In vitro study of matrix metalloproteinase/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase production by mesenchymal stromal cells in response to inflammatory cytokines: the role of their migration in injured tissues.

Background Aims: The transmigratory capacity of bone marrow (BM) mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) through the endothelial cell barrier into various tissues and their differentiation potential makes them ideal candidates for cell therapy. Nevertheless, the mechanisms and agents promoting their migration are not fully understood. We evaluated the effects of several inflammatory cytokines on the migration of BM MSC and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) production.

Doubling time of soluble CD23: a powerful prognostic factor for newly diagnosed and untreated stage A chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients.

Soluble CD23 (sCD23) levels correlate with the stage, prognosis and overall survival (OS) of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Therefore, we prospectively evaluated sCD23 doubling time (sCD23DT) as a prognostic factor for time to treatment (TTT) and OS in 56 newly diagnosed and untreated CLL patients at Binet stage A, and compared it to the most commonly used biological prognostic factors: lymphocyte doubling time, immunoglobulin variable heavy chain (IgVH) mutational status and zeta-associated protein-70 (ZAP-70), CD38, and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) expression. In patients with sCD23DT <1 year, the median TTT and OS were 20 and 83 months compared to 141 and 177 months in patients with sCD23DT >1 year (P<0.

Gene expression pattern of functional neuronal cells derived from human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells.

Background: Neuronal tissue has limited potential to self-renew or repair after neurological diseases. Cellular therapies using stem cells are promising approaches for the treatment of neurological diseases. However, the clinical use of embryonic stem cells or foetal tissues is limited by ethical considerations and other scientific problems.

[Cord blood: from bench to bedside].

Since 1974, umbilical cord blood (CB) has been shown to contain haematopoietic stem cells similar to stem cells from the bone marrow. In 1988, E. Gluckman and her colleagues performed - successfully - the first familial CB transplantation and cured a 5 years old child suffering from Fanconi's anemia.

Valproic acid induces apoptosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells through activation of the death receptor pathway and potentiates TRAIL response.

Objective: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells develop chemoresistance over time associated with defects in apoptosis pathway. Novel treatment strategies are required to overcome resistance of cells to commonly used agents. The effects of valproic acid (VPA), an antiepileptic drug with histone deacetylase inhibitory activity, on mononuclear cells isolated from 40 CLL patients were evaluated.