Characterization of MM-derived MSCs
Thursday 16 April 2009
Project
Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) are a rare population of self-renewing stem cells that can be isolated from various tissues e.g. bone marrow, umbilical cord blood or adipose tissue. MSC can differentiate into mesodermal derived tissues including bone, cartilage, stromal cells, tendon and connective tissue. MM cells have shown to induce bone resorption by the osteoclasts, as well as inhibit bone formation by the osteoblasts, resulting in the characteristic osteolytic lesions in MM. In this project we want to characterize the MSCs derived from MM patients. To do so, we will compare MSCs obtained from healthy donors with MM-derived MSCs and analyze them both phenotypically (CD marker profile, cytokine secretion) and functionally for their capability to differentiate into multiple lineages (adipocyte, osteoblast, chondrocyte). Finally, we would like to quantify the bone forming capacity in vivo, by subcutaneous implantation of scaffolds seeded with MM-derived MSCs and compare this to the bone forming capacity of MSCs obtained from healthy donors.
Techniques
Cell culture, FACS analysis/sorting, viral gene marking, molecular imaging (BLI-Fluor) in animal experiments (optional), luciferase assay, liposome production, MSC expansion/differentiation, immuno-histochemistry
Duration
6 or 9 months
Contact
Dr Anton Martens, a.martens@umcutrecht.nl, 088 75 540 09
Dr Kristin Denzer, k.denzer@umcutrecht.nl, 088 75 576 73
More info
UMC Utrecht - dept. of Immunology
back