Project description:POWV isolate from Long Island (POWV-LI-9) is released basolaterally from humban brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMECs) and infects primary human brain vascular pericutes (hBVPs).
Project description:POWV isolate from Long Island (POWV-LI-9) is released basolaterally from humban brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMECs) and infects primary human brain vascular pericutes (hBVPs).
Project description:For the formation of the blood-brain barrier not only endothelial cells alone, but also their interaction with surrounding cell types, like pericytes, plays an important role, and co-culture of the two cell types increases barrier function in vitro. Furthermore, observed sex differences with regard to several cardiovascular as well as neurodegenerative disorders have led to the hypothesis that the female sex hormone estrogen might protect from endothelial barrier break-down. Microarray analysis was performed to determine the effect of co-culture on the gene expression profiles of pericytes and endothelial cells. Additionally, cells were treated with and without estradiol in order to determine possible effects of the sex hormone on the two cell types in mono- and co-cultures.
Project description:Brain metastasis of lung cancer causes high mortality, but the exact mechanisms underlying the metastasis remain unclear. Here we report that vascular pericytes derived from CD44+ lung cancer stem cells (CSCs) in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) potently cause brain metastases through GPR124-mediated trans-endothelial migration (TEM). CD44+ CSCs in the perivascular niche generate the majority of vascular pericytes in lung ADC. CSC-derived pericyte-like cells (Cd-pericytes) exhibit remarkable TEM capacity to effectively intravasate into vessel lumina, survive in the circulation, extravasate into the brain parenchyma, and then de-differentiate into tumorigenic CSCs to form metastases. Moreover, Cd-pericytes uniquely express GPR124, a G-protein-coupled receptor. GPR124 mediates through Wnt7-β-Catenin activation to enhance TEM capacity of Cd-pericytes for intravasation and extravasation, two critical steps during tumor metastasis. Furthermore, selective disruption of Cd-pericytes, GPR124 or Wnt7-β-Catenin signaling markedly reduced brain and liver metastases of lung ADC. Our findings uncover an unappreciated cellular and molecular paradigm driving tumor metastasis.
Project description:Brain metastasis of lung cancer causes high mortality, but the exact mechanisms underlying the metastasis remain unclear. Here we report that vascular pericytes derived from CD44+ lung cancer stem cells (CSCs) in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) potently cause brain metastases through GPR124-mediated trans-endothelial migration (TEM). CD44+ CSCs in the perivascular niche generate the majority of vascular pericytes in lung ADC. CSC-derived pericyte-like cells (Cd-pericytes) exhibit remarkable TEM capacity to effectively intravasate into vessel lumina, survive in the circulation, extravasate into the brain parenchyma, and then de-differentiate into tumorigenic CSCs to form metastases. Moreover, Cd-pericytes uniquely express GPR124, a G-protein-coupled receptor. GPR124 mediates through Wnt7-β-Catenin activation to enhance TEM capacity of Cd-pericytes for intravasation and extravasation, two critical steps during tumor metastasis. Furthermore, selective disruption of Cd-pericytes, GPR124 or Wnt7-β-Catenin signaling markedly reduced brain and liver metastases of lung ADC. Our findings uncover an unappreciated cellular and molecular paradigm driving tumor metastasis.
Project description:To understand the molecular mechanisms during the maturation of cord blood-derived endothelial cells into blood brain barrier capillary endothelial cells (BCECs), we have employed whole genome microarray expression profiling to identify genes responsible for the maturation process. Hematopoietic stem cells were isolated from cord-blood samples and differentiated into endothelial cells. The endothelial cells were further maturated into BCECs by co-culturing with blood-brain barrier (BBB) specific cells (pericytes) for 3 days and 6 days. The gene expression in human hematopoietic stem cell-derived endothelial cells was measured at 3 and 6 days after co-culture with pericytes. Three independent experiments were performed at each time (3 or 6 days). The RNA obtained from different experiments were pooled together for each group before microarray studies.
Project description:The formation, maintenance, and repair of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) are critical for central nervous system homeostasis. The interaction of endothelial cells with brain pericytes is known to induce BBB characteristics in brain endothelial cells during embryogenesis and could be used to differentiate human endothelial cells from stem cell source in in vitro BBB models. However, the molecular events involved in BBB maturation are not fully understood. To this end, human endothelial cells derived from hematopoietic stem cells were cultivated with either primary bovine or cell line-derived human brain pericytes to induce BBB formation. Subsequently, the transcriptomic profiles of solocultured vs. cocultured endothelial cells were analyzed over time by the Massive Analysis of cDNA Ends (MACE) technology. This RNA sequencing method is a 3’-end targeted, tag-based, reduced representation transcriptome profiling technique that can reliably quantify all polyadenylated transcripts including those with low expression. By analyzing the generated transcriptomic profiles, we can explore the molecular processes responsible for the functional changes observed in endothelial cells in coculture with brain pericytes (e.g. barrier tightening, changes in the expression of transporters and receptors). Our results identified several up- and downregulated genes and signaling pathways that provide a valuable data source to further delineate complex molecular processes that are involved in BBB formation and BBB maintenance. In addition, this data provides a source to identify novel targets for central nervous system drug delivery strategies.