MSC therapy could delay the progression of neurological deficits in patients with MSA-C, suggesting the potential of MSC therapy as a treatment candidate of MSA.

Our analyses of three human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) and six human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines showed marked variability in differentiation potential into specific lineages, which often hampers their differentiation into specific cell types or cell lineages of interest. Simultaneous inhibition of both Activin/Nodal and BMP pathways with small molecules, SB431542 and dorsomorphin (DM), respectively, promoted significant neural differentiation from all human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) lines tested, regardless of their differentiation propensity. On the contrary, differentiation into other cell lineages and the number of undifferentiated cells were significantly reduced after differentiation by the dual inhibition. These results demonstrate that innate differentiation propensity of hPSCs could be overcome, at least in part, by modulation of intracellular signaling pathways, resulting in efficient generation of desirable cell types, such as neural cells.

BackgroundLipid metabolites and cytokines, including chemokines and growth factors, are the key regulators of immune cell function and differentiation, and thus, dysregulation of these regulators is associated with various human diseases. However, previous studies demonstrating a positive correlation of cytokine levels with aging may have been influenced by various environmental factors and underlying diseases. Also, data regarding cytokine profiling in the elderly are limited to a small subset of cytokines.MethodsWe compared the profiles of 22 cytokines, including chemokines and growth factors, in a case-controlled study group of a gender-matched, healthy cohort of 55 patients over the age of 65 and 55 patients under the age of 45. Assessment of serum cytokine concentrations was performed using commercially-available multiplex bead-based sandwich immunoassays.ResultsSoluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) and transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-α) levels were significantly higher in the elderly patients, whereas granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) levels were significantly lower in the elderly patients. The partial correlation analysis demonstrating the correlation between cytokine levels when controlled for gender, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglyceride, and serum creatinine levels further demonstrated that G-CSF, GM-CSF, and MCP-1 had significant negative correlations with age, whereas sCD40L and TGF-α had significant positive correlations.ConclusionsFuture studies will focus on examining the significance of these age-related changes in circulating cytokines and other biological markers and their potential contribution to the development of different age-associated diseases.

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X-ALD iPSC model recapitulates the key events of disease development (ie, VLCFA accumulation in oligodendrocytes), provides new clues for better understanding of the disease, and allows for early and accurate diagnosis of the disease subtypes. X-ALD oligodendrocytes can be a useful cell model system to develop new therapeutics for treating X-ALD.