Tissue-type plasminogen activator-primed human iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells promote motor recovery after severe spinal cord injury.

The goal of stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury (SCI) is to restore motor function without exacerbating pain. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) may be administered by autologous transplantation, avoiding immunologic challenges. Identifying strategies to optimize iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells (hiNPC) for cell transplantation is an important objective. Herein, we report a method that takes advantage of the growth factor-like and anti-inflammatory activities of the fibrinolysis protease, tissue plasminogen activator tPA, without effects on hemostasis. We demonstrate that conditioning hiNPC with enzymatically-inactive tissue-type plasminogen activator (EI-tPA), prior to grafting into a T3 lesion site in a clinically relevant severe SCI model, significantly improves motor outcomes. EI-tPA-primed hiNPC grafted into lesion sites survived, differentiated, acquired markers of motor neuron maturation, and extended βIII-tubulin-positive axons several spinal segments below the lesion. Importantly, only SCI rats that received EI-tPA primed hiNPC demonstrated significantly improved motor function, without exacerbating pain. When hiNPC were treated with EI-tPA in culture, NMDA-R-dependent cell signaling was initiated, expression of genes associated with stemness (Nestin, Sox2) was regulated, and thrombin-induced cell death was prevented. EI-tPA emerges as a novel agent capable of improving the efficacy of stem cell therapy in SCI

Blocking Zika virus vertical transmission.

The outbreak of the Zika virus (ZIKV) has been associated with increased incidence of congenital malformations. Although recent efforts have focused on vaccine development, treatments for infected individuals are needed urgently. Sofosbuvir (SOF), an FDA-approved nucleotide analog inhibitor of the Hepatitis C (HCV) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) was recently shown to be protective against ZIKV both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we show that SOF protected human neural progenitor cells (NPC) and 3D neurospheres from ZIKV infection-mediated cell death and importantly restored the antiviral immune response in NPCs. In vivo, SOF treatment post-infection (p.i.) decreased viral burden in an immunodeficient mouse model. Finally, we show for the first time that acute SOF treatment of pregnant dams p.i. was well-tolerated and prevented vertical transmission of the virus to the fetus. Taken together, our data confirmed SOF-mediated sparing of human neural cell types from ZIKV-mediated cell death in vitro and reduced viral burden in vivo in animal models of chronic infection and vertical transmission, strengthening the growing body of evidence for SOF anti-ZIKV activity

Author Correction: Blocking Zika virus vertical transmission.

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MEFV mutation analysis in Turkish familial Mediterranean fever families.

WOS: 000082879802752

Mutation Spectrum of Fumarylacetoacetase Gene and Clinical Aspects of Tyrosinemia Type I Disease

Dursun, Ali/0000-0003-1104-9902; Ozgul, Riza Koksal/0000-0002-0283-635XWOS: 000294929800003PubMed: 23430822Tyrosinemia type I (OMIM 276700) is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency in the fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) enzyme. This study examined the spectrum of FAH gene mutation in 32 patients with tyrosinemia type I. In addition, clinical and biochemical findings were evaluated to establish a genotype phenotype relationship in the patients. Mutation screening was performed using a 50K custom-designed resequencing microarray chip (TR_06_01r520489, Affymetrix) and sequencing analysis. Of the 12 different mutations found, 6 are categorized as novel. Three of the mutations-IVS6-1G>A, D233V, and IVS3-3C>G-are the most common in Turkish patients, comprising 25%, 17.1%, and 12.5% of mutant alleles, respectively. Clinical evaluations suggest that the spectrum of symptoms observed in the patients with very early and early disease were of the more nonspecific form, whereas the patients with late-presenting disease had more of the distinctive form over the course of the disease. This study adds support to the notion that the D233V mutation is specific to the Turkish population

MUTATIONS IN FUMARYLACETOACETATE HYDROLASE GENE AND GENOTYPE-PHENOTYPE RELATION

Dursun, Ali/0000-0003-1104-9902WOS: 000281735000013