In vitro anti-leukemic effect of Wharton's jelly derived mesenchymal stem cells

BACKGROUND

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the ability to self-renew and are multi-potent. They are a primary candidate for cell-based therapy due to their potential anti-cancer effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro anti-leukemic effect of Wharton's Jelly-derived MSC (WJ-MSC) on the leukemic cell lines K562 and HL-60.

METHODS

In this present study, WJ-MSCs were isolated from human umbilical cord. The cells were incubated according to the standard culture conditions and characterized by flow cytometry. For experiments, WJ-MSC and leukemic cells were incubated in the direct co-culture at a ratio of 1:5 (leukemia cells: WJ-MSC). HUVEC cells were used as a non-cancerous cell line model. The apoptotic effect of WJ-MSCs on the cell lines was analyzed using Annexin V/PI apoptosis assay.

RESULTS

After the direct co-culture of WJ-MSCs on leukemic cell lines, we observed anti-leukemic effects by inducing apoptosis. We had two groups of determination apoptosis with and without WJ-MSCs for all cell lines. Increased apoptosis rates were observed in K562 and HL-60 cell lines, whereas the apoptosis rates in HUVEC cells were low.

CONCLUSIONS

MSCs are known to inhibit the growth of tumors of both hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic origin in vitro. In our study, WJ-MSC treatment strongly inhibited the viability of HL-60 and K562 and induced apoptosis. Our results also provided new insights into the inhibition of tumor growth by WJ-MSCs in vitro. In the future, WJ-MSCs could be used to inhibit cancer cells in clinical applications.

Can novel methods replace the gold standard chimerism method after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation?

After hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, chimerism assay is a useful approach to monitor the success of the transplant and to select the appropriate treatment strategy, such as donor leukocyte infusion or immunosuppressive drug dosage. Short tandem repeat PCR is the method that has been accepted as the gold standard for chimerism. However, it has not yet been sufficient to detect mixed chimerism in patients with minimal residual disease. Simultaneously, recent years have been marked by developing sensitive, high-throughput, and accurate molecular genetic assays. These novel methods have subsequently been adapted for the analysis of post-transplant chimerism. In this review, we discuss the technical features of both novel and conventional gold standard chimerism assays. We also discuss their advantages and disadvantages.

Predictive Value of Interleukin 2 and Interleukin 8 on Early Rejection in Living Related Kidney Transplant Recipients

INTRODUCTION

Early diagnosis of rejection in kidney transplant (KTx) recipients is of paramount importance for long-term graft survival. Cytokines play an important role in rejection via activating T cells. Neutrophil accumulation in the graft indicates cell-mediated rejection. Cellular infiltration is mediated through chemoattractant factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between graft function and serum levels of interleukin 2 (IL-2) and interleukin 8 (IL-8) in KTx.

METHOD

Sixty-five patients undergoing KTx were enrolled in the study. Serum samples of IL-2 and IL-8 were collected the day before the operation, on postoperative days 1 and 7 day, and during the first and third month after the onset of rejection. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method was used to determine the IL-2 and IL-8 values.

RESULTS

A total of 9 (13.8%) patients had rejection documented on biopsy samples. Fifty-six patients had stable graft function (SGF). IL-2 and IL-8 values before KTx of both the rejected and SGF patients were not statistically different. Univariate analysis revealed that IL-2 and IL-8 were correlated with rejection (P = .046, P = .015). IL-8 levels were higher in the rejection group compared to the SGF group on the seventh day and first month postoperatively (P = .023, P = .038). The rejection group maintained higher levels of IL-8 for 11 days (range: 7-30) compared to the SGF group (P = .002) and the IL-8 levels correlated with serum creatinine levels (r = 0.621, P = .001). IL-2 levels were higher in the rejection group on days 1 and 7 compared to the SGF group (P = .042, P = .031). IL-2 and IL-8 levels were correlated with low eGFR in the third month in the rejection group (r = 0.421, P = .037; r = 0.518, P = .008).

CONCLUSION

Determining the cytokine levels in the early post-KTx period may be helpful in tailoring immunosuppressive regimens in patients with a risk of rejection.

Cytokine Polymorphism and HLA Genotyping in Patients with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Related to Hippocampal Sclerosis

Objective

Hippocampal sclerosis (HS) is the most common pathological substrate associated with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE), where inflammatory processes are known to play an increasingly important role in the pathogenesis. To further investigate the role of the immune system, both cytokine gene polymorphisms and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotyping in patients with MTLE-HS were investigated.

Methods

The DNA samples of 100 patients with MTLE-HS and 201 healthy individuals were genotyped for cytokines (IL-6,IL-10, TNF-α, TGF-β1 and IFN-γ) and HLA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-SSP and SSO methods. The results were statistically analyzed in patient and healthy control groups and then according to the presence of febrile seizures (FS) in the patient group.

Results

Analysis of cytokine genotyping did not reveal any significant difference between patients with MTLE-HS and controls and patients with or without FS. However, the HLA DRB1*13 allele was found to be more frequent in the patient population after Bonferroni correction.

Conclusion

This study suggests the possible role of HLA in the pathogenesis of MTLE-HS, although it failed to show any relationship with the cytokine system. However, data regarding the role of HLA are still lacking, and further studies are necessary to verify our results.

1-(o-aryl)barbituric and 1-(o-aryl)-2-thiobarbituric acid derivatives: chiral atropisomers

Several 1-(o-aryl)barbituric and -2-thiobarbituric acid derivatives were proven to be chiral in their conformational ground states due to the hindered rotation about the C(aryl)-N(1) bond, by observation of diastereotopic groups (H or CH3) at 5-position of the heteroring by 1H and 13C NMR. Some of the enantiomers were semipreparatively enriched by liquid chromatography on triacetylcellulose or on cellulose tris-(3,5-dimethyl)-phenylcarbamate (chiralcel OD-H). Circular dichroism spectra of the enriched enantiomers have been examined with reference to their stereostructures.