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Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are multipotent cells with self-renewal properties, making them an ideal candidate for regenerative medicine. Recently, numerous studies show that about more than 99% of transplanted cells are destroyed because of the stressful microenvironment. Meanwhile, in the target organs, iron overload can produce oxidative stress introducing it as the most important stress factor. The present study was aimed at increasing BM-MSCs' viability against oxidative stress microenvironment using iron depletion by deferoxamine (DFO). Mesenchymal stem cells are isolated and characterized from rat bone marrow. Then, the sensitivity of BM-MSCs against H2O2-induced oxidative stress was evaluated through half of the inhibitory concentration (IC50) estimation by using MTT assay. The maximum non-inhibitory concentration of DFO on BM-MSCs was determined. The next step was the comparison between DFO pre-treated BM-MSCs and untreated cells against H2O2-induced apoptosis. BM-MSCs were identified with morphologic and flow cytometry analysis. IC50 of H2O2 was determined as 0.55 mM at 4 h. Also, the maximum non-inhibitory concentration of DFO was ascertained as 5 µM at 48 h. Our results demonstrated that pretreatment with DFO significantly potentiates BM-MSCs against H2O2-induced oxidative stress which was confirmed by MTT assay, AO/EB double staining, DAPI staining, and activated caspase 3 quantification as well as western blot test. Expression of cleaved caspase 3 and pAKT/AKT ratio obviously demonstrated DFO can resist the cells against cytotoxicity. These findings may help to develop better stem cell culture medium for MSC-based cell therapy. Moreover, regulation of cell stress can be used in practical subjects.

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Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) are able to differentiate into neurons and glial cells. Distinct microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the proliferation and differentiation of HFSCs. However, the exact role of miR-124 in the neural differentiation of HFSCs has not been elucidated. HFSCs were isolated from mouse whisker follicles. miR-9, let-7b, and miR-124, Ptbp1 , and Sox9 expression levels were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The influence of miR-124 transfection was evaluated using immunostaining. We demonstrated that miR-124 and let-7b expression levels were significantly increased after the neural differentiation. Sox9 and Ptbp1 were identified as the target of miR-124 in the HFSCs. During neural differentiation and miR-124 mimicking, Ptbp1 and Sox9 levels were decreased. Moreover, the miR-124 overexpression increased MAP2 (58.43 ± 11.26) and NeuN (48.34 ± 11.15) proteins expression. The results demonstrated that miR-124 may promote the differentiation of HFSCs into neuronal cells by targeting Sox9 and Ptbp1.

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Selenium-as a trace element-is nutritionally essential for humans. It prevents cancerous growth by inhibiting the telomerase activity but the mechanism involved in regulation of telomerase activity in normal telomerase-positive cells remains to be elucidated. Here, we find out whether the effect of sodium selenite and selenomethionine on telomerase activity in human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) is associated with different levels of c-Myc and p53 expression. The use of different staining methods including ethidium bromide/acridine orange and DAPI in addition to telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay and real-time PCR indicated that different forms of selenium have opposite impacts on c-Myc and p53 expressions in both hUCMSCs and AGS, a gastric adenocarcinoma cell line, as a positive control. Our findings suggest that the signaling pathways involved in the regulation of telomerase activity in malignant and normal telomerase-positive cell types are somewhat different, at least on the c-Myc and P53 expression levels.

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Molecular targeted therapy is an important, novel approach in the treatment of cancer because it interferes with certain molecules involved in carcinogenesis and tumor growth. Examples include monoclonal antibodies, microvesicles, and suicide genes. Several studies have focused on targeted therapies in prostate cancer, which is a serious cause of cancer death in men. We hypothesize that antibody-coated microvesicles can deliver thymidylate kinase, a suicide protein, to prostate cancer cells, potentiating them to death following azidothymidine (AZT) treatment.

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OBJECTIVES: Recently cell therapy is a promising therapeutic modality for many types of disease including acute kidney injury (AKI). Due to the unique biological properties, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are attractive cells in this regard. This study aims to transplant MSCs equipped with nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in rat experimental models of acute kidney and evaluate regeneration potential of injured kidney especially expression of injury and repaired biomarkers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nrf2 was overexpressed in bone marrow-derived MSCs by pcDNA.3.1 plasmid. AKI was induced using glycerol in rat models. The regenerative potential of Nrf2-overexpressed MSCs was evaluated in AKI-Induced animal models using biochemical and histological methods after transplantation. Expression of repaired genes, AQP1 and CK-18, as well as injury markers, Kim-1 and Cystatin C, was also assayed in engrafted kidney sections. RESULTS: Our results revealed that transplantation of Nrf2-overexpressed MSCs into AKI-induced rats decreased blood urea nitrogen and creatinine and ameliorated kidney regeneration throughout 14 days. Upregulation of repaired markers and downregulation of injury markers were considerable 14 days after transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression of Nrf2 in MSCs suggests a new strategy to increase efficiency of MSC-based cell therapy in AKI.

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PURPOSE: Recent developments in the field of cell therapy have led to a renewed interest in treatment of acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the early death of transplanted mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in stressful microenvironment of a recipient tissue is a major problem with this kind of treatment. The objective of this study was to determine whether overexpression of a cytoprotective factor, nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), in MSCs could protect rats against AKI. METHODS: The Nrf2 was overexpressed in MSCs by recombinant adenoviruses, and the MSCs were implanted to rats suffering from cisplatin-induced AKI. RESULTS: The obtained results showed that transplantation with the engineered MSCs ameliorates cisplatin-induced AKI. Morphologic features of the investigated kidneys showed that transplantation with the MSCs in which Nrf2 had been overexpressed significantly improved the complications of AKI. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that the engineered MSCs might be a good candidate to be further evaluated in clinical trials. However, detailed studies must be performed to investigate the possible carcinogenic effect of Nrf2 overexpression.

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Myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of death worldwide. Various therapeutic strategies have been introduced for MI treatment. In recent years, interest in utilizing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for MI therapy has increased. In fact, the use of MSCs for MI treatment, known as cellular cardiomyoplasty, is in the clinical trial stage. However, despite promising results, most MSCs die after transplantation as a result of exposure to various stresses. Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2), a well-known cytoprotective transcription factor, protects MSCs against some stresses. Over-expression of Nrf2 in MSCs decreases their apoptosis in vitro without any adverse effects on their differentiation capacity. Therefore, we hypothesized that over-expression of Nrf2 in MSCs can improve cellular cardiomyoplasty.