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Background: Platelet-rich (PRP) and Platelet-poor plasma (PPP) are widely used in research and clinical platforms mainly due to their capacities to enhance cell growth. Although short half-life (5 days) and the high price of platelet products pose challenges regarding their usage, they maintain the growth regulatory functions for weeks. Thus, we aimed to assess the supplementary values of these products in human CCRF-CEM cancer cells. Mechanistically, we also checked if the PRP/PPP treatment enhances YKL-40 expression as a known protein regulating cell growth. Methods: The PRP/PPP was prepared from healthy donors using manual stepwise centrifugation and phase separation. The viability of the cells treated with gradient PRP/PPP concentrations (2, 5, 10, and 15%) was measured by the MTT assay. The YKL-40 mRNA and protein levels were assessed using qRT-PCR and western blotting. The data were compared to FBS-treated cells. Result: Our findings revealed that the cells treated by PRP/PPP not only were morphologically comparable to those treated by FBS but also, they showed greater viability at the concentrations of 10 and 15%. Moreover, it was shown that PRP/PPP induce cell culture support, at least in part, via inducing YKL-40 expression at both mRNA and protein levels in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: Collectively, by showing cell culture support comparable to FBS, the PRP/PPP might be used as good candidates to supplement the cancer cell culture and overcome concerns regarding the use of FBS as a non-human source in human cancer research.

Background Ikaros family zinc finger 1 (IKZF1) is a transcription factor with an important role in controlling hematopoietic proliferation and function, particularly lymphoid cell differentiation. It was previously shown that various mechanisms and expression patterns of Ikaros are linked to a variety of cancers. We hypothesized that aberrant methylation (hypomethylation) of the IKZF1 promoter region might be one of the causes of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). In B-ALL patients, an increased expression of this gene is a potential cause of B-cell differentiation arrest and proliferation induction. Therefore, as more than 90% of patients with ALL are <15 years old, we investigated the methylation pattern of the IKZF1 promoter in childhood B-ALL. Methods Twenty-five newly diagnosed B-ALL cases were included (all younger than 15 yr). In addition, we selected 25 healthy age- and sex-matched children as the control group. We collected the blood samples in EDTA-containing tubes and isolated lymphocytes from whole blood using Ficoll 1.077 Lymphosep. Next, we extracted genomic DNA with the phenol/chloroform method. Two microgram of DNA per sample was treated with sodium bisulfite using the EpiTect Bisulfite Kit, followed by an assessment of DNA methylation by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the bisulfite-modified genomic DNA. Results Our data highlighted a hypomethylated status of the IKZF1 promoter in the ALL cases (96% of the cases were unmethylated). In contrast, the control group samples were partially methylated (68%). Conclusion This study demonstrated a hypomethylated pattern of the IKZF1 promoter region in childhood B-ALL, which might underlie the aberrant Ikaros expression patterns that were previously linked to this malignancy.