Stem cell technology offers a new hope for many chronic disorders patients. The types of stem cells are different with many differences existing between each type. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent one type of adult stem cells that can be easily isolated, then re-transplanted to the patients. This offers potential for their future application in treating many disorders without fear of rejection possibility. MSCs can be isolated from different sources e.g. bone marrow (BMSCs) and adipose tissue (ADSCs). In the present study we compared BMSCs and ADSCs isolated from Sprague-Dawley rats. For this comparison, immunophenotyping, the analysis of growth rates, proliferation by colony forming unit-fibroblast assay, population doubling time, and trilineage differentiation assays were performed for both BMSCs and ADSCs. The findings revealed that despite no difference in immunphenotypic character between BMSC and ADSC, a better proliferative capacity was observed for ADSCs which would advocate their better use in regenerative applications. On the other hand, BMSCs showed more potential for osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation. Our study showed that, despite many similarities between both types of cells, there are differences existing which can offer assistance on choosing type of cell to be used in specific diseases. Although ADSCs seem more promising for regenerative application generally, BMSCs may represent a better choice for treating bone disorders.

Four isonitrogenous (30% crude protein) and isocaloric (4.40 kcal/g) experimental diets were formulated to contain 0.0% (control), 0.5%, 1.0%, or 1.5% cinnamon. The diet containing 1% cinnamon resulted in significantly greater (P < 0.05) specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed efficiency ratio (FER), protein efficiency ratio (PER), apparent protein utilization (APU), and energy utilization (EU). In regard to body composition, there was no significant difference in dry matter, protein, lipids, and ash (P > 0.05) contents due to cinnamon supplementation. Blood plasma profile showed an improvement in hemoglobin (HB), red blood cell (RBCS), hematocrite (PCV), total protein, and total lipids, while there was a decrease in creatinin, urea, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and glucose in fish fed 1% cinnamon. Cinnamon was found to have an antibacterial activity antagonistic to Aeromonas hydrophila infection in fish. Performance and FCR improvement translated into a 10% decrease in feed costs associated with the 1% cinnamon diet.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a complex clinical condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality and lacking effective management. Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) remains one of the leading causes of AKI in native and transplanted kidneys. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) in the prevention of renal IRI in rats. The study was conducted on male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=72) weighing 250–300 g. Rats were randomly assigned to three main groups: i) Sham-operated control group (n=24); ii) positive control group, in which rats were subjected to IRI and were administered culture media following 4 h of IRI (n=24); and iii) ADSC group (n=24), in which rats were administered 1×106 ADSCs via the tail vein following 4 h of IRI. Each main group was further divided according to the timing after IRI into four equal-sized subgroups. Renal function was tested via the measurement of serum creatinine levels and creatinine clearance. In addition, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were determined in serum and renal tissue homogenate as an indicator of oxidative stress. Histopathological changes were analyzed in different regions of the kidney, namely the cortex, outer stripe of the outer medulla (OSOM), inner stripe of the outer medulla (ISOM) and inner medulla. In each region, the scoring system considered active injury changes, regenerative changes and chronic changes. The ADSCs were assessed and their differentiation capability was verified. IRI resulted in a significant increase in serum creatinine, serum and tissue MDA levels and a significant reduction in creatinine clearance compared with those in sham-operated rats,. These changes were attenuated by the use of ADSCs. The prominent histopathological changes in the cortex, ISOM and OSOM were reflected in the injury score, which was significantly evident in the positive control group. The use of ADSCs was associated with significantly lowered injury scores at days 1 and 3; however, no significant effect was observed on day 7. These results indicate that the use of ADSCs ameliorates renal injury and dysfunction associated with IRI in rats.

Thiazole and its derivatives have received a lot of attention from researchers due to its wide biological, pharmacological, and anticancer properties. A novel series of 2-[2-[4-Hydroxy-3-substituted benzylidene hydrazinyl]-thiazole-4[5H]-ones (4a–c) and acetoxy derivative (5) were synthesized via using thiosemicarbazones (2a–c). The structure of the thiazole derivatives (4a–c) and 5 in these compounds was confirmed by spectroscopic techniques (IR and NMR), as well as elemental investigations. The synthesized derivatives biological activity was assessed based on their capacity to suppress the growth of the cancer cell lines MCF-7 and HepG2, as well as to halt the cell cycle and trigger apoptosis. Among the synthesized thiazole derivatives, compound 4c was found the most active derivative, with inhibitory concentrations IC₅₀ = 2.57 ± 0.16 and 7.26 ± 0.44 µM in MCF-7 and HepG2, respectively, compared to Staurosporine as the standard drug with IC₅₀ 6.77 ± 0.41 and 8.4 ± 0.51 µM, respectively. Additionally, compound 4c blocked vesicular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), according to our results (IC₅₀ = 0.15 µM), compared to Sorafenib (IC₅₀ = 0.059 µM) as the standard drug. Moreover, compound 4c induced cell cycle arrest at the G1/S phase, increasing the percentage and accumulation of cancer cells (DNA content) in the pre-G1 phase by 37.36% in MCF-7 cancer cells compared to untreated MCF-7 cells at 2.02%. Also, compound 4c increased the percentage of early and late apoptosis from 0.51% and 0.29%, respectively, in the case of the MCF-7 untreated control sample to 22.39% and 9.51%, respectively, in the MCF-7 treated sample. Furthermore, molecular docking studies of compounds 4a–c and 5 were conducted with four key proteins (aromatase, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2)) that stimulate the growth, proliferation, and development of cancer cells. Compound 4c exhibited good docking scores with a promising and potential binding affinity toward the active site of selected docked proteins. According to these results, compound 4c showed efficient cytotoxic activity against the tested cancer cells.