Journal of Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine最新文献

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease that causes chronic pain and disability worldwide. This disease is mainly caused by IL-1β and TNF-α, which lead to cartilage degradation and inhibit the repair capacity of damaged cartilage. Recent studies have shown that amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells (AF-MSCs) secrete proteins that can effectively help in the treatment of cartilage damaged by OA. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects and mechanisms behind the healing properties of the AF-MSC secretome (AFS-se) under OA conditions. This study involved growing chondrocyte progenitor cells (CPCs) and traumatized cartilage tissues in the presence of the cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α, which mimic OA conditions. AFS-se was then added to the culture medium to determine its effect on the CPCs and cartilage. Cell migration, endogenous cell outgrowth, the expression of chondrogenic and anabolic genes, and the mechanism of proteins in the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways were examined in this study. AFS-se inhibited the inflammatory effects of IL-1β and TNF-α by significantly reducing ERK phosphorylation in the MAPK signaling pathway and decreasing downstream proinflammatory COX2 products. The impaired CPCs recovered their ability to migrate, and endogenous CPCs in injured osteoarthritic cartilage were able to regrow in response to inflammatory stimuli. Additionally, the expression of anabolic genes such as Col I, Col II, and IGF1 was restored in defective CPCs. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that AFS-se has therapeutic effects on OA by inhibiting the inflammatory functions of IL-1β and TNF-α through protein phosphorylation in the MAPK pathway while also promoting the regenerative and self-repair functions of CPCs in traumatized cartilage.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are cells in a tumor which can begin to grow, develop, and induce resistance in the tumor. Recent studies have shown that as with mesenchymal stem cells, CSCs can also regenerate themselves and be involved in tumorigenesis. Recent advances in detection of biomarkers for identifying CSCs as well as development of new techniques for evaluating the tumorigenesis and carcinogenesis roles of CSCs have been considerable. In recent years, more systematic review papers have been published about CSCs and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), highlighting the need to accumulate information and draw final conclusions from these studies. Methods: This research protocol for review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) checklist. The protocol for this meta-analysis was registered on PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews) and the registration number is CRD42022301720. Results: We identified 8 review articles about CSCs in HNSCCs. Conclusions: This umbrella review provides a comprehensive summary of the body of published systematic reviews and reviews in CSCs and HNSCCs. There is strong evidence suggesting that targeting the cancer stem cells could lead to a more definitive response, since the cancer stem cells are the putative drivers of recurrence and metastatic spread in HNSCCs.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are a promising source of somatic cells for clinical applications and disease modelling. However, during culture they accumulate genetic aberrations such as amplification of 20q11.21 which occurs in approximately 20% of extensively cultured hPSC lines and confers a BCL2L1-mediated survival advantage. During the production of the large number of cells required for transplantation and therapy these aberrations may become unavoidable which has important safety implications for therapies and may also impact upon disease modelling. Presently, these risks are poorly understood; whilst it is apparent that large-scale genetic aberrations can pose an oncogenic risk, the risks associated with smaller, more insidious changes have not been fully explored. In this report, the effects of engraftment of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and hESC-derived hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) with and without amplification of the 20q11.21 minimal amplicon and isochromosome 20q (i20q) in SCID-beige mice are presented. The cells were tracked in vivo using a luminescent reporter over a period of approximately four months. Intrasplenic injection of hESCs showed greater engraftment potential and the formation of more severely disruptive lesions in the liver and spleen of animals injected with cells containing 20q11.21 compared with i20q and wild type. HLCs with 20q11.21 engrafted more successfully and formed more severely disruptive lesions than wild type cells or cells with i20q. These results reinforce the notion that karyotyping of therapeutic hPSC is required for transplant, and suggest that screening for known common aberrations is necessary. Further work to identify commonly arising genetic aberrations should be performed and routine screening for hPSCs intended for therapeutic use should be used.