Large-Scale Automated Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Expansion of Umbilical Cord-Derived Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for Neurological Disorders.

Neurodegenerative disorders present a broad group of neurological diseases and remain one of the greatest challenges and burdens to mankind. Maladies like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, stroke or spinal cord injury commonly features astroglia involvement (astrogliosis) with signs of inflammation. Regenerative, paracrine and immunomodulatory properties of human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) could target the above components, thus opening new therapeutic possibilities for regenerative medicine.

Anti-cancer effects of wedelolactone: interactions with copper and subcellular localization.

Wedelactone (WL), a plant polyphenolic derivative of coumestan, represents a promising anti-cancer agent. The underlying mechanisms of its action are not fully understood and appear to involve interplay with copper ions. Herein, we examined coordination and redox interactions of WL with Cu in phosphate buffer (pH 7), and in two breast cancer cell lines.

Trop-2 plasticity is controlled by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

The cell surface glycoprotein Trop-2 is commonly overexpressed in carcinomas and represents an exceptional antigen for targeted therapy. Here, we provide evidence that surface Trop-2 expression is functionally connected with an epithelial phenotype in breast and prostate cell lines and in patient tumor samples. We further show that Trop-2 expression is suppressed epigenetically or through the action of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition transcription factors and that deregulation of Trop-2 expression is linked with cancer progression and poor patient prognosis.