“The 76th of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Forum”
Date：Dec 19th (Fri) 2014
Time : 16:30 〜 18:00
Place：Auditorium in 1st Building at Institute of Medical Science in Univ. of Tokyo------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------（Internal Speaker）
16:30-17:00 Douaa Dhahri (Department of Stem Cell Dynamics, Center for Stem Cell
Biology and Regenerative Medicine, IMSUT)
Mesenchymal Stem Cells expansion by the fibrinolytic system: implications in
the cancer microenvironment（External Speaker）
17:00-18:00
Tetsuro Watabe（Laboratory of Oncology School of Life Sciences
Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences）
Roles of TGF-β/BMP family signals during the formation of vascularsystems-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hosted by Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine---Information--＊ Please register attendance at the reception desk.

＊ Next forum（the77th）will be held onBuilding.

Jan. 29th（Thu）18:30〜 at Auditorium in 1st＊ Please contact tatsu-m@ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp, for Forum speaker recommendations

Mesenchymal Stem Cells expansion by the fibrinolytic system: implications inthe cancer microenvironment
Douaa Dhahri (Department of Stem Cell Dynamics, Center for Stem Cell
Biology and Regenerative Medicine, IMSUT)
There is a growing body of evidence pointing to similarities between stem cells
niche in the bone marrow and the cancer microenvironment since they both harbor
the same cell types e.g. endothelial cells, immune cells, stromal cells andmesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). We have shown recently that the tissue-type
plasminogen activator factor (tPA) can expand MSCs in the bone marrow througha cytokine crosstalk with endothelial cells. Knowing that MSCs are abundant in thecancer microenvironment where they support tumor growth, angiogenesis,
epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis, we hypothesize thattumor-derived tPA will enhance the cancer-supportive activity of MSCs. Melanoma
cells expressed the highest levels of tPA compared to other cancer types. Taking
advantage of the two melanoma cell lines B16F10 and B16F1 which differ in theirmetastatic potential and also in their tPA expression levels as we have determined,
we showed a significant difference in MSCs accumulation in the tumor
microenvironment. We are currently studying how tPA influences the growth andmigration of cancer cells. Moreover, since tPA generates plasmin which activates
TGF-beta, we are focusing on this signaling pathway.

Roles of TGF-β/BMP family signals during the formation of vascular systems
Tetsuro Watabe (Laboratory of Oncology School of Life Sciences Tokyo
University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences)
Since both blood and lymphatic vessels are fundamental players in physiological(e.g. fluid homeostasis), as well as pathological (e.g. cancer metastasis) processes,
understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern their formation is crucial.
Blood and lymphatic vessels are composed of endothelial cells, mural cells(smooth muscle cells and pericytes) and their shared basement membrane. During
embryonic development a multitude of signaling components orchestrate theformation of new vessels and maintenance of their structures. Members of thetransforming growth factor β (TGF-β) protein family are strongly engaged indevelopmental angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis but are also regulators ofvascular integrity in the adult. In this seminar, I will illustrate our attempts toelucidate the roles of TGF-β/BMP family signals in the formation and maintenanceof vascular systems using the in vitro differentiation systems from embryonic stem(ES) cells and in vivo systems.