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Short-term symptomatic treatment and dose-dependent side effects of pharmacological treatment for neurodegenerative diseases have forced the medical community to seek an effective treatment for this serious global health threat. Therapeutic potential of stem cell for treatment of neurodegenerative disorders was identified in 1980 when fetal nerve tissue was used to treat Parkinson's disease (PD). Then, extensive studies have been conducted to develop this treatment strategy for neurological disease therapy. Today, stem cells and their secretion are well-known as a therapeutic environment for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. This new paradigm has demonstrated special characteristics related to this treatment, including neuroprotective and neurodegeneration, remyelination, reduction of neural inflammation, and recovery of function after induced injury. However, the exact mechanism of stem cells in repairing nerve damage is not yet clear; exosomes derived from them, an important part of their secretion, are introduced as responsible for an important part of such effects. Numerous studies over the past few decades have evaluated the therapeutic potential of exosomes in the treatment of various neurological diseases. In this review, after recalling the features and therapeutic history, we will discuss the latest stem cell-derived exosome-based therapies for these diseases.

: The potential use of stem cell-based therapies for the repair and regeneration of various tissues and organs offers a paradigm shift in regenerative medicine. The use of either embryonic stem cells (ESC) or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) in clinical situations is limited because of regulations and ethical considerations even though these cells are theoretically highly beneficial. While clinically, adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are one of the most widely used types of stem cells used more than five years in clinically setting. It has many advantages including; yields a high number of ADSCs per volume of tissue, high rate of proliferation, anti-fibrotic, anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammation, immunomodulation, and paracrine mechanisms have been demonstrated in various preclinical studies. It is much easier to harvest compared with bone marrow stem cells. Results of clinical studies have demonstrated the potentials of ADSCs for stem cells therapy for a number of clinical disorders. The aim of this paper was to provide an update on the most recent developments of ADSCs, by highlighting the properties and features of ADSCs, critically discussing its clinical benefit and its clinical trials in treatment and regeneration. This is a multi-billion dollars industry with huge interest to clinician, academia and industries.

Background. Despite recent advances in scientific knowledge and clinical practice, management, and treatment of breast cancer, as one of the leading causes of female mortality, breast cancer remains a major burden. Recently, methods employing stem cells and their derivatives, i.e., exosomes, in gene-based therapies hold great promise. Since these natural nanovesicles are able to transmit crucial cellular information which can be engineered to have robust delivery and targeting capacity, they are considered one of the modes of intercellular communication. miR-145, one of the downregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in various cancers, can regulate tumor cell invasion, metastasis, apoptosis, and proliferation and stem cell differentiation. Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of exosomes secreted from adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for miR-145 transfection into breast cancer cells in order to weaken their expansion and metastasis. Methods. Here, we exploited the exosomes from adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-Exo) to deliver miR-145 in the T-47D breast cancer cell line. Lentiviral vectors of miR-145-pLenti-III-enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and empty pLenti-III-eGFP as the backbone were used to transfect MSCs and T-47D cells. In order to find the efficiency of exosomes as a delivery vehicle, the expression level of some miR-145 target genes, including Rho-Associated Coiled-Coil Containing Protein Kinase 1 (ROCK1), Erb-B2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinase 2 (ERBB2), Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), and Tumor Protein p53 (TP53), was compared in all treatment groups (T-47D cells treated by miR-145-transfected MSCs and their derivatives or their backbone) and control group (untransfected T-47D cells) using real-time PCR. Results. The obtained data represented the inhibitory effect of miR-145 on apoptosis induction and metastasis in both direct miR-treated groups. However, exosome-mediated delivery caused an improved anticancer property of miR-145. Conclusion. Restoration of miR-145 using MSC-Exo can be considered a potential novel therapeutic strategy in breast cancer in the future.

: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are one of the most common types of adult stem cells. While MSCs are traditionally isolated from bone marrow, over the last few years, they have also been found in many other adult tissues such as liver, cord blood, placenta, dental pulp and adipose tissue. They have been investigated as a marvelous cell source for tissue regeneration and suggested as a therapy in non-autologous application, because of lack of MHC class II expression. For the past several decades, furthermore, MSCs show promise as a therapeutic strategy in medicine. Many advantages such as self-renewal, in vitro proliferation, rapid cell doubling capacity, easy of GMP manufacturing, antifibrotic, anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammation, immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive effects, and paracrine nature have been demonstrated in various pre-clinical studies and clinical evidences. The ability of MSCs to differentiate into different cell lineages, in addition to the lack of ethical problems in comparison with embryonic stem cells as well as induced Pluripotent Stem cells (iPSCs), have attracted much attention. Due to their unique features, various medical indications such as therapeutic medicine, tissue engineering, and cell therapy have allowed the development and flourishment of MSCs. The various different clinical trials were performed using MSCs for the treatment of a long list of diseases and disorders. Results of these clinical studies have demonstrated the capability of MSCs to be used for the treatment of dermatological, musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, gastroenterological and urological conditions, etc.

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This study presents a comparative assessment of adipose-derived stem cell (ADSCs) proliferation rates and their viability on five different scaffolds. Five different biomaterial scaffolds were prepared: alginate, poly lactic-co-glycolic acid, fibrin glue, inactive platelet-rich plasma, and active plateletrich plasma (APRP). Stem cells were isolated from human adipose tissue. Flow cytometry analysis was performed. Specifically, adipogenesis/osteogenesis/chondrogenesis-associated genes expression was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. These cells were seeded in the prepared scaffolds. After 14 days, the proliferation and viability of MSCs were evaluated using an MTT assay. Also, stemness genes expression was analyzed with the reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. In addition, the DNA content assay was also performed. The obtained results showed a significant difference between cell proliferation and viability of different scaffolds. APRP and alginate were shown to be the most and least suitable scaffolds in terms of enhancing cell proliferation and maintaining cell viability respectively (p < .05). RT-PCR reactions demonstrated the expression of the various stemness-related markers (Nanog, Octamer4A, and Sox2) when ADSC cells were grown separately on the five different scaffolds. Our study indicates that compared with the scaffolds, APRP could be the best scaffold for support of ADSC proliferation. ARTICLE HISTORY

Distinctive characteristics of articular cartilage such as avascularity and low chondrocyte conversion rate present numerous challenges for orthopedists. Tissue engineering is a novel approach that ameliorates the regeneration process by exploiting the potential of cells, biodegradable materials, and growth factors. However, problems exist with the use of tissue-engineered construct, the most important of which is scaffold-cartilage integration. Recently, many attempts have been made to address this challenge via manipulation of cellular, material, and biomolecular composition of engineered tissue. Hence, in this review, we highlight strategies that facilitate cartilage-scaffold integration. Recent advances in where efficient integration between a scaffold and native cartilage could be achieved are emphasized, in addition to the positive aspects and remaining problems that will drive future research.