Evaluation of antioxidant and antibacterial effects of lactobacilli metabolites- preconditioned bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in skin lesions amelioration.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) therapeutically intensify wound-healing. Meanwhile, probiotics are capable to inhibit pathogenic bacteria by secreting antimicrobial and antioxidant agents. They ameliorate more the wounds, by MSCs' synergistic effect. METHODS AND RESULTS: This way, MSCs exposed to probiotics metabolites (the extracts of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus casei), become more viable, and the optimum doses of probiotics metabolites were determined by Trypan blue and MTT assays. Then, preconditioned MSCs (pre-MSCs) faced again the oxidative stress (100 µM H2O2), and their survival rate was assessed by MTT assay. Conditioned medium (CM) prepared from pre-MSCs and the expression rate of antioxidant proteins evaluated by Real-time PCR. The antimicrobial activity of the samples was evaluated using the MIC method. Then mice wound models were treated with the mixture of a basal ointment and each CM of pre-MSCs. The proliferation and viability of MSCs improved by the probiotic's metabolites preconditioning (P ≤ 0.05). pre-MSCs exhibited significant up-regulated in antioxidant genes expression (P ≤ 0.001). Also, probiotics metabolites presented a significant free radical scavenging effect (P ≤ 0.001). CMs of pre-MSCs showed considerably increased antibacterial activity (P ≤ 0.05). Experimental groups compared with the controls revealed that wound contraction was more rapid in groups that received CMs of LP-MSCs, LC-MSCs, MSCs, and then finally mixed probiotics metabolites, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a novel insight into the probiotics extract effect on the improvement of MSCs' potential for wound healing procedures.

Representation in Online Prostate Cancer Content Lacks Racial and Ethnic Diversity: Implications for Black and Latinx Men.

PURPOSE: Black men have the highest incidence and mortality from prostate cancer (PCa) and lower quality of life compared to other U.S. racial groups. Additionally, more Latinx men are diagnosed with advanced disease and fewer receive guideline-concordant care. As many men seek medical information online, high-quality information targeting diverse populations may mitigate disparities. We examined racial/ethnic representation and information quality in online PCa content. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrieved 150 websites and 150 videos about "prostate cancer" using the most widely used search engine (Google) and social network (YouTube). We assessed quality of health information, reading level, perceived race/ethnicity of people featured in the content and discussion of racial/ethnic disparities. RESULTS: Among 81 websites and 127 videos featuring people, 37% and 24% had perceived Black representation, and racial/ethnic disparities were discussed in 27% and 17%, respectively. Among 1,526 people featured, 9% and 1% were perceived as Black and Latinx, respectively. No content with Black or Latinx representation was high quality, understandable, actionable and at the recommended reading level. CONCLUSIONS: Black and Latinx adults are underrepresented in online PCa content. Online media have significant potential for public education and combating health disparities. However, most PCa content lacks diversity and is not readily understandable.