Cell plasticity

Bisphenol A (BPA), which is commonly found in the environment due to its release from the use of plastics and food overpacks, has become a major stressor for environmental sustainability and livestock and poultry farming health. Selenium (Se) deficiency causes structural damage and inflammatory responses to the digestive system and muscle tissue, and there is a potential for concurrent space-time exposure to nutritional deficiency diseases and environmental toxicants in livestock and poultry. The mechanisms of damage to chicken muscular stomach from BPA or/and Se deficiency treatment are still not known...

This issue highlights and details the programme and scientific presentations at the International Eosinophil Society's 12th biennial Symposium, which was held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in July 2023. The meeting included sessions on regulation of eosinophil development; cell death, stress, and autophagy in eosinophils; local immunity interactions of eosinophils with multiple cell types; eosinophils in host defense; eosinophils and mast cells in gastrointestinal disorders; reciprocal interactions between eosinophils and the microbiome in homeostasis and dysbiosis; and, eosinophils in tissue injury and repair, in tumor biology and cancer therapy...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Barrett's esophagus (BE) is the number one risk factor for developing esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), a deadly cancer with limited treatment options that has been increasing in incidence in the US. In this report, we discuss current studies on the role of mesenchyme and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in BE and EAC, and we highlight translational prospects of targeting these cells. RECENT FINDINGS: New insights through studies using single-cell RNA sequencing (sc-RNA seq) have revealed an important emerging role of the mesenchyme in developmental signaling and cancer initiation...

Transglutaminase 2 (Tgm2) plays an essential role in hepatic repair following prolonged toxic injury. During cholestatic liver injury, the intrahepatic cholangiocytes undergo dynamic tissue expansion and remodelling, referred to as ductular reaction (DR), which is crucial for liver regeneration. However, the molecular mechanisms governing the dynamics of active cells in DR are still largely unclear. Here, we generated Tgm2-knockout mice (Tgm2-/- ) and Tgm2-CreERT2 -Rosa26-mTmG flox/flox (Tgm2CreERT2 -R26T/Gf/f ) mice and performed a three-dimensional (3D) collagen gel culture of mouse hepatocytes to demonstrate how Tgm2 signalling is involved in DR to remodel intrahepatic cholangiocytes...

Neuroepithelial cells (NECs) within the fish gill contain the monoamine neurochemical serotonin (5-HT), sense changes in the partial pressure of oxygen (PO2 ) in the surrounding water and blood, and initiate the cardiovascular and ventilatory responses to hypoxia. The distribution of neuroepithelial cells (NECs) within the gill is known for some fish species but not for the Gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta, a fish that has always been considered hypoxia tolerant. Furthermore, whether NEC size, number, or distribution changes after chronic exposure to hypoxia, has never been tested...

The adoptive transfer of regulatory T cells is a promising strategy to prevent graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Here, we use a major histocompatibility complex-mismatched mouse model to follow the fate of in vitro expanded donor regulatory T cells upon migration to target organs. Employing comprehensive gene expression and repertoire profiling, we show that they retain their suppressive function and plasticity after transfer. Upon entering non-lymphoid tissues, donor regulatory T cells acquire organ-specific gene expression profiles resembling tissue-resident cells and activate hallmark suppressive and cytotoxic pathways, most evidently in the colon, when co-transplanted with graft-versus-host disease-inducing conventional T cells...

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a critical role in synaptic physiology, as well as mechanisms underlying various neuropsychiatric diseases and their treatment. Despite its clear physiological role and disease relevance, BDNF's function at the presynaptic terminal, a fundamental unit of neurotransmission, remains poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated single synapse dynamics using optical imaging techniques in hippocampal cell cultures. We find that exogenous BDNF selectively increases evoked excitatory neurotransmission without affecting spontaneous neurotransmission...

HSCs, the resident pericytes of the liver, have consistently been at the forefront of liver research due to their crucial roles in various hepatic pathological processes. Prior literature often depicted HSCs in a binary framework, categorizing them as either quiescent or activated. However, recent advances in HSC research, particularly the advent of single-cell RNA-sequencing, have revolutionized our understanding of these cells. This sophisticated technique offers an unparalleled, high-resolution insight into HSC populations, uncovering a spectrum of diversity and functional heterogeneity across various physiological states of the liver, ranging from liver development to the liver aging process...

The microvasculature is integral to nearly every tissue in the body, providing not only perfusion to and from the tissue, but also homing sites for immune cells, cellular niches for tissue dynamics, and cooperative interactions with other tissue elements. As a microtissue itself, the microvasculature is a composite of multiple cell types exquisitely organized into structures (individual vessel segments and extensive vessel networks) capable of considerable dynamics and plasticity. Consequently, it has been challenging to include a functional microvasculature in assembled or fabricated tissues...

The aim of this study was to analyze signaling pathways associated with differentially expressed messenger RNAs in people with restless legs syndrome (RLS). Seventeen RLS patients and 18 controls were enrolled. Coding RNA expression profiling of 12,857 gene transcripts by next-generation sequencing was performed. Enrichment analysis by pathfindR tool was carried-out, with p-adjusted ≤0.001 and fold-change ≥2.5. Nine main different network groups were significantly dysregulated in RLS: infections, inflammation, immunology, neurodegeneration, cancer, neurotransmission and biological, blood and metabolic mechanisms...

Glioblastoma is an aggressive and incurable brain cancer. This cancer establishes both local and systemic immunosuppression that creates a major obstacle to effective immunotherapies. Many studies point to tumor-resident myeloid cells (primarily microglia and macrophages) as key mediators of this immunosuppression. Myeloid cells exhibit a high level of plasticity with respect to their phenotype and are capable of both stimulating and repressing immune responses. How glioblastomas recruit myeloid cells and exploit them to avoid the immune system is an active area of research...

BACKGROUND: Existing research links oxidative stress and inflammation to hair loss. Salvianolic acid B (SAB) is known for its anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and other beneficial pharmacological properties. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of SAB in modulating hair growth. METHODS: In vivo experiments were conducted using C57BL/6 mice to evaluate the effects of SAB on hair and skin parameters. The study involved ex vivo analysis of human hair follicles (HFs) for hair shaft length and hair growth cycle assessment...

Psoriasis pathogenesis is influenced by genetic factors and characterized by a complex interplay between genetic predisposition and various environmental triggers. These triggers set off metabolic processes involving inflammation, cell signaling, immune response dysregulation, and antigen presentation. Several types of innate and adaptive immune cells are involved in psoriasis. Among the cytokine cascade which leads to psoriasis development, the interleukin (IL)-23/Th17 axis, especially IL-17 production, emerges as crucial...

PURPOSE: Verruciform xanthoma (VX) is a rare, chronic, and benign lesion affecting the skin and mucous membranes. We reported a case of VX in the vulva of a female child. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 12-year-old female had vulvar lesions for over 10 years without any discomfort. Physical examination revealed red lobulated patches on the left labia majora with a few scales attached to the surface. Histopathological examination indicated excessive and incomplete keratinization, hypertrophic spinous layer hyperplasia, neutrophil infiltration in the epidermis, and foam-like tissue could be seen in the dermal papilla...

Residual cancer cells persist even after targeted therapies, serving as a reservoir for the subsequent acquisition of genetic alterations that lead to acquired drug resistance and tumor relapse. These initial drug-tolerant persisters (DTP) are phenotypically heterogenous with transient phenotypes attributed to epigenetic, metabolic, and cell-cycle changes. DTPs are responsible for the inevitable relapse seen in EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) despite high initial response to tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment...

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a solid organ malignancy with a high mortality rate. Statistics indicate that its incidence has been increasing as well as the associated deaths. Most patients with PDAC show poor response to therapies making the clinical management of this cancer difficult. Stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) contribute to the development of resistance to therapy in PDAC cancer cells. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), the most prevalent stromal cells in the TME, promote a desmoplastic response, produce extracellular matrix proteins and cytokines, and directly influence the biological behavior of cancer cells...

In vertebrates, oligodendrocytes (OLs) are glial cells of the central nervous system (CNS) responsible for the formation of the myelin sheath that surrounds the axons of neurons. The myelin sheath plays a crucial role in the transmission of neuronal information by promoting the rapid saltatory conduction of action potentials and providing neurons with structural and metabolic support. Saltatory conduction, first described in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), is now generally recognized as a universal evolutionary innovation to respond quickly to the environment: myelin helps us think and act fast...

To seed lethal secondary lesions, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) must survive all rate-limiting factors during hematogenous dissemination, including fluid shear stress (FSS) that poses a grand challenge to their survival. We thus hypothesized that CTCs with the ability to survive FSS in vasculature might hold metastasis-initiating competence. This study reported that FSS of physiologic magnitude selected a small subpopulation of suspended tumor cells in vitro with the traits of metastasis-initiating cells, including stemness, migration/invasion potential, cellular plasticity, and biophysical properties...

The increasing global prevalence and associated comorbidities need innovative approaches for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) prevention and treatment. Genetics contributes significantly to T2DM susceptibility, and genetic counseling is significant in detecting and informing people about the diabetic risk. T2DM is also intricately linked to overnutrition and obesity, and nutritional advising is beneficial to mitigate diabetic evolution. However, manipulating pancreatic cell plasticity and transdifferentiation could help beta cell regeneration and glucose homeostasis, effectively contributing to the antidiabetic fight...

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) disrupts critical autonomic pathways responsible for the regulation of the immune function. Consequently, individuals with SCI often exhibit a spectrum of immune dysfunctions ranging from the development of damaging pro-inflammatory responses to severe immunosuppression. Thus, it is imperative to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the extent and mechanisms through which SCI-induced autonomic dysfunction influences the immune response. In this review, we provide an overview of the anatomical organization and physiology of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), elucidating how SCI impacts its function, with a particular focus on lymphoid organs and immune activity...