Stem cell

The crosstalk between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment has been implicated in cancer progression and metastasis. Fibroblasts and immune cells are widely known to be attracted to and modified by cancer cells. However, the role of pericytes in the tumor microenvironment beyond endothelium stabilization is poorly understood. Here, we report that pericytes promoted colorectal cancer (CRC) cell proliferation, migration, invasion, stemness and chemoresistance in vitro, as well as tumor growth in a xenograft CRC model...

BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) possess numerous risk factors for Clostridioides (formerly Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI) and experience a high rate of diarrhea. Colonization rates of C. difficile vary greatly among subgroup analyses with recent studies demonstrating colonization rates in the blood and marrow transplant units up to nine times that of the general population. METHODS: The primary objectives of this study were to identify the rate of C...

The efficiency of upfront consolidation with high-dose chemotherapy/autologous stem-cell transplantation (HDCT/ASCT) for newly diagnosed high-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) may be influenced by induction chemotherapy. To select better induction chemotherapy regimens for HDCT/ASCT, a randomized phase II study was conducted in high-risk DLBCL patients with age-adjusted International Prognostic Index (aaIPI) score 2 or 3. As induction chemotherapy, 6 cycles of R-CHOP-14 (arm A) or 3 cycles of R-CHOP-14 followed by 3 cycles of CHASER (arm B) were planned, and patients who responded proceeded to HDCT with LEED and ASCT...

Bone marrow hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) express pattern recognition receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) to sense microbial products and activation of these innate immune receptors induces cytokine expression and redirects bone marrow hematopoiesis towards the increased production of myeloid cells. Secreted cytokines by HSPCs in response to TLR ligands can act in an autocrine or paracrine manner to regulate hematopoiesis. Moreover, tonic activation of HSPCs by microbiota-derived coumpouds might educate HSPCs to produce superior myeloid cells equipped with innate memory responses to combat pathogens...

Oxidative stress after ischaemia impairs the function of transplanted stem cells. Increasing evidence has suggested that either salidroside (SAL) or hypoxia regulates growth of stem cells. However, the role of SAL in regulating function of hypoxia-pre-conditioned stem cells remains elusive. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effect of SAL and hypoxia pre-conditionings on the proliferation, migration and tolerance against oxidative stress in rat adipose-derived stem cells (rASCs). rASCs treated with SAL under normoxia (20% O2 ) or hypoxia (5% O2 ) were analysed for the cell viability, proliferation, migration and resistance against H2 O2 -induced oxidative stress...

Hydrogels have a large amount of water that provides a cartilage-like environment and are used in tissue engineering with biocompatibility and adequate degradation rates. In order to differentiate stem cells, it is necessary to adjust the characteristics of the matrix such as stiffness, stress-relaxing time and microenvironment. Double network (DN) hydrogels provide differences in cellular biological behavior and have interpenetrating networks that combine the advantages of the components. In this study, by varying the viscous substrate of pullulan (PL), the DN hydrogels of gellan gum (GG) and PL was prepared to determine the cartilage differentiation of BMSC...

Since its eruption in China, novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has been reported in most of the countries and territories (>200) of the world with ~ 18 million confirmed cases (as of August 3, 2020). In most of the countries, Covid-19 upsurge is uncontrolled with a significant mortality rate. Currently no treatment effective for Covid-19 is available in the form of vaccines or antiviral drugs and patients are currently treated symptomatically. Although majority of the patients develop mild symptoms and recover without mechanical ventilation for respiratory management, severe respiratory illness develops in a significant portion of affected patients and may result in death...

Stem cell-derived retinal organoids offer the opportunity to cure retinal degeneration of wide-ranging etiology either through the study of in vitro models or the generation of tissue for transplantation. However, despite much work in animals and several human pilot studies, satisfactory therapies have not been developed. Two major challenges for retinal regenerative medicine are: (a) physical cell-cell interactions, which are critical to graft function, are not formed, and (b) the host environment does not provide suitable queues for development...

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease, and inflammation within an arthritic joint plays a critical role in disease progression. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, specifically IL-1 and TNF-α, induce aberrant expression of catabolic and degradative enzymes and inflammatory cytokines in OA and result in a challenging environment for cartilage repair and regeneration. MicroRNAs (miRNAS) are small noncoding RNAs and are important regulatory molecules that act by binding to target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to reduce protein synthesis and have been implicated in many diseases, including OA...

Recent advances in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology may provide unprecedented opportunities to study patient-specific responses to anaesthetics and opioids. In this review, we will 1) examine the advantages and limitations of iPSC technology, 2) summarize studies using iPSCs that have contributed to our current understanding of anaesthetics and opioid action on the cardiovascular and central nervous system, and 3) describe how iPSC technology can be used to further develop personalized analgesic and sedative pharmacotherapies with reduced or minimal detrimental cardiovascular effects...

Heat stress (HS) reaction is a stress response caused by adverse conditions. Currently, the incidence of reproductive malignancies particularly in males has been constantly increasing. This work investigated the effects of saponins derived from the stems and leaves of Panax ginseng (GSLS) on testicular injury induced by scrotal hyperthermia in mice. GSLS (150, 300 mg/kg) were administered intragastrically to mice for 14 days, then exposed to a single scrotal heat treatment at 43°C for 18 min on seventh day...

OBJECTIVE: Autism Spectrum Disorder is a complex brain disorder and has multiple causes that occur in diverse combinations. There is a need to classify children with ASD at a very young age so that they can access evidence-based intervention that can significantly improve their outcomes. CASE REPORT: In this report we present a case of autism, which underwent intrathecal autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells transplantation along with neurorehabilitation. The primary goal of the treatment is to improve the quality of life of the patient...

Sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) constitute devastating conditions with high morbidity and mortality. Sepsis results from abnormal host immune response, with evidence for both pro- and anti-inflammatory activation present from the earliest phases. The "proinflammatory" response predominates initially causing host injury, with later-phase sepsis characterized by immune cell hypofunction and opportunistic superinfection. ARDS is characterized by inflammation and disruption of the alveolar-capillary membrane leading to injury and lung dysfunction...

Aldehyde dehydrogenases are a family of enzymes that oxidize aldehydes to carboxylic acids. These enzymes are important in cellular homeostasis during oxidative stress by the elimination of toxic aldehyde by-products from various cellular processes. In osteosarcoma, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1has been described as a cancer stem cell marker. Its activity has been found to correlate with metastatic potential and the metastatic phenotype. As such, a more complete understanding of aldehyde dehydrogenase in osteosarcoma will give us a deeper knowledge of its impact on osteosarcoma metastatic potential...

Wnt molecules are a class of cysteine-rich secreted glycoproteins that participate in various developmental events during embryogenesis and adult tissue homeostasis. Since its discovery in 1982, the roles of Wnt signaling have been established in various key regulatory systems in biology. Wnt signals exert pleiotropic effects, including mitogenic stimulation, cell fate specification, and differentiation. The Wnt signaling pathway in humans has been shown to be involved in a wide variety of disorders including colon cancer, sarcoma, coronary artery disease, tetra-amelia, Mullerian duct regression, eye vascular defects, and abnormal bone mass...

Outcomes for young people diagnosed with osteosarcoma hinge almost exclusively on whether they develop lung metastasis. The striking predilection that osteosarcoma shows for metastatic spread to lung suggests properties and/or lung interactions that generate tissue-specific survival and proliferation advantages. While these mechanisms remain overall poorly defined, studies have begun to describe biological elements important to metastasis. Mechanisms described to date include both cell-autonomous adaptations that allow disseminated tumor cells to survive the stressors imposed by metastasis and intercellular signaling networks that tumor cells exploit to pirate needed signals from surrounding tissues or to recruit other cells that create a more favorable niche...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review examines the impact of early life exposures on glucose metabolism in the offspring and explores potential metabolic mechanisms leading to type 2 diabetes in childhood. RECENT FINDINGS: One in five adolescents is diagnosed with prediabetes. Recent studies have elucidated the impact of early exposures such as maternal diabetes, but also hyperglycemia below the threshold of gestational diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidemia, and paternal obesity on the future metabolic health of the offspring...

The nuclear-localized CAX-interacting protein VvCXIP4 is exported to the cytosol after a Ca2+ pulse, to activate the tonoplast-localized Ca2+ /H+ exchanger VvCAX3. Vacuolar cation/H+ exchangers (CAXs) have long been recognized as 'housekeeping' components in cellular Ca2+ and trace metal homeostasis, being involved in a range of key cellular and physiological processes. However, the mechanisms that drive functional activation of the transporters are largely unknown. In the present study, we investigated the function of a putative grapevine CAX-interacting protein, VvCXIP4, by testing its ability to activate VvCAX3, previously characterized as a tonoplast-localized Ca2+ /H+ exchanger...

Wear particles released by joint implants are a major cause of osteolysis around the prosthesis by negatively affecting bone reconstruction. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) stimulated by wear particles showed an impaired osteogenic potential. Melatonin has been shown beneficial effects on intracellular antioxidant functions and bone formation; however, whether it could restore the osteogenic potential of BMMSCs inhibited by wear particles was unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of melatonin on the osteogenic capacity of BMMSCs exposed to titanium (Ti) wear particles and to investigated the underlying mechanisms involving intracellular antioxidant properties...

BACKGROUND: The cardiomyocyte apoptosis is considered as one of major contributions to cardiac remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). Numerous studies find that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play pivotal roles in a variety of biological functions. However, the role of circ_0068655 in MI and human induced pluripotent stem-derived cardiomyocytes (HCMs) remains unknown. METHODS: The expression of circ_0068655, miR-498, and PRKC apoptosis WT1 regulator (PAWR) in human MI heart tissues and hypoxia subjected HCMs was evaluated with qRT-PCR and Western blot...