Two new earthworm species of the genus Amynthas Kinberg, 1867 (Annelida, Oligochaeta, Megascolecidae) from the Southeast region, Vietnam.

Two new earthworm species, namely Amynthas rarus sp. nov. and Amynthas tayninhensis sp.

A revision of the Metaphire peguana species-group (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from Vietnam.

The Metaphire peguana species-group was revised from the earthworm fauna of Vietnam. As a result, a total of seven species/subspecies have been assigned to this species-gro+up, namely M. peguana peguana (Rosa, 1890), M.

Two new (Oligochaeta, Moniligastridae) earthworms from Vietnam.

Two new earthworm species are described, namely and The former can be recognized by having male pores on spiniform penises in intersegment 10/11, an erect and sac-shaped spermathecal atrium, glandular prostate, the capsule coiled one round, the vas deferens strongly coiled but small, two large, round, genital markings on segments ix-x, and three gizzards in xiii-xv. The latter species is distinguished in having the male pores placed on highly elevated, backwardly directed, conical penises in 10/11, a slender spermathecal atrium, a glandular prostate, a somewhat folded capsule, the vas deferens strongly coiled as a bunch and equal size to the testis sacs, a pair of genital markings located closely anterior to the penises with 1-3 additional ones in xi-xii, and three or four gizzards in xiii-xvi. The DNA barcode fragment of the COI gene was extracted for each species, and the COI genetic distances and phylogenetic analysis also supported two new species.

Two new earthworm species (Annelida, Oligochaeta, Megascolecidae) from the Mekong delta, Vietnam.

Two new earthworm species are described from the Mekong Delta, Southern Vietnam (An Giang and Ben Tre Provinces), namely Amynthas reductus sp. nov. and Metaphire giengensis sp.

Utilization of Response Surface Methodology in Optimization of Polysaccharides Extraction from Vietnamese Red by Ultrasound-Assisted Enzymatic Method and Examination of Bioactivities of the Extract.

Red is a popular medicinal herb commonly used in Vietnamese traditional remedies due to its potential value for health. In this study, polysaccharides were extracted from using ultrasound-assisted enzymatic extraction method. The response surface methodology and Box-Behnken design were employed to investigate the effects of pH, extraction temperature, extraction time, and ultrasonic power on the content of polysaccharides.

Four new species of Amynthas earthworms in southeastern Vietnam (Annelida, Oligochaeta, Megascolecidae).

Four new earthworm species of the genus Amynthas Kinberg, 1867 are described from southeastern Vietnam, named A. longiprostaticus sp. nov.

The megascolecid earthworms (Annelida, Oligochaeta, Megascolecidae) in the Phu Quoc island, Vietnam, with descriptions of three new species.

The megascolecid earthworms of the Phu Quoc island are intensively investigated. Twelve species in three genera ( Kinberg, 1867, Kinberg, 1867, and Sims & Easton, 1972) are recorded. Of these, Bantaowong & Panha, 2016 is recorded for the first time in Vietnam, and three species are newly described, namely , , and An identification key to 12 megascolecid species is provided as well.

Effect of replacing alfalfa hay with a mixture of cassava foliage silage and sweet potato vine silage on ruminal and intestinal digestion in sheep.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of replacing alfalfa hay (AH) with a mixture of cassava foliage silage and sweet potato vine silage (CSP) (1:1 on a dry matter (DM) basis) on ruminal and intestinal nutrient digestion in sheep. Four wethers were fed a control diet containing 35% of AH and two treatment diets containing 15% and 30% of the CSP as substitute for AH at 1.5 times the metabolizable energy required for maintenance.

On the Giant Pheretimoid Earthworms From Vietnam (Clitellata: Megascolecidae), with Descriptions of Three New Species.

The giant earthworms from Vietnam are being reviewed to consist of six species, (Thai, 1984), (Thai & Tran, 1986) comb. nov., (Thai, 1982), and three new, sp.

A Double-Switch Cell Fusion-Inducible Transgene Expression System for Neural Stem Cell-Based Antiglioma Gene Therapy.

Recent progress in neural stem cell- (NSC-) based tumor-targeted gene therapy showed that NSC vectors expressing an artificially engineered viral fusogenic protein, VSV-G H162R, could cause tumor cell death specifically under acidic tumor microenvironment by syncytia formation; however, the killing efficiency still had much room to improve. In the view that coexpression of another antitumoral gene with VSV-G can augment the bystander effect, a synthetic regulatory system that triggers transgene expression in a cell fusion-inducible manner has been proposed. Here we have developed a double-switch cell fusion-inducible transgene expression system (DoFIT) to drive transgene expression upon VSV-G-mediated NSC-glioma cell fusion.

Antitumor effects of CD40 ligand-expressing endothelial progenitor cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells in a metastatic breast cancer model.

Given their intrinsic ability to home to tumor sites, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are attractive as cellular vehicles for targeted cancer gene therapy. However, collecting sufficient EPCs is one of the challenging issues critical for effective clinical translation of this new approach. In this study, we sought to explore whether human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells could be used as a reliable and accessible cell source to generate human EPCs suitable for cancer treatment.

Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem cells transduced with baculovirus encoding CD40 ligand for immunogene therapy in mouse models of breast cancer.

The interaction between CD40 ligand (CD40L) and CD40 can directly inhibit growth of CD40-positive carcinoma cells and may indirectly inhibit tumor growth through coordination of immune responses. Many efforts in CD40L cancer gene therapy have been focused on direct CD40L gene transfer into malignant target cells. This in vivo gene therapy approach relies on high-efficiency gene transfer and could be technically challenging for the treatment of certain cancers, especially multisite metastases.

Systemic delivery of fusogenic membrane glycoprotein-expressing neural stem cells to selectively kill tumor cells.

Intravenously injected neural stem cells (NSCs) can infiltrate both primary and metastatic tumor sites; thus, they are attractive tumor-targeting vehicles for delivering anticancer agents. However, because the systemic distribution of the injected NSCs involves normal organs and might induce off-target actions leading to unintended side effects, clinical applications of this approach is impeded. Given that the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G) can promote the formation of multinucleated syncytia to kill cells in a pH-dependent manner, we engineered a pH sensor of VSV-G and generated a novel VSV-G mutant that efficiently promotes syncytium formation at the tumor extracellular pH (pHe) but not at pH 7.

Quantum dot coating of baculoviral vectors enables visualization of transduced cells and tissues.

Imaging of transduced cells and tissues is valuable in developing gene transfer vectors and evaluating gene therapy efficacy. We report here a simple method to use bright and photostable quantum dots to label baculovirus, an emerging gene therapy vector. The labeling was achieved through the non-covalent interaction of glutathione-capped CdTe quantum dots with the virus envelope, without the use of chemical conjugation.

Inhibition of neuronal nitric oxide synthase activity promotes migration of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem cells toward cancer cells.

The breakthrough in derivation of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provides an approach that may help overcome ethical and allergenic challenges posed in numerous medical applications involving human cells, including neural stem/progenitor cells (NSCs). Considering the great potential of NSCs in targeted cancer gene therapy, we investigated in this study the tumor tropism of hiPSC-derived NSCs and attempted to enhance the tropism by manipulation of biological activities of proteins that are involved in regulating the migration of NSCs toward cancer cells. We first demonstrated that hiPSC-NSCs displayed tropism for both glioblastoma cells and breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Attenuated adenosine-to-inosine editing of microRNA-376a* promotes invasiveness of glioblastoma cells.

In the human brain, microRNAs (miRNAs) from the microRNA-376 (miR-376) cluster undergo programmed "seed" sequence modifications by adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing. Emerging evidence suggests a link between impaired A-to-I editing and cancer, particularly in high-grade gliomas. We hypothesized that disruption of A-to-I editing alters expression of genes regulating glioma tumor phenotypes.

Tumor tropism of intravenously injected human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem cells and their gene therapy application in a metastatic breast cancer model.

Human pluripotent stem cells can serve as an accessible and reliable source for the generation of functional human cells for medical therapies. In this study, we used a conventional lentiviral transduction method to derive human-induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from primary human fibroblasts and then generated neural stem cells (NSCs) from the iPS cells. Using a dual-color whole-body imaging technology, we demonstrated that after tail vein injection, these human NSCs displayed a robust migratory capacity outside the central nervous system in both immunodeficient and immunocompetent mice and homed in on established orthotopic 4T1 mouse mammary tumors.

Glioma gene therapy using induced pluripotent stem cell derived neural stem cells.

Using neural stem cells (NSCs) with tumor tropic migratory capacity to deliver therapeutic genes is an attractive strategy in eliminating metastatic or disseminated tumors. While different methods have been developed to isolate or generate NSCs, it has not been assessed whether induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, a type of pluripotent stem cells that hold great potential for regenerative medicine, can be used as a source for derivation of NSCs with tumor tropism. In this study, we used a conventional lentivirus transduction method to derive iPS cells from primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts and then generated NSCs from the iPS cells.

Isolation of three important types of stem cells from the same samples of banked umbilical cord blood.

It is known that umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a rich source of stem cells with practical and ethical advantages. Three important types of stem cells which can be harvested from umbilical cord blood and used in disease treatment are hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Since these stem cells have shown enormous potential in regenerative medicine, numerous umbilical cord blood banks have been established.

Human embryonic stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells as cellular delivery vehicles for prodrug gene therapy of glioblastoma.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) possess tumor-tropic properties and consequently have been used to deliver therapeutic agents for cancer treatment. Their potential in cancer therapy highlights the need for a consistent and renewable source for the production of uniform human MSCs suitable for clinical applications. In this study, we seek to investigate whether human embryonic stem cells can be used as a cell source to fulfill this goal.

Production of functional dendritic cells from menstrual blood--a new dendritic cell source for immune therapy.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most professional antigen-presenting cells of the mammalian immune system. They are able to phagocytize, process antigen materials, and then present them to the surface of other cells including T lymphocytes in the immune system. These capabilities make DC therapy become a novel and promising immune-therapeutic approach for cancer treatment as well as for cancer vaccination.