The Potential Applications of Stem Cells for Cancer Treatment

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malikeh Rad Niknam ◽  
Farnoosh Attari
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Therapy ◽  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Bystander Effect ◽  
Suicide Gene ◽  
Oncolytic Viruses ◽  
Bioactive Molecules ◽  
Cancer Therapies ◽  
Potential Applications

: Scientists encounter many obstacles in traditional cancer therapies, including the side effects on the healthy cells, drug resistance, tumor relapse, the short half-life of employed drugs in the blood circulation, and the improper delivery of drugs toward the tumor site. The unique traits of stem cells (SCs) such as self-renewal, differentiation, tumor tropism, release of bioactive molecules, and immunosuppression have opened a new window for utilizing SCs as a novel tool in cancer treatment. In this regard, engineered SCs can secrete anti-cancer proteins or express enzymes used in suicide gene therapy which locally induce apoptosis in neoplastic cells via the bystander effect. These cells also stand as proper candidates to serve as careers for drug-loaded nanoparticles or to play suitable hosts for oncolytic viruses. Moreover, they harbor great potential to be employed in immunotherapy and combination therapy. However, tactful strategies should be devised to allow easier transplantation and protection of SCs from in vivo immune responses. In spite of the great hope concerning SCs application in cancer therapy, there are shortcomings and challenges to be addressed. This review tends to elaborate on recent advances on the various applications of SCs in cancer therapy and existing challenges in this regard.

scholarly journals The Role of Herbal Bioactive Components in Mitochondria Function and Cancer Therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fangfang Tao ◽  
Yanrong Zhang ◽  
Zhiqian Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Therapy ◽  
Cancer Cell ◽  
Apoptotic Cell ◽  
Redox Status ◽  
Cancer Therapies ◽  
Bioactive Components ◽  
Atp Production

Mitochondria are highly dynamic double-membrane organelles which play a well-recognized role in ATP production, calcium homeostasis, oxidation-reduction (redox) status, apoptotic cell death, and inflammation. Dysfunction of mitochondria has long been observed in a number of human diseases, including cancer. Targeting mitochondria metabolism in tumors as a cancer therapeutic strategy has attracted much attention for researchers in recent years due to the essential role of mitochondria in cancer cell growth, apoptosis, and progression. On the other hand, a series of studies have indicated that traditional medicinal herbs, including traditional Chinese medicines (TCM), exert their potential anticancer effects as an effective adjunct treatment for alleviating the systemic side effects of conventional cancer therapies, for reducing the risk of recurrence and cancer mortality and for improving the quality of patients’ life. An amazing feature of these structurally diverse bioactive components is that majority of them target mitochondria to provoke cancer cell-specific death program. The aim of this review is to summarize the in vitro and in vivo studies about the role of these herbs, especially their bioactive compounds in the modulation of the disturbed mitochondrial function for cancer therapy.

TRENDS AND CHALLENGES OF CARTILAGE TISSUE ENGINEERING

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (03) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsu-Wei Fang
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Engineering ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Growth Factors ◽  
Bone Cells ◽  
Cartilage Tissue Engineering ◽  
Bioactive Molecules ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Cartilage Tissue

Cartilage injuries may be caused by trauma, biomechanical imbalance, or degenerative changes of joint. Unfortunately, cartilage has limited capability to spontaneous repair once damaged and may lead to progressive damage and degeneration. Cartilage tissue-engineering techniques have emerged as the potential clinical strategies. An ideal tissue-engineering approach to cartilage repair should offer good integration into both the host cartilage and the subchondral bone. Cells, scaffolds, and growth factors make up the tissue engineering triad. One of the major challenges for cartilage tissue engineering is cell source and cell numbers. Due to the limitations of proliferation for mature chondrocytes, current studies have alternated to use stem cells as a potential source. In the recent years, a lot of novel biomaterials has been continuously developed and investigated in various in vitro and in vivo studies for cartilage tissue engineering. Moreover, stimulatory factors such as bioactive molecules have been explored to induce or enhance cartilage formation. Growth factors and other additives could be added into culture media in vitro, transferred into cells, or incorporated into scaffolds for in vivo delivery to promote cellular differentiation and tissue regeneration.Based on the current development of cartilage tissue engineering, there exist challenges to overcome. How to manipulate the interactions between cells, scaffold, and signals to achieve the moderation of implanted composite differentiate into moderate stem cells to differentiate into hyaline cartilage to perform the optimum physiological and biomechanical functions without negative side effects remains the target to pursue.

Characterization of patient-derived bone marrow human mesenchymal stem cells as oncolytic virus carriers for the treatment of glioblastoma

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Yuzaburo Shimizu ◽  
Joy Gumin ◽  
Feng Gao ◽  
Anwar Hossain ◽  
Elizabeth J. Shpall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Bone Marrow ◽  
Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽  
Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽  
Oncolytic Viruses ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Systemic Delivery ◽  
Previously Treated

OBJECTIVE Delta-24-RGD is an oncolytic adenovirus that is capable of replicating in and killing human glioma cells. Although intratumoral delivery of Delta-24-RGD can be effective, systemic delivery would improve its clinical application. Bone marrow–derived human mesenchymal stem cells (BM-hMSCs) obtained from healthy donors have been investigated as virus carriers. However, it is unclear whether BM-hMSCs can be derived from glioma patients previously treated with marrow-toxic chemotherapy or whether such BM-hMSCs can deliver oncolytic viruses effectively. Herein, the authors undertook a prospective clinical trial to determine the feasibility of obtaining BM-hMSCs from patients with recurrent malignant glioma who were previously exposed to marrow-toxic chemotherapy. METHODS The authors enrolled 5 consecutive patients who had been treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy. BM aspirates were obtained from the iliac crest and were cultured to obtain BM-hMSCs. RESULTS The patient-derived BM-hMSCs (PD-BM-hMSCs) had a morphology similar to that of healthy donor–derived BM-hMSCs (HD-BM-hMSCs). Flow cytometry revealed that all 5 cell lines expressed canonical MSC surface markers. Importantly, these cultures could be made to differentiate into osteocytes, adipocytes, and chondrocytes. In all cases, the PD-BM-hMSCs homed to intracranial glioma xenografts in mice after intracarotid delivery as effectively as HD-BM-hMSCs. The PD-BM-hMSCs loaded with Delta-24-RGD (PD-BM-MSC-D24) effectively eradicated human gliomas in vitro. In in vivo studies, intravascular administration of PD-BM-MSC-D24 increased the survival of mice harboring U87MG gliomas. CONCLUSIONS The authors conclude that BM-hMSCs can be acquired from patients previously treated with marrow-toxic chemotherapy and that these PD-BM-hMSCs are effective carriers for oncolytic viruses.

scholarly journals Microbes as Medicines: Harnessing the Power of Bacteria in Advancing Cancer Treatment

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (20) ◽  
pp. 7575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shruti S. Sawant ◽  
Suyash M. Patil ◽  
Vivek Gupta ◽  
Nitesh K. Kunda
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Therapy ◽  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Current Treatment ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Cancer Therapies ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Tumor Environment ◽  
Systemic Side Effects ◽  
Hypoxic Tumor

Conventional anti-cancer therapy involves the use of chemical chemotherapeutics and radiation and are often non-specific in action. The development of drug resistance and the inability of the drug to penetrate the tumor cells has been a major pitfall in current treatment. This has led to the investigation of alternative anti-tumor therapeutics possessing greater specificity and efficacy. There is a significant interest in exploring the use of microbes as potential anti-cancer medicines. The inherent tropism of the bacteria for hypoxic tumor environment and its ability to be genetically engineered as a vector for gene and drug therapy has led to the development of bacteria as a potential weapon against cancer. In this review, we will introduce bacterial anti-cancer therapy with an emphasis on the various mechanisms involved in tumor targeting and tumor suppression. The bacteriotherapy approaches in conjunction with the conventional cancer therapy can be effective in designing novel cancer therapies. We focus on the current progress achieved in bacterial cancer therapies that show potential in advancing existing cancer treatment options and help attain positive clinical outcomes with minimal systemic side-effects.

scholarly journals Stage-specific embryonic antigen-3 (SSEA-3) and β3GalT5 are cancer specific and significant markers for breast cancer stem cells

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 960-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah K. C. Cheung ◽  
Po-Kai Chuang ◽  
Han-Wen Huang ◽  
Wendy W. Hwang-Verslues ◽  
Candy Hsin-Hua Cho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Cancer Therapies ◽  
New Cancer Therapies ◽  
Globo Series

The discovery of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are responsible for self-renewal and tumor growth in heterogeneous cancer tissues, has stimulated interests in developing new cancer therapies and early diagnosis. However, the markers currently used for isolation of CSCs are often not selective enough to enrich CSCs for the study of this special cell population. Here we show that the breast CSCs isolated with CD44+CD24-/loSSEA-3+ or ESAhiPROCRhiSSEA-3+ markers had higher tumorigenicity than those with conventional markers in vitro and in vivo. As few as 10 cells with CD44+CD24-/loSSEA-3+ formed tumor in mice, compared with more than 100 cells with CD44+CD24-/lo. Suppression of SSEA-3 expression by knockdown of the gene encoding β-1,3-galactosyltransferase 5 (β3GalT5) in the globo-series pathway, led to apoptosis in cancer cells specifically but had no effect on normal cells. This finding is further supported by the analysis of SSEA-3 and the two related globo-series epitopes SSEA4 and globo-H in stem cells (embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells) and various normal and cancer cells, and by the antibody approach to target the globo-series glycans and the late-stage clinical trials of a breast cancer vaccine.

scholarly journals Monitoring the Bystander Killing Effect of Human Multipotent Stem Cells for Treatment of Malignant Brain Tumors

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy Leten ◽  
Jesse Trekker ◽  
Tom Struys ◽  
Valerie D. Roobrouck ◽  
Tom Dresselaers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Treatment Success ◽  
Suicide Gene ◽  
Cell Distribution ◽  
Tumor Models ◽  
Multipotent Stem Cells ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
Simplex Virus

Tumor infiltrating stem cells have been suggested as a vehicle for the delivery of a suicide gene towards otherwise difficult to treat tumors like glioma. We have used herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase expressing human multipotent adult progenitor cells in two brain tumor models (hU87 and Hs683) in immune-compromised mice. In order to determine the best time point for the administration of the codrug ganciclovir, the stem cell distribution and viability were monitoredin vivousing bioluminescence (BLI) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Treatment was assessed byin vivoBLI and MRI of the tumors. We were able to show that suicide gene therapy using HSV-tk expressing stem cells can be followedin vivoby MRI and BLI. This has the advantage that (1) outliers can be detected earlier, (2) GCV treatment can be initiated based on stem cell distribution rather than on empirical time points, and (3) a more thorough follow-up can be provided prior to and after treatment of these animals. In contrast to rodent stem cell and tumor models, treatment success was limited in our model using human cell lines. This was most likely due to the lack of immune components in the immune-compromised rodents.

Potent Bystander Effect in Suicide Gene Therapy Using Neural Stem Cells Transduced with Herpes Simplex Virus Thymidine Kinase Gene

Oncology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 503-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaoyi Li ◽  
Tsutomu Tokuyama ◽  
Junkoh Yamamoto ◽  
Masayo Koide ◽  
Naoki Yokota ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Herpes Simplex Virus ◽  
Herpes Simplex ◽  
Thymidine Kinase ◽  
Bystander Effect ◽  
Suicide Gene ◽  
Thymidine Kinase Gene ◽  
Kinase Gene ◽  
Simplex Virus
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