Human amniotic epithelial cell transplantation promotes neurogenesis and ameliorates social deficits in BTBR mice.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interactions and communication and stereotypical patterns of behaviors, interests, or activities. Even with the increased prevalence of ASD, there is no defined standard drug treatment for ASD patients. Currently, stem cells, including human amniotic epithelial cell (hAEC) transplantation, seem to be a promising treatment for ASD, but the effectiveness needs to be verified, and the mechanism has not been clarified.

Microglia Mediate Synaptic Material Clearance at the Early Stage of Rats With Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Resident microglia are the main immune cells in the retina and play a key role in the pathogenesis of retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Many previous studies on the roles of microglia mainly focused on the neurotoxicity or neuroprotection of photoreceptors, while their contributions to synaptic remodeling of neuronal circuits in the retina of early RP remained unclarified. In the present study, we used Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats, a classic RP model characterized by progressive microglia activation and synapse loss, to investigate the constitutive effects of microglia on the synaptic lesions and ectopic neuritogenesis.

Human embryonic stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelium transplants as a potential treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration.

Stem cell therapy may provide a safe and promising treatment for retinal diseases. Wet age-related macular degeneration (wet-AMD) is a leading cause of blindness in China. We developed a clinical-grade human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line, Q-CTS-hESC-2, under xeno-free conditions that differentiated into retinal pigment epithelial cells (Q-CTS-hESC-2-RPE).

LncRNA ZEB1-AS1 expression in cancer prognosis: Review and meta-analysis.

Backgrounds: Several studies have explored the prognostic value of long non-coding RNA ZEB1 antisense RNA 1 (lncRNA ZEB1-AS1) in various types of cancer. However, the role of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 in cancer prognosis remains unclear. This study aimed to summarize the prognostic value of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 in cancer.