Search

This study investigated the effects of large-area irradiation from a low-level laser on the proliferation and differentiation of i-ADSCs in neuronal cells. MTT assays indicated no significant difference between the amount of cells with (LS+) and without (LS-) laser treatment (P > 0.05). However, immunofluorescent staining and western blot analysis results indicated a significant increase in the neural stem-cell marker, nestin, following exposure to low-level laser irradiation (P < 0.05). Furthermore, stem cell implantation was applied to treat rats suffering from stroke. At 28 days posttreatment, the motor functions of the rats treated using i-ADSCs (LS+) did not differ greatly from those in the sham group and HE-stained brain tissue samples exhibited near-complete recovery with nearly no brain tissue damage. However, the motor functions of the rats treated using i-ADSCs (LS-) remained somewhat dysfunctional and tissue displayed necrotic scarring and voids. The western blot analysis also revealed significant expression of oligo-2 in the rats treated using i-ADSCs (LS+) as well as in the sham group (P < 0.05). The results demonstrated that low-level laser irradiation exerts a positive effect on the differentiation of i-ADSCs and can be employed to treat rats suffering from ischemic stroke to regain motor functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the immunomodulatory activities of phytocompounds for potential therapeutics, we devised an in vivo, transgenic, human cytokine gene promoter assay using defined epidermal skin cells as test tissue. Test compounds were topically applied to mouse skin before or after gene gun transfection, using a cytokine gene promoter-driven luciferase reporter. Croton oil, an inflammation inducer, induced transgenic GM-CSF and TNF-α promoter activities in skin epidermis 6-fold and 3.4-fold, respectively; however, it produced a less than 1.5-fold and 1.7-fold change in IL-1β and IL-18 promoter activity, respectively. The phytocompound shikonin drastically inhibited inducible GM-CSF promoter activity. However, a fraction of Dioscorea batatas extract significantly increased the GM-CSF promoter activity in normal and inflamed skin. Shikonin suppressed the transcriptional activity of GM-CSF promoter by inhibiting the binding of TFIID protein complex (TBP) to TATA box. Our results demonstrate that this in vivo transgenic promoter activity assay system is cytokine gene-specific, and highly responsive to pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory stimuli. Currently it is difficult to profile the expression and cross-talk of various types of cytokines in vivo. This investigation has established a bona fide in vivo, in situ, immune tissue system for research into cytokine response to inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]