tissue regeneration

Adult stem cells are important for tissue homeostasis and regeneration due to their ability to self-renew and generate multiple types of differentiated daughters. Self-renewal is reflected by their capacity to undergo multiple/limitless divisions. Several signaling pathways are involved in self-renewal of stem cells, that is, Notch, Wnt, and Hedgehog pathways or Polycomb family proteins. Recent studies mainly focus on cancer stem cell (CSCs), induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs), neural stem cell and maintenance of embryonic stem cell pluripotency. Among them, CSCs have been believed to be responsible for tumor initiation, growth, and recurrence that have implications for cancer therapy.

MCE owns a unique collection of 2,300 compounds that can be used for stem cell regulatory and signaling pathway research.

Stem cells, which are found in all multi-cellular organisms, can divide and differentiate into diverse special cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells. To be useful in therapy, stem cells must be converted into desired cell types as necessary which is called induced differentiation or directed differentiation. Understanding and using signaling pathways for differentiation is an important method in successful regenerative medicine. Small molecules or growth factors induce the conversion of stem cells into appropriate progenitor cells, which will later give rise to the desired cell type. There is a variety of signal molecules and molecular families that may affect the establishment of germ layers in vivo, such as fibroblast growth factors (FGFs); the wnt family or superfamily of transforming growth factors β (TGFβ) and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP). Unfortunately, for now, a high cost of recombinant factors is likely to limit their use on a larger scale in medicine. The more promising technique focuses on the use of small molecules. These small molecules can be used for either activating or deactivating specific signaling pathways. They enhance reprogramming efficiency by creating cells that are compatible with the desired type of tissue. It is a cheaper and non-immunogenic method.

MCE Differentiation Inducing Compound Library contains a unique collection of 1,799 compounds that act on signaling pathways for differentiation. These compounds are potential stimulators for induced differentiation. This library is a useful tool for researching directed differentiation and regenerative medicine.

Liver cancer is one of the leading malignancies which occupies the second position in cancer deaths worldwide, becoming serious threat to human health. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), also known as hepatoma is the most common type accounting for approximately 90% of all liver cancers.

Current evidence indicates that during hepatocarcinogenesis, two main pathogenic mechanisms prevail: (1) cirrhosis associated with hepatic regeneration after tissue damage caused by hepatitis infection, toxins or metabolic influences, and (2) mutations occurring in single or multiple oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. Both mechanisms have been linked with alterations in several important cellular signaling pathways. These include the RAF/MEK/ERK pathway, PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, WNT/b-catenin pathway, insulin-like growth factor pathway, c-MET/HGFR pathway , etc.

MCE offers a unique collection of 2,228 compounds with identified and potential anti-liver cancer activity. MCE anti-liver cancer compound library is a useful tool for anti-liver cancer drugs screening and other related research.