Isolation and characterization of extracellular vesicle-like nanoparticles derived from migrasomes.

Migrasomes comprise a recently identified unique type of extracellular vesicle (EV) containing varying numbers of small vesicles. However, the final fate of these small vesicles is still unclear. Here, we report the discovery of EV-like migrasome-derived nanoparticles (MDNPs) that are produced by migrasomes releasing internal vesicles via self-rupture and through a process similar to cell plasma membrane budding.

Discrimination of Breast Cancer Based on Ultrasound Images and Convolutional Neural Network.

The aim of our study was to establish an artificial intelligence tool for the diagnosis of breast disease base on ultrasound (US) images. A deep learning algorithm Efficient-Det assisted US diagnosis method was developed to determine breast suspicious lesions as benign, malignant, or normal. Totally 1181 US images from 487 patients of our hospital and 694 publicly accessible images were employed for modeling, including 558 benign images, 370 malignant images, and 253 normal tissue images.

CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100 (plerixafor): From an impurity to a therapeutic agent.

AMD3100 (plerixafor), a CXCR4 antagonist, has opened a variety of avenues for potential therapeutic approaches in different refractory diseases. The CXCL12/CXCR4 axis and its signaling pathways are involved in diverse disorders including HIV-1 infection, tumor development, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, WHIM Syndrome, and so on. The mechanisms of action of AMD3100 may relate to mobilizing hematopoietic stem cells, blocking infection of X4 HIV-1, increasing circulating neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes, reducing myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and enhancing cytotoxic T-cell infiltration in tumors.

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells and extracellular vesicles confer antitumor activity in preclinical treatment of breast cancer.

Both antitumor and protumor property of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been demonstrated. We hypothesize that this contradiction is due to the heterogeneity of MSC subsets and that extracellular vesicles (EVs) from distinct MSC subsets can transfer the corresponding antitumor activities. Here we evaluated the antitumor activities of two subsets of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) and ADSC-derived EVs (ADSC-EVs) in immunocompetent syngeneic mouse models of breast cancer.

CD90 MSCs modulate intratumoral immunity to confer antitumor activity in a mouse model of ovarian cancer.

Both anti-tumoral and pro-tumoral effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in preclinical treatment of ovarian cancer have been controversially demonstrated. In this study, we profiled the phenotypes of mouse compact bone-derived MSCs (CB-MSCs) and bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) and found that CB-MSCs expressed lower CD90 compared to BM-MSCs. We examined gene expression of immune regulating cytokines of CB-MSCs in 2D and 3D culture and under stimulation with TLR4 agonist LPS or immune activator VIC-008.

Mesenchymal stem cell‑derived extracellular vesicles promote the in vitro proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells through the activation of the ERK pathway.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been demonstrated to be involved in tumor progression and the modulation of the tumor microenvironment, partly through their secretome. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membranous nanovesicles secreted by multiple types of cells and have been demonstrated to mediate intercellular communication in both physiological and pathological conditions. However, numerous questions still remain regarding the underlying mechanisms and functional consequences of these interactions.

In vitro inhibition of HIV-1 replication in autologous CD4 T cells indicates viral containment by multifactorial mechanisms.

HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) are present during chronic infection, but the relative contributions of these effector mechanisms to viral containment remain unclear. Here, using an in vitro model involving autologous CD4 T cells, primary HIV-1 isolates, HIV-1-specific CTLs, and neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, we show that b12, a potent and broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibody to HIV-1, was able to block viral infection when preincubated with virus prior to infection, but was much less effective than CTLs at limiting virus replication when added to infected cell cultures. However, the same neutralizing antibody was able to contain viruses by antibody-dependent cell-mediated virus inhibition in vitro, which was mediated by natural killer cells (NKs) and dependent on an Fc-Fc receptor interaction.

Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote proliferation and migration in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells through activation of the ERK pathway.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to migrate to tumor tissues and to play an important role in cancer progression. However, the effects of MSCs on tumor progression remain controversial. The purpose of the present study was to detect the effects of human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (hUC‑MSCs) on the human breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB‑231 and MCF-7 in vitro and the underlying mechanisms.

Let-7a inhibits growth and migration of breast cancer cells by targeting HMGA1.

Let-7 is one of the earliest discovered microRNAs (miRNAs) and has been reported to regulate self renewal and tumorigenicity of breast cancer cells. Let-7a is a member of this family and its function has not been fully characterized in breast cancer. First, total RNAs of breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231, MCF-7), breast cancer tissues and corresponding adjacent normal tissues were extracted and used to detect let-7a expression by qRT-PCR.