Molecular Biomimetics-III: Workshop Schedule:

Wednesday, Sept. 10
12:00-02:30 Arriva/ and Registration

02:30-03:15 Candan Tamerler, Molecular Biology and Geneties, Istanbul Technical Univ., Istanbul, Turkey, and GEMSEC, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA
03:15-04:00 John Spencer Evans, Chemistry, New York Univ., New York, NY
04:00-04:45 Tiffany Walsh, Chemistry, University of Warwick, Warwick, UK
04:45-05:30 Ersin Emre Oren, GEMSEC, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA

06:30-07:00 Dinner
07:30-08:30 Sunset at Lime Ki/n Lighthouse

08:30-09:15 Rick Wagner,

Thursday, Sept. 11
07:30-09:30 Breakfast and Registration

09:30-10:15 Mehmet Sarikaya, GEMSEC, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA
10:15-10:30 CoffeelTeaBreak
10:30-11:00 Christine Luscombe, GEMSEC, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA 1
1 :00-11 :30 Alex Jen, GEMSEC, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA

11:30-01:30 Lunch and Posters

01:30-02:15 Francois Baneyx, Chem. Eng., MSE, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA
02: 15-03:00 Beth Traxler, Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
03:00-03:45 Thom LaBean, Computer Science and Engineering, Duke University, RTP, NC

03:45-04:00 Coffeeffea Break

04:00-04:30 Anne Lazarides,
04:30-05:00 Joel Schneider,
05:00-05:30 Aysel Yurtsever,

05:30-06:30 Posters
06:30-07:30 Dinner
07:30-08:30 Sunset at Catt/e Point

08:30-09:15 Eric Ackerman,
Friday, Sept. 12
07:30-08:30 Breakfast
08:30-09: 15 Paul Ahrens,
09:15-10:00 Kemal Sonmez, Computational Biology, Stanford Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA

10:00-12:00 Posters
12:00-01:00 C/osing, Lunch, & Departure

DIFFERENTIATION OF UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD DERIVED MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS INTO ADIPOCYTES, OSTEOBLASTS AND FIBROBLASTS
Aysel Yurtsever, Şule Özdaş, Firuze Başar
ONKİM Stem Cell Tech. Ltd. Istanbul Technical University, İstanbul, Türkiye

aysel@onkim.com.tr
www.onkim.com.tr

Abstract
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are pluripotent progenitor cells with the ability to generate cartilage, bone, muscle, tendon, ligament and fat. The differentiation of these cells to a specific and distinctive phenotypic pathway involves discrete cellular transitions. MSCshave nowbeen isolated both bone marrow and many other tissue sources, including adipose tissue, synovial membrane, skeletal muscle, dermis, pericytes, trabecular bone, human umbilical cord, lung, dental pulp, amniotic fluid, fetal liver, and even peripheral blood, suggesting that MSCs are diversely distributed in vivo. In our differentiation studies, we used MSCs obtained allogenic umbilical cord blood. We differentiated MSCs into adipocytes, osteoblasts and fibroblasts in culture flasks (Fig 1).
Since MSCs posses a high degree of phenotypic plasticity, their function may be highly dependent upon the topology and the molecular structure of the substrates, presence of adhesion molecules at the cell surface and the consequent transmembrane transduction of contact induced signals. Recent studies shown that the nature of the surface can directly influence MSCs differentiation.
In order to construct complex cellular systems in the cell based engineering applications these biomimeticly processed surfaces should be used. Later in our study we are planning to use specifically designed surfaces (specific peptides, growth factors or cellular markers such as osteopontin, alkaline phosphatase linked) to differentiate MSCs into osteoblasts, fibroblasts and adipocytes.

References
1. Dov Zipori. Blood Cells, Molecules, and Diseases (33) 211 –215 (2004)
2. Ye Chen, Jian-Zhong Shao, Li-Xin Xiang, Xue-Jun Dongb, Guo-Rong Zhang The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology (40) 815–820 (2008)
3. D. Zahor, A. Radko, R. Vago, L.A. Gheber Materials Science and Engineering C (27)117–121 (2007)
4. Fackson Mwale, Hong Tian Wang, Valentin Nelea, Li Luo, John Antoniou, Michael R. Wertheimer. Biomaterials (27) 2258–2264 (2006)
 

THE BEHAVIOR OF DENDRITIC CELLS INTRODUCED TO CANCER CELLS

Ayfer Haydaroglu*, Aysel Yurtsever**, Firuze Başar**, Şule Özdaş**
*Cancer Research Center, Fac. Of Medicine, Ege Unv. İzmir, Turkiye
**ONKİM Stem Cell Tech. Istanbul Technical Unv. İstanbul, Turkiye

haydarogluayfer@gmail.com

Abstract
Dendritic cells (DCs) guard the sites of pathogen entry to the host and are uniquely suited to detect and capture invading organisms. They play a critical role in shaping the emerging and therefore controlling the course of infection. DCs originate the bone marrow and they are the major antigen-presenting and antigen priming cells of the immune system. They are found in the peripheral blood as immature DCs. After they are stimulated in the circulating blood, they mature and migrate to the lymphoid tissues; then they interact with T and B lymphocytes. Over about the last decade, there have been a variety of early clinical studies of DC vaccines. There are many variables in the generation of such vaccines. These vaccines have undergone preliminary testing in patients with a variety of tumors, using a variety of vaccination approaches. Many different antigens have been investigated as possible DC immunogens. These may be classified as defined and undefined preparations, respectively specific protein antigens, specific cDNAs encoding target antigens and whole tumor cells, tumor cell lysates, eluates of HLA peptides surface of tumor cells. The clinical studies have been conducted to date, using various tumor types such as malignant melanomas, hematologic malignancies, prostate cancer, gastrointestinal malignancies, brain tumors, non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer. In this study we treated the DCs in the culture with lung cancer tumor cells. Microscopic observation(x60) revealed that cancer cells were phagocyted by the DCs. This is a preliminary study for DC vaccination in cancer therapy. In the development of cancer vaccines whole tumor cells should be fused with DCs using biomimetic materials.

References
1. Lee D. Cranmer, Katrina T. Trevor, Evan M. Hersh. Cancer Immunol Immunother 53:275–306 (2004)
2. Myrto Trakatelli et al. Cancer Immunol Immunother 55:469–474 (2006)
3. Ray Wilkinson et al. The Prostate 66:180-192 (2006)

The research is supported and performed in ONKİM Stem Cell Tech. GMP Laboratories.