In Vitro Differentiation of Human Umbilical Cord Blood CD133+ Cells into Insulin Producing Cells in Co-Culture with Rat Pancreatic Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

In this article which was published in Cell J, Vol 17, No 2, Summer 2015, on pages 211-220, the authors found that Figures 3 and 4 had some errors that accidentally happened during organizing figures as well as because of mislabeling of some images and saving them in an incorrect folder. The following figures are corrected. The authors would like to apologies for any inconvenience caused.

In Vitro Differentiation of Human Umbilical Cord Blood CD133(+)Cells into Insulin Producing Cells in Co-Culture with Rat Pancreatic Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

OBJECTIVE: Pancreatic stroma plays an important role in the induction of pancreatic cells by the use of close range signaling. In this respect, we presume that pancreatic mesenchymal cells (PMCs) as a fundamental factor of the stromal niche may have an effective role in differentiation of umbilical cord blood cluster of differentiation 133(+) (UCB-CD133(+)) cells into newly-formed ß-cells in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study is an experimental research. The UCB-CD133(+)cells were purified by magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) and differentiated into insulin producing cells (IPCs) in co-culture, both directly and indirectly with rat PMCs. Immunocytochemistry and enzyme linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) were used to determine expression and production of insulin and C-peptide at the protein level. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that UCB-CD133(+)differentiated into IPCs. Cells in islet-like clusters with (out) co-cultured with rat pancreatic stromal cells produced insulin and C-peptide and released them into the culture medium at the end of the induction protocol. However they did not respond well to glucose challenges. CONCLUSION: Rat PMCs possibly affect differentiation of UCB-CD133(+)cells into IPCs by increasing the number of immature ß-cells.

Short-term ferrous sulfate supplementation in female blood donors.

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency is a public problem in women, which contributes to the high percentage of deferred blood donations in this group. This study evaluated the effect of iron supplementation in improving iron stores to promote safe blood donation in women. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 412 female blood donors were randomly recruited for the study. The volunteers were scheduled for an initial visit and three subsequent visits at 4-month intervals for possible repeat donation. Each volunteer was given 21 tablets of 150 mg of ferrous sulfate or placebo to be taken three times daily for 1 week after each blood donation. Their hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, hematocrit (Hct), serum ferritin, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and percent saturation of the TIBC were tested throughout the course of the study. RESULTS: The group taking ferrous sulfate showed no significant difference between the mean initial and final result for any of the values other than Hb values, whereas there was a significant decline in mean Hb, Hct, serum iron, serum ferritin, and percent saturation in the group taking placebo. Hb concentrations declined significantly in both groups; however, it was more severe in the placebo group when compared to the ferrous sulfate group. The relative risk of iron deficiency in placebo group was 3.6 (95% confidence interval = 1.73-7.74). CONCLUSION: The results indicate that supplementation therapy can be considered as one of the strategies to promote safe blood donation in women. A quantity of 150 mg of elemental iron per day as ferrous sulfate, however, is not the correct dose for Iranian female donors.

In vitro Evaluation of Cytarabin Induced Apoptosis in Leukemic Blasts.

Apoptosis, or active cell death, is a specific mode of cell death, which is characterized by morphological changes such as chromatin condensation, fragmentation of the nucleus, cytoplasmic retraction and appearance of apoptotic bodies' containing apparently intact organelles. Apoptosis occurs in physiological conditions as a regulatory mechanism of tissue growth, where cell proliferation is balanced. The aim of this research was to study the ability of Fas to initiate apoptosis in vitro before and after treatment with Cytarabin on tissue culture and to correlate the response. The human leukemia and normal cells were treated with cytarabin in tissue culture, and apoptotic treated cells were estimated by flow cytometry and phosphatidylserines kit. The results were analyzed by statistical tests (post hoc). From these data, it was found that Fas antigen was expressed in all cases, but the expression level varied widely. Apoptosis and also Fas antigen expression in short term cell culture were higher in media containing drug than in media without drug; but there had been no reasonable correlation between percentage of Fas antigen and apoptosis responses before culture.Expression of Fas antigen was low in most of the leukemic cells and the preliminary results showed that increase in Fas antigen expression (above 20%) after treatment, was a favorable prognostic outcome. It is associated with increase relapse, free and total survival. In addition, using this antigen as a chemotherapic and immunotherapic target, would initiate a new strategy for treatment of leukemia (chemotherapy and immunotherapy).

Expression of Fas Antigen (CD95) on Human Leukemic Cells and Assessment of Apoptosis on Fas+ and Fas-Samples by Flowcytometry Method.

Regulation of normal cell growth and turnover is balanced between cell proliferation, cell differentiation and apoptosis.A disruption of this balance is thought to be an important event leading to carcinogenesis .One of the effector molecules in apoptosis is Fas antigen . Crosslinking of Fas by its ligand (Fas L) or agonistic anti Fas antibodies induces apoptosis of cells expressing Fas on the membrane by triggering cascade of caspaces. The aim of this research was to study the percent of expression of Fas antigen on bone marrow and peripheral blood cells in 100 patients suffering from acute lymphoid and myeloid leukemia by flow cytometry method. Sample were obtained at the time of diagnosis before antileukemic therapy. Expression of Fas antigen on normal control peripheral leukocytes was also analysed. From these data, it was found that Fas antigen is expressed in all cases, but the expression level varied widely. The percentage of Fas antigen expression in all of acute lymphoid leukemia samples was below 20%, but in acute myeloid leukemia samples, 8 out of 50 cases was above 20%. In normal control samples, the mean value for monocytes was higher than granulocytes and in granulocytes higher than lymphcytes. Expression of Fas antigen in most of the leukemic cells was low and the preliminary results showed that increase in Fas antigen expression above 20% after treatment, is a favorable prognostic sign associated with increase relapse free and total survival. Thus evaluation of this antigen before, during and after treatment is recommended.