Heart cell cultures

Rohr S Determination of impulse conduction characteristics at a microscopic scale in patterned growth heart cell cultures using multiple site optical recording of transmembrane voltage. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 1995 6 551-568. 

Table IX. Percent Pyknotic Cells in Heart Cell Cultures...

Ribot, E., Grandgirard, A., Sebedio, J.-L. et al (1992) Incorporation of cyclic fatty acid monomers in lipids of rat heart cell cultures. Lipids, 27 (1), 79-81. 

Fast, V. G. Kleber, A. G. Anisotropic conduction in monolayers of neonatal rat heart cells cultured on collagen substrate. Circ. Res. 1994, 75, 591-595. 

Cellular therapies in transplantation and cancer are based on specific cells separated or sorted from human blood, bone marrow, or cord blood by means of their specific cell surface markers or cell differentiation antigens, e.g., CD3, CD4, CD8, CD 14, CD 19, and CD34. For example, the CD34+ stem cells, especially those derived from human embryos, have the capacity to differentiate in culture to generate different somatic cells, e.g., liver cells, heart cells, neurons, etc. This exploding field of research is now termed regenerative medicine. 

Shasby DM, SS Shasby. (1990). Endothelial cells grown on filter membranes. In HM Piper, ed. Cell Culture Techniques in Heart and Vessel Research. Stuttgart Springer-Verlag, pp 212-219. 

Peruvoside (Fig. 4) is one of the major terpenoids produced by Thevetia peruviana, a small tree commonly used as an ornamental plant. As a cardiac glucoside, this natural product has been used to treat heart failure patients who are allergic to the commercial drug digoxin. Success in obtaining peruvoside from T peruviana was recently reported. Production of approximately 9.0 mg of peruvoside/L was achieved by elicitation of cell cultures with 100-mg/L methyl jasmonate. ... 

Many studies have been performed in order to compare the mode of action, and retention kinetics in the myocardium, and the way of excretion of these different cationic species for both cell cultures, as well as in whole heart preparations. Even Tc NMR spectroscopy has been used to characterize in vivo the nature of the compounds for sestamibi (see Section 5.2.2.10.1). A recent comparative kinetic study between the different cations can be taken as a base for the clinical interpretation of the different perfusion imaging findings. ... 

Along with the production of insulin, many other medical uses have been achieved for recombinant DNA. This includes the production of erythropoetin, a hormone used to stimulate production of red blood cells in anemic people tissue plasminogen activator, an enzyme that dissolves blood clots in heart attack victims and antihemophilic human factor VIII, used to prevent and control bleeding for hemophiliacs. These three important genetically engineered proteins were all cloned in hamster cell cultures. 

Beside this dermatoxic activity pederin (147) has various biological activities (92). When administered in appropriate doses to partially hepatectomized rats, this compound stimulates development of hepatic tissues. The inhibitory effect at the cellular level has been found in chicken heart fibroblast cultures, and mice embryo, dog kidney, HeLa, and KB cell lines. In plants, root growth of Lupinus albus is inhibited and mitosis in Allium cepa blocked at the metaphasic stage. Also, pederin (147) inhibits protein synthesis and growth of yeast cells. In addition, the treatment of rat ascites sarcoma with purified extracts of P. fuscipes produces almost complete regression. 

Tunicamycin and 2-deoxy-D-arahino-hexose interfere with the expression of lipase (glycerol-ester hydrolase, EC 3.1.1.3) in cultured, mesenchymal rat-heart cells. The causes of inhibition were not inves-... 

In addition, myocytes and fibroblasts can form functional gap junction channels [Goshima, 1970] which has been experimentally investigated in gap junctions formed from both cells cultured from neonatal rat hearts [Rook et al., 1989]. It was found that the conductance between myocytes was in the order of 43 pS, between fibroblasts about 22 pS and between myocytes and fibroblasts in the range of 29 pS, indicating that a heterojunction may exist between both cell lines. Such heterojunctions are presently one of the main interests in gap junction research, since many physiological phenomena regarding crosstalk between various tissues and developmental phenomena may be involved. 

Many experiments on gap junctions have been carried out using the neonatal rat heart cells. Thus, the procedure of isolating and culturing these cells (as used in the author s laboratory) will be discussed below. 

Cultured embryonic chick heart cells often form coupled cell pairs or aggregates which may be studied using the double-cell voltage-clamp technique. In the following an isolation and culture protocol is given as used in the author s laboratory. Besides this, other protocols may also suit. 

Bastide B, Herve JC, Cronier L, Deleze J Rapid onset and calcium independence of the gap junction uncoupling induced by heptanol in cultured heart cells. Pfliiger s Arch 1995 429 386-393. 

Fast VG, Kleber AG Microscopic conduction in cultured strands of neonatal rat heart cells measured with voltage sensitive dyes. Circ Res 1993 73 914-925. 

Murphy E, Freudenreich CC, Levy LA, London RE, Liebermann M Monitoring cytosolic free magnesium in cultured chicken heart cells by use of the fluorescent indicator furaptra. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA... 

Piper HM (ed) Cell Culture Techniques in Heart and Vessel Research. Berlin, Springer, 1990. 

The restriction enzymes and hybridomas enabled new types of pharmaceutical products The developments associated with restriction enzymes (facilitate genetic engineering) and hybridomas (produce monoclonal antibodies) opened up vistas for a new range of potential products. Isolated from humans directly, these can now be produced in microorganisms or cell culture, and be used in large concentrations to enhance the body s ability to fight heart disease, cancer, and viral infections against which most antibiotics have little or no effect. 

Homocysteine decreases the bioavailability of nitrous oxide (NO) via a mechanism involving glutathione peroxidase (37). Tawakol et al. (38) reported that hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation in humans. Homocysteine impairs the NO synthase pathway both in cell culture (39) and in monkeys with hyperhomocysteinemia, by increasing the levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous NO synthase inhibitor (40). Elevation of ADMA may mediate endothelial dysfunction during experimental hyperhomocysteinemia in humans (41). However, Jonasson et al. (42) did not find increased ADMA levels in patients with coronary heart disease and hyperhomocysteinemia, nor did vitamin supplementation have any effect on ADMA levels in spite of substantial plasma tHcy reduction,... 

Her research interests originally focused on biological cell membranes, first working on phosphate transport in Escherichia coli and then the plasma membrane proton ATPase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. While isolating vanadate-resistant mutants in yeast, she became fascinated with work showing that oral administration of vanadium salts alleviated symptoms of diabetes and switched her research focus to that area. She has pursued the insulin-enhancing mechanism of vanadium salts and complexes in cell culture, the STZ-induced diabetic rat, and human type 2 diabetic patients. The National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association have funded the work in her laboratory. Willsky has lectured all around the world and published both research articles and book chapters in this area. 

Tests can be made more specific. For example, the effect of a chemical on the beating of cultured heart cells can be monitored by the induction of arrhythmia. The use of cultured kidney tubule cells not only allows assessment of toxicity but enables studies to be performed of the effect of a chemical on membrane transport (Dogani, 1984). 

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