Author: tcnhat

It is known that myocardial infarction (MI) causes damages to the heart tissue and that present medical therapies, such as medication, stenting and coronary artery bypass surgery, cannot recover the injured heart. Fortunately, advances in stem cell research have brought hope of full heart recovery for myocardial ischemia patients. There have been many studies using cell therapies for myocardial ischemia, from preclinical trials to clinical trials. However, the biggest concern is the effect of transplanted cells in myocardial recovery. This review will focus on analyzing both the positive and negative effects of transplanted cells in myocardial recovery to better understand the underlying biological mechanisms and ways to evaluate safety and efficacy of cell transplantation in myocardial ischemia treatment.

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic disease affecting the airway of the respiratory system. COPD cases have rapidly increased in recent years, with the disease becoming the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Stem cell transplantation is a new approach to treat COPD. In this study we report in two cases the use of transplanted stem cells to treat COPD.

Methods: Umbilical cord derived stem cells (Modulatist^TM) were used in the study. Modulatist^TM was prepared according to previous published studies. Two patients with late stage COPD (stage IV) were transfused with Modulatist at a dose of 10⁶ cells/kg. Patients were evaluated by the COPD assessment test (CAT) score as well as the Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale (mMRC) score, before and after transplantation (1, 3 and 5 months post transplantation).

Results: Results showed that Modulatist^TM transplantation significantly improved sever COPD, especially after 3 months. At that time point, the two patients receiving Modulatist^TM showed a significantly improvement, from late-stage of COPD (stage IV) to stage I.

Conclusion: Although these initial results suggest that Modulatist^TMtransplantation is a promising therapy, more clinical studies in COPD patients are warranted to evaluate efficacy.

Abstract

Stem cells represent a new treatment option in medicine and pharmacy. Stem cells have been increasingly used for the treatment of many diseases. In fact, they have spurred a new age of medicine called regenerative medicine. In recent years, regenerative medicine has become a new revolution in disease treatment, especially with the use of stem cell drugs. Stem cell drugs refer to live stem cell based products that used as drugs for particular diseases. Unlike autologous stem cell transplantation, stem cell drugs are “off-the-shelf” products that are ready to be used without requirement of any further manipulation. This review aims to summarize some of the approved stem cell drugs, and discuss the revolution of regenerative medicine and personalized medicine. As well, the review will discuss how stem cell drugs have led to a new direction in stem cell therapy, providing a new platform for patient needs.

Background: CD47 is a transmembrane glycoprotein expressed on all cells in the body and particularly overexpressed on cancer cells and cancer stem cells of both hematologic and solid malignancies. In the immune system, CD47 acts as a “don’t eat me” signal, inhibiting phagocytosis by macrophages by interaction with signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα). In cancer, CD47 promotes tumor invasion and metastasis. This study aimed to evaluate the stemness of breast cancer cells when CD47 is overexpressed.

Methods: MCF-7 breast cancer cells were transfected with plasmid pcDNA3.4-CD47 containing the CD47 gene. The stemness of the transduced MCF7 cell population was evaluated by expression of CD44 and CD24 markers, anti-tumor drug resistance and mammosphere formation.

Results: Transfection of plasmid pcDNA3.4-CD47 significantly increased the expression of CD47 in MCF-7 cells. The overexpression of CD47 in transfected MCF-7 cells led to a significant increase in the CD44⁺CD24^– population, but did not increase doxorubicin resistance of the cells or their capacity to form mammospheres.

Conclusion: CD47 overexpression enhances the CD44⁺CD24^–phenotype of breast cancer cells as observed by an increase in the CD44⁺CD24^– expressing population. However, these changes are insufficient to increase the stemness of breast cancer cells.