Comparative Analysis of Cardiovascular Development Related Genes in Stem Cells Isolated from Deciduous Pulp and Adipose Tissue

Human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) and adipose stem cells (ASC) were suggested as alternative cell choice for cardiac regeneration. However, the true functionability of these cells toward cardiac regeneration is yet to be discovered. Hence, this study was carried out to investigate the innate biological properties of these cell sources toward cardiac regeneration. Both cells exhibited indistinguishable MSCs characteristics. Human stem cell transcription factor arrays were used to screen expression levels in SHED and ASC. Upregulated expression of transcription factor (TF) genes was detected in both sources. An almost equal percentage of > 2-fold changes were observed. These TF genes fall under several cardiovascular categories with higher expressions which were observed in growth and development of blood vessel, angiogenesis, and vasculogenesis categories. Further induction into cardiomyocyte revealed ASC to express more significantly cardiomyocyte specific markers compared to SHED during the differentiation course evidenced by morphology and gene expression profile. Despite this, spontaneous cellular beating was not detected in both cell lines. Taken together, our data suggest that despite being defined as MSCs, both ASC and SHED behave differently when they were cultured in a same cardiomyocytes culture condition. Hence, vigorous characterization is needed before introducing any cell for treating targeted diseases

The Promise of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Dental Research

Induced pluripotent stem cell-based therapy for treating genetic disorders has become an interesting field of research in recent years. However, there is a paucity of information regarding the applicability of induced pluripotent stem cells in dental research. Recent advances in the use of induced pluripotent stem cells have the potential for developing disease-specific iPSC lines in vitro from patients. Indeed, this has provided a perfect cell source for disease modeling and a better understanding of genetic aberrations, pathogenicity, and drug screening. In this paper, we will summarize the recent progress of the disease-specific iPSC development for various human diseases and try to evaluate the possibility of application of iPS technology in dentistry, including its capacity for reprogramming some genetic orodental diseases. In addition to the easy availability and suitability of dental stem cells, the approach of generating patient-specific pluripotent stem cells will undoubtedly benefit patients suffering from orodental disorders

Extracellular vesicles from stem and progenitor cells for cell-free regenerative therapy

Cell-based regenerative therapies involving stem or progenitor cells are considered as possible therapeutic modalities to treat non-communicable and degenerative diseases. Recently, regenerative outcomes of cell-based therapies have been linked to paracrine factors and extracellular vesicles [EVs] released by the transplanted cells rather than the transplanted cells themselves. EVs contain a cargo that includes microRNAs [miRNAs], mRNAs, as well as proteins. Their role in mediating intercellular communication has been acknowledged in several studies. However, the regenerative potential of the miRNAs, mRNAs, and proteins that are present in EVs is a matter of ongoing scientific debate. In this review, we discuss EVs as an alternative to stem cell-based therapy to treat some of the non-communicable and degenerative diseases. Moreover, we also propose that pre-treatment of the cells could help to produce EVs enriched with particular miRNAs, mRNAs, and/or proteins that could support the successful regeneration of a targeted organ

First Cu-Nanostar as Sustainable Catalyst Realized through Synergistic Effects of Bowl-shaped Features and Surface Activation of Sporopollenin Exine

Recently, nanostar-shaped structures, including gold nanostars (NS), have drawn much attention for their potential use in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and catalysis. Yet, very few studies have been conducted on Cu-Au hybrid NS, and there are none for Cu-based NS. Herein, we describe an effective method for controlling copper oxide nanostar (ESP-PEI-CuI/IIO-NS) growth using sporopollenin as a sustainable template material. However, ESP-PEI-CuI/IIO-NS growth depends on sporopollenin surface functionalization. Sporopollenin surface activation was done by amine functionalization with polyethyleneimine (PEI), without which ESP-PEI-CuI/IIO-NS growth was not observed. The sporopollenin’s exine (outer wall) has bowl-like structures, which mediates the growth of Cu nanorods, resulting in an NS morphology. Furthermore, due to their increased surface area, ESP-PEI-CuI/IIO-NS showed excellent catalytic activity for Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions even when used in H2O and without additives under greener conditions. This approach utilising biomass as a sustainable template would pave the way for developing controlled growth of nanostructures for SERS-related and catalytic applications

New Access to the Synthesis of 1,1,4,4-Tetracyanobuta-1,3-Diene-Based Push–pull Chromophores Using Tetracyanoethylene Oxide via [3+2] Cycloaddition-Ring Opening Reactions

Herein we report a new way to access the synthesis of established invaluable push–pull chromophores based on 1,1,4,4-tetracyanobuta-1,3-dienes (TCBDs) using tetracyanoethylene oxide (TCNEO) upon reaction with alkynes substituted with an electron-donating group (EDG) via [3+2] cycloaddition (CA) followed by ring-opening (RO) reactions. Further, we uncovered that the facile [3+2] CA–RO reaction under simpler reaction condition is possible due to the presence of EDG group, otherwise, even the formation of [3+2] cycloadduct without EDG requires harsher condition and does not lead to TCBD as reported earlier in 1965 by Linn and Benson

Phosphorylated Sporopollenin as a Sustainable Catalyst for Selective 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Formation in Water: Insights into Phosphate Functionalization, Kinetics, and Mechanism

Metal-free Brønsted acid catalysts in water are known to facilitate undesired side reactions such as polymers and formic acid synthesis, making it challenging to synthesize 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) from C6 sugars. Therefore, water-tolerant organic heterogeneous catalysts with high selectivity towards 5-HMF are of great interest. In this study, sporopollenin (exine), a natural biopolymer biomass, is employed as a heterogeneous support. We demonstrate for the first time that ortho-phosphoric acid-cleaning of the protoplasmic content on spores produces empty sporopollenin (ESP) functionalized with mono- and di-phosphoesters (41:59), (ESP-Phos) which can be used as a selective sustainable catalyst for the formation of 5-HMF from glucose. Activating ESP-Phos at 200 °C results in a substantial increase in the di-phosphoester ratio of ESP-Phos200 (29:71), as shown by 31P NMR. This results in improved activity (92% yield) and selectivity (96%) for the synthesis of 5-HMF. The DFT calculations further suggest that glucose to di-phosphoester interactions are stronger (–86.1 kJ mol–1) than mono-phosphoester interactions (–72.5 kJ mol–1), explaining the potential enhancement in glucose to 5-HMF catalysis. Kinetics analysis indicated that the catalytic system follows a pseudo-first-order reaction. ESP-Phos200 increased the glucose to HMF formation rate 23-fold (rate constant k = 0.0046 min–1) higher under optimized conditions (180 oC, 12 h) as compared to the humin formation rate. A detailed mechanistic study involving isotopic labelling, 13C NMR, and DFT calculations suggested that ESP-Phos200 followed a direct glucose dehydration mechanism rather than glucose isomerization to fructose and its subsequent dehydration. Although humin polymer deposition was observed after each run (up to 4 cycles), causing deactivation of active sites, subsequent calcining of ESP-Phos200 at 200°C restored the activity. The catalyst and reaction method used here for the synthesis of 5-HMF are environmentally friendly, sustainable, and promising for large-scale production of 5-HMF

Unravelling the effect of non-drug spacers on a true drug-polymer and a comparative study of their antimicrobial activity

Several studies have been conducted on polymerisation of drug units using spacers or other polymeric units. In order to study the importance of spacers in drug polymers, we designed polymers with and without spacers. As a proof of concept, herein, we present a comparative study on the efficacy of antibacterial activity using a polymeric biocide (PB) C0P1 having no spacer (0%) and two other PBs with varied spacer content (C2P2:29%, C10P3:53%). We considered C0P1 as a potential new type of PB generated from a widely used fluoroquinolone antibiotic, ciprofloxacin 1, by a simple self-condensation activation with thionyl chloride. Monomer 2 (formylated methyl ester of 1) was polymerised with ethylenediamine (C2) and 1,10-diaminodecane (C10) to provide C2P2 and C10P3, respectively. The trend for minimum inhibitory concentration study against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was observed as 1>C0P1>C2P2=C10P3>>2. Further, after coating on nylon threads, the non-spacer polymer C0P1 showed enhanced zone of inhibition (ZOI) than monomer 1 as well as the spacer polymers owing to its superior coating ability and sustained drug release capabilities. Thus, this study clearly states that the bio-efficacy of a drug-polymer could be retained and enhanced in the absence of non-bioactive spacer units

Diverse Effects of Lead Nitrate on the Proliferation, Differentiation, and Gene Expression of Stem Cells Isolated from a Dental Origin

Lead (Pb2+) exposure continues to be a significant public health problem. Therefore, it is vital to have a continuous epidemiological dataset for a better understanding of Pb2+ toxicity. In the present study, we have exposed stem cells isolated from deciduous and permanent teeth, periodontal ligament, and bone marrow to five different types of Pb2+ concentrations (160, 80, 40, 20, and 10 µM) for 24 hours to identify the adverse effects of Pb2+ on the proliferation, differentiation, and gene expression on these cell lines. We found that Pb2+ treatment altered the morphology and adhesion of the cells in a dose-dependent manner. There were no significant changes in terms of cell surface phenotypes. Cells exposed to Pb2+ continued to differentiate into chondrogenesis and adipogenesis, and a severe downregulation was observed in osteogenesis. Gene expression studies revealed a constant expression of key markers associated with stemness (Oct 4, Rex 1) and DNA repair enzyme markers, but downregulation occurred with some ectoderm and endoderm markers, demonstrating an irregular and untimely differentiation trail. Our study revealed for the first time that Pb2+ exposure not only affects the phenotypic characteristics but also induces significant alteration in the differentiation and gene expression in the cells

A Subtle Change in Substituent Enabled Multi-Ways Fluoride Signals Including Paper-Strip Colorimetric Detection Using Urea Receptor Functionalized 1,1,4,4-Tetracyanobuta-1,3-Diene-Based Push-Pull Chromophore

A simple color change detection by the naked-eye using untreated paper for a biologically relevant fluoride (F–) anion in water is a challenge. New non-planar push-pull chromophore involving intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) from urea donor in 2,3-disubstituted-1,1,4,4-tetracyanobuta-1,3-diene (TCBD) turns out to be an efficient system for detecting F– ion giving various output signals. But, replacing phenyl (Ph) at C3-position with 4-(dimethylamino)phenyl (DMA) led to the absence of colorimetric and fluorometric detections due to the masking and quenching, nature of strong ICT by the DMA. NMR and electrochemical studies revealed that the sensing mechanism is governed by H-bonding as well as the deprotonation of N–H attached with TCBD moiety which reduces the HOMO–LUMO gap and causes the dramatic color change. Coupled with excellent sensitivity (3 ppm) and specificity towards F–, a successful demonstration of cheap tissue paper-based visual strip-detection in aqueous is presented

Enhancing Photophysical and Photosensitizing Properties of Nanoaggregates of Weakly Emissive Non-Planar Push-Pull Chromophore

The development of luminescent dye based on 1,1,4,4-tetracyanobuta-1,3-dienes (TCBDs) is an active research area, to date, only a few examples of designer TCBDs molecules displaying emission properties with quantum yields of 7.8 and 8.5% due to fluorophore conjugation and aggregation have been reported, both in organic, non-polar solvents. Our novel method radically refines weakly emissive 2,3-disubstituted TCBD (phenyl-TCBD 1) (ΦF = 2.3% in CH3CN) into a water-soluble, biocompatible nano-formulation as highly emissive aggregates 1NPsPF-127 with ΦF = 7.9% in H2O and without fluorophore conjugation. Spectroscopic studies including FT-IR revealed that aggregated phenyl-TCBD particles were encapsulated in a non-luminescent tri-block copolymer (PF-127) based nano-micelle. With increasing water fraction, the Phenyl-TCBD nano-aggregates exhibit a 3-fold higher quantum yield, greater lifetime, and redshift (155 nm). Singlet oxygen generation capability was tested to explore future studies as a bio-probe for bio-imaging applications and in photodynamic therapy to selectively target cancer cell lines with singlet oxygen generation (Φ= 0.25) capability. This study has significant implications for developing non-planar push-pull chromophores-based dyes as biosensors and their potential applications beyond bioimaging