• Journal of mucopolysaccharidosis and rare diseases
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 2017

Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are a group of rare inherited metabolic disorders caused by the deficiency of specific lysosomal enzymes and subsequent accumulation of substrates. Enzyme deficiency leads to progressive intra-lysosomal accumulation of the incompletely degraded substances, which cause dysfunction and destruction of the cell and eventually multiple organ damage. Patients have a broad spectrum of clinical phenotypes which are generally not specific for some LSDs, leading to missed or delayed diagnosis. Due to the availability of treatment including enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for some LSDs, early diagnosis is important. ERT products have been approved with optimal outcomes for some LSDs in the recent decades, including Gaucher, Fabry, mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) I, Pompe, MPS VI, MPS II, and MPS IVA diseases. ERT can stabilize the clinical condition, prevent disease progression, and improve the long-term outcome of these diseases, especially if started prior to irreversible organ damage. Based on the availability of therapy and suitable screening methods in the recent years, some LSDs, including Pompe, Fabry, Gaucher, MPS I, MPS II, and MPS VI diseases have been incorporated into nationwide newborn screening panels in Taiwan.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2019

With the progress of regenerative medicine, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have received attention as a way to restore ovarian function. It has been reported that MSCs derived from bone marrow, adipose, umbilical cord blood, menstrual blood, and amniotic fluid improved ovarian function. In light of previous studies and advances in this field, there are increased expectations regarding the utilization of MSCs to restore ovarian function. This review summarizes recent research into potential applications of MSCs in women with infertility or primary ovarian insufficiency, including cases where these conditions are induced by anticancer therapy.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.786-789
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• 2010

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are generated by epigenetic reprogramming of somatic cells through the exogenous expression of transcription factors. Recently, the generation of iPS cells from patients with a variety of genetic diseases was found to likely have a major impact on regenerative medicine, because these cells self-renew indefinitely in culture while retaining the capacity to differentiate into any cell type in the body, thereby enabling disease investigation and drug development. This review focuses on the current state of iPS cell technology and discusses the potential applications of these cells for disease modeling; drug discovery; and eventually, cell replacement therapy.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.256-265
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• 2015

Cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases are major health threats in many developed countries. Recently, target tissues derived from human embryonic stem (hES) cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), such as cardiomyocytes (CMs) or neurons, have been actively mobilized for drug screening. Knowledge of drug toxicity and efficacy obtained using stem cell-derived tissues could parallel that obtained from human trials. Furthermore, iPSC disease models could be advantageous in the development of personalized medicine in various parts of disease sectors. To obtain the maximum benefit from iPSCs in disease modeling, researchers are now focusing on aging, maturation, and metabolism to recapitulate the pathological features seen in patients. Compared to pediatric disease modeling, adult-onset disease modeling with iPSCs requires proper maturation for full manifestation of pathological features. Herein, the success of iPSC technology, focusing on patient-specific drug treatment, maturation-based disease modeling, and alternative approaches to compensate for the current limitations of patient iPSC modeling, will be further discussed. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(5): 256-265]

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.275-275
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• 2004

To evaluate the potential of the stem cell therapy as a method for prenatal management of spinal open neural tube defect (ONTD), the influence of embryonic stem cells injected into the amniotic cavity on the re-closure capacity of spinal ONTD was investgated. Spinal neural tube was incised open for a length of 6 somites using chick embryos of Hamburger and Hamilton stage 18 or 19. (omitted)

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.58-61
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• 2024

Three different dogs who had immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) were treated for more than two weeks with blood transfusion in an animal clinic. Despite this treatment and hospitalization, there was no clinical improvement in clinical signs as well as complete blood cell count (CBC) including hematocrit (HCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP). All cases were then injected two or three times with allogeneic stem cells through an intravenous route for treatment. Upon administrating stem cells to the IMHA dogs, clinical conditions and the indexes of HCT and CRP were clinically improved within or close to normal ranges.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.7.1-7.13
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• 2021

Background: Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) is caused by the mutation of NPC genes, which leads to the abnormal accumulation of unesterified cholesterol and glycolipids in lysosomes. This autosomal recessive disease is characterized by liver dysfunction, hepatosplenomegaly, and progressive neurodegeneration. Recently, the application of induced neural stem cells (iNSCs), converted from fibroblasts using specific transcription factors, to repair degenerated lesions has been considered a novel therapy. Objectives: The therapeutic effects on NPC by human iNSCs generated by our research group have not yet been studied in vivo; in this study, we investigate those effects. Methods: We used an NPC mouse model to efficiently evaluate the therapeutic effect of iNSCs, because neurodegeneration progress is rapid in NPC. In addition, application of human iNSCs from NPC patient-derived fibroblasts in an NPC model in vivo can give insight into the clinical usefulness of iNSC treatment. The iNSCs, generated from NPC patientderived fibroblasts using the SOX2 and HMGA2 reprogramming factors, were transplanted by intracerebral injection into NPC mice. Results: Transplantation of iNSCs showed positive results in survival and body weight change in vivo. Additionally, iNSC-treated mice showed improved learning and memory in behavior test results. Furthermore, through magnetic resonance imaging and histopathological assessments, we observed delayed neurodegeneration in NPC mouse brains. Conclusions: iNSCs converted from patient-derived fibroblasts can become another choice of treatment for neurodegenerative diseases such as NPC.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.177-183
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• 2009

Human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSCs) isolated from human adult bone marrow have self-renewal capacity and can differentiate into multiple cell types in vitro and in vivo. A number of studies have now demonstrated that MSCs can differentiate into various neuronal populations. Due to their autologous characteristics, replacement therapy using MSCs is considered to be safe and does not involve immunological complications. The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor Olig2 is necessary for the specification of both oligodendrocytes and motor neurons during vertebrate embryogenesis. To develop an efficient method for inducing neuronal differentiation from MSCs, we attempted to optimize the culture conditions and combination with Olig2 gene overexpression. We observed neuron-like morphological changes in the hMSCs under these induction conditions and examined neuronal marker expression in these cells by RTPCR and immunocytochemistry. Our data demonstrate that the combination of Olig2 overexpression and neuron-specific conditioned medium facilitates the neuronal differentiation of hMSCs in vitro. These results will advance the development of an efficient stem cell-mediated cell therapy for human neurodegenerative diseases.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.49-56
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• 2017

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 is one of the most effective growth factors to increase the growth rate of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Previously, we reported that low dose of FGF-2 (1 ng/ml) induced proliferation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) through AKT and ERK activation resulting in reduction of autophagy and senescence, but not at a high dose. In this study, we investigated the effects of high dose FGF-2 (10 ng/ml) on proliferation, autophagy and senescence of BMSCs for long term cultures (i.e., 2 months). FGF-2 increased the growth rate of BMSCs in a dose dependent manner for a short term (3 days), while during long term cultures (2 months), population doubling time was increased and accumulated cell number was lower than control in BMSCs when cultured with 10 ng/ml of FGF-2. 10 ng/ml of FGF-2 induced immediate de-phosphorylation of ERK1/2, expression of LC3-II, and increase of senescence associated ${\beta}$-galactosidase (SA-${\beta}$-Gal, senescence marker) expression. In conclusion, we showed that 10 ng/ml of FGF-2 was inadequate for ex vivo expansion of BMSCs because 10 ng/ml of FGF-2 induced growth retardation via ERK1/2 de-phosphorylation and induction of autophagy and senescence in BMSCs.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.519-524
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was conducted to establish the most effective method of cell therapy by comparing and analyzing the level of wound healing after various cell delivery methods. Methods: Human mesenchymal stem cells were administered using 5 different methods on full thickness skin defects which were deliberately created on the back of 4 - week old mice using a 8 mm punch. Different modes of administration, cell suspension, local injection, collagen GAG matrix seeding, fibrin, and hydrogel mix methods were used. In each experiment group, $4{\times}105$ mesenchymal stem cells were administered according to 5 deferent methods, and were not for the corresponding control group. Results: The wound healing rate was fastest in the local injection group. The wound healing rate was relatively slow in the collagen matrix group, however, the number of blood vessels or VEGF increased most in this group. Conclusion: For rapid wound healing through wound contraction, it is advantageous to administer MSC by the local injection method. For the healing process of a wide area, such as a burn, the seeding of cells to collagen matrix is thought to be effective.