Despite tremendous efforts on isolation of pluripotent equine embryonic stem (ES) cells, to date there are few reports about successful isolation of ESCs and no report ofin vivodifferentiation of this important companion species. We report the induction of pluripotency in adult equine fibroblasts via retroviral transduction with three transcription factors usingOCT4, SOX2, andKLF4in the absence of c-MYC. The cell lines were maintained beyond 27 passages (more than 11 months) and characterized. The equine iPS (EiPS) cells stained positive for alkaline phosphatase by histochemical staining and expressed OCT4, NANOG, SSEA1, and SSEA4. Gene expression analysis of the cells showed the expression ofOCT4, SOX2 NANOG, andSTAT3. The cell lines retained a euploid chromosome count of 64 after long-term culture cryopreservation. The EiPS demonstrated differentiation capacity for the three embryonic germ layers bothin vitroby embryoid bodies (EBs) formation andin vivoby teratoma formation. In conclusion, we report the derivation of iPS cells from equine adult fibroblasts and long-term maintenance using either of the three reprogramming factors.

Shiva Gholizadeh-Ghalehaziz, Raheleh Farahzadi, Ezzatollah Fathi, and Maryam Pashaiasl. International Journal of Stem Cells 2015;8:115-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.15283/ijsc.2015.8.2.115

The Inhibitory Effect of Ginger Extract on Ovarian Cancer Cell Line; Application of Systems Biology

Recent studies have elucidated that cell-based therapies are promising for cancer treatments. The human amniotic fluid stem (AFS) cells are advantageous cells for such therapeutic schemes that can be innately changed to express therapeutic proteins. HAFSCs display a natural tropism to cancer cells in vivo. They can be useful in cancer cells targeting. Moreover, they are easily available from surplus diagnostic samples during pregnancy and less ethical and legal concern are associated with the collection and application than other putative cells are subjected. This review will designate representatives of amniotic fluid and stem cell derived from amniotic fluid. For this propose, we collect state of human AFS cells data applicable in cancer therapy by dividing this approach into two main classes (nonengineered and engineered based approaches). Our study shows the advantage of AFS cells over other putative cells types in terms differentiation ability to a wide range of cells by potential and effective use in preclinical studies for a variety of diseases. This study has shown the elasticity of human AFS cells and their favorable potential as a multipotent cell source for regenerative stem cell therapy and capable of giving rise to multiple lineages including such as osteoblasts and adipocyte.

Magnetic, pH and temperature-sensitive, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM)-based nanocomposites with fluorescent properties were synthesized by free radical copolymerization-cross linking of NIPAM, N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and 4-acrylamidofluorescein (AFA). The model anti-cancer drug, cisplatin (CDDP), was loaded into the resulted nanogel. For the production of CDDP-loaded nanocomposite, Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and CDDP were loaded into the nanogel. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) indicated that the size of nanogel and CDDP-loaded nanocomposite were about 90 and 160 nm, respectively. The encapsulation efficiency of CCDP was found up to 65%. The loaded CCDP showed sustained thermal and pH-responsive drug release. A high level of drug release was observed under the conditions of low pH and high temperature. The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of synthesized nanogel was about 40 °C. CDDP-loaded nanocomposite showed a volume phase transition from 282 to 128 nm at its LCST. Accordingly, in this study, the synthesized nanocomposite can be employed as a stimuli-responsive anti-cancer drug delivery system and the pH and temperature of solution have the potential to monitor the drug release.