Stem cell therapy for Parkinson's disease using non-human primate models

Acorus calamus var. angustatus Besser: Insight into current research on ethnopharmacological use, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and pharmacokinetics

A. calamus var. angustatus Besser is an important traditional medicinal herb commonly used in China and other Asian countries. This study is the first systematic review of the literature to thoroughly analyze the ethnopharmacological application, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacokinetic properties of A. calamus var. angustatus Besser and provides a rationale for future research and prospects for application in clinical treatment. Information on relevant studies investigating A. calamus var. angustatus Besser was collected from SciFinder, the Web of Science, PubMed, CNKI, Elsevier, ResearchGate, ACS, Flora of China, and Baidu Scholar, etc. up to December 2022. In addition, information was also obtained from Pharmacopeias, books on Chinese herbal classics, local books, as well as PhD and MS dissertations. A. calamus var. angustatus Besser has played an important role in the herbal treatment of coma, convulsion, amnesia, and dementia for thousands of years. Studies investigating the chemical constituents of A. calamus var. angustatus Besser have isolated and identified 234 small-molecule compounds and a few polysaccharides. Among them, simple phenylpropanoids represented by asarone analogues and lignans are the two main active ingredients, which can be considered characteristic chemotaxonomic markers of this herb. In vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies indicated that crude extracts and active compounds from A. calamus var. angustatus Besser display a wide range of pharmacological activities, especially as treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and anticonvulsant, antidepressant-like, anxiolytic-like, anti-fatigue, anti-Parkinson, neuroprotection, and brain protection properties, providing more evidence to explain the traditional medicinal uses and ethnopharmacology. The clinical therapeutic dose of A. calamus var. angustatus Besser does not present any toxic effects, but its main active ingredients α-asarone and β-asarone at excessive dose may lead to toxicity, and in particular, their respective epoxide metabolites may exert potential toxicity to the liver. This review provides a reference and further information for the future development and clinical application of A. calamus var. angustatus Besser.

hUMSCs Transplantation Regulates AMPK/NR4A1 Signaling Axis to Inhibit Ovarian Fibrosis in POI Rats

BACKGROUND

The mechanism of human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hUMSCs) transplantation to improve ovarian function in the rats with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) is still unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate the signal axis mechanism that is involved in the ovarian function recovery of POI rats following hUMSCs transplantation.

METHODS

The rat model with POI was established by intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin. The hUMSCs were transplanted by caudal vein injection into POI rats. Hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining was performed to examine the morphology of rat ovarian tissue. Masson staining, Sirus red staining and immunofluorescence were used to observe the fibrosis extent of ovarian tissue. The levels of serum sex hormones and the expression of fibrosis related markers in ovarian tissues were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of NR4A1, Phospho-NR4A1 and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling in rat ovarian tissues was measured by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. The role of AMPK/NR4A1 signaling axis in the regulation of ovarian function recovery in POI rats following hUMSCs transplantation was further investigated by adenovirus and siRNA intervention in isolated stromal cells.

RESULTS

The results showed that the hUMSCs transplantation significantly inhibited ovarian tissue fibrosis and restored the ovarian function in POI rats. The level of NR4A1 and AMPK expression in ovarian tissue of POI rats after hUMSCs transplantation was significantly increased compared with the control group. In the cultured ovarian stromal cells, the similar results were obtained on the expression of NR4A1 and its regulation on fibrosis related molecular markers in Cisplatin (CDDP) damaged stromal cells following hUMSCs supernatant treatment. Both hUMSCs supernatant treatment and the addition of AMPK inhibitors increased NR4A1 expression in stromal cells. And after NR4A1 molecular intervention, fibrosis-related indicators in stromal cells changed. The data suggests that the AMPK/NR4A1 signaling axis is involved in the ovarian function changes in POI rats following hUMSCs transplantation.

CONCLUSION

The data from this study indicate that the inhibition of tissue fibrosis and recovery of ovarian function is regulated by AMPK/NR4A1 signaling axis in POI rats following hUMSCs transplantation.

Animal Models of Neurodegenerative Disease: Recent Advances in Fly Highlight Innovative Approaches to Drug Discovery

Neurodegenerative diseases represent a formidable challenge to global health. As advances in other areas of medicine grant healthy living into later decades of life, aging diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders can diminish the quality of these additional years, owed largely to the lack of efficacious treatments and the absence of durable cures. Alzheimer's disease prevalence is predicted to more than double in the next 30 years, affecting nearly 15 million Americans, with AD-associated costs exceeding $1 billion by 2050. Delaying onset of AD and other neurodegenerative diseases is critical to improving the quality of life for patients and reducing the burden of disease on caregivers and healthcare systems. Significant progress has been made to model disease pathogenesis and identify points of therapeutic intervention. While some researchers have contributed to our understanding of the proteins and pathways that drive biological dysfunction in disease using in vitro and in vivo models, others have provided mathematical, biophysical, and computational technologies to identify potential therapeutic compounds using in silico modeling. The most exciting phase of the drug discovery process is now: by applying a target-directed approach that leverages the strengths of multiple techniques and validates lead hits using Drosophila as an animal model of disease, we are on the fast-track to identifying novel therapeutics to restore health to those impacted by neurodegenerative disease.

Non-human primate pluripotent stem cells for the preclinical testing of regenerative therapies

Non-human primates play a key role in the preclinical validation of pluripotent stem cell-based cell replacement therapies. Pluripotent stem cells used as advanced therapy medical products boost the possibility to regenerate tissues and organs affected by degenerative diseases. Therefore, the methods to derive human induced pluripotent stem cell and embryonic stem cell lines following clinical standards have quickly developed in the last 15 years. For the preclinical validation of cell replacement therapies in non-human primates, it is necessary to generate non-human primate pluripotent stem cell with a homologous quality to their human counterparts. However, pluripotent stem cell technologies have developed at a slower pace in non-human primates in comparison with human cell systems. In recent years, however, relevant progress has also been made with non-human primate pluripotent stem cells. This review provides a systematic overview of the progress and remaining challenges for the generation of non-human primate induced pluripotent stem cells/embryonic stem cells for the preclinical testing and validation of cell replacement therapies. We focus on the critical domains of (1) reprogramming and embryonic stem cell line derivation, (2) cell line maintenance and characterization and, (3) application of non-human primate pluripotent stem cells in the context of selected preclinical studies to treat cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders performed in non-human primates.

Biochemical and cytotoxic evaluation of latroeggtoxin-VI against PC12 cells

Latroeggtoxin-VI (LETX-VI) is a peptide neurotoxin discovered from Latrodectus tredecimguttatus eggs. In the current study, the action features of the neurotoxin on PC12 cells were systematically investigated. LETX-VI could promote dopamine release from PC12 cells in the absence and presence of Ca2+, involving an even more complex action mechanism in the presence of Ca2+ and when the treatment time was longer. Although LETX-VI enchanced the autophagy and secretion activity in PC 12 cells, it showed no remarkable influence on the proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis and ultrastructure of the cells. Pulldown combined with CapLC-MS/MS analysis suggested that LETX-VI affected PC12 cells by interacting with multiple proteins involved in the metabolism, transport, and release of neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine. The low cytotoxicity and effective regulatory action of LETX-VI on PC12 cells suggest the potential of the active peptide in the development of drugs for the treatment of some dopamine-related psychotic diseases and cancers.

Primary cilia in corneal development and disease

As a transparent avascular tissue located at the front of the eyeball, the cornea is an important barrier to external damage. Both epithelial and endothelial cells of the cornea harbor primary cilia, which sense changes in the external environment and regulate intracellular signaling pathways. Accumulating evidence suggests that the primary cilium regulates corneal development in several ways, including participation in corneal epithelial stratification and maintenance of corneal endothelial cell morphology. In addition, the primary cilium has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several corneal diseases. In this review, we discuss recent findings that demonstrate the critical role of the primary cilium in corneal development. We also discuss the link between ciliary dysfunction and corneal diseases, which suggests that the primary cilium could be targeted to treat these diseases.

Cell motility and migration as determinants of stem cell efficacy

BACKGROUND

Stem cells` (SC) functional heterogeneity and its poorly understood aetiology impedes clinical development of cell-based therapies in regenerative medicine and oncology. Recent studies suggest a strong correlation between the SC migration potential and their therapeutic efficacy in humans. Designating SC migration as a denominator of functional SC heterogeneity, we sought to identify highly migrating subpopulations within different SC classes and evaluate their therapeutic properties in comparison to the parental non-selected cells.

METHODS

We selected highly migrating subpopulations from mesenchymal and neural SC (sMSC and sNSC), characterized their features including but not limited to migratory potential, trophic factor release and transcriptomic signature. To assess lesion-targeted migration and therapeutic properties of isolated subpopulations in vivo, surgical transplantation and intranasal administration of MSCs in mouse models of glioblastoma and Alzheimer's disease respectively were performed.

FINDINGS

Comparison of parental non-selected cells with isolated subpopulations revealed superior motility and migratory potential of sMSC and sNSC in vitro. We identified podoplanin as a major regulator of migratory features of sMSC/sNSC. Podoplanin engineering improved oncovirolytic activity of virus-loaded NSC on distantly located glioblastoma cells. Finally, sMSC displayed more targeted migration to the tumour site in a mouse glioblastoma model and remarkably higher potency to reduce pathological hallmarks and memory deficits in transgenic Alzheimer's disease mice.

INTERPRETATION

Functional heterogeneity of SC is associated with their motility and migration potential which can serve as predictors of SC therapeutic efficacy.

FUNDING

This work was supported in part by the Robert Bosch Stiftung (Stuttgart, Germany) and by the IZEPHA grant.