CHAOJUN TANG¹, XUE WU¹, LINQI YE^1,2, XIANG XIE¹, GUIXUE WANG^1*

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.3, pp. 97-104, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.097

Abstract Devices for the rotational culture of cells and the study of biological reactions have been widely applied in tissue engineering. However, there are few reports exploring the effects of rotational culture on cell morphology, nitric oxide (NO) production, and cell cycle of the endothelial cells from human umbilical vein on the stent surface. This study focuses on these parameters after the cells are seeded on the stents. Results showed that covering of stents by endothelial cells was improved by rotational culture. NO production decreased within 24 h in both rotational and static culture groups. In More >

MARÍA J. RICO^*1,2, PABLO MATAR^*1,2, O. GRACIELA SCHAROVSKY^1,3

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.2, pp. 91-95, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.091

Abstract We have already shown that IL-10 plays an important role in immunosuppression and metastatic dissemination in the rat B-cell lymphoma L-TACB model. It was suggested that the up-regulation of IL10 production and IL-10 receptor (IL-10R) expression would be part of the transition from primary tumor to metastatic phenotype and that IL-10, besides its immunosuppressive activity, may act as a growth factor for metastatic L-TACB cells. The treatment of L-TACB-bearing rats with a single low-dose cyclophosphamide decreased IL-10 production, reverted immunosuppression and induced the immunologic rejection of tumor metastasis without any effect on primary tumor growth.… More >

HÉRIKA CHAGAS MADUREIRA^1*, TELMA NAIR SANTANA PEREIRA¹, MAURA DA CUNHA², DENISE ESPELLET KLEIN³

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.2, pp. 83-90, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.083

Abstract The success of sexual plant reproduction is directly influenced by specific interactions between the pollen and pistil. Light, fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy techniques were used to evaluate the steps of pollination in sour passion fruit plants (Passiflora edulis Sims). In the compatible interaction, pollen tubes grow through stigma projections towards the ovary. The pollen grain surface was found to be spheroidal and to consist of heteroreticulate exine with six colpi. Furthermore, analysis in vivo of pollenpistil interactions indicated that stigmas of flowers 24 hours before anthesis are unable to discriminate compatible (genetically unrelated) and More >

ANA ROCÍO ROLDÁN PALOMO¹, PEDRO MARTÍN¹, ALEJANDRO REBOLLEDO^1*, NICOLÁS ENRIQUE¹, LUIS E. FLORES², VERÓNICA MILESI¹

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.2, pp. 73-81, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.073

Abstract After depletion of intracellular Ca²⁺ stores the capacitative response triggers an extracellular Ca²⁺ influx through store-operated channels (SOCs) which refills these stores. Our objective was to explore if human umbilical artery smooth muscle presented this response and if it was involved in the mechanism of serotonin- and histamine-induced contractions. Intracellular Ca²⁺ depletion by a Ca²⁺-free extracellular solution followed by Ca²⁺ readdition produced a contraction in artery rings which was inhibited by the blocker of Orai and TRPC channels 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB), suggesting a capacitative response. In presence of 2-APB the magnitude of a second paired contraction by serotonin… More >

ANURADHA SEHRAWAT AND VIJAY KUMAR^*

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.2, pp. 63-71, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.063

Abstract The flower of Butea monosperma (Lam.) (Fabaceae) has been used in traditional Indian medicine in the treatment of many ailments including liver disorders. To understand the pharmacological basis of its beneficial effects, the extracts of dried flowers in water, methanol, butanol, ethyl acetate and acetone were evaluated for free radical scavenging and pro-apoptotic activities in cell cultures (human hepatoma Huh-7 cell line and immortalized AML-12 mouse hepatocytes). Butrin and butein -the active constituents of flower extracts- were used as reference molecules. The levels of cell injury markers like lactate dehydrogenase, glutathione and lipid peroxidation and primary… More >

ADELINA FERREIRA^1,* AND MAHMOUD MEHANNA²

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.2, pp. 57-62, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.057

Abstract The reproductive cycle in anurans may be either continuous or discontinuous. These differences may be connected to seasonal climate changes and/or to anthropic activity. Forty adult male individuals of the Dendropsophus minutus species were collected during one year, in the municipality of Chapada dos Guimarães (Mato Grosso, Brazil). The testicles were studied under light and transmission electron microscopy. No variations were observed when the diameter of the seminiferous tubules and the thickness of the interstitial tissue were studied. However, changes in spermatogenesis were conspicuous and indicated that the reproductive cycle of D. minutus in Chapada dos Guimarães More >

ISRAEL A. VEGA^*1,2, FEDERICO A. DELLAGNOLA¹, JORGE A. HURST³, MARTÍN S. GODOY¹ AND ALFREDO CASTRO-VAZQUEZ^1,2

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.2, pp. 47-55, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.047

Abstract Pigments present in the brown-greenish C morph of an intracellular endosymbiont of Pomacea canaliculata were investigated. Acetone extracts of the endosymbiotic corpuscles showed an absorption spectrum similar to that of chlorophylls. Three fractions obtained from silica gel column chromatography of the acetone extracts (C_I , C_II and C_III ), were studied by positive ion fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry (FAB–MS) and hydrogen-nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR). Results indicated the presence of (1) a sterol in the yellow colored C_I fraction; (2) a mixture of pheophorbides a and b in the major green fraction, C_II; and (3) a modified pheophorbide a in the More >

RANA IMANI¹, SHAHRIAR HOJJATI EMAMI¹, HOSSEIN FAKHRZADEH², NAFISEH BAHEIRAEI¹, ALI M SHARIFI^{* 2,3,4}

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.1, pp. 37-45, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.037

Abstract The ultimate goal of tissue engineering is to design and fabricate functional human tissues that are similar to natural cells and are capable of regeneration. Preparation of cell aggregates is one of the important steps in 3D tissue engineering technology, particularly in organ printing. Two simple methods, hanging drop (HD) and conical tube (CT) were utilized to prepare cell aggregates. The size and viability of the aggregates obtained at different initial cell densities and pre-culture duration were compared. The proliferative ability of the cell aggregates and their ability to spread in culture plates were also… More >

MAURO RODRIGO SURENCISKI^*, EDUARDO ALBERTO FLACHSLAND, GRACIELA TERADA, LUIS AMADO MROGINSKI, HEBE YOLANDA REY

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.1, pp. 31-36, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.031

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficiency of the encapsulation-dehydration technique for cryopreservation of Cyrtopodium hastchbachii Pabst seeds. Immature seeds of this species were cryopreserved by an encapsulation-dehydration technique. Seeds of five immature pods, 120 days after pollination, were encapsulated in 3% calcium alginate matrix and pretreated in liquid medium supplemented with 0.08 M sucrose (24 h), 0.15 M sucrose (24 h), 0.25 M sucrose (48 h), 0.5 M sucrose (24 h) and 0.75 M sucrose (24 h) in shaker at 60 rpm. Alginate beads were dehydrated 5 h in silicagel and More >

ORLANDO J. CASTEJÓN^*

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.1, pp. 1-29, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.001

Abstract The Purkinje cell and their synaptic contacts have been described using (1) light microsocopy, (2) transmission and scanning electron microscopy, and freeze etching technique, (3) conventional and field emission scanning electron microscopy and cryofracture methods, (4) confocal laser scanning microscopy using intravital stain FM64, and (5) immunocytochemical techniques for Synapsin-I, PSD9-5, GluR1 subunit of AMPA receptors, N-cadherin, and CamKII alpha. The outer surface and inner content of plasma membrane, cell organelles, cytoskeleton, nucleus, dendritic and axonal processes have been exposed and analyzed in a three-dimensional view. The intramembrane morphology, in bi- and three-dimensional views, and More >