Thin slices of teleost retina continue to grow in culture

Thin slices of differentiated fish retinas were maintained up to 5 days in culture conditions where they exhibited properties essentially identical to those found in retinas of intact animals. Retinal slices were prepared by embedding eyecups from young fish in agarose and sectioning them on a vibratome. Phenotypic integrity of specific cell types was maintained, as demonstrated by specific antibody staining patterns. Stem cells in the retinal margin and presumptive rod progenitor cells in the outer nuclear layer continued to proliferate in vitro, just as they do in vivo. Some of these cells differentiated in vitro as demonstrated by labelling both cell division and cell phenotype. After several days in culture, some regeneration-like responses were observed, such as growth of neurites and swelling of cell bodies in the ganglion cell layer. This retinal slice preparation appears to offer a unique opportunity for studying the interactions among developing retinal cells.     

The genetic and epigenetic basis of ependymoma

Introduction  

Although ependymoma is the third most common pediatric brain tumor, we know little about the genetic/epigenetic basis of its initiation, maintenance, or progression. This is due in part to the heterogeneity of the disease, as well as the small sample size of the cohorts analyzed in most studies.     

Dose Escalated External Beam Radiotherapy versus Neoadjuvant Androgen Deprivation Therapy and Conventional Dose External Beam Radiotherapy for Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer: Do we Need Both?

Strahlentherapie und Onkologie - Several randomized trials have demonstrated that men with localized prostate cancer benefit from the use of short-term neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy...