Glycosyltransferase and sulfotransferase activities in chick corneal stromal cells before and after in vitro culture

We have characterized a DNA binding protein (DBNP-B) from the thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius with respect to its interaction with single and double stranded DNA. The protein in solution exists predominantly as dimer as indicated by cross linking studies. Binding of DBNP-B to etheno DNA and poly (dA) resulted in fluorescence enhancement and hyperchromicity respectively. Ethidium bromide intercalated into DNA was completely displaced by DBNP-B. DNase I digestion of dsDNA was increased at subsaturating concentration of the protein and was inhibited at higher concentrations. These results and electron microscopy indicate that the protein forms different types of novel complexes with DNA at different protein to DNA ratios.     

Capability of Human Dendritic Cells Pulsed with Autologous Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lysate to Induce Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes against HLA-A33-Matched Cancer Cells

Irradiated murine induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) elicit the antitumor response in vivo. However, it is unclear whether human iPSCs would elicit antitumor effects. In the present study, we investigated the capability of human iPSC lysate (iPSL)-pulsed dendritic cells (DCs) (iPSL/DCs) to induce cancer-responsive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in vitro. iPSCs and DCs were induced from peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A33 homozygous donor. The iPSL was pulsed with immature DCs, which were then stimulated to allow full maturation. The activated DCs were co-cultured with autologous CTLs and their responses to SW48 colorectal carcinoma cells (HLA-A32/A33), T47D breast cancer cells (HLA-A33/A33), and T98G glioblastoma cells (HLA-A02/A02) were tested with enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays. Comprehensive gene expression analysis revealed that the established iPSCs shared numerous tumor-associated antigens with the SW48 and T47D cells. Immunofluorescent analysis demonstrated that the fluorescent-labeled iPSL was captured by the immature DCs within 2 h. iPSL/DCs induced sufficient CTL numbers in 3 weeks for ELISPOT assays, which revealed that the induced CTLs responded to SW48 and T47D cells. Human iPSL/DCs induced cancer-responsive CTLs on HLA-A33-matched cancer cells in vitro and could be a promising universal cancer vaccine for treating and preventing cancer.     

Bio-Inspired Adhesive with Reset-On Demand,Reuse-Many (RORM) Modes

Development of tough, reusable adhesives is important, but remains a major challenge, especially in water. A tough reusable adhesive that resets entirely to its virgin condition when needed is reported using caffeic acid. Here, caffeic acid is employed as adhesive moiety to achieve such the functions due to its dual characteristics: an adhesive moiety from mussel-inspired catechol and a photo-reversible crosslink from cinnamic acid. Adhesion involves a two-step process. First, the caffeic acid-functionalized polymer is applied to the adherend, followed by UV irradiation (peak wavelength of light-emitting diode, λ_P: 365 nm) to form a durable pre-applied adhesive (PAA) layer through crosslinking among the caffeic acid moieties. Second, thermal activation of the PAA layer ensures repeated adhesion to a variety of adherends ( R euse- M any mode). The cyclic dimer of the caffeic acid moiety is de-crosslinked by UV irradiation at λ_P: 254 nm. This allows the complete removal of the adhesive residues from the adherends when the adhesive is no longer needed ( R eset- O n demand mode). Furthermore, using magnetic nanoparticles, the caffeic acid-functionalized polymer can be activated remotely under water by magnetic induction heating. This study paves the way for the rational design of bio-inspired adhesives that outperform nature using plant-derived raw materials.