This review portrays the living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) scenario in Asia with emphasis on the role played by Taiwan in meeting the objective of offering LDLT as a life-saving procedure in the treatment of end-stage liver disease. In the West, although LDLT has been offered as a solution to overcome the shortage of organs, in the East, liver transplantation is synonymous with LDLT. Endemic hepatitis B and C viral infections remain the most common indication for transplantation in the East. LDLT helps to leverage maximum benefits in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma by a reduction in waiting time mortality and offering scope for adopting more liberal acceptance criteria. Although several challenges unique to this specialty have been faced time and again, there is no denying that LDLT has offered comparable or even better results than that of deceased donor liver transplantation. Minimizing donor risk and ensuring safe donor surgery should be the objective instead of tunnel vision on benefits to the recipient.
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Human aging is associated with a vast array of clinical disorders that all relate to the body’s inability to maintain homeostasis. In our bodies, the healing process requires tight control of the acute inflammatory response. When the levels of inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and C-reactive protein are elevated, there is a direct correlation with several chronic diseases of aging such as cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, and physical disability. Extensive studies have shown strong evidence that elevated levels of these pro-inflammatory mediators may predict disease and disability in the aging population. As there is no cure for aging, a key question is how to modulate the effects of inflammation on aging and how to maintain healthy aging. Stem cells offer alternative approaches for treating various diseases/disorders. The use of stem cells as immune system modulators has shown tremendous promise. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have specific immunomodulatory properties that may help control inflammation. Several animal studies demonstrate that intravenous infusions of MSCs can decrease the pro-inflammatory response while increasing the anti-inflammatory response. Moreover, human clinical studies using MSCs in autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases have demonstrated modulation of the inflammatory response. Therefore, the use of stem cells as anti-aging therapies may offer many an alternative method of slowing down or deterring several of the detrimental aspects of aging.
Cutaneous wounds represent a significant healthcare problem despite our increasing understanding of the molecular and cellular events governing this process. A major contributor to this problem is the lack of reliable therapies for the treatment of “hard-to-heal” wounds. Tissue engineering with the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as a promising therapeutic tool with favorable early experimental and clinical results. This manuscript aims to provide an overview of the available approaches to up-regulate the cutaneous wound response with the use of MSCs.
As the fastest self-regenerating organ, the intestinal epithelium serves primarily to absorb nutrients and minerals, while its other distinct functional characteristics include the capacity to proliferate and replicate many lineage precursors. Currently, in vitro studies using small intestine cells are hindered by the lack of a standard cell culture model. Here, we characterize primary human prenatal small intestine epithelial cells (HPIEC). The data demonstrate that HPIEC express markers indicative of stem cells (NOTCH1, SOX9, OLFM4, LGR5), epithelial cells (CK18, CDH1), and immunological and entero-endocrinal cells (DEFA5, GPR-120, GLP-1). More importantly, HPIEC are shown to secrete GLP-1 and lysozyme, and express sucrase–isomaltase, maltase–glucoamylase, and drug transport function that is cyclosporin A repressible, which demonstrates functionality. These data indicate that HPIEC are a heterogeneous cell population that contains stem cells and epithelial cells that may be valuable for various functional, developmental, and pharmacologic studies.
