METHODS: The proliferative effect of the identified protein on MCF-7 cells that interacted non-adhesively with BMSCs pre-treated with pioglitazone and/or rosiglitazone was evaluated using cell culture inserts and conditioned media. The mRNA expression of proliferation and lipid accumulation markers was also evaluated in the interacted MCF-7 cells by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. Finally, the correlation between the identified protein and fibroblast growth factor 4 (FGF-4) protein in the conditioned media of the pre-treated BMSCs was evaluated by ELISA.
RESULTS: The present study identified vimentin as the specific protein among the complex intracellular proteins that likely plays a role in MCF-7 cell proliferation when the breast cancer cells interacted non-adhesively with BMSCs pre-treated with a combination of pioglitazone and rosiglitazone. The inhibition of this protein promoted the proliferation of MCF-7 cells when the breast cancer cells interacted with pre-treated BMSCs. Gene expression analysis indicated that pre-treatment of BMSCs with a combination of pioglitazone and rosiglitazone decreased the mRNA expression of Ki67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen in MCF-7 cells. The pre-treatment did not induce mRNA expression of PPARγ, which is a sign of lipid accumulation. The level of vimentin protein was also associated with the FGF-4 protein expression level in the conditioned media of the pre-treated BMSCs. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that vimentin regulated the expression of FGF-4 through its interaction with SRY-box 2 and POU class 5 homeobox 1.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study identified a novel intracellular protein that may represent the promising target in pre-treated BMSCs to decrease the proliferation of breast cancer MCF-7 cells for human health and wellness.
MATERIALS & METHODS: An indirect in vitro coculture model of injured airway epithelium explant with MSCs was developed. LC-MS/MS analysis was performed to determine factors secreted by MSCs and their involvement in epithelium repair was evaluated by histopathological assessment.
RESULTS: The identification of 54 of MSC proteins of which 44 of them were secretory/extracellular proteins. 43 of the secreted proteins were found to be involved in accelerating airway epithelium repair by stimulating the migratory, proliferative and differentiation abilities of the endogenous repair mechanisms. MSC-secreted proteins also initiated epithelial-mesenchymal transition process during early repair.
CONCLUSION: MSC-secreted factors accelerated airway epithelial repair by stimulating the endogenous reparative and regenerative ability of lung cells.
METHODS: Human adipose-derived MSCs (Ad-MSCs) and A549 cells are co-cultured together in indirect co-culture system using Transwell insert. Following co-culture, both cells were analysed in terms of growth rate, migration ability, apoptosis and gene expression for genes involved in migration and stemness characteristics.
RESULTS: The result shows that Ad-MSCs promoted the growth of A549 cells when indirectly co-cultured for 48 and 72 h. Furthermore, Ad-MSCs significantly enhanced the migration rate of A549 cells. The increased in migration rate was in parallel with the significant increase of MMP9. There are no significant changes observed in the expression of TWIST2, CDH2 and CDH1, genes involved in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Ad-MSCs also protect A549 cancer cells from undergoing apoptosis and increase the survival of cancer cells.
CONCLUSION: Secretion of soluble factors from Ad-MSCs has been shown to promote the growth and metastatic characteristics of A549 cancer cells. Therefore, the use of Ad-MSCs in cancer therapy needs to be carefully evaluated in the long-term aspect.
RESULTS: In this experiment, thick and short hairy roots were induced at all induction sites of C. annuum while thin, elongated hairy roots appeared mostly at wound sites of C. frutescens. Overall, the hairy root induction percentages of C. frutescens were higher compared with C. annuum. Hairy root initiation was observed earliest using radicles (1st week), followed by cotyledons (2nd week), and hypocotyls (3rd week). Cotyledon explants of both species had the highest induction frequency with all strains compared with the other explants types. Strains ATCC 13333 and ATCC 15834 were the most favourable for C. frutescens while ATCC 43056 and ATCC 43057 were the most favourable for C. annuum. The interactions between the different explants and strains showed significant differences with p-values < 0.0001 in both Capsicum species.
CONCLUSIONS: Both Capsicum species were amenable to A. rhizogenes infection and hairy root induction is recommended for use as an alternative explants in future plant-based studies.