Upregulation of RelB in the miR-122 knockout mice contributes to increased levels of proinflammatory chemokines/cytokines in the liver and macrophages.

Objective: MicroRNA-122 (miR-122) is the most abundant miRNA in the liver and it plays an important role in regulating liver metabolism and tumor formation. Previous studies also reveal an anti-inflammatory function of miR-122; however, relatively little is known about the mechanisms by which miR-122 suppresses inflammation. This study aims to search the effect of miR-122 on proinflammatory chemokines/cytokines production in mice.

Fibronectin and pellet suspension culture promote differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells into insulin producing cells.

Multipotential mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from bone marrow can differentiate into multiple mesenchymal tissues and exhibit a neuronal phenotype under appropriate induction conditions. Methods promoting neural differentiation have been adapted to derive insulin producing cells (IPCs) from embryonic stem cells, but it remains unclear whether neuronal cell-based differentiation method will be able to derive IPCs from MSCs. Using a four-stage differentiation protocol which contains neuronal differentiation factor and IPC-conversion reagent-nicotinamide, the potential of human MSCs to differentiate into IPCs was evaluated by means of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, immunostaining, and functional analysis.

Sodium butyrate activates ERK to regulate differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors such as sodium butyrate are known to regulate the differentiation of a variety of cells. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) differentiate into osteoblasts and adipocytes under transcriptional control of Runx2 and PPARgamma2, respectively. How these two transcription factors are regulated by sodium butyrate in order to specify the alternate cell fates remains a pivotal question.