Alginate vs. Hyaluronic Acid as Carriers for Nucleus Pulposus Cells: A Study on Regenerative Outcomes in Disc Degeneration.

Intervertebral disc degeneration is a leading cause of chronic low back pain, affecting millions globally. Regenerative medicine, particularly cell-based therapies, presents a promising therapeutic strategy. This study evaluates the comparative efficacy of two biomaterials-hyaluronic acid (HA) and alginate-as carriers for nucleus pulposus (NP) cell transplantation in a beagle model of induced disc degeneration.

Assessment of Tie2-Rejuvenated Nucleus Pulposus Cell Transplants from Young and Old Patient Sources Demonstrates That Age Still Matters.

Cell transplantation is being actively explored as a regenerative therapy for discogenic back pain. This study explored the regenerative potential of Tie2 nucleus pulposus progenitor cells (NPPCs) from intervertebral disc (IVD) tissues derived from young (<25 years of age) and old (>60 years of age) patient donors. We employed an optimized culture method to maintain Tie2 expression in NP cells from both donor categories.

SOD2 orchestrates redox homeostasis in intervertebral discs: A novel insight into oxidative stress-mediated degeneration and therapeutic potential.

Low back pain (LBP) is a pervasive global health concern, primarily associated with intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Although oxidative stress has been shown to contribute to IVD degeneration, the underlying mechanisms remain undetermined. This study aimed to unravel the role of superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) in IVD pathogenesis and target oxidative stress to limit IVD degeneration.

Recombinant Laminin-511 Fragment (iMatrix-511) Coating Supports Maintenance of Human Nucleus Pulposus Progenitor Cells In Vitro.

The angiopoietin-1 receptor (Tie2) marks specific nucleus pulposus (NP) progenitor cells, shows a rapid decline during aging and intervertebral disc degeneration, and has thus sparked interest in its utilization as a regenerative agent against disc degeneration. However, the challenge of maintaining and expanding these progenitor cells in vitro has been a significant hurdle. In this study, we investigated the potential of laminin-511 to sustain Tie2 NP progenitor cells in vitro.

-acetylcysteine attenuates oxidative stress-mediated cell viability loss induced by dimethyl sulfoxide in cryopreservation of human nucleus pulposus cells: A potential solution for mass production.

Background: Cell therapy is considered a promising strategy for intervertebral disc (IVD) regeneration. However, cell products often require long-term cryopreservation, which compromises cell viability and potency, thus potentially hindering commercialization and off-the-shelf availability. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a commonly used cryoprotectant, however, DMSO is associated with cytotoxicity and cell viability loss.

Effect of Whole Tissue Culture and Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor on Maintenance of Tie2 Molecule Expression in Human Nucleus Pulposus Cells.

Previous work showed a link between Tie2 nucleus pulposus progenitor cells (NPPC) and disc degeneration. However, NPPC remain difficult to maintain in culture. Here, we report whole tissue culture (WTC) combined with fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and chimeric FGF (cFGF) supplementation to support and enhance NPPC and Tie2 expression.

A case of double-refractory multiple myeloma with both the IgH-MMSET fusion protein and the congenital abnormality t(11;22).

A 67-year-old female was referred to our hospital with a sternal fracture in March 2008. She received a diagnosis of multiple myeloma (MM) BJP-κ type (ISS stage III). G-banding karyotype revealed 46, XX, t(11;22)(q23.

IκBL, a novel member of the nuclear IκB family, inhibits inflammatory cytokine expression.

We previously reported that IκBL prevents experimental autoimmune arthritis. The molecular mechanism, however, still remains unclear. In contrast to four splicing-isoforms of IκBL in human, two isoforms were identified in mouse.

Pronuclear injection-based mouse targeted transgenesis for reproducible and highly efficient transgene expression.

Mouse transgenesis has proven invaluable for analysis of gene function and generation of human disease models. We describe here the development of a pronuclear injection-based targeted transgenesis (PITT) system, involving site-specific integration in fertilized eggs. The system was applied to two different genomic target loci to generate a series of transgenic lines including fluorescent mice, which reproducibly displayed strong, ubiquitous and stable transgene expression.

Development of CRTEIL and CETRIZ, Cre-loxP-based systems, which allow change of expression of red to green or green to red fluorescence upon transfection with a cre-expression vector.

We developed Cre-loxP-based systems, termed CRTEIL and CETRIZ, which allow gene switching in a noninvasive manner. Single transfection with pCRTEIL resulted in predominant expression of red fluorescence. Cotransfection with pCRTEIL and Cre-expression plasmid (pCAG/NCre) caused switching from red to green fluorescence.

Human leukocyte antigen may predict outcome of primary recurrent spontaneous abortion treated with paternal lymphocyte alloimmunization therapy.

Problem: Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is defined by at least three consecutive abortions in otherwise healthy couples. Paternal lymphocyte alloimmunization therapy (PLAT) is an effective therapy for RSA in some cases, but there are no predictive markers about the effectiveness of PLAT.

Method Of Study: Forty-two consecutive cases with primary RSA treated by PLAT and 23 controls were the subjects.

Construction of mouse 129/Ola BAC library for targeting experiments using E14 embryonic stem cells.

Gene targeting is a powerful method of specifically modifying genes of interest. It has been most consistently successful in the 129 mouse strain, because the embryonic stem (ES) cells of 129 mice are relatively easy to culture. In gene-targeting experiments, the use of ES cell-derived genomic clones as a source of homology arms is desirable, because the genetic variation among mouse strains results in a reduced frequency of homologous recombination.