An International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSC) Committee perspectives on International Standards Organization/Technical Committee 276 Biobanking Standards for bone marrow-MSCs and umbilical cord tissue-derived MSCs for research purposes

The rapidly growing field of mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) basic and translational research requires standardization of terminology and functional characterization. The International Standards Organization's (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) on Biotechnology, working with extensive input from the International Society for Cells and Gene Therapy (ISCT), has recently published ISO standardization documents that are focused on biobanking of MSCs from two tissue sources, Wharton's Jelly, MSC(WJ) and Bone Marrow, MSC(M)), for research and development purposes and development. This manuscript explains the path towards the consensus on the following two documents: the Technical Standard ISO/TS 22859 for MSC(WJ) and the full ISO Standard 24651 for MSC(M) biobanking. The ISO standardization documents are aligned with ISCT's MSC committee position and recommendations on nomenclature because there was active input and incorporation of ISCT MSC committee recommendations in the development of these standards. The ISO standardization documents contain both requirements and recommendations for functional characterization of MSC(WJ) and MSC(M) using a matrix of assays. Importantly, the ISO standardization documents have a carefully defined scope and are meant for research use of culture expanded MSC(WJ) and MSC(M). The ISO standardization documents can be updated in a revision process and will be systematically reviewed after 3-5 years as scientific insights grow. They represent international consensus on MSC identity, definition, and characterization; are rigorous in detailing multivariate characterization of MSCs and represent an evolving-but-important first step in standardization of MSC biobanking and characterization for research use and development.

Pigmentary lesions in patients with increased DNA damage due to defective DNA repair

The occurrence of abnormally pigmented skin lesions is a common phenomenon and often associated with the influence of ultraviolet radiation (UV) and other sources of DNA damage. Pigmentary lesions induced by UV radiation and other sources of DNA damage occur in healthy individuals, but human diseases with defective DNA repair represent important models which allow the investigation of possible underlying molecular mechanisms leading to hypo-and hyperpigmentations. There are several hereditary diseases which are known to go along with genetic defects of DNA repair mechanisms comprising Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), Cockayne syndrome (CS), Trichothiodystrophy (TTD), Werner syndrome (WS), Bloom syndrome (BS), Fanconi anemia (FA) and Ataxia telangiectasia (AT). These diseases share clinical characteristics including poikilodermatic skin changes such as hypo-and hyperpigmentation. Since UV radiation is the most common source of DNA damage which can cause pigmentary lesions both in healthy individuals and in patients with genetic deficiency in DNA repair, in the present article, we focus on pigmentary lesions in patients with XP as an example of a disease associated with genetic defects in DNA repair.

Testing selected behaviors to reduce indoor air pollution exposure in young children

Indoor air pollution is responsible for the deaths and illness of millions of young children in developing countries. This study investigated the acceptability (willingness to try) and feasibility (ability to perform) of four indoor air pollution reduction behaviors (improve stove maintenance practices, child location practices, ventilation practices and reduce the duration of solid fuel burning). The study further aimed to identify the motivations for and barriers against modifying the behaviors, the perceived impact of the behaviors on children's respiratory health, and families intention to continue with the behaviors. Thirty families in a rural village of South Africa tried out one or more of the behaviors over a 4-week trial period during winter 2002. Improving stove maintenance and reducing the duration of solid fuel burning proved to be very difficult for most families. It is recommended that the main intervention should focus on improving child location and ventilation practices.

Cloning and analysis of the first cry gene from Bacillus popilliae

An 80-kDa parasporal crystal protein was detected in protein extracts of sporangia of Bacillus popilliae isolated from a diseased larva of the common cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha L.). Amino acid analysis of tryptic peptides revealed significant homology to the Cry2Aa endotoxins of Bacillus thuringiensis. The gene cryBP1 (cry18Aa1), which codes for the parasporal crystal protein, was found in a putative cry operon on the bacterial chromosome, which contains at least one further (smaller) open reading frame, orf1. The 706-amino-acid-long CryBP1 (Cry18Aa1) protein has a predicted molecular mass of 79 kDa and shows about 40% sequence identity to the Cry2 polypeptides of B. thuringiensis. In the light of published observations which suggest that the parasporal crystal proteins of B. popilliae are slightly toxic to their grub hosts, we propose the following survival strategy of B. popilliae. As an obligate pathogen of grubs, B. popilliae germinates in the gut of a grub and the parasporal crystal proteins are released and activated. The activated protein does not cause colloid osmotic lysis but instead damages the gut wall somehow to allow the vegetative cells to enter the hemolymph more easily. By becoming a parasite, B. popilliae can continue to proliferate efficiently while the living grub provides a food supply. This process is in contrast to that of B. thuringiensis, which rapidly kills the insect and is then limited to growth on the larval carcass.

Nerves and psychosomatic illness: the case of Um Ramadan

Belief in the unity of mind and body among poor working class women in metropolitan Cairo is exemplified by the "state of being upset." The Egyptian women of this study use physical symptoms that they believe derive from emotional causes to negotiate and give meaning to relationships with neighbors, friends, and relatives; to jockey for power; to fill emotional needs; to manage presentation of self; and to weave the political fabric of interpersonal life. A detailed case study of Um Ramadan, a woman whose misuse by her husband made her nerfiza, illustrates the relationship between emotional upset and physical illness and the use of psychosomatic illness to gain sympathy and exact revenge. The expression of Um Ramadan's symptoms is further analyzed in terms of the underlying cultural constraints placed on Muslim women and the tensions inherent in local gender role relations.

Predictors of repeat pregnancies among low-income adolescents

The authors compared a group of 58 adolescent girls who had been pregnant once during a two-year period with an age-matched group of 58 girls who had become pregnant at least twice during the same period. They found that the girls' attitudes toward contraception did not predict contraceptive use. Regular use of contraception was associated with a positive relationship between the girls and their mothers and with the presence of the girls' fathers in the home. The authors suggest that parental support of contraception plays a more important role in preventing repeat pregnancies than does the adolescents' reported attitudes toward contraception.

Coronary interactions between nifedipine and adenosine in the intact dog heart

Coronary vascular interactions between adenosine and the calcium entry blocker, nifedipine were studied in the open-chest, blood-perfused dog heart. Adenosine was administered either as a constant intra-coronary infusion or released endogenously during brief occlusions of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. Nifedipine was administered in therapeutic concentrations as a single i.v. bolus via the femoral vein. Prior to nifedipine treatment, adenosine (1.2 mumol/kg per min) produced a significant (P less than 0.05) 2-3 fold increase in LAD flow. This response was reduced markedly (P less than 0.05) in a dose-dependent manner by nifedipine (6-20 microgram/kg). Following administration of an average dose of 11 microgram/kg nifedipine, adenosine (1.2 mumol/kg per min) failed to elevate LAD flow significantly. Further, reactive hyperemia, produced by releasing a 30-s occlusion of the LAD, was significantly attenuated by these same nifedipine concentrations. The nifedipine-mediated attenuation could be partially overcome by prolonging the period of occlusion (60 s), or by increasing the rate of adenosine infusion. These results could not be accounted for by a nifedipine-mediated alteration of hemodynamics and suggest the possibility of pharmacological competition between adenosine and nifedipine at a vascular smooth muscle receptor.