Cell Proliferation

OBJECTIVES: The cellular therapy using adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) aims to improve tendon healing, considering that repaired tendons often result in a less resistant tissue. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of the ASCs combination with a low-level laser (LLL), an effective photobiostimulation for the healing processes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rats calcaneal tendons were divided into five groups: normal (NT), transected (T), transected and ASCs (SC) or LLL (L), or with ASCs and LLL (SCL)...

OBJECTIVES: The lung-gut axis is known to be involved in the pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We examined the role of pulmonary mast cells (MCs) in the regulation of the lung-gut axis during S. aureus pneumonia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We created a mouse model of S. aureus pneumonia using MC-deficient mice (KitW-sh/W-sh ) and examined the level of inflammation, bacterial burden, expression of cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP) and composition of the gut microbiota...

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are reprogrammed somatic cells that gained self-renewal and differentiation capacity similar to embryonic stem cells. Taking the precious opportunity of the TianZhou-1 spacecraft mission, we studied the effect of space microgravity (µg) on the self-renewal capacity of iPSCs. Murine iPSCs carrying pluripotency reporter Oct4-GFP were used. The Oct4-EGFP-iPSCs clones were loaded into the bioreactor and exposed to μg in outer space for 14 days. The control experiment was performed in identical device but on the ground in earth gravity (1 g)...

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to explore the roles of N-myc and caspase-8 in TRAIL-resistant IMR-32 cells which exhibit MYCN oncogene amplification and lack caspase-8 expression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We established N-myc-downregulated IMR-32 cells using shRNA lentiviral particles targeting N-myc and examined the effect the N-myc inhibition on TRAIL susceptibility in human neuroblastoma IMR-32 cells expressing caspase-8. RESULTS: Cisplatin treatment in IMR-32 cells increased the expression of death receptor 5 (DR5; TRAIL-R2), but not other receptors, via downregulation of NF-κB activity...

OBJECTIVES: Prostate cancer, after the phase of androgen dependence, may progress to the castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) stage, with resistance to standard therapies. Vitamin E-derived tocotrienols (TTs) possess a significant antitumour activity. Here, we evaluated the anti-cancer properties of δ-TT in CRPC cells (PC3 and DU145) and the related mechanisms of action. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MTT, Trypan blue and colony formation assays were used to assess cell viability/cell death/cytotoxicity...

OBJECTIVES: Dental implants are major treatment options for restoring teeth loss. Biological processes at the implant-tissue interface are critical for implant osseointegration. Superior mechanical properties of the implant constitute a major challenge for traditional histological techniques. It is imperative to develop new technique to investigate the implant-tissue interface. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our laboratory developed the polyethylene glycol (PEG)-associated solvent system (PEGASOS) tissue clearing method...

Nerous system diseases, both central and peripheral, bring an incredible burden onto patients and enormously reduce their quality of life. Currently, there are still no effective treatments to repair nerve lesions that do not have side effects. Stem cell-based therapies, especially those using dental stem cells, bring new hope to neural diseases. Dental stem cells, derived from the neural crest, have many characteristics that are similar to neural cells, indicating that they can be an ideal source of cells for neural regeneration and repair...

OBJECTIVES: Although targeted therapy has revolutionized the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST), it is almost never curative in GIST, and resistance commonly develops. One potential strategy is to combine targeted therapy with immunotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We first studied Programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and tumour-infiltrating T cells (TILs) in GIST. IFN-γ was used to induce the upregulation of PD-L1 expression in GIST-882 cells, a well-known GIST cell line...

OBJECTIVES: Nanocarriers can greatly enhance the cellular uptake of therapeutic agents to regulate cell proliferation and metabolism. Nevertheless, further application of nanocarriers is often limited by insufficient understanding of the mechanisms of their uptake and intracellular behaviour. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fluorescent polymer dots (Pdots) are coated with synthetic octaarginine peptides (R8) and are analysed for cellular uptake and intracellular transportation in HeLa cervical cancer cells via single particle tracking...

OBJECTIVES: Clinical observations have demonstrated that copper levels elevate in several cancer types, and copper deprivation is shown to inhibit tumour angiogenesis and growth in both animal models and preclinical trials. However, the content of copper in pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and whether it is a potential therapy target is still unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The levels of copper in PDAC specimens were detected by ICP-MS assays. Copper depletion in Panc-1 or MiaPaCa-2 cells was conducted via copper transporter 1 (SLC31A1) interference and copper chelator tetrathiomolybdate (TM) treatment...

OBJECTIVES: Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) play important roles in epigenetic regulatory function during the development processes. In this study, we found that through alternative splicing, LncRNA C130071C03Riken variants Riken-201 (Riken-201) and Riken-203 (Riken-203) are both expressed highly in brain, and increase gradually during neural differentiation. However, the function of Rik-201 and Rik-203 is unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Embryonic stem cells (ESCs); RNA sequencing; gene expression of mRNAs, LncRNAs and miRNAs; over-expression and RNA interference of genes; flow cytometry; real-time quantity PCR; and Western blot were used in the studies...

OBJECTIVES: Exosomes, as important players in intercellular communication due to their ability to transfer certain molecules to target cells, are believed to take similar effects in promoting bone regeneration with their derived stem cells. Studies have suggested that umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (uMSCs) could promote angiogenesis. This study investigated whether exosomes derived from uMSCs (uMSC-Exos) could enhance fracture healing as primary factors by promoting angiogenesis...

OBJECTIVES: Rectal application of steroids and 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) is associated with few side effects and has a high therapeutic efficacy in left-sided colitis. Previous studies have shown that rectal administration of both steroids and 5-ASA is superior to one single alone. However, some reports are still controversial. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the treatment choice and efficacy of these different enemas in distal ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Questionnaire survey and a retrospective study were carried out in Chinese hospitals to investigate the efficacy of 5-ASA or hydrocortisone/dexamethasone or their combination enema in patients with distal active UC...

OBJECTIVE: Chinese Herb QingBai decoction (QBD) has been approved affective in the treatment of IBD patients in clinic. However, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. We aim to investigate the effect of QBD on the mouse model of ulcerative colitis and its possible mechanism. METHODS: C57/bL mice were given 5% DSS to induce colitis and were divided as QBD and mesalazine group. Weight, faeces and mental status were recorded each day and the histopathological changes (goblet cells etc) of the colon were observed after sacrificed...

OBJECTIVES: Emerging evidences indicated the importance of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the tumorigenesis and deterioration of malignant tumours. To our knowledge, the study about lncRNAs in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is still inadequate. ABHD11-AS1 was highly expressed in the PTC samples of The Cancer Genome Atlas database. This study focused on the biological function and mechanism of lncRNA ABHD11-AS1 in PTC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: qRT-PCR analysis was used to examine the expression of ABHD11-AS1 in PTC tissues and cell lines...

OBJECTIVES: Transfusion of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) is a novel strategy for treatment of various liver diseases. However, the therapeutic effect of UC-MSCs is limited because only a few UC-MSCs migrate towards the damaged regions. In this study, we observed the effects of autophagy on the migration of UC-MSCs in vitro and in a model of liver ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated the effects of autophagy on the status of the cell, release of anti-inflammatory factors and migration of UC-MSCs in vitro...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to elucidate the antimitotic mechanism of zerumbone and to investigate its effect on the HeLa cells in combination with other mitotic blockers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HeLa cells and fluorescence microscopy were used to analyse the effect of zerumbone on cancer cell lines. Cellular internalization of zerumbone was investigated using FITC-labelled zerumbone. The interaction of zerumbone with tubulin was characterized using fluorescence spectroscopy...

Cardiac function is determined by the dynamic equilibrium of various cell types and the extracellular matrix that composes the heart. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), especially atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction, are often accompanied by cell death and acute/chronic inflammatory reactions. Caspase-dependent pyroptosis is characterized by the activation of pathways leading to the activation of NOD-like receptors, especially the NLRP3 inflammasome and its downstream effector inflammatory factors interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18...

With the development of synthetic biology, synthetic gene circuits have shown great applied potential in medicine, biology, and as commodity chemicals. An ultimate challenge in the construction of gene circuits is the lack of effective, programmable, secure and sequence-specific gene editing tools. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) system, a CRISPR-associated RNA-guided endonuclease Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9)-targeted genome editing tool, has recently been applied in engineering gene circuits for its unique properties-operability, high efficiency and programmability...

The evolution of chronic inflammatory diseases is thought to be due to a combination of host genetic variations and environmental factors that include the alteration of intestinal flora, termed "dysbiosis." The intestinal mucosal barrier includes a chemical barrier and physical barrier that have important roles in protecting the intestine against inflammatory injury. The chemical barrier includes antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), and the physical barrier includes a mucous layer, a monolayer of intestinal epithelial cells and cell junctions...