The association of TMPRSS6 gene polymorphism with iron status in Egyptian children (a pilot study)

Several studies have shown association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of hepcidin regulatory pathways genes with impaired iron status. The most common is in the TMPRSS6 gene. In Africa, very few studies have been reported. We aimed to investigate the correlation between the common SNPs in the transmembrane protease, serine 6 (TMPRSS6) gene and iron indicators in a sample of Egyptian children for identifying the suitable candidate for iron supplementation.Patients and methods One hundred and sixty children aged 5-13 years were included & classified into iron deficient, iron deficient anemia and normal healthy controls. All were subjected to assessment of serum iron, serum ferritin, total iron binding capacity, complete blood count, reticulocyte count, serum soluble transferrin receptor and serum hepcidin. Molecular study of TMPRSS6 genotyping polymorphisms (rs4820268, rs855791 and rs11704654) were also evaluated.Results There was an association of iron deficiency with AG of rs855791 SNP, (P = 0.01). The minor allele frequency for included children were 0.43, 0.45 & 0.17 for rs4820268, rs855791 & rs11704654 respectively. Genotype GG of rs4820268 expressed the highest hepcidin gene expression fold, the lowest serum ferroportin & iron store compared to AA and AG genotypes (p = 0.05, p = 0.05, p = 0.03 respectively). GG of rs855791 had lower serum ferritin than AA (p = 0.04), lowest iron store & highest serum hepcidin compared to AA and AG genotypes (p = 0.04, p = 0.01 respectively). Children having CC of rs11704654 had lower level of hemoglobin, serum ferritin and serum hepcidin compared with CT genotype (p = 0.01, p = 0.01, p = 0.02) respectively.Conclusion Possible contribution of SNPs (rs855791, rs4820268 and rs11704654) to low iron status.

Applications of propolis-based materials in wound healing

Due to its excellent antiseptic efficacy and antimicrobial properties, propolis has shown attractive advantages in wound dressings. However, an inclusive review of the propolis-based materials as a wound dressing is still lacking. The current short review summarizes the skin wound healing process, relates evaluation parameters, and then reviews the refined propolis-based materials dressings such as antimicrobial property, adhesion and hemostasis, anti-inflammatory and substance delivery. The approaches implemented to achieve these functions are classified and discussed. Furthermore, applications of propolis wound dressing for treating different types of wounds such as heal wounds, burns, and ulcers are presented. The future directions of propolis-based wound dressings for wound healing are further proposed. This review showed that propolis-based materials might be a promising new dressing for wound occlusion and tissue repairing.

Osteoblast-Based Therapy-A New Approach for Bone Repair in Osteoporosis: Pre-Clinical Setting

BACKGROUND

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease characterized by low bone density resulting in increased fracture susceptibility. This research was constructed to uncover the potential therapeutic application of osteoblasts transplantation, generated upon culturing male rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) in osteogenic medium (OM), OM containing gold (Au-NPs) or gold/hydroxyapatite (Au/HA-NPs) nanoparticles, in ovariectomized rats to counteract osteoporosis.

METHODS

Forty rats were randomized into: (1) negative control, (2) osteoporotic rats, whereas groups (3), (4) and (5) constituted osteoporotic rats treated with osteoblasts yielded from culturing BM-MSCs in OM, OM plus Au-NPs or Au/HA-NPs, respectively. After 3 months, osterix (OSX), bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP), sclerostin (SOST) and bone sialoprotein (BSP) serum levels were assessed. In addition, gene expression levels of cathepsin K, receptor activator of nuclear factor-κb ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG) and RANKL/OPG ratio were evaluated using real-time PCR. Moreover, histological investigation of femur bone tissues in different groups was performed. The homing of implanted osteoblasts to the osteoporotic femur bone of rats was documented by Sex determining region Y gene detection in bone tissue.

RESULTS

Our results indicated that osteoblasts infusion significantly blunted serum BALP, BSP and SOST levels, while significantly elevated OSX level. Also, they brought about significant down-regulation in gene expression levels of cathepsin K, RANKL and RANKL/OPG ratio versus untreated osteoporotic rats. Additionally, osteoblasts nidation could restore bone histoarchitecture.

CONCLUSION

These findings offer scientific evidence that transplanting osteoblasts in osteoporotic rats regains the homeostasis of the bone remodeling cycle, thus providing a promising treatment strategy for primary osteoporosis.

Role of nanoparticles in osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

The present study aimed to investigate the osteoinductive potentiality of some selected nanostructures; Hydroxyapatite (HA-NPs), Gold (Au-NPs), Chitosan (C-NPs), Gold/hydroxyapatite (Au/HA-NPs) and Chitosan/hydroxyapatite (CH-NPs) on bone marrow- derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). These nanostructures were characterized using transmission electron microscope and Zetasizer. MSCs were isolated from bone marrow of rat femur bones and their identity was documented by morphology, flow cytometry and multi-potency capacity. The influence of the selected nanostructures on the viability, osteogenic differentiation and subsequent matrix mineralization of BM-MSCs was determined by MTT assay, molecular genetic analysis and alizarin red S staining, respectively. MTT analysis revealed insignificant toxicity of the tested nanostructures on BM-MSCs at concentrations ranged from 2 to 25 µg/ml over 48 h and 72 h incubation period. Notably, the tested nanostructures potentiate the osteogenic differentiation of BM-MSCs as evidenced by a prominent over-expression of runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx-2) and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) genes after 7 days incubation. Moreover, the tested nanostructures induced matrix mineralization of BM-MSCs after 21 days as manifested by the formation of calcium nodules stained with alizarin red S. Conclusively, these data provide a compelling evidence for the functionality of the studied nanostructures as osteoinductive materials motivating the differentiation of BM-MSCs into osteoblasts with the most prominent effect observed with Au-NPs and Au/HA-NPs, followed by CH-NPs.