To overcome loss of stem-like properties and spontaneous differentiation those hinder the expansion and application of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), we have clonally isolated permanent and stable human MSC lines by ectopic overexpression of primary cell cultures of hMSCs with HPV 16 E6E7 and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) genes. These cells were found to have a differentiation potential far beyond the ordinary hMSCs. They expressed trophoectoderm and germline specific markers upon differentiation with BMP4 and retinoic acid, respectively. Furthermore, they displayed higher osteogenic and neural differentiation efficiency than primary hMSCs or hMSCs expressed HPV16 E6E7 alone with a decrease in methylation level as proven by a global CpG island methylation profile analysis. Notably, the demethylated CpG islands were highly associated with development and differentiation associated genes. Principal component analysis further pointed out the expression profile of the cells converged toward embryonic stem cells. These data demonstrate these cells not only are a useful tool for the studies of cell differentiation both for the mesenchymal and neurogenic lineages, but also provide a valuable source of cells for cell therapy studies in animal models of skeletal and neurological disorders.

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We have probed under high pressure the C-H hydrogen bonds formed by N,N(')-disubstituted imidazolium ions having PF(6) (-) and Br(-) counterions. High-pressure infrared spectral profiles, x-ray crystallographic analysis, and ab initio calculations allow us to make a vibrational assignment of these compounds. The appearance of a signal for the free-NH unit (or weakly bonded N-H...F unit) in the infrared spectrum of the PF(6) (-) salt indicates that conventional N-H...O and N-H...N hydrogen bonds do not fully dominate the packing. It is likely that the charge-enhanced C(2)-H...F interactions, combined with other weak hydrogen bonds, disturb the formation of N-H hydrogen bonds in the PF(6) (-) salt. This finding is consistent with the pressure-dependent results, which reveal that the C(2)-H...F interaction is enhanced upon increasing the pressure. In contrast to the PF(6) (-) salt, the imidazolium C-H bonds of the Br(-) salt have low sensitivity to high pressure. This finding suggests that the hydrogen bonding patterns are determined by the relative hydrogen bond acceptor strengths of the Br(-) and PF(6) (-) ions.

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