Menstrual blood-derived endometrial stem cell, a unique and promising alternative in the stem cell-based therapy for chemotherapy-induced premature ovarian insufficiency.

Chemotherapy can cause ovarian dysfunction and infertility since the ovary is extremely sensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs. Apart from the indispensable role of the ovary in the overall hormonal milieu, ovarian dysfunction also affects many other organ systems and functions including sexuality, bones, the cardiovascular system, and neurocognitive function. Although conventional hormone replacement therapy can partly relieve the adverse symptoms of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), the treatment cannot fundamentally prevent deterioration of POI. Therefore, effective treatments to improve chemotherapy-induced POI are urgently needed, especially for patients desiring fertility preservation. Recently, mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based therapies have resulted in promising improvements in chemotherapy-induced ovary dysfunction by enhancing the anti-apoptotic capacity of ovarian cells, preventing ovarian follicular atresia, promoting angiogenesis and improving injured ovarian structure and the pregnancy rate. These improvements are mainly attributed to MSC-derived biological factors, functional RNAs, and even mitochondria, which are directly secreted or indirectly translocated with extracellular vesicles (microvesicles and exosomes) to repair ovarian dysfunction. Additionally, as a novel source of MSCs, menstrual blood-derived endometrial stem cells (MenSCs) have exhibited promising therapeutic effects in various diseases due to their comprehensive advantages, such as periodic and non-invasive sample collection, abundant sources, regular donation and autologous transplantation. Therefore, this review summarizes the efficacy of MSCs transplantation in improving chemotherapy-induced POI and analyzes the underlying mechanism, and further discusses the benefit and existing challenges in promoting the clinical application of MenSCs in chemotherapy-induced POI.

Kinetics Extraction Modelling and Antiproliferative Activity of Clinacanthus nutans Water Extract.

Clinacanthus nutans is widely grown in tropical Asia and locally known "belalai gajah" or Sabah snake grass. It has been used as a natural product to treat skin rashes, snake bites, lesion caused by herpes, diabetes, fever, and cancer. Therefore, the objectives of this research are to determine the maximum yield and time of exhaustive flavonoids extraction using Peleg's model and to evaluate potential of antiproliferative activity on human lung cancer cell (A549). The extraction process was carried out on fresh and dried leaves at 28 to 30°C with liquid-to-solid ratio of 10 mL/g for 72 hrs. The extracts were collected intermittently analysed using mathematical Peleg's model and RP-HPLC. The highest amount of flavonoids was used to evaluate the inhibitory concentration (IC50) via 2D cell culture of A549. Based on the results obtained, the predicted maximum extract density was observed at 29.20 ± 14.54 hrs of extraction (texhaustive). However, the exhaustive time of extraction to acquire maximum flavonoids content exhibited approximately 10 hrs earlier. Therefore, 18 hrs of extraction time was chosen to acquire high content of flavonoids. The best antiproliferative effect (IC50) on A549 cell line was observed at 138.82 ± 0.60 µg/mL. In conclusion, the flavonoids content in Clinacanthus nutans water extract possesses potential antiproliferative properties against A549, suggesting an alternative approach for cancer treatment.

Inhalation of honey reduces airway inflammation and histopathological changes in a rabbit model of ovalbumin-induced chronic asthma.

BACKGROUND: Honey is widely used in folk medicine to treat cough, fever, and inflammation. In this study, the effect of aerosolised honey on airway tissues in a rabbit model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma was investigated. The ability of honey to act either as a rescuing agent in alleviating asthma-related symptoms or as a preventive agent to preclude the occurrence of asthma was also assessed. METHODS: Forty New Zealand white rabbits were sensitized twice with mixture of OVA and aluminium hydroxide on days 1 and 14. Honey treatments were given from day 23 to day 25 at two different doses (25% (v/v) and 50% (v/v) of honey diluted in sterile phosphate buffer saline. In the aerosolised honey as a rescue agent group, animals were euthanized on day 28; for the preventive group, animals were further exposed to aerosolised OVA for 3 days starting from day 28 and euthanized on day 31. The effects of honey on inflammatory cell response, airway inflammation, and goblet cell hyperplasia were assessed for each animal. RESULTS: Histopathological analyses revealed that aerosolised honey resulted in structural changes of the epithelium, mucosa, and submucosal regions of the airway that caused by the induction with OVA. Treatment with aerosolised honey has reduced the number of airway inflammatory cells present in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and inhibited the goblet cell hyperplasia. CONCLUSION: In this study, aerosolised honey was used to effectively treat and manage asthma in rabbits, and it could prove to be a promising treatment for asthma in humans. Future studies with a larger sample size and studies at the gene expression level are needed to better understand the mechanisms by which aerosolised honey reduces asthma symptoms.