Induction of spontaneous neo-angiogenesis and tube formation in human endometrial stem cells by bioglass

Abstract Endothelial dysfunction is a broad pathological disorder of the endothelium (innermost layer of blood vessels) which is assigned by vasoconstriction, thrombosis and ischemic diseases, alone or with other disorders such as coronary artery disease, hypertension and atherosclerosis. The fundamental imperfection of endothelial layer injury due to decrease in the number of functional endothelial progenitor cells and inhibition of endothelial progenitor cell differentiation, resulting into impairment of angiogenesis, vasculogenesis, tube formation properties and endothelial regeneration. Multiple significant therapeutic achievements in impediment and treatment of vascular diseases include the use of antithrombotic agents, statin class of drugs, lifestyle changes, and revascularization therapies. Nevertheless, a certain number of patients with endothelial dysfunction disease are resistant to the usual therapies, so new therapeutic strategies for endothelial dysfunction disease are urgently needed. Recent studies show that stem cell-based therapy has important promise for repair and treatment of vascular dysfunction. In this study, we describe a novel choice for treatment of endothelial dysfunction in vascular regenerative medicine via the human endometrial stem cell culture (as a new source for the increasing the number of endothelial progenitor cells) with bioglass (angiogenic agent) to investigate the enhancing expression of CD34, CD31 and gene markers of endothelial progenitor cells and endothelial cells. In the end, application of immunoprivileged, readily available sources of adult stem cells like human endometrial stem cells with bioglass would be a promising strategy to increase the number of endothelial progenitor cells and promote spontaneous angiogenesis needed in endothelial layer repair and regeneration. �2015 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access articl

Inhibitory Effects of Some Carbohydrates on Nano-Globular Aggregation of both Normal and Glycated Albumin.

BACKGROUND: Protein aggregation is one of the important, common and troubling problems in biotechnology, pharmaceutical industries and amyloid-re-lated disorders. METHODS: In the present study, the inhibitory effects of some carbohydrates (alginate, β-cyclodextrin and trehalose) on the formation of nano-globular aggregates from normal (HSA) and glycated (GHSA) human serum albumin were studied; when the formation of aggregates was induced by the simultaneous heating and addition of dithiotheritol. For the investigations, the biophysical methods of UV-vis spectrophotometry, circular dichroism spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and tensiometry were employed. RESULTS: The effect of inhibitory mechanism of these inhibitors on the aggregation of HSA and GHSA was expressed and compared together. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the nucleus formation step of the aggregation process of HSA and GHSA was different in the presence of alginate (compared to β-cyclodextrin and trehalose). The inhibition efficiencies of the carbohydrates on the aggregate formation of HSA and GHSA were different, arising from the differences in the hydrophobicities of HSA and GHSA, and also, the differences between HSA- and GHSA-carbohydrate interactions

Determination and comparison rate of expression markers of osteoblast derived of Adipose derived stem cells markers in monolayer and pellet culture models

Abstract: Nowadays high accident rates, fractures leading to permanent bone disorders and the impossibility of bone transplant have made scientists to look for new methods of repairing injured bones. Considering the application of stem cells in bone tissue engineering, there exists the necessity to investigate various culture methods and suitable fields and scaffolds. Thus, we decided to induce adipose-derived stem cells into osteoblast cells in two systems of pellet culture and monolayer and compare osteogenic markers. Methods: Stem cells have been separated via mechanical and enzymatic methods and cultured in monolayer and pellet culture models with osteogenic medium. Then, RNA was separated from differentiated cells, complementary DNA (cDNA) was synthesized and amplified. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product was transferred to electrophoresis gel. The intensity of the bands was measured by Image-J software and analyzed by SPSS. Results: average osteopontin, osteocalcin and Runx2 genes in differentiated cells in the two culture systems showed a significant difference. The expression of osteocalcin, osteopontin and Runx2 gense in pellet system were more than monolayer systems in 21 days. Conclusion: This study indicated that pellet and monolayer culture systems are appropriate for bone engineering but osteocalcin, osteopontin and Runx2 genes expressions were different in the two culture system

Challenges of Charity Hospitals in Tehran: Evidence of Private Sector Participation in the Provision of Health Care

Background & Objectives: Charity hospitals with increasing public participation in the provision of health services could play an important role in assisting government for providing health care and promoting society health. Since most deprived people use the services of these hospitals, paying attention to these organizations and their management can help improve the quality and equality of health services distribution. Thus, this study aimed to explore the challenges of management of charity hospitals in Tehran province and provide solutions for these challenges in 2017. Methods: This qualitative phenomenological study was conducted in 2017. Data were collected through semi-structure interviews with 26 participants from various organizations including top and middle hospital managers, experts from Vice-chancellor in treatment affairs of Universities of Medical Sciences in Tehran, and the Endowments and Charity Affairs Organizations. Snowball sampling method was used to select the respondents. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis method. Results: The challenges of charity hospitals could be categorized into 5 main codes including financial resources, human resources, physical and structural resources, management, and cultural challenges, and 13 sub codes. Conclusion: Endowment selling and creating endowment funds in charity hospitals to develop sustainable financial resources, supervision of Ministry of Health (MOH) and Universities of Medical Sciences (UMS) for teaching, quality improvement, development of human resources, reconciliation with the goals of the health system, participation in macro policy making and planning, development of structural standards for the management of these hospitals and their announcement by the MOH, are the main solutions for these challenges. Key¬words: Charity hospitals, Qualitative study, Challenges, Tehran Citation: Jaafaripooyan E, Javadi Ghale E, Arab M, Sharifi T. Challenges of Charity Hospitals in Tehran: Evidence of Private Sector Participation in the Provision of Health Care. Journal of Health Based Research 2018; 3(4): 323-37

Chitosan nanofiber biocomposites for potential wound healing applications: Antioxidant activity with synergic antibacterial effect

Bacterial wound infection is one of the most common nosocomial infections. The unnecessary employment of antibiotics led to raising the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Accordingly, alternative armaments capable of accelerating wound healing along with bactericidal effects are urgently needed. Considering this, we fabricated chitosan (CS)/polyethylene oxide (PEO) nanofibers armed with antibacterial silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles. The nanocomposites exhibited a high antioxidant effect and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Besides, based on the results of the cell viability assays, the optimum concentration of ZnONPs and AgNPs in the nanofibrous mats is 0.2% w/v and 0.08% w/v respectively and had no cytotoxicity on fibroblast cells. The scaffold also showed good blood compatibility according to the effects of coagulation time. As well as significant fibroblast migration and proliferation on the wound margin, according to wound-healing assay. All in all, the developed biocompatible, antioxidant, and antibacterial Ag-ZnO NPs incorporated CS/PEO nanofibrous mats showed their potential as an effective wound dressing

Antiproliferative effects of fresh water crab hemolymph and meat extract on breast cancer cell line

<strong>Background and aims:</strong> Despite the advances in drugs, side effects of chemotherapy drugs continue to exist. Therefore, more attention has been paid to the compounds derived from medicinal herbs and aquatic organisms. This study aimed to investigate the effect of freshwater crab hemolymph and meat extract on breast cancer (BC) cell line (4T1). <strong>Methods:</strong> After isolation of freshwater crab hemolymph and meat extract, protein concentration and total antioxidant capacity were analyzed by bicinchoninic acid (BCA) and cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) methods. The 4T1 cells and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were treated with crab hemolymph (1, 2, 10 mg/mL) and meat extract (0.1, 0.2 and 1 mg/mL), and cell survival was analyzed using 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay (MTT) at 48 and 72 hours. Nitric oxide (NO) secretion was measured by Griess method. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). <strong>Results:</strong> Protein concentration of 23.25 mg/mL was shown in crab hemolymph, and 2.3 mg/mL in meat extract. Total antioxidant capacity was reported as 1.036 µM/mL and 1.104 µM/mL in crab hemolymph and meat extract, respectively. Cell survival in the 4T1 cells was decreased in a dose- and time-dependent manner (<em>P</em>�0.001). NO secretion of 4T1 cells was decreased after treatment with different concentrations of crab hemolymph and meat extract at 48 and 72 hours. Cellular growth was observed in BMSCs after treatment with different concentrations of crab hemolymph and meat extract at 48 and 72 hours. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Since crab hemolymph and meat extract have protein and antioxidant activities, they can have anti-cancer effects on 4T1 cells

The Effect of Tissue-Engineered Wound Dressing Comprising Copper, on the Healing Process of Full-Thickness Wound in Mouse Model

Background: Production of skin dressings or substitutes is one of the most important tissue engineering fields. Since copper is an important agent in skin extracellular matrix synthesis, we investigated the effect of collagengelatin- bioglass scaffolds containing copper in accelerating the healing process of full-thickness skin wound in mouse model. Methods: We used 12 mice with two identical skin wounds on their back (with 5 mm diameter, circular, and full-thickness), one wound as control, second dressed with collagen-gelatin-bioglass scaffold, and third dressed with collagen-gelatin-bioglass scaffold containing copper. After 14 days, the wound healing process was analyzed using both macroscopic and microscopic (after hematoxylin and eosin staining) methods. Findings: The wound dressings had porous structure, and were biocompatible. They improved the healing process of full-thickness wound in mouse model. This process was statistically much better in the dressings comprising copper (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Since wounds dressed with collagen-gelatin-bioglass scaffold containing copper improved wound healing in animal models, it can be suggested as a new approach in design and synthesis of wound dressings for human

In vitro evaluation of human endometrial stem cell-derived osteoblast-like cells’ behavior on gelatin/collagen/bioglass nanofibers’ scaffolds

New biomimetic nanocomposite scaffold was prepared by the combination of nanofibrilar bioglass containing copper ion as the inorganic phase and gelatin/collagen as the organic phase of bone tissue. In this study for fabrication of the scaffold, freeze drying and electrospinning methods were used, and genipin was used as the cross-linking agent for increasing the mechanical properties of the scaffold. The growth and viability of human endometrial stem cell-derived osteoblast-like cells were investigated on this biomimetic scaffold. Cellular biocompatibility assays illustrated that this scaffold has more viabilities and osteoblast growths in comparison with two-dimensional culture. Copper ion increased growth of the osteoblasts on nanocomposite scaffold containing nanofibrous bioglass. Thus, the results obtained from this study indicate that the prepared scaffold is suitable for osteoblast growth and attachment; thus, potentially, this nanocomposite scaffold is an appropriate scaffold for bone tissue engineering. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 2210–2219, 2016

Evaluation of vacuum washing in the removal of SDS from decellularized bovine pericardium: method and device description.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to present a new method for removing Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) detergent from decellularized bovine pericardium using vacuum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cows' pericardia were collected and decellularized. The samples were incubated with SDS1% for 48 h at 40 °C. To perform vacuum washing (VW: negative pressure was used to wash and remove detergents), every decellularized tissue was cut in 75mm diameter and fixed via a stainless-steel ring with 60mm diameter in the center of filtration Buchner Funnel which was connected to glass filtration flask The system was connected to a vacuum pump by a hose, and a negative pressure of -100 mmHg was applied for 15 min. Then, the samples were shaken and washed at 40-rpm in 100 ml of distilled water for 45 min. This process was repeated for samples of each group (6 times for sample VW6h, 12 times for sample VW12h, and 24 times for sample VW24h). At the end of every cycle, the effluent was collected to take a sample for SDS measurement. The normal washing (NW) group containing distilled water (NWd) and PBS (Phosphate buffered saline) (NWp) were used to wash and remove detergents. SDS measurements, MTT Assay, histological and tensile test, to compare two methods were used. RESULTS: The highest SDS in the effluent was in groups VW12h and VW24h (P ≤ 0.001) and the lowest residual SDS in scaffold was in two groups of VW12h and VW24h (P ≤ 0.001). MTT assay showed that cell survival in the VW12h and VW24h groups was higher than other groups and there' was no significant difference between cell survival in the VW12h and VW24h groups. Histological study showed destruction of tissue in the VW24h group. The results of the tensile test were shown that the native group had the highest module and the lowest amount was the VW24h sample which was reported with P ≤ 0.001 significance for all groups. CONCLUSION: VW12h can be used as an effective method for SDS removal from decellularized pericardium which morphologically demonstrated a good structure in ECM. KEYWORDS: Acellular; Cell biology; Cell culture; Cytotoxicity; Extracellular matrix; Pericardium; Regenerative medicine; Sodium dodecyl sulfate; Stem cells research; Toxicit

Comparison of therapeutic effects of encapsulated Mesenchymal stem cells in Aloe vera gel and Chitosan-based gel in healing of grade-II burn injuries

Treatment of burn injuries with Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a great promise due to their unique properties. As two natural and functional wound dressing, Chitosan and Aloe-Vera gel assist wound regeneration by providing a proper environment. In the current study, we aimed to compare the effect of encapsulated BMSCs in Chitosan-based gel and Aloe-Vera gel on the healing of grade-II burn injuries compared to other groups in the rat. After creation of a 2 � 2 cm grade-II burn on dorsal skin of rats, treatments were performed for each group. The wound closure rate and healing properties were evaluated by histopathological analysis on 7, 14, 21 and, 28 days post-treatment. The expression rate of VEGF, Collagen-I and Collagen-III genes was also assessed on days 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 performing qRT-PCR. The full wound healing with inconsiderable scar formation was achieved for Aloe-vera/BMSCs and Chitosan/BMSCs group on 28th day post-treatment. Pathological results also demonstrated the highest angiogenesis and granulation tissue formation for Aloe-vera/BMSCs and Chitosan/BMSCs groups respectively. The expression level of VEGF, Collagen-I, and Collagen-III genes was significantly higher in these groups on days 14 and 21, compared to other groups. Results demonstrated the synergistic effect of BMSCs when combined with Chitosan or Aloe-vera gel enhanced the healing process of wound healing more than chitosan gel treatment. Therefore, this gel can be considered as effective approaches for treatment of burn injuries