Good Engraftment but Quality and Donor Concerns for Cryopreserved Hemopoietic Progenitor Cell Products Collected During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Changes to donor availability, collection center capacity, and travel restrictions during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic led to routine cryopreservation of most unrelated donor products for hematopoietic transplantation prior to the recipient commencing the conditioning regimen. We investigated the effect of this change on unrelated donor product quality and clinical outcomes. Product information was requested from transplantation centers in Australia and New Zealand and clinical outcome data from the Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry (ABMTRR).

Direct Comparison of Four Hematopoietic Differentiation Methods from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are an invaluable resource for the study of human disease. However, there are no standardized methods for differentiation into hematopoietic cells, and there is a lack of robust, direct comparisons of different methodologies. In the current study we improved a feeder-free, serum-free method for generation of hematopoietic cells from iPSCs, and directly compared this with three other commonly used strategies with respect to efficiency, repeatability, hands-on time, and cost.

Using Targeted Sequencing of Paralogous Sequences for Noninvasive Detection of Selected Fetal Aneuploidies.

Background: Current methods for noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) ascertain fetal aneuploidies using either direct counting measures of DNA fragments from specific genomic regions or relative measures of single nucleotide polymorphism frequencies. Alternatively, the ratios of paralogous sequence pairs were predicted to reflect fetal aneuploidy. We developed a NIPT assay that uses paralog sequences to enable noninvasive detection of fetal trisomy 21 (T21) and trisomy 18 (T18) using cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from maternal plasma.

Transplantation of neuronal-primed human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in hemiparkinsonian rodents.

Bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have shown promise in in vitro neuronal differentiation and in cellular therapy for neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson' disease. However, the effects of intracerebral transplantation are not well defined, and studies do not agreed on the optimal neuronal differentiation method. Here, we investigated three growth factor-based neuronal differentiation procedures (using FGF-2/EGF/PDGF/SHH/FGF-8/GDNF), and found all to be capable of eliciting an immature neural phenotype, in terms of cell morphology and gene/protein expression.

The role of BMP-7 in chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells in vitro.

This study addresses the role of bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) in chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (BM MSCs) in vitro. BM MSCs were expanded and differentiated in the presence or absence of BMP-7 in monolayer and three-dimensional cultures. After 3 days of stimulation, BMP-7 significantly inhibited MSC growth in expansion cultures.

BMP-13 emerges as a potential inhibitor of bone formation.

Bone morphogenetic protein-13 (BMP-13) plays an important role in skeletal development. In the light of a recent report that mutations in the BMP-13 gene are associated with spine vertebral fusion in Klippel-Feil syndrome, we hypothesized that BMP-13 signaling is crucial for regulating embryonic endochondral ossification. In this study, we found that BMP-13 inhibited the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (BM MSCs) in vitro.

Differentiation of rodent bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into intervertebral disc-like cells following coculture with rat disc tissue.

This study aimed to evaluate whether rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs) could be differentiated in vitro into disc-like cells by coculturing with intervertebral disc tissue. rMSCs were cultured with rodent intervertebral disc for up to 30 days in transwell plates. The differentiation of rMSCs was evaluated by immunostaining, Western blot, real-time RT-PCR, Northern blot, and electron microscopy.

Safety and efficacy of consecutive cycles of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, and an intracoronary CD133+ cell infusion in patients with chronic refractory ischemic heart disease: the G-CSF in angina patients with IHD to stimulate neovascularization (GAIN I) trial.

Background: Preclinical studies suggest granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) holds promise for treating ischemic heart disease; however; its clinical safety and efficacy in this setting remain unclear. We elected to evaluate the safety and efficacy of G-CSF administration in patients with refractory "no-option" ischemic heart disease.

Methods: Twenty patients (18 males, 2 females, mean age 62.

BMP-2 enhances TGF-beta3-mediated chondrogenic differentiation of human bone marrow multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells in alginate bead culture.

This study addresses synergistic effects of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) and transforming growth factor-beta3 (TGF-beta3) in the induction of chondrocytic differentiation of bone marrow multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (BM MSCs) in vitro for potential use in intervertebral disc (IVD) repair. Human BM MSCs encapsulated in alginate beads were induced to differentiate in serum-free medium containing BMP-2 and TGF-beta3. The expression of chondrocytic genes and proteins was analyzed by real-time PCR, western blot, histological, and immunohistochemical assays.

The fate of transplanted xenogeneic bone marrow-derived stem cells in rat intervertebral discs.

Intervertebral disc degeneration is a major cause and a risk factor for chronic low back pain. The potential of using stem cells to treat disc degeneration has been raised. The aims of our study were to assess whether xenogeneic bone-marrow derived stem cells could survive in a rat disc degeneration model and to determine which cell types, if any, survived and differentiated into disc-like cells.

Long-term serial passage and neuronal differentiation capability of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

The development of methods to induce differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) has opened the possibility of using these cells in regenerative or reparative therapies. However, the low frequency of hMSCs in tissue means it is often necessary to expand these cells extensively in vitro. In this study, we evaluated the effects of long-term serial passage on the characteristics of bone marrow-derived hMSC populations.

Cytokine-induced stable neuronal differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in a serum/feeder cell-free condition.

The characteristics and multilineage differentiation potential of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM MSC) remain controversial. This study aimed to characterize human BM MSC isolated by plastic adherent or antibody selection and their neuronal differentiation potential using growth factors or chemical inducing agents. MSC were found to express low levels of neuronal markers: neurofilament-M, beta tubulin III, and neuron specific enolase.

Cell therapy for disc degeneration--potentials and pitfalls.

Disc degeneration is considered a major source of pain in patients with chronic low back pain. Novel strategies to cure or decrease the symptoms and increase the patient's quality of life and function are under development. Until recently conservative treatment and fusion surgery were the main therapeutic options.

Evidence for transdifferentiation of human bone marrow-derived stem cells: recent progress and controversies.

Adult bone marrow-derived stem cells have traditionally been known as tissue-specific stem cells capable of producing blood cells. This concept is being challenged by a series of recent discoveries. It has been demonstrated that there are heterogeneous stem cell populations in adult bone marrow compartment.

[Study on induction of ginsenosides on HL-60 cell apoptosis].

Objective: To observe whether the Ginsenosides (GS) could induce HL-60 cell line apoptosis from promyelocytic leukemia.

Methods: HL-60 cells were treated with GS of various concentration to observe the effect of GS on cell morphological change, the DNA content change by flow cytometry, DNA ladder by electrophoresis, and apoptosis rate by Annexin V-FITC test of the cells.

Results: GS could inhibit the growth of HL-60 cells and induce cell apoptosis in a certain scope of dose and reacting time.