Different stem cell-associated markers are expressed in mouse salivary gland cells, which upon transplantation are able to regenerate the irradiation damaged salivary gland.

Our results show that stem cell transplantation not only rescues hypo-salivation, but also restores tissue homeostasis of the irradiated gland, necessary for long-term maintenance of adult tissue.

Background and purpose: In this study, we investigated whether cancer stem cell marker expressing cells can be identified that predict for the response of esophageal cancer (EC) to CRT. Materials and methods: EC cell-lines OE-33 and OE-21 were used to assess in vitro, stem cell activity, proliferative capacity and radiation response. Xenograft tumors were generated using NOD/SCID mice to assess in vivo proliferative capacity and tumor hypoxia. Archival and fresh EC biopsy tissue was used to confirm our in vitro and in vivo results. Results: We showed that the CD44+/CD24À subpopulation of EC cells exerts a higher proliferation rate and sphere forming potential and is more radioresistant in vitro, when compared to unselected or CD44+/CD24+ cells. Moreover, CD44+/CD24À cells formed xenograft tumors faster and were often located in hypoxic tumor areas. In a study of archival pre-neoadjuvant CRT biopsy material from EC adenocarcinoma patients (N = 27), this population could only be identified in 50% (9/18) of reduced-responders to neoadjuvant CRT, but never (0/9) in the complete responders (P = 0.009). Conclusion: These results warrant further investigation into the possible clinical benefit of CD44+/CD24À as a predictive marker in EC patients for the response to chemoradiation.

SummaryMicroglia are a proliferative population of resident brain macrophages that under physiological conditions self‐renew independent of hematopoiesis. Microglia are innate immune cells actively surveying the brain and are the earliest responders to injury. During aging, microglia elicit an enhanced innate immune response also referred to as ‘priming’. To date, it remains unknown whether telomere shortening affects the proliferative capacity and induces priming of microglia. We addressed this issue using early (first‐generation G1 mTerc−/−)‐ and late‐generation (third‐generation G3 and G4 mTerc−/−) telomerase‐deficient mice, which carry a homozygous deletion for the telomerase RNA component gene (mTerc). Late‐generation mTerc−/− microglia show telomere shortening and decreased proliferation efficiency. Under physiological conditions, gene expression and functionality of G3 mTerc−/− microglia are comparable with microglia derived from G1 mTerc−/− mice despite changes in morphology. However, after intraperitoneal injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), G3 mTerc−/− microglia mice show an enhanced pro‐inflammatory response. Nevertheless, this enhanced inflammatory response was not accompanied by an increased expression of genes known to be associated with age‐associated microglia priming. The increased inflammatory response in microglia correlates closely with increased peripheral inflammation, a loss of blood–brain barrier integrity, and infiltration of immune cells in the brain parenchyma in this mouse model of telomere shortening.