Comparative study of neural differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells by different induction methods.

Neurogenic differentiation of bone marrow (BM) mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) offers a new hope for patients with many neurological disorders. Several chemical inducers are employed to induce BMMSCs differentiation into nerve cells. In the present study, we compared different inducers [2-mercaptoethanol (BME), tretinoin (ATRA), dimethyl sulfoxide/butylated hydroxyanisole (DMSO/BHA), and indomethacin/3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (indomethacin/IBMX)] on the neurogenic differentiation of BMMSCs and aimed to identify a more efficient and safer method. The MSCs were first identified by their ability to adhere to plastic and by the expression of positive (CD44, CD90, and CD105) and negative (CD34) markers assessed by flow cytometry. The efficiency of the neurogenic differentiation was determined by assessing the mRNA and protein expression of nestin, microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP2), neuron specific enolase (NSE), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western-blot, respectively. The effect of these inducers on cell viability was also evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. This comprehensive study shows that indomethacin/IBMX is better than BME, DMSO/BHA, and ATRA both in terms of efficiency and safety, while BME suppressed the growth and proliferation of MSCs.

Effect of IL-1ß, IL-8, and IL-10 polymorphisms on the development of myocardial infarction.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is currently a leading cause of death worldwide, and is caused by various environmental and genetic factors. We therefore conducted a case-control study to investigate the association between polymorphisms in interleukins IL-1ß, IL-8, and IL-10 and MI risk. This study recruited 260 MI patients and 285 control subjects. Genotyping of IL-1ß +3954C/T, IL-8 -251T/A, IL-10 -1082A/G, and IL-10 -819C/T were assessed using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. By comparing the risk factors of MI between the case and control groups, we discovered that MI patients were more likely to have smoking and drinking habits, have a history of hypertension and diabetes, have higher triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and a lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (P < 0.05). Unconditional regression analyses showed that subjects carrying the GG genotype of the IL-10 -1082A/G polymorphism were associated with increased risk of MI, and the OR (95%CI) was 2.04 (1.15-3.65). Our study found that the IL-10 -1082A/G polymorphism plays an important role in influencing the development of MI.

Association of c.461G>A genetic variant of OGG1 gene with pancreatic cancer susceptibility in Chinese.

This study aimed to evaluate the potential association of single nucleotide polymorphisms of the 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase gene (OGG1) with susceptibility to pancreatic cancer (PC). A total of 764 Chinese Han subjects were recruited in this study. The polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and DNA sequencing methods were used to detect the genotype of c.461G>A genetic variant of OGG1. The genotype and allele frequencies were statistically different in PC patients compared with cancer-free controls. The AA genotype was statistically associated with increased PC susceptibility compared to GG wild genotype (AA vs GG, OR=2.62, 95%CI=1.48-4.63, χ2=11.46, P=0.001). Allele A could contribute to the increased risk of PC (A vs G, OR=1.35, 95%CI=1.08-1.69, χ2=6.86, P=0.009). Our data indicated that the c.461G>A genetic variant of the OGG1 gene was associated with susceptibility to PC in a Chinese Han population.

Influence of the c.1517G>C genetic variant in the XRCC1 gene on pancreatic cancer susceptibility in a Chinese population.

We investigated the influence of the c.1517G>C genetic variant in the X-ray repair complementing group 1 gene (XRCC1) on pancreatic cancer (PC) susceptibility in Chinese patients. A total of 390 PC patients and 392 controls were enrolled in this case-control study. The genotypes of c.1517G>C genetic variants were determined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. Our findings suggested that the allele and genotype frequencies in PC patients were significantly different from those in cancer-free controls. The CC genotype was associated with an increased risk of PC compared to the wild-type GG genotype (odds ratio=2.43, 95% confidence interval 1.43-4.13, X2=11.19, P=0.001). The C allele may contribute to the development of PC (C vs G, odds ratio=1.32, 95% confidence interval 1.06-1.64, X2=6.25, P=0.012). Results from this study indicate that the c.1517G>C genetic variant of the XRCC1 gene is significantly associated with PC susceptibility in the Chinese population.