KGF and BMP-6 intervene in cellular reprogramming and in mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) of 3T3L1 mouse adipose cells

Bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP6) antagonises experimental proliferative vitreoretinopathy established by TGF-β2 stimulation in retinal pigment epithelial cells through modulation of the p38 and JNK MAPK pathways

The formation of the epiretinal fibrotic membrane by retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells is a primary pathological change for proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). Bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP6) is an antifibrogenic factor in various cells. To date, it is still unknown whether BMP6 can interfere with the fibrogenesis of RPE cells during the progression of PVR. This work aimed to address the relationship between BMP6 and transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2)-elicited fibrogenesis of RPE cells, an experimental model for studying PVR in vitro. The BMP6 level was down-regulated, while the TGF-β2 level was up-regulated in the vitreous humor of PVR patients. The BMP6 level was down-regulated in human RPE cells challenged with TGF-β2. The treatment of RPE cells with TGF-β2 resulted in significant increases in proliferation, migration, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling. These effects were found to be inhibited by the overexpression of BMP6 or exacerbated by the knockdown of BMP6. BMP6 overexpression reduced the phosphorylation of p38 and JNK in TGF-β2-stimulated RPE cells, while BMP6 knockdown showed the opposite effects. The inhibition of p38 or JNK partially reversed the BMP6-silencing-induced promoting effects on TGF-β2-elicited fibrogenesis in RPE cells. Taken together, BMP6 demonstrates the ability to counteract the proliferation, migration, EMT, and ECM remodelling of RPE cells induced by TGF-β2. This is achieved through the regulation of the p38 and JNK MAPK pathways. These findings imply a potential connection between BMP6 and PVR, and highlight the potential application of BMP6 in therapeutic interventions for PVR.

Differentiation of bovine mammary epithelial cells in the presence of linolenic acid in combination with thiazolidenediones

Cytoplasmic lipid droplets (CLD's) formation is critical for lactation and health and so it could be detrimental in upholding the formation of CLD's in bovine mammary epithelial cells (MAC-T). We therefore, treated MAC-T cells with differentiation medium containing alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) (100 μM) and thiazolidenediones (TZD's)(10 μM) and observed CLD's formation in cellular cytoplasm with Oil-red-O staining and elution index percentage. We also observed significant up-regulation of adipogenic and down regulation of epithelial markers. In conclusion, 100 μM ALA plus 10 μM TZD's resulted in formation of CLD's and subsequent differentiation of MAC-T cells.

Human adipose mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomal-miRNAs are critical factors for inducing anti-proliferation signalling to A2780 and SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells

An enigmatic question exists concerning the pro- or anti-cancer status of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Despite growing interest, this question remains unanswered, and the debate became intensified with new evidences backing each side. Here, we showed that human adipose MSC (hAMSC)-derived conditioned medium (CM) exhibited inhibitory effects on A2780 human ovarian cancer cells by blocking the cell cycle, and activating mitochondria-mediated apoptosis signalling. Explicitly, we demonstrated that exosomes, an important biological component of hAMSC-CM, could restrain proliferation, wound-repair and colony formation ability of A2780 and SKOV-3 cancer cells. Furthermore, hAMSC-CM-derived exosomes induced apoptosis signalling by upregulating different pro-apoptotic signalling molecules, such as BAX, CASP9, and CASP3, as well as downregulating the anti-apoptotic protein BCL2. More specifically, cancer cells exhibited reduced viability following fresh or protease-digested exosome treatment; however, treatment with RNase-digested exosomes could not inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. Additionally, sequencing of exosomal RNAs revealed a rich population of microRNAs (miRNAs), which exhibit anti-cancer activities by targeting different molecules associated with cancer survival. Our findings indicated that exosomal miRNAs are important players involved in the inhibitory influence of hAMSC-CM towards ovarian cancer cells. Therefore, we believe that these comprehensive results will provide advances concerning ovarian cancer research and treatment.