From owner-cellbiol@net.bio.net Thu Feb 27 22:00:00 1997 Path: biosci!cc.umanitoba.ca!gordonr From: gordonr@cc.umanitoba.ca (Richard Gordon) Newsgroups: bionet.cellbiol Subject: Re: Ascorbic Acid and Fibroblasts Date: 27 Feb 1997 20:20:42 -0800 Organization: BIOSCI International Newsgroups for Molecular Biology Lines: 54 Sender: daemon@net.bio.net Distribution: world Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: net.bio.net Dear Gautam, It's nice to see the blunt question of differentiation in such cells. I assume you mean in culture? I don't have an answer, but we've been working on differentiation in intact embryos, and find that each step of differentiation seems to be triggered by an observable wave that crosses a tissue. It would be interesting to learn whether similar waves accompany differentiation in tissue culture. Perhaps ascorbic acid would alter differentiation waves? A couple of key papers are listed below. Best, -Dick Gordon >Hi > >Is there anybody out there who knows if ascorbic acid (vitamin C) causes >differentiation of fibroblasts. It has been established that ascobate does >induce the synthesis of collagen. Indeed, do fibroblasts undergo >differentiation? Differentiation of fibroblasts seems to be a confusing >issue. There seems to be some confusion as to whether fibroblasts can >undergo differentation like epithelial cells and lymphocytes. If there is >anyone who has some insight into this process your help will be enormously >appreciated. > > Thanks > >Gautam Bijur >Dept. of Med. Micro. Immunol. >bijur.1@pop.service.ohio-state.edu Bjorklund, N. K. & R. Gordon (1994). Surface contraction and expansion waves correlated with differentiation in axolotl embryos. I. Prolegomenon and differentiation during the plunge through the blastopore, as shown by the fate map. Computers & Chemistry 18(3), 333-345. Brodland, G. W., R. Gordon, M. J. Scott, N. K. Bjorklund, K. B. Luchka, C. C. Martin, C. Matuga, M. Globus, S. Vethamany-Globus & D. Shu (1993). Furrowing surface contraction wave coincident with primary neural induction in amphibian embryos. J. Morph. 219, 131-142. Gordon, R. & N.K. Bjorklund (1996). How to observe surface contraction waves on axolotls. Int. J. Dev. Biol. 40(4), 913-914. Gordon, R., N. K. Bjorklund & P. D. Nieuwkoop (1994). Dialogue on embryonic induction and differentiation waves. Int. Rev. Cytol. 150, 373-420. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Richard Gordon, Department of Radiology University of Manitoba, Room ON104, Health Sciences Centre 820 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg, MB R3A 1R9 Canada Phone: (204) 789-3828, Fax: (204) 787-2080, Home: (204) 589-0411 E-mail: GordonR@cc.UManitoba.ca .