ABSTRACT
The idea of regenerating lost myocardium via cell-based therapies remains as highly considerable. C-kit? stem/progenitor cells are represented to be suitable candidates for cardiac regeneration compared to other stem cells.A multitude of cytokines from these cells are known to give such multifunctional properties; however, theassociated mechanisms of these factors are yet to be totally understood. The aim of the present study was toinvestigate the in vitro effect of L-carnitine (LC) on cardiac differentiation of c-kit? cells using a cytokinessecretion assay. For this purpose, bone-marrow-resident-c-kit? cells were enriched by MACS method, andwere differentiated to cardiac cells using cardiomyocyte differentiation medium in the absence (control group)and presence of LC (experimental group). Also, characterization of enriched c-kit? cells was performed usingflow cytometry and immunocytochemistry. In the following, the cells were subjected to real-time PCR andWestern blotting assay for gene and protein assessment, respectively. Afterward, culture medium was collectedfrom both control (-LC) and experimental groups (? LC) for cytokine measurement. It was found that 0.2mM LC significantly increased the mRNA and protein expression of cardiac markers of Ang-1, Ang-2, C-TnI,VEGF, vWF, and SMA in c-kit?-cardiomyogenic-differentiated cells. Also, the significant presence of IL-6,IGF-1, TGF-b, and VEGF were obvious in the cultured media from the experimental group compared with thecontrol group. It can be concluded that the mentioned in vitro effects of LC on cardiac differentiation of c-kit?cells could have resulted from the secreted cytokines IL-6, IGF-1, TGF-b, and VEGF.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT The aim of this review was to describe the current state-of-the-art regarding isolation, characterization and aging of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs). Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have recently received widespread attention because of their potential use in tissue-engineering applications. Various studies have indicated that MSCs with a fibroblast-like morphology migrate to the sites of injury and help to regenerate damaged tissue. Over the past few years, it has been recognized that fat is not only an energy supply, but also a rich source of multipotent stem cells that can be easily harvested, isolated and selected as compared with other tissues. ADSCs are particularly interesting because of their rapid proliferation and multidirectional differentiation potential.
ABSTRACT
Recently, biomarkers in medicine have gained comprehensive scientific and clinical interest. Biomarker or biological marker defined as alteration in the constituents of tissues or body fluids provide a powerful approach to understanding the spectrum of chronic diseases with application in at least 5 areas like screening, diagnosis, prognostication, prediction of disease recurrence and therapeutic monitoring. Therefore, biomarkers are biological indicators of diseases that can be measured either in vivo by biomedical imaging or in vitro by laboratory methods. Many kinds of biomarkers are available in the field of medical science with lots of positive as well as negative effect. These markers can also reflect the entire spectrum of disease from the earliest manifestations to the terminal stages and will become one of the major driving forces of pharmaceutical research and drug development in the coming years. Generally, a biomarker is potentially useful along the whole spectrum of the disease process- before diagnosis; for screening and risk assessment, during diagnosis; for staging, grading and selecting the initial therapy and during treatment for monitoring therapy, selecting additional therapy or monitoring recurrent diseases. This brief review describes the types and major uses of biomarkers in clinical investigation.