Astaxanthin Promotes the Survival of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells by Alleviating Oxidative Stress via Activating the Nrf2 Signaling Pathway

Reduced glutathione enhances adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cell engraftment efficiency for liver fibrosis by targeting TGFβ1/SMAD3/NOX4 pathway

Reduced glutathione (GSH) could reduce oxidative stress to improve adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ADSC) engraftment efficiency in vivo. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Our goal is to investigate whether GSH enhances ADSC engraftment through targeting the TGFβ/SMAD3/NOX4 pathway. Liver fibrotic male mice were administrated GSH, setanaxib (STX), and SIS3 during ADSC transplantation. ADSC engraftment efficiency and reactive oxygen species (ROS) level were detected both in vivo and ex vivo. Biochemical analysis was used to analyze the content of superoxide and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidases (NOXs) in liver tissues. Immunohistochemistry and western blotting were used to examine the protein level of NOX1, NOX2, NOX4, transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ1), SMAD3, and p-SMAD3 in liver tissues. Additionally, the therapeutic efficacy of the ADSC transplantation was further investigated. We found that GSH significantly improved ADSC engraftment efficiency, which was closely related to the reduced ROS generation in liver tissues. However, the enhanced cell engraftment was abolished after the combined treatment with STX or SIS3. GSH could effectively reduce superoxide and NOXs content, and selectively inhibit NOX4 expression in liver tissues. The co-localization results showed that GSH could reduce NOX4 expressed in activated hepatic stellate cells. Mechanistically, GSH down-regulated TGFβ/SMAD3 signaling. More importantly, GSH enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of ADSC therapy in liver fibrotic mice. Taken together, GSH could improve the engraftment efficiency of ADSCs in liver fibrosis by targeting TGFβ1/SMAD3/NOX4 signaling pathway, which provides a new theoretical basis for GSH enhancing ADSC engraftment efficiency in liver diseases.

Survival Mechanisms and Retention Strategies in Large-Volume Fat Grafting: A Comprehensive Review and Future Perspectives

INTRODUCTION

Large-volume fat grafting is emerging as a promising technique in plastic and reconstructive surgery. However, the unpredictable graft volume retention rate remains a critical challenge. To address this issue, we need a profound understanding of the survival mechanisms following large-volume fat transplantation. This review summarizes known survival mechanisms and strategies to enhance graft retention.

METHODS

This review comprehensively examines the current literature on the survival mechanisms and retention strategies in large-volume fat grafting. A thorough literature search was conducted using PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar databases, focusing on studies published from 2009 to 2023.

CONCLUSION

In the current research on fat survival mechanisms, few have focused on large-volume fat grafting. This review provides an overview of the survival mechanisms specific to large-volume fat grafting and identifies a survival pattern distinct from that of small-volume fat grafting. Additionally, we have summarized existing strategies to improve graft retention across five stages (harvesting, processing, enrichment, grafting and post-graft care), analyzed their advantages and disadvantages and identified some of the most promising strategies.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors   www.springer.com/00266.

The dual role of mesenchymal stem cells in apoptosis regulation

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widely distributed pluripotent stem cells with powerful immunomodulatory capacity. MSCs transplantation therapy (MSCT) is widely used in the fields of tissue regeneration and repair, and treatment of inflammatory diseases. Apoptosis is an important way for tissues to maintain cell renewal, but it also plays an important role in various diseases. And many studies have shown that MSCs improves the diseases by regulating cell apoptosis. The regulation of MSCs on apoptosis is double-sided. On the one hand, MSCs significantly inhibit the apoptosis of diseased cells. On the other hand, MSCs also promote the apoptosis of tumor cells and excessive immune cells. Furthermore, MSCs regulate apoptosis through multiple molecules and pathways, including three classical apoptotic signaling pathways and other pathways. In this review, we summarize the current evidence on the regulation of apoptosis by MSCs.

Mitochondrial dysfunction following repeated administration of alprazolam causes attenuation of hippocampus-dependent memory consolidation in mice

The frequently repeated administration of alprazolam (Alp), a highly effective benzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic agent, in anxiety, insomnia, and other diseases is closely related to many negative adverse reactions that are mainly manifested as memory impairment. However, the exact molecular mechanisms underlying these events are poorly understood. Therefore, we conducted a proteomic analysis on the hippocampus in mice that received repeated administration of Alp for 24 days. A total of 439 significantly differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in mice with repeated administration of Alp compared to the control group, and the GO and KEGG analysis revealed the enrichment of terms related to mitochondrial function, cycle, mitophagy and cognition. In vitro experiments have shown that Alp may affect the cell cycle, reduce the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) to induce apoptosis in HT22 cells, and affect the progress of mitochondrial energy metabolism and morphology in the hippocampal neurons. Furthermore, in vivo behavioral experiments including IntelliCage System (ICS) and nover object recognition (NOR), hippocampal neuronal pathological changes with HE staining, and the expression levels of brain-deprived neuron factor (BDNF) with immunohistochemistry showed a significant decrease in memory consolidation in mice with repeated administration of Alp, which could be rescued by the co-administration of the mitochondrial protector NSI-189. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify a link between repeated administration of Alp and mitochondrial dysfunction and that mitochondrial impairment directly causes the attenuation of memory consolidation in mice.