Recently, mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC)-based therapy has become an appreciated therapeutic approach in the context of neurodegenerative disease therapy. Accordingly, a myriad of studies in animal models and also some clinical trials have evinced the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of MSC transplantation in neurodegenerative conditions, most importantly in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington’s disease (HD). The MSC-mediated desired effect is mainly a result of secretion of immunomodulatory factors in association with release of various neurotrophic factors (NTFs), such as glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Thanks to the secretion of protein-degrading molecules, MSC therapy mainly brings about the degradation of pathogenic protein aggregates, which is a typical appearance of chronic neurodegenerative disease. Such molecules, in turn, diminish neuroinflammation and simultaneously enable neuroprotection, thereby alleviating disease pathological symptoms and leading to cognitive and functional recovery. Also, MSC differentiation into neural-like cells in vivo has partially been evidenced. Herein, we focus on the therapeutic merits of MSCs and also their derivative exosome as an innovative cell-free approach in AD, HD, PD, and ALS conditions. Also, we give a brief glimpse into novel approaches to potentiate MSC-induced therapeutic merits in such disorders, most importantly, administration of preconditioned MSCs.

Embryo splitting is one of the newest developed methods in reproductive biotechnology. In this method, after splitting embryos in 2-, 4-, and even 8-cell stages, every single blastomere can be developed separately, but the embryos are genetically identical. Embryo splitting, as an approach in reproductive cloning, is extensively employed in reproductive medicine studies, such as investigating human diseases, treating sterility, embryo donation, and gene therapy. In the present study, cloning in mammalians and cloning approaches are briefly reviewed. In addition, embryo splitting and the methods commonly used in embryo splitting and recent achievements in this field, as well as the applications of embryo splitting into livestock species, primate animals, and humans, are outlined. Finally, a perspective of embryo splitting is provided as the conclusion.

No abstract

Currently, it has been suggested that human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a well-known multipotent stem cells, could modify the biological process in leukemia cells. Therefore, we evaluated human MSCs' possible effects on apoptosis and proliferation of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) MOLT-4 cells. Accordingly, MOLT-4 cells were co-cultured with MSCs. Then, 24, 48, and 72 hours after treatment, the apoptosis percentages of co-cultured MOLT-4 cell apoptosis was estimated using flow cytometry analysis. Also, cells proliferation rates were measured by MTT assay after 24, 48, and 72 hours of treatment. Finally, the expression ratio of candidate genes, including Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3, and -8, were evaluated in MOLT-4 cells co-cultured with MSCs. Based on results, MSCs stimulated the apoptosis of MOLT-4 cells after 48 and 72 hours but not 24 hours of treatment compared with the control group (MOLT-4 cells). Also, MSCs induced robust a reduction in MOLT-4 cell proliferation rate compared with the control group. On the other hand, Real-Time PCR results indicated a decrease in Bcl-2 expression, and conversely a promotion in Bax, and caspase-3, and -8 expression at mRNA levels. In sum, results signified that MSCs could exert anti-leukemic effects on leukemia MOLT-4 cells through promoting Bax/Bcl-2 ration concomitant with up-regulating caspases expression.