Establishment of a defined bonr marrow niche for testing in vitro chemosensitivity of acute myeloid leukaemic stwm and progenitor cells

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Process study, development and degradation behavior of different size scale electrospun poly(caprolactone) and poly(lactic acid) fibers

This study describes the preparation of electrospun poly( caprolactone) (PCL) and poly( lactic acid) (PLA) fibrous scaffolds with and without nano-hydroxyapatite ( nHAp) having nanoscale, microscale and combined micro/nano ( multiscale) architecture. Processing parameters such as polymer concentration, voltage, flow rate and solvent compositions were varied in wide range to display the effect of each one in determining the diameter and morphology of fibers. The effect of each regulating parameter on fiber morphology and diameter was evaluated and characterized using scanning electron microscope ( SEM). Degradability of the selected fibrous scaffolds was verified by phosphate buffered saline immersion and its morphology was analyzed through SEM, after 5 and 12 months. Quantitative measurement in degradation was further evaluated through pH analysis of the medium. Both studies revealed that PLA had faster degradation compared to PCL irrespective of the size scale nature of fibers. Structural stability evaluation of the degraded fibers in comparison with pristine fibers by thermogravimetric analysis further confirmed faster degradability of PLA compared to PCL fibers. The results indicate that PLA showed faster degradation than PCL irrespective of the size-scale nature of fibrous scaffolds, and therefore, could be applied in a variety of biomedical applications including tissue engineering

Deciphering the Role of MicroRNAs in Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a type of peripheral sympathetic nervous system cancer that most commonly affects children. It is caused by the improper differentiation of primitive neural crest cells during embryonic development. Although NB occurs for 8% of paediatric cancers, it accounts for 15% of cancer-related deaths. Despite a considerable increase in cytotoxic chemo- and radiotherapy, patients in advanced stages remain virtually incurable. Therefore, there is a desperate necessity for new treatment strategies to be investigated. Accumulating evidence suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs with 19–25 nucleotides lengths and play a central role in the development of NB carcinogenesis. Fascinatingly, miRNA inhibitors have an antisense property that can inhibit miRNA function and suppress the activity of mature miRNA. However, many studies have addressed miRNA inhibition in the treatment of NB, but their molecular mechanisms and signalling pathways are yet to be analysed. In this study, we impart the current state of knowledge about the role of miRNA inhibition in the aetiology of NB

Adipose derived mesenchymal stem cell secretome formulation as a biotherapeutic to inhibit growth of drug resistant triple negative breast cancer

Abstract In the present study, a protocol was developed for processing of human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cell secretome formulation of varying concentration. Its molecular composition was evaluated, and its effectiveness in vitro using breast cancer cell lines, and in vivo in a nude mice breast cancer model was studied to determine its role in suppressing triple negative breast cancer in a dose dependent manner. Because the secretome could have value as an add-on therapy along with a current drug, the effectiveness of the secretome both in monotherapy and in combination therapy along with paclitaxel was evaluated. The results showed significant cell kill when exposed to the secretome above 20 mg/ml at which concentration there was no toxicity to normal cells. 70 mg/ml of SF showed 90 ± 10% apoptosis and significant decrease in CD44+/CD24−, MDR1+ and PDL-1+ cancer cells. In vivo, the tumor showed no growth after daily intra tumor injections at 50 mg/ml and 100 mg/ml doses whereas substantial tumor growth occurred after saline intra tumor injection. The study concludes that SF is a potential biotherapeutic for breast cancer and could be used initially as an add-on therapy to other standard of care to provide improved efficacy without other adverse effects