The role of the nervous system in hematopoietic stem cell mobilization

Awakening of Dormant Breast Cancer Cells in the Bone Marrow

Up to 40% of patients with breast cancer (BC) have metastatic cells in the bone marrow (BM) at the initial diagnosis of localized disease. Despite definitive systemic adjuvant therapy, these cells survive in the BM microenvironment, enter a dormant state and recur stochastically for more than 20 years. Once they begin to proliferate, recurrent macrometastases are not curable, and patients generally succumb to their disease. Many potential mechanisms for initiating recurrence have been proposed, but no definitive predictive data have been generated. This manuscript reviews the proposed mechanisms that maintain BC cell dormancy in the BM microenvironment and discusses the data supporting specific mechanisms for recurrence. It addresses the well-described mechanisms of secretory senescence, inflammation, aging, adipogenic BM conversion, autophagy, systemic effects of trauma and surgery, sympathetic signaling, transient angiogenic bursts, hypercoagulable states, osteoclast activation, and epigenetic modifications of dormant cells. This review addresses proposed approaches for either eliminating micrometastases or maintaining a dormant state.

Effects of Bone Marrow Autotransplantation on the Bone Marrow Neurotransmitter Structures

Morphological structures involved in local regulation of tissue processes and the neurotransmitters they produce are assumed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of oncological diseases. We studied the dynamics of neurotransmitter cell counts and distribution of catecholamines and serotonin in them and analyzed proliferative activity of hemopoietic cells in the bone marrow of mice after bone marrow autotransplantation. The bone marrow of male mice was studied by fluorescent and immunohistochemical methods after injection of the bone marrow from the same mouse into the caudal vein. The count of neurotransmitter cells and the cell proliferation index increased after bone marrow autotransplantation.

Stem cell therapy for abrogating stroke-induced neuroinflammation and relevant secondary cell death mechanisms

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death worldwide. A key secondary cell death mechanism mediating neurological damage following the initial episode of ischemic stroke is the upregulation of endogenous neuroinflammatory processes to levels that destroy hypoxic tissue local to the area of insult, induce apoptosis, and initiate a feedback loop of inflammatory cascades that can expand the region of damage. Stem cell therapy has emerged as an experimental treatment for stroke, and accumulating evidence supports the therapeutic efficacy of stem cells to abrogate stroke-induced inflammation. In this review, we investigate clinically relevant stem cell types, such as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs), neural stem cells (NSCs), extraembryonic stem cells, adipose tissue-derived stem cells, breast milk-derived stem cells, menstrual blood-derived stem cells, dental tissue-derived stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), teratocarcinoma-derived Ntera2/D1 neuron-like cells (NT2N), c-mycER(TAM) modified NSCs (CTX0E03), and notch-transfected mesenchymal stromal cells (SB623), comparing their potential efficacy to sequester stroke-induced neuroinflammation and their feasibility as translational clinical cell sources. To this end, we highlight that MSCs, with a proven track record of safety and efficacy as a transplantable cell for hematologic diseases, stand as an attractive cell type that confers superior anti-inflammatory effects in stroke both in vitro and in vivo. That stem cells can mount a robust anti-inflammatory action against stroke complements the regenerative processes of cell replacement and neurotrophic factor secretion conventionally ascribed to cell-based therapy in neurological disorders.

Mesenchymal stem cells as a double-edged sword in suppression or progression of solid tumor cells

Tumor cells are able to attract mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to primary tumor site. On the other hand, MSCs secrete various factors to attract tumor cells towards BM. In this review, in addition to assessment of MSCs function at tumor sites and their impact on growth and metastasis of tumor cells, the importance of MSC in attraction of malignant cells to BM and their involvement in drug resistance of tumor cells have also been studied. Relevant literature was identified by a PubMed search (2000-2015) of English-language literature using the terms mesenchymal stem cells, cancer cell, metastasis, and tumor microenvironment. MSCs migrate towards tumor microenvironment and are involved in both pro-tumorigenic and antitumorigenic functions. The dual function of MSCs at tumor sites is dependent upon a variety of factors, including the type and origin of MSCs, the cancer cell line under study, in vivo or in vitro conditions, the factors secreted by MSCs and interactions between MSCs, host immune cells and cancer cells. Therefore, MSCs can be regarded both as friends and enemies of cancer cells. Although the role of a number of pathways, including IL-6/STAT3 pathway, has been indicated in controlling the interaction between MSCs and tumor cells, other mechanisms by which MSCs can control the tumor cells are not clear yet. A better understanding of these mechanisms through further studies can determine the exact role of MSCs in cancer progression and identify them as important therapeutic agents or targets.

Molecular Aspects of Bone Resorption in β-Thalassemia Major

β-thalassemia is the most common single gene disorder worldwide, in which hemoglobin β-chain production is decreased. Today, the life expectancy of thalassemic patients is increased because of a variety of treatment methods; however treatment related complications have also increased. The most common side effect is osteoporosis, which usually occurs in early adulthood as a consequence of increased bone resorption. Increased bone resorption mainly results from factors such as delayed puberty, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, ineffective hematopoiesis as well as hyperplasia of the bone marrow, parathyroid gland dysfunction, toxic effect of iron on osteoblasts, growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) deficiency. These factors disrupt the balance between osteoblasts and osteoclasts by interfering with various molecular mechanisms and result in decreased bone density.

Given the high prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in thalassemic patients and complexity of their development process, the goal of this review is to evaluate the molecular aspects involved in osteopenia and osteoporosis in thalassemic patients, which may be useful for therapeutic purposes.

Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor Induces Osteoblast Inhibition by B Lymphocytes and Osteoclast Activation by T Lymphocytes during Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cell Mobilization

In the bone marrow (BM), hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) reside in specialized niches near osteoblast cells at the endosteum. HSPCs that egress to peripheral blood are widely used for transplant, and mobilization is most commonly performed with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). However, the cellular targets of G-CSF that initiate the mobilization cascade and bone remodeling are not completely understood. Here, we examined whether T and B lymphocytes modulate the bone niche and influence HSPC mobilization. We used T and B defective mice to show that G-CSF-induced mobilization of HSPCs correlated with B lymphocytes but poorly with T lymphocytes. In addition, we found that defective B lymphocytes prevent G-CSF-mediated osteoblast disruption, and further study showed BM osteoblasts were reduced coincident with mobilization, induced by elevated expression of dickkopf1 of BM B lymphocytes. BM T cells were also involved in G-CSF-induced osteoclast activation by regulating the Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-κ B Ligand/Osteoprotegerin (RANKL/OPG) axis. These data provide evidence that BM B and T lymphocytes play a role in G-CSF-induced HSPC mobilization by regulating bone remodeling.

Molecular basis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia diagnosis and prognosis

BACKGROUNDS

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of leukemia in adults and is characterized by a clonal accumulation of mature apoptosis-resistant neoplastic cells. It is also a heterogeneous disease with a variable clinical outcome. Here, we present a review of currently known (epi)genetic alterations that are related to the etiology, progression and chemo-refractoriness of CLL. Relevant literature was identified through a PubMed search (1994-2014) of English-language papers using the terms CLL, signaling pathway, cytogenetic abnormality, somatic mutation, epigenetic alteration and micro-RNA.

RESULTS

CLL is characterized by the presence of gross chromosomal abnormalities, epigenetic alterations, micro-RNA expression alterations, immunoglobulin heavy chain gene mutations and other genetic lesions. The expression of unmutated immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (IGHV) genes, ZAP-70 and CD38 proteins, the occurrence of chromosomal abnormalities such as 17p and 11q deletions and mutations of the NOTCH1, SF3B1 and BIRC3 genes have been associated with a poor prognosis. In addition, mutations in tumor suppressor genes, such as TP53 and ATM, have been associated with refractoriness to conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Micro-RNA expression alterations and aberrant methylation patterns in genes that are specifically deregulated in CLL, including the BCL-2, TCL1 and ZAP-70 genes, have also been encountered and linked to distinct clinical parameters.

CONCLUSIONS

Specific chromosomal abnormalities and gene mutations may serve as diagnostic and prognostic indicators for disease progression and survival. The identification of these anomalies by state-of-the-art molecular (cyto)genetic techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray-based genomic profiling and next-generation sequencing (NGS) can be of paramount help for the clinical management of these patients, including optimal treatment design. The efficacy of novel therapeutics should to be tested according to the presence of these molecular lesions in CLL patients.

The role of catecholamines in mesenchymal stem cell fate

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells found in many adult tissues, especially bone marrow (BM) and are capable of differentiation into various lineage cells such as osteoblasts, adipocytes, chondrocytes and myocytes. Moreover, MSCs can be mobilized from connective tissue into circulation and from there to damaged sites to contribute to regeneration processes. MSCs commitment and differentiation are controlled by complex activities involving signal transduction through cytokines and catecholamines. There has been an increasing interest in recent years in the neural system, functioning in the support of stem cells like MSCs. Recent efforts have indicated that the catecholamine released from neural and not neural cells could be affected characteristics of MSCs. However, there have not been review studies of most aspects involved in catecholamines-mediated functions of MSCs. Thus, in this review paper, we will try to describe the current state of catecholamines in MSCs destination and discuss strategies being used for catecholamines for migration of these cells to damaged tissues. Then, the role of the nervous system in the induction of osteogenesis, adipogenesis, chondrogenesis and myogenesis from MSCs is discussed. Recent progress in studies of signaling transduction of catecholamines in determination of the final fate of MSCs is highlighted. Hence, the knowledge of interaction between MSCs with the neural system could be applied towards the development of new diagnostic and treatment alternatives for human diseases.