1. Post-radiation xerostomia therapy with allogeneic mesenchymal stromal stem cells in patients with head and neck cancer : study protocol for phase I clinical trialPrimož Strojan, Gaber Plavc, Marko Kokalj, Goran Mitrović, Olga Blatnik, Luka Ležaič, Aljaž Sočan, Aljoša Bavec, Nataša Tešić, Katrina Pretnar-Hartman, Urban Švajger, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Background: Xerostomia is a common side effect of radiotherapy in patients with head and neck tumors that negatively affects quality of life. There is no known effective standard treatment for xerostomia. Here, we present the study protocol used to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of allogeneic mesenchymal stromal stem cells (MSCs) derived from umbilical cord tissue. Methods: Ten oropharyngeal cancer patients with post-radiation xerostomia and no evidence of disease recurrence 2 or more years after (chemo)irradiation (intervention group) and 10 healthy volunteers (control group) will be enrolled in this nonrandomized, open-label, phase I exploratory study. MSCs from umbilical cord tissue will be inserted under ultrasound guidance into both parotid glands and both submandibular glands of the patients. Toxicity of the procedure will be assessed according to CTCAE v5.0 criteria at days 0, 1, 5, 28, and 120. Efficacy will be assessed by measuring salivary flow and analyzing its composition, scintigraphic evaluation of MSC grafting, retention, and migration, and questionnaires measuring subjective xerostomia and quality of life. In addition, the radiological, functional, and morphological characteristics of the salivary tissue will be assessed before, at 4 weeks, and at 4 months after the procedure. In the control group subjects, only salivary flow rate and salivary composition will be determined. Discussion: The use of allogeneic MSCs from umbilical cord tissue represents an innovative approach for the treatment of xerostomia after radiation. Due to the noninvasive collection procedure, flexibility of cryobanking, and biological advantages, xerostomia therapy using allogeneic MSCs from umbilical cord tissue may have an advantage over other similar therapies. Keywords: oropharyngeal cancer, xerostomia, mesenchymal stromal stem cells Published in DiRROS: 26.07.2024; Views: 281; Downloads: 126
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2. Fast assay to predict multipotent mesenchymal stromal cell replicative senescence dynamicsKatja Kološa, Aleš Leskovšek, Teja Rajar, Tamara Lah Turnšek, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: The major obstacle to the application of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in regenerative medicine is the expansion of the donor-derived cells in vitro to obtain high cell numbers in the shortest possible time. However, MSCs gradually undergo replicative senescence after a variable number of divisions that reduce their therapeutic efficacy, which needs to be determined before administration. The authors developed a fast and simple evaluation assay testing two senescence inducers, mitoxantrone (Mxt) and trichostatin A (TSA), to predict the onset of spontaneous replicative senescence of adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ASCs) and have confirmed the correlation between induced senescence and spontaneous replicative senescence in the assay using Mxt. This protocol facilitates the standardization of therapeutic ASCs and MSCs from other origins before application. Keywords: adipose mesenchymal stromal (stem) cells (ASCs), cell longevity, induced senescence, mesenchymal stromal (stem) cells (MSCs), mitoxantrone, replicative senescence, trichostatin A Published in DiRROS: 16.07.2024; Views: 105; Downloads: 59
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