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Abstract Background Endometriosis is associated with a wide variety of signs and symptoms and can lead to infertility, embryo death, and even miscarriage. Although the exact pathogenesis and etiology of endometriosis is still unclear, it has been shown that it has a chronic inflammatory nature and angiogenesis is also involved in it. Objective This review aims to explore the role of inflammation and angiogenesis in endometriosis and suggest a potential treatment targeting these pathways. Findings Among the pro‐inflammatory cytokines, studies have shown solid roles for interleukin 1β (IL‐β), IL‐6, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α) in the pathogenesis of this condition. Other than inflammation, angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from pre‐existing capillaries, is also involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Among angiogenic factors, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hypoxia‐inducible factor 1α (HIF‐1α), transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1), and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are more essential in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Interestingly, it has been shown that inflammation and angiogenesis share some similar pathways with each other that could be potentially targeted for treatment of diseases caused by these two processes. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non‐psychoactive member of cannabinoids which has well‐known and notable anti‐inflammatory and antiangiogenic properties. This agent has been shown to decrease IL‐1β, IL‐6, TNF‐α, VEGF, TGFβ, and MMPs in different animal models of diseases. Conclusion It seems that CBD could be a possible treatment for endometriosis due to its anti‐inflammatory and antiangiogenic activity, however, further studies are needed.

Abstract The current study aimed to investigate the effects of human placental mesenchymal stromal cell‐derived small extracellular vesicles (hPMSC‐sEVs) as a treatment for COVID‐19. This double‐blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted on two groups of patients with COVID‐19‐associated acute respiratory distress syndrome. After randomization, the control group received standard treatment and placebo, and the intervention arm received standard treatment plus hPMSC‐sEVs. The number of hospital deaths was considered the primary outcome. After meeting the exclusion and inclusion criteria, 21 and 24 patients were allocated to intervention and control arms, respectively. Besides admission SpO2 levels, which were significantly lower in the intervention arm (p = 0.008), all the baseline demo‐biographic and laboratory variables were similar between the groups. It was shown that hPMSC‐sEVs could significantly (p = 0.015) decrease the mortality ratio in the intervention group (4/21 [19.04%]) compared to the controls (13/24 [54.16%]). The mean time to death in the intervention and control groups was 28.06 and 11.10 days, respectively (p

Objective: The incidence of preterm delivery is much higher in twin pregnancies than in singletons and even higher if a short cervical length is detected in the second trimester. Studies are contradictory regarding the efficacy of a cervical pessary to decrease preterm birth in twin pregnancies and short cervical length. To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the efficacy of cervical pessary in prolonging gestation, preventing preterm birth, and reducing adverse neonatal outcomes in twin pregnancies with an asymptomatic short cervix. Data sources: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.org were searched for randomized controlled trials from inception to June 2023. Study eligibility criteria: In this study, randomized controlled trials comparing the cervical pessary to expectant management in the pregnant population with twin gestations and asymptomatic short cervix were included. Methods: The Cochrane risk-of-bias-2 tool for randomized controlled trials was used for the evaluation of the risk of bias in included studies. A meta-analysis was performed by calculating risk ratio and mean difference with their 95% confidence interval using the random effects model or fixed effect model on the basis of heterogeneity and accounting for potential covariates among the included randomized controlled trials. Results: A total of 6 randomized controlled trials were included in the analysis. Cervical pessary did not significantly increase the gestational age at delivery in twin pregnancies with asymptomatic patients (mean difference, 0.36 weeks [−0.27 to 0.99]; P=.270; I2=72.0%). Moreover, the cervical pessary use did not result in a reduction of spontaneous or all-preterm birth before 37 weeks of gestation (risk ratio, 0.88 [0.77–1.00]; P=.061; I2=0.0%). There was no statistically significant difference in the composite neonatal adverse outcomes (risk ratio, 1.001 [0.86–1.16]; P=.981; I2=20.9%), including early respiratory morbidity, intraventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, and confirmed sepsis. Conclusion: The use of cervical pessary in twin pregnancies with asymptomatic short cervix does not seem to be effective in increasing the gestational age at delivery, preventing preterm birth, or reducing adverse neonatal outcomes. This indicates that alternative interventions should be sought for the management of this patient population.

Background: COVID-19 now is a serious concern for the world healthcare system. This study aimed to investigate possible therapeutic effect of colchicine and phenolic monoterpenes accompanied by standard care of treatment (SCT) in patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Methods: In this randomized controlled parallel clinical trial, a total number of 179 (of 200) patients with confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The patients were allocated by simple randomization method into two groups control (receiving SCT with 71 patients) and intervention (receiving SCT plus colchicine and phenolic monoterpenes with 107 patients). The mortality ratio during hospitalization as well as a 2-week follow-up, ICU admission rate, and hospitalization duration were assessed as main outcomes. Results: The mortality ratio was 0.9% (1/108) and 8.45% (6/71) in the intervention and the control groups (p-value = 0.035) respectively, these ratios after a 14-day follow-up were 1.85% (2/108), and 9.85 (7/71) respectively (p-value = 0.031). Also, the ICU admission was significantly lower (p-value = 0.006) in the intervention group 2/108 (1.85%) compared with controls 10/71 (14.08%). Moreover, the duration of hospitalization followed a similar pattern to ICU admission with 4.17 ± 1.34 vs. 6.39 ± 2.59 days in the intervention and control groups respectively (p-value< 0.001). Furthermore, no significant side effect was found between the groups. Conclusion: According to the results, the combination of colchicine plus phenolic monoterpenes could be an additive treatment for the SCT. The authors strongly recommend further trials on this combination with other SCTs.

Abstract Background Among pathways involved in the pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), impaired endothelial cell (EC) function and angiogenesis have been discussed less frequently than others such as cytokine storm. These two do play parts in the development of various clinical manifestations of COVID-19 including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and the hyper-coagulation state. Methods This narrative review attempts to gather recent data on the possible potential of cannabidiol in the treatment of COVID-19 with an eye on angiogenesis and endothelial dysfunction. Keywords including cannabidiol AND angiogenesis OR endothelial cell as well as coronavirus disease 2019 OR COVID-19 AND angiogenesis OR endothelial dysfunction were searched among the databases of PubMed and Scopus. Results Cannabidiol (CBD), as a therapeutic phytocannabinoid, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for two types of seizures. Due to the potent anti-inflammatory properties of CBD, this compound has been suggested as a candidate treatment for COVID-19 in the literature. Although its potential effect on ECs dysfunction and pathologic angiogenesis in COVID-19 has been overlooked, other than cytokines like interleukin 1β (IL-β), IL-6, IL-8, and tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) that are common in inflammation and angiogenesis, CBD could affect other important factors related to ECs function and angiogenesis. Data shows that CBD could decrease pathologic angiogenesis via decreasing ECs proliferation, migration, and tube formation. These activities are achieved through the suppression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), MMP-9, intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). Moreover, in an animal model, ARDS and sepsis responded well to CBD treatment. Conclusion Altogether and considering the current use of CBD in the clinic, the conduction of further studies on CBD administration for patients with COVID-19 seems to be useful.

Introduction: Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide and affects a considerable number of individuals. Chemotherapy is one the most common treatment for this condition and hair loss is among one of the most prevalent side effects. In this study, we report successful treatment of a patient suffering from persistent chemotherapy-induced alopecia (PCIA) with extracellular enriched vesicles (EVs) derived from human placental mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). Case presentation: The patient was a 36-year-old woman with a history of invasive ductal carcinoma, underwent six courses of chemotherapy with paclitaxel and adriamycin. Following this treatment and for almost 18 months, she, unfortunately, had no regrowth of hair except some light vellus hairs on the scalp. She then received MSC-derived EVs with scalp injection (subcutaneous) every 4 weeks for 3 continuous months at which point she presented complete regrowth of terminal hair on her scalp. Conclusion: This report demonstrates that MSC-derived EVs could be a possible treatment for permanent chemotherapy-induced alopecia; however, further studies and trials are necessary.

Background: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a severe systemic sclerosis (SSc) complication with no current approved or golden standard treatment. This report aims to investigate the effectiveness of treatment with placental mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) extracellular vesicles (EVs) in a patient with ILD due to SSc. Case presentation: The patient was a 55-year-old woman with a ten years history of SSc complicated by severe ILD. Over time, her lung disease progressed to interstitial fibrosis despite being treated with mycophenolate mofetil and monthly pulses of cyclophosphamide. Thus, she was treated with eight doses of placenta MSC-EVs. Four weeks after the third dose (Day 31 after the first dose), she reported marked improvement in her clinical symptoms, such as dyspnea and cough. Also, chest computed tomography (CT) scans demonstrated a significant reduction in ground glass consolidations and fibrotic changes. The patient was subsequently followed for twelve months, with findings showing significant improvement in exercise tolerance and reduced supplemental oxygen need. Conclusion: In this single case, placental MSC-EVs were seen to provide a potentially efficient treatment for SSc-related ILD; however, further investigation and clinical trials are necessary.

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still is a global emergency. According to the studies, pregnant women are of the at risk populations and any underlying disease(s) might even worsen their condition. The aim of this study is reporting a complex case of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) during pregnancy who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 as well as suspicion of HELLP syndrome. Case presentation A 24-year-old woman with a platelet count of 6000/mL and resistance to conventional therapies was referred. A day after starting 0.5 g/day of methylprednisolone for her, fever and a decrease in SpO2 presented. According to the paraclinical investigations, COVID-19 was diagnosed and the conventional COVID-19 treatments started for her (the methylprednisolone pulse stopped). Due to the increased liver enzymes and low platelet count, with suspicion of HELLP syndrome, cesarean section surgery was performed which resulted in a healthy neonate. Then, the methylprednisolone pulse was restarted for and she developed an increase in the platelet count. Conclusion It is not clear how COVID-19 and pregnancy affected the patient’s condition and the underlying disease; however, it seems the delivery and/or restarting the methylprednisolone pulses caused improvement in her condition.

Background: It is a rare cardiac malignant primary tumor that seems to derive from the same cellular line as myxomas, but the prognosis is very different. It is a rare cardiac malignant primary tumor that seems to derive from the same cellular line as myxomas, but the prognosis is very different. It is a rare cardiac malignant primary tumor that seems to derive from the same cellular line as myxomas, but the prognosis is very different. Cardiac myxosarcoma is a rare neoplasm that appears to rise from the same cellular source like myxoma. It is difficult to differentiate a myxoma tumor from a myxosarcoma tumor because of its appearance and pathology examination. Myxosercoma tumor requires surgery and chemoradiotherapy, but myxoma is treated only by surgery. Case Presentation: We describe a case of a 58-year-old patient with a left atrium myxosarcoma, presenting with congestive heart failure. Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) showed a large polypoid and mobile mass in the left atrium, the patient underwent cardiac surgery and the tumor was successfully extracted, and histopathological result revealed typical features of myxoma. 15 days after surgery, he underwent explorative laparatomy because of progressive GI bleeding. Laparatomy revealed extensive metastatic masses in abdomen and the pathology diagnoses was myxosaroma. Unfortunately, in spite of supportive care, the patient expired on postoperative day one. Conclusion: It is difficult to differentiate a myxoma tumor from a myxosarcoma tumor because of its appearance and pathology examination. Maybe magnetic resonance imaging can help us to achieve more data suggesting malignancy.

Objectives: So far, various etiologies have been stated for Intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) with a wide variety of pathways involved in their pathogenesis. Among these pathways, impaired angiogenesis, inflammation, and oxidative stress are among the most important ones. Curcumin has raised notable attention due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity in different in-vitro studies and clinical trials. The present study aimed to investigate the possible potentials of Curcumin for pregnancies complicated by IUGR through different physiological mechanisms. Methods: A narrative review study was conducted (Iran; 2020). The implemented Mesh-based keywords were “Curcumin” OR “Turmeric” AND “Therapeutic effect” AND “Side effect” OR “Adverse effect” OR “Teratogenic effect” OR “Teratogenicity” AND “Pregnancy” AND “Intra-uterine growth restriction” OR “Intra-uterine growth retardation” AND “Inflammation” AND “Oxidative stress” AND “Angiogenesis”. Cochrane Library, PubMed, Up to date, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were used as academic search engines. Results: Reviewing the included studies showed the dual effects of curcumin on angiogenesis depend on the type of angiogenesis: physiological or pathological. Interestingly, the present study evaluated the current knowledge on the effects of curcumin on IUGR demonstrating acceptable potentials. Also, we tried to gather studies that had evaluated the safety of curcumin during pregnancy. Conclusion: Gathering all the data, it seems curcumin could be an acceptable candidate for future animal and human studies on IUGR.

Purpose: To evaluate ocular movement disorders after scleral buckling surgery (SBS) for retinal detachment. Methods: In this prospective, observational, case series, 206 patients (206 eyes) with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment who underwent SBS and investigated at the strabismus ward of Farabi Eye Hospital in Iran between November 2011 and November 2014 were assessed. Patients were followed from 6 to 36 months after SBS to evaluate for strabismus. Logistic regression analysis test and SPSS software version 20 were used for statistical analysis. Results: From 206 patients, 56.8% were male, and 33.2% were female. For scleral buckle in 44.7% of patients, silicone band and tire (SBT) was used, and in 55.3%, a sponge. Among all patients, seven (3.39%) exhibited ocular movement disorder. There was no significant relation between type of buckle (P = 0.65) or the location of buckle (P = 0.56) and movement disorder. Conclusion: Ocular movement disorder is one of the main complications after SBS without specific association between the type and location of exoplanet. Keywords: Scleral buckling, Ocular movement disorders, Retinal detachment, Strabismus

This is a letter to the editor.

Multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) is an inflammatory eye disease of the outer retina, retinal pigmented epithelium, choroid presenting with photopsia, loss of vision, and temporal scotoma. The patient was a 31-year-old female with a history of vision loss since 11 days ago (left eye). At presentation, best-corrected Snellen visual acuity was 20/140 in the Snellen chart. We decided to treat her with short time corticosteroid therapy (0.75 mg/kg/day prednisolone which was tapered in 3 weeks) for any possible rapid recovery of vision. The visual acuity of the involved eye was improved to 20/25 and 20/20, one week and three weeks after starting treatment respectively. Thus, it seems that short-term oral steroids might be an alternative method of management for patients with MEWDS.

Abstract Background Breast cancer is currently the most common neoplasm diagnosed in women globally. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that human papillomavirus (HPV) infection may play a key role in invasiveness of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of HPV in patients with breast cancer and its possible association with cancer progression. Methods Breast specimens were collected from 72 patients with breast cancer and 31 healthy controls. The presence of HPV was investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genotyping was performed for positive cases. We also evaluated the viral factors such as E6, E2, and E7 in HPV positive cases. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA (and Real-time PCR techniques were used to measure the expression level of anti-carcinogenic genes, such as p53, retinoblastoma (RB), breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene (BRCA1, BRCA2) and inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB), and different interleukins [ILs] (IL-1,IL6, and IL-17). Results The HPV DNA was detected in 48.6% of breast cancer samples, whereas only 16.1% of controls were positive for HPV. We observed statistically significant differences between breast cancer patients and HPV presence (P = 0.003). HPV type 18 was the most prevalent virus genotype in patients. The expression of P53, RB, BRCA1, and BRCA2 were decreased in patients with HPV-positive breast cancer as compared to HPV-negative breast cancer and healthy controls. (All P-values were less than 0.05). The presence of the HPV was associated with increased inflammatory cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, IL-17, TGF-β, TNF-α, and NF-kB) and tumor progression. Conclusion The present study demonstrated that HPV infection may implicate in the development of some types of breast cancer.

Introduction: Date palm pollen (DPP) is the male reproductive soft powder from date flowers widely used as the valuable dietary supplement to fortify the size of testis and ovarian to increase the power of sex. This part of date palm significantly exhibited anti-diabetic, anti-inflammation and protective effects against male and female infertility. Though the anticancer activity of date fruits was previously reported, the DPP anti-angiogenic effects were not reported, and as the first study, its inhibitory effects were examined in the current study. Methods: The DPP soft powder was collected to prepare its hydro-alcoholic extract to examine its anti-angiogenic activity in an in vitro model. At different concentrations, the cytotoxicity of the prepared extract was examined on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) using lactate dehydrogenase method. Cell proliferation was determined using the MTT assay and cytodex-3D model in collagen gel was used to assay its possible anti-angiogenic activity. The expression of VEGF, MMP-2 and MMP-9 genes was measured using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Finally, molecular docking simulation was used to highlight the possible role of DPP polyphenols to interact with the associated receptors. Results: The prepared hydro-alcoholic extract exhibited significant anti-angiogenic activity in a dose-dependent manner and decreased the endothelial cell proliferation. The calculated IC50 value for the examined extract in angiogenesis model was 260 µg·mL, respectively. Also, the expression of VEGF, MMP-2 and MMP-9 genes were significantly decreased. Docking simulation results unveiled that the isolated DPP polyphenols have the affinity to interact with ctDNA, VEGF and its receptors. Conclusion: The DPP is the new source of non-toxic anti-cancer agents to use as a dietary supplement in the pre-treatment of cancer.

Abstract Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) has been considered as a valuable approach in treatment of numerous malignant and none malignant hematologic disorders. However, relapse and poor graft function (PGF) after allo-SCT remain to be controversial issues which may affect the transplantation outcome. Relevant articles were searched in MEDLINE database (2000–2016) using keywords and phrases: donor lymphocyte infusions, allogeneic stem cells transplantation, relapsed hematologic malignancies, booster schedules, cell dose, laboratory monitoring protocols and technical aspects of apheresis. Relapse of disease and PGF could be reduced via noting some main points such as choosing the suitable time and patient for donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) and also determination of patients who ought to candidate for second allogeneic HSCT or for the use of stem cell boost. DLI and stem cell booster are promising treatment strategies noted in this review. Finally, this paper discusses indications and technical aspects of DLI and stem cell booster in hematological malignancies and emphasizes their therapeutic or pre-emptive potentials.

It has been proved that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is linked to dyslipidemia and the risk of cardiovascular complications is higher in these patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate dyslipidemia in RA patients. In this study, RA patients were enrolled regarding the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Their demographic information and medication profiles were evaluated. Clinical assessments were performed by evaluation of disease activity score (DAS28) and visual analogue scale. Moreover, laboratory investigations of lipid profile including triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (Chol), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were performed. From a total of 150 patients with the mean age of 54.9±16.8 years, 65.3% were diagnosed with dyslipidemia. Females in menopausal ages had a higher prevalence of dyslipidemia as well as patients with longer disease duration. Mean serum HDL, LDL, Chol, and TG were 52.76±13.8, 96.65±21.6, 177.26±38.9, and 128.04±33.9, respectively. Considering DAS28, 100% of the patients with high disease activity were diagnosed with dyslipidemia. In the moderate and low disease activity groups and also patients in remission the ratio was 77.02%, 66.66%, and 43.75%, respectively. According to the results, patients under treatment with prednisolone and methotrexate were more affected by dyslipidemia than those with prednisolone, methotrexate, and hydroxychloroquine. Moreover, in the patients under prednisolone, methotrexate, and leflunomide treatment, the prevalence of dyslipidemia was significantly lower than those used only prednisolone and methotrexate. Altogether, it is necessary to have more clinical suspicion towards dyslipidemia and its complications in the patients with greater number of affecting factors.

Background: Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from preexisting ones, is among the most important physiological and pathological processes that occur in the body. Under pathological conditions such as tumor growth, psoriasis, corneal neovascularization and rheumatoid arthritis, angiogenesis is substantial for the development of the disease. Zataria multiflora is a member of the Labiatae family with a vast range of traditional uses which has been long known and applied in Iran old medicine. The aim of this study was the evaluation of anti-angiogenic potential of Zataria multiflora. Materials and Methods: In this study, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were isolated from newborn umbilical veins and then cultured for cytotoxicity (LDH test) assay. Regarding LDH results, following tests such as angiogenesis (cytodex-3 micro carrier) and migration (wound healing) tests were designed. Results: The cytotoxicity assays showed no toxicity of Z.multiflora toward HUVECs in the range of 10-450µg/mL of the extract. This extract was also able to inhibit angiogenesis and migration at 200µg/mL. Conclusions: Our data clearly demonstrated an inhibitory effect of Z.multiflora on angiogenesis and migration of HUVECs. Z.multiflora could be introduced as a significant angiogenesis inhibitor for angiogenesis-dependent diseases in further complementary studies.

Background: The conventional chemotherapeutic regimens which applied for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) mostly target tumor bulk but not leukemic stem cells (LSCs). Aberrant expression or activation of mediators such as osteopontin (OPN) or PI3K/PTEN/Akt/mTOR pathway plays a key role in making prone to develop leukemia. Preventing or treating cancer by curcumin (CUR) has been suggested recently. CUR induces apoptosis and growth inhibition through various mechanisms in leukemic cells. In present study, we tried to measure the toxic response in vitro to CUR for evaluation of changes in cell viability, survival and molecular-mediated resistance in primary AML cells. Materials and Methods: Isolated primary CD34+/CD38− bone marrow derived AML cells were treated with CUR, Daunorubicin (DNR) and/or their combination by MTT assay, Annexin V/PI staining, and colony-formation. The mRNA expression of OPN/AKT/mTOR/PTEN/β-catenin genes was measured by Real-Time PCR. The siRNA against OPN was applied for CUR- treated cells. Results: Growth inhibition effect of DNR increased in combination with CUR on primary CD34+/CD38- AML cells. Suppression of OPN with siRNA increased the cytotoxic effects of CUR. Likewise, OPN gene expression increased in response to CUR treatment in AML cells. AKT, mTOR, β-catenin or PTEN gene expression increased by CUR, but OPN siRNA decreased the level of mRNA expression of mentioned molecular pathway. Conclusion: The chemo-resistance of AML cells against therapy might be relevant to increasing of OPN mRNA expression and activity of other mediators including AKT, mTOR, PTEN, and β-catenin. In this context, targeting of OPN might be more impact on CD34+ AML cells.

Peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) is an effective treatment for hematological malignancies. Mobilization of peripheral blood progenitor cells performs in different ways among transplantation centers. Forceful mobilization schedules are comprised of growth factor alone, chemotherapy along with growth factor and also, a newly combination of novel agent such as plerixafor with any approach. With the appearance of numerous modifications in stem cell mobilization field over the past decade and advent of novel stem cell mobilization techniques, it seems to be necessary to review recent publications about stem cell mobilization strategies to respond above cited issues. Relevant literature was identified by a PubMed search (1996–2016) of English-language literature using the terms mobilization, Allogeneic Stem Cells Transplantation, Autologous Stem Cells Transplantation and technical aspects of apheresis. Although many institutions have established their own procedures to improve stem cell mobilization success rates accompanying cost-effectiveness considerations, an optimal stem cell mobilization regimen and methods have not been well-defined, yet. Practical guidelines are required to address critical clinical issues including proper growth factor, the most Impressive chemotherapy and its dosage and appropriate time for leukapheresis initiation. Hence, based on literature, we prepared practical guidelines in this review.

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, is a key process in cancer developmentand metastasis. In this study, the anti-angiogenic and anti-proliferative potentials of Ficuscarica latex extract have been investigated using human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs).Different doses of latex extract were prepared and added to a three-dimensional culture ofHUVEC in a collagen matrix. After 3-5 days of treatment, the anti-angiogenic effects of theextracts were monitored microscopically. For the anti-proliferation assay, different dosesof the extracts were examined on HUVECs.The results clearly indicated that latex extract could inhibit proliferation and capillary tubeformation of HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner at the range of 100-400 μg/ml. In addition,the extract was not cytotoxic up to 450 μg/ml as assessed by trypan blue and lactatedehydrogenase (LDH) cytotoxicity assays.It is concluded that latex extracts of F. carica contain strong anti-angiogenic andanti-proliferative activities. Our data indicates that latex extract could be a candidateas a potential agent for the prevention of angiogenesis in cancer and other chronicdisorders.