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Following a phase I/II study using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs; JR-031) for steroid-refractory grade II or III acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), a phase II/III study using the cells focused on steroid-refractory grade III or IV aGVHD was conducted. The number of infused MSCs and the number of MSC infusions were the same as the phase I/II study. No additional immunosuppressant was given for steroid-refractory aGVHD during the course of MSC infusions. Twenty-five patients (grade III, 22 patients and grade IV, 3 patients) were enrolled in this study. At 4 weeks after the first MSC infusions, six (24 %) and nine patients (36 %) achieved a complete response (CR) and partial response (PR), respectively. Durable CR by 24 weeks, which was the primary end-point, was obtained in 12 of 25 patients (48 %). At 52 weeks, 12 patients (48 %) treated with MSCs only (six patients) and MSCs plus additional treatments (six patients) were alive in CR. The survival was significantly better in patients showing overall response (OR; CR+PR) than in those showing no OR at 4 weeks. Adverse effects commonly associated with MSC infusions were not observed. Taken together, our two clinical trials suggest JR-031 to be effective for steroid-refractory aGVHD.

Transcription factors (TFs) are able to regulate differentiationrelated processes, including dedifferentiation and direct conversion, through the regulation of cell type-specific transcriptional profiles. However, the functional interactions between the TFs regulating different transcriptional profiles are not well understood. Here, we show that the TFs capable of inducing cell type-specific transcriptional profiles prevent the dedifferentiation induced by TFs for pluripotency. Of the large number of TFs expressed in a neurallineage cell line, we identified a subset of TFs that, when overexpressed, strongly interfered with the dedifferentiation triggered by the procedure to generate induced pluripotent stem cells. This interference occurred through a maintenance mechanism of the cell type-specific transcriptional profile. Strikingly, the maintenance activity of the interfering TF set was strong enough to induce the cell line-specific transcriptional profile when overexpressed in a heterologous cell type. In addition, the TFs that interfered with dedifferentiation in hepatic-lineage cells involved TFs with known induction activity for hepatic-lineage cells. Our results suggest that dedifferentiation suppresses a cell type-specific transcriptional profile, which is primarily maintained by a small subset of TFs capable of inducing direct conversion. We anticipate that this functional correlation might be applicable in various cell types and might facilitate the identification of TFs with induction activity in efforts to understand differentiation.ES cells | polycomb | bivalent | neural progenitors | hepatoblasts

Results showed that injection of melatonin reduced thiobarbituric acid reactive substances content and myeloperoxidase activity, facilitating recovery of the damaged spinal cord.

NCT00790036.

The Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella, is infected with A-group Wolbachia (wKue), and the almond moth, Cadra cautella, is doubly infected with A- and B-group Wolbachia, which are designated as wCauA and wCauB, respectively. In both insects, the Wolbachia populations increased greatly during embryonic and larval stages. The Wolbachia population doubled every 3.6 days on average in E. kuehniella larvae, whereas those of wCauA and wCauB doubled every 2.1 days in C. cautella larvae. The populations of wCauA and wCauB that had been transferred into the E. kuehniella background increased at similar rates to that of wKue in the natural host E. kuehniella, suggesting that the host genetic background influences Wolbachia proliferation. To examine whether the populations of the two Wolbachia variants in double infection is regulated collectively or independently, we measured the infection load in the ovaries of three transfected E. kuehniella lines in different infection states: single infection with wCauA, single infection with wCauB, and double infection. The density of each Wolbachia variant did not differ significantly between the singly and doubly transfected hosts, suggesting independent regulation.

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