The Roles of Septins in Regulating Fission Yeast Cytokinesis.

Cytokinesis is required to separate two daughter cells at the end of mitosis, and septins play crucial roles in many aspects of cytokinesis. While septins have been intensively studied in many model organisms, including the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, septins have been relatively less characterized in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which has proven to be an excellent model organism for studying fundamental cell biology. In this review, we summarize the findings of septins made in fission yeasts mainly from four aspects: the domain structure of septins, the localization of septins during the cell cycle, the roles of septins in regulating cytokinesis, and the regulatory proteins of septins.

Intravenous infusions of mesenchymal stromal cells have cumulative beneficial effects in a porcine model of chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy.

AIMS: The development of cell therapy as a widely-available clinical option for ischemic cardiomyopathy is hindered by the invasive nature of current cell delivery methods. Furthermore, the rapid disappearance of cells after transplantation provides a cogent rationale for using repeated cell doses, which, however, has not been done thus far in clinical trials because it is not feasible with invasive approaches. The goal of this translational study was to test the therapeutic utility of the intravenous route for cell delivery. METHODS AND RESULTS: Pigs with chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy induced by myocardial infarction received one or three intravenous doses of allogeneic bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) or placebo 35 days apart. Rigor guidelines, including blinding and randomization, were strictly followed. A comprehensive assessment of LV function was conducted with three independent methods (echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and hemodynamic studies). The results demonstrate that three doses of MSCs improved both load-dependent and independent indices of left ventricular (LV) function and reduced myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis; in contrast, one dose failed to produce most of these benefits. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that intravenous infusion of a cell product improves LV function and structure in a large animal model of chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy and that repeated infusions are necessary to produce robust effects. This study, conducted in a clinically-relevant model, supports a new therapeutic strategy based on repeated intravenous infusions of allogeneic MSCs and provides a foundation for a first-in-human trial testing this strategy in patients with chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy.