Systematic optimization of culture media for maintenance of human induced pluripotent stem cells using the response surface methodology.

The application of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provides tremendous opportunities in cell therapy. However, culturing these cells faces many practical challenges, including costs associated with cell culture media and the optimization of cell culture conditions. Providing an optimized culture platform for hiPSCs to maintain pluripotency and self-renewal and generate cost-effective and robust therapeutics is an immediate requirement.

Effect of Pioglitazone and Cetuximab on Colon Cancer Stem-like Cell (CCSLCs) Properties.

Background: One of the main reasons for cancer resistance to chemotherapy is the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in cancer tissues. It is also believed that CSCs are the unique originators of all tumor cells. On the other hand, the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition pathway (EMT) can act as the main agent of metastasis.

Herniarin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles: promising molecular mechanism and therapeutic potential against pancreatic cancer line.

Background: The notion of cancer therapy is intrinsically subjected to multiple challenges due to the drug resistance and drug toxicity for normal tissues. Herniarin (7-methoxycoumarin) belongs to the naturally occurring aromatic phytochemicals and coumarins. Considering the boosting effect of nanocarriers in drug delivery, we investigated the proapoptotic, anti-metastatic properties, and molecular mechanism of herniarin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles on human gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS), human colon adenocarcinoma (HT-29), human pancreatic carcinoma (Panc-1), and normal human skin fibroblast (HFF) cell lines.

Juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus and MEFV polymorphism: A case-control association study among Iranian children.

Introduction And Objectives: This study is designed to evaluate the potential influences of Mediterranean fever gene (MEFV) gene polymorphism on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a cohort of juvenile patients. A case-control study was performed on Iranian patients with a mixed ethnicity population.

Patients And Methods: Genotypes of 50 juvenile cases, and 85 healthy controls were investigated for identifying M694V and R202Q polymorphism.

Fibroblast growth factor 2 reduces endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis in in-vitro Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease model.

Purpose: Non-Alcoholic fatty liver disease is characterized by the accumulation of excess fat in the liver, chronic inflammation, and cell death, ranging from simple steatosis to fibrosis, and finally leads to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The effect of Fibroblast growth factor 2 on apoptosis and ER stress inhibition has been investigated in many studies. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of FGF2 on the NAFLD in-vitro model in the HepG2 cell line.

Reprogramming of fibroblast cells to totipotent state by DNA demethylation.

Many attempts have been made to induce high-quality embryonic stem cells such as pluripotent stem cells and totipotent stem cells, but challenges remain to be overcome such as appropriate methods and sources. Demethylation of the genome after fertilization is an important step to initiate zygote gene activation, which can lead to the development of new embryos. Here, we tried to induce totipotent stem cells by mimicking DNA demethylation patterns of the embryo.

Emerging Role of Enhancer RNAs as Potential Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers in Cancer.

Enhancers are distal -acting elements that are commonly recognized to regulate gene expression via cooperation with promoters. Along with regulating gene expression, enhancers can be transcribed and generate a class of non-coding RNAs called enhancer RNAs (eRNAs). The current discovery of abundant tissue-specific transcription of enhancers in various diseases such as cancers raises questions about the potential role of eRNAs in disease diagnosis and therapy.

The effect of mesenchymal stem cells and imatinib on macrophage polarization in rat model of liver fibrosis.

Liver fibrosis is a disorder in which inflammatory reactions play an important role, and central to the progression and pathogenesis of this disease are the immune-specific cells known as macrophages. Macrophage types are distinguished from each other by the expression of a series of surface markers. STAT6 and Arg1 play an important role in the polarization of macrophages, so these two factors are downstream of interleukin 4 (IL-4) and IL-13 cytokines and cause to differentiate M2.

Aneuploidy Rate and Stemness in Low-Level Mosaic Human Embryonic Stem Cells in the Presence/Absence of Bortezomib, Paclitaxel, and Lapatinib.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are predisposed to aneuploidy through continual passages. Some reports indicate more sensitivity of aneuploid hESCs cells to anticancer drugs. The present study was designed to investigate the cytotoxicity of three anticancer drugs (including bortezomib, paclitaxel, and lapatinib) and their effect on aneuploidy rate in hESCs.

Association between forkhead box P3 expression level and gender of Iranian juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients.

Objectives: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a childhood autoimmune rheumatoid disease. Past studies have confirmed that JIA is a complex disease, which means that genes and environmental factors affect the aetiology of the disease. In this study, we analysed the expression of interleukin 32, forkhead box P3 (FOXP3), methyl-CpG binding domain protein 1 (MBD1), and methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with JIA in comparison with the expression of those in healthy children.

Effect of Methadone and Tramadol Opioids on Stem Cells Based on Integrated Plasmonic-Ellipsometry Technique.

Plasmonic biosensors provide high sensitivity in detecting the low amount of biomarkers and pharmaceutical drugs. We studied the mesenchyme cell activity under the treatment of common sedative drugs of methadone and tramadol using the integrated plasmonic-ellipsometry technique. Mesenchymal stem cells were cultured on patterned plasmonic chips under the treatment of methadone and tramadol drugs.

Effect of a Low-Level Laser on Liposomal Doxorubicin Efficacy in a Melanoma Cell Line.

The cytotoxicity of chemotherapy drugs is a significant challenge in the way of surmounting cancer. Liposomal drug delivery has proven to be efficacious in increasing the function of the drugs. Its potential to accumulate drugs in the target site and enhance the efficiency of anti-cancer agents with lower doses hinders their cytotoxicity on normal healthy cells.

Quantitative Autofluorescence Imaging of A375 Human Melanoma Cell Samples: A Pilot Study.

Skin cancer is one of the most common types of malignancy worldwide. Human skin naturally contains several endogenous fluorophores, as potential sources can emit inherent fluorescence, called intrinsic autofluorescence (AF). The melanin endogenous fluorophore in the basal cell layer of the epidermis seems to have a strong autofluorescence signal among other ones in the skin.

Monitoring the Response of Skin Melanoma Cell Line (A375) to Treatment with Vemurafenib: A Pilot Optical Spectroscopic Study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of optical spectroscopy as a nondestructive approach in monitoring the skin melanoma cancer cell response to treatment. Owing to the growing trend of personalized medicine, monitoring the treatment response individually is particularly crucial for optimizing cancer therapy efficiency. In the past decade, optical sensing, using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, has been used to improve the identification of cancerous lesions in various organs.

Plasmophore Enhancement in Fibroblast Green Fluorescent Protein-Positive Cells Excited by Smoke.

Considering the large consumption of nicotine and its sedative/stimulant effect on different organs of the body, the detection of low concentration of this material and its subsequent effect on live animals plays a significant role. Optical detection techniques such as plasmonics are the pioneers in highly sensitive detection techniques. However, for investigating the nicotine/smoke effect on live cells, not only the interaction between cell nicotine should be optimized but also the plasmonic interface should show a high sensitivity to the reception of nicotine by the cell receptors.

Detection of Nicotine Effect on Colon Cells in a Plasmonic Platform.

Smoking as one of the causes of various diseases has encouraged worldwide studies on its adverse pharmacological effects on different organs. Nicotine may influence the smooth muscles of the colon and subsequently the gut motility, which leads to a change in the moving rate of digested material through the gastrointestinal tract. Among various techniques, optical detection methods benefit from non-contact and highsensitivity for studying the early effect of nicotine on the cells.

Gene expression profile of immunoregulatory cytokines secreted from bone marrow and adipose derived human mesenchymal stem cells in early and late passages.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) have therapeutic potential in a variety of diseases; however, the safety and efficacy of their use remain ambiguous. Clinical applications of MSCs are under intensive investigation due to their immunomodulatory features and lack of immune reactivity. Therefore, having a clear perspective on the exact mechanisms underlying the regulation of cytokine secretion in different microenvironments seems crucially important.

Cerebrospinal Fluid and Photobiomodulation Effects on Neural Gene Expression in Dental Pulp Stem Cells.

Dental pulp cells, a unique source of ectomesenchymal pluripotent stem cells, are originated from the skull neural crest. They are considered as one ideal source of cells for the regenerative medicine applications. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a transparent fluid found in the brain and spinal cord, is enriched with electrolytes, proteins, and growth factors such as EGF, bFGF, BDNF, GDNF, and neuropeptides and can be utilized as a trigger in order to induce the neural differentiation.

The role of DNA demethylation in induction of stem cells.

DNA methylation is an epigenetic factor, which plays important roles in embryo and many other diseases development. This factor determines gene expression, and when half of them have CpG islands, DNA methylation and its enzyme effectors have been under the vast studies. Whole genome DNA demethylation is a crucial step of embryogenesis and also cell fate determination in embryos.

The expression of DNMTs is dramatically decreased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of male patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Introduction: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is an autoimmune rheumatic disease, which affects primarily the joints in children under 16 years old. The etiology of JIA is yet unknown but research has shown that JIA is a multifactorial disease implicating several genes and environmental factors. Environmental factors affect immune cells via epigenetic mechanisms.

Gene Expression Analysis of Chondrogenic Markers in Hair Follicle Dermal Papillae Cells Under the Effect of Laser Photobiomodulation and the Synovial Fluid.

Regarding the limited ability of the damaged cartilage cells to self-renew, which is due to their specific tissue structure, subtle damages can usually cause diseases such as osteoarthritis. In this work, using laser photobiomodulation and an interesting source of growth factors cocktail called the synovial fluid, we analyzed the chondrogenic marker genes in treated hair follicle dermal papilla cells as an accessible source of cells with relatively high differentiation potential. Dermal papilla cells were isolated from rat whisker hair follicle (Rattus norvegicus) and established cell cultures were treated with a laser (gallium aluminum arsenide diode Laser (λ=780 nm, 30 mW) at 5 J/cm ), the synovial fluid, and a combination of both.

DNA and RNA extraction from low amount of blood volume.

Clinical and research-based tests in molecular biology require a substantial amount of DNA and RNA, unfortunately, a considerable number of cells is needed for this amount of sample. Blood is one of the best and easiest source of cells, but is not used due to its invasive drawing methods and the needed volume. Another considerable point is the low amount of samples detected in crime scenes.

Non-invasive Reflectance Spectroscopy for Normal and Cancerous Skin Cells Refractive Index Determination: An In Vitro Study.

Background And Objective: Optical reflectance spectroscopy is a non-invasive technique for optical characterization of biological samples. Any alteration in a cell from normal or carcinogenic causes will change its refractive index. The aim of this study is to develop a computerized program for extraction of a refractive index of normal and cancerous skin cell lines, including melanoma, fibroblast, and adipose cells, using visible near-infrared reflectance spectra and the Kramers-Kronig (K-K) relations.

Fibroblast-myofibroblast crosstalk after exposure to mesenchymal stem cells secretome.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells conditioned medium on fibroblast to myofibroblast differentiation.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells have a long-term clinical application and widely have used in autoimmune disease and regenerative medicine. However, some MSCs derived cytokines such as TGF-β could have a dual role in suppression or progression of disease.

HLA-DRB1 gene polymorphisms in Iranian children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura.

Background: People of all ages can suffer from Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), but it is the most common vasculitis in childhood. The most important involving gene is located on chromosome 6p21.3, a region coding for human leukocyte antigens (HLAs).