Establishment of cancer cell line originating from a patient with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.

Aim: Ovarian cancer is a serious malignancy with high prevalence and mortality. Methods: We isolated and characterized an ovarian high-grade serous cancer cell line (M4) from a tumor of a Vietnamese patient with ovarian carcinoma. Results: The M4 cancer cell line showed good proliferation and stability in culture. Morphologically, the M4 cells showed similar characteristics to tumor cells such as a polyhedral shape, large irregular nuclei, high nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio, high nuclear density and expressing cancer markers like CA125, p53 and Ki67 markers. Conclusion: We have successfully isolated and characterized the M4 cell line from a Vietnamese patient with ovarian carcinoma.

Low Prevalence of HEV Infection and No Associated Risk of HEV Transmission from Mother to Child among Pregnant Women in Vietnam.

Infections with HEV in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are associated with increased rates of preterm birth, miscarriage, and stillbirth. The aim of the present study was to investigate HEV infections in pregnant women and the possibility of mother-to-child transmission, and associated outcomes. A total of 183 pregnant women in their third trimester were recruited and followed until delivery. Anti-HEV IgG and IgM were determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and HEV nucleic acids were detected in stool and cord blood samples. HEV genotypes were identified by Sanger sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses were performed. Mother-to-child transmission and associated adverse outcomes were not observed. Only 2% of patients (n = 4/183) tested positive for anti-HEV IgM, and 8% (n = 14/183) tested positive for anti-HEV IgG antibodies. Cord blood (n = 150) analysis showed that there was no IgM detected, while 4% (n = 6/150) tested positive for anti-HEV IgG, which was consistent with mothers testing positive for anti-HEV IgG. Nucleic acid tests for HEV RNA yielded 2% (n = 4/183) from the serum and stool of pregnant women, and none from cord blood. The HEV isolates belonged to the genotype HEV-3a, with 99% homology with humans and 96% with pigs. No association was found between the risk of HEV infection and pregnancy outcomes or HEV transmission from mother to child. HEV-3 infections of zoonotic origin in pregnancy might have eventually resolved without complications.

Isolation and Differentiation of Amniotic Membrane Stem Cells Into Keratinocytes.

The human amniotic membrane is a highly abundant and readily available tissue that may be useful for regenerative medicine and cell therapy. The amniotic membrane stem cells can differentiate into multiple cell lineages; they have low immunogenicity and anti-inflammatory functions. This research aims to examine the protocols for the isolation of human amniotic membrane stem cells, including their phenotypic characterization and in vitro potential for differentiation toward keratinocytes. Human placentas were obtained from selected cesarean-sectioned births. We isolated amniotic stem cells by trypsin and collagenase B digestion and centrifuged with Percoll. After monolayer expansion of adherent cells, the cells were characterized by immunocytology with octamer-binding transcription factor 4 and differentiated into keratinocytes by treating the cells with insulin, hydrocortisone, BMP-4, and vitamin C. Protocol for isolation of stem cells from amniotic membrane has high efficiency. Differentiation markers of stem cells into keratinocytes, such as vimentin, cytokeratin (CK) 14, and CK19, were determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction increase over time in culture. Stem cells isolated from the amniotic membrane can differentiate into keratinocytes. It has opened the prospect of using stem cells to regenerate skin and clinical applications.

Adipose tissue-derived cytokines and their correlations with clinical characteristics in Vietnamese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Adipokines are involved in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders including obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study investigates the levels of leptin, resistin, visfatin, secreted frizzled-related protein 5 (SFRP5), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) and their correlations with clinical parameters of overweight and T2DM. METHODS: We recruited overweight 50 patients with T2DM, 88 non-overweight patients with T2DM, 29 overweight and 100 non-overweight individuals devoid of T2DM for this study. The levels of studied adipokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and correlated with clinical parameters. RESULTS: The levels of MCP-1 and SFRP5 were decreased while visfatin and RBP4 levels were increased in patients with T2DM compared to those in the control individuals (P < 0.01). Among patients with T2DM, leptin and resistin levels were higher while RBP4 levels were lower in patients with overweight T2DM compared to those in patients with non-overweight T2DM (P < 0.0001, 0.019 and 0.05, respectively). Leptin and MCP-1 levels were correlated with HOMA-IR, QUICKI and HOMA-ß. Leptin/MCP-1 ratio was correlated with insulin levels, HOMA-IR and HOMA-ß indexes. Resistin/RBP4, visfatin/MCP-1 and MCP-1/RBP4 ratios were strongly correlated with the levels of fasting glucose, HbA1c and HOMA-ß. In addition, ROC curve analyses indicated a diagnostic potential of resistin/RBP4 and MCP-1/RBP4 indexes for T2DM (AUC = 0.81 and 0.83, respectively) and ß-cell function (AUC = 0.76 and 0.74, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Adipokines (leptin, resistin, visfatin, SFRP5, MCP-1, and RBP4) are associated with overweight and T2DM and may serve as a potential prognostic marker and therapeutic intervention for overweight-related T2DM.