Human amniotic mesenchymal stem cell-islet organoids enhance the efficiency of islet engraftment in a mouse diabetes model.

Aims: Despite islet transplantation has proved a great potential to become the standard therapy for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), this approach remains limited by ischemia, hypoxia, and poor revascularization in early post-transplant period as well as inflammation and life-long host immune rejection. Here, we investigate the potential and mechanism of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs)-islet organoid to improve the efficiency of islet engraftment in immunocompetent T1DM mice.

Main Methods: We generated the hAMSC-islet organoid structure through culturing the mixture of hAMSCs and islets on 3-dimensional-agarose microwells.

Neuritin is expressed in Schwann cells and down-regulated in apoptotic Schwann cells under hyperglycemia.

We aimed to explore neuritin expression in Schwann cells under different glucose conditions. Expression of neuritin at the levels of transcription and translation in purified Schwann cells was detected and measured using reverse transcriptase (RT) (quantitative) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and western blot. Apoptosis of Schwann cells was measured by flow cytometry using Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter (FACS) analysis and caspase fluorometric assay.

CDKN1C mutation in Wiedemann-Beckwith syndrome patients reduces RNA splicing efficiency and identifies a splicing enhancer.

Wiedemann-Beckwith syndrome (WBS) is a human overgrowth disorder that is accompanied by an increased risk of embryonal tumors and is associated with dsyregulation of the imprinting of genes in chromosome 11p15.5. Maternally inherited mutations in the imprinted CDKN1C gene are known to be associated with WBS.

Discordant KCNQ1OT1 imprinting in sets of monozygotic twins discordant for Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) presents with visceromegaly, macroglossia, tumor predisposition and other congenital abnormalities, and is usually associated with abnormalities of chromosome 11p15. A number of identical twin pairs, mostly female, have been reported to be discordant for BWS. We show here that the incidence of female monozygotic twins among patients with BWS is dramatically increased over that of the general population.