International Journal of Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Research
Volume:8 Issue: 4, Oct 2014

There are limited reports about selenium status in major thalassemia patients. The aim of this study is evaluation of selenium status in patients with major thalassemia south east of Iran with large sample size and wide range of age. This study compared selenium status with other sites of the world. In this study 369 cases that had major thalassemia for more than 5 years were enrolled in the study. Selenium level was measured in all eligible patients after 12 hours fasting by graphite enstrum furnace atomic absorption spectrometry in south east of Iran in 2012. Of 369 cases, 333 eligible patients were evaluated. Mean age was 15.63±7.4 years. One hundred ninety two cases were male and others were female (141 Cases). About 27% (90) of the cases were 5-10 years-old, 24 % (80) were 10-15 years-old and 49% were more than 15 years-old. Iron chelator in 62.2% was Dessferrioxamine, in 15.5% was Deferiprone and in 22.3% was combination of Dessferioxamine and Deferiprone. Totally 85 cases (25.52%) had Selenium deficiency, 35.43% (118 cases) had normal levels and 39 %(130 cases) had selenium excess. Our study on 333 major thalassemia cases documented variable status of selenium from deficiency to higher than normal levels. It was different with other reports in the world.

Thrombophilia is a pathological state of increased blood coagulability. It causes problems during pregnancy including preeclampsia, stillbirth, repeated abortions, and detached pair. Out of the most prevalent factors causing inherited thrombophilia, protein S (Prs), protein C (Prc), and antithrombin III (ATIII) deficiency, and Factor V Leiden (FVL) mutation could be mentioned. This study aimed to investigate association of these parameters with preeclampsia. In this case-control study, 142 pregnant women with preeclampsia referred to Obstetric Clinic of Hajar Hospital, southwest of Iran, were assigned to the case group after clinical laboratory tests and according to specialist point of view and 142 pregnant women with normal blood pressure were assigned to the control group. After obtaining consent and completing relevant questionnaire, a 4-cc blood sample was taken from the patients. Coagulation factors and FVL rate were measured and after 6 months patients were followed- up. Data analysis was done by SPSS software using t-test. In view of deficiency of Prs, Prc, and ATIII, no statistically significant association was observed between case and control groups (P>0.05). Statistical t-test indicated that the rate of FVL deficiency in pregnant patients with preeclampsia was significantly different from that in the control group (p=0.03). In addition, the body mass index of case group was significantly higher than that of control group prior to pregnancy (P=0.001). In case group, preeclampsia history contributed to development of current preeclampsia in contrast to control group (p<0.001). The patients of case group were followed up after 6 months in view of blood pressure and all had a normal mean blood pressure at the completion of the study. Measurement of FVL deficiency could help to decrease the unpleasant complications of vascular disorders during pregnancy. But, screening test for pre-eclampsia does not seem necessary to determine the deficiency of coagulation factors, Prs, Prc, and ATIII.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are one of the undifferentiated multipotential cell sources of human body. MSCs have the capacity to form a variety of cell types, especially chondrocytes and osteocytes. Learning about responses of MSCs to external milieu and chemical factors such as pH could recommend new approaches for preparation of suitable scaffolds for bone and cartilage tissue engineering. In present study, the effect of alkaline medium on chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation of rat MSCs was evaluated MSCs were harvested from bone marrow of animals and then the response of passage1 and 2 of MSCs (P1 MSCs & P2 MSCs) to the culture in alkaline medium (pH: 8) was evaluated. Cytochemical and immunocytochemical staining were performed to distinguish chondrocytes and osteocytes. Real-time PCR was performed to evaluate the type II collagen and osteopontin mRNA levels. Staining for type II collagen, a chondrocytic specific marker, revealed that after one-week culture in alkaline medium, a considerable amount of P1 MSCs had shown chondrocytic morphology. By prolonging the culture period up to 4 weeks, osteogenic cells with expanded matrix and mineralized areas around them were appeared. Results of real-time PCR showed that P1 MSCs after one week culture in alkaline medium expressed highest rate of type II collagen and osteopontin mRNA among all groups. This study demonstrated that alkaline medium is a potent chondrogenic differentiation inducer for MSCs in their first passage

The use of stem cells is considered as an appropriate source in cell therapy and tissue engineering. Differentiation of human induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs) to Hepatocyte-like Cells (HLCs) on mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) feeders is confronted with several problems that hinder the clinical applications of these differentiated cells for the treatment of liver injuries. Safe appropriate cells for stem cell-based therapies could create new hopes for liver diseases. This work focused on the determination of a capacity/efficiency for the differentiation of the hiPSCs into Hepatocyte-like Cells on a novel human adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) feeder. Undifferentiated human iPSCs were cultured on mitotically inactivated human adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. A three-step differentiation process has been performed in presence of activin A which added for 3 days to induce a definitive endoderm formation. In the second step, medium was exchanged for six days. Subsequently, cells were treated with oncostatin M plus dexamethasone for 9 days to generate hepatic cells. Endodermic and liver-specific genes were assessed via quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and RT-PCR, moreover, immunocytochemical staining for liver proteins including albumin and alpha-fetoprotein. In addition, functional tests for glycogen storage, oil red examination, urea production and alpha-fetoprotein synthesis, as well as, cells differentiated with a hepatocyte-like morphology was also performed. Our results show that inactivated human adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell feeders could support the efficient differentiation of hiPSCs into HLCs. This process induced differentiation of iPSCs into definitive endocrine cells that expressed sox17, foxa2 and expression of the specific genes profiles in hepatic-like cells. In addition, immunocytochemical analysis confirmed albumin and alpha-fetoprotein protein expression, as well as, the hiPSCs-derived Hepatocyte-like Cells on human feeder exhibited a typical morphology. we suggested a successful and efficient culture for differentiation and maturation of hepatocytes on an alternative human feeders; this is an important step to generate safe and functional hepatocytes that is vital for regenerative medicine and transplantation on the cell-based therapies.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a potentially curative treatment modality for hematological malignancies. We evaluated the outcome of patients suffering from hematological malignancies، including acute leukemias، chronic myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome after allogeneic transplantation. All patients having hematological malignancies with HLA identical sibling donors who underwent allogeneic transplantation were included. Pre-transplant workup consisted of complete blood counts، evaluation of liver، kidneys، lungs، infectious profile، chest x-ray، paranasal sinus roentgenograms and dental review. Donors were given G-CSF at a dose of 5-10 μg/kg/twice daily for five days prior to harvest. The conditioning regimens included cyclophosphamide، busulfan and total body irradiation. A total of 41 allogeneic transplants were performed for hematological malignancies from April 2004 to December 2012. There were 31 males and 10 females. Median age ± SD was 28 ± 11. 7 years (range 8 – 54 years). A mean of 7. 7x108±1. 5 mononuclear cells/kg were infused (range: 6. 2-9. 2x108/kg). The median time to white cell recovery was 19±4 days (range: 15-23 days). Transplant related mortality was 19. 5%. The median overall survival was 53. 6 months. Overall survival at a median follow up of 37 months was 67%. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is an effective treatment option in patients with hematological malignancies. Our outcomes are comparable with results from neighboring countries as well as the western world.

Osteoprotegerin (OPG), a soluble decoy receptor secreted by osteoblasts, binds RANK-L, preventing stimulation of osteoclastogenesis. In the present study we aimed to investigate the impact of OPG variants and susceptibility to childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in a sample of Iranian population. This case-control study was done on 98 ALL and 124 healthy children. We genotyped the polymorphisms using tetra-primer ARMS-PCR (T-ARMS-PCR). Our findings showed that neither rs3102735 nor rs2073617 variants were associated with ALL in a sample of Iranian population. Concerning rs3102735 polymorphism, the age of ALL predispositions was significantly higher in TC+CC genotype than TT genotype (P=0.032). Furthermore, the CSF involvement was significantly higher in ALL subjects carrying TC+CC genotype (p=0.044). We found no association between OPG (rs3102735, rs2073617) gene polymorphisms and risk of childhood ALL. Further studies with larger sample sizes and various ethnicities are necessary to verify our findings.

A 45-year-old female patient with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis complicated with composite lymphoma in the spleen and para-aortic lymph node presented with a one-month history of malaise, weakness and fatigue. Only mesalamine kept ulcerative colitis under control. In physical examination, splenomegaly was revealed and pancytopenia was obtained from laboratory data. Computed tomography scan revealed para-aortic mediastinal lymphadenopathy with splenomegaly. Splenectomy and excisional biopsy of abdominal lymph node were performed and disease was diagnosed as composite lymphoma, consisting of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and nodular sclerosing Hodgkin lymphoma.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are the most common leukemias of the elderly (>43 year). However, the sequential occurrence of CML followed by CLL in the same patient is extremely rare. In our report, a 52-year-old female was diagnosed with CLL (type of bone marrow (BM) infiltration was nodular and interstitial) and was treated with chlorambucil. 64 months after the diagnosis of CLL, she developed CML. She was treated with imatinib (400mg/day). After a few months, signs of CML were disappeared and CLL became dominant. This is first reported case.