Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. Due to the limited regenerative capacity of the adult heart, treatments based on human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have become the focus of a great deal of research. Human pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) can provide an ideal cell source for CVD model construction, cardiac tissue repair, and drug cardiotoxicology research. However, the immaturity of hPSC-CMs seriously restricts its clinical application. The maturation of cardiomyocytes depends on the orderly arrangement of myofilaments and the increase of the expression of connexin, so the geometric regulation of bioengineering substrate is one of the keys to the maturation of engineered myocardial tissue. This review focuses on the key indicators of anisotropic structures provided by biomaterials to improve the maturation characteristics of cardiomyocytes, so as to promote the maturation of cardiomyocytes, and looks forward to the development direction in this field.

Previous studies have shown the potent anti-tumor effect of paeonol, a natural compound extracted from traditional Chinese herb medicine. However, the therapeutic effect and underlying mechanisms of paeonol in melanoma are largely unknown. Two melanoma cell lines (M14 and A375) were cultured in the presence of paeonol. Cell proliferation was determined by colony formation and cell-counting kit 8 assays. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were performed to detect mRNA and protein expression, respectively. Paeonol treatment significantly inhibited the colony formation and proliferation of melanoma cells by enhancing the expression of the well-characterized tumor suppressor microRNA (miR)-143. Block of miR-143 diminished the inhibitory effects of paeonol on cell growth. miR-143 directly bound to Wnt family member 5B (WNT5B) gene. Paeonol therefore down-regulated WNT5B expression through miR-143. Moreover, paeonol suppressed melanoma growth in vivo. Our study reveals that paeonol effectively suppresses melanoma cell growth both in vitro and in vivo through miR-143/WNT5B axis, which shows potential for the treatment of melanoma.

Background: The main constituent of fennel, anethole, exerts beneficial effects in many diseases, including antiproliferative and tumoricidal capacities. This study aimed to investigate the effect of anethole on the human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line, A549, and the related molecular mechanisms.
 Methods: The proliferation was assessed by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and colony formation assays. Apoptosis situation was determined using fluorescence-activated cell sorting and DNA fragmentation assay combined with immunoblotting assay probing-related protein expression. Phosphoinositide 3-kinases-protein kinase B (PI3K-AKT) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling proteins were evaluated using immunoblotting. Xenograft model was constructed to determine the tumor volume and weight and to evaluate the expression of Ki67 via immunohistochemistry and cleaved caspase 3 via immunoblotting.
 Results: Anethole inhibited proliferation and clonal growth of A549 cells. The promotion of A549 cell apoptosis by anethole was evidenced by increased apoptotic ratio, abundant DNA fragments, and caspase-3 activation. Key proteins in PI3K-AKT and STAT3 signaling pathways were decreased in anethole group. Additionally, xenografted tumors in anethole group retarded with decreased Ki67 and increased cleaved caspase 3 expression.
 Conclusions: Anethole induced tumor cell apoptosis and retarded cell proliferation. AKT and STAT3 signaling pathways might be involved in the effects of anethole. Our findings highlight the feasibility of anethole in the treatment of lung cancer.

Background: Due to the excellent reliable traceability and superparamagnetic properties, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs) are widely used for the applications in the field of biomedicine, including tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, the regulation of SPIOs on the gene expressions in the stem cells is not clear.
 Methods: In this study, by RNA-Seq analysis, we analyzed the gene expression pattern in the neural stem cells (NSCs) treated with SPIOs in the presence or absence of static magnetic field (SMF).
 Results: It was found that SPIOs with SMF regulated more gene expression in NSCs, while most of these genes have been previously reported to play a crucial role in NSCs fate decision.
 Conclusions: Our findings reveal the ability of SPIOs and SMF in the regulation of gene expression in NSCs, which may provide an experimental basis for its applications.

It is widely reported that microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) play critical roles in the occurrence and development of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). Here, we aimed to explore the biological role of miR-874 and its underlying mechanisms in PPCM. To this purpose, a mouse model of PPCM was established through cardiac-specific overexpression of Gαq. Transthoracic echocardiography and left ventricular catheterization were used to examine the cardiac functions and hemodynamics. Apoptosis of the cardiomyocytes was determined by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay. The direct interaction between miR‐874 and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was confirmed by luciferase assay. The expression of apoptosis-related genes and proteins was evaluated by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively. The results demonstrated that miR-874 inhibition significantly increased the survival and cardiac functions of pregnant Gαq transgenic mice. In addition, miR-874 inhibitor ameliorated cardiomyocyte apoptosis, downregulated both mRNA and protein levels of Bax, while upregulated those of Bcl-2. Further, STAT3 was found to be a direct target of miR-874. In addition, miR-874 inhibition increased the expression of STAT3 and janus kinase 2. In summary, miR-874 inhibition could improve cardiac functions and suppress cardiomyocyte apoptosis by targeting STAT3 during PPCM in Gαq transgenic mice.

Chrysanthemum is a widely planted cash crop worldwide, due to its high ornamental and medicinal values. In addition, as a frequently used material in traditional Chinese medicine, studies have revealed that chrysanthemum extracts are complicated mixtures of flavonoids, volatile oils, organic acids, polysaccharides and other minor components, which possess pharmacological effects against many pathological conditions such as toxin-induced cell loss, bacterial infection-induced inflammation, reactive oxygen species-induced oxidative stress and tumor formation induced by various stimuli. In this mini review, we collected and summarized the current understanding on the composition and pharmacology of chrysanthemum extracts originally published in both Chinese and English, and aimed to broaden the readership, in order to build up the basis for eliciting more valuable investigations in this topic.

Background: Ischemic stroke is the most common cause of ischemia-related death globally. Brain injuries due to stroke and trauma are typically followed by inflammation reactions within the central nervous system (CNS). Neural stem cell (NSC)-based therapeutic strategies show great potential for treating stroke and ischemia-mediated brain injuries, and migration of NSCs is a critical step involved in NSC-based therapy.
 Methods: In order to examine the effects of microglial activation upon ischemia and stroke on NSC behaviors, oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) in vitro model was established for mimicking in vivo stroke and ischemia pathological conditions in this study. By combining of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, migration assay, Western blot and immunostaining, we found that OGD insult induced microglial activation by releasing cytokines and chemokines.
 Results: The conditioned media (CM) of OGD-treated groups impaired the proliferation and capability of neurosphere formation. Moreover, we found the stromal cell-derived factor 1α/CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) pathway was an active player that facilitated the migration of NSCs, since a CXCR4 specific antagonist AMD3100 was able to impair NSC migration both in vitro and in vivo.
 Conclusion: The current study presents a potential interaction between NSC behaviors and microglial activation underlying brain injuries, such as ischemia and stroke. More importantly, we reveal the underlying mechanisms of microglia-induced NSC migration under OGD conditions and it should be beneficial to stem cell-based therapies to treat acute brain injuries.

Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) technology is the pinnacle of modern immunology, system biology, synthetic biology and cellular engineering. It is the powerful new player of cancer therapy since the concept of adoptive cell therapy. Clinical success of CAR-T cells targeting antigen unique to B cell leukemia has made it the focus of new development in cancer therapy. The latest success is reported in a clinical case of using CAR-T cells to treat pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, the major challenges are to make CAR-T cells a reliable, controllable, safe and effective platform that could apply to diverse cancer types including solid tumors. In this review we summarize the recent research progress to tackle the challenges and discuss the broader application of CAR-T cells beyond cancer in the context of genome editing era.

In the absence of external stimuli, the nervous system exhibits a spontaneous electrical activity whose functions are not fully understood, and that represents the background noise of brain operations. Spontaneous activity has been proven to arise not only in vivo, but in in vitro neuronal networks as well, following some stereotypical patterns that reproduce the time course of development of the mammalian nervous system. This review provides an overview of in vitro models for the study of spontaneous network activity, discussing their ability to reproduce in vivo - like dynamics and the main findings obtained with each particular model. While explanted brain slices are able to reproduce the neuronal oscillations typically observed in anaesthetized animals, dissociated cultures allow the use of patient-derived neurons and limit the number of animals used for sample preparation.