In this study, we studied homing multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells under influence of extreme factors: after radiation exposure, acute blood loss. Absorbed dose ionizing radiation amounted to 4.0 C (causes acute radiation sickness in mice), acute blood loss was caused by bleeding from the tail vein of the mouse in the amount of 2% of the body weight of the animal. Label MMSC used fluorochrome DAPI, ready to use. The experiments were performed on 60 Mature mice (males) age 6-8 months, weighing 20-25 g. Experiments on the culture of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells from the placenta (chorion) performed on laboratory mice female at the age of 3-4 months in the gestation period of 14 days. Introduction suspensions of MMSC was carried out at a dose of 6 million cells/mouse, suspended in 0.2 ml 0.9% NaCl solution. The control group of laboratory animals MMSC transplantation was carried out also in the amount of 6 million cells/mouse. The assessment was made of tissue chimerism in the peripheral blood, bone marrow, spleen, small intestine, liver, lung, kidney, heart after 1 and 24 hours after transplantation of labeled cells. It was found a significant decrease in the content of labeled MMSC in the peripheral blood at extreme impact, indicating a migration of the transplanted cells in the damaged tissue. Homing transplanted MMSC is realized mainly in those tissues that underwent the most damage.

High mortality from breast cancer is associated with the high heterogeneity of tumor and the frequent recurrences of the pathological process, which are due to the presence of tumor stem cells. The review considers the biological properties of tumor stem cells, the molecular mechanisms of their regulation, interaction with the microenvironment, and their role in the heterogeneity of the morphological and clinical forms of breast cancer.

There are many ways to model blood brain barrier and neurovascular unit in vitro. All existing models have their disadvantages, advantages and some peculiarities of preparation and usage. We obtained the three-cells neurovascular unit model in vitro using progenitor cells isolated from the rat embryos brain (Wistar, 14-16 d). After withdrawal of the progenitor cells the neurospheres were cultured with subsequent differentiation into astrocytes and neurons. Endothelial cells were isolated from embryonic brain too. During the differentiation of progenitor cells the astrocytes monolayer formation occurs after 7-9 d, neurons monolayer--after 10-14 d, endothelial cells monolayer--after 7 d. Our protocol for simultaneous isolation and cultivation of neurons, astrocytes and endothelial cells reduces the time needed to obtain neurovascular unit model in vitro, consisting of three cells types and reduce the number of animals used. It is also important to note the cerebral origin of all cell types, which is also an advantage of our model in vitro.

Human mesenchymal stem cells are an attractive cell source for tissue engineering. During transplantation they may be subjected to oxidative stress due to unfavorable cellular microenvironment, which is characterized by increased levels of reactive oxygen species. Recently, we have demonstrated that oxidative stress responses of human mesenchymal stem cells derived from endometrium (hMESCs) depend upon the oxidizer concentration. Besides, the duration of the H2O2-treatment duration. The effects of the high H2O2 doses on hMESCs and human lung embryonic fibroblasts were compared. In both cell types, H2O2-treatment for 60 min was shown to promote the multiphase cell cycle arrest, as well as to the dose-dependent cell death that occurred equally from all phases of cell cycle. However, the cell death dynamics in hMESCs and fibroblasts were different. Interestingly, in both cell types, shortening of H2O2-treatment duration from 60 to 10 min induced growth retardation, G1-phase accumulation and the cell size increase. Together, these findings allow us to suggest an induction of the premature senescence as a result of the short cell exposure to the high H2O2 doses. Thus, regarding both human endometrial stem cells and human embryonic fibroblasts, shortening of oxidative stress duration induced by high H2O2 doses enables to avoid the cell death and to produce the features of the premature senescence.

The objective of the work was to study morphometric and cytological indexes of the spleen in mature and old laboratory animals after acute blood loss on the background of allogenic transplantation of placenta MMSC and GSC. The study proved that 5 days after acute blood loss on the background of stem cells transplantations to the mature animals there was a reduction of lymphoid follicles area due to reduction in thymus independent area. There were no immunosuppressive effects to the white pulp of the spleen in old animals. The increase of leucocytes' and erythrocytes' elements in red pulp in the mature animals was noted. In old animals, the increase of cells' density in red pulp is mainly due to increased number of erythroid cells.

The paper reviews research results of myogenic potential, specific properties, functions, and phenotypic features of a number of stem cells populations of muscle and non-muscle origin, their ability to participate in the restoration of the physiological homeostasis of skeletal muscle. The results of scientific research allow to predict with high probability the establishment of an effective cell technology to treat degenerative muscle diseases.

To conduct a comparative study of the structural organization of internuclear interneurons involved in the metabolism of nitrogen monoxide, hydrogen sulphide and carbon monoxide in the caudal brain stem humans.

The transformation of normal precursors into cancer cells is an intricately regulated, multistep process. The master regulatory genes that play a crucial role in the process of organism development may also play a key role in carcinogenesis. From such a point of view, cancer is not simply a genetic disease that is due to a progressive accumulation of mutation--it is also a disorder of the developmental system of the tissue in which cancer emerges. Master regulators and their genes disturb stem cell differentiation upon mutation and thus may serve as targets for cancer therapy, in addition to the classic oncogenes and suppressors of tumor formation. This review is an attempt to give a modern concept of master genes and their functions in adult stem cells of the organism and in carcinogenesis, with pancreatic cancer as an example.

To study the impact of the genes of donor killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and HLA-KIR ligands on overall (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) rates in patients with myeloid leukemia after transplantation with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells (allo-HSCT) from HLA-identical related and HLA-compatible unrelated donors.

The effects of fetal calf serum (FCS) growth factor concentration and cell growth phase on production of angiogenic mediators by mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) at different O2 levels (20 and 5%) was studied. For this purpose vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) production was measured in MSC-conditioned medium (CM); besides, branching vessels as well as vessel end points (ramification) in the chorioallantoic membrane of Japanese quail eggs (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were counted following MSC-CM application. During the standard cultivation (20% O2; 10% FCS) the total number of vessels was 1.6 times higher comparing with hypoxic condition (5% O2; 10% FCS) due to increase in ramification, the number of branching vessels did not change. Maximal (double) increase in the total vessel number was observed when CM from MSCs after hypoxia plus serum deprivation was added. VEGF-A synthesis linearly increased with FCS concentration both at 20% and 5% O2. In all cases VEGF-A level was higher at hypoxia. No direct correlation between the VEGF-A concentration and total number of vessels was noted indicating that hypoxia possibly stimulates synthesis of additional angiogenic factors to enhance vascular growth despite the drastic serum deprivation. At 20% oxygen, exponentially growing MSCs showed the highest angiogenic activity and the ramification increased in 1.6 times. Depending on O2, MSCs produced angiogenic factors required at different stages of vascularization. Specifically, mediators of ramification were accumulated in the standard conditions (20% O2) and factors stimulating growth of branching vessels--in hypoxia.

Regenerative medicine approaches, such as replacement of damaged tissue by ex vivo manufactured constructions or stimulation of endogenous reparative and regenerative processes to treat different diseases, are actively developing. One of the major tools for regenerative medicine are stem and progenitor cells, including multipotent mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC). Because the paracrine action of bioactive factors secreted by MSC is considered as a main mechanism underlying MSC regenerative effects, application of MSC extracellular secreted products could be a promising approach to stimulate tissue regeneration; it also has some advantages compared to the injection of the cells themselves. However, because of the complexity of composition and multiplicity of mechanisms of action distinguished the medicinal products based on bioactive factors secreted by human MSC from the most of pharmaceuticals, it is important to develop the approaches to their standardization and quality control. In the current study, based on the literature data and guidelines as well as on our own experimental results, we provided rationalization for nomenclature and methods of quality control for the complex of extracellular products secreted by human adipose-derived MSC on key indicators, such as "Identification", "Specific activity" and "Biological safety". Developed approaches were tested on the samples of conditioned media contained products secreted by MSC isolated from subcutaneous adipose tissue of 30 donors. This strategy for the standardization of innovative medicinal products and biomaterials based on the bioactive extracellular factors secreted by human MSC could be applicable for a wide range of bioactive complex products, produced using the different types of stem and progenitor cells.

Bone tissue damages are one of the dominant causes of temporary disability and developmental disability. Currently, there are some methods of guided bone regeneration employing different osteoplastic materials and insulation membranes used in surgery. In this study, we have developed a method of preparation of porous membranes from the biopolymer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate (PHBV), produced by a strain of Azotobacter chroococcum 7B. The biocompatibility of the porous membranes was investigated in vitro using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and in vivo on laboratory animals. The cytotoxicity test showed the possibility of cell attachment on membrane and histological studies confirmed good insulating properties the material. The data obtained demonstrate the high biocompatibility and the potential application of insulating membranes based on PHBV in bone tissue engineering.

In this review the recent data regarding the antitumor activity of niclosamide and the molecular mechanisms of its antitumor activity are presented. Niclosamide has been used in the clinic for the treatment of intestinal parasite infections. In recent years in several screening investigations of various drugs and chemical compounds niclosamide was identified as a potential anticancer agent. Niclosamide not only inhibits the Wnt/β-catenin, mTORC1, STAT3, NF-κB and Notch signaling pathways, but also targets mitochondria in cancer cells to induce growth inhibition and apoptosis. A number of studies have established the anticancer activity of niclosamide in both in vitro and in vivo in xenotransplantation models using human tumors and immunodeficient mice. It is important that niclosamide is active not only against tumor cells but also cancer stem cells. Normal cells are resistant to niclosamide. The accumulated experimental data suggest niclosamide is a promising drug for the treatment of various types of cancer.

The aim of this study was to estimate the efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell-based suicide gene therapy in mice bearing murine melanoma B16F10. Adipose mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were transfected with plasmid constructs expressing cytosine deaminase fused with uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (CDA/UPRT) or CDA/UPRT fused with HSV-1 tegument protein VP22 (CDA/UPRT/VP22). In this study, we demonstrate that direct intratumoral transplantation of MSCs expressing CDA/UPRT or CDA/UPRT/VP22 followed by systemic administration of 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) results in a significant inhibition of tumor growth. There was a 53% reduction in tumor volume in mice treated with CDA/UPRT-MSCs and 58% reduction in tumor volume in mice treated with CDA/UPRT/VP22-MSCs as compared with control animals transplanted with B16F10 melanoma alone. Injection of CDA/UPRT-MSC and CDA/UPRT/VP22-MSC prolonged the life span of mice bearing B16F10 melanoma by 15 and 26%, respectively. The data indicate that in murine B16F10 melanoma model, MSCs encoding CDA/UPRT suicide gene have a significant antitumor effect.

Growth of malignant tumors occurs in three-dimensional space and depends on a presence of stromal component, which performs critical functions of tumor cell protection and growth support. Therefore, development and analysis of tumor models in 3D cell cultures in vitro, including co-culture systems, presents a significant interest. In this study, the results of 3D culturing of two human melanoma cell lines using the hanging drop method, with or without human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are presented. Melanoma lines were shown to behave differently in 3D cultures; in particular, Mel Cher melanoma cells have the ability to form uniform spheroids within 24 h, whereas MeWo cells under similar conditions failed to form spheroids even after 2 days of culture. However, co-culturing of melanoma cells with MSCs resulted in formation of compact 3D cell spheroids in both cases. Visualization of MeWo cells and MSCs in the mixed spheroids using fluorescent dyes revealed certain clustering of melanoma cells. The observed properties of melanoma cells in homogeneous and heterogeneous spheroids may be used in the complex analysis of results of testing of antimelanoma chemotherapy drugs and evaluation of their therapeutic properties.

This review is devoted to the mechanisms of transcriptional pause and poised state of RNA polymerase II. Features of poised promoters and chromatin are considered in brief. Role of regulated transcriptional pause as discrete and important stage in regulation of master genes that determine stem-cell differentiation, cell lineage and development in Metazoa is discussed. This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 14-50-00131).

Our understanding of the role of adipose tissue has been completely changed during the past decades. The knowledge of its contribution to endocrine and immune pathways opened the new insights on the pathogenesis and therapy of many diseases and new perspectives for the regenerative medicine. The further researches should be provided to study anatomy and functions of local fat depots in more details. Of the most interest is the orbital adipose tissue due to its origin from the neural crest. This review represents the current data about anatomy, structure, cell composition and biochemistry of orbital fat. The main attention is put to such cell types as adipocytes and adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells. The foreign authors' findings on such characteristics of stem cells from orbital adipose tissue as CD markers and differential capacity are reviewed. The found evidences of interaction between orbital adipose tissue, eyeball and associated structures allow us to hypothesize that this fat depot may contribute to various ocular pathology. In this paper, we outlined the possible directions for further investigation and clinical application of orbital fat and cells its composing in ophthalmology, reconstructive and plastic surgery and regenerative medicine.

Search for new bioengineering materials for creation of small-diameter vascular grafts is currently a priority task. One of the promising trends of creating tissue engineering constructions is coating the internal layer of implants made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with autologous mesenchymal multipotent stromal cells. In the study we assessed the ability of separate components of the extracellular matrix such as fibronectin, type I collagen and type IV collagen to influence adhesion, proliferation and morphology of mesenchymal multipotent stromal cells being cultured on PTFE. Bone marrow multipotent stromal cells taken from second-passage Wistar rats in the amount of 106 per 1 cm2 were applied onto PTFE. We used the following variants of preliminary treatment of the material prior to seeding: fibronectin with type I collagen, fibronectin with type IV collagen, fibronectin with a mixture of type I and IV collagens, as well as a control group without coating. After six weeks of cell growth on PTFE patches the samples were subjected to fixation in 10% formalin followed by haematoxylin-eosin stain and morphometric assessment of adhered cells by calculation using the software AxioVision (Carl Zeiss), assessing the number of cells, area of the cellular monolayer, dimensions and ratios of the area of separate cells and the area of cellular nuclei. The maximal area of the monolayer from mesenchymal multipotent stromal cells on the PTFE surface was revealed while culturing with a mixture of fibronectin and type I and IV collagens. Cell colonization density while treatment of the synthetic material with mixtures of fibronectin with type I collagen, type IV collagen and type I and IV collagens demonstrated the results exceeding the parameters of the control specimen 5-, 2.5- and 7-fold, respectively. Hence, extracellular matrix components considerably increase enhance adhesion of cells to PTFE, as well as improve formation of a monolayer from mesenchymal multipotent stromal cells.

Acute myocardial infarction remains to be one of the most important problems of health care. Cardiac cell therapy is a new therapeutic strategy focused on repair of the injured cardiac muscle. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are considered as the most suitable candidates for cardiac cell therapy. MSC transplantation in the myocardium after ischemic injury has been shown to be cardioprotective in animal models and clinical trials. However, the beneficial effects of MSC in humans are limited because of both poor survival and impaired function of the cells in ischemic tissue. To address these issues, a number of approaches to the modification of MSCs with the aim to improve their survival and proliferation, reduce the immune reaction, enhance transdifferentiation, and optimize the profile of secreted paracrine factors have been tested. In this review, we provide detailed discussion of different methods of MSCs modification, including targeted gene overexpression, conditioning of MSCs using physical and chemical factors, and application of multicellular units for transplantation. The effectiveness of these strategies in preclinical studies is also discussed.

Recent data on adult stem cells are reviewed. According to the present dominant paradigm, it is most probable that cancer predisposition arises or cancer is initiated in these cells.