scholarly journals MicroRNAs from the Planarian Schmidtea mediterranea: A model system for stem cell biology

RNA ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1640-1649 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Palakodeti
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Model System ◽  
Stem Cell Biology ◽  
Schmidtea Mediterranea

scholarly journals Live imaging of intracellular pH in planarians using the ratiometric fluorescent dye SNARF-5F-AM

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Scott Beane ◽  
Dany Spencer Adams ◽  
Junji Morokuma ◽  
Michael Levin
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Cell Activity ◽  
Tissue Level ◽  
Model System ◽  
Resting Potential ◽  
Stem Cell Biology ◽  
Ph Gradients ◽  
Fluorescent Reporter

Abstract Physiological parameters such as resting potential and pH are increasingly recognized as important regulators of cell activity and tissue-level events in regeneration, development, and cancer. The availability of fluorescent reporter dyes has greatly increased the ability to track these properties in vivo. The planarian flatworm is an important and highly tractable model system for regeneration, stem cell biology, and neuroscience; however, no protocols have been published for investigating pH in this system. Here, we report a simple and effective protocol for imaging pH gradients in living planaria suitable for intact and regenerating flatworms.

scholarly journals A Novel Taxon of Monosegmented Double-Stranded RNA Viruses Endemic to Triclad Flatworms

2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey T. A. Burrows ◽  
Delphine Depierreux ◽  
Max L. Nibert ◽  
Bret J. Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Tissue Regeneration ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Stem Cell Biology ◽  
Schmidtea Mediterranea ◽  
Pathogenic Potential ◽  
Double Stranded Rna ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Host System ◽  
Dsrna Viruses

ABSTRACT Freshwater planarians, flatworms from order Tricladida, are experimental models of stem cell biology and tissue regeneration. An aspect of their biology that remains less well studied is their relationship with viruses that may infect them. In this study, we identified a taxon of monosegmented double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses in five planarian species, including the well-characterized model Schmidtea mediterranea. Sequences for the S. mediterranea virus (abbreviated SmedTV for S. mediterranea tricladivirus) were found in public transcriptome data from multiple institutions, indicating that SmedTV is prevalent in S. mediterranea lab colonies, though without causing evident disease. The presence of SmedTV in discrete cells was shown through in situ hybridization methods for detecting the viral RNA. SmedTV-staining cells were found to be concentrated in neural structures (eyes and brain) but were also scattered in other worm tissues as well. In contrast, few SmedTV-staining cells were seen in stem cell compartments (also consistent with RNA sequencing data) or early blastema tissue. RNA interference (RNAi) targeted to the SmedTV sequence led to apparent cure of infection, though effects on worm health or behavior were not observed. Efforts to transmit SmedTV horizontally through microinjection were unsuccessful. Based on these findings, we conclude that SmedTV infects S. mediterranea in a persistent manner and undergoes vertical transmission to progeny worms during serial passage in lab colonies. The utility of S. mediterranea as a regeneration model, coupled with the apparent capacity of SmedTV to evade normal host immune/RNAi defenses under standard conditions, argues that further studies are warranted to explore this newly recognized virus-host system. IMPORTANCE Planarians are freshwater flatworms, related more distantly to tapeworms and flukes, and have been developed as models to study the molecular mechanisms of stem cell biology and tissue regeneration. These worms live in aquatic environments, where they are likely to encounter a variety of viruses, bacteria, and eukaryotic organisms with pathogenic potential. How the planarian immune system has evolved to cope with these potential pathogens is not well understood, and only two types of planarian viruses have been described to date. Here, we report discovery and inaugural studies of a novel taxon of dsRNA viruses in five different planarian species. The virus in the best-characterized model species, Schmidtea mediterranea, appears to persist long term in that host while avoiding endogenous antiviral or RNAi mechanisms. The S. mediterranea virus-host system thus seems to offer opportunity for gaining new insights into host defenses and their evolution in an important lab model.

scholarly journals The Earthworm Eudrilus Eugeniae: a Model Organism for Regenerative Biology

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Sudhakar Sivasubramaniam ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Model System ◽  
Stem Cell Biology ◽  
Eudrilus Eugeniae

The earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae is an economical model system for cell and molecular biological experiments to study regeneration and stem cell biology. The purpose of this brief review is to summarize those published studies on the regeneration biology using E. eugenia and to provide the advantages of the model system.

scholarly journals Physical Exercise and Cardiac Repair: The Potential Role of Nitric Oxide in Boosting Stem Cell Regenerative Biology

Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1002
Author(s):  
Fabiola Marino ◽  
Mariangela Scalise ◽  
Eleonora Cianflone ◽  
Luca Salerno ◽  
Donato Cappetta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Heart Function ◽  
Stem Cell Biology ◽  
Myocardial Repair ◽  
Beneficial Effects

Over the years strong evidence has been accumulated showing that aerobic physical exercise exerts beneficial effects on the prevention and reduction of cardiovascular risk. Exercise in healthy subjects fosters physiological remodeling of the adult heart. Concurrently, physical training can significantly slow-down or even reverse the maladaptive pathologic cardiac remodeling in cardiac diseases, improving heart function. The underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of the beneficial effects of physical exercise on the heart are still a subject of intensive study. Aerobic activity increases cardiovascular nitric oxide (NO) released mainly through nitric oxidase synthase 3 activity, promoting endothelium-dependent vasodilation, reducing vascular resistance, and lowering blood pressure. On the reverse, an imbalance between increasing free radical production and decreased NO generation characterizes pathologic remodeling, which has been termed the “nitroso-redox imbalance”. Besides these classical evidence on the role of NO in cardiac physiology and pathology, accumulating data show that NO regulate different aspects of stem cell biology, including survival, proliferation, migration, differentiation, and secretion of pro-regenerative factors. Concurrently, it has been shown that physical exercise generates physiological remodeling while antagonizes pathologic remodeling also by fostering cardiac regeneration, including new cardiomyocyte formation. This review is therefore focused on the possible link between physical exercise, NO, and stem cell biology in the cardiac regenerative/reparative response to physiological or pathological load. Cellular and molecular mechanisms that generate an exercise-induced cardioprotective phenotype are discussed in regards with myocardial repair and regeneration. Aerobic training can benefit cells implicated in cardiovascular homeostasis and response to damage by NO-mediated pathways that protect stem cells in the hostile environment, enhance their activation and differentiation and, in turn, translate to more efficient myocardial tissue regeneration. Moreover, stem cell preconditioning by and/or local potentiation of NO signaling can be envisioned as promising approaches to improve the post-transplantation stem cell survival and the efficacy of cardiac stem cell therapy.

scholarly journals Challenges for Computational Stem Cell Biology: A Discussion for the Field

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Owen Rackham ◽  
Patrick Cahan ◽  
Nancy Mah ◽  
Samantha Morris ◽  
John F. Ouyang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Stem Cell Biology
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