The University of Western Ontario

5 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Biology

Differentiation of Newborn Mouse Skin Derived Stem Cells into Germ-like Cells In vitro

¹Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, ²Children's Health Research Institute

In recent years the formation of germ cells using in vitro culture methods has been demonstrated using several different types of somatic stem cells. This article will visually present the differentiation of newborn mouse derived stem cells to early oocyte-like cells.

Environment

Application of Two-spotted Spider Mite Tetranychus urticae for Plant-pest Interaction Studies

Marc Cazaux^*1,2, Marie Navarro^*1,2, Kristie A. Bruinsma^*1, Vladimir Zhurov^*1, Tara Negrave¹, Thomas Van Leeuwen^3,4, Vojislava Grbic^1,2, Miodrag Grbic^1,2

¹Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, ²Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y el Vino, ³Department of Crop Protection, Ghent University, ⁴Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam

Protocols for efficient preparation of homogenous samples of spider mites, infestation of experimental plants, and assessment of plant damage, as required for studies of plant-pest interaction were developed.

Medicine

Motor and Hippocampal Dependent Spatial Learning and Reference Memory Assessment in a Transgenic Rat Model of Alzheimer's Disease with Stroke

Jennifer L. Au¹, Nina Weishaupt¹, Hayley J. Nell¹, Shawn N. Whitehead¹, David F. Cechetto¹

¹Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University

To investigate the co-morbid Alzheimer's disease (AD) and stroke condition in a novel model, three behavior tasks are described that assess both motor control and cognitive behaviors. These tasks include the beam-walk task, cylinder task and Morris water maze.

Neuroscience

Sublimation of DAN Matrix for the Detection and Visualization of Gangliosides in Rat Brain Tissue for MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry

Sarah Caughlin¹, Dae Hee Park¹, Ken K-C Yeung², David F. Cechetto¹, Shawn N. Whitehead¹

¹Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The University of Western Ontario, ²Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Western Ontario

A protocol for the sublimation of DAN matrix onto rat brain tissue for the detection of gangliosides using MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry is presented.

Bioengineering

Fabrication of Extracellular Matrix-derived Foams and Microcarriers as Tissue-specific Cell Culture and Delivery Platforms

Anna Kornmuller¹, Cody F.C. Brown², Claire Yu³, Lauren E. Flynn^2,4

¹Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, The University of Western Ontario, ²Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, ³Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen's University, ⁴Department of Chemical & Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Western Ontario

The tissue-specific extracellular matrix (ECM) is a key mediator of cell function. This article describes methods for synthesizing pure ECM-derived foams and microcarriers that are stable in culture without the need for chemical crosslinking for applications in advanced 3D in vitro cell culture models or as pro-regenerative bioscaffolds.