Opportunities in the drug discovery/development process for potential MPS incorporation.

Canine embryonic stem (cES) cell lines were generated to establish a large-animal preclinical model for testing the safety and efficacy of embryonic stem (ES) cell-derived tissue replacement therapy. Putative cES cell lines were initiated from canine blastocysts harvested from natural matings. Times of harvest were estimated as 12-16 days after the presumed surge in circulating levels of luteinizing hormone. Four lines established from blastocysts harvested at days 13-14 postsurge satisfied most of the criteria for embryonic stem cells, whereas lines established after day 14 did not. One line, Fred Hutchinson dog (FHDO)-7, has been maintained through 34 passages and is presented here. FHDO-7 cells are alkaline phosphatase-positive and express both message and protein for the Oct4 transcription factor. They also express message for Nanog and telomerase but do not express message for Cdx2, which is associated with trophectoderm. Furthermore, they express a cluster of pluripotency-associated microRNAs (miRs) (miR-302b, miR-302c, and miR-367) characteristic of human and mouse ES cells. The FHDO-7 cells grow on feeder layers of modified mouse embryonic fibroblasts as flat colonies that resemble ES cells from mink, a close phylogenetic relative of dog. When cultured in nonadherent plates without feeders, the cells form embryoid bodies (EBs). Under various culture conditions, the EBs give rise to ectoderm-derived neuronal cells expressing ␥-enolase and ␤3-tubulin; mesoderm-derived cells producing collagen IIA1, cartilage, and bone; and endoderm-derived cells expressing ␣-fetoprotein or Clara cell-specific protein.

The ability to culture pathogenic organisms substantially enhances the quest for fundamental knowledge and the development of vaccines and drugs. Thus, the elaboration of a protocol for the in vitro cultivation of the erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum revolutionized research on this important parasite. However, for P. vivax , the most widely distributed and difficult to treat malaria parasite, a strict preference for reticulocytes thwarts efforts to maintain it in vitro. Cultivation of P. cynomolgi , a macaque-infecting species phylogenetically close to P. vivax , was briefly reported in the early 1980s, but not pursued further. Here, we define the conditions under which P. cynomolgi can be adapted to long term in vitro culture to yield parasites that share many of the morphological and phenotypic features of P. vivax . We further validate the potential of this culture system for high-throughput screening to prime and accelerate anti- P. vivax drug discovery efforts.

Although hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is generally accomplished using a single donor, multiple donors have been used to enhance the speed of engraftment, particularly in the case of umbilical cord blood grafts. Here we posed the question in the canine HCT model whether stable dual-donor chimerism could be established using 2 DLA-identical donors. We identified 8 DLA-identical littermate triplets in which the marrow recipients received 2 Gy total body irradiation followed by marrow infusions from 2 donors and postgrafting immunosuppression. All 8 dogs showed initial "trichimerism," which was sustained in 5 dogs, while 2 dogs rejected one of the allografts and remained mixed chimeras, and 1 dog rejected both allografts. Immune function in one trichimeric dog, as tested by mixed leukocyte culture response and antibody response to sheep red blood cells, was found to be normal. Five dogs received kidney grafts from one of their respective