Lung tumorspheres reveal cancer stem cell-like properties and a score with prognostic impact in resected non-small-cell lung cancer

AbstractThe high resistance against current therapies found in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been associated to cancer stem-like cells (CSCs), a population for which the identification of targets and biomarkers is still under development. In this study, primary cultures from early-stage NSCLC patients were established, using sphere-forming assays for CSC enrichment and adherent conditions for the control counterparts. Patient-derived tumorspheres showed self-renewal and unlimited exponential growth potentials, resistance against chemotherapeutic agents, invasion and differentiation capacities in vitro, and superior tumorigenic potential in vivo. Using quantitative PCR, gene express…

Mesenchymal Stem Cells Provide Better Results Than Hematopoietic Precursors for the Treatment of Myocardial Infarction

Objectives The purpose of this study was to compare the ability of human CD34(+) hematopoietic stem cells and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) to treat myocardial infarction (MI) in a model of permanent left descendent coronary artery (LDA) ligation in nude rats. Background Transplantation of human CD34(+) cells and MSC has been proved to be effective in treating MI, but no comparative studies have been performed to elucidate which treatment prevents left ventricular (LV) remodelling more efficiently. Methods Human bone marrow MSC or freshly isolated CD34(+) cells from umbilical cord blood were injected intramyocardially in infarcted nude rats. Cardiac function was analyzed by echoc…

MA04.03 Lung Tumorspheres Characterization Reveals Cancer Stem-Like Cells Potential Targets and Prognostic Markers in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Characterization of lung tumourspheres reveals cancer stem-like cells potential targets and prognostic markers in non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract Background Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the first cause of death cancer-related worldwide mainly due to high therapeutic resistance. This resistance is related to cancer stem-like cells (CSCs), for which the identification of targets and markers is still ongoing. Methods Primary cultures from 8 NSCLC patients were established as tumorspheres and as monolayers. CSCs properties were tested for both conditions in vitro and in vivo. The expression of 50 CSCs-related genes was assessed by RTqPCR and proteins of significantly overexpressed genes were examined by immunoblot and immunofluorescence. The prognostic role of these genes was analyzed in a cohort of 661 NSCLC patients f…

A Xenogeneic-Free Protocol for Isolation and Expansion of Human Adipose Stem Cells for Clinical Uses

Human adipose stem cells (hASCs) play a crucial role in the fields of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering for different reasons: the abundance of adipose tissue, their easy harvesting, the ability to multipotent differentiation and the fact that they do not trigger allogeneic blood response or secrete cytokines that act as immunosuppressants. The vast majority of protocols use animal origin reagents, with the underlying risk of transmitting infections by non-human pathogens. We have designed a protocol to isolate and maintain the properties of hASCs avoiding xenogeneic reagents. These changes not only preserve hASCs morphology, but also increase cell proliferation and maintain thei…

Heart valve tissue engineering: how far is the bedside from the bench?

Heart disease, including valve pathologies, is the leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the progress made thanks to improving transplantation techniques, a perfect valve substitute has not yet been developed: once a diseased valve is replaced with current technologies, the newly implanted valve still needs to be changed some time in the future. This situation is particularly dramatic in the case of children and young adults, because of the necessity of valve growth during the patient's life. Our review focuses on the current status of heart valve (HV) therapy and the challenges that must be solved in the development of new approaches based on tissue engineering. Scientists and physicia…

Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells Improve Left Ventricular Function, Induce Angiogenesis, and Reduce Infarct Size in Rats with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Abstract Human dental pulp contains precursor cells termed dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) that show self-renewal and multilineage differentiation and also secrete multiple proangiogenic and antiapoptotic factors. To examine whether these cells could have therapeutic potential in the repair of myocardial infarction (MI), DPSC were infected with a retrovirus encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and expanded ex vivo. Seven days after induction of myocardial infarction by coronary artery ligation, 1.5 × 106 GFP-DPSC were injected intramyocardially in nude rats. At 4 weeks, cell-treated animals showed an improvement in cardiac function, observed by percentage changes in anterior wall thic…