Combined application of neutrophin-3 gene and neural stem cells is ameliorative to delay of denervated skeletal muscular atrophy after tibial nerve transection in rats

Pseudogene AKR1B10P1 enhances tumorigenicity and regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma via stabilizing SOX4

Pseudogenes exert potential functions in tumorigenicity and tumour process in human beings. In our previous research on oncogene AKR1B10 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its pseudogene, AKR1B10P1, was preliminarily noticed being anomalistic transcribed, whereas whether AKR1B10P1 plays any specific function in HCC is poorly understood. By using shRNA transfection and lentiviral infection, we regulated the expression of ARK1B10P1 transcript and the relative targets in two ways. As we discovered, pathological transcription of AKR1B10P1 in HCC cells significantly promotes cell growth and motility either in vitro or in vivo. AKR1B10P1 was correlated with relatively dismal features of HCC. The epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) was enhanced by up‐regulating AKR1B10P1. And, a potential sequence of AKR1B10P1 transcript was discovered directly interacting with miR‐138. SOX4, a pivotal promotor of EMT, was validated as the down‐streaming target of miR‐138. Mechanistically, degradation of SOX4 mRNA induced by miR‐138 was effectively abrogated by AKR1B10P1. In conclusion, pseudogene AKR1B10P1 exerts stabilizing effect on SOX4 in HCC, associated EMT process, by directly sponging miR‐138, which post‐transcriptionally modulates SOX4’s regulating gene.

Transfection of neurotrophin-3 into neural stem cells using ultrasound with microbubbles to treat denervated muscle atrophy

Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) has potential as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of patients with denervated muscle atrophy. However, the endogenous secretion of NT-3 is low and exogenous NT-3 lacks sufficient time to accumulate due to its short half-life. The transfection of NT-3 has been demonstrated to have a beneficial effect on denervated muscle and motor endplates. Neural stem cells (NSCs) differentiate into neurons and form motor endplate nerve-muscle connections. It has been previously demonstrated that local and noninvasive transfection can be performed using ultrasound with microbubbles (MBs). In the current study, hematoxylin and eosin, acetylcholinesterase and gold chloride staining, as well as transmission electron microscopy, were performed to verify the effects of this treatment strategy. The results demonstrated that using ultrasound with MBs for the transfection of NT-3 into NSCs, and their subsequent transplantation in vivo, attenuated the atrophy of denervated muscle and reduced motor endplate degeneration. This noninvasive, efficient and targeted treatment strategy may therefore be a potential treatment for patients with denervated muscle atrophy.

Gene therapy strategies for the treatment of spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury is a complex pathology often resulting in functional impairment and paralysis. Gene therapy has emerged as a possible solution to the problems of limited neural tissue regeneration through the administration of factors promoting axonal growth, while also offering long-term local delivery of therapeutic molecules at the injury site. Of note, gene therapy is our response to the requirements of neural and glial cells following spinal cord injury, providing, in a time-dependent manner, growth substances for axonal regeneration and eliminating axonal growth inhibitors. Herein, we explore different gene therapy strategies, including targeting gene expression to modulate the presence of neurotrophic growth or survival factors and increase neural tissue plasticity. Special attention is given to describing advances in viral and non-viral gene delivery systems, as well as the available routes of gene delivery. Finally, we discuss the future of combinatorial gene therapies and give consideration to the implementation of gene therapy in humans.

Guiding Differentiation of Stem Cells in Vivo by Tetracycline-Controlled Expression of Key Transcription Factors

Transplantation of stem or progenitor cells is an attractive strategy for cell replacement therapy. However, poor long-term survival and insufficiently reproducible differentiation to functionally appropriate cells in vivo still present major obstacles for translation of this methodology to clinical applications. Numerous experimental studies have revealed that the expression of just a few transcription factors can be sufficient to drive stem cell differentiation toward a specific cell type, to transdifferentiate cells from one fate to another, or to dedifferentiate mature cells to pluripotent stem/progenitor cells (iPSCs). We thus propose here to apply the strategy of expressing the relevant key transcription factors to guide the differentiation of transplanted cells to the desired cell fate in vivo. To achieve this requires tools allowing us to control the expression of these genes in the transplant. Here, we describe drug-inducible systems that allow us to sequentially and timely activate gene expression from the outside, with a particular emphasis on the Tet system, which has been widely and successfully used in stem cells. These regulatory systems offer a tool for strictly limiting gene expression to the respective optimal stage after transplantation. This approach will direct the differentiation of the immature stem/progenitor cells in vivo to the desired cell type.

Neural Progenitor Cells Generate Motoneuron-Like Cells to Form Functional Connections with Target Muscles after Transplantation into the Musculocutaneous Nerve

Neural progenitor cells (NPCs) are suggested to be a valuable source of cell transplant in treatment of various neurological diseases because of their distinct attributes. They can be expanded and induced to differentiate in vitro. However, it remains uncertain whether in vitro expanded NPCs have the capacity to give rise to functional motoneurons after transplantation in vivo. Here, we showed that in vitro expanded NPCs, when transplanted into the musculocutaneous nerve, generated motoneuron-like cells that exhibited typical morphology with large cell bodies, expressed specific molecules, and extended axons to form functional connections with the target muscle. In contrast, transplanted NPCs failed to yield motoneurons in the injured ventral horn of the spinal cord. The results of the study demonstrate that NPCs have the potential to generate functional motoneurons in an appropriate environment. The distinct differentiating fate of NPCs in the musculocutaneous nerve and the injured ventral horn suggests the importance and necessity of modifying the host microenvironment in use of NPCs for cell replacement therapies for motoneuron diseases.