QIUQIANG CHEN^1,*, XIAOLEI ZHAO², WENXUE MA^3,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.1, pp. 95-98, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.046174

Abstract Greenblatt and his team have unveiled vertebral skeletal stem cells (vSSCs) as a critical player in the landscape of bone metastasis. This commentary delves into the transformative discoveries surrounding vSSCs, emphasizing their distinct role in bone metastasis compared to other stem cell lineages. We illuminate the unique properties and functions of vSSCs, which may account for the elevated susceptibility of vertebral bones to metastatic invasion. Furthermore, we explore the exciting therapeutic horizons opened by this newfound understanding. These include potential interventions targeting vSSCs, modulation of associated signaling pathways, and broader implications for the treatment and management of bone metastasis. By… More > Graphic Abstract

HANY M. ABD EL-LATEEF^1,2,*, SAFA H. QAHL³, EMAN FAYAD⁴, SARAH A. ALTALHI⁴, IBRAHIM JAFRI⁴, EL SHAIMAA SHABANA⁵, MARWA K. DARWISH^6,7, REHAB MAHER⁸, SAAD SHAABAN^1,9, SHADY G. EL-SAWAH^10,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1885-1895, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.030680

Abstract Background: The increasing occurrence of diabetes mellitus (DM) noted worldwide has considerably elicited concern in the recent past. DM is associated with elevated vascular complications, morbidity, mortality, and poor quality of life. In this context, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown significant therapeutic potentialities in managing and curing type 1 DM owing to their self-renewable, immunosuppressive, and differentiation capacities. We investigated the potential action of N, N′-diphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (DPPD), a well-known synthetic antioxidant to enhance the therapeutic ability of the adipose-derived stem cells (AD-MSCs) in alleviating kidney and liver complications in diabetic rats. Methods: Over the four weeks of experiments, albino… More > Graphic Abstract

CARL RANDALL HARREL¹, VALENTIN DJONOV², ANA VOLAREVIC³, DRAGICA PAVLOVIC⁴, VLADISLAV VOLAREVIC^4,5,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1757-1769, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028567

Abstract Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-Exos) are nano-sized extracellular vesicles enriched with bioactive molecules, such as microRNAs, enzymes, cytokines, chemokines, immunomodulatory, trophic, and growth factors. These molecules regulate the survival, phenotype, and function of malignant and tumor-infiltrated immune cells. Due to their nano-size and bilayer lipid envelope, MSC-Exos can easily bypass biological barriers and may serve as drug carriers to deliver chemotherapeutics directly into the tumor cells. Here, we summarize current knowledge regarding molecular mechanisms responsible for MSC-Exos-dependent modulation of tumor progression and discuss insights regarding the therapeutic potential of MSC-Exos in the treatment of malignant diseases. More > Graphic Abstract

WENQI CHEN^1,#, XIAOYANG CHU^2,#, YANG ZENG^3,#, YOUSHENG YAN⁴, YIPENG WANG⁴, DONGLAN SUN¹, DONGLIANG ZHANG⁵, JING ZHANG^1,*, KAI YANG^4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.7, pp. 1561-1569, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028851

Abstract Background: Receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 2 (ROR2) has a vital role in osteogenesis. However, the mechanism underlying the regulation of ROR2 in osteogenic differentiation is still poorly comprehended. A previous study by our research group showed that a novel compound heterozygous ROR2 variation accounted for the autosomal recessive Robinow syndrome (ARRS). This study attempted to explore the impact of the ROR2: c.904C>T variant specifically on the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. Methods: Coimmunoprecipitation (CoIP)-western blotting was carried out to identify the interaction between ROR2 and Wnt5a. Double-immunofluorescence staining was used for determining the expressions and co-localization of ROR2 and Wnt5a… More > Graphic Abstract

YANG CAO^1,#, YINING LIU^1,#, YANG YU¹, XIAOFEI GUO¹, XIUXIU WANG¹, WENYA MA¹, HANJING LI², ZHONGYU REN², XINLU GAO², SIJIA LI², HAOYU JI², HONGYANG CHEN², HONG YAN², YANAN TIAN², XIN WANG², BENZHI CAI^1,2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.6, pp. 1407-1416, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.029080

Abstract Background: Cardiomyocytes derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are regulated by complex and stringent gene networks during differentiation. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) exert critical epigenetic regulatory functions in multiple differentiation processes. However, the involvement of lncRNAs in the differentiation of hESCs into cardiomyocytes has not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we identified the key roles of ZFAS1 (lncRNA zinc finger antisense 1) in the differentiation of cardiomyocytes from hESCs. Methods: A model of cardiomyocyte differentiation from stem cells was established using the monolayer differentiation method, and the number of beating hESCs-derived cardiomyocytes was calculated. Gene expression was analyzed by… More >

MIZUNA YANO¹, KOTA HIROI¹, TETSUYA YUASA¹, KENJI INOUE¹, OSAMU YAMAMOTO¹, TAKAO NAKAMURA², DAISUKE SATO¹, ZHONGGANG FENG^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.5, pp. 1095-1106, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028186

Abstract Background: Human heart changes its energetic substrates from lactate and glucose to fatty acids during the neonatal period. Noticing the lack of fatty acids in media for the culture of cardiomyocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hiPS-CM), researchers have supplemented mixtures of fatty acids to hiPS-CM and reported the enhancement in the maturation of hiPS-CM. In our previous studies, we separately supplemented two polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or arachidonic acid (AA), to rat fetal cardiomyocytes and found that the supplementations upregulated the expressions of mRNAs for cardiomyocyte differentiation, fatty acid metabolism, and cellular adhesion. The enhancement… More >

XIN TIAN, XIANGLING HE^*, SHUQIN QIAN, RUNYING ZOU, KEKE CHEN, CHENGGUANG ZHU, ZEXI YIN

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.5, pp. 1085-1093, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.027090

Abstract Background: The immunomodulatory effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their exosomes have been receiving increasing attention. This study investigated the immunoregulatory effects of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) and their exosomes on phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Methods: The hAMSCs used in the experiment were identified by light microscopy and flow cytometry, and the differentiation ability of the cells was determined by Oil Red O and Alizarin Red staining. The expressions of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and interleukin (IL)-6 were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction… More >

VIJAY KUMAR^1,#, PRAVEEN C. RAMAMURTHY^2,#, SIMRANJEET SINGH^2,#, DALJEET SINGH DHANJAL³, PARUL PARIHAR⁴, DEEPIKA BHATIA⁵, RAM PRASAD^6,*, JOGINDER SINGH^7,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.5, pp. 1159-1176, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.022065

Abstract Phyllanthus emblica or Indian gooseberry is an integrated part of Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicines. For several decades, the well-known ancient herb has been extensively utilized in traditional medicine to cure diseases like fever, diabetes, constipation, jaundice, ulcers, biliousness, anemia, anorexia, and dyspepsia. In the traditional system, Indian gooseberry has various ethnomedicinal applications. In the Ayurvedic system, different methods of administration (anupan) have shown different ethnomedicinal properties of Indian gooseberry. Seventy well-known chemical components in Indian gooseberry have been identified through phytochemical evaluation, among which the flavonoids and phenols are most prominent. From the toxicity perspective, it is considered a… More >

YIFAN XU^1,#, DONGMEI CHENG^1,#, LEI HU¹, XIN DONG², LIYING LV², CHEN ZHANG², JIAN ZHOU^1,3,4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.4, pp. 825-836, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.026122

Abstract The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is the main target of tooth regeneration regulation. Treatment of cells with AZD2858 stimulates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, yet the function of this pathway in tooth regeneration remains unclear. Here, we found that AZD2858 promotes the accumulation of β-catenin in the nuclei of stem cells from the apical papilla (SCAPs) and enhances cell proliferation. Single-cell sequencing was performed on SCAPs treated with AZD2858. Eight clusters were identified, namely SCAPs-CNTNAP2, SCAPs-DTL, SCAPs-MYH11, SCAPs-MKI67, SCAPs-CXCL8, SCAPs-TPM2, SCAPs-IFIT2 and SCAPs-NEK10. The pseudo-time trajectory analysis showed that AZD2858 enhanced the evolution of SCAPs from SCAPs-TMP2 clusters to SCAPs-MYH11, SCAPs-CNTNAPs and… More >

XIAOYIN LI^1,#, QIAN WANG^2,#, HONGFENG LIANG^3,#, SHISHENG CHEN^4,#, HAIWEN CHEN^1,#, YAOYONG LU^1,*, CHANGFU YANG^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.30, No.2, pp. 77-87, 2022, DOI:10.32604/or.2022.026511

Abstract In this study, we investigated the functional role of eukaryotic initiation factor 5B (EIF5B) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the underlying mechanisms. Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that the EIF5B transcript and protein levels as well as the EIF5Bcopy number were significantly higher in the HCC tissues compared with the non-cancerous liver tissues. Down-regulation of EIF5B significantly decreased proliferation and invasiveness of the HCC cells. Furthermore, EIF5B knockdown suppressed epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the cancer stem cell (CSC) phenotype. Down-regulation of EIF5B also increased the sensitivity of HCC cells to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). In the HCC cells, activation of the NF-kappa B signaling… More >