ABSTRACT The use of tooth-derived material as a scaffold has gained attention recently due to its ease of availability and bioactive properties. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine in vitro interaction of human gingival mesenchymal stem cells (hGMSCs) with human demineralised teeth matrix (hDTM) on osteogenic potential with or without osteogenic inducers. The hGMSCs were established and characterised on their morphology, proliferation, population doubling time (PDT), viability, colony-forming ability, expression of cell surface markers and adipogenic differentiation. Further, the effect of hDTM on the biocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation ability of hGMSCs was evaluated. The hGMSCs displayed a fibroblast-like appearance and exhibited a greater proliferative activity. The cells showed > 91% viability, and PDT varied between 39.34 hours and 62.59 hours. Further, hGMSCs indicated their propensity to form clusters/ colonies, and expressed the markers, such as CD29, CD44, CD73 and CD90, but were negative for CD34 and CD45. When treated with adipogenic induction medium, hGMSCs were able to exhibit the formation of neutral lipid vacuoles. The hGMSCs cultured with hDTM did not show any cytotoxic changes including morphology and viability. Mineralisation of calcium nodules was observed in hGMSCs when cultured in osteogenic induction (OI) medium as an indication of osteogenesis. hGMSCs when cultured with hDTM confirmed the presence of a mineralised matrix. Further, when the cells were cultured with hDTM along with OI, they showed slightly enhanced differentiation into osteocytes. In conclusion, hGMSCs were shown to be biocompatible with hDTM, and demonstrated their enhanced osteogenic potential in the presence of hDTM and osteogenic supplements.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; Dental Pulp--cytology ; Dentin

ABSTRACT The use of tooth-derived material as a scaffold has gained attention recently due to its ease of availability and bioactive properties. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine in vitro interaction of human gingival mesenchymal stem cells (hGMSCs) with human demineralised teeth matrix (hDTM) on osteogenic potential with or without osteogenic inducers. The hGMSCs were established and characterised on their morphology, proliferation, population doubling time (PDT), viability, colony-forming ability, expression of cell surface markers and adipogenic differentiation. Further, the effect of hDTM on the biocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation ability of hGMSCs was evaluated. The hGMSCs displayed a fibroblast-like appearance and exhibited a greater proliferative activity. The cells showed > 91% viability, and PDT varied between 39.34 hours and 62.59 hours. Further, hGMSCs indicated their propensity to form clusters/ colonies, and expressed the markers, such as CD29, CD44, CD73 and CD90, but were negative for CD34 and CD45. When treated with adipogenic induction medium, hGMSCs were able to exhibit the formation of neutral lipid vacuoles. The hGMSCs cultured with hDTM did not show any cytotoxic changes including morphology and viability. Mineralisation of calcium nodules was observed in hGMSCs when cultured in osteogenic induction (OI) medium as an indication of osteogenesis. hGMSCs when cultured with hDTM confirmed the presence of a mineralised matrix. Further, when the cells were cultured with hDTM along with OI, they showed slightly enhanced differentiation into osteocytes. In conclusion, hGMSCs were shown to be biocompatible with hDTM, and demonstrated their enhanced osteogenic potential in the presence of hDTM and osteogenic supplements.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; Dental Pulp--cytology ; Dentin

Adult stem cells are drawing more and more attention due to the potential application in degenerative medicine without posing any moral problem. There is growing evidence showing that the human amnion contains various types of adult stem cell. Since amniotic tissue is readily available, it has the potential to be an important source of regenerative medicine material. In this study we tried to find multipotent adult stem cells in human amnion. We isolated stem cells from amniotic mesenchymal cells by limiting dilution assay. Similar to bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells, these cells displayed a fibroblast like appearance. They were positive for CD105, CD29, CD44, negative for haematopoietic (GlyA, CD31, CD34, CD45) and epithelial cell (pan-CK) markers. These stem cells had the potential to differentiate not only into osteogenic, adipogenic and endothelial lineages, but also hepatocyte-like cells and neural cells at the single-cell level depending on the culture conditions. They had the capacity for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation even after being expanded for more than 30 population doublings in vitro. So they may be an ideal stem cell source for inherited or degenerative diseases treatment.
Adult Stem Cells ; cytology ; Amnion ; cytology ; Cell Differentiation ; physiology ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Multipotent Stem Cells ; cytology

At present, it is generally believed that the paracrine effect of stem cells in the repair of myocardial injury is one of the important ways for stem cell therapy. Exosomes are phospholipid bilayer-enclosed nanovesicles that secreted by cells under physiological and pathological conditions. Cargo loaded into exosomes including protein, lipids and nucleic acids can be delivered to recipient cells. Therefore, exosomes are recognized as important mediators for intercellular communication. It has been suggested that exosomes from stem cells (eg. embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, cardiac progenitor cells, mesenchymal stem cells and cardiosphere-derived cells) have protective effects against heart injury. In this review, we summarized recent research progresses on stem cell-derived exosomes in myocardial injury, including the therapeutic effects and mechanism.
Cell Communication ; Exosomes ; physiology ; Heart Injuries ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; cytology

Erectile dysfunction (ED), as a pathological phenomenon, refers to repeated or sustained difficulty to achieve and maintain sufficient penile erection to complete satisfactory sexual intercourse or sexual activity in male. The erectile reflex interruption induced by cavernous nerve (CN) damage is a direct cause of ED. In addition, the apoptosis of smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells in the corpus cavernosum caused by CN injury, along with the reduction of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle fibers, can increase the incidence of ED. Therefore, early intervention of the pathological process of CN injury and promotion of CN regeneration are essential for the treatment of ED. In recent years, the stem cell therapy for ED has become a focus in clinical research. This article offers an overview on the application of embryonic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, muscle-derived stem cells, and adipose stem cells in the treatment of ED.
Adipocytes ; cytology ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; cytology ; Erectile Dysfunction ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; cytology ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Stem Cells ; cytology

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease. However, its etiology has not been yet fully elucidated. Endothelial dysfunction is currently considered to be one of the most important steps in the initiation of atherosclerosis. In addition, vascular smooth muscle cells, which are the main cellular component of de novo and in-stent restenosis lesions, play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. Promoting the regeneration of endothelial cells and inhibiting the proliferation of smooth muscle cells are pivotal for the prevention and treatment of vascular injury. Recently, some studies have demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells can home to the site of injury and differentiate into endothelial cells to repair damaged blood vessels. On the contrary, other researches have revealed that mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate into vascular smooth muscle cells that are involved in the development of restenosis. Here, we review the fundamental researches of mesenchymal stem cell therapy for atherosclerosis and address the perspectives of mesenchymal stem cells in atherosclerosis treatment.
Animals ; Atherosclerosis ; therapy ; Cell Differentiation ; Cells, Cultured ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; methods ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology

OBJECTIVEPoor stem cell survival is one of the obstacles for cell regeneration therapy post myocardial infarction (MI) and responsible for unsatisfactory therapeutic effectiveness. Various approaches to improve the status of these cells and increase cell survival have become research foci. The following article is a mini-review on the utilization of cell preconditioning for stem cell survival.

DATA SOURCESThe data used in this review were mainly from the articles in Medline and PubMed published from 1990 to 2010. The search terms included "preconditioning, stem cell and myocardial infarction".

STUDY SELECTIONOriginal articles and critical reviews selected were relevant to the review's theme.

RESULTSThe harsh ischemic and inflammatory microenvironment in the infarcted myocardium offers a significant challenge to the transplanted donor stem cells. Survival of stem cells following transplantation is affected by many factors, such as limited blood supply, nutritional deficiency, hypoxia, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Preconditioning methods have potent cytoprotective effects, which enables cells to maintain a "standby state" through programmed initiation of cell survival pathways.

CONCLUSIONSThe findings suggest that cell preconditioning can be used as an effective anti-apoptotic strategy and enable cells to withstand and survive the harsh environment after transplantation.

As the theory of stem cell plasticity was first proposed, we have explored an alternative hypothesis for this phenomenon: namely that adult bone marrow (BM) and umbilical cord blood (UCB) contain more developmentally primitive cells than hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). In support of this notion, using multiparameter sorting we were able to isolate small Sca1+Lin-CD45- cells and CD133+Lin-CD45- cells from murine BM and human UCB, respectively, which were further enriched for the detection of various early developmental markers such as the SSEA antigen on the surface and the Oct4 and Nanog transcription factors in the nucleus. Similar populations of cells have been found in various organs by our team and others, including the heart, brain and gonads. Owing to their primitive cellular features, such as the high nuclear/cytoplasm ratio and the presence of euchromatin, they are called very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs). In the appropriate in vivo models, VSELs differentiate into long-term repopulating HSCs, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), lung epithelial cells, cardiomyocytes and gametes. In this review, we discuss the most recent data from our laboratory and other groups regarding the optimal isolation procedures and describe the updated molecular characteristics of VSELs.
Animals ; Cell Lineage ; Cell Separation/*methods ; Embryonic Stem Cells/*cytology/metabolism ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells/*cytology/metabolism ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells/*cytology/metabolism ; Pluripotent Stem Cells/cytology/metabolism

Strong proliferative capacity and the ability to differentiate into the derivative cell types of three embryonic germ layers are the two important characteristics of embryonic stem cells. To study whether the mesenchymal stem cells from human fetal bone marrow (hfBM-MSCs) possess these embryonic stem cell-like biological characteristics, hfBM-MSCs were isolated from bone barrows and further purified according to the different adherence of different kinds of cells to the wall of culture flask. The cell cycle of hfBM-MSCs and MSC-specific surface markers such as CD29, CD44, etc were identified using flow cytometry. The expressions of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), the embryonic stem cell-specific antigens, such as Oct4 and SSEA-4 were detected with immunocytochemistry at the protein level and were also tested by RT-PCR at the mRNA level. Then, hfBM-MSCs were induced to differentiate toward neuron cells, adipose cells, and islet B cells under certain conditions. It was found that 92.3% passage-4 hfBM-MSCs and 96.1% passage-5 hfBM-MSCs were at G(0)/G(1) phase respectively. hfBM-MSCs expressed CD44, CD106 and adhesion molecule CD29, but not antigens of hematopoietic cells CD34 and CD45, and almost not antigens related to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), such as HLA-DR, CD40 and CD80. hfBM-MSCs expressed the embryonic stem cell-specific antigens such as Oct4, SSEA-4, and also hTERT. Exposure of these cells to various inductive agents resulted in morphological changes towards neuron-like cells, adipose-like cells, and islet B-like cells and they were tested to be positive for related characteristic markers. These results suggest that there are plenty of MSCs in human fetal bone marrow, and hfBM-MSCs possess the embryonic stem cell-like biological characteristics, moreover, they have a lower immunogenic nature. Thus, hfBM-MSCs provide an ideal source for tissue engineering and cellular therapeutics.
Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Proliferation ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; cytology ; Fetus ; Germ Layers ; cytology ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology

The study on stem cells is a hot field in biomedical science in recent years, and has furthered from laboratory to clinical application. Stem cells, according to their developmental stage and differential properties, can be divided into embryonic stem cells, induced PS cells and adult stem cells, among which, adult stem cells have already been applied to the clinical treatment of many systemic diseases. Currently, the study of spermatogonial stem cells and adult stem cells is in the front of the basic researches on the treatment of male infertility, but the time has not yet arrived for their clinical application. This paper outlines the application prospect of adult stem cells in male infertility.
Adult Stem Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; therapy ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Spermatogonia ; cytology ; Stem Cell Transplantation