How to get children moving? The effectiveness of school-based interventions promoting physical activity in children and adolescents - A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled- and controlled studies.

This systematic review and meta-analysis summarizes the effectiveness of school-based physical activity (PA) interventions on children's and adolescents' PA. As no robust empirical evidence exists regarding what seems to characterize the school-based PA interventions that are most effective, we further aimed to map key factors of particular importance when trying to increase PA in early stages of life through school-based strategies. Intervention effects were calculated as standardized between-group (i.e., intervention vs. control) mean differences (SMD) in PA from baseline to follow-up. In total, 189 publications were included. Few studies (7%) were of high quality. Our results demonstrate that school-based interventions only have a small positive effect on children's and adolescents' PA levels. Compared to the effect observed during total day (SMD = 0.27, p < 0.001), a slightly larger effect was observed during school hours (SMD = 0.37, p < 0.001), while no intervention effect was observed during leisure time (SMD = 0.07, p = 0.20). There was a tendency for interventions to be more effective if theoretical frameworks for behavior changes were used in the design phase. The largest effect size was observed when experts from outside school delivered the program (SMD = 0.56, p = 0.01), but training of personnel involved in delivery was the determining factor for program effectiveness as no effect was observed if interventions were delivered primarily by schools' untrained staff (SMD = 0.06, p = 0.61). Intervention effects where larger if parents were involved in the intervention program (parents involved: SMD = 0.35, p < 0.001; parents not involved: SMD = 0.16, p = 0.02). Small positive intervention effects were sustained at long-term follow-up after end of intervention. Overall, the certainty of the evidence of the findings is rated as low.

Screen Media Use and Mental Health of Children and Adolescents: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Excessive screen media use has been associated with poorer mental health among children and adolescents in several observational studies. However, experimental evidence supporting this hypothesis is lacking. Objective: To investigate the effects of a 2-week screen media reduction intervention on children's and adolescents' mental health. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prespecified secondary analysis of a cluster randomized clinical trial with a 2-week follow-up included 89 families (with 181 children and adolescents) from 10 Danish municipalities in the region of Southern Denmark. All study procedures were carried out in the home of the participants. Enrollment began on June 6, 2019, and ended on March 30, 2021. This analysis was conducted between January 1 and November 30, 2023. Intervention: Families were randomly allocated to a screen media reduction group or a control group. The 2-week screen media reduction intervention was designed to ensure a high level of compliance to the reduction in leisure-time screen media use. Participants allocated to the intervention group had to reduce their leisure-time screen media use to 3 hours per week or less per person and hand over smartphones and tablets. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was the between-group mean difference in change in total behavioral difficulties, measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at 2-week follow-up. Results were estimated using mixed-effects tobit regression models. Analyses were carried out as both intention to treat and complete case. Results: In the sample of 89 families including 181 children and adolescents (intervention group [45 families]: 86 children; mean [SD] age, 8.6 [2.7] years; 42 girls [49%]; control group [44 families]: 95 children; mean [SD] age, 9.5 [2.5] years; 57 girls [60%]), there was a statistically significant between-group mean difference in the total difficulties score, favoring the screen media reduction intervention (-1.67; 95% CI, -2.68 to -0.67; Cohen d, 0.53). The greatest improvements were observed for internalizing symptoms (emotional symptoms and peer problems; between-group mean difference, -1.03; 95% CI, -1.76 to -0.29) and prosocial behavior (between-group mean difference, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.39-1.30). Conclusions and Relevance: This secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial found that a short-term reduction in leisure-time screen media use within families positively affected psychological symptoms of children and adolescents, particularly by mitigating internalizing behavioral issues and enhancing prosocial behavior. More research is needed to confirm whether these effects are sustainable in the long term. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04098913.

Trigeminal ganglion neurons are directly activated by influx of CSF solutes in a migraine model.

Classical migraine patients experience aura, which is transient neurological deficits associated with cortical spreading depression (CSD), preceding headache attacks. It is not currently understood how a pathological event in cortex can affect peripheral sensory neurons. In this study, we show that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flows into the trigeminal ganglion, establishing nonsynaptic signaling between brain and trigeminal cells. After CSD, ~11% of the CSF proteome is altered, with up-regulation of proteins that directly activate receptors in the trigeminal ganglion. CSF collected from animals exposed to CSD activates trigeminal neurons in naïve mice in part by CSF-borne calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). We identify a communication pathway between the central and peripheral nervous system that might explain the relationship between migrainous aura and headache.

Glucose-regulatory hormones and growth in very preterm infants fed fortified human milk.

BACKGROUND: Bovine colostrum (BC) contains a range of milk bioactive components, and it is unknown how human milk fortification with BC affects glucose-regulatory hormones in very preterm infants (VPIs). This study aimed to investigate the associations between hormone concentrations and fortification type, birth weight (appropriate/small for gestational age, AGA/SGA), milk intake, postnatal age, and body growth. METHODS: 225 VPIs were randomized to fortification with BC or conventional fortifier (CF). Plasma hormones were measured before, one and two weeks after start of fortification. ΔZ-scores from birth to 35 weeks postmenstrual age were calculated. RESULTS: Compared with CF, infants fortified with BC had higher plasma GLP-1, GIP, glucagon, and leptin concentrations after start of fortification. Prior to fortification, leptin concentrations were negatively associated with growth, while IGF-1 concentrations associated positively with growth during fortification. In AGA infants, hormone concentrations generally increased after one week of fortification. Relative to AGA infants, SGA infants showed reduced IGF-1 and leptin concentrations. CONCLUSION: Fortification with BC increased the plasma concentrations of several glucose-regulatory hormones. Concentrations of IGF-1 were positively, and leptin negatively, associated with growth. Glucose-regulatory hormone levels were affected by birth weight, milk intake and postnatal age, but not closely associated with growth in VPIs. IMPACT: Little is known about the variation in glucose-regulatory hormones in the early life of very preterm infants (VPIs). This study shows that the levels of glucose-regulatory hormones in plasma of VPIs are highly variable and modified by birth weight (appropriate or small for gestational age, AGA or SGA), the type of fortifier, enteral nutritional intake, and advancing postnatal age. The results confirm that IGF-1 levels are positively associated with early postnatal growth in VPIs, yet the levels of both IGF-1 and other glucose-regulatory hormones appeared to explain only a small part of the overall variation in growth rates.

Facilitating ambulatory heart rate variability analysis using accelerometry-based classifications of body position and self-reported sleep.

Objective.This study aimed to examine differences in heart rate variability (HRV) across accelerometer-derived position, self-reported sleep, and different summary measures (sleep, 24 h HRV) in free-living settings using open-source methodology.Approach.HRV is a biomarker of autonomic activity. As it is strongly affected by factors such as physical behaviour, stress, and sleep, ambulatory HRV analysis is challenging. Beat-to-beat heart rate (HR) and accelerometry data were collected using single-lead electrocardiography and trunk- and thigh-worn accelerometers among 160 adults participating in the SCREENS trial. HR files were processed and analysed in the RHRV R package. Start time and duration spent in physical behaviours were extracted, and time and frequency analysis for each episode was performed. Differences in HRV estimates across activities were compared using linear mixed models adjusted for age and sex with subject ID as random effect. Next, repeated-measures Bland-Altman analysis was used to compare 24 h RMSSD estimates to HRV during self-reported sleep. Sensitivity analyses evaluated the accuracy of the methodology, and the approach of employing accelerometer-determined episodes to examine activity-independent HRV was described.Main results.HRV was estimated for 31 289 episodes in 160 individuals (53.1% female) at a mean age of 41.4 years. Significant differences in HR and most markers of HRV were found across positions [Mean differences RMSSD: Sitting (Reference) - Standing (-2.63 ms) or Lying (4.53 ms)]. Moreover, ambulatory HRV differed significantly across sleep status, and poor agreement between 24 h estimates compared to sleep HRV was detected. Sensitivity analyses confirmed that removing the first and last 30 s of accelerometry-determined HR episodes was an accurate strategy to account for orthostatic effects.Significance.Ambulatory HRV differed significantly across accelerometry-assigned positions and sleep. The proposed approach for free-living HRV analysis may be an effective strategy to remove confounding by physical activity when the aim is to monitor general autonomic stress.

Skeletal consequences of preterm birth in pigs as a model for preterm infants.

Preterm birth affects about 10% of all live births with many resultant health challenges, including metabolic bone disease of prematurity (MBDP), which is characterized by elevated alkaline phosphatase, suppressed phosphate, and deficient skeletal development. Because of the lack of an animal model, very little is known about bone structure, strength, and quality after preterm birth. This study investigated the utility of a pig model to replicate clinical features of preterm birth, including MBDP, and sought to determine if early postnatal administration of IGF-1 was an effective treatment. Preterm pigs, born by caesarean section at 90% gestation, were reared in intensive care facilities (respiratory, thermoregulatory, and nutritional support) and compared with sow-reared term pigs born vaginally. Preterm pigs were systemically treated with vehicle or IGF-1 (recombinant human IGF-1/BP-3, 2.25 mg/kg/d). Tissues were collected at postnatal days 1, 5, and 19 (the normal weaning period in pigs). Most bone-related outcomes were affected by preterm birth throughout the study period, whereas IGF-1 supplementation had almost no effect. By day 19, alkaline phosphatase was elevated, phosphate and calcium were reduced, and the bone resorption marker C-terminal crosslinks of type I collagen was elevated in preterm pigs compared to term pigs. Preterm pigs also had decrements in femoral cortical cross-sectional properties, consistent with reduced whole-bone strength. Thus, the preterm pig model replicates many features of preterm bone development in infants, including features of MBDP, and allows for direct interrogation of skeletal tissues, enhancing the field's ability to examine underlying mechanisms.

Premature birth interrupts a critical period of skeletal development as the majority of fetal bone mineral accumulation occurs during the last gestational trimester, leaving preterm infants at increased risk for low bone mineral density and fractures. Although there are some data on growth in bone mass in preterm infants, very little is known about bone structural properties, quality, and strength during development after preterm birth. In this study, we sought to evaluate the pig as a model for postnatal skeletal development after premature birth. Preterm pigs born after approximately 90% of the full gestation period were compared to full-term control pigs through day 19 of life. Levels of 2 blood markers used to diagnose osteoporosis of prematurity were replicated in the pig model. Bone properties related to strength were reduced even when accounting for their smaller body size, possibly suggesting elevated fracture risk in preterm infants. Based on the similarities between the preterm pig model and preterm human infants, the pig model may prove to be useful to study factors and interventions affecting postnatal bone development after preterm birth.

DrugMap: A quantitative pan-cancer analysis of cysteine ligandability.

Cysteine-focused chemical proteomic platforms have accelerated the clinical development of covalent inhibitors for a wide range of targets in cancer. However, how different oncogenic contexts influence cysteine targeting remains unknown. To address this question, we have developed "DrugMap," an atlas of cysteine ligandability compiled across 416 cancer cell lines. We unexpectedly find that cysteine ligandability varies across cancer cell lines, and we attribute this to differences in cellular redox states, protein conformational changes, and genetic mutations. Leveraging these findings, we identify actionable cysteines in NF-κB1 and SOX10 and develop corresponding covalent ligands that block the activity of these transcription factors. We demonstrate that the NF-κB1 probe blocks DNA binding, whereas the SOX10 ligand increases SOX10-SOX10 interactions and disrupts melanoma transcriptional signaling. Our findings reveal heterogeneity in cysteine ligandability across cancers, pinpoint cell-intrinsic features driving cysteine targeting, and illustrate the use of covalent probes to disrupt oncogenic transcription-factor activity.

Stroma-specific gene expression signature identifies prostate cancer subtype with high recurrence risk.

Current prognostic tools cannot clearly distinguish indolent and aggressive prostate cancer (PC). We hypothesized that analyzing individual contributions of epithelial and stromal components in localized PC (LPC) could improve risk stratification, as stromal subtypes may have been overlooked due to the emphasis on malignant epithelial cells. Hence, we derived molecular subtypes of PC using gene expression analysis of LPC samples from prostatectomy patients (cohort 1, n = 127) and validated these subtypes in two independent prostatectomy cohorts (cohort 2, n = 406, cohort 3, n = 126). Stroma and epithelium-specific signatures were established from laser-capture microdissection data and non-negative matrix factorization was used to identify subtypes based on these signatures. Subtypes were functionally characterized by gene set and cell type enrichment analyses, and survival analysis was conducted. Three epithelial (E1-E3) and three stromal (S1-S3) PC subtypes were identified. While subtyping based on epithelial signatures showed inconsistent associations to biochemical recurrence (BCR), subtyping by stromal signatures was significantly associated with BCR in all three cohorts, with subtype S3 indicating high BCR risk. Subtype S3 exhibited distinct features, including significantly decreased cell-polarity and myogenesis, significantly increased infiltration of M2-polarized macrophages and CD8 + T-cells compared to subtype S1. For patients clinically classified as CAPRA-S intermediate risk, S3 improved prediction of BCR. This study demonstrates the potential of stromal signatures in identification of clinically relevant PC subtypes, and further indicated that stromal characterization may enhance risk stratification in LPC and may be particularly promising in cases with high prognostic ambiguity based on clinical parameters.

Disrupting CD38-driven T cell dysfunction restores sensitivity to cancer immunotherapy.

A central problem in cancer immunotherapy with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) is the development of resistance, which affects 50% of patients with metastatic melanoma1,2. T cell exhaustion, resulting from chronic antigen exposure in the tumour microenvironment, is a major driver of ICB resistance3. Here, we show that CD38, an ecto-enzyme involved in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) catabolism, is highly expressed in exhausted CD8+ T cells in melanoma and is associated with ICB resistance. Tumour-derived CD38hiCD8+ T cells are dysfunctional, characterised by impaired proliferative capacity, effector function, and dysregulated mitochondrial bioenergetics. Genetic and pharmacological blockade of CD38 in murine and patient-derived organotypic tumour models (MDOTS/PDOTS) enhanced tumour immunity and overcame ICB resistance. Mechanistically, disrupting CD38 activity in T cells restored cellular NAD+ pools, improved mitochondrial function, increased proliferation, augmented effector function, and restored ICB sensitivity. Taken together, these data demonstrate a role for the CD38-NAD+ axis in promoting T cell exhaustion and ICB resistance, and establish the efficacy of CD38 directed therapeutic strategies to overcome ICB resistance using clinically relevant, patient-derived 3D tumour models.

Bovine mammary epithelial cells can grow and express milk protein synthesis genes at reduced fetal bovine serum concentration.

Milk proteins produced by lactating cells isolated from bovine mammary tissue can offer a sustainable solution to the high protein demand of a global growing population. Serum is commonly added to culture systems to provide compounds necessary for optimal growth and function of the cells. However, in a cellular agricultural context, its usage is desired to be decreased. This study aims at examining the minimum level of fetal bovine serum (FBS) required for the growth and functionality of bovine mammary epithelial cells (MECs). The cells were isolated from dairy cows in early and mid-lactation and cultured in reduced concentrations of FBS (10%, 5%, 1.25%, and 0%). Real-time cell analysis showed a significant effect of lactation stage on growth rate and 5% FBS resulted in similar growth rate as 10% while 0% resulted in the lowest. The effect of reducing FBS on cell functionality was examined by studying the expressions of selected marker genes involved in milk protein and fat synthesis, following differentiation. The gene expressions were not affected by the level of FBS. A reduction of FBS in the culture system of MEC, at least down to 5%, does not assert any negative effect on the growth and expression levels of studied genes. As the first attempt in developing an in-vitro model for milk component production using MEC, our results demonstrate the potential of MEC to endure FBS-reduced conditions.

Comparison of secreted miRNAs and proteins during proliferation and differentiation of bovine satellite cells in culture implies potential roles in regulating myogenesis.

Cultivated meat is an emerging new technology to produce sustainable meat for the future. The common approach for cultivated meat, is the isolation of satellite cells from donor animals, followed by in vitro proliferation and differentiation into primitive muscle fibers. The transformation of satellite cells into myofibers is tightly orchestrated by intra-cellular signaling, while the inter-cellular signaling is less well understood. Thus, the current study was conducted to map the secretion of potential signaling molecules (MicroRNAs and proteins) during proliferation and differentiation. Primary cultures of satellite cells were grown to 50% and 80% confluence, representing the proliferative phase or serum-starved for 1 and 3 days to induce differentiation. Post incubation in FBS-free media, the media were collected and analyzed for miRNA and protein content using gene-arrays and LC-MS/MS, respectively. When comparing the miRNA secretome at 50% and 80% confluence, we observed four differentially expressed miRNA, while only five were differentially expressed when comparing Day 1 to Day 3. A subsequent in silico analysis suggested that pathways of importance for myogenesis, e.g., MAPK and AMPK signaling, could be regulated by the secreted miRNAs. In addition, >300 proteins were secreted, including insulin-like growth factor 1 binding proteins 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. In conclusion, this study demonstrated differential secretion of several miRNAs and proteins during both proliferation and differentiation of bovine satellite cells in vitro.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 associated with altered immune responses in preterm infants and pigs.

BACKGROUND: Preterm infants show low blood levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), known to be negatively correlated with Interleukin-6 (IL-6). We hypothesized that circulating IGF-1 is associated with systemic immune-markers following preterm birth and that exogenous IGF-1 supplementation modulates immune development in preterm pigs, used as model for preterm infants. METHODS: Plasma levels of IGF-1 and 29 inflammatory markers were measured in very preterm infants (n = 221). In preterm pigs, systemic immune development, assessed by in vitro challenge, was compared between IGF-1 treated (2.25 mg/kg/day) and control animals. RESULTS: Preterm infants with lowest gestational age and birth weight showed the lowest IGF-1 levels, which were correlated not only with IL-6, but a range of immune-markers. IGF-1 supplementation to preterm pigs reduced plasma IL-10 and Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), IL-2 responses to challenge and reduced expression of genes related to Th1 polarization. In vitro addition of IGF-1 (100 ng/mL) further reduced the IL-2 and IFN-γ responses but increased IL-10 response. CONCLUSIONS: In preterm infants, plasma IGF-1 correlated with several immune markers, while supplementing IGF-1 to preterm pigs tended to reduce Th1 immune responses. Future studies should document whether IGF-1 supplementation to preterm infants affects immune development and sensitivity to infection. IMPACT: Supplementation of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) to preterm infants has been proposed to promote postnatal growth, but its impact on the developing immune system is largely unknown. In a cohort of very preterm infants, low gestational age and birth weight were the primary predictors of low plasma levels of IGF-1, which in turn were associated with plasma immune markers. Meanwhile, in immature preterm pigs, experimental supplementation of IGF-1 reduced Th1-related immune responses in early life. Supplementation of IGF-1 to preterm infants may affect the developing immune system, which needs consideration when evaluating overall impact on neonatal health.

Gut development following insulin-like growth factor-1 supplementation to preterm pigs.

BACKGROUND: Reduced insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels may contribute to impaired organ development in preterm infants. Using preterm pigs as a model, we hypothesized that IGF-1 supplementation improves health and gut development during the first three weeks of life. METHODS: First, clinical and organ endpoints were compared between artificially-reared, cesarean-delivered preterm pigs and vaginally-delivered, sow-reared term pigs at 5, 9 and 19 days. Next, preterm pigs were treated with recombinant human IGF-1 for 19 days (2.25 mg/kg/day, systemically). RESULTS: Relative to term pigs, preterm pigs had lower body weight, fat, bone contents, relative weights of liver and spleen and a longer and thinner intestine at 19 days. Preterm birth reduced intestinal villi heights and peptidase activities, but only at 5 and 9 days. In preterm pigs, IGF-1 reduced mortality primarily occurring from gastrointestinal complications and with a tendency towards salvaging smaller pigs. IGF-1 supplementation also increased spleen and kidney weights, small intestine length and maltase to lactase activity, reflecting gut maturation. CONCLUSION: Preterm birth affects body composition and gut maturation in the first 1-2 weeks, but differences are marginal thereafter. Supplemental IGF-1 may improve gut health in pigs and infants in the first few weeks after preterm birth. IMPACT: Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) supplementation may improve gut health and development in prematurity, but whether the effects are sustained beyond the immediate postnatal period is unclear. In preterm pigs, the prematurity effects on IGF-1 and gut health deficiencies are most pronounced during the first week of life and diminishes thereafter. In preterm pigs, IGF-1 supplementation beyond the first week of life reduced mortality. The present study provides evidence of a sustained effect of IGF-1 supplementation on the gastrointestinal tract after the immediate postnatal period.

DrugMap: A quantitative pan-cancer analysis of cysteine ligandability.

Cysteine-focused chemical proteomic platforms have accelerated the clinical development of covalent inhibitors of a wide-range of targets in cancer. However, how different oncogenic contexts influence cysteine targeting remains unknown. To address this question, we have developed DrugMap , an atlas of cysteine ligandability compiled across 416 cancer cell lines. We unexpectedly find that cysteine ligandability varies across cancer cell lines, and we attribute this to differences in cellular redox states, protein conformational changes, and genetic mutations. Leveraging these findings, we identify actionable cysteines in NFκB1 and SOX10 and develop corresponding covalent ligands that block the activity of these transcription factors. We demonstrate that the NFκB1 probe blocks DNA binding, whereas the SOX10 ligand increases SOX10-SOX10 interactions and disrupts melanoma transcriptional signaling. Our findings reveal heterogeneity in cysteine ligandability across cancers, pinpoint cell-intrinsic features driving cysteine targeting, and illustrate the use of covalent probes to disrupt oncogenic transcription factor activity.

The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the activity and community composition of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in Arctic seawater.

IMPORTANCE: Increased ship traffic in the Arctic region raises the risk of oil spills. With an average sea depth of 1,000 m, there is a growing concern over the potential release of oil sinking in the form of marine oil snow into deep Arctic waters. At increasing depth, the oil-degrading community is exposed to increasing hydrostatic pressure, which can reduce microbial activity. However, microbes thriving in polar regions may adapt to low temperature by modulation of membrane fluidity, which is also a well-known adaptation to high hydrostatic pressure. At mild hydrostatic pressures up to 8-12 MPa, we did not observe an altered microbial activity or community composition, whereas comparable studies using deep-sea or sub-Arctic microbial communities with in situ temperatures of 4-5°C showed pressure-induced effects at 10-15 MPa. Our results suggest that the psychrophilic nature of the underwater microbial communities in the Arctic may be featured by specific traits that enhance their fitness at increasing hydrostatic pressure.

Inulin Supplementation Modulates the Hepatic Transcriptome, Metabolome, and Ferritin Content in Ovariectomized Rats.

SCOPE: Liver is an important metabolic organ regulating whole-body homeostasis. This study aims to investigate how prebiotic-induced changes in the metabolic activity of the gut microbiome (GM) and dietary calcium depletion modulates the hepatic metabolome and transcriptome. METHODS AND RESULTS: The serum metabolome, liver metabolome, and transcriptome are determined on samples from ovariectomized (OVX) rats fed a control diet (Control, n = 7), a control diet supplemented with 5% w/w inulin (Inulin, n = 7), or a calcium-deficient diet (CaDef, n = 7). Inulin fortification is associated with higher serum concentrations of acetate, 3-hydroxybutyrate, and reduced concentration of dimethyl sulfone, revealing that changes in the metabolic activity of the GM are reflected in circulating metabolites. Metabolomics also reveal that the inulin-fortified diet results in lower concentrations of hepatic glutamate, serine, and hypoxanthine while transcriptomics reveal accompanying effects on the hepatic expression of ferric iron binding-related genes. Inulin fortification also induces effects on the hepatic expression of genes involved in olfactory transduction, suggesting that prebiotics regulate liver function through yet unidentified mechanisms involving olfactory receptors. CONCLUSION: Inulin ingestion impacts hepatic gene expression and is associated with an upregulation of ferritin synthesis-related genes and liver ferritin content.

Satellite cells sourced from bull calves and dairy cows differs in proliferative and myogenic capacity - Implications for cultivated meat.

Cultivated meat produced with primary muscle satellite cells (SCs) will need a continuous supply of isolated cell material from relevant animal donors. Factors such as age, sex, and breed, along with the sustainability and availability of donor animals, could determine the most appropriate donor type for an efficient production. In this study, we focus on the proliferation and differentiation of bovine SCs isolated from bull calf and dairy cow muscle samples. The proliferative performance of bull calf SCs was significantly better than SCs from dairy cows, however a dynamic differentiation assay revealed that the degree of fusion and formation of myotubes were similar between donor types. Furthermore, the proliferation of SCs from both donor types was enhanced using an in-house developed serum-free media compared to 10% FBS, which also delayed myogenic differentiation and increased final cell population density. Using gene chip transcriptomics, we identified several differentially expressed genes between the two donor types, which could help explain the observed cellular differences. This data also revealed a high biological variance between the three replicate animals within donor type, which seemed to be decreased when using our in-house serum-free media. With the use of the powerful imaging modalities of Cytation 5, we developed a novel high contrast brightfield-enabled label-free myotube quantification method along with a more efficient end-point fusion analysis using Phalloidin-staining. The results give new insights into the bovine SC biology and potential use of bull calves and dairy cows as relevant donor animals for cultivated beef cell sourcing. The newly developed differentiation assays will further enhance future research within the field of cultivated meat and SC biology.

A simple and robust serum-free media for the proliferation of muscle cells.

Cultivated meat production requires an efficient, robust and highly optimized serum-free cell culture media for the needed upscaling of muscle cell expansion. Existing formulations of serum-free media are complex, expensive and have not been optimized for muscle cells. Thus, we undertook this work to develop a simple and robust serum-free media for the proliferation of bovine satellite cells (SCs) through Design of Experiment (DOE) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) using precise and high-throughput image-based cytometry. Proliferative attributes were investigated with transcriptomics and long-term performance was validated using multiple live assays. Here we formulated a media based on three highly optimized components; FGF2 (2 ng/mL), fetuin (600 µg/mL) and BSA (75 µg/mL) which together with an insulin-transferrin-selenium (1x) supplement, sustained the proliferation of bovine SCs, porcine SCs and murine C2C12 muscle cells. Remarkably, cells cultured in our media named Tri-basal 2.0+ performed better than cell cultured in 10% FBS, with respect to proliferation. Hence, the optimized Tri-basal 2.0+ enhanced serum-free cell attachment and long-term proliferation, providing an alternative solution to the use of FBS in the production of cultivated meat.

Spatial whole transcriptome profiling of primary tumor from patients with metastatic prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a highly heterogeneous disease in terms of its molecular makeup and clinical prognosis. The prostate tumor microenvironment (TME) is hypothesized to play an important role in driving disease aggressiveness, but precise mechanisms remain elusive. In our study, we used spatial transcriptomics to explore for the first time the spatial gene expression heterogeneity within primary prostate tumors from patients with metastatic disease. In total, we analyzed 5459 tissue spots from three PCa patients comprising castration-resistant (CRPC) and neuroendocrine (NEPC) disease stages. Within CRPC, we identified a T cell cluster whose activity might be impaired by nearby regulatory T cells, potentially mediating the aggressive disease phenotype. Moreover, we identified Hallmark signatures of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in a cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) cluster, indicating the aggressive characteristic of the primary TME leading to metastatic dissemination. Within NEPC, we identified active immune-stroma cross-talk exemplified by significant ligand-receptor interactions between CAFs and M2 macrophages. Further, we identified a malignant cell population that was associated with the down-regulation of an immune-related gene signature. Lower expression of this signature was associated with higher levels of genomic instability in advanced PCa patients (SU2C cohort, n = 99) and poor recurrence free survival in early-stage PCa patients (TCGA cohort, n = 395), suggesting prognostic biomarker potential. Taken together, our study reveals the importance of whole transcriptome profiling at spatial resolution for biomarker discovery and for advancing our understanding of tumor biology.