Background: Relapse and metastasis in colorectal cancer (CRC) are often attributed to cancer stem-like cells (CSCs), as small sub-population of tumor cells with ability of drug resistance. Accordingly, development of appropriate models to investigate CSCs biology and establishment of effective therapeutic strategies is warranted. Hence, we aimed to assess the capability of two widely used and important colorectal cancer cell lines, HT-29 and Caco-2, in generating spheroids and their detailed morphological and molecular characteristics.Methods: CRC spheroids were developed using hanging drop and forced floating in serum-free and non-attachment conditions and their morphological features were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Then, the potential of CSCs enrichment in spheroids was compared to their adherent counterparts by analysis of serial sphere formation capacity, real-time PCR of key stemness genes (KLF4,OCT4,SOX2,NANOG,C-MYC) and the expression of potential CRC-CSCs surface markers (CD166, CD44, and CD133) by flow cytometry. Finally, the expression level of some EMT-related (Vimentin,SNAIL1,TWIST1,N-cadherin,E-cadherin,ZEB1) and multi-drug resistant (ABCB1,ABCC1,ABCG2) genes was evaluated.Results: Although with different morphological features, both cell lines were formed CSCs-enriched spheroids, indicated by ability to serial sphere formation, significant up-regulation of stemness genes,SOX2,C-MYC, NANOGandOCT4in HT-29 andSOX2,C-MYCandKLF4in Caco-2 spheroids (p-value < 0.05) and increased expression of CRC-CSC markers compared to parental cells (p-value < 0.05). Additionally, HT-29 spheroids exhibited a significant higher expression of bothABCB1andABCG2(p-value = 0.02). The significant up-regulation of promoting EMT genes,ZEB1,TWIST1,E-cadherinandSNAIL1in HT-29 spheroids (p-value = 0.03),SNAIL1andVimentinin Caco-2 spheroids (p-value < 0.05) andN-cadherindown-regulation in both spheroids were observed.Conclusion: Enrichment of CSC-related features in HT-29 and Caco-2 (for the first time without applying special scaffold/biochemical) spheroids, suggests spheroid culture as robust, reproducible, simple and cost-effective model to imitate the complexity of in vivo tumors including self-renewal, drug resistance and invasion for in vitro research of CRC-CSCs.

Formation of atherosclerotic plaques is the major cause of coronary artery disease (CAD). Several lines of study have revealed the role of oxidative stress in CAD pathogenesis. In the present study the aim was to investigate the oxidative and antioxidative markers in CAD patients and a control population. The study sample comprised of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients, chronic CAD patients and healthy controls (n=30/group). Blood samples of patients and control subjects were collected to measure the concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and the percentage of MDA release as well as the activity of erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of plasma. All parameters were measured by spectrophotometric methods. Additionally, oxidant/antioxidant status was compared between CAD patients with single, double or triple-vessel stenosis and in comparison with controls. The results indicated a significant increase in MDA level and the percentage of MDA release (P<0.05), and a marked decrease in GSH concentration (P<0.0001), TAC (P<0.0001) and the activity of erythrocyte GPx (P<0.0001) in the patient groups compared controls. ACS patients exhibited a similar pattern of data when compared with the chronic CAD group. Similar results were also observed when chronic CAD patients with single, double or triple vessel stenosis and controls were compared. The present study indicates that the acute form of CAD is more susceptible to oxidative damage, suggesting that use of antioxidant therapy may be warranted to ameliorate oxidative stress in this condition.

The worldwide epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), still shows an increasing trend in Asia and Iran. Despite an improvement in the treatment landscape focused on symptomatic control, long-term colectomies have not decreased over the last 10-year period. Thus, novel therapies are urgently needed in clinics to supplement the existing treatments. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent adult stem cells with immunosuppressive effects, targeting IBD as a new treatment strategy. They have recently received global attention for their use in cell transplantation due to their easy expansion and wide range of activities to be engrafted, and because they are home to the mucosa of the intestine. Moreover, MSCs are able to differentiate into epithelial and other cells that can directly promote repair in the mucosal damages in UC. It seems that there is a need to deepen our understanding to target MSCs as a promising treatment option for UC patients who are refractory to conventional therapies. Here, we overviewed the therapeutic effects of MSCs in UC and discussed the achievements and challenges in the cell transplantation of UC.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among cancers in the world. The annual death toll due to this disease exceeds the combined deaths caused by colon, breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. As a result, there has been a tremendous effort to identify new biomarkers for early detection and diagnosis of lung cancer.

In vivo cell tracking after transplantation in regenerative medicine remains an unmet challenge and limits current understanding of the wound healing mechanism through cell-based therapies. This study investigated tracking of human Wharton’s jelly stem cells (hWJSCs) seeded onto an acellular dermal matrix (ADM) and labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in burn injury. The hWJSCs were characterized and assessed for growth kinetics. A total of 30 rats were enrolled in three equal groups. Group 1 underwent scald burn injury left without treatment, the group 2 was treated by an ADM that was prepared from cosmetic surgery skin samples and the group 3 received hWJSCs labeled with SPIONs seeded onto an ADM. Tensile strength was evaluated before and after interventions, real time PCR assessed apoptosis, and Prussian blue staining, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and MRI were used for the tracking of labeled cells. The hWJSCs exhibited mesenchymal stem cell properties. Population doubling time was 40.1 hours. SPIONs did not show any toxic effect. The hWJSCs seeded onto an ADM decreased Bax and increased Bcl-2 gene expression. Internalization of SPIONs within hWJSCs was confirmed by Prussian blue staining, SEM and MRI until day 21. There was a significant difference between the Young’s moduli of normal skin and the group receiving hWJSCs seeded onto an ADM. Histological observations and SEM imaging confirmed that MRI is an accurate method to track SPION-labeled hWJSCs in vivo. This study showed that SPION labeling coupled with MRI can be used to further understand the fate of stem cells after transplantation in a burn model.