2015-08-08

    The cause-effect relationships between physicochemical properties of amphiphilic [60]fullerene derivatives and their toxicity against bacterial cells have not yet been clarified. In this study, we report how the differences in the chemical structure of organic addends in 10 originally synthesized penta-substituted [60]fullerene derivatives modulate their zeta potential and aggregate's size in salt-free and salt-added aqueous suspensions as well as how these physicochemical characteristics affect the bioenergetics of freshwater Escherichia coli and marine Photobacterium phosphoreum bacteria. Dynamic light scattering, laser Doppler micro-electrophoresis, agarose gel electrophoresis, atomic force microscopy, and bioluminescence inhibition assay were used to characterize the fullerene aggregation behavior in aqueous solution and their interaction with the bacterial cell surface, following zeta potential changes and toxic effects. Dynamic light scattering results indicated the formation of self-assembled [60]fullerene aggregates in aqueous suspensions. The measurement of the zeta potential of the particles revealed that they have different surface charges. The relationship between these physicochemical characteristics was presented as an exponential regression that correctly described the dependence of the aggregate's size of penta-substituted [60]fullerene derivatives in salt-free aqueous suspension from zeta potential value. The prevalence of DLVO-related effects was shown in salt-added aqueous suspension that decreased zeta potential values and affected the aggregation of [60]fullerene derivatives expressed differently for individual compounds. A bioluminescence inhibition assay demonstrated that the toxic effect of [60]fullerene derivatives against E. coli cells was strictly determined by their positive zeta potential charge value being weakened against P. phosphoreum cells in an aquatic system of high salinity. Atomic force microscopy data suggested that the

  6. Cryopreservation of testicular tissue or testicular cell suspensions: a pivotal step in fertility preservation.

    PubMed

    Onofre, J; Baert, Y; Faes, K; Goossens, E

    2016-11-01

    Germ cell depletion caused by chemical or physical toxicity, disease or genetic predisposition can occur at any age. Although semen cryopreservation is the first reflex for preserving male fertility, this cannot help out prepubertal boys. Yet, these boys do have spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) that able to produce sperm at the start of puberty, which allows them to safeguard their fertility through testicular tissue (TT) cryopreservation. SSC transplantation (SSCT), TT grafting and recent advances in in vitro spermatogenesis have opened new possibilities to restore fertility in humans. However, these techniques are still at a research stage and their efficiency depends on the amount of SSCs available for fertility restoration. Therefore, maintaining the number of SSCs is a critical step in human fertility preservation. Standardizing a successful cryopreservation method for TT and testicular cell suspensions (TCSs) is most important before any clinical application of fertility restoration could be successful. This review gives an overview of existing cryopreservation protocols used in different animal models and humans. Cell recovery, cell viability, tissue integrity and functional assays are taken into account. Additionally, biosafety and current perspectives in male fertility preservation are discussed. An extensive PubMED and MEDline database search was conducted. Relevant studies linked to the topic were identified by the search terms: cryopreservation, male fertility preservation, (immature)testicular tissue, testicular cell suspension, spermatogonial stem cell, gonadotoxicity, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The feasibility of fertility restoration techniques using frozen-thawed TT and TCS has been proven in animal models. Efficient protocols for cryopreserving human TT exist and are currently applied in the clinic. For TCSs, the highest post-thaw viability reported after vitrification is 55.6 ± 23.8%. Yet, functional proof of fertility restoration in the

  7. Cryopreservation of testicular tissue or testicular cell suspensions: a pivotal step in fertility preservation

    PubMed Central

    Onofre, J.; Baert, Y.; Faes, K.; Goossens, E.

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND Germ cell depletion caused by chemical or physical toxicity, disease or genetic predisposition can occur at any age. Although semen cryopreservation is the first reflex for preserving male fertility, this cannot help out prepubertal boys. Yet, these boys do have spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) that able to produce sperm at the start of puberty, which allows them to safeguard their fertility through testicular tissue (TT) cryopreservation. SSC transplantation (SSCT), TT grafting and recent advances in in vitro spermatogenesis have opened new possibilities to restore fertility in humans. However, these techniques are still at a research stage and their efficiency depends on the amount of SSCs available for fertility restoration. Therefore, maintaining the number of SSCs is a critical step in human fertility preservation. Standardizing a successful cryopreservation method for TT and testicular cell suspensions (TCSs) is most important before any clinical application of fertility restoration could be successful. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE This review gives an overview of existing cryopreservation protocols used in different animal models and humans. Cell recovery, cell viability, tissue integrity and functional assays are taken into account. Additionally, biosafety and current perspectives in male fertility preservation are discussed. SEARCH METHODS An extensive PubMED and MEDline database search was conducted. Relevant studies linked to the topic were identified by the search terms: cryopreservation, male fertility preservation, (immature)testicular tissue, testicular cell suspension, spermatogonial stem cell, gonadotoxicity, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. OUTCOMES The feasibility of fertility restoration techniques using frozen-thawed TT and TCS has been proven in animal models. Efficient protocols for cryopreserving human TT exist and are currently applied in the clinic. For TCSs, the highest post-thaw viability reported after vitrification is 55.6 ± 23

  8. Load-cell based characterization system for a "Violin-Mode" shadow-sensor in advanced LIGO suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lockerbie, N. A.; Tokmakov, K. V.

    2016-07-01

    The background to this work was a prototype shadow sensor, which was designed for retro-fitting to an advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) test-mass/mirror suspension, in which 40 kg test-mass/mirrors are each suspended by four approximately 600 mm long by 0.4 mm diameter fused-silica suspension fibres. The shadow sensor comprised a LED source of Near InfraRed (NIR) radiation and a rectangular silicon photodiode detector, which, together, were to bracket the fibre under test. The aim was to detect transverse Violin-Mode resonances in the suspension fibres. Part of the testing procedure involved tensioning a silica fibre sample and translating it transversely through the illuminating NIR beam, so as to measure the DC responsivity of the detection system to fibre displacement. However, an equally important part of the procedure, reported here, was to keep the fibre under test stationary within the beam, whilst trying to detect low-level AC Violin-Mode resonances excited on the fibre, in order to confirm the primary function of the sensor. Therefore, a tensioning system, incorporating a load-cell readout, was built into the test fibre's holder. The fibre then was excited by a signal generator, audio power amplifier, and distant loudspeaker, and clear resonances were detected. A theory for the expected fundamental resonant frequency as a function of fibre tension was developed and is reported here, and this theory was found to match closely with the detected resonant frequencies as they varied with tension. Consequently, the resonances seen were identified as being proper Violin-Mode fundamental resonances of the fibre, and the operation of the Violin-Mode detection system was validated.

  9. Load-cell based characterization system for a "Violin-Mode" shadow-sensor in advanced LIGO suspensions.

    PubMed

    Lockerbie, N A; Tokmakov, K V

    2016-07-01

    The background to this work was a prototype shadow sensor, which was designed for retro-fitting to an advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) test-mass/mirror suspension, in which 40 kg test-mass/mirrors are each suspended by four approximately 600 mm long by 0.4 mm diameter fused-silica suspension fibres. The shadow sensor comprised a LED source of Near InfraRed (NIR) radiation and a rectangular silicon photodiode detector, which, together, were to bracket the fibre under test. The aim was to detect transverse Violin-Mode resonances in the suspension fibres. Part of the testing procedure involved tensioning a silica fibre sample and translating it transversely through the illuminating NIR beam, so as to measure the DC responsivity of the detection system to fibre displacement. However, an equally important part of the procedure, reported here, was to keep the fibre under test stationary within the beam, whilst trying to detect low-level AC Violin-Mode resonances excited on the fibre, in order to confirm the primary function of the sensor. Therefore, a tensioning system, incorporating a load-cell readout, was built into the test fibre's holder. The fibre then was excited by a signal generator, audio power amplifier, and distant loudspeaker, and clear resonances were detected. A theory for the expected fundamental resonant frequency as a function of fibre tension was developed and is reported here, and this theory was found to match closely with the detected resonant frequencies as they varied with tension. Consequently, the resonances seen were identified as being proper Violin-Mode fundamental resonances of the fibre, and the operation of the Violin-Mode detection system was validated.

  10. Microbial cell disruption for improving lipid recovery using pressurized CO2 : Role of CO2 solubility in cell suspension, sugar broth, and spent media.

    PubMed

    Howlader, Md Shamim; French, William Todd; Shields-Menard, Sara A; Amirsadeghi, Marta; Green, Magan; Rai, Neeraj

    2017-05-01

    The study of in situ gas explosion to lyse the triglyceride-rich cells involves the solubilization of gas (e.g., carbon dioxide, CO 2 ) in lipid-rich cells under pressure followed by a rapid decompression, which allows the gas inside the cell to rapidly expand and rupture the cell from inside out. The aim of this study was to perform the cell disruption using pressurized CO 2 as well as to determine the solubility of CO 2 in Rhodotorula glutinis cell suspension, sugar broth media, and spent media. Cell disruption of R. glutinis was performed at two pressures of 2,000 and 3,500 kPa, respectively, at 295.2 K, and it was found from both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and plate count that a substantial amount of R. glutinis was disrupted due to the pressurized CO 2 . We also found a considerable portion of lipid present in the aqueous phase after the disruption at P = 3,500 kPa compared to control (no pressure) and P = 2,000 kPa, which implied that more intracellular lipid was released due to the pressurized CO 2 . Solubility of CO 2 in R. glutinis cell suspension was found to be higher than the solubility of CO 2 in both sugar broth media and spent media. Experimental solubility was correlated using the extended Henry's law, which showed a good agreement with the experimental data. Enthalpy and entropy of dissolution of CO 2 were found to be -14.22 kJ mol -1 and 48.10 kJ mol -1  K -1 , 9.64 kJ mol -1 and 32.52 kJ mol -1  K -1 , and 7.50 kJ mol -1 and 25.22 kJ mol -1  K -1 in R. glutinis, spent media, and sugar broth media, respectively. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:737-748, 2017. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  11. gender-specific outcome after paclitaxel-eluting stent implantation in japanese patients with coronary artery disease--sub-analysis of the Japan TAXUS Express2 post-marketing survey.

    PubMed

    Okura, Hiroyuki; Nakamura, Masato; Kotani, Jun-Ichi; Kozuma, Ken

    2013-01-01

     Although previous randomized and non-randomized studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES), a higher revascularization rate has been reported in women than in men. A sub-analysis of the TAXUS Japan Post-market Surveillance Study (TAXUS-PMS) was done to assess the influence of gender on clinical outcome.  A total of 2,132 PES-treated Japanese patients (women, n=551) from this registry were analyzed. Subjects were stratified by gender to compare 1-year clinical outcome. PES-treated women were older and more likely to have insulin-treated diabetes and hypertension. In contrast, PES-treated men were more likely to be smokers, have a previous history of myocardial infarction, and lower ejection fraction. While cardiac death, myocardial infarction and stent thrombosis were similar between men and women, major cardiac events tended to be lower in women than in men (6.4% vs. 8.8%, P=0.08). Although women had significantly smaller reference vessel size (2.46±0.53 mm vs. 2.59±0.60 mm, P<0.0001), the restenosis rate tended to be lower in women than in men (11.5% vs. 14.8%, P=0.11). Subsequently, the target lesion revascularization rate was significantly lower in women than in men (4.2% vs. 6.5%, P<0.05).  Despite a higher risk profile, Japanese women treated with PES did not have a higher rate of repeat revascularization or major adverse clinical outcome than PES-treated men at 1 year. 

  12. Self-powered suspension criterion and energy regeneration implementation scheme of motor-driven active suspension

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Shuai; Sun, Weichao

    2017-09-01

    Active suspension systems have advantages on mitigating the effects of vehicle vibration caused by road roughness, which are one of the most important component parts in influencing the performances of vehicles. However, high amount of energy consumption restricts the application of active suspension systems. From the point of energy saving, this paper presents a self-powered criterion of the active suspension system to judge whether a motor-driven suspension can be self-powered or not, and then a motor parameter condition is developed as a reference to design a self-powered suspension. An energy regeneration implementation scheme is subsequently proposed to make the active suspension which has the potential to be self-powered achieve energy-saving target in the real application. In this implementation scheme, operating electric circuits are designed based on different working status of the actuator and power source and it is realizable to accumulate energy from road vibration and supply energy to the actuator by switching corresponding electric circuits. To apply the self-powered suspension criterion and energy regeneration implementation scheme, an active suspension system is designed with a constrained H∞ controller and calculation results indicate that it has the capability to be self-powered. Simulation results show that the performances of the self-powered active suspension are nearly the same as those of the active suspension with an external energy source and can achieve energy regeneration at the same time.

  13. 45 CFR 1641.11 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Suspension. 1641.11 Section 1641.11 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Suspension § 1641.11 Suspension. (a) IPAs suspended from providing audit...

  14. 45 CFR 1641.11 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Suspension. 1641.11 Section 1641.11 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Suspension § 1641.11 Suspension. (a) IPAs suspended from providing audit...

  15. Rethinking Suspensions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stetson, Frank H.; Collins, Betty J.

    2010-01-01

    The overrepresentation of the Black and Hispanic subgroups in suspension data is a national problem and a troubling issue for schools and school systems across the United States. In Maryland, an analysis of student suspensions by school districts for the 2006-2007 school year revealed disproportionality issues. In 23 of the 24 jurisdictions,…

  16. Effective viscosity of a suspension of flagellar-beating microswimmers: Three-dimensional modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jibuti, Levan; Zimmermann, Walter; Rafaï, Salima; Peyla, Philippe

    2017-11-01

    Micro-organisms usually can swim in their liquid environment by flagellar or ciliary beating. In this numerical work, we analyze the influence of flagellar beating on the orbits of a swimming cell in a shear flow. We also calculate the effect of the flagellar beating on the rheology of a dilute suspension of microswimmers. A three-dimensional model is proposed for Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii swimming with a breaststroke-like beating of two anterior flagella modeled by two counter-rotating fore beads. The active swimmer model reveals unusual angular orbits in a linear shear flow. Namely, the swimmer sustains orientations transiently across the flow. Such behavior is a result of the interplay between shear flow and the swimmer's periodic beating motion of flagella, which exert internal torques on the cell body. This peculiar behavior has some significant consequences on the rheological properties of the suspension. We calculate Einstein's viscosity of the suspension composed of such isolated modeled microswimmers (dilute case) in a shear flow. We use numerical simulations based on a Rotne-Prager-like approximation for hydrodynamic interaction between simplified flagella and the cell body. The results show an increased intrinsic viscosity for active swimmer suspensions in comparison to nonactive ones as well as a shear thinning behavior in accordance with previous experimental measurements [Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 098102 (2010), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.098102].

  17. Changes in phytochelatins and their biosynthetic intermediates in red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) cell suspension cultures under cadmium and zinc stress

    Treesearch

    P. Thangavel; Stephanie Long; Rakesh Minocha

    2007-01-01

    Cell suspension cultures of red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) were selected to study the effects of cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) on phytochelatins (PCs) and related metabolites after 24 h exposure. The PC2 and its precursor, γ-glutamylcysteine (γ-EC) increased two to fourfold with Cd concentrations ranging from 12...

  18. 21 CFR 1404.1015 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Suspension. 1404.1015 Section 1404.1015 Food and Drugs OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 1404.1015 Suspension. Suspension is an action taken by a suspending official under subpart G of...

  19. Fluorescence imaging analysis of taxol-induced ASTC-a-1 cell death with cell swelling and cytoplasmic vacuolization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Tong-sheng; Sun, Lei; Wang, Longxiang; Wang, Huiying

    2008-02-01

    Taxol (Paclitaxel), an isolated component from the bark of the Pacific yew Taxus brevifolia, exhibits a broad spectrum of clinical activity against human cancers. Taxol can promote microtubule (MT) assembly, inhibit depolymerization, and change MT dynamics, resulting in disruption of the normal reorganization of the microtubule network required for mitosis and cell proliferation. However, the molecular mechanism of taxol-induced cell death is still unclear. In this report, CCK-8 was used to assay the inhibition of taxol on the human lung adenocarcinoma (ASTC-a-1) cells viability, confocal fluorescence microscope was used to monitor the morphology changes of cells with taxol treatment. We for the first time describe the characteristics of taxol-induced cells swelling, cytoplasmic vacuolization and cell death. Taxol induced swelling, cytoplasmatic vacuolization and cell death without cell shrinkage and membrane rupture. These features differ from those of apoptosis and resemble the paraptosis, a novel nonapoptotic PCD.

  20. Assessment of the electrochemical effects of pulsed electric fields in a biological cell suspension.

    PubMed

    Chafai, Djamel Eddine; Mehle, Andraž; Tilmatine, Amar; Maouche, Bachir; Miklavčič, Damijan

    2015-12-01

    Electroporation of cells is successfully used in biology, biotechnology and medicine. Practical problems still arise in the electroporation of cells in suspension. For example, the determination of cell electroporation is still a demanding and time-consuming task. Electric pulses also cause contamination of the solution by the metal released from the electrodes and create local enhancements of the electric field, leading to the occurrence of electrochemical reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interface. In our study, we investigated the possibility of assessing modifications to the cell environment caused by pulsed electric fields using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. We designed an experimental protocol to elucidate the mechanism by which a pulsed electric field affects the electrode state in relation to different electrolyte conductivities at the interface. The results show that a pulsed electric field affects electrodes and its degree depends on the electrolyte conductivity. Evolution of the electrochemical reaction rate depends on the initial free charges and those generated by the pulsed electric field. In the presence of biological cells, the initial free charges in the medium are reduced. The electrical current path at low frequency is longer, i.e., conductivity is decreased, even in the presence of increased permeability of the cell membrane created by the pulsed electric field. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. In-School Suspension Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas County Schools, Thomasville, GA.

    The in-school suspension program (ISS) for grades 6-12 in Thomas County, Georgia, is described in this report. The program retains students in school, offers individual help, and provides the opportunity to stay on task. During the suspension period, students are placed in individualized carrels in the suspension center and must complete…

  2. Suspension chemistry and electrophoretic deposition of zirconia electrolyte on conducting and non-conducting substrates

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Das, Debasish; Basu, Rajendra N., E-mail: rnbasu@cgcri.res.in

    2013-09-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Stable suspension of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) obtained in isopropanol medium. • Suspension chemistry and process parameters for electrophoretic deposition optimized. • Deposited film quality changed with iodine and water (dispersants) concentration. • Dense YSZ film (∼5 μm) fabricated onto non-conducting porous NiO-YSZ anode substrate. - Abstract: Suspensions of 8 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) particulates in isopropanol medium are prepared using acetylacetone, iodine and water as dispersants. The effect of dispersants concentration on suspension stability, particle size distribution, electrical conductivity and pH of the suspensions are studied in detail to optimize the suspension chemistry.more » Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) has been conducted to produce thin and dense YSZ electrolyte films. Deposition kinetics have been studied in depth and good quality films on conducting substrate are obtained at an applied voltage of 15 V for 3 min. YSZ films are also fabricated on non-conducting NiO-YSZ anode substrate using a steel plate on the reverse side of the substrate. Upon co-firing at 1400 °C for 6 h a dense YSZ film of thickness ∼5 μm is obtained. Such a half cell (anode + electrolyte) can be used to fabricate a solid oxide fuel cell on applying a suitable cathode layer.« less

  3. Optimized delivery of skin keratinocytes by aerosolization and suspension in fibrin tissue adhesive.

    PubMed

    Harkin, Damien G; Dawson, Rebecca A; Upton, Zee

    2006-01-01

    Aerosolized suspensions of keratinocytes provide a potential therapy for wounds, but the effects of aerosolization on cell viability remain unclear. Likewise, little is known of the resulting cell distribution pattern and how this compares to the density required for epithelialization. The potential benefits of cospraying cells in the presence of fibrin adhesive are equally uncertain. Thus, in the present study we have optimized conditions for the aerosolization of cultured keratinocytes using a device (Tissomat) that supports the option for coapplication with fibrin (Tisseel). Cell viability was unaffected when sprayed at 10 psi, but a significant reduction in metabolic activity, as determined by the methylthiazoyldiphenol-tetrazolium assay, was observed at higher pressure. Bursts of 0.2 mL cell suspension (1.5x10(6)/mL) delivered from a height of 10 cm was sufficient to epithelialize an area of 10-15 cm2 within 7 days in vitro. Confluent areas corresponded to those with a density of 5,000-10,000 cells/cm2 at 24 hours. Optimal cell growth in Tisseel was achieved through dilution of fibrinogen (1-3 mg/mL) and thrombin (2-5 IU/mL). This optimized formulation eliminated fluid run-off postspraying and stimulated a twofold increase in cellular response. Therefore, our in vitro data supports the theory that aerosolized suspensions of keratinocytes in fibrin will benefit healing.

  4. Estrogen response of MCF-7 cells grown on diverse substrates and in suspension culture: promotion of morphological heterogeneity, modulation of progestin receptor induction; cell-substrate interactions on collagen gels.

    PubMed

    Pourreau-Schneider, N; Berthois, Y; Mittre, H; Charpin, C; Jacquemier, J; Martin, P M

    1984-12-01

    In this study we observed the incidence of hormone sensitivity in the response of MCF-7 cells to estrogen stimulation when the cells were cultured in different contact environments (hydrophilic plastic, bovine corneal extracellular matrix, type I collagen and in suspension culture). The major purpose was to describe the influence of cell to cell and cell to substrate contacts on the morphological response to estrogen treatment. However, other parameters including growth and induction of progestin receptor were also explored, keeping in mind that the MCF-7 cell line, although representative of normal mammary epithelium in that it contains a similar hormone receptivity, was selected in vitro from a metastatic population in a pleural effusion. Although substrate conditions did not modify growth enhancement by estrogens, progestin receptor levels were significantly higher in three-dimensional spheroid cultures in which cell to cell contacts were optimal due to elimination of basal contact. A careful morphological survey of large surfaces lead to an objective opinion of the overall effect of the hormone treatment on the non-cloned cell line in which a marked heterogeneity in the response of individual cells was observed. In terms of morphofunctional differentiation, the edification of acini with dense microvillus coating was best in suspension culture. When sections were made perpendicular to the plane of cultures on collagen gel rafts two other phenomena were noted: decrease in intercellular junctions, resulting in reduced cell to cell cohesion, and accumulation biodegradation products in the collagen lattice. This suggested a hormone-mediated interaction between the metastatic cells and the fibrillar substrate, collagen I, one of the major constituents of tissue stroma. This estrogen response might be related to the metastatic phenotype and must be distinct from their hormone sensitivity in terms of growth and differentiation since hormone receptivity is generally

  5. Epoxidation of Short-Chain Alkenes by Resting-Cell Suspensions of Propane-Grown Bacteria

    PubMed Central

    Hou, Ching T.; Patel, Ramesh; Laskin, Allen I.; Barnabe, Nancy; Barist, Irene

    1983-01-01

    Sixteen new cultures of propane-utilizing bacteria were isolated from lake water from Warinanco Park, Linden, N.J. and from lake and soil samples from Bayway Refinery, Linden, N.J. In addition, 19 known cultures obtained from culture collections were also found to be able to grow on propane as the sole carbon and energy source. In addition to their ability to oxidize n-alkanes, resting-cell suspensions of both new cultures and known cultures grown on propane oxidize short-chain alkenes to their corresponding 1,2-epoxides. Among the substrate alkenes, propylene was oxidized at the highest rate. In contrast to the case with methylotrophic bacteria, the product epoxides are further metabolized. Propane and other gaseous n-alkanes inhibit the epoxidation of propylene. The optimum conditions for in vivo epoxidation are described. Results from inhibition studies indicate that a propane monooxygenase system catalyzes both the epoxidation and hydroxylation reactions. Experiments with cell-free extracts show that both hydroxylation and epoxidation activities are located in the soluble fraction obtained after 80,000 × g centrifugation. PMID:16346338

  6. Characterization of lentiviral vector production using microwell suspension cultures of HEK293T-derived producer cells.

    PubMed

    Guy, Heather M; McCloskey, Laura; Lye, Gary J; Mitrophanous, Kyriacos A; Mukhopadhyay, Tarit K

    2013-04-01

    ProSavin(®) is a lentiviral vector (LV)-based gene therapy for Parkinson's disease. ProSavin(®) is currently in a Phase I/II clinical trial using material that was generated by transient transfection of adherent human embryonic kidney (HEK)293T cells. For future large-scale productions of ProSavin(®), we have previously reported the development and characterization of two inducible producer cell lines, termed PS5.8 and PS46.2. PS46.2 has been successfully adapted to grow in suspension cultures. The present study describes the creation of a small-scale (<2 ml) microwell-based experimental platform for the parallel investigation of ProSavin(®) production using suspension-adapted PS46.2. This is combined with statistical design of experiments (DoE) techniques to enable rapid characterization of the process conditions that impact cell growth and LV production. The effects of postinduction period, microwell liquid fill volume, and concentration of inducer (doxycycline) on ProSavin(®) titer and the particle:infectivity (P:I) ratio was investigated using three rounds of DoE, in order to identify appropriate factor ranges and optimize production conditions. We identified an optimal "harvest window" between approximately 26-46 hr within which maximal titers of around 6×10(4) transducing units (TU)/ml were obtained (an approximately 30-fold improvement compared to starting microwell conditions), providing that the fill volume was maintained at or below 1 ml and the doxycycline concentration was at least 1.0 μg/ml. Insights from the microwell studies were subsequently used to rapidly establish operating conditions for ProSavin(®) production in a 0.5-L wave bioreactor culture. The information presented herein thus aids the design and evaluation of scalable production processes for LVs.

  7. Four-Wheel Vehicle Suspension System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bickler, Donald B.

    1990-01-01

    Four-wheel suspension system uses simple system of levers with no compliant components to provide three-point suspension of chassis of vehicle while maintaining four-point contact with uneven terrain. Provides stability against tipping of four-point rectangular base, without rocking contact to which rigid four-wheel frame susceptible. Similar to six-wheel suspension system described in "Articulated Suspension Without Springs" (NPO-17354).

  8. Plant regeneration from cell suspension-derived protoplasts of Phalaenopsis.

    PubMed

    Shrestha, B R; Tokuhara, K; Mii, M

    2007-06-01

    Protoplasts isolated from cell suspension culture of Phalaenopsis "Wataboushi" were cultured by (a) embedding in gellan gum-solidified hormone-free 1/2 New Dogashima medium (1/2 NDM) containing 0.44 M sorbitol, 0.06 M sucrose and 0.1 g/l L-glutamine (standard method) and (b) beads method using beads of gellan gum or sodium alginate as the gelling agents which were surrounded by liquid NDM. Although, the two beads methods gave less frequency of initial protoplast division than the standard method, the former finally resulted in higher frequency of microcolony formation than the latter. The highest frequency of microcolony formation (23%) was obtained when protoplasts were embedded in 1% Ca-alginate beads and subcultured every two weeks by replacing the surrounding liquid culture medium with a decrease in sorbitol concentration by 0.1 M. Colonies visible to the naked eyes were observed within 2 months of culture and the regenerated calluses were transferred onto hormone-free NDM supplemented with 10 g/l maltose and 0.3% (w/v) gellan gum, on which PLBs were formed and proliferated profusely. The PLBs were regenerated into plantlets after changing the carbon source to 10 g/l sorbitol and successfully acclimatized to greenhouse conditions.

  9. Inhibition of protease activity by antisense RNA improves recombinant protein production in Nicotiana tabacum cv. Bright Yellow 2 (BY-2) suspension cells.

    PubMed

    Mandal, Manoj K; Fischer, Rainer; Schillberg, Stefan; Schiermeyer, Andreas

    2014-08-01

    Recombinant proteins produced in plant suspension cultures are often degraded by endogenous plant proteases when secreted into the medium, resulting in low yields. To generate protease-deficient tobacco BY-2 cell lines and to retrieve the sequence information, we cloned four different protease cDNAs from tobacco BY-2 cells (NtAP, NtCP, NtMMP1, and NtSP), which represent the major catalytic classes. The simultaneous expression of antisense RNAs against these endogenous proteases led to the establishment of cell lines with reduced levels of endogenous protease expression and activity at late stages of the cultivation cycle. One of the cell lines showing reduced proteolytic activity in the culture medium was selected for the expression of the recombinant full-length IgG1(κ) antibody 2F5, recognizing the gp41 surface protein of HIV-1. This cell line showed significantly reduced degradation of the 2F5 heavy chain, resulting in four-fold higher accumulation of the intact antibody heavy chain when compared to transformed wild type cells expressing the same antibody. N-terminal sequencing data revealed that the antibody has two cleavage sites within the CDR-H3 and one site at the end of the H4-framework region. These cleavage sites are found to be vulnerable to serine proteases. The data provide a basis for further improvement of plant cells for the production of recombinant proteins in plant cell suspension cultures. Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. [Diversity and community structure of endophytic fungi from Taxus chinensis var. mairei].

    PubMed

    2014-07-01

    A total of 628 endophytic fungi were isolated from 480 tissue segments of needles and branches of Taxus chinensis var. mairei. According to morphological characteristics and ITS sequences, they represented 43 taxa in 28 genera, of which 10 Hyphomycetes, 20 Coelomycetes, 12 Ascomycetes and 1 unknown fungus. Phomopsis mali was confirmed as the dominant species. In accordance with relative frequency, Alternaria alternata, Aureobasidium pullulans, Colletotrichum boninense, C. gloeosporioides, Epicoccum nigrum , Fungal sp., Fusarium lateritium, Glomerella cingulata, Magnaporthales sp. , Nigrospora oryzae, Pestalotiopsis maculiformans, P. microspora, Peyronellaea glomerata and Xylaria sp. 1 were more common in T. chinensis var. mairei. T. chinensis var. mairei were severely infected by endophytic fungi. Endophytic fungi were found in 81 percent of plant tissues with a high diversity. Distribution ranges of endophytic fungi were influenced by tissue properties. The colonization rate, richness, diversity of endophytic fungi in needles were obviously lower than in branches, and kinds of endophytic fungi between branches were more similar than those in needles, thus endophytic fungi had tissue preference. In addition, tissue age influenced the community structure of endophytic fungi. The elder branch tissues were, the higher colonization rate, richness, diversity of endophytic fungi were. Systematic studying the diversity and community structure of endophytic fungi in T. chinensis var. mairei and clarifying their distribution regularity in plant tissues would offer basic data and scientific basis for their development and utilization. Discussing the presence of fungal pathogens in healthy plant tissues would be of positive significance for source protection of T. chinensis var. mairei.

  11. Biomek Cell Workstation: A Variable System for Automated Cell Cultivation.

    PubMed

    Lehmann, R; Severitt, J C; Roddelkopf, T; Junginger, S; Thurow, K

    2016-06-01

    Automated cell cultivation is an important tool for simplifying routine laboratory work. Automated methods are independent of skill levels and daily constitution of laboratory staff in combination with a constant quality and performance of the methods. The Biomek Cell Workstation was configured as a flexible and compatible system. The modified Biomek Cell Workstation enables the cultivation of adherent and suspension cells. Until now, no commercially available systems enabled the automated handling of both types of cells in one system. In particular, the automated cultivation of suspension cells in this form has not been published. The cell counts and viabilities were nonsignificantly decreased for cells cultivated in AutoFlasks in automated handling. The proliferation of manual and automated bioscreening by the WST-1 assay showed a nonsignificant lower proliferation of automatically disseminated cells associated with a mostly lower standard error. The disseminated suspension cell lines showed different pronounced proliferations in descending order, starting with Jurkat cells followed by SEM, Molt4, and RS4 cells having the lowest proliferation. In this respect, we successfully disseminated and screened suspension cells in an automated way. The automated cultivation and dissemination of a variety of suspension cells can replace the manual method. © 2015 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

  12. Development of an optimized tetracycline-inducible expression system to increase the accumulation of interleukin-10 in tobacco BY-2 suspension cells.

    PubMed

    Bortesi, Luisa; Rademacher, Thomas; Schiermeyer, Andreas; Schuster, Flora; Pezzotti, Mario; Schillberg, Stefan

    2012-07-11

    Plant cell suspension cultures can be used for the production of valuable pharmaceutical and industrial proteins. When the recombinant protein is secreted into the culture medium, restricting expression to a defined growth phase can improve both the quality and quantity of the recovered product by minimizing proteolytic activity. Temporal restriction is also useful for recombinant proteins whose constitutive expression affects cell growth and viability, such as viral interleukin-10 (vIL-10). We have developed a novel, tetracycline-inducible system suitable for tobacco BY-2 suspension cells which increases the yields of vIL-10. The new system is based on a binary vector that is easier to handle than conventional vectors, contains an enhanced inducible promoter and 5'-UTR to improve yields, and incorporates a constitutively-expressed visible marker gene to allow the rapid and straightforward selection of the most promising transformed clones. Stable transformation of BY-2 cells with this vector, without extensive optimization of the induction conditions, led to a 3.5 fold increase in vIL-10 levels compared to constitutive expression in the same host. We have developed an effective and straightforward molecular farming platform technology that improves both the quality and the quantity of recombinant proteins produced in plant cells, particularly those whose constitutive expression has a negative impact on plant growth and development. Although we tested the platform using vIL-10 produced in BY-2 cells, it can be applied to other host/product combinations and is also useful for basic research requiring strictly controlled transgene expression.

  13. Development of an optimized tetracycline-inducible expression system to increase the accumulation of interleukin-10 in tobacco BY-2 suspension cells

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Plant cell suspension cultures can be used for the production of valuable pharmaceutical and industrial proteins. When the recombinant protein is secreted into the culture medium, restricting expression to a defined growth phase can improve both the quality and quantity of the recovered product by minimizing proteolytic activity. Temporal restriction is also useful for recombinant proteins whose constitutive expression affects cell growth and viability, such as viral interleukin-10 (vIL-10). Results We have developed a novel, tetracycline-inducible system suitable for tobacco BY-2 suspension cells which increases the yields of vIL-10. The new system is based on a binary vector that is easier to handle than conventional vectors, contains an enhanced inducible promoter and 5′-UTR to improve yields, and incorporates a constitutively-expressed visible marker gene to allow the rapid and straightforward selection of the most promising transformed clones. Stable transformation of BY-2 cells with this vector, without extensive optimization of the induction conditions, led to a 3.5 fold increase in vIL-10 levels compared to constitutive expression in the same host. Conclusions We have developed an effective and straightforward molecular farming platform technology that improves both the quality and the quantity of recombinant proteins produced in plant cells, particularly those whose constitutive expression has a negative impact on plant growth and development. Although we tested the platform using vIL-10 produced in BY-2 cells, it can be applied to other host/product combinations and is also useful for basic research requiring strictly controlled transgene expression. PMID:22784336

  14. 44 CFR 17.615 - Grounds for suspension of payments, suspension or termination of grants, or suspension or debarment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Grounds for suspension of... Management and Assistance FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY GENERAL GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (GRANTS) § 17.615 Grounds for suspension of payments...

  15. Non-linear dielectric spectroscopy of microbiological suspensions

    PubMed Central

    Treo, Ernesto F; Felice, Carmelo J

    2009-01-01

    Background Non-linear dielectric spectroscopy (NLDS) of microorganism was characterized by the generation of harmonics in the polarization current when a microorganism suspension was exposed to a sinusoidal electric field. The biological nonlinear response initially described was not well verified by other authors and the results were susceptible to ambiguous interpretation. In this paper NLDS was performed to yeast suspension in tripolar and tetrapolar configuration with a recently developed analyzer. Methods Tripolar analysis was carried out by applying sinusoidal voltages up to 1 V at the electrode interface. Tetrapolar analysis was carried on with sinusoidal field strengths from 0.1 V cm-1 to 70 V cm-1. Both analyses were performed within a frequency range from 1 Hz through 100 Hz. The harmonic amplitudes were Fourier-analyzed and expressed in dB. The third harmonic, as reported previously, was investigated. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) was used to test the effect of inhibitor an activator of the plasma membrane enzyme in the measured response. Results No significant non-linearities were observed in tetrapolar analysis, and no observable changes occurred when inhibitor and activator were added to the suspension. Statistical analysis confirmed these results. When a pure sinus voltage was applied to an electrode-yeast suspension interface, variations higher than 25 dB for the 3rd harmonic were observed. Variation higher than 20 dB in the 3rd harmonics has also been found when adding an inhibitor or activator of the membrane-bounded enzymes. These variations did not occur when the suspension was boiled. Discussion The lack of result in tetrapolar cells suggest that there is no, if any, harmonic generation in microbiological bulk suspension. The non-linear response observed was originated in the electrode-electrolyte interface. The frequency and voltage windows observed in previous tetrapolar analysis were repeated in the tripolar measurements, but maximum were not

  16. A new large-scale process for taxol and related taxanes from Taxus brevifolia.

    PubMed

    Rao, K V; Hanuman, J B; Alvarez, C; Stoy, M; Juchum, J; Davies, R M; Baxley, R

    1995-07-01

    In view of the demonstrated antitumor activity of taxol, ready availability of the drug is important. The current isolation methods starting from the bark of Taxus brevifolia involve multiple manipulations, leading to only taxol and in a yield of 0.01%. A new process consisting of a single reverse phase column is introduced here, and the present purpose is to determine its large scale applicability. The chloroform extractable fraction of the bark of T. brevifolia is applied directly on to a C-18 bonded silica column in 25% acetonitrile/water, with elution using a step gradient: 30-50% acetonitrile/water. On standing, eight different taxanes, including taxol, crystallize out directly from different fractions. The crystals are filtered and purified further by recrystallization. Taxol and four other taxanes are purified this way. The other three require a short silica column. Taxol is freed from cephalomannine by selective ozonolysis. The large scale process gave taxol (0.04%), 10-deacetylbaccatin III (0.02%), 10-deacetyl taxol-7-xyloside (0.1%), 10-deacetyl taxol-C-7-xyloside (0.04%), 10-deacetyl cephalomannine-7-xyloside (0.006%), taxol-7-xyloside (0.008%), 10-deacetyl taxol (0.008%) and cephalomannine (0.004%). Processing of the needles of T. brevifolia gave brevifoliol (0.17%), and that of the wood, 10-deacetyl taxol-C-7-xyloside (0.01%) and 10-deacetyl taxol-C. The reverse phase column process is simpler (one column, direct crystallization), more efficient (eight taxanes obtained simultaneously) and also gives higher yields.

  17. Decreasing School Suspensions among Middle School Children by Implementing a Rehabilitative In-Room Suspension.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Novell, Ireneanne

    This practicum report describes a 15-day in-room suspension strategy designed to reduce the increasing number of principal-initiated student suspensions resulting from inappropriate conduct. The program's distinguishing features entailed a central figure who predetermined the candidates by means of a pre-suspension interview, parental-student…

  18. Increasing anthraquinone production by overexpression of 1-deoxy-D: -xylulose-5-phosphate synthase in transgenic cell suspension cultures of Morinda citrifolia.

    PubMed

    Quevedo, Carla; Perassolo, María; Alechine, Eugenia; Corach, Daniel; Giulietti, Ana María; Talou, Julián Rodriguez

    2010-07-01

    A Morinda citrifolia cell line was obtained by overexpresion of 1-deoxy-D: -xylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXS) from Catharanthus roseus, a key enzyme of the metabolic pathway of anthraquinones (AQs). This cell line increased AQs production by about 24% compared to the control cell line. This transgenic cell line which carries dxs cDNA isolated from Catharanthus roseus, was achieved by direct transformation of cell suspension cultures of M. citrifolia using a hypervirulent Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain. The effects of the overexpression of the dxs gene also resulted in increased levels of dxs mRNA transcripts and DXS activity compared to the control cell line. In addition, total phenolics and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity were evaluated and were significantly higher in the transgenic line than in controls.

  19. Suspension, a Wake-Up Call: Rural Educators' Attitudes toward Suspension.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henderson, Joan; Friedland, Billie

    Data from the West Virginia Department of Education reveals that from September 1991 to January 1992, school districts reported 18,915 out-of-school suspensions involving 12,997 students. In 1995, the West Virginia State Legislature enacted the Safe Schools Act, which specifically mandates suspension for no less than 12 consecutive months for…

  20. Enhancement of particle-induced viscous fingering in bidisperse suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Feng; Lee, Sungyon

    2017-11-01

    The novel particle-induced fingering instability is observed when bidisperse particle suspensions displace air in a Hele-Shaw cell. Leading to the instability, we observe that larger particles consistently enrich the fluid-fluid interface at a faster rate than the small particles. This size-dependent enrichment of the interface leads to an earlier onset of the fingering instability for bidisperse suspensions, compared to their monodisperse counterpart. Careful experiments are carried out by either systematically varying the ratio of large to small particles at fixed total concentrations, or by changing the total concentrations while the large particle concentrations are held constant. Experimental results show that the presence of large particle causes the instability to occur at concentrations as much as 5% lower than the pure small particle case. We also discuss the physical mechanism that drives the enrichment and the subsequent instability based on the modified suspension balance model.

  1. Biocompatible Colloidal Suspensions Based on Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization and Toxicological Profile

    PubMed Central

    Coricovac, Dorina-Elena; Moacă, Elena-Alina; Pinzaru, Iulia; Cîtu, Cosmin; Soica, Codruta; Mihali, Ciprian-Valentin; Păcurariu, Cornelia; Tutelyan, Victor A.; Tsatsakis, Aristidis; Dehelean, Cristina-Adriana

    2017-01-01

    The use of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in biomedicine has evolved intensely in the recent years due to the multiple applications of these nanomaterials, mainly in domains like cancer. The aim of the present study was: (i) to develop biocompatible colloidal suspensions based on magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as future theranostic tools for skin pathology and (ii) to test their effects in vitro on human keratinocytes (HaCat cells) and in vivo by employing an animal model of acute dermal toxicity. Biocompatible colloidal suspensions were obtained by coating the magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles resulted during the solution combustion synthesis with a double layer of oleic acid, as innovative procedure in increasing bioavailability. The colloidal suspensions were characterized in terms of dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The in vitro effects of these suspensions were tested by means of Alamar blue assay and the noxious effects at skin level were measured using non-invasive methods. The in vitro results indicated a lack of toxicity on normal human cells induced by the iron oxide nanoparticles colloidal suspensions after an exposure of 24 h to different concentrations (5, 10, and 25 μg·mL−1). The dermal acute toxicity test showed that the topical applications of the colloidal suspensions on female and male SKH-1 hairless mice were not associated with significant changes in the quality of barrier skin function. PMID:28400730

  2. Shear thinning and shear thickening of a confined suspension of vesicles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nait Ouhra, A.; Farutin, A.; Aouane, O.; Ez-Zahraouy, H.; Benyoussef, A.; Misbah, C.

    2018-01-01

    Widely regarded as an interesting model system for studying flow properties of blood, vesicles are closed membranes of phospholipids that mimic the cytoplasmic membranes of red blood cells. In this study we analyze the rheology of a suspension of vesicles in a confined geometry: the suspension, bound by two planar rigid walls on each side, is subject to a shear flow. Flow properties are then analyzed as a function of shear rate γ ˙, the concentration of the suspension ϕ , and the viscosity contrast λ =ηin/ηout , where ηin and ηout are the fluid viscosities of the inner and outer fluids, respectively. We find that the apparent (or effective viscosity) of the suspension exhibits both shear thinning (decreasing viscosity with shear rate) or shear thickening (increasing viscosity with shear rate) in the same concentration range. The shear thinning or thickening behaviors appear as subtle phenomena, dependant on viscosity contrast λ . We provide physical arguments on the origins of these behaviors.

  3. Quantitative changes of GABA-immunoreactive cells in the hindlimb representation of the rat somatosensory cortex after 14-day hindlimb unloading by tail suspension

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    D'Amelio, F.; Fox, R. A.; Wu, L. C.; Daunton, N. G.

    1996-01-01

    The present study was aimed at evaluating quantitatively gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) immunoreactivity in the hindlimb representation of the rat somatosensory cortex after 14 days of hindlimb unloading by tail suspension. A reduction in the number of GABA-immunoreactive cells with respect to the control animals was observed in layer Va and Vb. GABA-containing terminals were also reduced in the same layers, particularly those terminals surrounding the soma and apical dendrites of pyramidal cells in layer Vb. On the basis of previous morphological and behavioral studies of the neuromuscular system of hindlimb-suspended animals, it is suggested that the unloading due to hindlimb suspension alters afferent signaling and feedback information from intramuscular receptors to the cerebral cortex due to modifications in the reflex organization of hindlimb muscle groups. We propose that the reduction in immunoreactivity of local circuit GABAergic neurons and terminals is an expression of changes in their modulatory activity to compensate for the alterations in the afferent information.

  4. Solving the Issue of Restenosis After Stenting of Intracranial Stenoses: Experience with Two Thin-Strut Drug-Eluting Stents (DES)—Taxus Element™ and Resolute Integrity™

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kurre, Wiebke, E-mail: wiebke.kurre@gmx.de; Aguilar-Pérez, Marta; Fischer, Sebastian

    PurposeThin-strut, flexible DES are suitable for intracranial stenting and may improve long-term vessel patency. The purpose of this study was to report our experience with two new-generation DES for the treatment of intracranial atherosclerotic disease.Patients and MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed all patients treated with Taxus Element™ or Resolute Integrity™ stent for an intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis between March 2011 and August 2013. Technical success was defined as the ability to deploy the device at the desired location and reduce the degree of stenosis below 50 %. All procedure-related strokes were recorded. Control angiography was scheduled after 6 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months and yearlymore » thereafter. A luminal narrowing ≥50 % was regarded as a restenosis. Stroke recurrence in the territory of the treated artery was reported.ResultsIn the defined period we treated 101 patients harboring 117 intracranial stenoses. The procedure was successful in 100 (85.5 %) lesions. Procedure-related strokes occurred in 10 (9.9 %) patients with a permanent morbidity in 3 (3.0 %). Follow-up angiography was available for 83 of 100 (83.0 %) successfully treated lesions with an average of 355 days (IQR 153–482 days). Three (3.6 %) asymptomatic restenoses were detected. All occurred after treatment with Resolute Integrity™, none after Taxus Element™ (p = 0.059). New strokes in the territory of the treated artery were encountered in 2 (2.6 %) occasions.ConclusionThin-strut DES improve long-term patency and reduce the risk of subsequent stroke. Differences between devices may exist. Feasibility is comparable to bare-metal balloon-mounted stents and procedure-related strokes occurred within the expected range.« less

  5. Effect of elicitation on growth, respiration, and nutrient uptake of root and cell suspension cultures of Hyoscyamus muticus.

    PubMed

    Carvalho, Edgard B; Curtis, Wayne R

    2002-01-01

    The elicitation of Hyoscyamus muticus root and cell suspension cultures by fungal elicitor from Rhizoctonia solani causes dramatic changes in respiration, nutrient yields, and growth. Cells and mature root tissues have similar specific oxygen uptake rates (SOUR) before and after the onset of the elicitation process. Cell suspension SOUR were 11 and 18 micromol O2/g FW x h for non-elicited control and elicited cultures, respectively. Mature root SOUR were 11 and 24 micromol O2/g FW x h for control and elicited tissue, respectively. Tissue growth is significantly reduced upon the addition of elicitor to these cultures. Inorganic yield remains fairly constant, whereas yield on sugar is reduced from 0.532 to 0.352 g dry biomass per g sugar for roots and 0.614 to 0.440 g dry biomass per g sugar for cells. This reduction in yield results from increased energy requirements for the defense response. Growth reduction is reflected in a reduction in root meristem (tip) SOUR, which decreased from 189 to 70 micromol O2/g FW x h upon elicitation. Therefore, despite the increase in total respiration, the maximum local oxygen fluxes are reduced as a result of the reduction in metabolic activity at the meristem. This distribution of oxygen uptake throughout the mature tissue could reduce mass transfer requirements during elicited production. However, this was not found to be the case for sesquiterpene elicitation, where production of lubimin and solavetivone were found to increase linearly up to oxygen partial pressures of 40% O2 in air. SOUR is shown to similarly increase in both bubble column and tubular reactors despite severe mass transfer limitations, suggesting the possibility of metabolically induced increases in tissue convective transport during elicitation.

  6. Suspension and Debarment Regulations

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Governmentwide Nonprocurement Suspension and Debarment Guidelines and EPA Implementation. Executive Order 12549 provides for a governmentwide system of nonprocurment (grants and cooperative agreements) debarment and suspension.

  7. Acid-growth response and alpha-expansins in suspension cultures of bright yellow 2 tobacco

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Link, B. M.; Cosgrove, D. J.

    1998-01-01

    The possibility that Bright Yellow 2 (BY2) tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) suspension-cultured cells possess an expansin-mediated acid-growth mechanism was examined by multiple approaches. BY2 cells grew three times faster upon treatment with fusicoccin, which induces an acidification of the cell wall. Exogenous expansins likewise stimulated BY2 cell growth 3-fold. Protein extracted from BY2 cell walls possessed the expansin-like ability to induce extension of isolated walls. In western-blot analysis of BY2 wall protein, one band of 29 kD was recognized by anti-expansin antibody. Six different classes of alpha-expansin mRNA were identified in a BY2 cDNA library. Northern-blot analysis indicated moderate to low abundance of multiple alpha-expansin mRNAs in BY2 cells. From these results we conclude that BY2 suspension-cultured cells have the necessary components for expansin-mediated cell wall enlargement.

  8. 13 CFR 147.670 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Suspension. 147.670 Section 147.670 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 147.670 Suspension. Suspension means an action taken by a...

  9. 45 CFR 630.670 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Suspension. 630.670 Section 630.670 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 630.670 Suspension. Suspension means an action...

  10. 50 CFR 13.27 - Permit suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Permit suspension. 13.27 Section 13.27... GENERAL PERMIT PROCEDURES Permit Administration § 13.27 Permit suspension. (a) Criteria for suspension..., the reason(s) for such suspension, the actions necessary to correct the deficiencies, and inform the...

  11. NMR quantification of diffusional exchange in cell suspensions with relaxation rate differences between intra and extracellular compartments.

    PubMed

    Eriksson, Stefanie; Elbing, Karin; Söderman, Olle; Lindkvist-Petersson, Karin; Topgaard, Daniel; Lasič, Samo

    2017-01-01

    Water transport across cell membranes can be measured non-invasively with diffusion NMR. We present a method to quantify the intracellular lifetime of water in cell suspensions with short transverse relaxation times, T2, and also circumvent the confounding effect of different T2 values in the intra- and extracellular compartments. Filter exchange spectroscopy (FEXSY) is specifically sensitive to exchange between compartments with different apparent diffusivities. Our investigation shows that FEXSY could yield significantly biased results if differences in T2 are not accounted for. To mitigate this problem, we propose combining FEXSY with diffusion-relaxation correlation experiment, which can quantify differences in T2 values in compartments with different diffusivities. Our analysis uses a joint constrained fitting of the two datasets and considers the effects of diffusion, relaxation and exchange in both experiments. The method is demonstrated on yeast cells with and without human aquaporins.

  12. NMR quantification of diffusional exchange in cell suspensions with relaxation rate differences between intra and extracellular compartments

    PubMed Central

    Eriksson, Stefanie; Elbing, Karin; Söderman, Olle; Lindkvist-Petersson, Karin; Topgaard, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    Water transport across cell membranes can be measured non-invasively with diffusion NMR. We present a method to quantify the intracellular lifetime of water in cell suspensions with short transverse relaxation times, T2, and also circumvent the confounding effect of different T2 values in the intra- and extracellular compartments. Filter exchange spectroscopy (FEXSY) is specifically sensitive to exchange between compartments with different apparent diffusivities. Our investigation shows that FEXSY could yield significantly biased results if differences in T2 are not accounted for. To mitigate this problem, we propose combining FEXSY with diffusion-relaxation correlation experiment, which can quantify differences in T2 values in compartments with different diffusivities. Our analysis uses a joint constrained fitting of the two datasets and considers the effects of diffusion, relaxation and exchange in both experiments. The method is demonstrated on yeast cells with and without human aquaporins. PMID:28493928

  13. Mechanistic, Mutational, and Structural Evaluation of a Taxus Phenylalanine Aminomutase

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Feng, Lei; Wanninayake, Udayanga; Strom, Susan

    The structure of a phenylalanine aminomutase (TcPAM) from Taxus canadensis has been determined at 2.4 {angstrom} resolution. The active site of the TcPAM contains the signature 4-methylidene-1H-imidazol-5(4H)-one prosthesis, observed in all catalysts of the class I lyase-like family. This catalyst isomerizes (S)-{alpha}-phenylalanine to the (R)-{beta}-isomer by exchange of the NH{sub 2}/H pair. The stereochemistry of the TcPAM reaction product is opposite of the (S)-{beta}-tyrosine made by the mechanistically related tyrosine aminomutase (SgTAM) from Streptomyces globisporus. Since TcPAM and SgTAM share similar tertiary- and quaternary-structures and have several highly conserved aliphatic residues positioned analogously in their active sites for substrate recognition,more » the divergent product stereochemistries of these catalysts likely cannot be explained by differences in active site architecture. The active site of the TcPAM structure also is in complex with (E)-cinnamate; the latter functions as both a substrate and an intermediate. To account for the distinct (3R)-{beta}-amino acid stereochemistry catalyzed by TcPAM, the cinnamate skeleton must rotate the C{sub 1}-C{sub {alpha}} and C{sub ipso}-C{sub {beta}} bonds 180{sup o} in the active site prior to exchange and rebinding of the NH{sub 2}/H pair to the cinnamate, an event that is not required for the corresponding acrylate intermediate in the SgTAM reaction. Moreover, the aromatic ring of the intermediate makes only one direct hydrophobic interaction with Leu-104. A L104A mutant of TcPAM demonstrated an 1.5-fold increase in k{sub cat} and a decrease in K{sub M} values for sterically demanding 3'-methyl-{alpha}-phenylalanine and styryl-{alpha}-alanine substrates, compared to the kinetic parameters for TcPAM. These parameters did not change significantly for the mutant with 4'-methyl-{alpha}-phenylalanine compared to those for TcPAM.« less

  14. Production of high-titer human influenza A virus with adherent and suspension MDCK cells cultured in a single-use hollow fiber bioreactor.

    PubMed

    Tapia, Felipe; Vogel, Thomas; Genzel, Yvonne; Behrendt, Ilona; Hirschel, Mark; Gangemi, J David; Reichl, Udo

    2014-02-12

    Hollow fiber bioreactors (HFBRs) have been widely described as capable of supporting the production of highly concentrated monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins. Only recently HFBRs have been proposed as new single-use platforms for production of high-titer influenza A virus. These bioreactors contain multiple hollow fiber capillary tubes that separate the bioreactor in an intra- and an extra-capillary space. Cells are usually cultured in the extra-capillary space and can grow to a very high cell concentration. This work describes the evaluation of the single-use hollow fiber bioreactor PRIMER HF (Biovest International Inc., USA) for production of influenza A virus. The process was setup, characterized and optimized by running a total of 15 cultivations. The HFBRs were seeded with either adherent or suspension MDCK cells, and infected with influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1), and the pandemic strain A/Mexico/4108/2009 (H1N1). High HA titers and TCID₅₀ of up to 3.87 log₁₀(HA units/100 μL) and 1.8 × 10(10)virions/mL, respectively, were obtained for A/PR/8/34 influenza strain. Influenza virus was collected by performing multiple harvests of the extra-capillary space during a virus production time of up to 12 days. Cell-specific virus yields between 2,000 and 8,000 virions/cell were estimated for adherent MDCK cells, and between 11,000 and 19,000 virions/cell for suspension MDCK.SUS2 cells. These results do not only coincide with the cell-specific virus yields obtained with cultivations in stirred tank bioreactors and other high cell density systems, but also demonstrate that HFBRs are promising and competitive single-use platforms that can be considered for commercial production of influenza virus. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. 10 CFR 607.670 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Suspension. 607.670 Section 607.670 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (CONTINUED) ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 607.670 Suspension. Suspension means an action taken by a Federal agency that...

  16. 34 CFR 84.670 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Suspension. 84.670 Section 84.670 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 84.670 Suspension. Suspension means an action taken by a Federal agency that...

  17. Load-cell based characterization system for a “Violin-Mode” shadow-sensor in advanced LIGO suspensions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lockerbie, N. A.; Tokmakov, K. V.

    The background to this work was a prototype shadow sensor, which was designed for retro-fitting to an advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) test-mass/mirror suspension, in which 40 kg test-mass/mirrors are each suspended by four approximately 600 mm long by 0.4 mm diameter fused-silica suspension fibres. The shadow sensor comprised a LED source of Near InfraRed (NIR) radiation and a rectangular silicon photodiode detector, which, together, were to bracket the fibre under test. The aim was to detect transverse Violin-Mode resonances in the suspension fibres. Part of the testing procedure involved tensioning a silica fibre sample and translating itmore » transversely through the illuminating NIR beam, so as to measure the DC responsivity of the detection system to fibre displacement. However, an equally important part of the procedure, reported here, was to keep the fibre under test stationary within the beam, whilst trying to detect low-level AC Violin-Mode resonances excited on the fibre, in order to confirm the primary function of the sensor. Therefore, a tensioning system, incorporating a load-cell readout, was built into the test fibre’s holder. The fibre then was excited by a signal generator, audio power amplifier, and distant loudspeaker, and clear resonances were detected. A theory for the expected fundamental resonant frequency as a function of fibre tension was developed and is reported here, and this theory was found to match closely with the detected resonant frequencies as they varied with tension. Consequently, the resonances seen were identified as being proper Violin-Mode fundamental resonances of the fibre, and the operation of the Violin-Mode detection system was validated.« less

  18. 31 CFR 20.670 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Suspension. 20.670 Section 20.670 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the Secretary of the Treasury GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 20.670 Suspension. Suspension means an action taken...

  19. 31 CFR 20.670 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Suspension. 20.670 Section 20.670 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the Secretary of the Treasury GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 20.670 Suspension. Suspension means an action taken...

  20. 31 CFR 20.670 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Suspension. 20.670 Section 20.670 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the Secretary of the Treasury GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 20.670 Suspension. Suspension means an action taken...

  1. 31 CFR 20.670 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Suspension. 20.670 Section 20.670 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the Secretary of the Treasury GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 20.670 Suspension. Suspension means an action taken...

  2. 31 CFR 20.670 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Suspension. 20.670 Section 20.670 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the Secretary of the Treasury GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 20.670 Suspension. Suspension means an action taken...

  3. Simulations of flexible fiber suspensions

    Treesearch

    Emilio J. Tozzi; Daniel J. Klingenberg; C. Tim Scott; Pasi Miettinen

    2005-01-01

    Fiber-level simulations are employed to probe the relationships between various properties and macroscopic behavior of flexible fiber suspensions. Issues addressed include flocculation, suspension rheology, and handsheet formation and testing. Results show that such simulations can be useful tools for understanding the factors that control the behavior of suspensions...

  4. Oesophageal bioadhesion of sodium alginate suspensions 2. Suspension behaviour on oesophageal mucosa.

    PubMed

    Richardson, J Craig; Dettmar, Peter W; Hampson, Frank C; Melia, Colin D

    2005-01-01

    Sodium alginate suspensions in a range of water miscible vehicles were investigated as novel bioadhesive liquids for targeting the oesophageal mucosa. Such a dosage form might be utilised to coat the oesophageal surface and provide a protective barrier against gastric reflux, or to deliver therapeutic agents site-specifically. Alginate suspensions swelled and formed an adherent viscous layer on contact with the mucosa. The swelling kinetics of alginate particles on the oesophageal surface was examined with respect to vehicle composition and related to the extent, duration and location of bioadhesion within the oesophagus. Mucosal retention was evaluated in two in vitro models utilising tissue immersion and a peristaltic tube. By varying the vehicle composition it was possible to modulate the rate of swelling of alginate particles on the mucosa and the mucosal retention of suspensions. Suspensions containing predominantly glycerol exhibited superior retention and were preferentially retained within the lower oesophagus. The propensity of these suspensions to rapidly swell on the mucosa and establish adhesive/cohesive bonds may explain their enhanced retention. The potential to control, through vehicle composition, the extent, duration and location of oesophageal retention could provide a useful tool for site targeting of viscous polymers to the oesophagus.

  5. Using of dynamic speckled speckles with a small number of scatterers for study of suspension of Chlamydia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ulyanov, Sergey; Filonova, Nadezhda; Ulianova, Onega; Utz, Sergey; Moiseeva, Yulia; Subbotina, Irina; Kalduzova, Irina; Larionova, Olga; Feodorova, Valentina

    2018-04-01

    Theory of formation of speckled speckles at diffraction of focused Gaussian beam in the suspension, containing of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is presented. Optical model of scattering of light in suspension of Chlamydia is suggested. Formula for bandwidth of spectrum of intensity fluctuations in speckled speckles is derived. It has been demonstrated, that speckle-microscopy can be used for detection of CT bacteria for any concentration of the relevant cells in suspension.

  6. Microfluidic Bead Suspension Hopper

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Many high-throughput analytical platforms, from next-generation DNA sequencing to drug discovery, rely on beads as carriers of molecular diversity. Microfluidic systems are ideally suited to handle and analyze such bead libraries with high precision and at minute volume scales; however, the challenge of introducing bead suspensions into devices before they sediment usually confounds microfluidic handling and analysis. We developed a bead suspension hopper that exploits sedimentation to load beads into a microfluidic droplet generator. A suspension hopper continuously delivered synthesis resin beads (17 μm diameter, 112,000 over 2.67 h) functionalized with a photolabile linker and pepstatin A into picoliter-scale droplets of an HIV-1 protease activity assay to model ultraminiaturized compound screening. Likewise, trypsinogen template DNA-coated magnetic beads (2.8 μm diameter, 176,000 over 5.5 h) were loaded into droplets of an in vitro transcription/translation system to model a protein evolution experiment. The suspension hopper should effectively remove any barriers to using suspensions as sample inputs, paving the way for microfluidic automation to replace robotic library distribution. PMID:24761972

  7. Laboratory production of human prolactin from CHO cells adapted to serum-free suspension culture.

    PubMed

    Arthuso, Fernanda Santos; Bartolini, Paolo; Soares, Carlos Roberto Jorge

    2012-08-01

    Human prolactin (hPRL) is a polypeptide with 199 amino acids and a molecular mass of 23 kDa. Previously, a eukaryotic hPRL expression vector was used to transfect Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells: this work describes a fast and practical laboratory adaptation of these transfected cells, in ~40 days, to grow in suspension in serum-free medium. High cell densities of up to 4.0 × 10(6) cell/ml were obtained from spinner flask cultures and a stable and continuous production process was developed for at least 30 days. Two harvesting strategies were set up, 50 or 100 % of the total conditioned medium being collected daily and replaced by fresh culture medium. The volumetric productivity was 5-7 μg hPRL/ml, as determined directly in the collected medium via reversed-phase HPLC (RP-HPLC). A two-step process based on a cationic exchanger followed by size exclusion chromatography was applied to obtain purified hPRL from conditioned medium. Two hPRL isoforms, non-glycosylated and glycosylated, could also be separated by high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and, when analyzed by RP-HPLC, HPSEC, Western blotting, and bioassay, were found to be comparable to the World Health Organization International Reference Reagent of hPRL. These results are useful for the practical scale-up to the pilot and industrial scale of a bioprocess based on CHO cell culture.

  8. Characterization of an immunomodulatory Der p 2-FIP-fve fusion protein produced in transformed rice suspension cell culture.

    PubMed

    Su, Chin-Fen; Kuo, I-Chun; Chen, Peng-Wen; Huang, Chiung-Hui; Seow, See Voon; Chua, Kaw Yan; Yu, Su-May

    2012-02-01

    Der p 2, a major allergen of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus mites, is one of the most clinically relevant allergens to allergic patients worldwide. FIP-fve protein (Fve) from the golden needle mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) is an immunomodulatory protein with potential Th1-skewed adjuvant properties. Here, we produced and immunologically evaluated a Der p 2-Fve fusion protein as a potential immunotherapeutic for allergic diseases. Using an inducible expression system in cultured rice suspension cells, the recombinant Der p 2-Fve fusion protein (designated as OsDp2Fve) was expressed in rice cells under the control of an α-amylase gene (αAmy8) promoter and secreted under sucrose starvation. OsDp2Fve was partially purified from the cultured medium. The conformation of Der p 2 in OsDp2Fve remains intact as reflected by its unaltered allergenicity, as assessed by human IgE ELISA and histamine release assays, compared to non-fusion Der p 2 protein. Furthermore, the Fve protein expressed in OsDp2Fve retains its in vitro lymphoproliferative activity but loses its hemagglutination and lymphoagglutination effects compared to the native protein. Notably, in vivo evaluation showed that mice administered with OsDp2Fve possessed an enhanced production of Der p 2-specific IgG antibodies without potentiating the production of Der p 2-specific IgE and Th2 effector cytokines in comparison with mice co-administered with native Fve and Der p 2 proteins. These results suggest that the recombinant Der p 2-Fve fusion protein produced in rice suspension cell cultures has a great potential for allergy immunotherapy.

  9. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study on polymerization of L-lysine on electrode surface and its application for immobilization and detection of suspension cells.

    PubMed

    Huang, Baozhen; Jia, Ningming; Chen, Lina; Tan, Liang; Yao, Shouzhuo

    2014-07-15

    Poly-L-lysine (PLL), which has been employed as a conductive polymer in the construction of some electrochemical sensors, can be prepared using L-lysine by cyclic voltammetry (CV) with a wide potential range. However, the presented explanation and description about its polymerization mechanism seems oversimplified because the self-reaction of electrode and the electrolysis of solvent at high potential are ignored. This work presents an intensive investigation on the relevant reactions during the process of PLL-polymerization using CV, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. At a higher positive potential, the transfer from lysine molecules to cation radicals and the polymerization reaction on the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) could be achieved, accompanied by the activation of GCE, the formation of oxygen-containing functional groups, and the generation of oxygen derived from the oxidation of water. The adsorbed oxygen had a seriously negative effect on the formation of PLL unless it suffered reduction at a lower negative potential. The charge transfer through the electrochemical polymerized PLL film was seriously hindered by the immobilization of suspension cells due to the electrostatic interaction. The charge-transfer resistance difference (ΔR(ct)) was increased with the enhancement of the cell number (N(cells)) and the 1/ΔR(ct) value displayed a linear response with 1/N(cells) in the range of 5.0 × 10(2)-1.0 × 10(5) cells with a detection limit of 180 cells estimated at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. A sensitive electrochemical sensor for the quantitative detection of suspension cells was developed.

  10. Crewbot Suspension Design

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wood, Nathan A.

    2005-01-01

    Planetary Surface Robot Work Crews (RWC) represent a new class of construction robots for future deployment in planetary exploration. Rovers currently being used for the RWC platform lack the load carrying capabilities required in regular work. Two new rovers, dubbed CrewBots, being designed in JPL's Planetary Robotics Lab specifically for RWC applications greatly increase the load carrying capabilities of the platform. A major component of the rover design was the design of the rocker type suspension, which increases rover mobility. The design of the suspension for the Crewbots departed from the design of recent rovers. While many previous rovers have used internal bevel gear differentials, the increased load requirements of the Crewbots calls for a more robust system. The solution presented is the use of an external modified three-bar, slider-linkage, rocker-style suspension that increases the moment arm of the differential. The final product is a suspension system capable of supporting the extreme loading cases the RWC platform presents, without consuming a large portion of the Crewbots' internal space.

  11. Interaction and rheology of vesicle suspensions in confined shear flow

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Zaiyi; Farutin, Alexander; Thiébaud, Marine; Misbah, Chaouqi

    2017-10-01

    Dynamics and rheology of a confined suspension of vesicles (a model for red blood cells) are studied numerically in two dimensions by using an immersed boundary lattice Boltzmann method. We pay particular attention to the link between the spatiotemporal organization and the rheology of the suspension. Besides confinement, we analyze the effect of concentration of the suspension, ϕ (defined as the area fraction occupied by the vesicles in the simulation domain), as well as the viscosity contrast λ (defined as the ratio between the viscosity of the fluid inside the vesicles, ηint, and that of the suspending fluid, ηext). The hydrodynamic interaction between two vesicles is shown to play a key role in determining the spatial organization. For λ =1 , the pair of vesicles settles into an equilibrium state with constant interdistance, which is regulated by the confinement. The equilibrium interdistance increases with the gap between walls, following a linear relationship. However, no stable equilibrium interdistance between two tumbling vesicles is observed for λ =10 . A quite ordered suspension is observed concomitant with the existence of an equilibrium interdistance between a vesicle pair. However, a disordered suspension prevails when no pair equilibrium interdistance exists, as occurs for tumbling vesicles. We then analyze the rheology, focusing on the effective viscosity, denoted as η , as well as on normalized viscosity, defined as [η ] =(η -ηext) /(ηextϕ ) . Ordering of the suspension is accompanied by a nonmonotonic behavior of [η ] with ϕ , while η exhibits plateaus. The nonmonotonic behavior of [η ] is suppressed when a disordered pattern prevails.

  12. THE ELECTRIC CAPACITY OF SUSPENSIONS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BLOOD.

    PubMed

    Fricke, H

    1925-11-20

    1. The specific capacity of a suspension is that capacity which) combined in parallel with a certain resistance, electrically balances 1 cm. cube of the suspension. 2. The following formula holds for the specific capacity of a suspension of spheroids, each of which is composed of a well conducting interior surrounded by a thin membrane of a comparatively high resistance: See PDF for Equation C, specific capacity of suspension; C(o), static capacity of one sq. cm. of membrane; r, r(1) specific resistances respectively of suspension and of suspending liquid; 2 q major axis of spheroid, alpha constant tabulated in Table I. 3. The following formula holds practically for any suspension whatever the form of the suspended particle. See PDF for Equation C = C(100) being the specific capacity of a suspension with a concentration of 100 per cent. Formulae (1a) and (1b) hold only for the case, when the frequency is so low, that the impedance of the static capacity of the membrane around a single particle is high as compared with the resistance of the interior of the particle. The formulae hold also for a suspension of homogeneous particles, when polarization takes place at the surface of each particle, provided the polarization resistance is low as compared with the impedance of the polarization capacity. 4. A description is given of a method for measuring the capacity of a suspension at frequencies between 800 and 4(1/2) million cycles. By means of a specially designed bridge, a substitution method is employed, by which in the last analysis the suspension is compared with the suspending liquid which is so diluted as to have the same specific resistance as the suspension, consecutive measurements being made in the same electrolytic cell. 5. Formula (1b) is verified by measurements of the capacity of suspensions of varying volume concentrations of the red corpuscles of a dog. 6. By means of the above measurements, the value of C(o) is calculated by equation (1a). 7. It is

  13. Scalable Expansion of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Progenitors in Stirred Suspension Bioreactor Under Xeno-free Condition.

    PubMed

    Nemati, Shiva; Abbasalizadeh, Saeed; Baharvand, Hossein

    2016-01-01

    Recent advances in neural differentiation technology have paved the way to generate clinical grade neural progenitor populations from human pluripotent stem cells. These cells are an excellent source for the production of neural cell-based therapeutic products to treat incurable central nervous system disorders such as Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries. This progress can be complemented by the development of robust bioprocessing technologies for large scale expansion of clinical grade neural progenitors under GMP conditions for promising clinical use and drug discovery applications. Here, we describe a protocol for a robust, scalable expansion of human neural progenitor cells from pluripotent stem cells as 3D aggregates in a stirred suspension bioreactor. The use of this platform has resulted in easily expansion of neural progenitor cells for several passages with a fold increase of up to 4.2 over a period of 5 days compared to a maximum 1.5-2-fold increase in the adherent static culture over a 1 week period. In the bioreactor culture, these cells maintained self-renewal, karyotype stability, and cloning efficiency capabilities. This approach can be also used for human neural progenitor cells derived from other sources such as the human fetal brain.

  14. Stirred suspension bioreactors as a novel method to enrich germ cells from pre-pubertal pig testis.

    PubMed

    Dores, C; Rancourt, D; Dobrinski, I

    2015-05-01

    To study spermatogonial stem cells the heterogeneous testicular cell population first needs to be enriched for undifferentiated spermatogonia, which contain the stem cell population. When working with non-rodent models, this step requires working with large numbers of cells. Available cell separation methods rely on differential properties of testicular cell types such as expression of specific cell surface proteins, size, density, or differential adhesion to substrates to separate germ cells from somatic cells. The objective of this study was to develop an approach that allowed germ cell enrichment while providing efficiency of handling large cell numbers. Here, we report the use of stirred suspension bioreactors (SSB) to exploit the adhesion properties of Sertoli cells to enrich cells obtained from pre-pubertal porcine testes for undifferentiated spermatogonia. We also compared the bioreactor approach with an established differential plating method and the combination of both: SSB followed by differential plating. After 66 h of culture, germ cell enrichment in SSBs provided 7.3 ± 1.0-fold (n = 9), differential plating 9.8 ± 2.4-fold (n = 6) and combination of both methods resulted in 9.1 ± 0.3-fold enrichment of germ cells from the initial germ cell population (n = 3). To document functionality of cells recovered from the bioreactor, we demonstrated that cells retained their functional ability to reassemble seminiferous tubules de novo after grafting to mouse hosts and to support spermatogenesis. These results demonstrate that the SSB allows enrichment of germ cells in a controlled and scalable environment providing an efficient method when handling large cell numbers while reducing variability owing to handling. © 2015 American Society of Andrology and European Academy of Andrology.

  15. Purification and characterization of an iron-induced ferritin from soybean (Glycine max) cell suspensions.

    PubMed

    Lescure, A M; Massenet, O; Briat, J F

    1990-11-15

    Ferric citrate induces ferritin synthesis and accumulation in soybean (Glycine max) cell suspension cultures [Proudhon, Briat & Lescure (1989) Plant Physiol. 90, 586-590]. This iron-induced ferritin has been purified from cells grown for 72 h in the presence of either 100 microM- or 500 microM-ferric citrate. It has a molecular mass of about 600 kDa and is built up from a 28 kDa subunit which is recognized by antibodies raised against pea (Pisum sativum) seed ferritin and it has the same N-terminal sequence as this latter, except for residue number 3, which is alanine in pea seed ferritin instead of valine in iron-induced soybean cell ferritin. It contains an average of 1800 atoms of iron per molecule whatever the ferric citrate concentration used to induce its synthesis. It is shown that the presence of 100 microM- or 500 microM-ferric citrate in the culture medium leads respectively to an 11- and 28-fold increase in the total intracellular iron concentration and to a 30- and 60-fold increase in the ferritin concentration. However, the percentage of iron stored in the mineral core of ferritin remains constant whatever the ferric citrate concentration used and represents only 5-6% of cellular iron.

  16. Recombinant protein expression for structural biology in HEK 293F suspension cells: a novel and accessible approach.

    PubMed

    Portolano, Nicola; Watson, Peter J; Fairall, Louise; Millard, Christopher J; Milano, Charles P; Song, Yun; Cowley, Shaun M; Schwabe, John W R

    2014-10-16

    The expression and purification of large amounts of recombinant protein complexes is an essential requirement for structural biology studies. For over two decades, prokaryotic expression systems such as E. coli have dominated the scientific literature over costly and less efficient eukaryotic cell lines. Despite the clear advantage in terms of yields and costs of expressing recombinant proteins in bacteria, the absence of specific co-factors, chaperones and post-translational modifications may cause loss of function, mis-folding and can disrupt protein-protein interactions of certain eukaryotic multi-subunit complexes, surface receptors and secreted proteins. The use of mammalian cell expression systems can address these drawbacks since they provide a eukaryotic expression environment. However, low protein yields and high costs of such methods have until recently limited their use for structural biology. Here we describe a simple and accessible method for expressing and purifying milligram quantities of protein by performing transient transfections of suspension grown HEK (Human Embryonic Kidney) 293 F cells.

  17. Flagellum synchronization inhibits large-scale hydrodynamic instabilities in sperm suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schöller, Simon F.; Keaveny, Eric E.

    2016-11-01

    Sperm in suspension can exhibit large-scale collective motion and form coherent structures. Our picture of such coherent motion is largely based on reduced models that treat the swimmers as self-locomoting rigid bodies that interact via steady dipolar flow fields. Swimming sperm, however, have many more degrees of freedom due to elasticity, have a more exotic shape, and generate spatially-complex, time-dependent flow fields. While these complexities are known to lead to phenomena such as flagellum synchronization and attraction, how these effects impact the overall suspension behaviour and coherent structure formation is largely unknown. Using a computational model that captures both flagellum beating and elasticity, we simulate suspensions on the order of 103 individual swimming sperm cells whose motion is coupled through the surrounding Stokesian fluid. We find that the tendency for flagella to synchronize and sperm to aggregate inhibits the emergence of the large-scale hydrodynamic instabilities often associated with active suspensions. However, when synchronization is repressed by adding noise in the flagellum actuation mechanism, the picture changes and the structures that resemble large-scale vortices appear to re-emerge. Supported by an Imperial College PhD scholarship.

  18. Extensional rheology of active suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saintillan, David

    2010-05-01

    A simple model is presented for the effective extensional rheology of a dilute suspension of active particles, such as self-propelled microswimmers, extending previous classical studies on suspensions of passive rodlike particles. Neglecting particle-particle hydrodynamic interactions, we characterize the configuration of the suspension by an orientation distribution, which satisfies a Fokker-Planck equation including the effects of an external flow field and of rotary diffusion. Knowledge of this orientation distribution then allows the determination of the particle extra stress as a configurational average of the force dipoles exerted by the particles on the fluid, which involve contributions from the imposed flow, rotary diffusion, and the permanent dipoles resulting from activity. Analytical expressions are obtained for the stress tensor in uniaxial extensional and compressional flows, as well as in planar extensional flow. In all types of flows, the effective viscosity is found to increase as a result of activity in suspensions of head-actuated swimmers (pullers) and to decrease in suspensions of tail-actuated swimmers (pushers). In the latter case, a negative particle viscosity is found to occur in weak flows. In planar extensional flow, we also characterize normal stresses, which are enhanced by activity in suspensions of pullers but reduced in suspensions of pushers. Finally, an energetic interpretation of the seemingly unphysical decrease in viscosity predicted in suspensions of pushers is proposed, where the decrease is explained as a consequence of the active power input generated by the swimming particles and is shown not to be directly related to viscous dissipative processes.

  19. 20 CFR 416.1320 - Suspensions; general.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ..., BLIND, AND DISABLED Suspensions and Terminations § 416.1320 Suspensions; general. (a) When suspension is... (a) of this section apply because your impairment is no longer disabling or you are no longer blind...

  20. The biological acoustic sensor to record the interactions of the microbial cells with the phage antibodies in conducting suspensions.

    PubMed

    Guliy, О I; Zaitsev, B D; Borodina, I A; Shikhabudinov, А М; Teplykh, A A; Staroverov, S A; Fomin, A S

    2018-02-01

    The acoustic biological sensor for the analysis of the bacterial cells in conducting suspension was developed. The sensor represented the two channel delay line based on the piezoelectric plate of Y-X lithium niobate thick of 0.2mm. Two pairs of the interdigital transducers (IDT) for the excitation and reception of shear horizontal acoustic wave of zero order (SH 0 ) in each channel were deposited by the method of photolithography. One channel of the delay line was electrically shorted by the deposition of thin aluminum film between IDTs. The second channel remained as electrically open. The liquid container with the volume of 5ml was fixed on the plate surface between IDTs by the glue, which did not cause the additional insertion loss. For the first time the influence of the conductivity of the cell suspension on the registration of the specific and nonspecific interactions of the bacterial cells with phage-antibodies (phage-Abs) was studied by means of the developed sensor. The dependencies of the change in insertion loss and phase of the output signal on the conductivity of the buffer solution at specific/nonspecific interactions for the electrically open and shorted channels of the delay line were obtained. It was shown that the sensor successfully registered the interactions of microbial cells with phage-Abs in the range of the conductivity of 2-20 μS/cm on the model samples A. brasilense Sp245 - specific phage-Abs. The sensor in the time regime of the operation fast reacted on the specific/nonspecific interaction and the time of the stabilization of the output parameters did not exceed 10min. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Direct comparison of the short-term clinical performance of Z Guidant and Taxus stents.

    PubMed

    Guildford, Anna; Colombo, Paola; Bruschi, Giuseppe; Bonacina, Edgardo; Klugmann, Silvio; Santin, Matteo

    2010-12-03

    The recent introduction of drug-eluting stents in angioplasty of atherosclerotic blood vessels has significantly reduced the risks of in-stent restenosis (ISR) [1]. Indeed, it is known that in conventional stents ISR takes place in over 20% of the cases and up to 60% when implanted in diabetic patients. Conversely, clinical trials have shown that drug-eluting stents have significantly reduced ISR. Among the drug-eluting stents available on the market, Taxus stents (Tax, Boston Scientific, USA) are among the most used devices [2]. Tax are stainless-steel stents coated with Translute, a poly(styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene) polymer (PSIBS) eluting Placlitaxel, an anti-mitotic drug. Clinical trials on this type of drug-eluting stents have shown an incidence of restenosis of approximately 4%. The majority of these trials were randomized studies where conventional stents and drug-eluting devices have been implanted in separate patients' cohorts. Such a randomized design, although fundamental to collect statistically-relevant data, does not allow a direct histological comparison of different stent types when implanted in the same patient and do not show the individual susceptibility to the host response especially at short-term implantation times. Here, an interesting case study is presented where two chrome-cobalt stents (Z Guidant, ZG, Guidant Corp.) and a Tax have been simultaneously implanted in the same patient in three separate coronary arteries, retrieved after only 8 weeks and histologically analysed. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Serum Proteins Enhance Dispersion Stability and Influence the Cytotoxicity and Dosimetry of ZnO Nanoparticles in Suspension and Adherent Cancer Cell Models.

    PubMed

    Anders, Catherine B; Chess, Jordan J; Wingett, Denise G; Punnoose, Alex

    2015-12-01

    Agglomeration and sedimentation of nanoparticles (NPs) within biological solutions is a major limitation in their use in many downstream applications. It has been proposed that serum proteins associate with the NP surface to form a protein corona that limits agglomeration and sedimentation. Here, we investigate the effect of fetal bovine serum (FBS) proteins on the dispersion stability, dosimetry, and NP-induced cytotoxicity of cationic zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) synthesized via forced hydrolysis with a core size of 10 nm. Two different in vitro cell culture models, suspension and adherent, were evaluated by comparing a phosphate buffered saline (PBS) nZnO dispersion (nZnO/PBS) and an FBS-stabilized PBS nZnO dispersion (nZnO - FBS/PBS). Surface interactions of FBS on nZnO were analyzed via spectroscopic and optical techniques. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the adsorption of negatively charged protein components on the cationic nZnO surface through the disappearance of surfaced-adsorbed carboxyl functional groups and the subsequent detection of vibrational modes associated with the protein backbone of FBS-associated proteins. Further confirmation of these interactions was noted in the isoelectric point shift of the nZnO from the characteristic pH of 9.5 to a pH of 6.1. In nZnO - FBS/PBS dispersions, the FBS reduced agglomeration and sedimentation behaviors to impart long-term improvements (>24 h) to the nZnO dispersion stability. Furthermore, mathematical dosimetry models indicate that nZnO - FBS/PBS dispersions had consistent NP deposition patterns over time unlike unstable nZnO/PBS dispersions. In suspension cell models, the stable nZnO - FBS/PBS dispersion resulted in a ~33 % increase in the NP-induced cytotoxicity for both Jurkat leukemic and Hut-78 lymphoma cancer cells. In contrast, the nZnO - FBS/PBS dispersion resulted in 49 and 71 % reductions in the cytotoxicity observed towards the adherent breast (T-47D) and prostate

  3. Serum Proteins Enhance Dispersion Stability and Influence the Cytotoxicity and Dosimetry of ZnO Nanoparticles in Suspension and Adherent Cancer Cell Models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anders, Catherine B.; Chess, Jordan J.; Wingett, Denise G.; Punnoose, Alex

    2015-11-01

    Agglomeration and sedimentation of nanoparticles (NPs) within biological solutions is a major limitation in their use in many downstream applications. It has been proposed that serum proteins associate with the NP surface to form a protein corona that limits agglomeration and sedimentation. Here, we investigate the effect of fetal bovine serum (FBS) proteins on the dispersion stability, dosimetry, and NP-induced cytotoxicity of cationic zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) synthesized via forced hydrolysis with a core size of 10 nm. Two different in vitro cell culture models, suspension and adherent, were evaluated by comparing a phosphate buffered saline (PBS) nZnO dispersion (nZnO/PBS) and an FBS-stabilized PBS nZnO dispersion (nZnO - FBS/PBS). Surface interactions of FBS on nZnO were analyzed via spectroscopic and optical techniques. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the adsorption of negatively charged protein components on the cationic nZnO surface through the disappearance of surfaced-adsorbed carboxyl functional groups and the subsequent detection of vibrational modes associated with the protein backbone of FBS-associated proteins. Further confirmation of these interactions was noted in the isoelectric point shift of the nZnO from the characteristic pH of 9.5 to a pH of 6.1. In nZnO - FBS/PBS dispersions, the FBS reduced agglomeration and sedimentation behaviors to impart long-term improvements (>24 h) to the nZnO dispersion stability. Furthermore, mathematical dosimetry models indicate that nZnO - FBS/PBS dispersions had consistent NP deposition patterns over time unlike unstable nZnO/PBS dispersions. In suspension cell models, the stable nZnO - FBS/PBS dispersion resulted in a ~33 % increase in the NP-induced cytotoxicity for both Jurkat leukemic and Hut-78 lymphoma cancer cells. In contrast, the nZnO - FBS/PBS dispersion resulted in 49 and 71 % reductions in the cytotoxicity observed towards the adherent breast (T-47D) and prostate

  4. Enhanced Expansion and Sustained Inductive Function of Skin‐Derived Precursor Cells in Computer‐Controlled Stirred Suspension Bioreactors

    PubMed Central

    Agabalyan, Natacha A.; Borys, Breanna S.; Sparks, Holly D.; Boon, Kathryn; Raharjo, Eko W.; Abbasi, Sepideh; Kallos, Michael S.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Endogenous dermal stem cells (DSCs) reside in the adult hair follicle mesenchyme and can be isolated and grown in vitro as self‐renewing colonies called skin‐derived precursors (SKPs). Following transplantation into skin, SKPs can generate new dermis and reconstitute the dermal papilla and connective tissue sheath, suggesting they could have important therapeutic value for the treatment of skin disease (alopecia) or injury. Controlled cell culture processes must be developed to efficiently and safely generate sufficient stem cell numbers for clinical use. Compared with static culture, stirred‐suspension bioreactors generated fivefold greater expansion of viable SKPs. SKPs from each condition were able to repopulate the dermal stem cell niche within established hair follicles. Both conditions were also capable of inducing de novo hair follicle formation and exhibited bipotency, reconstituting the dermal papilla and connective tissue sheath, although the efficiency was significantly reduced in bioreactor‐expanded SKPs compared with static conditions. We conclude that automated bioreactor processing could be used to efficiently generate large numbers of autologous DSCs while maintaining their inherent regenerative function. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:434–443 PMID:28191777

  5. Transition to organized behavior on suspensions of concentrated bacteria

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ganguly, Sujoy; Cisneros, Luis; Kessler, John; Goldstein, Raymond

    2008-11-01

    Concentrated populations of the swimming bacterium Bacillus subtilis develop a collective phase, the Zooming BioNematic, that exhibits large-scale coherence analogous to the molecular alignment of nematic liquid crystals. Bacterial suspensions were prepared in order to experimentally measure the transition to organized behavior as a function of the cell number concentration. PIV analysis was used to obtain cell velocities and define an order parameter in order to characterize the dynamics of the system.

  6. Flow-induced gelation of microfiber suspensions.

    PubMed

    Perazzo, Antonio; Nunes, Janine K; Guido, Stefano; Stone, Howard A

    2017-10-10

    The flow behavior of fiber suspensions has been studied extensively, especially in the limit of dilute concentrations and rigid fibers; at the other extreme, however, where the suspensions are concentrated and the fibers are highly flexible, much less is understood about the flow properties. We use a microfluidic method to produce uniform concentrated suspensions of high aspect ratio, flexible microfibers, and we demonstrate the shear thickening and gelling behavior of such microfiber suspensions, which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been reported previously. By rheological means, we show that flowing the suspension triggers the irreversible formation of topological entanglements of the fibers resulting in an entangled water-filled network. This phenomenon suggests that flexible fiber suspensions can be exploited to produce a new family of flow-induced gelled materials, such as porous hydrogels. A significant consequence of these flow properties is that the microfiber suspension is injectable through a needle, from which it can be extruded directly as a hydrogel without any chemical reactions or further treatments. Additionally, we show that this fiber hydrogel is a soft, viscoelastic, yield-stress material.

  7. A new continuum model for suspensions of gyrotactic micro-organisms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pedley, T. J.; Kessler, J. O.

    1990-01-01

    A new continuum model is formulated for dilute suspensions of swimming micro-organisms with asymmetric mass distributions. Account is taken of randomness in a cell's swimming direction, p, by postulating that the probability density function for p satisfies a Fokker-Planck equation analogous to that obtained for colloid suspensions in the presence of rotational Brownian motion. The deterministic torques on a cell, viscous and gravitational, are balanced by diffusion, represented by an isotropic rotary diffusivity Dr, which is unknown a priori, but presumably reflects stochastic influences on the cell's internal workings. When the Fokker-Planck equation is solved, macroscopic quantities such as the average cell velocity Vc, the particle diffusivity tensor D and the effective stress tensor sigma can be computed; Vc and D are required in the cell conservation equation, and sigma in the momentum equation. The Fokker-Planck equation contains two dimensionless parameters, lambda and epsilon; lambda is the ratio of the rotary diffusion time Dr-1 to the torque relaxation time B (balancing gravitational and viscous torques), while epsilon is a scale for the local vorticity or strain rate made dimensionless with B. In this paper we solve the Fokker-Planck equation exactly for epsilon = 0 (lambda arbitrary) and also obtain the first-order solution for small epsilon. Using experimental data on Vc and D obtained with the swimming alga, Chlamydomonas nivalis, in the absence of bulk flow, the epsilon = 0 results can be used to estimate the value of lambda for that species (lambda approximately 2.2; Dr approximately 0.13 s-1). The continuum model for small epsilon is then used to reanalyse the instability of a uniform suspension, previously investigated by Pedley, Hill & Kessler (1988). The only qualitatively different result is that there no longer seem to be circumstances in which disturbances with a non-zero vertical wavenumber are more unstable than purely horizontal

  8. 45 CFR 1641.12 - Procedures for suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Procedures for suspension. 1641.12 Section 1641.12 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Suspension § 1641.12 Procedures for suspension. Before...

  9. 45 CFR 1641.12 - Procedures for suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Procedures for suspension. 1641.12 Section 1641.12 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Suspension § 1641.12 Procedures for suspension. Before...

  10. [Formation of protodioscin and deltoside isomers in suspension cultures of Nepal yam (Dioscorea deltoidea Wall.) cells].

    PubMed

    Khandy, M T; Titova, M V; Konstantinova, S V; Kochkin, D V; Ivanov, I M; Nosov, A M

    2016-01-01

    Changes in the content of the furostanol glycosides protodioscin and deltoside, particularly that of the (25S)-isomers of the glycosides, during suspension cultivation of different lines of Nepal yam (Dioscorea deltoidea Wall.) cells of the strain IFR-DM-0.5 has been investigated. The composition of furostanol glycosides has been characterized, and the dynamics of the accumulation of individual glycosides during lengthy subcultivation of cells maintained in flasks or in a barbotage bioreactor has been analyzed. A positive correlation between the growth and accumulation of substances that belonged to the class of furostanol glycosides has been demonstrated for cultured dioscorea cells, whereas the content of some of the individual glycosides varied considerably between the lines of the strain, cultures maintained under different conditions, and even between cells in different phases of the growth cycle. The increased content of (25R)-forms of the glycosides (protodioscin and deltoside) was correlated with a decrease in the cellular growth rate, whereas an increase in culture growth intensity occurred concomitantly to an increase of the amount of (25S)-isomers. This may be indicative of the specific stimulatory effect of (25S)-glycosides, but not the (25R)-forms, on cell proliferation in vitro. Thus, the concentration of (25S)-forms may increase due to the autoselection of cells capable of intensive division during prolonged cultivation.

  11. 45 CFR 1641.13 - Causes for suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Causes for suspension. 1641.13 Section 1641.13 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Suspension § 1641.13 Causes for suspension. The debarring...

  12. 45 CFR 1641.13 - Causes for suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Causes for suspension. 1641.13 Section 1641.13 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Suspension § 1641.13 Causes for suspension. The debarring...

  13. Rethinking Universal Suspension for Severe Student Behavior

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hinze-Pifer, Rebecca; Sartain, Lauren

    2018-01-01

    Driven by a combination of concern for historically high suspension rates and substantial disproportionalities in suspension use, a recent wave of education reforms encourages schools to reduce their use of suspensions for student behavior management. Both academic and political discourse has focused on the extensive use of suspension for…

  14. Chemical compatibility and properties of suspension plasma-sprayed SrTiO3-based anodes for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Shan-Lin; Li, Cheng-Xin; Li, Chang-Jiu

    2014-10-01

    La-doped strontium titanate (LST) is a promising, redox-stable perovskite material for direct hydrocarbon oxidation anodes in intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). In this study, nano-sized LST and Sm-doped ceria (SDC) powders are produced by the sol-gel and glycine-nitrate processes, respectively. The chemical compatibility between LST and electrolyte materials is studied. A LST-SDC composite anode is prepared by suspension plasma spraying (SPS). The effects of annealing conditions on the phase structure, microstructure, and chemical stability of the LST-SDC composite anode are investigated. The results indicate that the suspension plasma-sprayed LST-SDC anode has the same phase structure as the original powders. LST exhibits a good chemical compatibility with SDC and Mg/Sr-doped lanthanum gallate (LSGM). The anode has a porosity of ∼40% with a finely porous structure that provides high gas permeability and a long three-phase boundary for the anode reaction. Single cells assembled with the LST-SDC anode, La0.8Sr0.2Ga0.8Mg0.2O3 electrolyte, and La0.8Sr0.2CoO3-SDC cathode show a good performance at 650-800 °C. The annealing reduces the impedances due to the enhancement in the bonding between the particles in the anode and interface of anode and LSGM electrolyte, thus improving the output performance of the cell.

  15. Suspension Needn't Arrest Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seegrist, Ruth

    1985-01-01

    An inschool suspension program at a Pennsylvania school district is described. Students spend suspension time completing classroom assignments under strict teacher supervision in detention halls. (TE)

  16. Physiological responses of suspension cultures of Catharanthus roseus to aluminum: changes in polyamines and inorganic ions

    Treesearch

    Xinhua Zhou; Rakesh Minocha; Subhash C. Minocha

    1995-01-01

    The effects of aluminum (Al) treatment on polyamines were studied using suspension cultures of Madagascar periwinkle [Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don]. The addition of A1 (0.2, 0.5, 1.0 mM) to the suspension cultures caused a significant increase in putrescine within 24h only in freshly transferred cells. By contrast, Al treatment reduced putrescine...

  17. Xanthones from roots, hairy roots and cell suspension cultures of selected Hypericum species and their antifungal activity against Candida albicans.

    PubMed

    Zubrická, Daniela; Mišianiková, Anna; Henzelyová, Jana; Valletta, Alessio; De Angelis, Giulia; D'Auria, Felicia Diodata; Simonetti, Giovanna; Pasqua, Gabriella; Čellárová, Eva

    2015-11-01

    Highest xanthone contents were found in Hypericum pulchrum and H. annulatum untransformed roots. The best anti- Candida activity was obtained for hairy roots extracts of H. tetrapterum clone 2 ATCC 15834. Extracts of root cultures, hairy roots and cell suspensions of selected Hypericum spp. were screened for the presence of xanthones and tested for their antifungal activity against Candida albicans strain ATCC 10231. At least one of the following xanthones, 5-methoxy-2-deprenylrheediaxanthone; 1,3,6,7-tetrahydroxyxanthone; 1,3,5,6-tetrahydroxyxanthone; paxanthone; kielcorin or mangiferin was identified in methanolic extracts of the untransformed root cultures. The highest total xanthone content, with five xanthones, was found in untransformed H. pulchrum and H. annulatum root cultures. Hairy roots and the controls of H. tetrapterum contained 1,7-dihydroxyxanthone, while hairy root cultures and the corresponding controls of H. tomentosum contained toxyloxanthone B, 1,3,6,7- and 1,3,5,6-tetrahydroxyxanthone. Two xanthones, cadensin G and paxanthone, were identified in cell suspension cultures of H. perforatum. Their content increased about two-fold following elicitation with salicylic acid. The anti-Candida activity of the obtained extracts ranged from MIC 64 to >256 µg ml(-1). Among the extracts of Hypericum untransformed roots, the best antifungal activity was obtained for extracts of H. annulatum grown under CD conditions. Extracts of hairy roots clones A4 and 7 ATCC15834 of H. tomentosum and clone 2 ATCC15834 of H. tetrapterum displayed inhibition of 90% of Candida growth with 256 μg ml(-1). Extracts from chitosan-elicitated cells did not show antifungal activity.

  18. Rosmarinic acid and antioxidant enzyme activities in Lavandula vera MM cell suspension culture: a comparative study.

    PubMed

    Georgiev, Milen; Abrashev, Radoslav; Krumova, Ekaterina; Demirevska, Klimentina; Ilieva, Mladenka; Angelova, Maria

    2009-11-01

    The growth and intracellular protein content of lavender (Lavandula vera MM) cell suspension culture was followed along with some antioxidant defense system members-non-enzymatic (rosmarinic acid) and enzymatic [superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1) and catalase (EC 1.11.1.6)]. It was found that the media content and the cultivation mode strongly influenced the production of plant defense compounds as well as the ratio between non-enzymatic and enzymatic ones. The bioreactor culture contains about two times more rosmarinic acid, superoxide dismutase, and catalase compared to the shake-flask cultivation. These findings are discussed with respect to the relative stress levels and plant antioxidant orchestra system. It was concluded that investigated defense system components (enzymatic and non-enzymatic) were closely associated in a complex balance. The three isoenzyme forms of SOD (Cu/ZnSOD, FeSOD, and MnSOD) in the cells of Lavandula vera were revealed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis, and the FeSOD isoform exhibited highest activity.

  19. [Effect of spermine on cell growth and polysaccharide production in suspension cultures of protocorm-like bodies from Dendrobium huoshanense].

    PubMed

    Wei, Ming; Jiang, Shao-Tong; Luo, Jian-Ping

    2007-03-01

    The effect of outer spermine on cell growth, accumulation of polysaccharides and utilization of nutrient together with the intracellular polyamine contents were investigated in suspension cultures of protocorm-like bodies from Dendrobium huoshanense. The results indicated that spermine at 0.6 mmol/L was the most effective in increasing cell growth and polysaccharide synthesis. The specific growth rate of cell increased from 0.046d(-1) to 0.054d(-1), and the maximum dry weight and polysaccharide production reached 32.4g DW/L and 2.46g/L respectively, which were 1.32-fold and 1.31-fold that of the control on day 30. The titres of intracellular free polyamines were higher in the cultures treated with spermine than that of the control. Invertase and nitrate reductase activities were found to increase significantly in the cultured cells treated with spermine, which was beneficial to the utilization of carbon and nitrogen source.

  20. 49 CFR 570.61 - Suspension system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 6 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Suspension system. 570.61 Section 570.61 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY... 10,000 Pounds § 570.61 Suspension system. (a) Suspension condition. Ball joint seals shall not be cut...

  1. 49 CFR 570.61 - Suspension system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 6 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Suspension system. 570.61 Section 570.61 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY... 10,000 Pounds § 570.61 Suspension system. (a) Suspension condition. Ball joint seals shall not be cut...

  2. 29 CFR 4281.41 - Benefit suspensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Benefit suspensions. 4281.41 Section 4281.41 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION INSOLVENCY, REORGANIZATION... WITHDRAWAL Benefit Suspensions § 4281.41 Benefit suspensions. If the plan sponsor determines that the plan is...

  3. 29 CFR 4281.41 - Benefit suspensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Benefit suspensions. 4281.41 Section 4281.41 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION INSOLVENCY, REORGANIZATION... WITHDRAWAL Benefit Suspensions § 4281.41 Benefit suspensions. If the plan sponsor determines that the plan is...

  4. 29 CFR 4281.41 - Benefit suspensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Benefit suspensions. 4281.41 Section 4281.41 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION INSOLVENCY, REORGANIZATION... WITHDRAWAL Benefit Suspensions § 4281.41 Benefit suspensions. If the plan sponsor determines that the plan is...

  5. 29 CFR 4281.41 - Benefit suspensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Benefit suspensions. 4281.41 Section 4281.41 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION INSOLVENCY, REORGANIZATION... WITHDRAWAL Benefit Suspensions § 4281.41 Benefit suspensions. If the plan sponsor determines that the plan is...

  6. 29 CFR 4281.41 - Benefit suspensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Benefit suspensions. 4281.41 Section 4281.41 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION INSOLVENCY, REORGANIZATION... WITHDRAWAL Benefit Suspensions § 4281.41 Benefit suspensions. If the plan sponsor determines that the plan is...

  7. 49 CFR 570.8 - Suspension systems.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Suspension systems. 570.8 Section 570.8 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY... Pounds or Less § 570.8 Suspension systems. (a) Suspension condition. Ball joint seals shall not be cut or...

  8. Magnetic suspension options for spacecraft inertia-wheel applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Downer, J. R.

    1984-01-01

    Design criteria for spacecraft inertia-wheel suspensions are listed. The advantages of magnetic suspensions over other suspension types for spacecraft inertia-wheel applications are cited along with the functions performed by magnetic suspension. The common designs for magnetic suspensions are enumerated. Materials selection of permanent magnets and core materials is considered.

  9. Factorial experimental design for the culture of human embryonic stem cells as aggregates in stirred suspension bioreactors reveals the potential for interaction effects between bioprocess parameters.

    PubMed

    Hunt, Megan M; Meng, Guoliang; Rancourt, Derrick E; Gates, Ian D; Kallos, Michael S

    2014-01-01

    Traditional optimization of culture parameters for the large-scale culture of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) as aggregates is carried out in a stepwise manner whereby the effect of varying each culture parameter is investigated individually. However, as evidenced by the wide range of published protocols and culture performance indicators (growth rates, pluripotency marker expression, etc.), there is a lack of systematic investigation into the true effect of varying culture parameters especially with respect to potential interactions between culture variables. Here we describe the design and execution of a two-parameter, three-level (3(2)) factorial experiment resulting in nine conditions that were run in duplicate 125-mL stirred suspension bioreactors. The two parameters investigated here were inoculation density and agitation rate, which are easily controlled, but currently, poorly characterized. Cell readouts analyzed included fold expansion, maximum density, and exponential growth rate. Our results reveal that the choice of best case culture parameters was dependent on which cell property was chosen as the primary output variable. Subsequent statistical analyses via two-way analysis of variance indicated significant interaction effects between inoculation density and agitation rate specifically in the case of exponential growth rates. Results indicate that stepwise optimization has the potential to miss out on the true optimal case. In addition, choosing an optimum condition for a culture output of interest from the factorial design yielded similar results when repeated with the same cell line indicating reproducibility. We finally validated that human ESCs remain pluripotent in suspension culture as aggregates under our optimal conditions and maintain their differentiation capabilities as well as a stable karyotype and strong expression levels of specific human ESC markers over several passages in suspension bioreactors.

  10. Purification and characterization of an iron-induced ferritin from soybean (Glycine max) cell suspensions.

    PubMed Central

    Lescure, A M; Massenet, O; Briat, J F

    1990-01-01

    Ferric citrate induces ferritin synthesis and accumulation in soybean (Glycine max) cell suspension cultures [Proudhon, Briat & Lescure (1989) Plant Physiol. 90, 586-590]. This iron-induced ferritin has been purified from cells grown for 72 h in the presence of either 100 microM- or 500 microM-ferric citrate. It has a molecular mass of about 600 kDa and is built up from a 28 kDa subunit which is recognized by antibodies raised against pea (Pisum sativum) seed ferritin and it has the same N-terminal sequence as this latter, except for residue number 3, which is alanine in pea seed ferritin instead of valine in iron-induced soybean cell ferritin. It contains an average of 1800 atoms of iron per molecule whatever the ferric citrate concentration used to induce its synthesis. It is shown that the presence of 100 microM- or 500 microM-ferric citrate in the culture medium leads respectively to an 11- and 28-fold increase in the total intracellular iron concentration and to a 30- and 60-fold increase in the ferritin concentration. However, the percentage of iron stored in the mineral core of ferritin remains constant whatever the ferric citrate concentration used and represents only 5-6% of cellular iron. Images Fig. 2. Fig. 3. PMID:2264818

  11. Water-Based Suspensions of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles with Electrostatic or Steric Stabilization by Chitosan: Fabrication, Characterization and Biocompatibility

    PubMed Central

    Litvinova, Larisa S.; Safronov, Alexander P.; Schupletsova, Valeria V.; Tyukova, Irina S.; Khaziakhmatova, Olga G.; Slepchenko, Galina B.; Yurova, Kristina A.; Cherempey, Elena G.; Kulesh, Nikita A.; Andrade, Ricardo; Beketov, Igor V.; Khlusov, Igor A.

    2017-01-01

    Present day biomedical applications, including magnetic biosensing, demand better understanding of the interactions between living systems and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). In this work spherical MNPs of maghemite were obtained by a highly productive laser target evaporation technique. XRD analysis confirmed the inverse spinel structure of the MNPs (space group Fd-3m). The ensemble obeyed a lognormal size distribution with the median value 26.8 nm and dispersion 0.362. Stabilized water-based suspensions were fabricated using electrostatic or steric stabilization by the natural polymer chitosan. The encapsulation of the MNPs by chitosan makes them resistant to the unfavorable factors for colloidal stability typically present in physiological conditions such as pH and high ionic force. Controlled amounts of suspensions were used for in vitro experiments with human blood mononuclear leukocytes (HBMLs) in order to study their morphofunctional response. For sake of comparison the results obtained in the present study were analyzed together with our previous results of the study of similar suspensions with human mesenchymal stem cells. Suspensions with and without chitosan enhanced the secretion of cytokines by a 24-h culture of HBMLs compared to a control without MNPs. At a dose of 2.3, the MTD of chitosan promotes the stimulating effect of MNPs on cells. In the dose range of MNPs 10–1000 MTD, chitosan “inhibits” cellular secretory activity compared to MNPs without chitosan. Both suspensions did not caused cell death by necrosis, hence, the secretion of cytokines is due to the enhancement of the functional activity of HBMLs. Increased accumulation of MNP with chitosan in the cell fraction at 100 MTD for 24 h exposure, may be due to fixation of chitosan on the outer membrane of HBMLs. The discussed results can be used for an addressed design of cell delivery/removal incorporating multiple activities because of cell capability to avoid phagocytosis by immune cells

  12. Decoupling suspension controller based on magnetic flux feedback.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Wenqing; Li, Jie; Zhang, Kun; Cui, Peng

    2013-01-01

    The suspension module control system model has been established based on MIMO (multiple input and multiple output) state feedback linearization. We have completed decoupling between double suspension points, and the new decoupling method has been applied to CMS04 magnetic suspension vehicle in national mid-low-speed maglev experiment field of Tangshan city in China. Double suspension system model is very accurate for investigating stability property of maglev control system. When magnetic flux signal is taken back to the suspension control system, the suspension module's antijamming capacity for resisting suspension load variety has been proved. Also, the external force interference has been enhanced. As a result, the robustness and stability properties of double-electromagnet suspension control system have been enhanced.

  13. Decoupling Suspension Controller Based on Magnetic Flux Feedback

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Wenqing; Li, Jie; Zhang, Kun; Cui, Peng

    2013-01-01

    The suspension module control system model has been established based on MIMO (multiple input and multiple output) state feedback linearization. We have completed decoupling between double suspension points, and the new decoupling method has been applied to CMS04 magnetic suspension vehicle in national mid-low-speed maglev experiment field of Tangshan city in China. Double suspension system model is very accurate for investigating stability property of maglev control system. When magnetic flux signal is taken back to the suspension control system, the suspension module's antijamming capacity for resisting suspension load variety has been proved. Also, the external force interference has been enhanced. As a result, the robustness and stability properties of double-electromagnet suspension control system have been enhanced. PMID:23844415

  14. Design analysis of formula student race car suspension system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wirawan, Julian Wisnu; Ubaidillah, Aditra, Rama; Alnursyah, Rafli; Rahman, Rizki Abdul; Cahyono, Sukmaji Indro

    2018-02-01

    Design analysis of suspension especially for racecar suspension is very crucial to achieve maximum performance and handling. Suspension design may vary depending on the road terrain and the vehicle purpose itself, such as high speed or off-road vehicle. This paper focused on the suspension which used for racecar vehicle. The suspension type used was unequal double wishbone. This model is used because of its stability for high-speed usage compared to another kind of suspension. The suspension parameter was calculated to achieve desired performance. The result is the motion ratio of the designed suspension geometry. The obtained value of motion ratio was 1:2 for front suspension and 1:1 for the rear suspension. These calculation result the front suspension is still too soft, which the optimal motion ratio should be kept around 1:1 for better handling. This problem caused by the lack of space for suspension linkage.

  15. 49 CFR 393.207 - Suspension systems.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... bar. No torsion bar or torsion bar suspension shall be cracked or broken. (f) Air suspensions. The air... the controls are either located on the trailer, or the power unit and trailer combination are not....207 Suspension systems. (a) Axles. No axle positioning part shall be cracked, broken, loose or missing...

  16. Methods for suspension culture, protoplast extraction, and transformation of high-biomass yielding perennial grass Arundo donax.

    PubMed

    Pigna, Gaia; Dhillon, Taniya; Dlugosz, Elizabeth M; Yuan, Joshua S; Gorman, Connor; Morandini, Piero; Lenaghan, Scott C; Stewart, C Neal

    2016-12-01

    Arundo donax L. is a promising biofuel feedstock in the Mediterranean region. Despite considerable interest in its genetic improvement, Arundo tissue culture and transformation remains arduous. The authors developed methodologies for cell- and tissue culture and genetic engineering in Arundo. A media screen was conducted, and a suspension culture was established using callus induced from stem axillary bud explants. DBAP medium, containing 9 µM 2,4-D and 4.4 µM BAP, was found to be the most effective medium among those tested for inducing cell suspension cultures, which resulted in a five-fold increase in tissue mass over 14 days. In contrast, CIM medium containing 13 µM 2,4-D, resulted in just a 1.4-fold increase in mass over the same period. Optimized suspension cultures were superior to previously-described solidified medium-based callus culture methods for tissue mass increase. Suspension cultures proved to be very effective for subsequent protoplast isolation. Protoplast electroporation resulted in a 3.3 ± 1.5% transformation efficiency. A dual fluorescent reporter gene vector enabled the direct comparison of the CAMV 35S promoter with the switchgrass ubi2 promoter in single cells of Arundo. The switchgrass ubi2 promoter resulted in noticeably higher reporter gene expression compared with that conferred by the 35S promoter in Arundo. Copyright © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Effects of aluminum on DNA synthesis, cellular polyamines, polyamine biosynthetic enzymes and inorganic ions in cell suspension cultures of a woody plant, Catharanthus roseus

    Treesearch

    Rakesh Minocha; Subhash C. Minocha; Stephanie L. Long; Walter C. Shortle

    1992-01-01

    Increased aluminum (Al) solubility in soil waters due to acid precipitation has aroused considerable interest in the problem of Al toxicity in plants. In the present study, an in vitro suspension culture system of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don was used to analyze the effects of aluminum on several biochemical processes in these cells. The aliphatic...

  18. Rheological behavior of oxide nanopowder suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cinar, Simge

    Ceramic nanopowders offer great potential in advanced ceramic materials and many other technologically important applications. Because a material's rheological properties are crucial for most processing routes, control of the rheological behavior has drawn significant attention in the recent past. The control of rheological behavior relies on an understanding of how different parameters affect the suspension viscosities. Even though the suspension stabilization mechanisms are relatively well understood for sub-micron and micron size particle systems, this knowledge cannot be directly transferred to nanopowder suspensions. Nanopowder suspensions exhibit unexpectedly high viscosities that cannot be explained with conventional mechanisms and are still a topic of investigation. This dissertation aims to establish the critical parameters governing the rheological behavior of concentrated oxide nanopowder suspensions, and to elucidate the mechanisms by which these parameters control the rheology of these suspensions. Aqueous alumina nanopowders were chosen as a model system, and the findings were extrapolated to other oxide nanopowder systems such as zirconia, yttria stabilized zirconia, and titania. Processing additives such as fructose, NaCl, HCl, NaOH, and ascorbic acid were used in this study. The effect of solids content and addition of fructose on the viscosity of alumina nanopowder suspensions was investigated by low temperature differential scanning calorimetry (LT-DSC), rheological, and zeta potential measurements. The analysis of bound water events observed in LT-DSC revealed useful information regarding the rheological behavior of nanopowder suspensions. Because of the significance of interparticle interactions in nanopowder suspensions, the electrostatic stabilization was investigated using indifferent and potential determining ions. Different mechanisms, e.g., the effect of the change in effective volume fraction caused by fructose addition and electrostatic

  19. DC electrophoresis and viscosity of realistic salt-free concentrated suspensions: non-equilibrium dissociation-association processes.

    PubMed

    Ruiz-Reina, Emilio; Carrique, Félix; Lechuga, Luis

    2014-03-01

    Most of the suspensions usually found in industrial applications are concentrated, aqueous and in contact with the atmospheric CO2. The case of suspensions with a high concentration of added salt is relatively well understood and has been considered in many studies. In this work we are concerned with the case of concentrated suspensions that have no ions different than: (1) those stemming from the charged colloidal particles (the added counterions, that counterbalance their surface charge); (2) the H(+) and OH(-) ions from water dissociation, and (3) the ions generated by the atmospheric CO2 contamination. We call this kind of systems "realistic salt-free suspensions". We show some theoretical results about the electrophoretic mobility of a colloidal particle and the electroviscous effect of realistic salt-free concentrated suspensions. The theoretical framework is based on a cell model that accounts for particle-particle interactions in concentrated suspensions, which has been successfully applied to many different phenomena in concentrated suspensions. On the other hand, the water dissociation and CO2 contamination can be described following two different levels of approximation: (a) by local equilibrium mass-action equations, because it is supposed that the reactions are so fast that chemical equilibrium is attained everywhere in the suspension, or (b) by non-equilibrium dissociation-association kinetic equations, because it is considered that some reactions are not rapid enough to ensure local chemical equilibrium. Both approaches give rise to different results in the range from dilute to semidilute suspensions, causing possible discrepancies when comparing standard theories and experiments concerning transport properties of realistic salt-free suspensions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Adsorptive loss of secreted recombinant proteins in transgenic rice cell suspension cultures.

    PubMed

    Kwon, Jun-Young; Lee, Kyoung-Hoon; Cheon, Su-Hwan; Ryu, Hyun-Nam; Kim, Sun Jin; Kim, Dong-Il

    2012-03-01

    Adsorptive loss of human cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4-immunoglobulin (hCTLA4Ig) in transgenic rice cell suspension cultures was investigated using glass flasks, plastic flasks, disposable vessels, and stainless steel vessels. When hCTLA4Ig was added to the glass flasks containing sterile AA medium, a rapid decrease in the concentration of hCTLA4Ig, independent on pH, was observed resulting in more than 90% of the protein loss within 1 h due to the surface adsorption. When the same experiments were performed on four different types of culture equipments mentioned above, the lowest adsorption level was observed in the plastic flasks and the highest level was observed in the glass flasks. The use of the plastic flasks retarded the adsorptive loss of hCTLA4Ig at the early stage of the protein production. There was a significant increase in the production of hCTLA4Ig when the flasks were coated with bovine serum albumin. However, the spike test of purified hCTLA4Ig at two different concentrations of 15 and 100 mg L(-1) in 500-mL spinner flasks confirmed that the amount of hCTLA4Ig adsorbed was dependent on the surface area of the flasks but not on the concentrations. In conclusion, although the protein adsorption affected the total amount of the protein yielded to some extent, it could be regarded as a minor factor in transgenic plant cell cultures with higher titer.

  1. 48 CFR 42.1302 - Suspension of work.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... Delay of Work 42.1302 Suspension of work. A suspension of work under a construction or architect... suspension is unreasonable, the contractor may submit a written claim for increases in the cost of...

  2. 48 CFR 42.1302 - Suspension of work.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Delay of Work 42.1302 Suspension of work. A suspension of work under a construction or architect... suspension is unreasonable, the contractor may submit a written claim for increases in the cost of...

  3. 48 CFR 42.1302 - Suspension of work.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... Delay of Work 42.1302 Suspension of work. A suspension of work under a construction or architect... suspension is unreasonable, the contractor may submit a written claim for increases in the cost of...

  4. 48 CFR 42.1302 - Suspension of work.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... Delay of Work 42.1302 Suspension of work. A suspension of work under a construction or architect... suspension is unreasonable, the contractor may submit a written claim for increases in the cost of...

  5. 48 CFR 42.1302 - Suspension of work.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... Delay of Work 42.1302 Suspension of work. A suspension of work under a construction or architect... suspension is unreasonable, the contractor may submit a written claim for increases in the cost of...

  6. Inactivation and sublethal injury of Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua by high hydrostatic pressure in model suspensions and beetroot juice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sokołowska, Barbara; Skąpska, Sylwia; Niezgoda, Jolanta; Rutkowska, Małgorzata; Dekowska, Agnieszka; Rzoska, Sylwester J.

    2014-01-01

    Cells exposed to different physical and chemical treatments, including high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), suffer from injuries that could be reversible in food materials when stored. Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua cells suspended in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (model suspensions), and acidified beetroot juice were subjected to a pressure of 400 MPa at a temperature of 20°C for up to 10 min. The difference between the viable and non-injured cells was used to estimate the number of injured survivors. The reduction in E. coli cell number was 3.4-4.1 log after 10 min pressurization in model suspensions and 6.2 log in beetroot juice. Sublethally injured cells in PBS accounted for up to 2.7 log after 10 min HHP treatment and 0.8 log in beetroot juice. The reduction in L. innocua cell number after 10 min pressure treatment reached from 3.8 to 4.8 log, depending on the initial concentration in model suspensions. Among the surviving L. innocua cells, even up to 100% were injured. L. innocua cells were completely inactivated after 1 min HHP treatment in beetroot juice.

  7. TC-tuned biocompatible suspension of La0.73Sr0.27MnO3 for magnetic hyperthermia.

    PubMed

    Prasad, N K; Rathinasamy, K; Panda, D; Bahadur, D

    2008-05-01

    La(1-x)Sr(x)MnO(3), a ferromagnet with high magnetization and Curie temperature T(C) below 70 degrees C, enables its use for magnetic hyperthermia treatment of cancer with a possibility of in vivo temperature control. We found that La(0.73)Sr(0.27)MnO(3) particles of size range 20-100 nm showed saturation magnetization around 38 emu/g at 20 kOe and a T(C) value of 45 degrees C. Aqueous suspension of these nanoparticles was prepared using a polymer, acrypol 934, and the biocompatibility of the suspension was examined using HeLa cells. A good heating ability of the magnetic suspension was obtained in the presence of AC magnetic field, and it was found to increase with the amplitude of field. The suspension having concentration of 0.66 mg/mL (e.g., 0.66 mg of nanoparticles with acropyl per milliliter of culture media) was observed to be biocompatible even after 96 h of treatment, as estimated by sulforhodamine B and trypan blue dye exclusion assays. Further, the treatment with the aforementioned concentration did not alter the microtubule cytoskeleton or the nucleus of the cells. However, the bare particles (concentration of 0.66 mg of nanoparticles per milliliter of culture media, but without acropyl) decreased the viability of cell significantly. Our in vitro studies suggest that the suspension (concentration of 0.66 mg/mL) may further be analyzed for in vivo studies. Copyright 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Ultrasonic characterization of solid liquid suspensions

    DOEpatents

    Panetta, Paul D.

    2010-06-22

    Using an ultrasonic field, properties of a solid liquid suspension such as through-transmission attenuation, backscattering, and diffuse field are measured. These properties are converted to quantities indicating the strength of different loss mechanisms (such as absorption, single scattering and multiple scattering) among particles in the suspension. Such separation of the loss mechanisms can allow for direct comparison of the attenuating effects of the mechanisms. These comparisons can also indicate a model most likely to accurately characterize the suspension and can aid in determination of properties such as particle size, concentration, and density of the suspension.

  9. Optimizing Adipose Tissue Extract Isolation with Stirred Suspension Culture.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yan; Yu, Mei; Zhao, Xueyong; Dai, Minjia; Chen, Chang; Tian, Weidong

    2018-05-31

    Adherent culture which is used to collect adipose tissue extract (ATE) previously brings the problem of inhomogeneity and non-repeatability. Here we aim to extract ATE with stirred suspension culture to speed up the extraction process, stabilize the yield and improve consistent potency metrics of ATE. ATE was collected with adherent culture (ATE-A) and stirred suspension culture (ATE-S) separately. Protein yield and composition were detected by SDS-PAGE while cytokines in ATE were determined with ELISA. The adipogenic and angiogenic potential of ATE were compared by Western blot and qPCR. In addition, HE staining and LDH activity assays were used to analyze the cell viability of adipose tissue cultured with different methods. The yield of ATE-S was consistent while ATE-A varied notably. Characterization of the protein composition and exosome-like vesicles (ELVs) indicated no significant difference between ATE-S and ATE-A. The concentrations of cytokines (VEGF, bFGF and IL-6) showed no significant difference while IGF in ATE-S was higher than that in ATE-A. ATE-S showed upregulated adipogenic and angiogenic potential compared to ATE-A. Morever, stirred suspension culture decreased the LDH activity of ATE while increased the number of viable adipocytes and reduced adipose tissue necrosis. Compared with adherent culture, stirred suspension culture is a reliable, time and labor-saving method to collect ATE, which might be used to improve the downstream applications of ATE.

  10. Impact of Motile Bacterial Suspensions on Viscous Fingering and Mixing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chui, Jane; Auradou, Harold; de Anna, Pietro; Fahrner, Karen; Berg, Howard; Juanes, Ruben

    2017-11-01

    Viscous fingering is a hydrodynamic instability that occurs when a less viscous fluid displaces a more viscous one. Instead of progressing as a uniform front, the less viscous fluid forms fingers to create complex patterns. Understanding how these patterns and their associated gradients evolve over time is of critical importance in characterizing the mixing of two fluids, which in turn is important to applications such as enhanced oil recovery, bioremediation, and microfluidics. Here, we investigate the impact of replacing the less viscous fluid with an active suspension of motile bacteria. In this series of experiments, a suspension of motile Escherichia coli capable of collective swimming is injected into a microfluidic Hele-Shaw cell under viscous fingering conditions. Through videomicroscopy, we obtain high-resolution concentration fields to determine the evolution of the mixing zone (region with concentration gradients). We quantify the impact that active suspensions have on the formation of viscous fingering patterns and mixing efficiency between the two fluids, and-conversely-report details of the collective swimming behavior in the presence of a viscous-gradient front.

  11. Plasma Jet (V)UV-Radiation Impact on Biologically Relevant Liquids and Cell Suspension

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tresp, H.; Bussiahn, R.; Bundscherer, L.; Monden, A.; Hammer, M. U.; Masur, K.; Weltmann, K.-D.; Woedtke, Th. V.; Reuter, S.

    2014-10-01

    In this study the generation of radicals in plasma treated liquids has been investigated. To quantify the contribution of plasma vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the species investigated, three cases have been studied: UV of plasma jet only, UV and VUV of plasma jet combined, and the plasma effluent including all reactive components. The emitted VUV has been observed by optical emission spectroscopy and its effect on radical formation in liquids has been analyzed by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Radicals have been determined in ultrapure water (dH2O), as well as in more complex, biorelevant solutions like phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution, and two different cell culture media. Various compositions lead to different reactive species formation, e.g. in PBS superoxide anion and hydroxyl radicals have been detected, in cell suspension also glutathione thiyl radicals have been found. This study highlights that UV has no impact on radical generation, whereas VUV is relevant for producing radicals. VUV treatment of dH2O generates one third of the radical concentration produced by plasma-effluent treatment. It is relevant for plasma medicine because although plasma sources are operated in open air atmosphere, still VUV can lead to formation of biorelevant radicals. This work is funded by German Federal Ministry of Education a Research (BMBF) (Grant # 03Z2DN12+11).

  12. Drop formation in shear-thickening granular suspensions.

    PubMed

    Pan, Zhongcheng; Louvet, Nicolas; Hennequin, Yves; Kellay, Hamid; Bonn, Daniel

    2015-11-01

    We study droplet formation in granular suspensions by systematically varying the volume fractions (φ) and particle diameters (d). For suspensions with water as the suspending liquid, we find three different regimes. For dilute suspensions (φ≤45%), drop formation follows the predictions for inertial breakup and exhibits identical dynamics to that of pure water. The breakup is strongly asymmetrical in this case. Only for more concentrated suspensions (φ>45%) does the presence of particles change the dynamics and two other regimes, a symmetrical inertial regime and a Bagnoldian regime, are uncovered. We construct and discuss a phase diagram that allows us to understand and predict the breakup behavior in granular suspensions.

  13. Synchronization of Somatic Embryogenesis in Date Palm Suspension Culture Using Abscisic Acid.

    PubMed

    Alwael, Hussain A; Naik, Poornananda M; Al-Khayri, Jameel M

    2017-01-01

    Somatic embryogenesis is considered the most effective method for commercial propagation of date palm. However, the limitation of obtaining synchronized development of somatic embryos remains an impediment. The synchronization of somatic embryo development is ideal for the applications to produce artificial seeds. Abscisic acid (ABA) is associated with stress response and influences in vitro growth and development. This chapter describes an effective method to achieve synchronized development of somatic embryos in date palm cell suspension culture. Among the ABA concentrations tested (0, 1, 10, 50, 100 μM), the best synchronized growth was obtained in response to 50-100 μM. Here we provide a comprehensive protocol for in vitro plant regeneration of date palm starting with shoot-tip explant, callus initiation and growth, cell suspension establishment, embryogenesis synchronization with ABA treatment, somatic embryo germination, and rooting as well as acclimatized plantlet establishment.

  14. Improved oxidative tolerance in suspension-cultured cells of C4-pepctransgenic rice by H2O2 and Ca(2+) under PEG-6000.

    PubMed

    Qian, Baoyun; Li, Xia; Liu, Xiaolong; Wang, Man

    2015-06-01

    To understand the molecular responses of PC (Overexpressing the maize C4-pepc gene, which encodes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC)), to drought stress at cell level, we analyzed changes in the levels of signaling molecules (hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), calcium ion (Ca(2+)), and nitric oxide (NO)) in suspension-cultured PC and wild-type (WT) rice (Oryza sativa L.) cell under drought stress induced by 20% polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG-6000). Results demonstrated that PC improved drought tolerance by enhancing antioxidant defense, retaining higher relative water content, survival percentages, and dry weight of cells. In addition, PEPC activity in PC under PEG treatment was strengthened by addition of H2O2 inhibitor, dimethylthiourea (DMTU) and NO synthesis inhibitor, 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (cPTIO), respectively, while that in PC was weakened by addition of free calcium chelator, ethylene glycol-bis(b-aminoethylether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) + calcium channel outflow inhibitor, ruthenium red (RR) + plasma membrane channel blocker La(NO3)3, but EGTA + RR did not. Results also showed that NO and Ca(2+) was lying downstream of H2O2 in drought-induced signaling. Calcium ion was also involved in the expression of C4-pepc in PC. These results suggested that PC could improve oxidative tolerance in suspension-cultured cells and the acquisition of this tolerance required downregulation of H2O2 and the entry of extracellular Ca(2+) into cells across the plasma membrane for regulation of PEPC activity and C4-pepc expression. © 2014 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  15. 45 CFR 1641.14 - Notice of proposed suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notice of proposed suspension. 1641.14 Section 1641.14 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Suspension § 1641.14 Notice of proposed suspension...

  16. 45 CFR 1641.14 - Notice of proposed suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Notice of proposed suspension. 1641.14 Section 1641.14 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Suspension § 1641.14 Notice of proposed suspension...

  17. Biotransformation of artemisinin using cell suspension cultures of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don and Lavandula officinalis L.

    PubMed

    Patel, Suman; Gaur, Rashmi; Verma, Priyanka; Bhakuni, Rajendra S; Mathur, Archana

    2010-08-01

    Artemisinin, an antimalarial compound, at 5 mg/40 ml, was transformed by cell suspension cultures of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don and Lavandula officinalis L. into deoxyartemisinin with yields >78% (3.93 mg deoxyartemisinin from 5 mg artemisinin). Maximum conversion (78.6 and 78%) occurred after 6 and 7 days of adding artemisinin to 20 and 9 days old cultures of C. roseus and L. officinalis, respectively. The procedure was scaled up by and 500 mg artemisinin was transformed into 390 mg deoxyartemisinin. Addition of artemisinin at the beginning of the culture cycle resulted in >50% reduction in dry biomass production with no bioconversion. Conversion of artemisinin occurred intracellularly followed by leaching of the product into the medium.

  18. Elicitor induction of a microsomal 5-O-(4-coumaroyl)shikimate 3'-hydroxylase in parsley cell suspension cultures.

    PubMed

    Heller, W; Kühnl, T

    1985-09-01

    Microsomal preparations from parsley cell suspension cultures challenged with an elicitor from Phytophthora megasperma f.sp. glycinea (Pmg) catalyze the formation of trans-5-O-caffeoylshikimate from trans-5-O-(4-coumaroyl)shikimate. Neither the cis isomer nor free 4-coumarate, 4-coumaroyl-CoA, or 5-O-(4-coumaroyl)quinate are substrates for this enzyme. The reaction is strictly dependent on NADPH as a reducing cofactor and on molecular oxygen. NADH, ascorbic acid, and 6,7-dimethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropterine cannot substitute for NADPH. However, NADH enhances enzyme activity observed in the presence of NADPH. Cytochrome c and carbon monoxide inhibit the hydroxylation reaction, suggesting a cytochrome P-450-dependent mixed-function monooxygenase.

  19. Rheology of fiber suspensions using MRI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jenny, M.; Ferrari, M.; Gaudel, N.; Kiesgen de Richter, S.

    2018-02-01

    The suspensions of non-Brownian fibers are of interest for many applications. Although many studies concerning suspensions are available in the literature, most of them concern suspensions of spherical particles. In this paper, global and local rheology of fiber suspensions are explored near the jamming transition. A critical volume fraction is extracted from the experimental data. The value of this critical volume fraction is in agreement with the expected value of the concentration of rigid rods above which the isotropic phase becomes unstable. Moreover, non-reversible effects of the shearing are observed in flow curves because of the non-Brownian behavior of the studied fibers.

  20. Naratriptan hydrochloride in extemporaneosly compounded oral suspensions.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Y P; Trissel, L A; Fox, J L

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmaceutical acceptability and chemical stability of naratriptan hydrochloride in three extemporaneously compounded suspension formulations. The naratriptan-hydrochloride oral suspensions were prepared from 2.5-mg commercial tablets yielding a nominal naratriptan concentration of 0.5 mg/mL. The suspension vehicles selected for testing were Syrpalta, an equal-parts mixture of Ora-Plus and Ora-Sweet, and an equal-parts mixture of Ora-Plus and Ora-Sweet SF. The tablets were crushed and thoroughly triturated to a fine powder using a porcelain mortar and pestle. The powder was incorporated into a portion of the Syrpalta or Ora-Plus suspension vehicle and mixed until homogeneous. The mixtures were then brought to volume with Syrpalta, Ora-Sweet or Ora-Sweet SF, as appropriate. The suspensions were packaged in amber, plastic, screw-cap prescription bottles and stored at 23 deg C for seven days and 4 deg C for 90 days. An adequate suspension was never achieved in Syrpalta. The crushed-tablet powder did not produce a uniformly dispersed mixture and exhibited clumping and a high rate of sedimentation. A distinct layer of the solid tablet material settled immediately after shaking. Over the next four hours, a densely packed, yellow, caked layer formed at the bottom of the containers, making resuspension difficult. During storage, the caking became worse. Chemical analysis was not performed. The Ora-Plus and Ora-Sweet or Ora-Sweet SF suspensions had a slight greenish cast and were resuspended without difficulty by shaking for approximately ten seconds, yielding easily poured and homogeneous mixtures throughout the study. Visible settling and layering did not begin for four hours with the Ora-Sweet suspension and 24 hours for the Ora-Sweet SF suspension. High pressure liquid chromatographic analysis found that the naratriptan concentration in both suspension-vehicle combinations exhibited little or no loss for seven days at 23

  1. Nicotine demethylation in Nicotiana cell suspension cultures: N'-formylnornicotine is not involved.

    PubMed

    Bartholomeusz, Trixie Ann; Bhogal, Ramneek K; Molinié, Roland; Felpin, François-Xavier; Mathé-Allainmat, Monique; Meier, Anna-Carolin; Dräger, Birgit; Lebreton, Jacques; Roscher, Albrecht; Robins, Richard J; Mesnard, François

    2005-10-01

    Nicotine or nornicotine enriched with stable isotopes in either the N'-methyl group or the pyrrolidine-N were fed to Nicotiana plumbaginifolia suspension cell cultures that do not form endogenous nicotine. The metabolism of these compounds was investigated by analysing the incorporation of isotope into other alkaloids using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Nicotine metabolism primarily resulted in the accumulation of nornicotine, the N'-demethylation product. In addition, six minor metabolites appeared during the course of nicotine metabolism, four of which were identified as cotinine, myosmine, N'-formylnornicotine and N'-carboethoxynornicotine. While cotinine was formed from [(13)C,(2)H(3)-methyl]nicotine without dilution of label, N'-formylnornicotine was labelled at only about 6% of the level of nicotine and N'-carboethoxynornicotine was unlabelled. Feeding with [1'-(15)N]nornicotine resulted in incorporation without dilution of label into both N'-formylnornicotine and N'-carboethoxynornicotine. This pattern strongly indicates that, while nornicotine and cotinine are derived directly from nicotine, N'-formylnornicotine and N'-carboethoxynornicotine are metabolites of nornicotine. Thus, it is directly demonstrated that N'-formylnornicotine is not an intermediate in nicotine demethylation.

  2. Stability of Metronidazole Suspensions.

    PubMed

    Donnelly, Ronald F; Ying, James

    2015-01-01

    Metronidazole is an antiprotozoal agent used in the treatment of bacterial and protozoal anaerobic infections. The objectives of this study were to develop concentrated metronidazole suspensions that are inexpensive and easy to prepare and determine the stability of these suspensions after storage in amber polyvinyl chloride bottles at room temperature (23°C) and under refrigeration (5°C). Metronidazole suspensions (50 mg/mL) were prepared from powder using Ora-Blend or simple syrup as the vehicles. Samples were collected in triplicate from each container on days 0, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 93. Samples were assayed using a high-performance liquid chromatography method that had been validated as stability indicating. Color, change in physical appearance, and pH were also monitored at each time interval. There was no apparent change in color or physical appearance. The pH values changed by less than 0.20 units over the 93 days. The stability of metronidazole suspensions compounded from United States Pharmacopeia powder using Ora-Blend or simple syrup and packaged in amber polyvinyl chloride bottles was determined to be 93 days when stored at either room temperature or under refrigeration.

  3. Assessment of Cultivation Factors that Affect Biomass and Geraniol Production in Transgenic Tobacco Cell Suspension Cultures

    PubMed Central

    Vasilev, Nikolay; Schmitz, Christian; Grömping, Ulrike; Fischer, Rainer; Schillberg, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    A large-scale statistical experimental design was used to determine essential cultivation parameters that affect biomass accumulation and geraniol production in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsun NN) cell suspension cultures. The carbohydrate source played a major role in determining the geraniol yield and factors such as filling volume, inoculum size and light were less important. Sucrose, filling volume and inoculum size had a positive effect on geraniol yield by boosting growth of plant cell cultures whereas illumination of the cultures stimulated the geraniol biosynthesis. We also found that the carbohydrates sucrose and mannitol showed polarizing effects on biomass and geraniol accumulation. Factors such as shaking frequency, the presence of conditioned medium and solubilizers had minor influence on both plant cell growth and geraniol content. When cells were cultivated under the screened conditions for all the investigated factors, the cultures produced ∼5.2 mg/l geraniol after 12 days of cultivation in shaking flasks which is comparable to the yield obtained in microbial expression systems. Our data suggest that industrial experimental designs based on orthogonal arrays are suitable for the selection of initial cultivation parameters prior to the essential medium optimization steps. Such designs are particularly beneficial in the early optimization steps when many factors must be screened, increasing the statistical power of the experiments without increasing the demand on time and resources. PMID:25117009

  4. Assessment of cultivation factors that affect biomass and geraniol production in transgenic tobacco cell suspension cultures.

    PubMed

    Vasilev, Nikolay; Schmitz, Christian; Grömping, Ulrike; Fischer, Rainer; Schillberg, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    A large-scale statistical experimental design was used to determine essential cultivation parameters that affect biomass accumulation and geraniol production in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsun NN) cell suspension cultures. The carbohydrate source played a major role in determining the geraniol yield and factors such as filling volume, inoculum size and light were less important. Sucrose, filling volume and inoculum size had a positive effect on geraniol yield by boosting growth of plant cell cultures whereas illumination of the cultures stimulated the geraniol biosynthesis. We also found that the carbohydrates sucrose and mannitol showed polarizing effects on biomass and geraniol accumulation. Factors such as shaking frequency, the presence of conditioned medium and solubilizers had minor influence on both plant cell growth and geraniol content. When cells were cultivated under the screened conditions for all the investigated factors, the cultures produced ∼ 5.2 mg/l geraniol after 12 days of cultivation in shaking flasks which is comparable to the yield obtained in microbial expression systems. Our data suggest that industrial experimental designs based on orthogonal arrays are suitable for the selection of initial cultivation parameters prior to the essential medium optimization steps. Such designs are particularly beneficial in the early optimization steps when many factors must be screened, increasing the statistical power of the experiments without increasing the demand on time and resources.

  5. LC-MS determination of steroidal glycosides from Dioscorea deltoidea Wall cell suspension culture: Optimization of pre-LC-MS procedure parameters by Latin Square design.

    PubMed

    Sarvin, Boris; Fedorova, Elizaveta; Shpigun, Oleg; Titova, Maria; Nikitin, Mikhail; Kochkin, Dmitry; Rodin, Igor; Stavrianidi, Andrey

    2018-03-30

    In this paper, the ultrasound assisted extraction method for isolation of steroidal glycosides from D. deltoidea plant cell suspension culture with a subsequent HPLC-MS determination was developed. After the organic solvent was selected via a two-factor experiment the optimization via Latin Square 4 × 4 experimental design was carried out for the following parameters: extraction time, organic solvent concentration in extraction solution and the ratio of solvent to sample. It was also shown that the ultrasound assisted extraction method is not suitable for isolation of steroidal glycosides from the D. deltoidea plant material. The results were double-checked using the multiple successive extraction method and refluxing extraction. Optimal conditions for the extraction of steroidal glycosides by the ultrasound assisted extraction method were: extraction time, 60 min; acetonitrile (water) concentration in extraction solution, 50%; the ratio of solvent to sample, 400 mL/g. Also, the developed method was tested on D. deltoidea cell suspension cultures of different terms and conditions of cultivation. The completeness of the extraction was confirmed using the multiple successive extraction method. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Stereoselectivity of the demethylation of nicotine piperidine homologues by Nicotiana plumbaginifolia cell suspension cultures.

    PubMed

    Bartholomeusz, Trixie Ann; Molinié, Roland; Roscher, Albrecht; Felpin, François-Xavier; Gillet, Françoise; Lebreton, Jacques; Mesnard, François; Robins, Richard J

    2005-08-01

    The metabolism of (R,S)-N-methylanabasine and (R,S)-N-methylanatabine has been studied in a cell suspension culture of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. Both substrates are effectively demethylated, anabasine or anatabine, respectively, accumulating in the medium. Similarly, there is strong stereoselectivity for the (R)-isomers of both substrates. The kinetics of metabolism of (R,S)-N-methylanabasine differ significantly from those of nicotine in that no further degradation of the initial demethylation product occurs. (R,S)-N-Methylanatabine, however, shows kinetics closer to those of nicotine, with loss of alkaloid from the system. Further more, (R,S)-N-methylanabasine does not diminish (S)-nicotine demethylation, indicating a lack of competition. However, the metabolism of (S)-nicotine is affected by the presence of (R,S)-N-methylanabasine. Hence, the demethylation of the piperidine homologues of nicotine is seen to be similar but not identical to that of the pyridine analogues. The implications of these different metabolic profiles in relation to the demethylation activity are discussed.

  7. Large-Angle Magnetic Suspension (LAMS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oglevie, Ronald E.; Eisenhaure, David B.; Downer, James R.

    1988-01-01

    Spherical LAMS is magnetic syspension that provides dual functions of magnetic bearing and rotorgimbal system. Provides two degrees of angular freedom within single magnetic suspension system. Approach employs spherically-shaped magnetic-gap surfaces to achieve much-larger angular freedom than available from previous suspensions.

  8. Clay-cement suspensions - rheological and functional properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wojcik, L.; Izak, P.; Mastalska-Poplawska, J.; Gajek, M.

    2017-01-01

    The piping erosion in soil is highly unexpected in civil engineering. Elimination of such damages is difficult, expensive and time-consuming. One of the possibility is the grouting method. This method is still developed into direction of process automation as well as other useful properties of suspensions. Main way of modernization of the grouting method is connected it with rheology of injection and eventuality of fitting them to specific problems conditions. Very popular and useful became binders based on modified clays (clay-cement suspensions). Important principle of efficiency of the grouting method is using of time-dependent pseudothixotropic properties of the clay-cement suspensions. The pseudo-rheounstability aspect of the suspensions properties should be dedicated and fitted to dynamic changes of soil conditions destructions. Whole process of the modification of the suspension rheology is stimulated by the specific agents. This article contains a description of practical aspects of the rheological parameters managing of the clay-cement suspensions, dedicated to the building damages, hydrotechnic constructions etc.

  9. 48 CFR 423.506 - Suspension of payments, termination of contract, and debarment and suspension actions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Suspension of payments, termination of contract, and debarment and suspension actions. 423.506 Section 423.506 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY...

  10. 48 CFR 423.506 - Suspension of payments, termination of contract, and debarment and suspension actions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Suspension of payments, termination of contract, and debarment and suspension actions. 423.506 Section 423.506 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY...

  11. 48 CFR 423.506 - Suspension of payments, termination of contract, and debarment and suspension actions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Suspension of payments, termination of contract, and debarment and suspension actions. 423.506 Section 423.506 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY...

  12. 48 CFR 423.506 - Suspension of payments, termination of contract, and debarment and suspension actions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Suspension of payments, termination of contract, and debarment and suspension actions. 423.506 Section 423.506 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY...

  13. 48 CFR 423.506 - Suspension of payments, termination of contract, and debarment and suspension actions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Suspension of payments, termination of contract, and debarment and suspension actions. 423.506 Section 423.506 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY...

  14. Elicitation of andrographolide in the suspension cultures of Andrographis paniculata.

    PubMed

    Gandi, Suryakala; Rao, Kiranmayee; Chodisetti, Bhuvaneswari; Giri, Archana

    2012-12-01

    Andrographis paniculata belonging to the family Acanthaceae produces a group of diterpene lactones, one of which is the pharmaceutically important-andrographolide. It is known to possess various important biological properties like anticancer, anti-HIV, anti-inflammatory, etc. This is the first report on the production of andrographolide in the cell suspension cultures of Andrographis paniculata by 'elicitation'. Elicitation was attempted to enhance the andrographolide content in the suspension cultures of Andrographis paniculata and also to ascertain its stimulation under stress conditions or in response to pathogen attack. The maximum andrographolide production was found to be 1.53 mg/g dry cell weight (DCW) at the end of stationary phase during the growth curve. The biotic elicitors (yeast, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Agrobacterium rhizogenes 532 and Agrobacterium tumefaciens C 58) were more effective in eliciting the response when compared to the abiotic elicitors (CdCl(2), AgNO(3), CuCl(2) and HgCl(2)). Yeast has shown to stimulate maximum accumulation of 13.5 mg/g DCW andrographolide, which was found to be 8.82-fold higher than the untreated cultures.

  15. Flow properties of suspensions rich in solids

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Armstrong, W. P.; Gay, E. C.; Nelson, P. A.

    1969-01-01

    Mathematical evaluation of flow properties of fluids carrying high concentrations of solids in suspension relates suspension viscosity to physical properties of the solids and liquids, and provides a means for predicting flow behavior. A technique for calculating a suspensions flow rates is applicable to the design of pipelines.

  16. Study on kinematic and compliance test of suspension

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jing, Lixin; Wu, Liguang; Li, Xuepeng; Zhang, Yu

    2017-09-01

    Chassis performance development is a major difficulty in vehicle research and development, which is the main factor restricting the independent development of vehicles in China. These years, through a large number of studies, chassis engineers have found that the suspension K&C characteristics as a quasi-static characteristic of the suspension provides a technical route for the suspension performance R&D, and the suspension K&C test has become an important means of vehicle benchmarking, optimization and verification. However, the research on suspension K&C test is less in china, and the test conditions and setting requirements vary greatly from OEM to OEM. In this paper, the influence of different settings on the characteristics of the suspension is obtained through experiments, and the causes of the differences are analyzed; in order to fully reflect the suspension characteristics, the author recommends the appropriate test case and settings.

  17. Brownian motion in inhomogeneous suspensions.

    PubMed

    Yang, Mingcheng; Ripoll, Marisol

    2013-06-01

    The Langevin description of Brownian motion in inhomogeneous suspensions is here revisited. Inhomogeneous suspensions are characterized by a position-dependent friction coefficient, which can significantly influence the dynamics of the suspended particles. Outstanding examples are suspensions in confinement or in the presence of a temperature gradient. The Langevin approach in inhomogeneous systems encounters a fundamental difficulty related to the interpretation of the multiplicative noise induced by the position-dependent friction. We show that the so-called Ito-Stratonovich dilemma is originated by the violation of the macroscopic force balance condition in the traditional procedure of eliminating the fast variables. Repairing this deficit, we rederive the extended overdamped Langevin equation directly from the infradamped Langevin equation. This is without invoking the Fokker-Planck formalism, such that the self-completeness of the Langevin framework is restored. Furthermore, we derive the generalized forms of the drift-force relation and the Smoluchowski equation for inhomogeneous suspensions in a straightforward manner.

  18. Dense Suspension Splash

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Wendy; Dodge, Kevin M.; Peters, Ivo R.; Ellowitz, Jake; Klein Schaarsberg, Martin H.; Jaeger, Heinrich M.

    2014-03-01

    Upon impact onto a solid surface at several meters-per-second, a dense suspension plug splashes by ejecting liquid-coated particles. We study the mechanism for splash formation using experiments and a numerical model. In the model, the dense suspension is idealized as a collection of cohesionless, rigid grains with finite surface roughness. The grains also experience lubrication drag as they approach, collide inelastically and rebound away from each other. Simulations using this model reproduce the measured momentum distribution of ejected particles. They also provide direct evidence supporting the conclusion from earlier experiments that inelastic collisions, rather than viscous drag, dominate when the suspension contains macroscopic particles immersed in a low-viscosity solvent such as water. Finally, the simulations reveal two distinct routes for splash formation: a particle can be ejected by a single high momentum-change collision. More surprisingly, a succession of small momentum-change collisions can accumulate to eject a particle outwards. Supported by NSF through its MRSEC program (DMR-0820054) and fluid dynamics program (CBET-1336489).

  19. Chloroplast and reactive oxygen species involvement in apoptotic-like programmed cell death in Arabidopsis suspension cultures

    PubMed Central

    Doyle, Siamsa M.; Diamond, Mark; McCabe, Paul F.

    2010-01-01

    Chloroplasts produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) during cellular stress. ROS are known to act as regulators of programmed cell death (PCD) in plant and animal cells, so it is possible that chloroplasts have a role in regulating PCD in green tissue. Arabidopsis thaliana cell suspension cultures are model systems in which to test this, as here it is shown that their cells contain well-developed, functional chloroplasts when grown in the light, but not when grown in the dark. Heat treatment at 55 °C induced apoptotic-like (AL)-PCD in the cultures, but light-grown cultures responded with significantly less AL-PCD than dark-grown cultures. Chloroplast-free light-grown cultures were established using norflurazon, spectinomycin, and lincomycin and these cultures responded to heat treatment with increased AL-PCD, demonstrating that chloroplasts affect AL-PCD induction in light-grown cultures. Antioxidant treatment of light-grown cultures also resulted in increased AL-PCD induction, suggesting that chloroplast-produced ROS may be involved in AL-PCD regulation. Cycloheximide treatment of light-grown cultures prolonged cell viability and attenuated AL-PCD induction; however, this effect was less pronounced in dark-grown cultures, and did not occur in antioxidant-treated light-grown cultures. This suggests that a complex interplay between light, chloroplasts, ROS, and nuclear protein synthesis occurs during plant AL-PCD. The results of this study highlight the importance of taking into account the time-point at which cells are observed and whether the cells are light-grown and chloroplast-containing or not, for any study on plant AL-PCD, as it appears that chloroplasts can play a significant role in AL-PCD regulation. PMID:19933317

  20. Engineering of Novel Biocolloid Suspensions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hammer, D. A.; Rodges, S.; Hiddessen, A.; Weitz, D. A.

    1999-01-01

    Colloidal suspensions are materials with a variety of uses from cleaners and lubricants to food, cosmetics, and coatings. In addition, they can be used as a tool for testing the fundamental tenets of statistical physics. Colloidal suspensions can be synthesized from a wide variety of materials, and in the form of monodisperse particles, which can self-assemble into highly ordered colloidal crystal structures. As such they can also be used as templates for the construction of highly ordered materials. Materials design of colloids has, to date, relied on entropic self-assembly, where crystals form as result of lower free energy due to a transition to order. Here, our goal is to develop a completely new method for materials fabrication using colloidal precursors, in which the self-assembly of the ordered colloidal structures is driven by a highly controllable, attractive interaction. This will greatly increase the range of potential structures that can be fabricated with colloidal particles. In this work, we demonstrate that colloidal suspensions can be crosslinked through highly specific biological crosslinking reactions. In particular, the molecules we use are protein-carbohydrate interactions derived from the immune system. This different driving force for self-assembly will yield different and novel suspensions structures. Because the biological interactions are heterotypic (A binding to B), this chemical system can be used to make binary alloys in which the two colloid subpopulations vary in some property - size, density, volume fraction, magnetic susceptibility, etc. An additional feature of these molecules which is unique - even within the realm of biological recognition - is that the molecules bind reversibly on reasonable time-scales, which will enable the suspension to sample different configurations, and allow us to manipulate and measure the size of the suspension dynamically. Because of the wide variety of structures that can be made from these novel

  1. 21 CFR 522.2112 - Sometribove zinc suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Sometribove zinc suspension. 522.2112 Section 522....2112 Sometribove zinc suspension. (a) Specifications. Each single-dose syringe contains 500 milligrams (mg) sometribove zinc in a prolonged-release suspension. (b) Sponsor. See No. 000986 in § 510.600(c...

  2. 28 CFR 33.80 - Suspension of funding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Suspension of funding. 33.80 Section 33... Justice Block Grants Suspension of Funding § 33.80 Suspension of funding. The Bureau of Justice Assistance shall, after reasonable notice and opportunity for a hearing on the record, terminate or suspend funding...

  3. 14 CFR 221.82 - Reissue of matter continued in effect by suspension to be canceled upon termination of suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... suspension to be canceled upon termination of suspension. 221.82 Section 221.82 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE... be canceled upon termination of suspension. When tariff provisions continued in effect by a.... In such circumstances, prompt action shall be taken by the issuing agent or carrier to cancel such...

  4. Diesel Technology: Steering and Suspension.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Roger; Scarberry, Terry; Tesch, Carl; Kellum, Mary

    Competency-based teacher and student materials on steering and suspension are provided for a diesel technology curriculum. Eleven units of instruction cover the following topics: chassis, tires, and wheels; steering; and suspension. The materials are based on the curriculum-alignment concept of first stating the objectives, then developing…

  5. 19 CFR 146.82 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... (CONTINUED) FOREIGN TRADE ZONES Penalties; Suspension; Revocation § 146.82 Suspension. (a) For cause. The port director may suspend for cause the activated status of a zone or zone site, or the privilege to admit, manufacture, manipulate, exhibit, destroy, transfer or remove merchandise at a zone or zone site...

  6. 19 CFR 146.82 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... (CONTINUED) FOREIGN TRADE ZONES Penalties; Suspension; Revocation § 146.82 Suspension. (a) For cause. The port director may suspend for cause the activated status of a zone or zone site, or the privilege to admit, manufacture, manipulate, exhibit, destroy, transfer or remove merchandise at a zone or zone site...

  7. 19 CFR 146.82 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... (CONTINUED) FOREIGN TRADE ZONES Penalties; Suspension; Revocation § 146.82 Suspension. (a) For cause. The port director may suspend for cause the activated status of a zone or zone site, or the privilege to admit, manufacture, manipulate, exhibit, destroy, transfer or remove merchandise at a zone or zone site...

  8. 19 CFR 146.82 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... (CONTINUED) FOREIGN TRADE ZONES Penalties; Suspension; Revocation § 146.82 Suspension. (a) For cause. The port director may suspend for cause the activated status of a zone or zone site, or the privilege to admit, manufacture, manipulate, exhibit, destroy, transfer or remove merchandise at a zone or zone site...

  9. 19 CFR 146.82 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... (CONTINUED) FOREIGN TRADE ZONES Penalties; Suspension; Revocation § 146.82 Suspension. (a) For cause. The port director may suspend for cause the activated status of a zone or zone site, or the privilege to admit, manufacture, manipulate, exhibit, destroy, transfer or remove merchandise at a zone or zone site...

  10. Dilatancy and shear thickening of particle suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bonn, Daniel

    2013-03-01

    Shear thickening is a fascinating subject, as 99.9% of complex fluids are thinning; thickening systems thus are the ``exception to the rule'' that needs to be understood. Moreover, such tunable systems show very promising applications, e.g. to block large underground pores in oil recovery to maintain a constant oil flow by plugging water filled pores (an approach used in oil recovery by e.g. Shell), or to manufacture bulletproof vests that are comfortable to wear, but stop bullets nonetheless. We study the rheology of non-Brownian particle suspensions (notably, cornstarch) that exhibit shear thickening. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the local properties of the flow are obtained by the determination of local velocity profiles and concentrations in a Couette cell. We also perform macroscopic rheology experiments in different geometries. The results suggest that the shear thickening is a consequence of dilatancy: the system under flow attempts to dilate but instead undergoes a jamming transition, because it is confined. This proposition is confirmed by an independent measurement of the dilation of the suspension as a function of the shear rate.

  11. Conditioning out-of-date bank-stored red blood cells using a cell-saver auto-transfusion device: effects on numbers of red cells and quality of suspension fluid.

    PubMed

    Read, M S; Coles, P; Pomeroy, M; Anderson, E; Aziz, M I

    2014-11-01

    We investigated the utility of a cell-saver device for processing out-of-date red blood cells, by washing twenty bags of red blood cells that had been stored for between 36 and 55 days. The volume of recovered cells, and the characteristics of the suspension fluid, were measured before and after treatment. The ratio of free haemoglobin to total haemoglobin was up to 0.02 before processing, and up to 0.011 afterwards, changing by between -0.013 and +0.003. This ratio met the current standard for free haemoglobin (less than 0.008 in more than 75% of samples), both before and after processing. Ninety-three percent of red blood cells survived the process. Potassium ion concentration fell from above 15 mmol.l(-1) in all cases, to a mean of 6.4 mmol.l(-1) (p < 0.001). The pH rose to a mean value of 6.44 (p = 0.001). Lactate ion concentration fell to a mean value of 14 mmol.l(-1) (p < 0.001). Sodium ion concentration rose from a mean value of 93 mmol.l(-1) to a mean value of 140 mmol.l(-1) (p < 0.001). A useful proportion of out-of-date red blood cells remained intact after conditioning using a cell-saver, and the process lowered concentrations of potentially toxic solutes in the fluid in which they were suspended. © 2014 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

  12. Solid lipid nanoparticles suspension versus commercial solutions for dermal delivery of minoxidil.

    PubMed

    Padois, Karine; Cantiéni, Céline; Bertholle, Valérie; Bardel, Claire; Pirot, Fabrice; Falson, Françoise

    2011-09-15

    Solid lipid nanoparticles have been reported as possible carrier for skin drug delivery. Solid lipid nanoparticles are produced from biocompatible and biodegradable lipids. Solid lipid nanoparticles made of semi-synthetic triglycerides stabilized with a mixture of polysorbate and sorbitan oleate were loaded with 5% of minoxidil. The prepared systems were characterized for particle size, pH and drug content. Ex vivo skin penetration studies were performed using Franz-type glass diffusion cells and pig ear skin. Ex vivo skin corrosion studies were realized with a method derived from the Corrositex(®) test. Solid lipid nanoparticles suspensions were compared to commercial solutions in terms of skin penetration and skin corrosion. Solid lipid nanoparticles suspensions have been shown as efficient as commercial solutions for skin penetration; and were non-corrosive while commercial solutions presented a corrosive potential. Solid lipid nanoparticles suspensions would constitute a promising formulation for hair loss treatment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Large angle magnetic suspension test fixture

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Britcher, Colin P.

    1993-01-01

    Progress made under the subject grant in the period from 1 Nov. 1992 to 31 May 1993 is presented. The research involves the continued development of the Large Angle Magnetic Suspension Test Fixture (LAMSTF) and also the recommissioning of an additional piece of exisiting hardware. During the period in question, the initial configuration of LAMSTF was completed and made routinely and reliably operational. A digital phase advance controller was completed and documented. The goal of a controlled 360 deg rotation was achieved. Work started on the recommissioning of the Annular Suspension and Pointing System (ASPS). Work completed during the report period included: modeling; position sensing; controller; support of the Second International Symposium on Magnetic Suspension Technology; and recommissioning of the Annular Suspension and Pointing System.

  14. Magnetic suspension and balance systems (MSBSs)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Britcher, Colin P.; Kilgore, Robert A.

    1987-01-01

    The problems of wind tunnel testing are outlined, with attention given to the problems caused by mechanical support systems, such as support interference, dynamic-testing restrictions, and low productivity. The basic principles of magnetic suspension are highlighted, along with the history of magnetic suspension and balance systems. Roll control, size limitations, high angle of attack, reliability, position sensing, and calibration are discussed among the problems and limitations of the existing magnetic suspension and balance systems. Examples of the existing systems are presented, and design studies for future systems are outlined. Problems specific to large-scale magnetic suspension and balance systems, such as high model loads, requirements for high-power electromagnets, high-capacity power supplies, highly sophisticated control systems and position sensors, and high costs are assessed.

  15. Large angle magnetic suspension text fixture

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Britcher, Colin P.

    1995-01-01

    In lieu of a final report for this project for the period 1 April 1995 through 31 October 1995, a compilation of three reports are included herein. The three reports are: (1) 'Design and Implementation of a Digital Controller for a Magnetic Suspension and Vernier Pointing System', (2) 'Influence of Eddy Currents on the Dynamic Characteristics of Magnetic Suspensions and Magnetic Bearings', and (3) 'Design and Implementation of a Digital Controller for a Magnetic Suspension and Vernier Pointing System'.

  16. Non-homogeneous flow profiles in sheared bacterial suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samanta, Devranjan; Cheng, Xiang

    Bacterial suspensions under shear exhibit interesting rheological behaviors including the remarkable ``superfluidic'' state with vanishing viscosity at low shear rates. Theoretical studies have shown that such ``superfluidic'' state is linked with non-homogeneous shear flows, which are induced by coupling between nematic order of active fluids and hydrodynamics of shear flows. However, although bulk rheology of bacterial suspensions has been experimentally studied, shear profiles within bacterial suspensions have not been explored so far. Here, we experimentally investigate the flow behaviors of E. coli suspensions under planar oscillatory shear. Using confocal microscopy and PIV, we measure velocity profiles across gap between two shear plates. We find that with increasing shear rates, high-concentration bacterial suspensions exhibit an array of non-homogeneous flow behaviors like yield-stress flows and shear banding. We show that these non-homogeneous flows are due to collective motion of bacterial suspensions. The phase diagram of sheared bacterial suspensions is systematically mapped as functions of shear rates an bacterial concentrations. Our experiments provide new insights into rheology of bacterial suspensions and shed light on shear induced dynamics of active fluids. Chemical Engineering and Material Science department.

  17. Cell type analysis of functional fetal dopamine cell suspension transplants in the striatum and substantia nigra of patients with Parkinson’s disease

    PubMed Central

    Mendez, Ivar; Sanchez-Pernaute, Rosario; Cooper, Oliver; Viñuela, Angel; Ferrari, Daniela; Björklund, Lars; Dagher, Alain; Isacson, Ole

    2008-01-01

    We report the first post-mortem analysis of two patients with Parkinson’s disease who received fetal midbrain transplants as a cell suspension in the striatum, and in one case also in the substantia nigra. These patients had a favourable clinical evolution and positive 18F-fluorodopa PET scans and did not develop motor complications. The surviving transplanted dopamine neurons were positively identified with phenotypic markers of normal control human substantia nigra (n = 3), such as tyrosine hydroxylase, G-protein-coupled inward rectifying current potassium channel type 2 (Girk2) and calbindin. The grafts restored the cell type that provides specific dopaminergic innervation to the most affected striatal regions in the parkinsonian brain. Such transplants were able to densely reinnervate the host putamen with new dopamine fibres. The patients received only 6 months of standard immune suppression, yet by post-mortem analysis 3–4 years after surgery the transplants appeared only mildly immunogenic to the host brain, by analysis of microglial CD45 and CD68 markers. This study demonstrates that, using these methods, dopamine neuronal replacement cell therapy can be beneficial for patients with advanced disease, and that changing technical approaches could have a favourable impact on efficacy and adverse events following neural transplantation. PMID:15872020

  18. The Relationship of School Poverty and Suspension Rates: Finding Ways to Reduce Suspension through Prevention Programming and School Bonding

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shirley, Erica

    2012-01-01

    What is the relationship between school poverty and school suspension rates and to what extent do prevention programming and school bonding lower the suspension risk for students in high poverty schools? The present study examined the association between school level poverty and suspension rates in addition to investigating whether prevention…

  19. Mechanisms of inhibition by fluoride of urease activities of cell suspensions and biofilms of Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus salivarius, Actinomyces naeslundii and of dental plaque.

    PubMed

    Barboza-Silva, E; Castro, A C D; Marquis, R E

    2005-12-01

    Fluoride is known to be a potent inhibitor of bacterial ureases and can also act in the form of hydrofluoric acid as a transmembrane proton conductor to acidify the cytoplasm of intact cells with possible indirect, acid inhibition of urease. Our research objectives were to assess the inhibitory potencies of fluoride for three urease-positive bacteria commonly found in the mouth and to determine the relative importance of direct and indirect inhibition of ureases for overall inhibition of intact cells or biofilms. The experimental design involved intact bacteria in suspensions, mono-organism biofilms, cell extracts, and dental plaque. Standard enzymatic assays for ammonia production from urea were used. We found that ureolysis by cells in suspensions or mono-organism biofilms of Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus salivarius or Actinomyces naeslundii was inhibited by fluoride at plaque levels of 0.1-0.5 mm in a pH-dependent manner. The results of experiments with the organic weak acids indomethacin and capric acid, which do not directly inhibit urease enzyme, indicated that weak-acid effects leading to cytoplasmic acidification are also involved in fluoride inhibition. However, direct fluoride inhibition of urease appeared to be the major mechanism for reduction in ureolytic activity in acid environments. Results of experiments with freshly harvested supragingival dental plaque indicated responses to fluoride similar to those of S. salivarius with pH-dependent fluoride inhibition and both direct and indirect inhibition of urease. Fluoride can act to diminish alkali production from urea by oral bacteria through direct and indirect mechanisms.

  20. Recombinant human IGF-1 produced by transgenic plant cell suspension culture enhances new bone formation in calvarial defects.

    PubMed

    Poudel, Sher Bahadur; Bhattarai, Govinda; Kook, Sung-Ho; Shin, Yun-Ji; Kwon, Tae-Ho; Lee, Seung-Youp; Lee, Jeong-Chae

    2017-10-01

    Transgenic plant cell suspension culture systems have been utilized extensively as convenient and efficient expression systems for the production of recombinant human growth factors. We produced insulin-like growth factor-1 using a plant suspension culture system (p-IGF-1) and explored its effect on new bone formation in calvarial defects. We also compared the bone regenerating potential of p-IGF-1 with commercial IGF-1 derived from Escherichia coli (e-IGF-1). Male C57BL/6 mice underwent calvarial defect surgery, and the defects were loaded with absorbable collagen sponge (ACS) only (ACS group) or ACS impregnated with 13μg of p-IGF-1 (p-IGF-1 group) or e-IGF-1 (e-IGF-1 group). The sham group did not receive any treatment with ACS or IGFs after surgery. Live μCT and histological analyses showed critical-sized bone defects in the sham group, whereas greater bone formation was observed in the p-IGF-1 and e-IGF-1 groups than the ACS group both 5 and 10weeks after surgery. Bone mineral density, bone volume, and bone surface values were also higher in the IGF groups than in the ACS group. Local delivery of p-IGF-1 or e-IGF-1 more greatly enhanced the expression of osteoblast-specific markers, but inhibited osteoclast formation, in newly formed bone compared with ACS control group. Specifically, p-IGF-1 treatment induced higher expression of alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and osteopontin in the defect site than did e-IGF-1. Furthermore, treatment with p-IGF-1, but not e-IGF-1, increased mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells, with the attendant upregulation of osteogenic marker genes. Collectively, our findings suggest the potential of p-IGF-1 in promoting the processes required for bone regeneration. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  1. Simultaneous Concentration and Velocity Maps in Particle Suspensions under Shear from Rheo-Ultrasonic Imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saint-Michel, Brice; Bodiguel, Hugues; Meeker, Steven; Manneville, Sébastien

    2017-07-01

    We extend a previously developed ultrafast ultrasonic technique [T. Gallot et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 84, 045107 (2013), 10.1063/1.4801462] to concentration-field measurements in non-Brownian particle suspensions under shear. The technique provides access to time-resolved concentration maps within the gap of a Taylor-Couette cell simultaneously to local velocity measurements and standard rheological characterization. Benchmark experiments in homogeneous particle suspensions are used to calibrate the system. We then image heterogeneous concentration fields that result from centrifugation effects, from the classical Taylor-Couette instability, and from sedimentation or shear-induced resuspension.

  2. Boundary Effects and Shear Thickening of Colloidal Suspensions: A study based on measurement of Suspension Microstructure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perera, M. Tharanga D.

    Microstructure is key to understanding rheological behaviors of flowing particulate suspensions. During the past decade, Stokesian Dynamics simulations have been the dominant method of determining suspension microstructure. Structure results obtained numerically reveal that an anisotropic structure is formed under high Peclet (Pe) number conditions. Researchers have used various experimental techniques such as small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and light scattering methods to validate microstructure. This work outlines an experimental technique based on confocal microscopy to study microstructure of a colloidal suspension in an index-matched fluid flowing in a microchannel. High resolution scans determining individual particle locations in suspensions 30-50 vol % yield quantitative results of the local microstructure in the form of the pair distribution function, g(r). From these experimentally determined g(r), the effect of shear rate, quantified by the Peclet number as a ratio of shear and Brownian stress, on the suspension viscosity and normal stress follow that seen in macroscopic rheological measurements and simulations. It is generally believed that shear thickening behavior of colloidal suspensions is driven by the formation of hydroclusters. From measurements of particle locations, hydroclusters are identified. The number of hydroclusters grows exponentially with increasing Pe, and the onset of shear thickening is driven by the increase in formation of clusters having 5-8 particles. At higher Pe, we notice the emergence of 12 or more particle clusters. The internal structure of these hydroclusters has been investigated, and there is some evidence that particles internal to hydroclusters preferentially align along the 45° and 135° axis. Beyond observations of bulk suspension behavior, the influence of boundaries on suspension microstructure is also investigated. Experiments were performed for suspensions flowing over smooth walls, made of glass

  3. Enhancement of shikonin production in single- and two-phase suspension cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon cells using low-energy ultrasound.

    PubMed

    Lin, Lidong; Wu, Jianyong

    2002-04-05

    This work demonstrates the use of low-energy ultrasound (US) to enhance secondary metabolite production in plant cell cultures. Suspension culture of Lithospermum erythrorhizon cells was exposed to low-power US (power density < or = 113.9 mW/cm(3)) for short periods (1-8 min). The US exposure significantly stimulated the shikonin biosynthesis of the cells, and at certain US doses, increased the volumetric shikonin yield by about 60%-70%. Meanwhile, the shikonin excreted from the cells was increased from 20% to 65%-70%, due partially to an increase in the cell membrane permeability by sonication. With combined use of US treatment and in situ product extraction by an organic solvent, or the two-phase culture, the volumetric shikonin yield was increased more than two- to threefold. Increasing in the number of US exposures during the culture process usually resulted in negative effects on shikonin yield but slight stimulation of shikonin excretion. US at relatively high energy levels caused slight cell growth depression (maximum 9% decrease in dry cell weight). Two key enzymes for the secondary metabolite biosynthesis of cells, phenylalanine ammonia lyase and p-hydroxybenzoic acid geranyltransferase, were found to be stimulated by the US. The US stimulation of secondary metabolite biosynthesis was attributed to the metabolic activity of cells activated by US, and more specifically, the defense responses of plant cells to the mechanical stress of US irradiation. Copyright 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 78: 81--88, 2002; DOI 10.1002/bit.10180

  4. Selective retension of active cells employing low centrifugal force at the medium change during suspension culture of Chinese hamster ovary cells producing tPA.

    PubMed

    Takagi, M; Ilias, M; Yoshida, T

    2000-01-01

    The effect of centrifugal force applied for cell separation at the medium change on the growth, metabolism and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) productivity of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells suspension culture was investigated. The viability of the precipitated cells increased exponentially as the centrifugal force decreased. However, the cell recovery was lower than 91% when centrifugal forces applied for 5 min was less than 67 x g. In cultures incubated for 474 h with 7 medium changes employing centrifugal forces ranging from 67 to 364 x g, a centrifugal force lower than 119 x g resulted in higher specific rates of growth, glucose consumption, and lactate and tPA production during the whole culture period. On the other hand, daily centrifugation at 67 to 537 x g without discarding the supernatant had no effect on the specific rates. The cultures inoculated with cells precipitated at a centrifugal force of 67 x g showed apparently higher specific rates of metabolism compared to those inoculated with cells in the supernatant. The cells in the supernatant and the precipitate obtained following centrifugation at 67 x g have average diameters of 15.5 and 17.4 microm, respectively. The intracellular contents of amino acids, especially nonessential amino acids, of the precipitated cells were markedly higher than those of the cells in the supernatant. These results indicate that large cells with high amino acid content and metabolic activity were selectively retained in the culture by means of centrifugation at low forces such as 67 x g. Consequently, application of a low centrifugal force is recommended for medium change in order to maintain higher specific productivity of suspended mammalian cells in perfusion culture.

  5. Pair-correlations in swimmer suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nambiar, Sankalp; Subramanian, Ganesh

    2017-11-01

    Suspensions of rear-actuated swimming microorganisms, such as E.coli, exhibit several interesting phenomena including spontaneous pattern formation above a critical concentration, novel rheological properties, shear-induced concentration banding etc. Explanations based on mean-field theory are only qualitative, since interactions between swimmers are important for typical experimental concentrations. We analytically characterize the hydrodynamic pair-interactions in a quiescent suspension of slender straight swimmers. The pair-correlation, calculated at leading order by integrating the swimmer velocity disturbances along straight trajectories, decays as 1/r2 for r >> L (L being the swimmer size). This allows us to characterize both polar and nematic correlations in an interacting swimmer suspension. In the absence of correlations, the velocity covariance asymptotes from a constant for r << L to a far-field decay of O(1/r2) for r >> L, the latter being characteristic of a suspension of non-interacting point force-dipoles. On including correlations, the slow decay of the pair-orientation correlation leads to an additional contribution to the velocity covariance that diverges logarithmically with system size.

  6. Mass Transfer and Rheology of Fiber Suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Jianghui

    Rheological and mass transfer properties of non-Brownian fiber suspensions are affected by fiber characteristics, fiber interactions, and processing conditions. In this thesis we develop several simulation methods to study the dynamics of single fibers in simple shear flow, as well as the rheology and mass transfer of fiber suspensions. Isolated, rigid, neutrally-buoyant, non-Brownian, slightly curved, nonchiral fibers in simple shear flow of an incompressible Newtonian fluid at low Reynolds number can drift steadily in the gradient direction without external forces or torques. The average drift velocity and direction depend on the fiber aspect ratio, curvature and initial orientation. The drift results from the coupling of rotational and translational dynamics, and the combined effects of flipping, scooping, and spinning motions of the fiber. Irreversible fiber collisions in the suspensions cause shear-induced diffusion. The shear-induced self-diffusivity of dilute suspensions of fibers increases with increasing concentration and increasing static friction between contacts. The diffusivities in both the gradient and vorticity directions are larger for suspensions of curved fibers than for suspensions of straight fibers. For suspensions of curved fibers, significant enhancements in the diffusivity in the gradient direction are attributed to fiber drift in the gradient direction. The shear-induced self-diffusivity of concentrated suspensions of fibers increases with increasing concentration before fiber networks or flocs are formed, after which the diffusivity decreases with increasing concentration. The diffusivity increases with increasing fiber equilibrium bending angle, effective stiffness, coefficient of static friction, and rate of collisions. The specific viscosity of fiber suspensions increases with increasing fiber curvature, friction coefficient between mechanical contacts, and solids concentration. The specific viscosity increases linearly with

  7. Experimental Study of Membrane Fouling during Crossflow Microfiltration of Yeast and Bacteria Suspensions: Towards an Analysis at the Microscopic Level

    PubMed Central

    Ben Hassan, Ines; Ennouri, Monia; Lafforgue, Christine; Schmitz, Philippe; Ayadi, Abdelmoneim

    2013-01-01

    Microfiltration of model cell suspensions combining macroscopic and microscopic approaches was studied in order to better understand microbial membrane fouling mechanisms. The respective impact of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and Escherichia coli bacteria on crossflow microfiltration performances was investigated using a multichannel ceramic 0.2 µm membrane. Pure yeast suspensions (5 µm ovoid cells) and mixtures of yeast and bacteria (1 to 2.5 µm rod shape cells) were considered in order to analyse the effect of interaction between these two microorganisms on fouling reversibility. The resistances varied significantly with the concentration and characteristics of the microorganisms. Membrane fouling with pure yeast suspension was mainly reversible. For yeast and bacteria mixed suspensions (6 g L−1 yeast concentration) the increase in bacteria from 0.15 to 0.30 g L−1 increased the percentage of normalized reversible resistance. At 10 g L−1 yeast concentration, the addition of bacteria tends to increase the percentage of normalized irreversible resistance. For the objective of performing local analysis of fouling, an original filtration chamber allowing direct in situ observation of the cake by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was designed, developed and validated. This device will be used in future studies to characterize cake structure at the microscopic scale. PMID:24958619

  8. Flux-Feedback Magnetic-Suspension Actuator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Groom, Nelson J.

    1990-01-01

    Flux-feedback magnetic-suspension actuator provides magnetic suspension and control forces having linear transfer characteristics between force command and force output over large range of gaps. Hall-effect devices used as sensors for electronic feedback circuit controlling currents flowing in electromagnetic windings to maintain flux linking suspended element at substantially constant value independent of changes in length of gap. Technique provides effective method for maintenance of constant flux density in gap and simpler than previous methods. Applications include magnetic actuators for control of shapes and figures of antennas and of precise segmented reflectors, magnetic suspensions in devices for storage of angular momentum and/or kinetic energy, and systems for control, pointing, and isolation of instruments.

  9. Characterizing Fullerene Nanoparticles in Aqueous Suspensions

    EPA Science Inventory

    Studies have indicated that fullerenes can form stable colloidal suspensions in water when introduced to the aqueous phase through solvent exchange, sonication, or extended mixing. The colloidal suspensions created using these techniques have effective aqueous phase concentratio...

  10. Temozolomide stability in extemporaneously compounded oral suspensions.

    PubMed

    Trissel, Lawrence A; Zhang, Yanping; Koontz, Susannah E

    2006-01-01

    Temozolomide, commercially available in capsules, is an oral alkylating agent used to treat brain tumors. The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmaceutical acceptability and chemical stability of temozolomide in two extemporaneously compounded suspension formulations prepared from the capsules. The temozolomide oral suspensions were prepared from 100-mg commercial capsules yielding a nominal temozolomide concentration of 10 mg/mL. The suspension vehicles selected for testing were an equal parts mixture of Ora-Plus and Ora-Sweet and an equal parts mixture of Ora-Plus and Ora-Sweet SF. The suspensions were packaged in amber plastic screw-cap prescription bottles, which were stored at 23 deg C for 21 days or 4 deg C for 60 days. Stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis revealed that the temozolomide concentration in both suspension vehicle combinations exhibited little or no loss for 60 days at 4 deg C. At 23 deg C, temozolomide losses were somewhat greater. In the Ora-Sweet formulation, the loss was 6% at 7 days; in the Ora-Sweet SF formulation, losses were about 8% at 14 days and 10% to 11% at 21 days. Temozolomide extemporaneously prepared as oral suspensions from capsules in equal parts mixtures of Ora-Plus suspension vehicle with Ora-Sweet and with ora-Sweet SF syrups with added povidine k-30 and acidified with citric acid were pharmaceutically acceptable and chemically stable for at least 60 days at 4 deg C. Refrigerated storage is recommended. The suspensions should not be stored at room temperature longer than 1 week if Ora-Sweet is used or longer than 2 weeks if Ora-Sweet SF is used.

  11. Large angle magnetic suspension test fixture

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Britcher, Colin P. (Principal Investigator); Huang, Jen-Kuang (Principal Investigator)

    1996-01-01

    Good progress is being made in several major areas. These include eddy current modelling and analysis, design optimization methods, wind tunnel Magnetic Suspension and Balance Systems (MSBS), payload pointing and vibration isolation systems, and system identification. In addition, another successful International Symposium has been completed, with the Proceedings being printed at the time of writing. These activities continue current work under this Grant and extend previous work on magnetic suspension systems and devices in the Guidance and Control Branch and will permit the demonstration of several new developments in the field of magnetic suspension technology.

  12. Production of Recombinant Adeno-associated Virus Vectors Using Suspension HEK293 Cells and Continuous Harvest of Vector From the Culture Media for GMP FIX and FLT1 Clinical Vector

    PubMed Central

    Grieger, Joshua C; Soltys, Stephen M; Samulski, Richard Jude

    2016-01-01

    Adeno-associated virus (AAV) has shown great promise as a gene therapy vector in multiple aspects of preclinical and clinical applications. Many developments including new serotypes as well as self-complementary vectors are now entering the clinic. With these ongoing vector developments, continued effort has been focused on scalable manufacturing processes that can efficiently generate high-titer, highly pure, and potent quantities of rAAV vectors. Utilizing the relatively simple and efficient transfection system of HEK293 cells as a starting point, we have successfully adapted an adherent HEK293 cell line from a qualified clinical master cell bank to grow in animal component-free suspension conditions in shaker flasks and WAVE bioreactors that allows for rapid and scalable rAAV production. Using the triple transfection method, the suspension HEK293 cell line generates greater than 1 × 105 vector genome containing particles (vg)/cell or greater than 1 × 1014 vg/l of cell culture when harvested 48 hours post-transfection. To achieve these yields, a number of variables were optimized such as selection of a compatible serum-free suspension media that supports both growth and transfection, selection of a transfection reagent, transfection conditions and cell density. A universal purification strategy, based on ion exchange chromatography methods, was also developed that results in high-purity vector preps of AAV serotypes 1–6, 8, 9 and various chimeric capsids tested. This user-friendly process can be completed within 1 week, results in high full to empty particle ratios (>90% full particles), provides postpurification yields (>1 × 1013 vg/l) and purity suitable for clinical applications and is universal with respect to all serotypes and chimeric particles. To date, this scalable manufacturing technology has been utilized to manufacture GMP phase 1 clinical AAV vectors for retinal neovascularization (AAV2), Hemophilia B (scAAV8), giant axonal

  13. THE PRIMARY CELL WALL. Progress Report, February 1, 1963 to October 31, 1963

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Varner, J.E.

    1964-10-31

    Progress is reported in studies of hydroxyproline synthesis in sycamore cells grown in suspensions with and without the addition of D/sub 2/O. The relation of hydroxyproline to cellulose in cell walls was investigated in suspensions of cells from sycamore and ginkgo cell suspensions. (C.H.)

  14. Characterization of the expression patterns of LEAFY/FLORICAULA and NEEDLY orthologs in female and male cones of the conifer genera Picea, Podocarpus, and Taxus: implications for current evo-devo hypotheses for gymnosperms.

    PubMed

    Vázquez-Lobo, Alejandra; Carlsbecker, Annelie; Vergara-Silva, Francisco; Alvarez-Buylla, Elena R; Piñero, Daniel; Engström, Peter

    2007-01-01

    The identity of genes causally implicated in the development and evolutionary origin of reproductive characters in gymnosperms is largely unknown. Working within the framework of plant evolutionary developmental biology, here we have cloned, sequenced, performed phylogenetic analyses upon and tested the expression patterns of LEAFY/FLORICAULA and NEEDLY orthologs in reproductive structures from selected species of the conifer genera Picea, Podocarpus, and Taxus. Contrary to expectations based on previous assessments, expression of LFY/FLO and NLY in cones of these taxa was found to occur simultaneously in a single reproductive axis, initially overlapping but later in mutually exclusive primordia and/or groups of developing cells in both female and male structures. These observations directly affect the status of the "mostly male theory" for the origin of the angiosperm flower. On the other hand, comparative spatiotemporal patterns of the expression of these genes suggest a complex genetic regulatory network of cone development, as well as a scheme of functional divergence for LFY/FLO with respect to NLY homologs in gymnosperms, both with clear heterochronic aspects. Results presented in this study contribute to the understanding of the molecular-genetic basis of morphological evolution in conifer cones, and may aid in establishing a foundation for gymnosperm-specific, testable evo-devo hypotheses.

  15. System and technique for ultrasonic characterization of settling suspensions

    DOEpatents

    Greenwood, Margaret S [Richland, WA; Panetta, Paul D [Richland, WA; Bamberger, Judith A [Richland, WA; Pappas, Richard A [Richland, WA

    2006-11-28

    A system for determining properties of settling suspensions includes a settling container, a mixer, and devices for ultrasonic interrogation transverse to the settling direction. A computer system controls operation of the mixer and the interrogation devices and records the response to the interrogating as a function of settling time, which is then used to determine suspension properties. Attenuation versus settling time for dilute suspensions, such as dilute wood pulp suspension, exhibits a peak at different settling times for suspensions having different properties, and the location of this peak is used as one mechanism for characterizing suspensions. Alternatively or in addition, a plurality of ultrasound receivers are arranged at different angles to a common transmitter to receive scattering responses at a variety of angles during particle settling. Angular differences in scattering as a function of settling time are also used to characterize the suspension.

  16. Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene expression changes during rotating wall vessel suspension culture

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johanson, Kelly; Allen, Patricia L.; Lewis, Fawn; Cubano, Luis A.; Hyman, Linda E.; Hammond, Timothy G.

    2002-01-01

    This study utilizes Saccharomyces cerevisiae to study genetic responses to suspension culture. The suspension culture system used in this study is the high-aspect-ratio vessel, one type of the rotating wall vessel, that provides a high rate of gas exchange necessary for rapidly dividing cells. Cells were grown in the high-aspect-ratio vessel, and DNA microarray and metabolic analyses were used to determine the resulting changes in yeast gene expression. A significant number of genes were found to be up- or downregulated by at least twofold as a result of rotational growth. By using Gibbs promoter alignment, clusters of genes were examined for promoter elements mediating these genetic changes. Candidate binding motifs similar to the Rap1p binding site and the stress-responsive element were identified in the promoter regions of differentially regulated genes. This study shows that, as in higher order organisms, S. cerevisiae changes gene expression in response to rotational culture and also provides clues for investigations into the signaling pathways involved in gravitational response.

  17. 22 CFR 1006.740 - Are suspension proceedings formal?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2012-04-01 2009-04-01 true Are suspension proceedings formal? 1006.740 Section 1006.740 Foreign Relations INTER-AMERICAN FOUNDATION GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION... suspension decision. (b) You as a respondent or your representative must submit any documentary evidence you...

  18. 22 CFR 1006.740 - Are suspension proceedings formal?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Are suspension proceedings formal? 1006.740 Section 1006.740 Foreign Relations INTER-AMERICAN FOUNDATION GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION... suspension decision. (b) You as a respondent or your representative must submit any documentary evidence you...

  19. 22 CFR 1006.740 - Are suspension proceedings formal?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2013-04-01 2009-04-01 true Are suspension proceedings formal? 1006.740 Section 1006.740 Foreign Relations INTER-AMERICAN FOUNDATION GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION... suspension decision. (b) You as a respondent or your representative must submit any documentary evidence you...

  20. 22 CFR 1006.740 - Are suspension proceedings formal?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2011-04-01 2009-04-01 true Are suspension proceedings formal? 1006.740 Section 1006.740 Foreign Relations INTER-AMERICAN FOUNDATION GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION... suspension decision. (b) You as a respondent or your representative must submit any documentary evidence you...

  1. 22 CFR 1006.740 - Are suspension proceedings formal?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Are suspension proceedings formal? 1006.740 Section 1006.740 Foreign Relations INTER-AMERICAN FOUNDATION GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION... suspension decision. (b) You as a respondent or your representative must submit any documentary evidence you...

  2. The vacuolar transport of aleurain-GFP and 2S albumin-GFP fusions is mediated by the same pre-vacuolar compartments in tobacco BY-2 and Arabidopsis suspension cultured cells.

    PubMed

    Miao, Yansong; Li, Kwun Yee; Li, Hong-Ye; Yao, Xiaoqiang; Jiang, Liwen

    2008-12-01

    Soluble proteins reach vacuoles because they contain vacuolar sorting determinants (VSDs) that are recognized by vacuolar sorting receptor (VSR) proteins. Pre-vacuolar compartments (PVCs), defined by VSRs and GFP-VSR reporters in tobacco BY-2 cells, are membrane-bound intermediate organelles that mediate protein traffic from the Golgi apparatus to the vacuole in plant cells. Multiple pathways have been demonstrated to be responsible for vacuolar transport of lytic enzymes and storage proteins to the lytic vacuole (LV) and the protein storage vacuole (PSV), respectively. However, the nature of PVCs for LV and PSV pathways remains unclear. Here, we used two fluorescent reporters, aleurain-GFP and 2S albumin-GFP, that represent traffic of lytic enzymes and storage proteins to LV and PSV, respectively, to study the PVC-mediated transport pathways via transient expression in suspension cultured cells. We demonstrated that the vacuolar transport of aleurain-GFP and 2S albumin-GFP was mediated by the same PVC populations in both tobacco BY-2 and Arabidopsis suspension cultured cells. These PVCs were defined by the seven GFP-AtVSR reporters. In wortmannin-treated cells, the vacuolated PVCs contained the mRFP-AtVSR reporter in their limiting membranes, whereas the soluble aleurain-GFP or 2S albumin-GFP remained in the lumen of the PVCs, indicating a possible in vivo relationship between receptor and cargo within PVCs.

  3. Correlated accumulation of anthocyanins and rosmarinic acid in mechanically stressed red cell suspensions of basil (Ocimum basilicum).

    PubMed

    Strazzer, Pamela; Guzzo, Flavia; Levi, Marisa

    2011-02-15

    A red basil cell line (T2b) rich in rosmarinic acid (RA) was selected for the stable production of anthocyanins (ACs) in the dark. Cell suspension cultures were subjected to mechanical stress through increased agitation (switch from 90 to 150 rpm) to determine the relationship between AC and RA accumulation. Cell extracts were analyzed by HPLC and LC-MS, and the resulting data were processed with multivariate statistical analysis. MS and MS/MS spectra facilitated the putative annotation of several complex cyanidin-based ACs, which were esterified with coumaric acid and, in some cases, also with malonic acid. It was also possible to identify various RA-related molecules, some caffeic and coumaric acid derivatives and some flavanones. Mechanical stress increased the total AC and RA contents, but reduced biomass accumulation. Many metabolites were induced by mechanical stress, including RA and some of its derivatives, most ACs, hydroxycinnamic acids and flavonoids, whereas the abundance of some RA dimers was reduced. Although AC and RA share a common early biosynthetic pathway (from phenylalanine to 4-coumaroyl-CoA) and could have similar or overlapping functions providing antioxidant activity against stress-generated reactive oxygen species, there appeared to be no competition between their individual pathways. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  4. Flow properties of concentrated suspensions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hattori, K.; Izumi, K.

    1984-01-01

    The viscosity and flow behavior of a concentrated suspension, with special emphasis on fresh concrete containing a superplasticizer, is analyzed according to Newton's law of viscosity. The authors interpreted Newton's law in a new way, and explain non-Newton flow from Newton's law. The outline of this new theory is given. Viscosity of suspensions, and the effect of dispersants are analyzed.

  5. Attractive and repulsive magnetic suspension systems overview

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cope, David B.; Fontana, Richard R.

    1992-01-01

    Magnetic suspension systems can be used in a wide variety of applications. The decision of whether to use an attractive or repulsive suspension system for a particular application is a fundamental one which must be made during the design process. As an aid to the designer, we compare and contrast attractive and repulsive magnetic suspension systems and indicate whether and under what conditions one or the other system is preferred.

  6. Magnetic Suspension Technology Workshop

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Keckler, Claude R. (Editor); Groom, Nelson J. (Editor); Britcher, Colin P. (Editor)

    1993-01-01

    In order to identify the state of magnetic suspension technology in such areas as rotating systems, pointing of experiments or subsystems, payload isolation, and superconducting materials, a workshop on Magnetic Suspension Technology was held at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, on 2-4 Feb. 1988. The workshop included five technical sessions in which a total of 24 papers were presented. The technical sessions covered the areas of pointing, isolation, and measurement, rotating systems, modeling and control, and superconductors. A list of attendees is provided.

  7. Production of orthophosphate suspension fertilizers from wet-process acid

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jones, T.M.; Burnell, J.R.

    1984-01-01

    For many years, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has worked toward development of suspension fertilizers. TVA has two plants for production of base suspension fertilizers from wet-process orthophosphoric acid. One is a demonstration-scale plant where a 13-38-0 grade base suspension is produced by a three-stage ammoniation process. The other is a new batch-type pilot plant which is capable of producing high-grade base suspensions of various ratios and grades from wet-process acid. In this batch plant, suspensions and solutions can also be produced from solid intermediates.

  8. Dispersion of nanosized ceramic powders in aqueous suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chera, L.; Palcevskis, E.; Berzins, M.; Lipe, A.; Jansone, I.

    2007-12-01

    Seven commercially available dispersants have been applied to produce high concentrated aqueous suspensions of the nanosized alumina and partially stabilized zirconia powders processed by the plasma technique. Simultaneously, the electrokinetic behaviour of powders has been investigated in diluted suspensions by microelectrophoresis method. Zeta potential measurements are used to estimate the influence of selected dispersants on the electrokinetic properties of the powder surface. On the basis of obtained data the correlation between the surface electrokinetic properties in dilute suspensions and reached maximal suspension concentration is discussed.

  9. Microgravity combustion of dust suspensions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lee, John H. S.; Peraldi, Olivier; Knystautas, Rom

    1993-01-01

    Unlike the combustion of homogeneous gas mixtures, there are practically no reliable fundamental data (i.e., laminar burning velocity, flammability limits, quenching distance, minimum ignition energy) for the combustion of heterogeneous dust suspensions. Even the equilibrium thermodynamic data such as the constant pressure volume combustion pressure and the constant pressure adiabatic flame temperature are not accurately known for dust mixtures. This is mainly due to the problem of gravity sedimentation. In normal gravity, turbulence, convective flow, electric and acoustic fields are required to maintain a dust in suspension. These external influences have a dominating effect on the combustion processes. Microgravity offers a unique environment where a quiescent dust cloud can in principle be maintained for a sufficiently long duration for almost all combustion experiments (dust suspensions are inherently unstable due to Brownian motion and particle aggregation). Thus, the microgravity duration provided by drop towers, parabolic flights, and the space shuttle, can all be exploited for different kinds of dust combustion experiments. The present paper describes some recent studies on microgravity combustion of dust suspension carried out on the KC-135 and the Caravelle aircraft. The results reported are obtained from three parabolic flight campaigns.

  10. Startup of electrophoresis in a suspension of colloidal spheres.

    PubMed

    Chiang, Chia C; Keh, Huan J

    2015-12-01

    The transient electrophoretic response of a homogeneous suspension of spherical particles to the step application of an electric field is analyzed. The electric double layer encompassing each particle is assumed to be thin but finite, and the effect of dynamic electroosmosis within it is incorporated. The momentum equation for the fluid outside the double layers is solved through the use of a unit cell model. Closed-form formulas for the time-evolving electrophoretic and settling velocities of the particles in the Laplace transform are obtained in terms of the electrokinetic radius, relative mass density, and volume fraction of the particles. The time scale for the development of electrophoresis and sedimentation is significantly smaller for a suspension with a higher particle volume fraction or a smaller particle-to-fluid density ratio, and the electrophoretic mobility at any instant increases with an increase in the electrokinetic particle radius. The transient electrophoretic mobility is a decreasing function of the particle volume fraction if the particle-to-fluid density ratio is relatively small, but it may increase with an increase in the particle volume fraction if this density ratio is relatively large. The particle interaction effect in a suspension on the transient electrophoresis is much weaker than that on the transient sedimentation of the particles. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Influence of NaCl on Growth, Proline, and Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase Levels in Mesembryanthemum crystallinum Suspension Cultures 1

    PubMed Central

    Thomas, John C.; De Armond, Richard L.; Bohnert, Hans J.

    1992-01-01

    The facultative halophyte Mesembryanthemum crystallinum responds to salt stress by increasing the levels of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase) and other enzymes associated with Crassulacean acid metabolism. A more common response to salt stress in sensitive and tolerant species, including M. crystallinum, is the accumulation of proline. We have established M. crystallinum suspension cultures to investigate whether both these salt-induced responses occur at the cellular level. Leaf-and root-derived cultures maintain 5% of the total soluble amino acids as proline. Cell culture growth slows upon addition of 400 millimolar NaCl, and proline levels increase to 40% of the total soluble amino acids. These results suggest a functional salt-stress and response program in Mesembryanthemum cells. Suspension cultures grown with or without 400 millimolar NaCl have PEPCase levels that compare with those from roots and unstressed leaves. The predominant protein cross-reacting with an anti-PEPCase antibody corresponds to 105 kilodaltons (apparent molecular mass), whereas a second species of approximately 110 kilodaltons is present at low levels. In salt-stressed leaves, the 110 kilodalton protein is more prevalent. Levels of mRNA for both ppc1 (salt stress induced in leaves) and ppc2 (constitutive) genes in salt-treated suspensions cultures are equal to unstressed leaves, and only twice the levels found in untreated suspension cultures. Whereas cells accumulate proline in response to NaCl, PEPCase protein amounts remain similar in salt-treated and untreated cultures. The induction upon salt stress of the 110 kilodalton PEPCase protein and other Crassulacean acid metabolism enzymes in organized tissues is not observed in cell culture and may depend on tissue-dependent or photoautotrophy-dependent programs. ImagesFigure 4Figure 5 PMID:16668687

  12. 49 CFR 238.227 - Suspension system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Suspension system. 238.227 Section 238.227 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION... Equipment § 238.227 Suspension system. On or after November 8, 1999— (a) All passenger equipment shall...

  13. 49 CFR 238.227 - Suspension system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Suspension system. 238.227 Section 238.227 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION... Equipment § 238.227 Suspension system. On or after November 8, 1999— (a) All passenger equipment shall...

  14. 49 CFR 385.911 - Suspension proceedings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Suspension proceedings. 385.911 Section 385.911 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY... Pattern or Practice of Safety Violations by Motor Carrier Management § 385.911 Suspension proceedings. (a...

  15. 49 CFR 238.227 - Suspension system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Suspension system. 238.227 Section 238.227 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION... Equipment § 238.227 Suspension system. On or after November 8, 1999— (a) All passenger equipment shall...

  16. 42 CFR 93.205 - Debarment or suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... HEALTH EFFECTS STUDIES OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES RELEASES AND FACILITIES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE POLICIES ON RESEARCH MISCONDUCT Definitions § 93.205 Debarment or suspension. Debarment or suspension means the...

  17. 42 CFR 93.205 - Debarment or suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... HEALTH EFFECTS STUDIES OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES RELEASES AND FACILITIES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE POLICIES ON RESEARCH MISCONDUCT Definitions § 93.205 Debarment or suspension. Debarment or suspension means the...

  18. Aerospace Applications of Magnetic Suspension Technology, part 1

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Groom, Nelson J. (Editor); Britcher, Colin P. (Editor)

    1991-01-01

    Papers presented at the conference on aerospace applications of magnetic suspension technology are compiled. The following subject areas are covered: pointing and isolation systems; microgravity and vibration isolation; bearing applications; wind tunnel model suspension systems; large gap magnetic suspension systems; control systems; rotating machinery; science and application of superconductivity; and sensors.

  19. Propagation of Brazilian Zika virus strains in static and suspension cultures using Vero and BHK cells.

    PubMed

    Nikolay, Alexander; Castilho, Leda R; Reichl, Udo; Genzel, Yvonne

    2018-05-24

    The recent spread of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Americas and the Pacific has reached alarming levels in more than 60 countries. However, relatively little is known about the disease on a virological and epidemiological level and its consequences for humans. Accordingly, a large demand for in vitro derived Brazilian ZIKV material to support in vitro and in vivo studies has arisen. However, a prompt supply of ZIKV and ZIKV antigens cannot be guaranteed as the production of this virus typically using Vero or C6/36 cell lines remains challenging. Here we present a production platform based on BHK-21 suspension (BHK-21 SUS ) cells to propagate Brazilian ZIKV at larger quantities in perfusion bioreactors. Scouting experiments performed in tissue culture flasks using adherent BHK-21 and Vero cells have demonstrated similar permissivity and virus yields for four different Brazilian ZIKV isolates. The cell-specific yield of infectious virus particles varied between respective virus strains (1-48PFU/cell), and the ZIKV isolate from the Brazilian state Pernambuco (ZIKV PE ) showed to be a best performing isolate for both cell lines. However, infection studies of BHK-21 SUS cells with ZIKV PE in shake flasks resulted in poor virus replication, with a maximum titer of 8.9×10 3 PFU/mL. Additional RT-qPCR measurements of intracellular and extracellular viral RNA levels revealed high viral copy numbers within the cell, but poor virus release. Subsequent cultivation in a perfusion bioreactor using an alternating tangential flow filtration system (ATF) under controlled process conditions enabled cell concentrations of about 1.2×10 7 cells/mL, and virus titers of 3.9×10 7 PFU/mL. However, while the total number of infectious virus particles was increased, the cell-specific yield (3.3PFU/cell) remained lower than determined in adherent cell lines. Nevertheless, the established perfusion process allows to provide large amounts of ZIKV material for research and is a first step towards

  20. High-Clearance Six-Wheel Suspension

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bickler, Donald B.

    1992-01-01

    Multilevered suspension system gives body of vehicle high clearance and allows wheels to be steered independently. Suspension linkages above wheels enable body to skim over obstacles as high as wheel. Levers and independently steered wheels enable vehicle to climb steps 1 1/2 wheel diameters high and cross gaps 1 3/4 wide. Adaptable to off-the-road recreational vehicles, military scout vehicles, and robotic emergency vehicles.

  1. Suspension Parameter Measurements of Wheeled Military Vehicles

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-08-01

    suspension through the wheel pads. The SPIdER was designed so that in the future, with a modest amount of modification , it can be upgraded to include the...AND MOBILITY (P&M) MINI-SYMPOSIUM AUGUST 14-16, MICHIGAN SUSPENSION PARAMETER MEASUREMENTS OF WHEELED MILITARY VEHICLES Dale Andreatta Gary...was built to measure the suspension parameters of any military wheeled vehicle. This is part of an ongoing effort to model and predict vehicle

  2. Ion size effects on the electrokinetics of spherical particles in salt-free concentrated suspensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roa, Rafael; Carrique, Felix; Ruiz-Reina, Emilio

    2012-02-01

    In this work we study the influence of the counterion size on the electrophoretic mobility and on the dynamic mobility of a suspended spherical particle in a salt-free concentrated colloidal suspension. Salt-free suspensions contain charged particles and the added counterions that counterbalance their surface charge. A spherical cell model approach is used to take into account particle-particle electro-hydrodynamic interactions in concentrated suspensions. The finite size of the counterions is considered including an entropic contribution, related with the excluded volume of the ions, in the free energy of the suspension, giving rise to a modified counterion concentration profile. We are interested in studying the linear response of the system to an electric field, thus we solve the different electrokinetic equations by using a linear perturbation scheme. We find that the ionic size effect is quite important for moderate to high particles charges at a given particle volume fraction. In addition for such particle surface charges, both the electrophoretic mobility and the dynamic mobility suffer more important changes the larger the particle volume fraction for each ion size. The latter effects are more relevant the larger the ionic size.

  3. Simple additive manufacturing of an osteoconductive ceramic using suspension melt extrusion.

    PubMed

    Slots, Casper; Jensen, Martin Bonde; Ditzel, Nicholas; Hedegaard, Martin A B; Borg, Søren Wiatr; Albrektsen, Ole; Thygesen, Torben; Kassem, Moustapha; Andersen, Morten Østergaard

    2017-02-01

    Craniofacial bone trauma is a leading reason for surgery at most hospitals. Large pieces of destroyed or resected bone are often replaced with non-resorbable and stock implants, and these are associated with a variety of problems. This paper explores the use of a novel fatty acid/calcium phosphate suspension melt for simple additive manufacturing of ceramic tricalcium phosphate implants. A wide variety of non-aqueous liquids were tested to determine the formulation of a storable 3D printable tricalcium phosphate suspension ink, and only fatty acid-based inks were found to work. A heated stearic acid-tricalcium phosphate suspension melt was then 3D printed, carbonized and sintered, yielding implants with controllable macroporosities. Their microstructure, compressive strength and chemical purity were analyzed with electron microscopy, mechanical testing and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. Mesenchymal stem cell culture was used to assess their osteoconductivity as defined by collagen deposition, alkaline phosphatase secretion and de-novo mineralization. After a rapid sintering process, the implants retained their pre-sintering shape with open pores. They possessed clinically relevant mechanical strength and were chemically pure. They supported adhesion of mesenchymal stem cells, and these were able to deposit collagen onto the implants, secrete alkaline phosphatase and further mineralize the ceramic. The tricalcium phosphate/fatty acid ink described here and its 3D printing may be sufficiently simple and effective to enable rapid, on-demand and in-hospital fabrication of individualized ceramic implants that allow clinicians to use them for treatment of bone trauma. Copyright © 2016 The Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Structure and Functional Characteristics of Rat's Left Ventricle Cardiomyocytes under Antiorthostatic Suspension of Various Duration and Subsequent Reloading

    PubMed Central

    Ogneva, I. V.; Mirzoev, T. M.; Biryukov, N. S.; Veselova, O. M.; Larina, I. M.

    2012-01-01

    The goal of the research was to identify the structural and functional characteristics of the rat's left ventricle under antiorthostatic suspension within 1, 3, 7 and 14 days, and subsequent 3 and 7-day reloading after a 14-day suspension. The transversal stiffness of the cardiomyocyte has been determined by the atomic force microscopy, cell respiration—by polarography and proteins content—by Western blotting. Stiffness of the cortical cytoskeleton increases as soon as one day after the suspension and increases up to the 14th day, and starts decreasing during reloading, reaching the control level after 7 days. The stiffness of the contractile apparatus and the intensity of cell respiration also increases. The content of non-muscle isoforms of actin in the cytoplasmic fraction of proteins does not change during the whole experiment, as does not the beta-actin content in the membrane fraction. The content of gamma-actin in the membrane fraction correlates with the change in the transversal stiffness of the cortical cytoskeleton. Increased content of alpha-actinin-1 and alpha-actinin-4 in the membrane fraction of proteins during the suspension is consistent with increased gamma-actin content there. The opposite direction of change of alpha-actinin-1 and alpha-actinin-4 content suggests their involvement into the signal pathways. PMID:23093854

  5. 45 CFR 1210.3-3 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... VISTA TRAINEE DESELECTION AND VOLUNTEER EARLY TERMINATION PROCEDURES VISTA Volunteer Early Termination § 1210.3-3 Suspension. (a) The ACTION State Director may suspend a Volunteer for up to 30 days in order... Volunteer. Suspension is not warranted if the State Director determines that sufficient grounds already...

  6. 45 CFR 1210.3-3 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... VISTA TRAINEE DESELECTION AND VOLUNTEER EARLY TERMINATION PROCEDURES VISTA Volunteer Early Termination § 1210.3-3 Suspension. (a) The ACTION State Director may suspend a Volunteer for up to 30 days in order... Volunteer. Suspension is not warranted if the State Director determines that sufficient grounds already...

  7. 45 CFR 1210.3-3 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... VISTA TRAINEE DESELECTION AND VOLUNTEER EARLY TERMINATION PROCEDURES VISTA Volunteer Early Termination § 1210.3-3 Suspension. (a) The ACTION State Director may suspend a Volunteer for up to 30 days in order... Volunteer. Suspension is not warranted if the State Director determines that sufficient grounds already...

  8. 45 CFR 1210.3-3 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... VISTA TRAINEE DESELECTION AND VOLUNTEER EARLY TERMINATION PROCEDURES VISTA Volunteer Early Termination § 1210.3-3 Suspension. (a) The ACTION State Director may suspend a Volunteer for up to 30 days in order... Volunteer. Suspension is not warranted if the State Director determines that sufficient grounds already...

  9. 45 CFR 1210.3-3 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... VISTA TRAINEE DESELECTION AND VOLUNTEER EARLY TERMINATION PROCEDURES VISTA Volunteer Early Termination § 1210.3-3 Suspension. (a) The ACTION State Director may suspend a Volunteer for up to 30 days in order... Volunteer. Suspension is not warranted if the State Director determines that sufficient grounds already...

  10. 41 CFR 105-74.670 - Suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Suspension. 105-74.670 Section 105-74.670 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System...-GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 105-74.670 Suspension...

  11. 49 CFR 238.427 - Suspension system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... Equipment § 238.427 Suspension system. (a) General requirements. (1) Suspension systems shall be designed to... approved by FRA under the provisions of § 238.21. In particular— (i) Pre-revenue service qualification. All passenger equipment shall demonstrate safe operation during pre-revenue service qualification in accordance...

  12. 49 CFR 238.427 - Suspension system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Equipment § 238.427 Suspension system. (a) General requirements. (1) Suspension systems shall be designed to... approved by FRA under the provisions of § 238.21. In particular— (i) Pre-revenue service qualification. All passenger equipment shall demonstrate safe operation during pre-revenue service qualification in accordance...

  13. Preparation of an Ultrafine Rebamipide Ophthalmic Suspension with High Transparency.

    PubMed

    Matsuda, Takakuni; Hiraoka, Shogo; Urashima, Hiroki; Ogura, Ako; Ishida, Tatsuhiro

    2017-01-01

    A 2% commercially available, milky-white, rebamipide micro-particle suspension is used to treat dry eyes, and it causes short-term blurring of the patient's vision. In the current study, to improve the transparency of a rebamipide suspension, we attempted to obtain a clear rebamipide suspension by transforming the rebamipide particles to an ultrafine state. In the initial few efforts, various rebamipide suspensions were prepared using a neutralizing crystallization method with additives, but the suspensions retained their opaque quality. However, as a consequence of several critical improvements in the neutralizing crystallization methods such as selection of additives for crystallization, process parameters during crystallization, the dispersion method, and dialysis, we obtained an ultrafine rebamipide suspension (2%) that was highly transparent (transmittance at 640 nm: 59%). The particle size and transparency demonstrated the fewest level of changes at 25°C after 3 years, compared to initial levels. During that period, no obvious particle sedimentation was observed. The administration of this ultrafine rebamipide suspension (2%) increased the conjunctival mucin, which was comparable to the commercially available micro-particle suspension (2%). The corneal and conjunctival concentration of rebamipide following ocular administration of the ultrafine suspension was slightly higher than that of the micro-particle suspension. The ultrafine rebamipide suspension (eye-drop formulation) with a highly transparent ophthalmic clearness should improve a patient's QOL by preventing even a shortened period of blurred vision.

  14. [Effects of germanium on cell growth, polysaccharide production and cellular redox status in suspension cultures of protocorm-like bodies of Dendrobium huoshanense].

    PubMed

    Wei, Ming; Yang, Chaoying; Jiang, Shaotong

    2010-03-01

    To solve the problem of low growth rate and metabolism level in suspension cultures of protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) of Dendrobium huoshanense. The effects of germanium on PLB proliferation and accumulation of polysaccharides together with nutrient utilization were investigated and the contents of reducing sugars, soluble proteins, the activities of antioxidant enzymes and redox status of the cells of PLB were analyzed. The results indicated that the optimum concentration of germanium dioxide (4.0 mg/L) significantly enhanced the cell growth and accumulation of polysaccharides, greatly improved contents of reducing sugars and soluble proteins, increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) but decreased the activity of peroxidase(POD). The cell dry weight and production of polysaccharides were 32.6 g/L and 3.78 g/L, respectively. The analysis of cellular redox status showed that the ratio of reduced glutathione (GSH) to oxidized glutathione (GSSG) in cells and the activity of glutathione reductase were significantly increased by the addition of germanium dioxide. The suitable concentration of germanium dioxide was beneficial to the cell growth and the accumulation of polysaccharides.

  15. Microstructural Dynamics and Rheology of Suspensions of Rigid Fibers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butler, Jason E.; Snook, Braden

    2018-01-01

    The dynamics and rheology of suspensions of rigid, non-Brownian fibers in Newtonian fluids are reviewed. Experiments, theories, and computer simulations are considered, with an emphasis on suspensions at semidilute and concentrated conditions. In these suspensions, interactions between the particles strongly influence the microstructure and rheological properties of the suspension. The interactions can arise from hydrodynamic disturbances, giving multibody interactions at long ranges and pairwise lubrication forces over short distances. For concentrated suspensions, additional interactions due to excluded volume (contacts) and adhesive forces are addressed. The relative importance of the various interactions as a function of fiber concentration is assessed.

  16. Metabolic Labeling and Membrane Fractionation for Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Suspension Cell Cultures

    PubMed Central

    Szymanski, Witold G.; Kierszniowska, Sylwia; Schulze, Waltraud X.

    2013-01-01

    Plasma membrane microdomains are features based on the physical properties of the lipid and sterol environment and have particular roles in signaling processes. Extracting sterol-enriched membrane microdomains from plant cells for proteomic analysis is a difficult task mainly due to multiple preparation steps and sources for contaminations from other cellular compartments. The plasma membrane constitutes only about 5-20% of all the membranes in a plant cell, and therefore isolation of highly purified plasma membrane fraction is challenging. A frequently used method involves aqueous two-phase partitioning in polyethylene glycol and dextran, which yields plasma membrane vesicles with a purity of 95% 1. Sterol-rich membrane microdomains within the plasma membrane are insoluble upon treatment with cold nonionic detergents at alkaline pH. This detergent-resistant membrane fraction can be separated from the bulk plasma membrane by ultracentrifugation in a sucrose gradient 2. Subsequently, proteins can be extracted from the low density band of the sucrose gradient by methanol/chloroform precipitation. Extracted protein will then be trypsin digested, desalted and finally analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Our extraction protocol for sterol-rich microdomains is optimized for the preparation of clean detergent-resistant membrane fractions from Arabidopsis thaliana cell cultures. We use full metabolic labeling of Arabidopsis thaliana suspension cell cultures with K15NO3 as the only nitrogen source for quantitative comparative proteomic studies following biological treatment of interest 3. By mixing equal ratios of labeled and unlabeled cell cultures for joint protein extraction the influence of preparation steps on final quantitative result is kept at a minimum. Also loss of material during extraction will affect both control and treatment samples in the same way, and therefore the ratio of light and heave peptide will remain constant. In the proposed method either labeled or unlabeled

  17. Rheology of dense suspensions of non colloidal particles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guazzelli, Élisabeth

    2017-06-01

    Dense suspensions are materials with broad applications both in industrial processes (e.g. waste disposal, concrete, drilling muds, metalworking chip transport, and food processing) and in natural phenomena (e.g. flows of slurries, debris, and lava). Despite its long research history and its practical relevance, the mechanics of dense suspensions remain poorly understood. The major difficulty is that the grains interact both by hydrodynamic interactions through the liquid and by mechanical contact. These systems thus belong to an intermediate regime between pure suspensions and granular flows. We show that we can unify suspension and granular rheology under a common framework by transferring the frictional approach of dry granular media to wet suspensions of spherical particles. We also discuss non-Newtonian behavior such as normal-stress differences and shear-induced migration. Beyond the classical problem of dense suspension of hard spheres which is far from being completely resolved, there are also entirely novel avenues of study concerning more complex mixtures of particles and fluids such as those involving other types of particles (e.g. fibers) or non-Newtonian fluids that we will also address.

  18. Analysis of Train Suspension System Using MR dampers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    RamaSastry, DVA; Ramana, K. V.; Mohan Rao, N.; Siva Kumar, SVR; Priyanka, T. G. L.

    2016-09-01

    This paper deals with introducing MR dampers to the Train Suspension System for improving the ride comfort of the passengers. This type of suspension system comes under Semi-active suspension system which utilizes the properties of MR fluid to damp the vibrations. In case of high speed trains, the coach body is subjected to vibrations due to vertical displacement, yaw and pitch movements. When the body receives these disturbances from the ground,the transmission of vibrations to the passenger increases which affect the ride comfort. In this work, the equations of motion of suspension system are developed for both conventional passive system and semi-active system and are modelled in Matlab/Simulink and analysis has been carried out. The passive suspension system analysis shows that it is taking more time to damp the vibrations and at the same time the transmissibility of vibrations is more.Introducing MR dampers,vertical and angular displacements of the body are computed and compared. The results show that the introduction of MR dampers into the train suspension system improves ride comfort.

  19. Development of A New Automotive Active Suspension System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yousef Abdulhammed, Eng.; Eng. Hisham Elsherif, Dr, Prof.

    2017-12-01

    The main objective was to develop a smart new vehicle suspension system that minimizes the road irregularities impact on the driver, also to increase performance and stability of the vehicle at high speeds. The central idea is based on modifying the normal passive suspension system into a computer controller hydraulic actuated active suspension system simply by adding a new component such as a hydraulic cylinder on a normal passive system. The new suspension system is economical to be wildly used in consumer’s cars with low prices. The new added components was analytically tested and modeled according to different parameters. A new test rig was implemented to simulate a real quarter suspension system. The new suspension model was controlled by feedback controller according to the road conditions; the controller output controls the cylinder actuator to compensate the road oscillations and increases the vehicle stability for the passenger. Finally, to maximize the aerodynamics coefficients of the vehicle during high speeds by controlling the vehicle clearance level from the ground to achieve full stability, steering and fuel economy.

  20. Alternatives to Suspension: A Government Initiative

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ryan, Thomas G.; Zoldy, Scott

    2011-01-01

    Student discipline and the ineffectiveness of out-of-school suspension is examined in light of the Ontario (Canada) legislative reform that supported a greater emphasis on progressive discipline alternatives to out-of-school suspension. Alternative discipline herein is explored via the behavior education plan, the school survival group, and…

  1. 36 CFR 25.3 - Supervision; suspensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Supervision; suspensions. 25.3 Section 25.3 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL MILITARY PARKS; LICENSED GUIDE SERVICE REGULATIONS § 25.3 Supervision; suspensions. (a) The guide...

  2. 36 CFR 25.3 - Supervision; suspensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Supervision; suspensions. 25.3 Section 25.3 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL MILITARY PARKS; LICENSED GUIDE SERVICE REGULATIONS § 25.3 Supervision; suspensions. (a) The guide...

  3. 36 CFR 25.3 - Supervision; suspensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Supervision; suspensions. 25.3 Section 25.3 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL MILITARY PARKS; LICENSED GUIDE SERVICE REGULATIONS § 25.3 Supervision; suspensions. (a) The guide...

  4. 36 CFR 25.3 - Supervision; suspensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Supervision; suspensions. 25.3 Section 25.3 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL MILITARY PARKS; LICENSED GUIDE SERVICE REGULATIONS § 25.3 Supervision; suspensions. (a) The guide...

  5. 36 CFR 25.3 - Supervision; suspensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Supervision; suspensions. 25.3 Section 25.3 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL MILITARY PARKS; LICENSED GUIDE SERVICE REGULATIONS § 25.3 Supervision; suspensions. (a) The guide...

  6. 32 CFR 552.79 - Suspension action.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Suspension action. 552.79 Section 552.79 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY MILITARY RESERVATIONS AND NATIONAL... Suspension action. (a) When suspended for cause, immediately notify the company and the agent, in writing, of...

  7. 32 CFR 552.79 - Suspension action.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 3 2011-07-01 2009-07-01 true Suspension action. 552.79 Section 552.79 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY MILITARY RESERVATIONS AND NATIONAL... Suspension action. (a) When suspended for cause, immediately notify the company and the agent, in writing, of...

  8. The age-dependent epigenetic and physiological changes in an Arabidopsis T87 cell suspension culture during long-term cultivation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kwiatkowska, Aleksandra, E-mail: A.Kwiatkows@gmail.com; Zebrowski, Jacek; Oklejewicz, Bernadetta

    2014-05-02

    Highlights: • A decrease in proliferation rate during long-term cultivation of Arabidopsis cells. • Age-dependent increase in senescence-associated gene expression in Arabidopsis cells. • Age-related increase in DNA methylation, H3K9me2, and H3K27me3 in Arabidopsis cells. • High potential of photosynthetic efficiency of long-term cultured Arabidopsis cells. - Abstract: Plant cell suspension cultures represent good model systems applicable for both basic research and biotechnological purposes. Nevertheless, it is widely known that a prolonged in vitro cultivation of plant cells is associated with genetic and epigenetic instabilities, which may limit the usefulness of plant lines. In this study, the age-dependent epigenetic andmore » physiological changes in an asynchronous Arabidopsis T87 cell culture were examined. A prolonged cultivation period was found to be correlated with a decrease in the proliferation rate and a simultaneous increase in the expression of senescence-associated genes, indicating that the aging process started at the late growth phase of the culture. In addition, increases in the heterochromatin-specific epigenetic markers, i.e., global DNA methylation, H3K9 dimethylation, and H3K27 trimethylation, were observed, suggesting the onset of chromatin condensation, a hallmark of the early stages of plant senescence. Although the number of live cells decreased with an increase in the age of the culture, the remaining viable cells retained a high potential to efficiently perform photosynthesis and did not exhibit any symptoms of photosystem II damage.« less

  9. 43 CFR 3212.12 - How long does a suspension of operations or a suspension of operations and production last?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... MINERALS MANAGEMENT (3000) GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE LEASING Lease Suspensions, Cessation of Production, Royalty Rate Reductions, and Energy Policy Act Royalty Rate Conversions § 3212.12 How long does a suspension of...

  10. School Suspensions: Are They Helping Children? A Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Washington Research Project, Cambridge, MA. Children's Defense Fund.

    This book examines the incidence and impact of school suspension and discusses its effectiveness as a disciplinary measure. Basically, this publication is intended to follow up and expand on a 1974 report on the use of school suspension, "Children out of School in America." Data for this current study were drawn from suspension data submitted to…

  11. Transtibial prosthesis suspension systems: systematic review of literature.

    PubMed

    Gholizadeh, H; Abu Osman, N A; Eshraghi, A; Ali, S; Razak, N A

    2014-01-01

    Today a number of prosthetic suspension systems are available for transtibial amputees. Consideration of an appropriate suspension system can ensure that amputee's functional needs are satisfied. The higher the insight to suspension systems, the easier would be the selection for prosthetists. This review attempted to find scientific evidence pertaining to various transtibial suspension systems to provide selection criteria for clinicians. Databases of PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect were explored to find related articles. Search terms were as follows: "Transtibial prosthesis (32), prosthetic suspension (48), lower limb prosthesis (54), below-knee prosthesis (58), prosthetic liner (20), transtibial (193), and prosthetic socket (111)". Two reviewers separately examined the papers. Study design (case series of five or more subjects, retrospective or prospective), research instrument, sampling method, outcome measures and protocols were reviewed. Based on the selection criteria, 22 articles (15 prospective studies, and 7 surveys) remained. Sweat control was found to be a major concern with the available suspension liners. Donning and doffing procedures for soft liners are also problematic for some users, particularly those with upper limb weakness. Moreover, the total surface bearing (TSB) socket with pin/lock system is favored by the majority of amputees. In summary, no clinical evidence is available to suggest what kind of suspension system could have an influential effect as a "standard" system for all transtibial amputees. However, among various suspension systems for transtibial amputees, the Iceross system was favored by the majority of users in terms of function and comfort. © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. The Tail Suspension Test

    PubMed Central

    Terrillion, Chantelle E.; Piantadosi, Sean C.; Bhat, Shambhu; Gould, Todd D.

    2012-01-01

    The tail-suspension test is a mouse behavioral test useful in the screening of potential antidepressant drugs, and assessing of other manipulations that are expected to affect depression related behaviors. Mice are suspended by their tails with tape, in such a position that it cannot escape or hold on to nearby surfaces. During this test, typically six minutes in duration, the resulting escape oriented behaviors are quantified. The tail-suspension test is a valuable tool in drug discovery for high-throughput screening of prospective antidepressant compounds. Here, we describe the details required for implementation of this test with additional emphasis on potential problems that may occur and how to avoid them. We also offer a solution to the tail climbing behavior, a common problem that renders this test useless in some mouse strains, such as the widely used C57BL/6. Specifically, we prevent tail climbing behaviors by passing mouse tails through a small plastic cylinder prior to suspension. Finally, we detail how to manually score the behaviors that are manifested in this test. PMID:22315011

  13. Stress in dilute suspensions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Passman, Stephen L.

    1989-01-01

    Generally, two types of theory are used to describe the field equations for suspensions. The so-called postulated equations are based on the kinetic theory of mixtures, which logically should give reasonable equations for solutions. The basis for the use of such theory for suspensions is tenuous, though it at least gives a logical path for mathematical arguments. It has the disadvantage that it leads to a system of equations which is underdetermined, in a sense that can be made precise. On the other hand, the so-called averaging theory starts with a determined system, but the very process of averaging renders the resulting system underdetermined. A third type of theory is proposed in which the kinetic theory of gases is used to motivate continuum equations for the suspended particles. This entails an interpretation of the stress in the particles that is different from the usual one. Classical theory is used to describe the motion of the suspending medium. The result is a determined system for a dilute suspension. Extension of the theory to more concentrated systems is discussed.

  14. 25 CFR 23.52 - Grant suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Grant suspension. 23.52 Section 23.52 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HUMAN SERVICES INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT General and Uniform Grant Administration Provisions and Requirements § 23.52 Grant suspension. (a) When a grantee has...

  15. Anti-Cancer Activity of Resveratrol and Derivatives Produced by Grapevine Cell Suspensions in a 14 L Stirred Bioreactor.

    PubMed

    Nivelle, Laetitia; Hubert, Jane; Courot, Eric; Jeandet, Philippe; Aziz, Aziz; Nuzillard, Jean-Marc; Renault, Jean-Hugues; Clément, Christophe; Martiny, Laurent; Delmas, Dominique; Tarpin, Michel

    2017-03-16

    In the present study, resveratrol and various oligomeric derivatives were obtained from a 14 L bioreactor culture of elicited grapevine cell suspensions (Vitis labrusca L.). The crude ethyl acetate stilbene extract obtained from the culture medium was fractionated by centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) using a gradient elution method and the major stilbenes contained in the fractions were subsequently identified by using a 13 C-NMR-based dereplication procedure and further 2D NMR analyses including HSQC, HMBC, and COSY. Beside δ-viniferin (2), leachianol F (4) and G (4'), four stilbenes (resveratrol (1), ε-viniferin (5), pallidol (3) and a newly characterized dimer (6)) were recovered as pure compounds in sufficient amounts to allow assessment of their biological activity on the cell growth of three different cell lines, including two human skin malignant melanoma cancer cell lines (HT-144 and SKMEL-28) and a healthy human dermal fibroblast HDF line. Among the dimers obtained in this study, the newly characterized resveratrol dimer (6) has never been described in nature and its biological potential was evaluated here for the first time. ε-viniferin as well as dimer (6) showed IC 50 values on the three tested cell lines lower than the ones exerted by resveratrol and pallidol. However, activities of the first two compounds were significantly decreased in the presence of fetal bovine serum although that of resveratrol and pallidol was not. The differential tumor activity exerted by resveratrol on healthy and cancer lines was also discussed.

  16. 30 CFR 250.170 - How long does a suspension last?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Section 250.170 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS AND SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF General Suspensions § 250.170 How long does a suspension last? (a) MMS may issue suspensions for up to 5 years per suspension. The Regional...

  17. 5 CFR 890.1033 - Notice of suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 890.1033 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care... suspension; and (6) The provider's rights to contest the suspension. ...

  18. 5 CFR 890.1033 - Notice of suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 890.1033 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care... suspension; and (6) The provider's rights to contest the suspension. ...

  19. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of airlift bioreactor: effect of draft tube configurations on hydrodynamics, cell suspension, and shear rate.

    PubMed

    Pawar, Sanjay B

    2018-01-01

    The biomass productivity of microalgae cells mainly depends on the hydrodynamics of airlift bioreactor (ABR). Thus, the hydrodynamics of concentric tube ABR was initially studied using two-phase three-dimensional CFD simulations with the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. The performance of ABR (17 L) was examined for different configurations of the draft tube using various drag models such as Grace, Ishii-Zuber, and Schiller-Naumann. The gas holdups in the riser and the downcomer were well predicted using E-L approach. This work was further extended to study the dispersion of microalgae cells in the ABR using three-phase CFD simulations. In this model (combined E-E and E-L), the solid phase (microalgae cells) was dispersed into the continuous liquid phase (water), while the gas phase (air bubbles) was modeled as a particle transport fluid. The effect of non-drag forces such as virtual mass and lift forces was also considered. Flow regimes were explained on the basis of the relative gas holdup distribution in the riser and the downcomer. The microalgae cells were found in suspension for the superficial gas velocities of 0.02-0.04 m s -1 experiencing an average shear of 23.52-44.56 s -1 which is far below the critical limit of cell damage.

  20. Comparison of hindlimb unloading and partial weight suspension models for spaceflight-type condition induced effects on white blood cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilson, Jolaine M.; Krigsfeld, Gabriel S.; Sanzari, Jenine K.; Wagner, Erika B.; Mick, Rosemarie; Kennedy, Ann R.

    2012-01-01

    Animal models are frequently used to assist in the determination of the long- and short-term effects of space flight. The space environment, including microgravity, can impact many physiological and immunological system parameters. It has been found that ground based models of microgravity produce changes in white blood cell counts, which negatively affects immunologic function. As part of the Center of Acute Radiation Research (CARR), we compared the acute effects on white blood cell parameters induced by the more traditionally used animal model of hindlimb unloading (HU) with a recently developed reduced weightbearing analog known as partial weight suspension (PWS). Female ICR mice were either hindlimb unloaded or placed in the PWS system at 16% quadrupedal weightbearing for 4 h, 1, 2, 7 or 10 days, at which point complete blood counts were obtained. Control animals (jacketed and non-jacketed) were exposed to identical conditions without reduced weightbearing. Results indicate that significant changes in total white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte and eosinophil counts were observed within the first 2 days of exposure to each system. These differences in blood cell counts normalized by day 7 in both systems. The results of these studies indicate that there are some statistically significant changes observed in the blood cell counts for animals exposed to both the PWS and HU simulated microgravity systems.