No abstract

Stem cell-based therapy is a promising treatment for neurodegenerative diseases. In our laboratory, a novel protocol has been developed to induce bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) into neurotrophic factors- secreting cells (NTF-SC), thus combining stem cell-based therapy with the NTF-based neuroprotection. These cells produce and secrete factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor. Conditioned medium of the NTF-SC that was applied to a neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y) 1 h before exposure to the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) demonstrated marked protection. An efficacy study was conducted on the 6-OHDA-induced lesion, a rat model of Parkinson's disease. The cells, either MSC or NTF-SC, were transplanted on the day of 6-OHDA administration and amphetamine-induced rotations were measured as a primary behavior index. We demonstrated that when transplanted posterior to the 6-OHDA lesion, the NTF-SC ameliorated amphetamine-induced rotations by 45%. HPLC analysis demonstrated that 6-OHDA induced dopamine depletion to a level of 21% compared to the untreated striatum. NTF-SC inhibited dopamine depletion to a level of 72% of the contralateral striatum. Moreover, an MRI study conducted with iron-labeled cells, followed by histological verification, revealed that the engrafted cells migrated toward the lesion. In a histological assessment, we found that the cells induced regeneration in the damaged striatal dopaminergic nerve terminal network. We therefore conclude that the induced MSC have a therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative processes and diseases, both by the NTFs secretion and by the migratory trait toward the diseased tissue.

Although goitre is the main symptom leading to diagnosis of AIT, it is still often overlooked, underscoring the need for thorough thyroid evaluation on routine physical examination. Acquired hypothyroidism is not often associated with obesity, and ultrasound usually has no added diagnostic value. Adequate treatment in this age group leads to normal growth, puberty and final height.

Because of their unique attributes of plasticity and accessibility, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may find use for therapy of neurodegenerative disorders. Our previous studies of adult human MSCs demonstrated that these cells express an extensive assortment of neural genes at a low but clearly detectable level. Here, we report expression of 12 neural genes, 8 genes related to the neuro-dopaminergic system, and 11 transcription factors with neural significance by human MSCs. Our results suggest that, as opposed to cells that do not express neural genes, human MSCs are predisposed to differentiate to neuronal and glial lineages, given the proper conditions. Our findings add a new dimension in which to view adult stem cell plasticity, and may explain the relative ease with which MSCs, transplanted into the central nervous system (CNS) differentiate to a variety of functional neural cell types. Our results further promote the possibility that adult human MSCs are promising candidates for cell-based therapy of neurodegenerative diseases.

No abstract

No abstract

These data indicate that combined escBEACOPP-ABVD may improve the outcome in patients with high-risk advanced HL. The potential benefit of early-interim PET activity as a guide to continuing therapy in these patients merits further study in the future.

Several reports have shown that human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are capable of differentiating outside the mesenchymal lineage. We sought to induce MSCs to differentiate into dopamine-producing cells for potential use in autologous transplantation in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Following cell culture with various combinations of differentiation agents under serum-free defined conditions, different levels of up-regulation were observed in the protein expression of tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine synthesis. Further analysis of selected differentiation protocols revealed that the induced cells displayed a neuron-like morphology and expressed markers suggesting neuronal differentiation. In addition, there was an increase in Nurr 1, the dopaminergic transcription factor gene, concomitant with a decrease gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic marker expression, suggesting a specific dopaminergic direction. Moreover, the induced cells secreted dopamine in response to depolarization. These results demonstrate the great therapeutic potential of human MSCs in PD.