We have developed a mixed ester of hyaluronan with butyric and retinoic acid (HBR) that acted as a novel cardiogenic/vasculogenic agent in human mesenchymal stem cells isolated from bone marrow, dental pulp, and fetal membranes of term placenta (FMhMSCs). HBR remarkably enhanced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), KDR, and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) gene expression and the secretion of the angiogenic, mitogenic, and antiapoptotic factors VEGF and HGF, priming stem cell differentiation into endothelial cells. HBR also increased the transcription of the cardiac lineage-promoting genes GATA-4 and Nkx-2.5 and the yield of cardiac markerexpressing cells. These responses were notably more pronounced in FMhMSCs. FMhMSC transplantation into infarcted rat hearts was associated with increased capillary density, normalization of left ventricular function, and significant decrease in scar tissue. Transplantation of HBR-preconditioned FMhM-SCs further enhanced capillary density and the yield of human vWF-expressing cells, additionally decreasing the infarct size. Some engrafted, HBR-pretreated FMhMSCs were also positive for connexin 43 and cardiac troponin I. Thus, the beneficial effects of HBR-exposed FMhMSCs may be mediated by a large supply of angiogenic and antiapoptotic factors, and FMhMSC differentiation into vascular cells. These findings may contribute to further development in cell therapy of heart failure.
Cooperation between research communities and software-development teams has led to the creation of novel software. The purpose of this paper is to show an alternative work method based on the usage of ImageJ (http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/), which can be effectively employed in solving common microscopic and ultrastructural image analysis tasks. As an open-source software, ImageJ provides the possibility to work in a free-development/sharing world. Its very "friendly" graphical user interface helps users to manage and edit biomedical images. The on-line material such as handbooks, wikis, and plugins leads users through various functions, giving clues about potential new applications. ImageJ is not only a morphometric analysis software, it is sufficiently flexible to be adapted to the numerous requirements tasked in the laboratories as routine as well as research demands. Examples include area measurements on selectively stained tissue components, cell count and area measurements at single cell level, immunohistochemical antigen quantification, and immunoelectron microscopy gold particle count.
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