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Magnetic cryopreservation has been successfully used for tooth banking with satisfactory implantation outcomes, suggesting that the method preserves human periodontal ligament cells and dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). Therefore, magnetic cryopreservation may be applied for the preservation of DPSCs; however, this method has not been evaluated yet. A reliable cryopreservation method for live-cell preservation is important for the clinical applications of regenerative medicine. The conventional slow-freezing procedure with 10% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) may not be appropriate for stem cell-based therapies because DMSO is cytotoxic. The objective of this study was to investigate whether magnetic cryopreservation can be applied for DPSC cryopreservation. Cells isolated from human dental pulp were subjected to magnetic cryopreservation. Postthawing cell viability, adhesion, proliferation, expression of markers for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), differentiation ability of magnetically cryopreserved DPSCs and DNA stability were compared to those of cells subjected to the conventional slow-freezing method. The results indicated that a serum-free cryopreservation medium (SFM) containing 3% DMSO is optimal for magnetic cryopreservation. Post-thaw magnetically cryopreserved DPSCs express MSC markers, and perform osteogenesis and adipogenesis after induction similarly to fresh MSCs. No significant DNA damage was found in magnetically cryopreserved DPSCs. Magnetic cryopreservation is thus a reliable and effective method for storage of DPSCs. The smaller amount of DMSO required in SFM for cryopreservation is beneficial for the clinical applications of post-thaw cells in regenerative medicine.

Reactive gliosis caused by post-traumatic injury often results in marked expression of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG), which inhibits neurite outgrowth and regeneration. Methylprednisolone (MP), a synthetic glucocorticoid, has been shown to have neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects for the treatment of acute spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the effect of MP on CSPG expression in reactive glial cells remains unclear. In our study, we induced astrocyte reactivation using alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) and cyclothiazide to mimic the excitotoxic stimuli of SCI. The expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a marker of astrocyte reactivation, and CSPG neurocan and phosphacan were significantly elevated by AMPA treatment. The conditioned media from AMPA-treated astrocytes strongly inhibited neurite outgrowth of rat dorsal root ganglion neurons, and this effect was reversed by pretreatment with MP. Furthermore, MP downregulated GFAP and CSPG expression in adult rats with SCI. Additionally, both the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist RU486 and GR siRNA reversed the inhibitory effects of MP on GFAP and neurocan expression. Taken together, these results suggest that MP may improve neuronal repair and promote neurite outgrowth after excitotoxic insult via GR-mediated downregulation of astrocyte reactivation and inhibition of CSPG expression.

Sulforaphane (SFN) has been indicated for the prevention and suppression of tumorigenesis in solid tumors. Herein, we evaluated SFN's effects on imatinib (IM)-resistant leukemia stem cells (LSCs). CD34(+)/CD38(-) and CD34(+)/CD38(+) LSCs were isolated from KU812 cell line flowcytometrically. Isolated LSCs showed high expression of Oct4, CD133, β-catenin, and Sox2 and IM resistance. Differentially, CD34(+)/CD38(-) LSCs demonstrated higher BCR-ABL and β-catenin expression and imatinib (IM) resistance than CD34(+)/CD38(+) counterparts. IM and SFN combined treatment sensitized CD34(+)/CD38(-) LSCs and induced apoptosis, shown by increased caspase 3, PARP, and Bax while decreased Bcl-2 expression. Additionally, the combined treatment reduced BCR-ABL and β-catenin and MDR-1 protein expression. Mechanistically, IM and SFN combined treatment resensitized LSCs by inducing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Importantly, β-catenin-silenced LSCs exhibited reduced glutathione S-transferase pi 1 (GSTP1) expression and intracellular GSH level, which led to increased sensitivity toward IM and SFN. We demonstrated that IM and SFN combined treatment effectively eliminated CD34(+)/CD38(-) LSCs. Since SFN has been shown well tolerated in both animals and human, this regimen could be considered for clinical trials.

Recurrence and poorly differentiated (grade 3 and above) and atypical cell type endometrial cancer (EC) have poor prognosis outcome. The mechanisms and characteristics of recurrence and distal metastasis of EC remain unclear. The extracellular matrix (ECM) of the reproductive tract in women undergoes extensive structural remodelling changes every month. Altered ECMs surrounding cells were believed to play crucial roles in a cancer progression. To decipher the associations between ECM and EC development, we generated a PAN-ECM Data list of 1516 genes including ECM molecules (ECMs), synthetic and degradation enzymes for ECMs, ECM receptors, and soluble molecules that regulate ECM and used RNA-Seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) for the studies. The alterations of PAN-ECM genes by comparing the RNA-Seq expressions profiles of EC samples which have been grouped as tumorigenesis and metastasis group based on their pathological grading were identified. Differential analyses including functional enrichment, co-expression network, and molecular network analysis were carried out to identify the specific PAN-ECM genes that may involve in the progression of EC. Eight hundred and thirty-one and 241 PAN-ECM genes were significantly involved in tumorigenesis (p-value <1.571e-15) and metastasis (p-value <2.2e-16), respectively, whereas 140 genes were in the intersection of tumorigenesis and metastasis. Interestingly, 92 of the 140 intersecting PAN-ECM genes showed contrasting fold changes between the tumorigenesis and metastasis datasets. Enrichment analysis for the contrast PAN-ECM genes indicated pathways such as GP6 signaling, ILK signaling, and interleukin (IL)-8 signaling pathways were activated in metastasis but inhibited in tumorigenesis. The significantly activated ECM and ECM associated genes in GP6 signaling, ILK signaling, and interleukin (IL)-8 signaling pathways may play crucial

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Objective: To construct a prediction model for more precise evaluation of prognosis which will allow personalized treatment recommendations for adjuvant therapy in patients following resection of ESCC. Background: Marked heterogeneity of patient prognosis and limited evidence regarding survival benefit of various adjuvant therapy regimens pose challenges in the clinical treatment of ESCC. Methods: Based on comprehensive clinical data obtained from 4129 consecutive patients with resected ESCC in a high-risk region in China, we identified predictors for overall survival through a 2-phase selection based on Cox proportional hazard regression and minimization of Akaike information criterion. The model was internally validated using bootstrapping and externally validated in 1815 patients from a non-high-risk region in China.Results: The final model incorporates 9 variables: age, sex, primary site, T stage, N stage, number of lymph nodes harvested, tumor size, adjuvant treatment, and hemoglobin level. A significant interaction was also observed between N stage and adjuvant treatment. N1+ stage patients were likely to benefit from addition of adjuvant therapy as opposed to surgery alone, but adjuvant therapy did not improve overall survival for N0 stage patients. The C-index of the model was 0.729 in the training cohort, 0.723 after bootstrapping, and 0.695 in the external validation cohort. This model outperformed the seventh edition American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system in prognostic prediction and risk stratification. Conclusions: The prediction model constructed in this study may facilitate precise prediction of survival and inform decision-making about adjuvant therapy according to N stage.