Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman

Uniaxial cyclic strain induces tenogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), suggesting its beneficial role in tendon regeneration following injury. However, pro-inflammatory cytokines released during injury is expected to impede repair outcomes but has not been previously considered. A study was thus conducted to determine the effects of interleukin-1-beta (IL-1β) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) on the tenogenic differentiation potential of cyclic strained MSCs. An in vitro model of MSCs exposed to IL-1β (9 ng/ml) and TNF-α (6 ng/ml) in unstrained and strained conditions, were developed. The effect of these cytokines on MSCs functional properties including proliferation, viability, anabolic/catabolic protein production and tenogenic differentiation potential of MSCs were quantified. IL-1β (9 ng/ml) and TNF-α (6 ng/ml) reduced unstrained MSCs viability, proliferation, ECM protein production and tenogenic markers expression whilst increasing matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13) expression. Uniaxial strain exposure in IL-1β-treated MSCs reversed the inhibitory effects of this cytokine on cell proliferation, collagen production and tenogenic markers expression. The significant reduction in tenogenic potential observed in MSCs treated with TNF-α was not alleviated by cyclic strain. These data indicate that TNF-α and not IL-1β is able to inhibit tenogenic effects induced by uniaxial cyclic strain on MSCs.

Treeshrews, which share a closer common ancestor with primates and flying lemurs than with rodents, have been proposed as a better animal model for biomedical research compared to traditional rodent models. Zoonotic viruses like Mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV) pose potential public health risks, but their prevalence and characteristics in treeshrews remain underexplored. This study reports the first isolation of a novel MRV from common treeshrews (Tupaia glis) in Malaysia and investigates its biological properties. Faecal and urine samples from common treeshrews were collected and processed through centrifugation and sterile filtration. The processed samples were inoculated into mammalian cell cultures for virus isolation using a novel virus isolation protocol. The isolated virus was sequenced and analysed phylogenetically. A novel MRV, designated MRV1UNM, was isolated and identified as MRV serotype 3 (MRV3) with a unique genomic profile. Syncytial formation was observed in Vero cells during early passages only. MRV1UNM infected a broad spectrum of cell lines, including some cancer cells, causing cell lysis within days without establishing persistent infections. Moreover, increased caspase 3/7 activity was also observed in the infected A549 cells. These findings provide evidence of the oncolytic potential of MRV1UNM. In conclusion, this study reports the first isolation of MRV from Malaysian treeshrews, highlighting their role as potential reservoirs for zoonotic viruses. The promising potential of MRV1UNM as a candidate for oncolytic virotherapy warrants further investigation into its therapeutic applications.

In this study, we analyze the anisotropic universe in f(Q,C) gravity theory.To achieve this, we consider three specific models of f(Q,C) gravity and rewrite the equations of motion of each model as an autonomous system.We identify and analyze the critical points, examine their stability, and plot phase portraits to illustrate the behavior of each critical point.The evolution of key parameters, including the equation of state (EoS) parameter w_eff, the deceleration parameter q, and the standard d. parameters Ω_m and Ω_DE, is thoroughly investigated.The anisotropic dynamical variable exhibits decelerated behavior, consistent with the early universe, while the others demonstrate accelerated behavior, aligned with late-time observations across all models.