Vitiligo is a common skin disorder that is caused by selective destruction of melanocytes, resulting in disfiguring loss of pigment. There are convincing evidences that cytokines and T cell mediated immunity may have a role in its pathogenesis. Given the fact that cytokine production is under genetic control, in this study, we have investigated IFN-gamma +874 T/A and TNF-alpha -308 G/A gene polymorphisms in a total of 176 vitiligo patients and 545 controls. IFN-gamma +874 T/A and TNF-alpha -308 G/A gene polymorphisms were genotyped via Allele Specific Oligonucleotide PCR (ASO-PCR) method. The results showed that the TNF-alpha -308 G/A polymorphism was more common in vitiligo patients than controls (P = 0.0004). This difference was only significant between female patients and controls (P < 0.0001), while there was no significant difference between male patients and male controls (P = 0.90). The distribution of IFN-gamma genotypes in vitiligo patients did not differ significantly from that in control subjects (P = 0.56). Since the presence of A nucleotide at position -308 of TNF-alpha gene is associated with increased cytokine production, therefore, the higher frequency of TNF-alpha -308 A allele in vitiligo patients compared to controls may be considered as a genetic susceptibility factor towards the development of vitiligo.

It seems that PRP has a protective effect on ovarian failure in the infertile female rat model.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has a potential effect on tissue repair through proliferation and differentiation of tissue progenitor cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of PRP on the testis structure and function in infertile rat model by stereological method. Thirty-two male rats were divided into four groups. Infertility was induced by the administration of busulfan (BUS) (10mg/kg, I.P., single dose). PRP (80μl, testis local injected, single dose) was administered for the subjects. After 48 days, semen analysis was performed and blood samples were taken from the heart to measure the testosterone. Then, the left testis was removed, fixed, embedded, sectioned, and stained by H&E; after that the testes were analyzed. The results showed that BUS can decrease the sperm count, motility, normal morphology, length of the spermatozoon tail, volume of the testis, seminiferous tubules, germinal epithelium height, and the number of spermatogenesis lineage cells in comparison with the control group (p < 0.01). PRP increased the number of spermatogenic stem cell, count, motility and tail length of the sperm and testosterone level in BUS-treated animal significantly, but it did not have any effect on the volume of the testis, germinal epithelium height, Sertoli and Leydig cells number, and seminiferous tubules length. It concluded that PRP can improve the structural and functional impairment of the testis in treatment by BUS.

Study DesignExperimental animal study.PurposeThis study aimed to assess effects of conditioned medium (CM) of dental pulp-derived stem cells loaded in collagen hydrogel on functional recovery following spinal cord injury (SCI).Overview of LiteratureSCI affects sensory and motor functions, and behavioral recovery is the most essential purpose of therapeutic intervention. Recent studies have reported that CM from dental pulp-derived stem cells has therapeutic benefits. In addition, collagen hydrogel acts as a drug delivery system in SCI experiments.MethodsStem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) were cultured, and SHED-CM was harvested and concentrated. Collagen hydrogel containing SHED-CM was prepared. The rats were divided into five groups receiving laminectomy, compressive SCI with or without intraspinal injection of biomaterials (SHED-CM), and collagen hydrogel with or without SHED-CM. Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scoring, inclined plane, cold allodynia, and beam walk tests were performed for 6 weeks to assess locomotor, motor, sensory, and sensory-motor performances, respectively.ResultsScores of the rats receiving SHED-CM loaded in collagen hydrogel were significantly better than those of the other injured groups at 1-week post-injury for BBB, 2 weeks for inclined plane, 2 weeks for cold allodynia, and 4 weeks for beam walk tests (p <0.05). The differences remained significant throughout the study.ConclusionsIntraspinal administration of SHED-CM loaded in collagen hydrogel leads to improved functional recovery and proposes a cell-free therapeutic approach for SCI.

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