An investigation was conducted to study the effect of water stress on the antioxidant content, protective enzyme activities, proline content and lipid peroxidation in wheat seedlings. Drought stress increases the amount of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), leading to metabolic disorders. It is now known that higher levels of activity-protective mechanisms render the cells more enduring against environmental stress including drought. Two widely cultivated cultivars of wheat in Iran, Sab. and N. Sar. were grown up according to the hydroponic method. Having reached the stage of 4-5 leaves growth; the plants were kept under 4, 8 and 12 bars potential resulting from using Polyethylene Glycol 8000 (PEG 8000). Hogland solution was used as the control. Then the amount of ascorbate, glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase activity, proline and lipid Peroxidation was measured in cut samples of the leaves. The result indicated an increase in the amount of Ascorbate and Glutathione as the stress was intensified in the case of Sab. Moreover, the reduced form of Ascorbate (ASC) and Glutathione (GSH) were higher in Sab. at 8 and 12 bars. The amount of Proline accumulation was considerably higher in Sab. than N. Sar. SOD activity, on the other hand, diminished at 8 and 12 bar levels. CAT activity is also regarded as a limiting factor. Lipid peroxidation was also geared up as the stress was intensified. These limiting factors rendered N. Sar. cultivar more sensitive to water stress resulting from PEG8000 compared to Sab.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), an autologous derivative of whole blood, has been recently used in surgical treatment. PRP contains growth factors including transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and also bioactive proteins that influence the healing of tendon, ligament, muscle, and bone. This article describes the current clinical applications of PRP in chondrogenesis. This study reviews and evaluates the studies that have been published in the field of chondrogenesis. All aspects of using PRP in chondrogenesis are reviewed.

Cartilage consists of chondrocytes and a special extracellular matrix (ECM) having unique biochemical, biophysical, and biomechanical properties that play a critical role in the proliferation and differentiation of cells inherent to cartilage functions. Cartilage tissue engineering (CTE) requires recreating these microenvironmental physicochemical conditions to lead to chondrocyte differentiation from stem cells. ECM-derived hybrid scaffolds based on chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid, collagen, and cartilage ECM analogs provide environments conducive to stem cell proliferation. In this review, we describe hybrid scaffolds based on these four cartilage ECM derivatives; we also categorize these scaffolds based on the methods used for their preparation. The use of hybrid scaffolds is increasing in CTE to address the complexity of cartilage tissue. Thus, a comprehensive review on the topic should be a useful guide for future research.

Chondrogenesis of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells on the [devitalized costal cartilage matrix/poly(vinyl alcohol)/fibrin] hybrid scaffolds. European

Large-scale proliferation and multi-lineage differentiation capabilities make neural stem cells (NSCs) a promising renewable source of cells for therapeutic applications. However, the practical application for neuronal cell replacement is limited by heterogeneity of NSC progeny, relatively low yield of neurons, predominance of astrocytes, poor survival of donor cells following transplantation and the potential for uncontrolled proliferation of precursor cells. To address these impediments, we have developed a method for the generation of highly enriched immature neurons from murine NSC progeny. Adaptation of the standard differentiation procedure in concert with flow cytometry selection, using scattered light and positive fluorescent light selection based on cell surface antibody binding, provided a near pure (97%) immature neuron population. Using the purified neurons, we screened a panel of growth factors and found that bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) demonstrated a strong survival effect on the cells in vitro, and enhanced their functional maturity. This effect was maintained following transplantation into the adult mouse striatum where we observed a 2-fold increase in the survival of the implanted cells and a 3-fold increase in NeuN expression. Additionally, based on the neural-colony forming cell assay (N-CFCA), we noted a 64 fold reduction of the bona fide NSC frequency in neuronal cell population and that implanted donor cells showed no signs of excessive or uncontrolled proliferation. The ability to provide defined neural cell populations from renewable sources such as NSC may find application for cell replacement therapies in the central nervous system.