International Journal of Translational Medicine最新文献

{"title":"Dental Stem Cell-Based Therapy for Glycemic Control and the Scope of Clinical Translation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis","authors":"Pallavi Tonsekar, Vidya Tonsekar, Shuying Jiang, Gang Yue","doi":"10.3390/ijtm4010005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm4010005","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The tooth is a repository of stem cells, garnering interest in recent years for its therapeutic potential. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to test the hypothesis that dental stem cell administration can reduce blood glucose and ameliorate polyneuropathy in diabetes mellitus. The scope of clinical translation was also assessed. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane, Ovid, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched for animal studies that were published in or before July 2023. A search was conducted in OpenGrey for unpublished manuscripts. Subgroup analyses were performed to identify potential sources of heterogeneity among studies. The risk for publication bias was assessed by funnel plot, regression, and rank correlation tests. Internal validity, external validity, and translation potential were determined using the SYRCLE (Systematic Review Center for Laboratory Animal Experimentation) risk of bias tool and comparative analysis. Results: Out of 5031 initial records identified, 17 animal studies were included in the review. There was a significant decrease in blood glucose in diabetes-induced animals following DSC administration compared to that observed with saline or vehicle (SMD: −3.905; 95% CI: −5.633 to −2.177; p = 0.0004). The improvement in sensory nerve conduction velocity (SMD: 4.4952; 95% CI: 0.5959 to 8.3945; p = 0.035) and capillary-muscle ratio (SMD: 2.4027; 95% CI: 0.8923 to 3.9132; p = 0.0095) was significant. However, motor nerve conduction velocity (SMD: 3.1001; 95% CI: −1.4558 to 7.6559; p = 0.119) and intra-epidermal nerve fiber ratio (SMD: 1.8802; 95% CI: −0.4809 to 4.2413; p = 0.0915) did not increase significantly. Regression (p < 0.0001) and rank correlation (p = 0.0018) tests indicated the presence of funnel plot asymmetry. Due to disparate number of studies in subgroups, the analyses could not reliably explain the sources of heterogeneity. Interpretation: The direction of the data indicates that DSCs can provide good glycemic control in diabetic animals. However, methodological and reporting quality of preclinical studies, heterogeneity, risk of publication bias, and species differences may hamper translation to humans. Appropriate dose, mode of administration, and preparation must be ascertained for safe and effective use in humans. Longer-duration studies that reflect disease complexity and help predict treatment outcomes in clinical settings are warranted. This review is registered in PROSEPRO (number CRD42023423423).","PeriodicalId":505042,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Translational Medicine","volume":" 43","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139621639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Natural History of SARS-CoV-2-Incurred Disease: From Infection to Long COVID","authors":"Kung-Hao Liang, Yuan-Chi Teng, Yi-Ting Liao, A. Yarmishyn, Su-Hua Chiang, Wei-Chun Hung, Chun-Yen Hsiao, En-Tung Tsai, Tai‐Jay Chang, De-Ming Yang, Mong-Lien Wang","doi":"10.3390/ijtm4010004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm4010004","url":null,"abstract":"The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the causative pathogen of the COVID-19 pandemic that has been causing global upheaval since 2019. The widespread administration of vaccines has partially deterred the spread of SARS-CoV-2, yet the virus is mutating its genome to reduce its antigenicity and evade the human herd immunity. It seems that SARS-CoV-2 will co-exist with the human population for many decades to come. While most infected individuals only experience mild to moderate symptoms, some develop severe pulmonary and systemic disease that can result in hospitalization or even death. The natural history model of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been proposed which includes three sequential stages: the early infection stage, pulmonary stage, and hyper-inflammatory stage. Recently, it has been observed that many people who recovered from an acute infection still experience persistent symptoms for weeks or months, a condition known as long COVID. Furthermore, some COVID-19 patients display escalated rates of both macro- and micro-thrombosis due to endotheliopathy. Hence, we added the thrombosis and convalescent stages to the natural history model, encompassing the entire period from early infection to long COVID. The early infection stage is characterized by symptomatic or asymptomatic elevation of viral titers. Some patients progress to the pulmonary stage characterized by opacities in chest X-rays and computed tomography. The thrombosis stage is characterized by heightened rates of pulmonary thrombosis and consistently elevated D-dimer levels. The hyper-inflammatory stage is characterized by storms of cytokines, such as IL-6, IL-17, and interferons, which is a systemic effect. In the convalescent stage, some people recover completely, while others suffer from long COVID with persistent symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, or brain fog. The natural history model of SARS-CoV-2 infection can be used to elucidate treatment and care.","PeriodicalId":505042,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Translational Medicine","volume":"56 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139447876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Clinical Implementation of MicroRNAs in Cancer Immunology","authors":"H. Schwarzenbach","doi":"10.3390/ijtm4010003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm4010003","url":null,"abstract":"MicroRNAs (miRNAs), or small non-coding RNAs, modulate the expression of mRNAs and, consequently, a variety of signal transduction pathways. Due to their dysregulation in cancer, they exert oncogenic pressure and have an impact on the immune system with their protective functions. These immunosuppressive characteristics of miRNAs in cancer promote cancer progression and metastasis, causing the dysregulation of immune cells and the immune escape of tumor cells. In contrast, there are also tumor suppressor miRNAs that are able to activate the immune system. Therefore, studies on the altered expression of miRNAs that consider both the oncogenic and tumor-suppressive aspects of miRNAs have become an important research field for advancing immunotherapeutic interventions using miRNAs or their inhibitors as therapeutics. In the current review, their potential in the immunomodulation of immune cells and their use as immune stimulatory molecules to elicit specific cytotoxic responses against the tumor are discussed.","PeriodicalId":505042,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Translational Medicine","volume":"28 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139383073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does Precision-Based Medicine Hold the Promise of a New Approach to Predicting and Treating Spontaneous Preterm Birth?","authors":"Hiba Khan, Natasha Singh, Luis Y. Leyva, Johann Malawana, N. Shah","doi":"10.3390/ijtm4010002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm4010002","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Preterm birth (PTB) is a leading cause of childhood disability, and it has become a key public health priority recognized by the World Health Organization and the United Nations. Objectives: This review will: (1) summarize current practice in the diagnosis and management of PTB, (2) outline developments in precision-based medicine for diagnostics to improve the care provided to pregnant women at risk of PTB, and (3) discuss the implications of current research in personalized medicine and the potential of future advances to influence the clinical care of women at risk of PTB. Methodology: This is a narrative literature review. Relevant journal articles were identified following searches of computerized databases. Key Results: Current and emerging technologies for the utility of personalized medicine in the context of PTB have the potential for applications in: (1) direct diagnostics to identify and target infection as one of the main known causes of PTB, (2) identifying novel maternal and fetal biomarkers, (3) the use of artificial intelligence and computational modeling, and (4) combining methods to enhance diagnosis and treatment. Conclusions: In this paper, we show how current research has moved in the direction of the targeted use of biomarkers in the context of PTB, with many novel approaches.","PeriodicalId":505042,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Translational Medicine","volume":"51 44","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139382146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prognostic Value of the Width of Invasion in pT3 Cutaneous Melanomas","authors":"D. Țăpoi, A. Gheorghisan-Galateanu, Laura Maria Gosman, A. Dumitru, A. Ciongariu, Mariana Costache","doi":"10.3390/ijtm4010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm4010001","url":null,"abstract":"Intermediate-thickness melanomas display highly variable outcomes influenced by both clinical and histopathological characteristics. This study investigates several clinicopathological prognostic factors for pT3 cutaneous melanomas, focusing on a novel parameter, the width of invasion. This is a retrospective study of 49 patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma between 2012 and 2018 who were followed up for at least five years. We evaluated the age, gender, tumor location, Breslow depth of invasion, width of invasion, mitotic index, the presence/absence of ulceration, regression, microsatellites, lymphovascular invasion, and perineural invasion for their association with disease progression and survival. Cox univariate analysis revealed that progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly associated with age, depth of invasion, width of invasion, lymphovascular invasion, microsatellites, and perineural invasion. Overall survival (OS) was significantly associated with age, depth of invasion, width of invasion, microsatellites, and perineural invasion. Through multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression, the only factor associated with both PFS and OS was the width of the invasion. This is one of the few studies to assess the width of invasion and we have demonstrated that this parameter could become an important prognostic factor for cutaneous melanomas.","PeriodicalId":505042,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Translational Medicine","volume":"88 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139154885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chronic Inhibition of Nitric Oxide Synthases Impairs Spatiotemporal Learning and Memory to a Similar Extent in C57BL/6 and hAPP23+/− Mice","authors":"Jhana O. Hendrickx, E. Calus, Peter Paul De Deyn, D. Van Dam, G. D. De Meyer","doi":"10.3390/ijtm3040036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm3040036","url":null,"abstract":"Due to global population growth, age-related disorders like cardiovascular disease and dementia are anticipated to increase. Recent data suggests a connection between cardiovascular disease and neurodegeneration, especially focusing on arterial stiffness (AS) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In light of this, we conducted a study to explore the impact of long-term nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoform inhibition, which leads to AS, on neurobehavioral performance. We also compared these effects in an AD model and control mice. C57BL/6 and hAPP23+/− mice (an established AD model) were given 0.5 mg/mL N(G)-Nitro-L-Arginine Methyl Ester (L-NAME) in their drinking water for 16 weeks. Our findings indicate that chronic non-selective NOS inhibition increased AS and reduced spatiotemporal learning and memory in both C57BL/6 and hAPP23+/− mice. These effects were consistent across both groups, emphasizing the role of neuronal NOS (nNOS) in cognitive aging, regardless of genetic predisposition to AD.","PeriodicalId":505042,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Translational Medicine","volume":"46 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139179341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Influence of the Core Branching Density on Drug Release from Arborescent Poly(γ-benzyl L-glutamate) End-Grafted with Poly(ethylene oxide)","authors":"Mosa H. Alsehli, Mario Gauthier","doi":"10.3390/ijtm3040035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm3040035","url":null,"abstract":"Amphiphilic dendritic copolymers of arborescent poly(γ-benzyl L-glutamate) (PBG) of generations G1 and G2, grafted at their chain ends with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) segments (PBG-eg-PEO) were synthesized, characterized, and evaluated as nanocarriers for doxorubicin (DOX). The copolymers were designed with hydrophobic PBG cores having three different branching densities and were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements revealed that these amphiphilic molecules behaved like unimolecular micelles without significant aggregation in aqueous media such as phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), with diameters in the 13–29 nm range depending on the generation number and the core structure. Efficient encapsulation of DOX by these unimolecular micelles was demonstrated with drug loading capacities of up to 11.2 wt%, drug loading efficiencies of up to 67%, and pH-responsive sustained drug release, as determined by UV spectroscopy. The generation number of the copolymers and the branching density of the dendritic PBG core were found to have influenced the encapsulation and release properties of the micelles. Given the tailorable characteristics, good water dispersibility, and biocompatibility of the components used to synthesize the amphiphilic arborescent copolymers, these systems should be useful as robust nanocarriers for a broad range of therapeutic and diagnostic agents.","PeriodicalId":505042,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Translational Medicine","volume":"43 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139182636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inhibition of Spontaneous Hepatocarcinogenesis by 4,5-Didehydrogeranylgeranoic Acid: Effects of Small-Dose and Infrequent Administration","authors":"Masahide Omori, Yoshihiro Shidoji, Hisataka Moriwaki","doi":"10.3390/ijtm3040034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm3040034","url":null,"abstract":"Inhibitory effects of 4,5-didehydrogeranylgeranoic acid (dGGA) on the development of tumors were investigated in spontaneous hepatoma mice, C3H/HeNCrj. Experiment 1: Male mice at 8 weeks of age were raised on a basal diet, and then provided with a diet containing 0.02% dGGA from 32 to 91 weeks of age. Experiment 2: dGGA was administered to the animals only once at different time points, from 2 months to 17 months after birth, respectively. Experiment 3: dGGA was administered twice to the mice at different time points: at 5 months and 11 months, and at 8 months and 11 months, respectively. When the inhibitory effects on tumor development were evaluated with the incidences of tumors, average numbers, and weight of tumors per mouse, there was a marked relationship between the time of single or dual dosing and the inhibitory effects of dGGA. The greatest inhibitory effects were observed in Experiment 3 in the group of animals given dGGA at the ages of 8 and 11 months, which were far superior to the results with a large dose of the compounds for a long time. These results might indicate that dGGA administered at the right time in the right amount effectively prevents the development of cancer.","PeriodicalId":505042,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Translational Medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139220439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}