Modes of drainage of kidneys with bilateral malignant obstruction

Malignant ureteral obstruction (MUO) is an unpleasant finding resulting from a wide range of malignancies with limited survival prognosis. Its presentation and progression show that it can resist treatment with some stents, including single polymer ureteral stents. With most treatment failures, several treatments are available for the initial management and treatment of benign ureteral obstruction, including therapy with percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN), metallic stents, tandem stents, and other stents. Considering the variety of methods and the heterogeneous population of patients, evaluating the merit of each approach is challenging and needed. Due to the lack of significant studies in this field, these methods leave their performance up to the individual provider. This review aims to provide a framework for urologists to use for individual care and apply it appropriately to patients with MUO. Prospective clinical studies are needed to empower patients with MUO to receive evidence-based treatment and recommendations

Effect of Vitamin C on Bioviability and Differentiation Potential of Human Umbilical Cord Wharton’s Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Background and Objectives: Human umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells are one of the valuable sources for cell therapy and tissue engineering, and for these purposes, it is necessary to proliferate them in culture medium. Culture medium imposes oxidative stress on cells. Vitamin C (vit C) is a potent antioxidant. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of vit C on proliferation and differentiation of these cells.   Methods: After isolation and culture of cells from umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly, cells of third passage culture, were treated with different concentrations of vit C in five groups, including: 1- without vit C, 2- supplemented medium with 5µM of vit C; 3- supplemented medium with 50µM of vit C; 4- supplemented medium with 250, and 5- supplemented medium with 500µM of vit C. The treatment period was 9days. Cellular bioviability was assessed by MTT assay, and their differentiation potential was assessed by osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation inducer medium and histochemical staining.   Results: In this study, vit C with concentration of 250µM increased cellular bioviability, while other concentrations decreased it (p≤0.05). Also, 50µM concentration improved osteogenic differentiation; while, in terms of adipogenic differentiation, it could just uniform dispersion of lipid droplets with 50 µM concentration.   Conclusion: The results of this study showed that an appropriate concentration of vit C can increase the viability of Wharton’s jelly and affect osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation in a dose-dependent manner.     &nbsp

Improvement of mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into the endoderm lineage by four step sequential method in biocompatible biomaterial

Introduction: The goal of the study described here, was to investigate the potential of umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cell (UC-MSCs) into hepatocyte like cells in a sequential 2D and 3D differentiation protocols as alternative therapy. Methods: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were isolated from the umbilical cord (UC) and CD markers were analyzed by flow cytometry. For hepatic differentiation of UC-MSCs, cells were induced with a sequential 4-step protocol in 3D and 2D culture system. Urea concentration and albumin secretion into the culture medium was quantified by ELISA. Gene expression levels of AFP, ALB, and CK18 were determined by RT-PCR. Data were statistically analyzed by the SPSS software. The difference between the mean was considered significant when p < 0.05. Results: Growth factor dependent morphological changes from elongated fibroblast-like cells to round epithelial cell morphology were observed in 2D culture. Cell proliferation analysis showed round-shaped morphology with clear cytoplasm and nucleus on the alginate scaffold in 3D culture. The mean valuses of albumin production and urea secretion were significantly higher in the 3D Culture system when compared with the 2D culture (p = 0.005 vs p = 0.001), respectively. Treatment of cells with TSA in the final step of differentiation induced an increased expression of CK18 and a decreased expression of αFP in both the 3D and 2D cultures (p = 0.026), but led to a decreased albumin gene expression, and an increased expression in the 2D culture (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Findings of the present study indicated that sequential exposure of UC-MSCs with growth factors in 3D culture improves hepatic differentiation

High mannoronic acid containing alginate affects the differentiation of Wharton's jelly-derived stem cells to hepatocyte-like cell

For transplantation of cell into injured tissues, cells should be transferred to the damaged site through an adequate carrier. Nevertheless, the nutrient-limited and hypoxic condition in the carrier can bring about broad cell death. This study set to assess the impact of alginate concentrations on the differentiation and the proliferation of cells encapsulated in alginate hydrogels. Human Wharton's Jelly-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (HWJ-MSCs) were encapsulated in two concentrations of alginate hydrogel. Then, the proliferation and the hepatic differentiation were evaluated with an MTT assay and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay software and urea production. The results demonstrated that the proliferation of cell and urea production in 1.5% alginate concentration was higher than in 2.5% alginate concentration in the hydrogels of alginate. We deduce that the optimized alginate hydrogel concentration is necessary for achieving comparable cell activities in three-dimensional culture

The Effect of Normal Follicular Fluid on the Differentiation of PCOS Ovarian Stem Cells into Oocyte-Like Cells

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the causes of infertility for which treatment methods do not have a high rate of pregnancy. In this study, the stem cells in the follicular fluid (FF) of patients were grown in the normal FF, and their differentiation into oocytes was evaluated. Materials and Methods: The FF of PCOS patients was centrifuged, and their cells were cultured with and without 20% normal FF for 2 weeks. The cells were evaluated for their morphology by inverted microscope and for markers of stem cells (NANOG and OCT4) and oocytes (zona pellucida (ZP) 2 and ZP3) by RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. The amount of steroids was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The cells were all round on day 0. After that, they had a heterogeneous morphology (fibroblast-like cells, epithelial-like cells, and round oocyte-like cells). In the first week, NANOG and OCT4 genes in the study group were less expressed than those in the control group (P < 0.0001) (~0.5-fold), while ZP2 and Z3 genes were more expressed (P < 0.0001) (~2-fold). In the second week, stem cell genes were more expressed in the control group (~2 fold), and oocyte genes were more expressed in the study group (P < 0.0001) (~2.5–3.11 fold). These results were also confirmed by immunocytochemistry. The amount of steroids was much higher in the study group (three times and five times in two weeks) (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Stem cells can be obtained from the FF of PCOS, and normal FF has a positive effect on the growth and maturation of oocyte-like cells in vitro