Stem cells
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Conventional methods for regulating the differentiation of stem cells are largely based on the use of biological agents such as growth factors. We hypothesize that stem cell differentiation could be driven by specific synthetic molecules. If true, this would offer the possibility of screening chemical libraries to develop pharmacological agents with improved efficacy. ⋯ When mesenchymal cells were seeded on to polyglycolic acid scaffolds and cultured with LE135, there was a dose-dependent formation of cartilage, demonstrated both histologically and by biochemical analysis of the collagen component of the extracellular matrix. These results demonstrate the feasibility of a pharmacological approach to the regulation of stem cell function. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
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Although chronic wounds are common, treatment for these disabling conditions remains limited and largely ineffective. In this study, we examined the benefit of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) in wound healing. Using an excisional wound splinting model, we showed that injection around the wound and application to the wound bed of green fluorescence protein (GFP)(+) allogeneic BM-MSCs significantly enhanced wound healing in normal and diabetic mice compared with that of allogeneic neonatal dermal fibroblasts or vehicle control medium. ⋯ Real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis revealed high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and angiopoietin-1 in BM-MSCs and significantly greater amounts of the proteins in BM-MSC-treated wounds. Thus, our data suggest that BM-MSCs promote wound healing through differentiation and release of proangiogenic factors. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.