Mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue (ADSCs) are an important source of cells for regenerative medicine. The therapeutic effect of culture-expanded adipose derived stem cells has been shown; however, optimal xeno-free culture conditions remain to be determined. Cancer patients, specifically those undergoing invasive surgery, constitute a subgroup of patients who could benefit from autologous stem cell transplantation. Although regenerative potential of their ADSCs could be affected by the disease and/or treatment, we are not aware of any study that has evaluated the therapeutic potential of ADSCs isolated from cancer patients in reference to that of ADSCs derived from healthy subjects. Here we report that ADSCs isolated from subabdominal adipose tissue of patients with urological neoplasms yielded similar growth kinetics, presented equivalent mesenchymal surface markers and showed similar differentiation potential into distinct mesodermal cell lineages: adipocytes, chondroblasts and osteoblasts than ADSCs isolated from adipose tissue of age-matched non-oncogenic participants, all under xeno-free growth culture conditions. Molecular karyotyping of patient expanded ADSCs genomes showed no disease-related alterations indicating their safety. In addition, vesicles <100 nm identified as exosomes (EXOs) which may be at least partly responsible for the attributed therapeutic paracrine effects of the ADSCs were effectively isolated from ADSCs and showed equivalent miRNA content regardless they were derived from cancer patients or non-oncogenic participants indicating that the repair capabilities of xeno-free expanded ADSCs are not compromised by patient condition and therefore their xeno-free culture expanded ADSCs should be suitable for autologous stem cell transplantation in a clinical setting.

Current strategies for preventing the transmission of mitochondrial disease to offspring include techniques known as mitochondrial replacement and mitochondrial gene editing. This technology has already been applied in humans on several occasions, and the first baby with donor mitochondria has already been born. However, these techniques raise several ethical concerns, among which is the fact that they entail genetic modification of the germline, as well as presenting safety problems in relation to a possible mismatch between the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, maternal mitochondrial DNA carryover, and the “reversion” phenomenon. In this essay, we discuss these questions, highlighting the advantages of some techniques over others from an ethical point of view, and we conclude that none of these are ready to be safely applied in humans.

Synthetic Biology is a growing field which holds great promise in several areas of application. However, it also poses serious risks for human health and the environment that must be anticipated in order to develop effective prevention and management measures. Here, the current situation on biosafety and biosecurity in this scientific field is reviewed. Biosafety concerns mainly relate to the damaging effects for workers and the environment that could result from accidental interactions with dangerous biological agents. On the other hand, biosecurity risks refer to the potential misuses of Synthetic Biology, such as bioterrorism, biowarfare or bioattacks that could derive from the genetic engineering of organisms. In this paper, the specific challenges posed by Synthetic Biology are discussed, and perspectives in the development of measures to guide the safe advance of this discipline are presented.

The repeating subunit of chromatin, the nucleosome, includes two copies of each of the four core histones, and several recent studies have reported that asymmetrically-modified nucleosomes occur at regulatory elements in vivo. To probe the mechanisms by which histone modifications are read out, we designed an obligate pair of H3 heterodimers, termed H3X and H3Y, which we extensively validated genetically and biochemically. Comparing the effects of asymmetric histone tail point mutants with those of symmetric double mutants revealed that a single methylated H3K36 per nucleosome was sufficient to silence cryptic transcription in vivo. We also demonstrate the utility of this system for analysis of histone modification crosstalk, using mass spectrometry to separately identify modifications on each H3 molecule within asymmetric nucleosomes. The ability to generate asymmetric nucleosomes in vivo and in vitro provides a powerful and generalizable tool to probe the mechanisms by which H3 tails are read out by effector proteins in the cell.

HIV/AIDS stigma is a global issue and a serious problem in African countries. Although prevalence remains high in this region, no detailed study has yet been carried out to determine and characterize this problem in Burundi. Using a qualitative analysis based on an extensive series of 114 interviews, we describe the main characteristics of HIV stigma in the country. The results of our study indicate that the problem of HIV/AIDS stigma is widespread in Burundian society, as all participants in the research reported having experienced some kind of HIV stigma. The seven dimensions of stigma identified in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Burundi are physical violence, verbal violence, marginalization, discrimination, self-stigma, fear and insecurity, and healthcare provider stigma. These dimensions of stigma can be experienced through different manifestations, which have been characterized in this study, revealing that the problem of stigma in PLWHA is still an important issue in Burundi.