Molecular dioxygen, O(2), is an important element in cellular microenvironment in vivo, and often overlooked in standard in vitro and ex vivo cell culture systems. Molecular oxygen is the ultimate electron acceptor in oxidative cellular respiration, and also a signal that regulates cell fate through concentration gradients. Recent advances in physiology of oxygen and adult stem cell research have shown that apart from being important for oxidative phosphorylation, thus energy metabolism, oxygen is also important as a signaling molecule and an integral part of the stem cell niche. This review article covers the influence of physiologically relevant oxygen levels on adult stem cells through highlighting the research on the effect of oxygen concentration on hematopoietic stem cell maintenance, proliferation and differentiation. This is important particularly to understand the embryonic and adult stem cell biology and physiology. The new discoveries in this field will help to further improve current tissue engineering and clinical applications. In addition, understanding the relationship between oxygen and stemness is invaluable for the advanced treatments of neoplastic diseases. Authors believe that in the future, active and programmed dynamic of oxygen levels will be routinely used for the programmed in vitro and ex vivo expansion of different adult stem cell types and tissue regeneration purposes.

The POU5F1 gene codes for the OCT4 transcription factor, which is one of the key regulators of pluripotency. Its transcription, alternative splicing, and alternative translation leading to the synthesis of the active, nuclear localized OCT4A has been described in detail. Much less, however, is known about actively transcribed OCT4 pseudogenes, several of which display high homology to OCT4A and can be expressed and translated into proteins. Using RT-PCR followed by pseudogene-specific restriction digestion, cloning, and sequencing we discriminate between OCT4A and transcripts for pseudogenes 1, 3 and 4. We show that expression of OCT4 and its pseudogenes follows a developmentally-regulated pattern in differentiating hESCs, indicating a tight regulatory relationship between them. We further demonstrate that differentiated human cells from a variety of tissues express exclusively pseudogenes. Expression of OCT4A can, however be triggered in adult differentiated cells by oxygen and FGF2-dependent mechanisms.

Our data show that KRT7 mRNA expression measured by RT-qPCR serves as a sensitive approach for the molecular detection of KRT7-positive CTC-resembling A549 cells in peripheral whole blood. The KRT7 mRNA levels measured were not significantly associated with the response to chemotherapy or the survival of patients with advanced lung AC. Additional studies are required to establish the possible clinical significance of KRT7 mRNA expression in whole blood after chemotherapy.

Immunocytochemistry is a powerful tool for detection and visualization of specific molecules in living or fixed cells, their localization and their relative abundance. One of the most commonly used fluorescent DNA dyes in immunocytochemistry applications is 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride, known as DAPI. DAPI binds strongly to DNA and is used extensively for visualizing cell nuclei. It is excited by UV light and emits characteristic blue fluorescence. Here, we report a phenomenon based on an apparent photoconversion of DAPI that results in detection of a DAPI signal using a standard filter set for detection of green emission due to blue excitation. When a sample stained with DAPI only was first imaged with the green filter set (FITC/GFP), only a weak cytoplasmic autofluorescence was observed. Next, we imaged the sample with a DAPI filter set, obtaining a strong nuclear DAPI signal as expected. Upon reimaging the same samples with a FITC/GFP filter set, robust nuclear fluorescence was observed. We conclude that excitation with UV results in a photoconversion of DAPI that leads to detection of DAPI due to excitation and emission in the FITC/GFP channel. This phenomenon can affect data interpretation and lead to false-positive results when used together with fluorochrome-labeled nuclear proteins detected with blue excitation and green emission. In order to avoid misinterpretations, extra precaution should be taken to prepare staining solutions with low DAPI concentration and DAPI (UV excitation) images should be acquired after all other higher wavelength images. Of various DNA dyes tested, Hoechst 33342 exhibited the lowest photoconversion while that for DAPI and Hoechst 33258 was much stronger. Different fixation methods did not substantially affect the strength of photoconversion. We also suggest avoiding the use of mounting medium with high glycerol concentrations since glycerol showed the strongest impact on photoconversion. This photoconversion effect cannot be avoided even when using narrow bandpass filter sets.

Experimental murine models are an essential tool in the field of bone marrow (BM) transplantation research. Therefore, numerous mice are required to obtain a sufficient number of BM cells, which is in contrast with the Reduction principle of the 3R principles. The selection of the cell source and the isolation protocol are therefore critical in obtaining a sufficient yield of cells for experiments. Nowadays, the vertebrae are already used as an extra source of BM cells to enrich the number of isolated cells from the long bones and ilia (LBI), when needed. Yet, little is known if BM cells from LBI and vertebrae share the same characteristics and can be pooled together for further analysis. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to compare the quantity and characteristics of haematopoietic and stromal cell lines in the BM from the LBI and vertebrae. To count haematopoietic and mesenchymal stem/stromal progenitors, colony-forming unit assays were performed. To determine the expansion capacity of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs), cultivation of MSCs and measurement of the expression of surface markers by flow cytometry was performed. The characterisation and enumeration of immune cell populations was also performed by flow cytometry. Here, we show that the vertebrae are a comparable source of BM cells to the LBI regarding the analysed parameters.

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Background The association of the ABO blood group with COVID‐19 disease has been confirmed by several studies, with the blood group A patients being more susceptible and prone to a more severe clinical course of the disease. Additionally, several authors also addressed the association of ABO‐types and the levels of anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 antibodies in convalescents, mostly supporting a theory that the non‐O blood group convalescents present with higher levels of anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 antibodies. Study Design and Methods Since previous findings were based on small convalescent cohorts, we quantified the anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 antibody levels in a total of 3187 convalescent plasma donors with three commercial serological and one standard neutralizing antibody test. The majority of donors had undergone a mild form of the disease and the median time of sampling was 66 days after diagnosis. Results None of the antibody quantitation results showed any significant association with the ABO blood group types. The same result was evident in the subgroup of vaccinated individuals (n = 370) and the subgroups when stratified according to post‐COVID‐19 periods (0–60, 60–120, and 120–180 days). Conclusion In conclusion, we found no evidence to confirm that the ABO blood group types influence the level of SARS‐CoV‐2 antibody response in COVID‐19 convalescent plasma donors.

The aging of multicellular organisms is a complex process, which is a result of various mutually complementary causes. One of these causes is the aging of stem cells. The biological function of stem cells is the replacement of cells that are lost due to illness, injury or normal fluctuations in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Molecular mechanisms involved in stem cell aging are similar to those involved in the aging of somatic cells. They include DNA damage and mutations, cell senescence, stem cell exhaustion, telomere shortening, epigenetic changes (alterations of histones and DNA and the consequent dysregulation of gene expression), changes in microRNAs, changes in metabolism, nutrient sensing, decline in mitochondrial integrity and biogenesis, alterations in microenvironment, accumulation of paracrine factors, and loss of cell polarity and proteostasis. Stem cells have developed special mechanisms that compensate for age-related accumulations of errors and they manage to maintain their stemness for a long time, however, they are able to keep cells in a good condition only for a limited period. This article describes the various mechanisms of stem cell aging and their consequences.