Ascitic complement system in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer spreads intraperitoneally and forms fluid, whereby the diagnosis and therapy often become delayed. As the complement (C) system may provide a cytotoxic effector arm for both immunological surveillance and mAb-therapy, we have characterised the C system in the intraperitoneal ascitic fluid (AF) from ovarian cancer patients. Most of the AF samples showed alternative and classical pathway haemolytic activity. The levels of C3 and C4 were similar to or in the lower normal range when compared to values in normal sera, respectively. However, elevated levels of C3a and soluble C5b-9 suggested C activation in vivo. Malignant cells isolated from the AF samples had surface deposits of C1q and C3 activation products, but not of C5b-9 (the membrane attack complex; MAC). Activation could have become initiated by anti-tumour cell antibodies that were detected in the AFs and/or by changes on tumour cell surfaces. The lack of MAC was probably due to the expression of C membrane regulators CD46, CD55 and CD59 on the tumour cells. Soluble forms of C1 inhibitor, CD59 and CD46, and the alternative pathway inhibitors factor H and FHL-1 were present in the AF at concentrations higher than in serum samples. Despite the presence of soluble C inhibitors it was possible to use AF as a C source in antibody-initiated killing of ovarian carcinoma cells. These results demonstrate that although the ovarian ascitic C system fails as an effective immunological surveillance mechanism, it could be utilised as an effector mechanism in therapy with intraperitoneally administrated mAbs, especially if the intrinsic C regulators are neutralised

Novel, integrated biorefinery approach of Ceiba pentandra (Kapok) seed and its secondary waste

Total utilization of waste resources to harnessing energy based on the green engineering approach (biorefinery) is the main feature of this work. Kapok seed and its seed cake have been successfully transformed into renewable high-value products by the application of integrated biorefinery combining in situ subcritical methanol transesterification and pyrolysis processes. The in situ subcritical methanol transesterification of kapok seed into biodiesel was conducted at various temperatures (120180 °C) and pressures (23.5 MPa) for 28 h with a methanol/seed mass ratio of 24:1. The resulting seed cake was thermochemically converted to bio-oil and char via a slow pyrolysis process. The experiments were performed at five temperatures ranging from 300 to 700 °C within 24 h with two heating rates of 10 and 20 °C/min. The products namely biodiesel, bio-oil, and char all show suitable physicochemical properties as well as gross calorific value to be used as an alternative energy source displacing conventional petroleum fuel for industrial and transportation purposes

Therapeutic Effects of Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Microvesicles on Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Rats

Aim: Microvesicles (MVs) are nanoscale membrane fragments released from virtually all cell types upon activation or apoptosis, and may contribute to the beneficial effects of stem cell therapy. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) derived MVs (MSC-MVs) on pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) in rats. Methods: MSC-MVs were isolated from rat bone marrow MSCs that were cultured in a serum-free conditioned medium. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), flow cytometry and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) were used to characterize the MVs. Adult SD rats were injected with monocrotaline (50 mg/kg, sc) to induce PAH. Three weeks later, the rats were intravenously injected with MSCs, MSC-MVs or saline for 2 weeks. At the end of treatments, the hemodynamic parameters and pathological right ventricular and pulmonary arterial remodeling were analyzed in each group. Results: The MSC-MVs showed general morphologic characteristics of MVs and expressed annexin V and CD29 markers under TEM, and their size ranged from 40 to 300 nm. Intravenous injection of MSC-MVs or MSCs significantly ameliorated the mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) and mean right ventricle pressure (mRVP) in PAH rats. Furthermore, intravenous injection of MSC-MVs or MSCs significantly decreased the right ventricle (RV) hypertrophy and pulmonary arteriole area index (AI) and thickness index (TI) in PAH rats. Conclusion: Intravenous injection of MSC-MVs or MSCs produces similar beneficial effects for treating PAH, and our results provide a basis for cell-free approach in stem cell therapy