Search results for " STEM"

MicroRNAs expression in c-Kit+/Sca-1+/MDR-1+ cardiac stem cells in three dimensional cultures

2011

CHARACTERIZATION AND ENERGETIC METABOLISM ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT POPULATIONS OF UMBILICAL CORD MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS FOR THE TREATMENT OF STROKE

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. A direct consequence of oxygen and glucose deprivation during stroke is the dysfunction of mitochondria that impairs oxidative metabolism and contributes to oxidative stress, neuronal death and inflammation. Human umbilical cord (UC)-derived MSCs (UC-MSCs) are an attractive source for regenerative medicine purposes due to their self-renewal and multipotent differentiation potential, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory abilities. Notably, because UC is supplied from only three blood vessels, the UC-MSCs are physiologically adapted to survive in a relatively hypoxic and glucose poor environment leading to the hypothesis that thes…

Enhancing the Activation and Releasing the Brakes: A Double Hit Strategy to Improve NK Cell Cytotoxicity Against Multiple Myeloma

2018

Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes with a strong antitumor ability. In tumor patients, such as multiple myeloma (MM) patients, an elevated number of NK cells after stem cell transplantation (SCT) has been reported to be correlated with a higher overall survival rate. With the aim of improving NK cell use for adoptive cell therapy, we also addressed the cytotoxicity of patient-derived, cytokine-stimulated NK cells against MM cells at specific time points: at diagnosis and before and after autologous stem cell transplantation. Remarkably, after cytokine stimulation, the patients' NK cells did not significantly differ from those of healthy donors. In a small cohort of MM patients…

Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Preterm Umbilical Cords: Isolation, Characterization and Potential Use as Extrahepatic Progenitors

2014

Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis with Bone Marrow-Derived Mononuclear Cell Injection: 12-Month Follow-up.

2018

Objectives To evaluate the main symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and tissue structure changes after a single dose bone marrow–derived mononuclear cell (BM MNC) intra articular injection. Case series study. Patients with knee OA Kellgren Lawrence (K-L) grade II and III received 1 injection of BM MNC. The clinical results were analyzed with the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and Knee Society Score (KSS) before, 3, 6, and 12 months after injection. Radiological evaluation was performed with a calibrated x-ray and the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging before and 6 to 7 months postinjection. Results A total of 34 knees were treated with BM MNC injections. Mean (±SD) age of…

The soluble terminal complement complex (SC5b-9) up-regulates osteoprotegerin expression and release by endothelial cells: Implications in rheumatoid…

2009

Objective. Complement activation products contribute to a large number of inflammatory diseases, including RA. We have investigated whether osteoprotegerin (OPG) may concur with the soluble terminal complement complex (SC5b-9) to the inflammatory cascade characterizing RA. Methods. Levels of SC5b-9 and OPG in the plasma and SF of patients with active RA were determined by ELISA. The presence of SC5b-9 and OPG in RA synovial lesions was analysed by immunohistochemistry. Cultured endothelial cells were used for in vitro leucocyte/endothelial cell adhesion assays. In addition, endothelial cells were exposed to SC5b-9 in order to evaluate the effects on the production of OPG protein, as well as…

New Modalities in Knee Osteoarthritis Treatment Using Autologous Bone Marrow-Derived Mononuclear Cells

2018

Abstract The clinical effects on knee osteoarthritis (OA) symptoms and tissue structure were evaluated after bone marrow-derived mononuclear cell intraarticular injection. A group of 32 patients with 34 knee joints in stage II–III osteoarthritis were treated by intraarticular injection of mononuclear cell suspension. Clinical results were obtained by KOOS (Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score) and KSS (Knee Society Score) scores during a 12 months follow-up period. Radiological evaluation was performed using magnetic resonance imaging. A comparison with a control group of 28 patients treated with routinely used three hyaluronic acid intra-articular injections was made. No adverse effects were …

Type V collagen counteracts osteo-differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells

2014

In search of novel gene signatures for osteo-differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), we submitted cDNA preparations from undifferentiated and differentiating MSCs to differential display- and semiquantitative-PCR and found down-regulation of COL5A1 in osteo-induced cultures at days 21 and 28, when the mineralized matrix accumulates. We also cultured osteo-differentiating MSCs onto type V collagen substrates and found a decrease in the accumulation of extracellular calcium compared to those grown in uncoated flasks. To our knowledge, this is first evidence that type V collagen might represent a stromal component that impairs osteogenesis.

Role of PRRs (TLR2 and Dectin-1) in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell differentiation: implications in protection against Candida albicans infec…

2020

Detection of infection by hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) is essential to replace myeloid cells consumed during the immune response. HSPCs express some functional pattern recognition receptors involved in the recognition of Candida albicans. In this context, our group has previously demonstrated that C. albicans yeasts induce proliferation and differentiation of HSPCs via TLR2 and Dectin-1. In the present PhD thesis, we used in vitro and ex vivo models of HSPC differentiation to investigate the functional consequences for mature myeloid cells of exposure of HSPCs to PAMPs or C. albicans yeasts. In vitro experiments show that murine HSPCs continuously exposed to TLR2 or TLR4 …

Destroying the Shield of Cancer Stem Cells: Natural Compounds as Promising Players in Cancer Therapy

2022

In a scenario where eco-sustainability and a reduction in chemotherapeutic drug waste are certainly a prerogative to safeguard the biosphere, the use of natural products (NPs) represents an alternative therapeutic approach to counteract cancer diseases. The presence of a heterogeneous cancer stem cell (CSC) population within a tumor bulk is related to disease recurrence and therapy resistance. For this reason, CSC targeting presents a promising strategy for hampering cancer recurrence. Increasing evidence shows that NPs can inhibit crucial signaling pathways involved in the maintenance of CSC stemness and sensitize CSCs to standard chemotherapeutic treatments. Moreover, their limited toxici…