Cardioprotective effects of sinomenine in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in a rat model

BackgroundIschemia reperfusion (I/R) play an imperative role in the expansion of cardiovascular disease. Sinomenine (SM) has been exhibited to possess antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties. The aim of the study was scrutinized the cardioprotective effect of SM against I/R injury in rat.MethodsRat were randomly divided into normal control (NC), I/R control and I/R + SM (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg), respectively. Ventricular arrhythmias, body weight and heart weight were estimated. Antioxidant, inflammatory cytokines, inflammatory mediators and plasmin system indicator were accessed.ResultsPre-treated SM group rats exhibited the reduction in the duration and incidence of ventricular fibrillation, ventricular ectopic beat (VEB) and ventricular tachycardia along with suppression of arrhythmia score during the ischemia (30 and 120 min). SM treated rats significantly (P < 0.001) altered the level of antioxidant parameters. SM treatment significantly (P < 0.001) repressed the level of creatine kinase MB (CK-MB), creatine kinase (CK) and troponin I (Tnl). SM treated rats significantly (P < 0.001) repressed the tissue factor (TF), thromboxane B2 (TXB2), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) and plasma fibrinogen (Fbg) and inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators.ConclusionOur result clearly indicated that SM plays anti-arrhythmia effect in I/R injury in the rats via alteration of oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction.     

Trends in using mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) in treating corneal diseases

Since their inception in the 1960s–70s, mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have gained interest because of their differentiation potential, anti-inflammatory effects, and immune-modulating properties. Both cell-based and cell-free MSC treatments show healing capacity in injured tissues. Cell-based treatment comprises MSCs and all secreted products, whereas cell-free treatments include only the secreted products. MSCs are therapeutically administered to many damaged organs owing to their efficacy. Specifically, the eye is a unique organ system to study the effects of MSCs, as treatment is easily applied and measured owing to its external location. The eye holds an immune-privileged status, wherein inflammation and immune responses are innately down-regulated. As excessive inflammation in the cornea often leads to fibrosis and irreversible corneal hazing, many studies have investigated the anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating capacities of MSCs. Decades of research suggest that MSCs modulate the immune response by secreting cytokines, growth factors, and extracellular matrix proteins that inhibit the infiltration of inflammatory cells following injury and promote a healing phenotype via M2 macrophage polarization. MSCs have also shown trans-differentiation potential into cornea-specific cell types during the wound healing process, such as corneal epithelial, stromal, or endothelial cells. This review discusses recent investigations of MSC treatment in the cornea, focusing on therapeutic efficacy, mechanisms, and future directions.     

Effect of Replacement of Wharton Acellular Jelly With FBS on the Expression of Megakaryocyte Linear Markers in Hematopoietic Stem Cells CD34+

Objective: Animal environments for the growth of stem cells cause the transmission of some diseases and immune problems for the recipient. Accordingly, replacing these environments with healthy environments, at least with human resources, is essential.  One of the media that can be used as an alternative to animal serums is Wharton acellular jelly (AWJ).  Therefore, in this study, we intend to replace FBS with Wharton jelly and investigate its effect on the expression of megakaryocyte-related genes and markers in stem cells. Materials and Methods: In this study, cord blood-derived CD34 positive HSCs were cultured and expanded in the presence of cytokines including SCF, TPO, and FLT3-L. Then, the culture of expanded CD34 positive HSCs was performed in two groups: 1) IMDM culture medium containing 10% FBS and 100 ng / ml thrombopoietin cytokine 2) IMDM culture medium containing 10% AWJ, 100 ng / ml thrombopoietin cytokine.  Finally, CD41 expressing cells were analyzed with the flow cytometry method. The genes related to megakaryocyte lineage including FLI1 and GATA2 were also evaluated using the RT-PCR technique.  Results: The expression of CD41, a specific marker of megakaryocyte lineage in culture medium containing Wharton acellular jelly was increased compared to the FBS group. Additionally, the expression of GATA2 and FLI1 genes was significantly increased related to the control group. Conclusion: This study provided evidence of differentiation of CD34 positive hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical cord blood to megakaryocytes in a culture medium containing AWJ.     

外泌体在肿瘤细胞与TAMs之间相互作用中“桥梁”和调控作用的研究进展北大核心

外泌体是一类直径为30~100 nm的圆盘囊泡,其内包含许多组分,诸如复杂RNA和蛋白质等,主要参与细胞间的信号转导。肿瘤相关巨噬细胞(tumor-associated macrophages,TAMs)是肿瘤微环境中普遍存在的巨噬细胞,通过对肿瘤生长、免疫逃逸、侵袭和转移、耐药性等多方面的作用影响肿瘤进程。外泌体在肿瘤相关巨噬细胞的招募、极化及抗肿瘤免疫调控等方面发挥着重要的调节功能。同时,TAMs以外泌体为媒介作用于肿瘤细胞,从而构成了外泌体、TAMs与肿瘤细胞之间相互作用的调控通路。综上所述,本文旨在阐明肿瘤细胞与TAMs之间,以外泌体为“桥梁”相互影响的潜在机制,以及靶向肿瘤细胞和TAMs来源的外泌体在恶性肿瘤治疗中的展望。     

Nanotherapy: New Approach for Impeding Hepatic Cancer Microenvironment via Targeting Multiple Molecular Pathways

Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) microenvironment has been recognized as a key contributor for cancer progression, metastasis, and drug resistance. The crosstalk between tumor cells, the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and the chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) signaling networks mediates immunoinhibitory impact and facilitates tumor angiogenesis. The current investigation aimed at exploring the potent anti-cancer activity of the newly designed nano-based anti-cancer therapy comprising anti-VEGF drug, avastin (AV), and CCR2 antagonist (CR) to counteract HCC and tracking its mode of action in vivo. Methods: The prepared AV, CR, and AVCR nanoprototypes were characterized by nanoscale characterization techniques in our previous work. Here, they are applied for unearthing their anti-cancer properties / mechanisms in hepatic cancer-induced rats via analyzing protein levels and genetic expression of the elements incorporated in the angiogenesis, apoptosis, and metastasis signalling pathways. Results: The present results revealed a significant down-regulation in the angiogenesis, survival and metastasis indices along with up-regulation in the pro-apoptotic mediators upon treatment of hepatic cancer-bearing rats with the novel synthesized nanomaterials when compared with the untreated counterparts. We showed across HCC model that anti-VEGF in combination with CCR2 antagonism therapy leads to sensitization and enhanced tumor response over anti-VEGF or CCR2 antagonism monotherapy, particularly in its nanoscale formulation. Conclusion: The present approach provides new mechanistic insights into the powerful anti-hepatic cancer advantage of the novel nanoprototypes which is correlated with modulating critical signal transduction pathways implicated in tumor microenviroment such as angiogenesis, apoptosis and metastasis. This research work presents a substantial foundation for future studies focused on prohibiting cancer progression and recovery by targeting tumor microenviroment.