NF-Kβ Activation in U266 Cells on Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Purpose: Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) are one of the essential members of Bone Marrow (BM) microenvironment and the cells affect normal and malignant cells in BM milieu. One of the most important hematological malignancies is Multiple Myeloma (MM). Numerous studies reported various effects of MSCs on myeloma cells. MSCs initiate various signaling pathways in myeloma cells, particularly NF-kβ. NF-kβ signaling pathway plays pivotal role in the survival, proliferation and resistance of myeloma cells to the anticancer drugs, therefore this pathway can be said to be a vital target for cancer therapy. This study examined the relationship between U266 cells and MSCs. Methods: U266 cells were cultured with Umbilical Cord Blood derived-MSCs (UCB-MSCs) and Conditioned Medium (C.M). Effect of UCB-MSCs and C.M on proliferation rate and CD54 expression of U266 cells were examined with MTT assay and Flowcytometry respectively. Furthermore, expression of CXCL1, PECAM-1, JUNB, CCL2, CD44, CCL4, IL-6, and IL-8 were analyzed by Real Time-PCR (RT-PCR). Moreover, status of p65 protein in NF-kβ pathway assessed by western blotting. Results: Our findings confirm that UCB-MSCs support U266 cells proliferation and they increase CD54 expression. In addition, we demonstrate that UCB-MSCs alter the expression of CCL4, IL-6, IL-8, CXCL1 and the levels of phosphorylated p65 in U266 cells.Conclusion: Our study provides a novel sight to the role of MSCs in the activation of NF-kβ signaling pathway. So, NF-kβ signaling pathway will be targeted in future therapies against MM

Low-Level Laser Irradiation Modulated Viability of Normal and Tumor Human Lymphocytes In Vitro

Introduction: Laser radiation is a promising strategy against various malignancies. Recent studies have shown that the application of low-power laser therapy (LPLT) at different doses and exposure times could modulate the growth dynamic of tumor cells. Based on the type of laser, LPLT could potentially trigger cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis in different cell lines.Methods: In this study, MTT assay was used to monitor the effect of low and high laser intensities on the viability of normal and cancer lymphocytes. The protein levels of Ki-67 (a proliferation marker) and Caspase-3 (an apoptosis factor) were measured in human peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and the B-lymphoblastic cell line (Nalm-6) using flow cytometry after being-exposed to 630-nm LPLT at low (2, 4, 6, and 10 J/cm2) and high (15, 30, 60, and 120 J/cm2) energy densities in a continuous mode for 48 and 72 hours.Results: By using higher energy densities, 60 and 120 J/cm2, a significant decrease was shown in the viability of Nalm-6 cells, which reached 6.6 and 10.1% after 48 hours compared to the control cells (P < 0.05). Notably, Cell exposure to doses 30, 60, and 120 J/cm2 yielded 7.5, 12.9, and 21.6 cell viability reduction after 72 hours. The collected data showed that the high-intensity parameters of LPLT (15 to 120 J/cm2) promoted significant apoptotic changes in the exposed cells coincided with the activation of Caspase-3 compared to the none-treated control cells (P < 0.05). The data further showed the stimulation of the Ki-67 factor both in primary PBMCs and the lymphoblastic cell line treated with LPLT at energy densities of 4 and 6 J/cm2 (P < 0.05), indicating enhanced cell proliferation. Similar to Nalm-6 cells, primary PBMCs showed apoptosis after 48 hours of being exposed to doses 60, and 120 J/cm2, indicated by increased Caspase-3 levels (P < 0.05). As expected, the Nalm-6 cells were resistant to cytotoxic effects of laser irradiation in the first 48 hours (P > 0.05) compared to normal PBMCs. The exposure of Nalm-6 cells to low-intensity laser intensities increased a proliferation rate compared to the PBMCs treated with the same doses.Conclusion: We showed the potency of LPLT in the induction of apoptosis and proliferation in human primary PBMCs and Nalm-6 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner after 72 hours.

The Effect of Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Microvesicles on Erythroid Differentiation of Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived CD34+ Cells

Purpose: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play an important role in the proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the bone marrow via cell-to-cell contact, as well as secretion of cytokines and microvesicles (MVs). In this study, we investigated the effect of mesenchymal stem cell-derived microvesicles (MSC-MVs) on erythroid differentiation of umbilical cord blood-derived CD34+ cells. Methods: In this descriptive study, CD34+ cells were cultured with mixture of SCF (10 ng/ml) and rhEPO (5 U/ml) cytokines in complete IMDM medium as positive control group. Then, in MV1- and MV2-groups, microvesicles at 10 and 20 µg/ml concentration were added. After 72 hours, erythroid specific markers (CD71 and CD235a) and genes (HBG1, GATA1, FOG1 and NFE2) were assessed by flow cytometry and qRT-PCR, respectively. Results: The expression of specific markers of the erythroid lineages (CD71 and GPA) in the presence of different concentration of microvesicles were lower than that of the control group (P<0.001). Also, the expression of specific genes of the erythroid lineages (NFE2, FOG1, GATA1, and HBG1) was investigated in comparison to the internal control (GAPDH). Among all of them, HBG1 and FOG1 genes were significantly decreased to the control group (P<0.0001) but GATA1 and NFE2 gene expressions was not significant. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that MSC-MVs decrease the erythroid differentiation of umbilical cord blood-derived CD34+ cells. Therefore, MSC-MVs play a key role in the regulation of normal erythropoiesis

Seroprevalence of Cytomegalovirus in blood donors in the northwest of Iran

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the causal agent of infection in immunocompromised patients andtransplant recipients, or those patients who receive blood transfusion frequently. Seroprevalence of CMV has beenreported to be highest in South America, Africa, and Asia, and lowest in Western Europe and United States. Datareferring to the prevalence of anti-CMV antibody among healthy people in Iran is scanty, but its incidence may reach100% among blood donors and recipients, likely due to condensed population and socio-economic status. METHODS: The blood specimens of 200 volunteer donors were tested through ELISA for anti-CMV immunoglobulinG (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies in our hospital. RESULTS: According to these analyses, 98.5% and 85% of the specimens were found to be positive for anti-CMV IgGand IgM antibodies, respectively. This study shows that like other regions, anti-CMV seropositivity is high in Iran andblood transfusion is an important route of CMV spread. CONCLUSIONS: Since up to 95% of blood donors in Iran are seropositive for CMV, it would seem superfluous toscreen blood donors for CMV, as few seronegative blood units would be available for transfusion. Leukoreductioncould be a more appropriate and cost-effective prevention of transmission of CMV through infected blood in Iran

Immunomodulatory Nature and Site Specific Affinity of Mesenchymal Stem Cells: a Hope in Cell Therapy

Immunosuppressive ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), their differentiation properties to various specialized tissue types, ease of in vitro and in vivo expansion and specific migration capacity, make them to be tested in different clinical trials for the treatment of various diseases. The immunomodulatory effects of MSCs are less identified which probably has high clinically significance. The clinical trials based on primary research will cause better understanding the ability of MSCs in immunomodulatory applications and site specific migration in the optimization of therapy. So, this review focus on MSCs functional role in modulating immune responses, their ability in homing to tumor, their potency as delivery vehicle and their medical importance

Generation and Characterization of Anti-CD34 Monoclonal Antibodies that React with Hematopoietic Stem Cells

CD34 is a type I membrane protein with a molecular mass of approximately 110 kDa. This antigen is associated with human hematopoietic progenitor cells and is a differentiation stage-specific leukocyte antigen. In this study we have generated and characterized monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed against a CD34 marker. Mice were immunized with two keyhole lympet hemocyanin (KLH)-conjugated CD34 peptides. Fused cells were grown in hypoxanthine, aminopterine and thymidine (HAT) selective medium and cloned by the limiting dilution (L.D) method. Several monoclones were isolated by three rounds of limited dilutions. From these, we chose stable clones that presented sustained antibody production for subsequent characterization. Antibodies were tested for their reactivity and specificity to recognize the CD34 peptides and further screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blotting analyses. One of the mAbs (3D5) was strongly reactive against the CD34 peptide and with native CD34 from human umbilical cord blood cells (UCB) in ELISA and Western blotting analyses. The results have shown that this antibody is highly specific and functional in biomedical applications such as ELISA and Western blot assays. This monoclonal antibodies (mAb) can be a useful tool for isolation and purification of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)

The Effect of Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles on Hematopoietic Stem Cells Fate

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are multipotent stem cells, with self-renewal ability as well as ability to generate all blood cells. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells, with self-renewal ability, and capable of differentiating into a variety of cell types. MSCs have supporting effects on hematopoiesis; through direct intercellular communications as well as secreting cytokines, chemokines, and extracellular vesicles (EVs). Recent investigations demonstrated that some biological functions and effects of MSCs are mediated by their EVs. MSC-EVs are the cell membrane and endosomal membrane compartments, which are important mediators in the intercellular communications. MSC-EVs contain some of the molecules such as proteins, mRNA, siRNA, and miRNA from their parental cells. MSC-EVs are able to inhibit tumor, repair damaged tissue, and modulate immune system responses. MSC-EVs compared to their parental cells, may have the specific safety advantages such as the lower potential to trigger immune system responses and limited side effects. Recently some studies demonstrated the effect of MSC-EVs on the expansion, differentiation, and clinical applications of HSCs such as improvement of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and inhibition of graft versus host disease (GVHD). HSCT may be the only therapeutic choice for patients who suffer from malignant and non-malignant hematological disorders. However, there are several severe side effects such GVHD that restricts the successfulness of HSCT. In this review, we will discuss the most important effects of MSCs and MSC-EVs on the improvement of HSCT, inhibition and treatment of GVHD, as well as, on the expansion of HSCs

Improved Survival and Hematopoietic Differentiation of Murine Embryonic Stem Cells on Electrospun Polycaprolactone Nanofiber

Objective: Three-dimensional (3D) biomimetic nanofiber scaffolds have widespread applications in biomedical tissue engineering. They provide a suitable environment for cellular adhesion, survival, proliferation and differentiation, guide new tissue formation and development, and are one of the outstanding goals of tissue engineering. Electrospinning has recently emerged as a leading technique for producing biomimetic scaffolds with micro to nanoscale topography and a high porosity similar to the natural extracellular matrix (ECM). These scaffolds are comprised of synthetic and natural polymers for tissue engineering applications. Several kinds of cells such as human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and mouse ESCs (mESCs) have been cultured and differentiated on nanofiber scaffolds. mESCs can be induced to differentiate into a particular cell lineage when cultured as embryoid bodies (EBs) on nano-sized scaffolds. Materials and Methods: We cultured mESCs (2500 cells/100 μl) in 96-well plates with knockout Dulbecco’s modified eagle medium (DMEM-KO) and Roswell Park Memorial Institute-1640 (RPMI-1640), both supplemented with 20% ESC grade fetal bovine serum (FBS) and essential factors in the presence of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). mESCs were seeded at a density of 2500 cells/100 μl onto electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers in 96-well plates. The control group comprised mESCs grown on tissue culture plates (TCP) at a density of 2500 cells/100 μl. Differentiation of mESCs into mouse hematopoietic stem cells (mHSCs) was performed by stem cell factor (SCF), interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-6 and Fms-related tyrosine kinase ligand (Flt3-L) cytokines for both the PCL and TCP groups. We performed an experimental study of mESCs differentiation. Results: PCL was compared to conventional TCP for survival and differentiation of mESCs to mHSCs. There were significantly more mESCs in the PCL group. Flowcytometric analysis revealed differences in hematopoietic differentiation between the PCL and TCP culture systems. There were more CD34+ (Sca1+) and CD133+ cells subpopulations in the PCL group compared to the conventional TCP culture system. Conclusion: The nanofiber scaffold, as an effective surface, improves survival and differentiation of mESCs into mHSCs compared to gelatin coated TCP. More studies are necessary to understand how the topographical features of electrospun fibers affect cell growth and behavior. This can be achieved by designing biomimetic scaffolds for tissue engineering

Affinity Purification of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Expressed in Raji Cells by Produced scFv Antibody Coupled CNBr-Activated Sepharose

Purpose: Recombinant tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) has been utilized as an antineoplastic agent for the treatment of patients with melanoma and sarcoma. It targets tumor cell antigens by impressing tumor-associated vessels. Protein purification with affinity chromatography has been widely used in the downstream processing of pharmaceutical-grade proteins. Methods: In this study, we examined the potential of our produced anti-TNF-scFv fragments for purification of TNF-α produced by Raji cells. he Raji cells were induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to express TNF-α. Western blotting and Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) flow cytometry analyses were used to evaluate the TNF-α expression. The anti-TNF-α scFv selected from antibody phage display library was coupled to CNBr-activated sepharose 4B beads used for affinity purification of expressed TNF-α and the purity of the protein was assessed by SDS-PAGE. Results: Western blot and FACS flow cytometry analyses showed the successful expression of TNF-α with Raji cells. SDS-PAGE analysis showed the performance of scFv for purification of TNF-α protein with purity over 95%. Conclusion: These findings confirm not only the potential of the produced scFv antibody fragments but also this highly pure recombinant TNF-α protein can be applied for various in vitro and in vivo applications

Lactobacillus Casei Decreases Organophosphorus Pesticide Diazinon Cytotoxicity in Human HUVEC Cell Line

Purpose: Exposure to diazinon can trigger acute and chronic toxicity and significantly induces DNA damage and proapoptotic effects in different human cells. Due to the significance of probiotic bacteria antitoxin effect, this study aimed to investigate the effect of Lactobacillus casei on diazinon (DZN) cytotoxicity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in vitro. Methods: The cytotoxicity assessments were performed by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) test, DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) staining and flow cytometric methodologies. Results: Cytotoxic assessments through flow cytometry/ DAPI staining demonstrated that apoptosis is the main cytotoxic mechanism of diazinon in HUVEC cells and L. casei could decrease the diazinon cytotoxic effects on toxicants. Conclusion: the screen of total bacterial secreted metabolites can be considered as a wealthy source to find the new active compounds to introduce as reducing agricultural remained pesticide cytotoxicity effects on the human food chain