Extract Enhances Antioxidant Effect of Placenta-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell on Injured Human Ocular Cells.

Age-related ocular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy are major causes of irreversible vision impairment in the elderly. Conventional treatments focus on symptom relief and disease slowdown, often involving surgery, but fall short of providing a cure, leading to substantial vision loss. Regenerative medicine, particularly mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), holds promise for ocular disease treatment.

Regeneration of infarcted mouse hearts by cardiovascular tissue formed via the direct reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts.

Fibroblasts can be directly reprogrammed into cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells or smooth muscle cells. Here we report the reprogramming of mouse tail-tip fibroblasts simultaneously into cells resembling these three cell types using the microRNA mimic miR-208b-3p, ascorbic acid and bone morphogenetic protein 4, as well as the formation of tissue-like structures formed by the directly reprogrammed cells. Implantation of the formed cardiovascular tissue into the infarcted hearts of mice led to the migration of reprogrammed cells to the injured tissue, reducing regional cardiac strain and improving cardiac function.

Physical Localization of the Root-Knot Nematode () Resistance Locus in Pepper ().

The root-knot nematode (RKN) severely reduces yields of pepper () worldwide. A single dominant locus, , conferring RKN resistance was previously mapped on the long arm of pepper chromosome P9. In the present study, the locus was fine mapped using an F population of 714 plants derived from a cross between the RKN-susceptible parent ECW30R and the RKN-resistant parent CM334.

Enhanced Therapeutic and Long-Term Dynamic Vascularization Effects of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Endothelial Cells Encapsulated in a Nanomatrix Gel.

Background: Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived endothelial cells (ECs) have limited clinical utility because of undefined components in the differentiation system and poor cell survival in vivo. Here, we aimed to develop a fully defined and clinically compatible system to differentiate hPSCs into ECs. Furthermore, we aimed to enhance cell survival, vessel formation, and therapeutic potential by encapsulating hPSC-ECs with a peptide amphiphile (PA) nanomatrix gel.

Direct Reprogramming of Human Dermal Fibroblasts Into Endothelial Cells Using ER71/ETV2.

Rationale: Direct conversion or reprogramming of human postnatal cells into endothelial cells (ECs), bypassing stem or progenitor cell status, is crucial for regenerative medicine, cell therapy, and pathophysiological investigation but has remained largely unexplored.

Objective: We sought to directly reprogram human postnatal dermal fibroblasts to ECs with vasculogenic and endothelial transcription factors and determine their vascularizing and therapeutic potential.

Methods And Results: We utilized various combinations of 7 EC transcription factors to transduce human postnatal dermal fibroblasts and found that ER71/ETV2 (ETS variant 2) alone best induced endothelial features.

Genetic diversity and population structure analysis to construct a core collection from a large Capsicum germplasm.

Background: Conservation of genetic diversity is an essential prerequisite for developing new cultivars with desirable agronomic traits. Although a large number of germplasm collections have been established worldwide, many of them face major difficulties due to large size and a lack of adequate information about population structure and genetic diversity. Core collection with a minimum number of accessions and maximum genetic diversity of pepper species and its wild relatives will facilitate easy access to genetic material as well as the use of hidden genetic diversity in Capsicum.

Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Improve Diabetic Neuropathy by Direct Modulation of Both Angiogenesis and Myelination in Peripheral Nerves.

Recent evidence has suggested that diabetic neuropathy (DN) is pathophysiologically related to both impaired angiogenesis and a deficiency of neurotrophic factors in the nerves. It is widely known that vascular and neural growths are intimately associated. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) promote angiogenesis in ischemic diseases and have neuroprotective effects, particularly on Schwann cells.

Diabetic Mesenchymal Stem Cells Are Ineffective for Improving Limb Ischemia Due to Their Impaired Angiogenic Capability.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of diabetes on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in terms of their angiogenic and therapeutic potential for repairing tissue ischemia. We culture-isolated MSCs from streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (D-MSCs) and compared their proliferation, differentiation, and angiogenic effects with those from normal rats (N-MSCs). The angiogenic effects of MSCs were evaluated by real-time PCR, in vitro tube formation assay, and transplantation of the MSCs into a hindlimb ischemia model followed by laser Doppler perfusion imaging.

Cell therapy for diabetic neuropathy using adult stem or progenitor cells.

Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is the most common and disabling complication of diabetes that may lead to foot ulcers and limb amputations. Despite widespread awareness of DN, the only effective treatments are glucose control and pain management. A growing body of evidence suggests that DN is characterized by reduction of vascularity in peripheral nerves and deficiency in neurotrophic and angiogenic factors.

Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from somatic cells.

The technology for generation of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) from somatic cells emerged to circumvent the ethical and immunological limitations of embryonic stem cell (ESC). The recent progress of iPSC technology offers an unprecedented tool for regenerative medicine; however, integrating viral-driven iPSCs prohibits clinical applications by their genetic alterations and tumorigenicity. Various approaches including nonintegrating, nonviral, and nongenetic methods have been developed for generating clinically compatible iPSCs.

An analog of BIX-01294 selectively inhibits a family of histone H3 lysine 9 Jumonji demethylases.

BIX-01294 and its analogs were originally identified and subsequently designed as potent inhibitors against histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methyltransferases G9a and G9a-like protein. Here, we show that BIX-01294 and its analog E67 can also inhibit H3K9 Jumonji demethylase KIAA1718 with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations in low micromolar range. Crystallographic analysis of KIAA1718 Jumonji domain in complex with E67 indicated that the benzylated six-membered piperidine ring was disordered and exposed to solvent.

Epigenetic landscape of pluripotent stem cells.

Significance: Derived from the inner cell mass of the preimplantation embryo, embryonic stem cells are prototype pluripotent stem (PS) cells that have the ability of self-renewal and differentiation into almost all cell types. Exploration of the mechanisms governing this pluripotency is important for understanding reprogramming mechanisms and stem cell behavior of PS cells and can lead to enhancing reprogramming efficiency and other applications.

Recent Advances: Induced pluripotent stem cells are recently discovered PS cells that can be derived from somatic cells by overexpression of pluripotency-related transcription factors.

Overexpression of catalase in myeloid cells causes impaired postischemic neovascularization.

Objective: Myeloid lineage cells (MLCs) such as macrophages are known to play a key role in postischemic neovascularization. However, the role of MLC-derived reactive oxygen species in this process and their specific chemical identity remain unknown.

Methods And Results: Transgenic mice with MLC-specific overexpression of catalase (Tg(Cat-MLC) mice) were created on a C57BL/6 background.

Integrating 5-hydroxymethylcytosine into the epigenomic landscape of human embryonic stem cells.

Covalent modification of DNA distinguishes cellular identities and is crucial for regulating the pluripotency and differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells. The recent demonstration that 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) may be further modified to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) in ES cells has revealed a novel regulatory paradigm to modulate the epigenetic landscape of pluripotency. To understand the role of 5-hmC in the epigenomic landscape of pluripotent cells, here we profile the genome-wide 5-hmC distribution and correlate it with the genomic profiles of 11 diverse histone modifications and six transcription factors in human ES cells.

Malignant tumor formation after transplantation of short-term cultured bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in experimental myocardial infarction and diabetic neuropathy.

Rationale: Bone marrow (BM)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) hold great promise for cardiovascular cell therapy owing to their multipotency and culture expandability.

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate whether MSCs can treat experimental acute myocardial infarction (MI) and diabetic neuropathy.

Methods And Results: We isolated mononuclear cells from mouse BM and cultured MSCs in a conventional manner.

Induced pluripotent stem cells: emerging techniques for nuclear reprogramming.

Introduction of four transcription factors, Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc, can successfully reprogram somatic cells into embryonic stem (ES)-like cells. These cells, which are referred to as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, closely resemble embryonic stem cells in genomic, cell biologic, and phenotypic characteristics, and the creation of these special cells was a major triumph in cell biology. In contrast to pluripotent stem cells generated by somatic cell nuclear-transfer (SCNT) or ES cells derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of the blastocyst, direct reprogramming provides a convenient and reliable means of generating pluripotent stem cells.

Bone marrow mononuclear cells have neurovascular tropism and improve diabetic neuropathy.

Bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMNCs) have been shown to effectively treat ischemic cardiovascular diseases. Because diabetic neuropathy (DN) is causally associated with impaired angiogenesis and deficiency of angiogenic and neurotrophic factors in the nerves, we investigated whether DN can be ameliorated by local injection of BMNCs. Severe peripheral neuropathy, characterized by a significant decrease in the motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities (NCVs), developed 12 weeks after the induction of diabetes with streptozotocin in rats.

Transient concentration of a gamma-tubulin-related protein with a pericentrin-related protein in the formation of basal bodies and flagella during the differentiation of Naegleria gruberi.

The distribution of two proteins in Naegleria gruberi, N-gammaTRP (Naegleria gamma-tubulin-related protein) and N-PRP (Naegleria pericentrin-related protein), was examined during the de novo formation of basal bodies and flagella that occurs during the differentiation of N. gruberi. After the initiation of differentiation, N-gammaTRP and N-PRP began to concentrate at the same site within cells.