MSC secretome from amniotic fluid halts IL-1β and TNF-α inflammation via the ERK/MAPK pathway, promoting cartilage regeneration in OA in vitro.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease that causes chronic pain and disability worldwide. This disease is mainly caused by IL-1β and TNF-α, which lead to cartilage degradation and inhibit the repair capacity of damaged cartilage. Recent studies have shown that amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells (AF-MSCs) secrete proteins that can effectively help in the treatment of cartilage damaged by OA.

Hypoxia-induced amniotic fluid stem cell secretome augments cardiomyocyte proliferation and enhances cardioprotective effects under hypoxic-ischemic conditions.

Secretome derived from human amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSC-S) is rich in soluble bioactive factors (SBF) and offers untapped therapeutic potential for regenerative medicine while avoiding putative cell-related complications. Characterization and optimal generation of AFSC-S remains challenging. We hypothesized that modulation of oxygen conditions during AFSC-S generation enriches SBF and confers enhanced regenerative and cardioprotective effects on cardiovascular cells.

P53 Mutation and Epigenetic Imprinted IGF2/H19 Gene Analysis in Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived from Amniotic Fluid, Amnion, Endometrium, and Wharton's Jelly.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are promising cells for medical therapy. In in vitro expansion, MSC can give rise to progeny with genomic and epigenomic alterations, resulting in senescence, loss of terminal differentiation, and transformation to cancer. However, MSC genome protects its genetic instability by a guardian function of the P53 tumor suppressor gene and epigenetic balance system during MSC culture.

Carcinogenicity, efficiency and biosafety analysis in xeno-free human amniotic stem cells for regenerative medical therapies.

Background Aims: Human amniotic mesenchymal stromal cells (hAMSCs) are a potent and attractive stem cell source for use in regenerative medicine. However, the safe uses of therapeutic-grade MSCs are equally as important as the efficiency of MSCs. To provide efficient, clinic-compliant (safe for therapeutic use) MSCs, hAMSC lines that completely eliminate the use of animal products and have been characterized for carcinogenicity and biosafety are required.

Successful derivation of xeno-free mesenchymal stem cell lines from endometrium of infertile women.

Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) can effectively repair endometrial deficiencies, including infertile patients with a problem of inadequate endometrium thickness. Although, MSC derived from different organ sources have a similarity of MSC specific characteristics, endometrial stem cells (EMSC) are temporally regulated throughout the menstrual cycle in a micro-environmental niche found only in endometrial tissue. Given the micro-environment niche, developing treatments for endometrial disorders with EMSC should be a top priority.

Human Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Serum for Culturing the Supportive Feeder Cells of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines.

Although human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can proliferate robustly on the feeder-free culture system, genetic instability of hPSCs has been reported in such environment. Alternatively, feeder cells enable hPSCs to maintain their pluripotency. The feeder cells are usually grown in a culture medium containing fetal bovine serum (FBS) prior to coculture with hPSCs.

Potential role of N-benzylcinnamide in inducing neuronal differentiation from human amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells.

Neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by chronic and progressive loss of neurons in structure and function related to aging, such as Alzheimer's disease, the latter characterized by the degeneration of cholinergic neurons in basal forebrain connected to the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells (AF-MSCs) have been proposed as one of the candidates for stem cell therapy of nervous system disorders. This study demonstrates that incubation of AF-MSCs, obtained from 16 to 20 week pregnant women, with 10ng/ml bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-9 for 48h in conditioned medium resulted in transdifferentiation to cholinergic neuronal-like cells.

A xeno-free culture method that enhances Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stromal cell culture efficiency over traditional animal serum-supplemented cultures.

Background Aims: Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) transplantation holds great promise for use in medical therapies. Several key features of MSCs, including efficient cell growth, generation of sufficient cell numbers and safety, as determined by teratoma formation, make MSCs an ideal candidate for clinical use. However, MSCs derived under standard culture conditions, co-cultured with animal by-products, are inappropriate for therapy because of the risks of graft rejection and animal virus transmission to humans.

Epigenetic analysis and suitability of amniotic fluid stem cells for research and therapeutic purposes.

Amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSs) are interesting mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that are characterized by their great potential for cell proliferation and differentiation compared with other types of MSCs identified to date. However, MSCs in prolonged culture have been found to exhibit defects in genetic stability and differentiation capacity. Epigenetic anomalies have been hypothesized to be a cause of these defects.

Cryopreservation of immature buffalo oocytes: effects of cytochalasin B pretreatment on the efficiency of cryotop and solid surface vitrification methods.

The aim of the present study was to compare the efficiency of the solid surface (SSV), cryotop (CT) vitrification methods and cytochalasin B (CB) pretreatment for cryopreservation of immature buffalo oocytes. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were placed for 1 min in TCM199 containing 10% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), 10% ethylene glycol (EG), and 20% fetal bovine serum, and then transferred for 30 s to base medium containing 20% DMSO, 20% EG and 0.5 mol/L sucrose.

Effects of vitrification cryoprotectant treatment and cooling method on the viability and development of buffalo oocytes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

In vitro matured (IVM) buffalo oocytes at the metaphase of the second meiotic division (MII) were vitrified in 20% Me(2)SO: 20% EG (v/v) and 0.5M sucrose (VA), or 35% EG (v/v), 50mg/mL polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and 0.4M trehalose (VB), either on cryotops or as 2μL microdrops.

A novel method to derive amniotic fluid stem cells for therapeutic purposes.

Background: Human amniotic fluid stem (hAFS) cells have become an attractive stem cell source for medical therapy due to both their ability to propagate as stem cells and the lack of ethical debate that comes with the use of embryonic stem cells. Although techniques to derive stem cells from amniotic fluid are available, the techniques have limitations for clinical uses, including a requirement of long periods of time for stem cell production, population heterogeneity and xeno-contamination from using animal antibody-coated magnetic beads. Herein we describe a novel isolation method that fits for hAFS derivation for cell-based therapy.

Effect of donor cell types on developmental potential of cattle (Bos taurus) and swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) cloned embryos.

This study investigated the effect of donor cell types on the developmental potential and quality of cloned swamp buffalo embryos in comparison with cloned cattle embryos. Fetal fibroblasts (FFs), ear fibroblasts (EFs), granulosa cells (GCs) and cumulus cells (CCs) were used as the donor cells in both buffalo and cattle. The cloned cattle or buffalo embryos were produced by fusion of the individual donor cells with enucleated cattle or buffalo oocytes, respectively.