Research Progress on Human Endometrium Decidualization In vitro Cell Models

Decidualization is a special type of differentiation of endometrial stromal cells into secretory decidualized cells,which is closely related to the occurrence of menstruation and establishment of pregnancy.Decidualization abnormalities can cause female infertility and abortion,and the decidualization modelin vitro is an important tool for studying relevant mechanisms.This article summarizes severalin vitro decidualization models in recent research from three aspects,including the selection of model cells and culture systems,evaluation of decidualization markers,and induction schemes.These models can be appropriately selected and applied in specific endometrium-related disease models,such as endometriosis,recurrent pregnancy loss,and preeclampsia.

Human induced pluripotent stem cell based in vitro models of the blood-brain barrier： the future standard？

There is an urgent and tremendous need for human dis- ease models in drug development in order to improve pre- clinical predictability. In the case of brain disorders drugs have to cross the blood-brain barrier （BBB） to enter the central nervous system （CNS）. It was estimated that more than 95% of the drugs cannot cross the BBB.

Suitability and limitations of mesenchymal stem cells to elucidate human bone illness

Functional impairment of mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs),osteoblast progenitor cells,has been proposed to be a pathological mechanism contributing to bone disorders,such as osteoporosis(the most common bone disease)and other rare inherited skeletal dysplasias.Pathological bone loss can be caused not only by an enhanced bone resorption activity but also by hampered osteogenic differentiation of MSCs.The majority of the current treatment options counteract bone loss,and therefore bone fragility by blocking bone resorption.These socalled antiresorptive treatments,in spite of being effective at reducing fracture risk,cannot be administered for extended periods due to security concerns.Therefore,there is a real need to develop osteoanabolic therapies to promote bone formation.Human MSCs emerge as a suitable tool to study the etiology of bone disorders at the cellular level as well as to be used for cell therapy purposes for bone diseases.This review will focus on the most relevant findings using human MSCs as an in vitro cell model to unravel pathological bone mechanisms and the application and outcomes of human MSCs in cell therapy clinical trials for bone disease.

Determination of the Bioaccessibility of Cadmium in Golden Thread by Physiologically Based Extraction Test Digestion Using the in vitro/Caco2 Cell Model and Subsequent Risk Assessment

Background:The ingestion of golden thread contaminated with heavy metals through the food chain leads to detrimental effects to human health.During digestion,not all of the heavy metals could be released to the gastrointestinal tract and readily to be absorbed by human body.Thus,bioaccessibility is an important issue in health risk assessments.Aims and Objectives:The aims and objectives of this study were to investigate the bioaccessibility of Cd in golden thread and assess the associated health risks based on the exposure to bioaccessible Cd.Materials and Methods:Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS)has been applied to determine the Cd content in golden thread.Physiologically based extraction test(PBET)digestion was performed in the in vitro/Caco2 cell model to investigate the bioaccessibility of Cd in golden thread.Furthermore,the target hazard quotient(THQ)was used to assess the risks of the total and the bioaccessible content of Cd in golden thread.Results:The results revealed that the total Cd content in six batches of golden thread ranged from 3.203 to 5.723 mg/kg.After uptake by Caco2 cells,the bioaccessibility of Cd ranged from 42.36%to 59.73%.The results of the risk assessment indicated that prior to uptake by Caco2 cells,the THQ values of Cd for all batches of golden thread were greater than 1.However,after uptake by Caco2 cells,the THQ values of Cd in all samples were less than 1,thus suggesting that the risks were at a safe level.Conclusion:This study was the first to perform health risk assessment with bioaccessible heavy metals present in traditional Chinese medicine by PBET digestion using an in vitro/Caco2 cell model,thus enabling us to obtain more accurate and objective results while allowing us to avoid unnecessary government intervention and to establish more reasonable limit standards for heavy metals.