Role of mesenchymal stem cell-derived soluble factors and folic acid in wound healing.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a type of adult stem cell consisting of a heterogeneous subset of stromal stem cells that can be isolated from adult tissues. Folic acid is another important contributor to tissue regeneration and repair, which affects the synthesis of some building block molecules used for wound healing. In this study, we examine the effect of folic acid and MSCderived soluble factors in the wound healing model. METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMSCs) were cultured for this study. Cell proliferation analysis was done with xCELLigence RTCA. After 48 h of cultivation, the cell culture medium was collected as MSC conditional medium containing mesenchymal stem cell-derived soluble factors (MDFs). Different concentrations of MDFs (12%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) were applied to the HUVEC cell line. Folic acid (25, 30, 50, 60, 75, 90, and 100 µM) was tested by application of three different groups (control, 25 µM folic acid, 625 µM folic acid inhibitors) for proliferation on the HUVEC cell line. The combined effects of folic acid and MDFs were tested on the HUVEC cell line with 25 µM folic acid and 50 µM MDFs. All data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 15.0 for Windows. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed between controls and cells treated with folic acid, as well as between controls and both folic acid and MDFs (P < 0.05). Among the treated groups, the fastest wound closure rate was seen in cells treated with both folic acid and MDFs. DISCUSSION: The results show that both folic acid and MDFs increased the wound healing rate in HUVECs when they were used separately. The strongest benefits were seen in treatment using folic acid and MDFs together.

Evaluation of ambulance calls for patients over 65 years of age in Izmir, Turkey: a two- year retrospective analysis

Background/aim: Analysis of interventions for special patient groups is important for the planning of health services, especially emergency medical services. In this study, we aimed to evaluate emergency medical service (EMS) interventions for the elderly and determine the decisive factors affecting transfer to the hospital of EMS team over 2 years (2017 and 2018) in Izmir. Materials and methods: Records of 112 emergency calls that were made between 2017 and 2018 followed up with interventions for patients aged 65 years and older were obtained from the 112 system. The reasons for the calls, outcomes, possible diagnoses of the patients, differences in time intervals and seasons, characteristics of the patients transferred to the hospital, and factors affecting the need for transfer to the hospital were investigated. Results: A total of 176,104 elderly patients with a mean age of 78.02 ± 8.0 years required ambulance services, and out of them, 66% were transferred to the hospital. Transfer to the hospital was significantly associated with the event location, sex, time interval, international classification of diseases (ICD) codes, and physical examination findings. Conclusion: Ambulance interventions are more frequently required in urban areas than in the countryside, and calls are mostly made during daytime hours and during winter months. The decision to transfer a patient to the hospital is based on the patient's respiratory status, skin examination, state of consciousness, pulse, systolic blood pressure, call time, and the preliminary diagnosis of the crew.

History repeats itself: horse originated hyperimmune sera production against SARS CoV-2

Background/aim/AIM: SARS-CoV-2 disease was announced as a pandemic by The World Health Organization in early 2020. It is still threatening the world population. Here, we aimed to produce hyperimmune sera that contain immunoglobulin G and F(ab')2 fragments sourced from horse antibodies as an urgent response to the pandemic. Materials and methods: SARS-CoV-2 was produced and inactivated with three different methods [formaldehyde (FA), formaldehyde, and binary ethylene amine (FA + BEI), and heat treatment]. After in vitro inactivation control, immunogens were mixed with Freund's adjuvant, thereafter horses (n: 2 for FA, 4 for FA + BEI, 2 for heat inactivation) and New Zealand rabbits (n: 6 for FA, 6 fo r FA + BEI, 6 for heat inactivation) were immunized four times. Neutralizing antibody levels of the sera were measured at the 4th, 6th, and 8th weeks. When the antibodies were detected at the peak level, plasma was collected from horses and hyperimmune sera procured after the purification process. Results: Horses and rabbits produced highly neutralizing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 in FA and FA + BEI inactivation groups, foreign proteins were removed effectively after purification. Conclusion: This study presents a profitable practice to develop specific antisera in horses against SARS-CoV-2 for emergency and low-cost response. In further studies, new purification methods can be used to increase the efficiency of the final product.

Carvacrol alters soluble factors in HCT-116 and HT-29 cell lines

Background/aim: Natural products are popular insights for researchers to investigate promising anti-cancer agents since some of these substances have lesser adverse effects restricting the treatment than traditional chemotherapeutic agents. A well-known monoterpene Carvacrol, widely consumed in Mediterranean cuisine and lower risks of cancer, has efficient anticancer effects. However, the mechanism of action is yet to be discovered. Materials and methods: The investigation aims to illuminate a new perceptive in the role of this substance on colorectal cancer treatment, by the means of differences in a well-defined range of soluble factors. Carvacrol effect on both HT-29 and HCT-116 cell lines was evaluated on proliferation and the IC50 values were calculated by the RTCA xCELLigence device. Then MAGPIX assay was performed to obtain the changes in soluble factors of the cell lines. Results: The Multiplexing assay suggests some of these factors were altered in favor of surviving and proliferation in aggressive cell line HCT-116 whereas they were altered against these characters in HT-29, were correlated with the increased IC50 concentration of HCT- 116 in carvacrol treatment. Conclusion: The current study indicates that differences in the levels of these soluble factors could modulate the anticancer effect related to carvacrol.

Role of mesenchymal stem cell-derived soluble factors and folic acid in wound healing

Background/aim: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a type of adult stem cell consisting of a heterogeneous subset of stromal stem cells that can be isolated from adult tissues. Folic acid is another important contributor to tissue regeneration and repair, which affects the synthesis of some building block molecules used for wound healing. In this study, we examine the effect of folic acid and MSCderived soluble factors in the wound healing model. Materials and methods: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMSCs) were cultured for this study. Cell proliferation analysis was done with xCELLigence RTCA. After 48 h of cultivation, the cell culture medium was collected as MSC conditional medium containing mesenchymal stem cell-derived soluble factors (MDFs). Different concentrations of MDFs (12%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) were applied to the HUVEC cell line. Folic acid (25, 30, 50, 60, 75, 90, and 100 µM) was tested by application of three different groups (control, 25 µM folic acid, 625 µM folic acid inhibitors) for proliferation on the HUVEC cell line. The combined effects of folic acid and MDFs were tested on the HUVEC cell line with 25 µM folic acid and 50 µM MDFs. All data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 15.0 for Windows. Results: Significant differences were observed between controls and cells treated with folic acid, as well as between controls and both folic acid and MDFs (P < 0.05). Among the treated groups, the fastest wound closure rate was seen in cells treated with both folic acid and MDFs. Conclusion: The results show that both folic acid and MDFs increased the wound healing rate in HUVECs when they were used separately. The strongest benefits were seen in treatment using folic acid and MDFs together.

Evaluation of the patients admitted to the pediatric emergency service: Cross-sectional analysis of the pediatric emergency and trauma clinic of a tertiary training hospital in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to carry out a cross-sectional analysis of the applications during three months to the Pediatric Emergency Service of Izmir University of Health Sciences, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital and determination of demographical features and distribution of cases in line with provided data and planning the positive changes and innovations in the current service and functioning of the Pediatric Emergency Service. METHODS: The file records of 46038 patients between the ages of 0-18 who applied to the University of Health Science, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital Pediatric Emergency Training Clinic were examined retrospectively in this study. RESULTS: A total of 46038 patients (53.6% male) applied to the emergency service. The average age was 7.07 for both genders. In the application, the average age of the patients with a history of trauma was 9.3, whereas the average age of the patients without a history of trauma is 6.7. While 82.7% of the patients was male with no trauma history, 86.9% was female without a history of trauma. When the application diagnoses were examined, the most common diagnosis was Upper Respiratory Infection (58.5%). More than half of the applications were monitored in the emergency observation unit (62.5%). When the patients were evaluated according to age groups, 49.2% of them were the children aged between 1-6. While 10.5% of the applicants were infants, and 38.7% were game children, it was noteworthy that the number of male patients was higher in the 1-6 age group, with 54.7%. There was no trauma in 49.5% of the cases. 78,3% of the cases were applied directly to the Paediatric Emergency. Secondly, 16.6% were to the Green Area-1 and Green Area-2. 98.2% of the cases were applied to the Emergency Service for ambulatory care. The 48.8% of the applications were made out of working hours. 97.6% of the cases were not hospitalized for the treatment and were addressed to home. The average staying period of the hospitalized cases in the Service was 4.53 days. Among applications, seven cases died. CONCLUSION: Most of the patients admitted to pediatric emergency service for non-urgent reasons which can be managed in primary care services.

Curcumin effects on cell proliferation, angiogenesis and metastasis in colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Curcumin is a natural phytopolyphenol compound isolated from the root of turmeric (Curcuma longa) and possesses a wide range of biological properties. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antiproliferative, wound healing, anti-invasive and anti-migrative effects of curcumin on HCT-116 and LoVo colorectal cancer cell lines. METHODS: The antiproliferative activity of 2.5-75 µM curcumin was tested on HCT-116 and LoVo colorectal cell lines and the viability of the cells was tested with WST-1 reagent by using ELISA plate reader at 450 nm. xCELLigence RTCA DP system was used for the detection of anti-invasive and anti-migrative effects of curcumin. RESULTS: The IC50 of curcumin was 10±0.03 for HCT-116 and 20±0.05 µM for LoVo cell lines. The IC50 of curcumin (10µM for HCT-116 and 20 µM for LoVo) showed anti-metastatic activity on these cell lines. CONCLUSION: This study showed that curcumin could be evaluated as a promising anti-cancer agent for human colorectal cancer.