1,721,096 research outputs found
Cardiac Resident Stem Cells: Work (Still) in Progress
No full textNine years after the existence of resident Cardiac Stem Cells was first demonstrated, and despite the fact that we
are right now evaluating the preliminary and promising results of the first phase I clinical trials, our understanding of the
mechanisms responsible for cardiac regeneration is still partial and the ability to take advantage of it for therapeutic
purposes can be considered still rudimentary. However, the worldwide urgency of developing new regenerative
therapeutic strategies to reverse the progression of advanced heart failure is funneling a multidisciplinary effort
aimed at better comprehending the biological pathways governing cardiac regeneration.
Therefore, in this paper we are critically reviewing the novel scientific evidences regarding: the multiplicity of
stem cell populations hosted in the heart; the mechanisms regulating the cardiac embryonic development, such as
the epithelial to mesenchymal transition, that may play a part in pathology too; the instructive micro-environmental
factors acting within the Cardiac Stem Cell niche and the information gained from clinical trials. Hopefully the
consideration of all these aspects will yield potential new targets and more effective strategies for cardiovascular
regenerative therapies
Stem Cell Senescence as the Memory of Past Injuries
No full textStem cell senescence may play a central role in both aging and age-related pathologies, being associated with a functional impairment of both homeostasis and the regenerative properties of tissues. The possibility to interfere with this detrimental phenomenon requires a careful elucidation of the mechanisms that initiate and maintain this cellular response. In this review, we will discuss the hypothesis that cellular senescence could be considered the biological memory of the action of different types of stressors on the organism, leading to a complex phenotype that includes both intrinsic (e.g., gene expression, chromatin organization, and cell metabolism) and extrinsic (e.g., secretome) changes. Finally, it will be shown that cell senescence blunts the regenerative ability of human cardiac stem cells and that the pharmacological inhibition of this detrimental cell process restores the functional properties of primitive cells in vivo
Pluripotency rush! Molecular cues for pluripotency, genetic reprogramming of adult stem cells, and widely multipotent adult cells
No full textStem cell senescence and regenerative paradigms.
No full textThe term "cellular senescence" denotes a cellular response to several stressors that results in irreversible growth arrest, alterations of the gene expression profile, epigenetic modifications, and an altered secretome, all of which eventually impair the reparative properties of primitive cells, adding a layer of complexity to the field of regenerative medicine. The purpose of this review is to illustrate how cellular senescence could affect tissue repair and to propose interventions that aim at interfering with it
At the stem of youth and health
No full textCellular senescence is a specialized form of growth arrest, confined to mitotic cells, induced by various stressful stimuli and characterized by a permanent growth arrest, resistance to apoptosis, an altered pattern of gene expression and the expression of some markers that are characteristic, although not exclusive, to the senescent state. Senescent cells profoundly modify neighboring and remote cells through the production of an altered secretome, eventually leading to inflammation, fibrosis and possibly growth of neoplastic cells. Mammalian aging has been defined as a reduction in the capacity to adequately maintain tissue homeostasis or to repair tissues after injury. Tissue homeostasis and regenerative capacity are nowadays considered to be related to the stem cell pool present in every tissue. For this reason, pathological and patho-physiological conditions characterized by altered tissue homeostasis and impaired regenerative capacity can be viewed as a consequence of the reduction in stem cell number and/or function. Last, cellular senescence is a double-edged sword, since it may inhibit the growth of transformed cells, preventing the occurrence of cancer, while it may facilitate growth of preneoplastic lesions in a paracrine fashion; therefore, interventions targeting this cell response to stress may have a profound impact on many age-related pathologies, ranging from cardiovascular disease to oncology. Aim of this review is to discuss both molecular mechanisms associated with stem cell senescence and interventions that may attenuate or reverse this process
- …
