Establishing population distribution of drug-metabolizing enzyme activities for the use of salivary caffeine as a dynamic liver function marker in a Singaporean Chinese population.

The salivary paraxanthine/caffeine molar ratio has been proposed as a novel dynamic liver function test to guide dose adjustments of drugs hepatically cleared by CYP1A2. Its usability requires an established population norm as well as the factors influencing the ratio and actual concentrations. To address this knowledge gap, salivary caffeine and paraxanthine concentrations were measured at 4 h post caffeine dose in healthy Chinese individuals who had undergone 24 h of caffeine abstinence. The metabolic ratio was calculated and statistical analysis was performed. From the 52 participants (26 males; 30 regular caffeine consumers) recruited, the salivary paraxanthine/caffeine molar ratio was normally distributed with a mean and SD of 0.5 ± 0.2. No statistically significant factors (BMI, body weight, gender and regularity of caffeine intake) affecting the metabolic ratio were found. The caffeine concentration and total caffeine plus paraxanthine concentrations were lower in males than in females, and lower in regular caffeine consumers than in non-regular caffeine consumers. The 4 h salivary metabolic ratio (mean: 0.5) was generally not significantly different from the literature reported salivary, serum and plasma ratios measured at 4-9 h in healthy individuals (mean range 0.4-0.7) but was significantly higher than the literature reported 6 h plasma ratio and salivary ratios measured at 1-6 h in patients with liver disease or mild abnormal liver function tests (mean range 0.03-0.2). Overall, the population norm of the salivary metabolic ratio in a Singaporean Chinese population established in this study is distinct from individuals with liver disease or mild abnormal liver function tests and provides the benchmark for dosage adjustments of drugs metabolized by CYP1A2. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Enhanced hepatic differentiation of human amniotic epithelial cells on polyethylene glycol-linked multiwalled carbon nanotube-coated hydrogels.

Polyethylene glycol-linked multiwalled carbon nanotube-coated poly-acrylamide hydrogel (CNT-PA) was customized to mimic human liver stiffness and nanostructured surface in liver cells for modulating differentiation of human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) into functional hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) in vitro. This composite of CNT-PA matrix enhanced the hepatic differentiation of hAECs into HLCs with suppression of pluripotent markers and up-regulation of hepatic markers at both transcript and protein levels. Furthermore, the HLCs on CNT-PA demonstrated hepatocytic functions in terms of albumin secretion, higher uptake of indocyanine green, and comparable CYP3A4 enzymatic function and inducibility when matched against HepG2 cells. Taken together, CNT-PA provides an efficient and scalable platform for the expansion of HLCs from hAECs and could be explored further for downstream development.

Impact of substrate stiffness on dermal papilla aggregates in microgels.

Interaction between cells and the extracellular environment plays a vital role in cellular development. The mechanical property of a 3-dimensional (3D) culture can be modified to mimic in vivo conditions. Dermal papilla (DP) cells are shown to gradually lose their inductivity in hair cycle development in a 2-dimensional culture. They are shown to partially restore their inductivity when transferred into a 3D microenvironment. In this study, a microarray fabricated from three different concentrations of poly-ethylene-glycol-diacrylate 3500, namely 5%, 10% and 15% w/v, yielded increasing substrate stiffness. The impact of varying substrate stiffness was tested for DP cell viability, attachment, and selected hair inductive markers. DP aggregates were shown to be viable and exhibited greater spreading with increasing substrate stiffness. Moreover, DP aggregates cultured on a softer substrate showed a greater fold change of gene and protein expressions than those cultured on a harder substrate.

Spontaneous and specific myogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells on polyethylene glycol-linked multi-walled carbon nanotube films for skeletal muscle engineering.

This study explored the influence of polyethylene glycol-linked multi-walled carbon nanotube (PEG-CNT) films on skeletal myogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). PEG-CNT films were prepared with nanoscale surface roughness, orderly arrangement of PEG-CNTs, high hydrophilicity and high mechanical strength. Notably, PEG-CNT films alone could direct the skeletal myogenic differentiation of hMSCs in the absence of myogenic induction factors. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed that the non-induced hMSCs plated on the PEG-CNT films, compared to the negative control, presented significant up-regulation of general myogenic markers including early commitment markers of myoblast differentiation protein-1 (MyoD) and desmin, as well as a late phase marker of myosin heavy chain-2 (MHC). Corresponding protein analysis by immunoblot assays corroborated these results. Skeletal muscle-specific markers, fast skeletal troponin-C (TnC) and ryanodine receptor-1 (Ryr) were also significantly increased in the non-induced hMSCs on PEG-CNT films by RT-PCR. For these cells, the commitment to specific skeletal myoblasts was further proved by the absence of enhanced adipogenic, chondrogenic and osteogenic markers. This study elucidated that PEG-CNT films supported a dedicated differentiation of hMSCs into a skeletal myogenic lineage and can work as a promising material towards skeletal muscle injury repair.