Pericyte plasticity - comparative investigation of the angiogenic and multilineage potential of pericytes from different human tissues.

Pericyte recruitment is essential for the stability of newly formed vessels. It was also suggested that pericytes represent common ancestor cells giving rise to mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the adult. Here, we systematically investigated pericytes and MSCs from different human tissues in terms of their angiogenic and multilineage differentiation potential in vitro in order to assess the suitability of the different cell types for the regeneration of vascularised tissues. Magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS®) was used to enrich CD34-CD146+ pericytes from adipose tissue (AT) and bone marrow (BM). The multilineage potential of pericytes was assessed by testing their capability to differentiate towards osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic lineage in vitro. Pericytes and endothelial cells were co-seeded on Matrigel™ and the formation of tube-like structures was examined to study the angiogenic potential of pericytes. MSCs from AT and BM were used as controls. CD34-CD146+ cells were successfully enriched from AT and BM. Only BM-derived cells exhibited trilineage differentiation potential. AT-derived cells displayed poor chondrogenic differentiation upon stimulation with transforming growth factor-ß1. Interestingly, osteogenic differentiation was more efficient in AT-PC and BM-PC compared to the respective full MSC population. Matrigel™ assays revealed that pericytes from all tissues integrated into tube-like structures. We show that MACS®-enriched pericytes from BM and AT have the potential to regenerate tissues of different mesenchymal lineages and support neovascularisation. MACS® represents a simple enrichment strategy of cells, which is of particular interest for clinical application. Finally, our results suggest that the regenerative potential of pericytes depends on their tissue origin, which is an important consideration for future studies.

Utilization of larval and pupal detritus by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

The utilization of detritus sources by mosquito larvae during development may significantly affect adult life history traits and mosquito population growth. Many studies have shown invertebrate carcasses to be an important detritus source in larval habitats, but little is known regarding how invertebrate carcasses are utilized by mosquito larvae. We conducted two studies to investigate the rate of detritus consumption and its effect on larval development and life history traits. Overall, we found that Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus larvae rapidly consumed larval detritus, while pupal detritus was consumed at a significantly slower rate. We also found that the consumption of larval detritus significantly increased larval survivorship and decreased male development time but did not significantly influence female development time or pupal cephalothorax length for either sex. Our results suggest that the direct consumption of larval detritus can support the production of adults in larval habitats that lack allochthonous detritus inputs or where such organic inputs are insufficient. These studies indicate that different forms of invertebrate detritus are utilized in distinct ways by mosquito larvae, and therefore different forms of invertebrate detritus may have distinct effects on larval development and adult life history traits.

Susceptibility of larval Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) to dengue virus.

Mosquitoes vertically transmit many arthropod borne viruses, and as a consequence arboviruses are often present within the larval environment. We tested the hypothesis that Aedes aegypti (L.) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse) larvae were susceptible to dengue virus through two infection methods: exposure to dengue in the larval growth environment via viral supernatant, and exposure to infected tissue culture along with viral supernatant. In addition to investigating for the first time the susceptibility of larval Ae. albopictus to dengue virus, we analyzed the infection rate and viral titer of infected pools of Ae. aegypti when exposed to multiple serotypes of dengue. We found that both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus larvae were susceptible to the three dengue virus serotypes to which they were exposed regardless of the exposure method and that there were significant differences between the serotypes in infection titer and infection rate. The finding that larval Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus are susceptible to dengue indicates that dengue might be able to spread among larvae within the larval habitat potentially contributing to the persistence of dengue in the environment.

Endocultivation: the influence of delayed vs. simultaneous application of BMP-2 onto individually formed hydroxyapatite matrices for heterotopic bone induction.

When bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) is delivered to matrices in vivo may affect tissue engineered bone constructs for jaw reconstruction after cancer surgery. This study compared the effects of BMP application at different times after matrix implantation for heterotopic bone induction in a rat model. Hydroxyapatite blocks were implanted unilaterally onto the surface of the latissimus dorsi muscle. A second block was implanted onto the contralateral muscle after 1, 2 or 4 weeks and 200 µg rhBMP-2 was injected into the blocks on both sides. Bone formation and density inside the blocks was analysed by CT and histology. 8 weeks after BMP application increases in bone density within the scaffolds were most pronounced in the simultaneous application group (179 HU). Less pronounced increases were observed for the 1 (65 HU), 2 (58 HU) and 4 (31 HU; p<0.0001) week delay group. Homogeneous bone induction started from the central channel of the blocks. Capillaries and larger vessels were seen in all constructs, samples receiving delayed BMP treatment demonstrated significantly greater neovascularization. Delayed application of BMP was less effective for heterotopic bone formation than simultaneous application. A central channel allows homogeneous bone induction directly from the centre of the blocks.