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Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) possess self-renewal and osteogenic differentiation properties, and have been used for orofacial bone regeneration and periodontal treatment. Aspirin has been demonstrated to enhance the regeneration of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs); however, the impact of aspirin on the osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs remains unknown. In the present study, hDPSCs were characterized by flow cytometry, while their clonogenic potential and multipotency were assessed using alizarin red, Oil red O and alcian blue staining. The effect of aspirin on hDPSC viability was assessed using Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. Osteogenic capacity was examined by alkaline phosphatase activity, alizarin red staining, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Furthermore, in vivo cranial defects were established in Sprague-Dawley rats to evaluate the effect of aspirin on hDPSC-based bone regeneration. Anorganic bovine bone was used as a bone replacement material and as the carrier for hDPSCs. New bone formation was observed through radiographic and histological analysis. The study demonstrated that hDPSCs expressed MSC markers and possessed multipotency in vitro. Aspirin was non-toxic to hDPSCs at a concentration of ≤100 μg/ml and enhanced the osteogenesis of hDPSCs in vitro. Aspirin significantly increased hDPSC-based bone formation in the rat cranial defect model at 8 or 12 weeks post-implantation (P<0.05). The data suggested that aspirin promotes the osteogenic potential of hDPSCs in vitro and in vivo. Overall, the present study indicated that aspirin improves the bone regeneration capacity of hDPSCs.

Polyphenol extracts from the burs of Castanea mollissima Blume (CMPE) exhibited potential antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities. The α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of CMPE were assessed as a means of elucidating the mechanism behind its hypoglycemic activities. In vitro studies showed that CMPE significantly inhibited both yeast α-glucosidase, through a noncompetitive mode with an IC 50 of 0.33 μg/mL, and rat intestinal α-glucosidase. In vivo studies revealed that oral administration of CMPE at doses of 600 mg/kg significantly reduced postprandial blood glucose levels by 27.2% in normal rats following sucrose challenges. Gel permeation chromatography revealed that CMPE exhibited typical characteristics of high-molecular-mass polymers with mean (Mn) and weight (Mw) average molecular weights of 35.4 and 50.7 kDa, respectively, and a polydispersity (Mw/Mn) of 1.432. Acid hydrolysis analysis indicated the presence of ellagitannins. These data suggest that CMPE, enriched with ellagitannins, would be an efficacious dietary supplement for diabetes management through the inhibition of alpha-glucosidase.

Background: The family with sequence similarity 20-member C (Fam20C) kinase plays important roles in physiopathological process and is responsible for majority of the secreted phosphoproteome, including substrates associated with tumor cell migration. However, it remains unclear whether Fam20C plays a role in cancers. Here, we aimed to analyze the expression and prognostic value of Fam20C in pan-cancer and to gain insights into the association between Fam20C and immune infiltration. Methods: We analyzed Fam20C expression patterns and the associations between Fam20C expression levels and prognosis in pan-cancer via the ONCOMINE, TIMER (Tumor Immune Estimation Resource), PrognoScan, GEPIA (Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis), and Kaplan–Meier Plotter databases. After that, GEPIA and TIMER databases were applied to investigate the relations between Fam20C expression and immune infiltration across different cancer types, especially BLCA (bladder urothelial carcinoma), LGG (brain lower grade glioma), and STAD (stomach adenocarcinoma). Results: Compared with adjacent normal tissues, Fam20C was widely expressed across many cancers. In general, Fam20C showed a detrimental role in pan-cancer, it was positively associated with poor survival of BLCA, LGG, and STAD patients. Specifically, based on TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database, a high expression level of Fam20C was associated with worse prognostic value in stages T2–T4 and stages N0–N2 in the cohort of STAD patients. Moreover, Fam20C expression had positive associations with immune infiltration, including CD4+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells, and other diverse immune cells in BLCA, LGG, and STAD. Conclusion: Fam20C may serve as a promising prognostic biomarker in pan-cancer and has positive associations with immune infiltrates.

The aim of the present study was to investigate growth factors release kinetics for the combination of fresh platelet-rich fibrin (F-PRF) and lyophilized PRF (L-PRF) with different ratios to promote bone tissue regeneration. First, we quantified the level of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and platelet-derived growth factor-AB (PDGF-AB) in vitro and analyzed their release kinetics from F-PRF, L-PRF, and the fresh/lyophilized PRF in different weight ratios (F:L=1:1, 1:3, 1:5). The second experimental phase was to investigate the proliferation and differentiation of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) as a functional response to the factors released. To further test the osteogenic potential in vivo, different scaffolds (F-PRF, or L-PRF, or F:L=1:1) were implanted in rabbit cranial bone defects. There was a statistically significant increase in proliferation and differentiation of BMSCs when the culture medium contained different PRF exudates collected at day 14 compared with the negative control group. The results showed that the new bone formation in the fresh/lyophilized PRF (1:1) was much more than that of other groups in defects at both 6 and 12 weeks. Our data suggested growth factor concentration and release kinetics as a consequence of fresh and lyophilized PRF combination, which is an effective way for promoting bone regeneration.

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A ketogenic diet characterized by high fat and low carbohydrate can drive the body to produce a large number of ketone bodies, altering human metabolism. Unlike normal cells, tumor cells have difficulty in consuming ketone bodies. Therefore, the application of ketogenic diets in cancer therapy is gaining attention. However, the effect of ketogenic diets on body parameters of cancer patients is not well established. This meta-analysis aimed to summarize the effects of ketogenic diets on cancer patients in earlier controlled trials. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for clinical trials that enrolled cancer patients who received ketogenic diets intervention. Ten controlled trials were included in this meta-analysis. Data were extracted and checked by three authors independently. Pooled effect sizes revealed a significant effect of ketogenic diets on body weight (SMD −1.83, 95% CI −2.30 to −1.35; p < 0.00001) and fat mass (SMD −1.52, 95% CI −1.92 to −1.07; p < 0.00001). No significant effect on blood glucose, insulin, or lipid profile except triglycerides was found in the analysis. It had no effect on liver and kidney function except that GGT were decreased a little. There were no significant changes in IGF-1 and TNF-α related to tumor growth. Mental health improvement of cancer patients was supported by several trials. Taken together, findings in this study confirmed that the ketogenic diet was a safe approach for cancer patients reducing body weight and fat mass. In addition, cancer treatment-related indicators changed insignificantly. Ketogenic diets may be beneficial to the quality of life of cancer patients. However, intervention duration in most studies is shorter than 6 months, and the effect of a long-term ketogenic diet is still required further validation. More trials with a larger sample size are necessary to give a more conclusive result; PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021277559.