Miras Shakhatbayev

Retinopathy is one of the causes of early vision loss among the working population. Retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes. However, preclinical testing of new therapies in animal models of diabetic retinopathy remains complicated by the long time to symptom onset and the high cost of animal housing. One of the solutions is to create models similar to retinopathy without inducing diabetes. One of the approaches for such method is to induce retinopathy using factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor. In our study, we tested the ability of a combination of these factors at low concentrations to induce a stable retinopathy model. The results showed that, despite the fact that the concentration of the factors was reduced, repeated administration of them resulted in a model exhibiting all the key features of the disease.

Background: Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are of considerable interest for regenerative medicine; however, their application is limited by the lack of standardized and reproducible isolation methods. Objective: To compare the efficiency of an experimental kit and a commercial kit for exosome isolation from the conditioned medium of human umbilical cord-derived MSCs. Methods: Exosomes were isolated from conditioned medium collected from MSCs at passages 4 and 10 and from different medium volumes (1, 5, and 9 mL). Particle size and zeta potential were determined by particle tracking analysis, while total protein concentration was measured using the Bradford assay. Results: Both kits enabled the isolation of vesicles of comparable size characteristic of exosomes (161.4–177.9 nm). The commercial kit provided a higher protein yield, whereas the experimental kit differed in the magnitude and polarity of the zeta potential. For both methods, the yield decreased at later MSC passages and increased with larger volumes of conditioned medium. Conclusion: The experimental kit provides isolation of exosome-like extracellular vesicles comparable to that obtained with the commercial kit and may be considered a promising alternative, provided that additional assessment of preparation purity and molecular markers is performed.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of vision loss in early adulthood, caused by disruption of the retinal microvasculature. In the early stages of DR, there is a loss of pericytes, the cells responsible for maintaining vascular stability. Pericytes are progenitor cells and possess stem cell properties such as the potential to differentiate into various cell types, surface markers similar to mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and the ability to modulate the immune response. Human adipose-derived MSCs, when cultured with certain growth factors, acquire a pericyte-like phenotype, which expands the potential for pericyte applications in therapy. Current treatments for DR include anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents, corticosteroids, and laser photocoagulation. All of these treatments are symptomatic and have adverse effects. This review covers the prevalence of DR in Kazakhstan and worldwide, the pathogenesis of the disease at the molecular and clinical level, treatment methods and modern approaches based on stem cells and pericytes.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a type of multipotent, non-hematopoietic cells of mesodermal origin. Due to their strong immunomodulatory, immunosuppressive, and regenerative potential, MSCs are used in cell therapy for inflammatory, immune-mediated, and degenerative diseases. Exosomes derived from MSCs have several advantages over MSC therapy, including non-immunogenicity, lack of infusion toxicity, ease of isolation, manipulation, and storage, cargo specificity, and the absence of tumor-forming potential and ethical concerns. We hypothesized that preconditioning human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) with the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin 17 (IL-17), IL-22, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), the increased levels of which are typical in psoriasis patients, can significantly increase the therapeutic efficacy of both hUCB-MSCs and their exosomes (hUCB-MSC-Exo). Our aim was to compare the therapeutic effects of hUCB-MSCs preconditioned with various combinations of proinflammatory cytokines and their hUCB-MSC-Exo, in an in vivo imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation model in mice. Our results showed a significant attenuation of psoriasis symptoms (erythema, scaling, and skin thickness) in mice treated with intact hUCB-MSCs, hUCB-MSCs preconditioned with IL-22 and TNF-α, and hUCB-MSC-Exo preconditioned with IL-17, IL-22 and TNF-α (MSC-Exo 3C). However, the most pronounced therapeutic effect was observed with MSC-Exo 3C treatment. In summary, we demonstrated that MSC-Exo 3C transplantation has therapeutic potential for treating psoriasis-like skin lesions.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multilineage differentiating stromal cells with extensive immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. MSC-based therapy is widely used in the treatment of various pathologies, including bone and cartilage diseases, cardiac ischemia, diabetes, and neurological disorders. Along with MSCs, it is promising to study the therapeutic properties of exosomes derived from MSCs (MSC-Exo). A number of studies report that the therapeutic properties of MSC-Exo are superior to those of MSCs. In particular, MSC-Exo are used for tissue regeneration in various diseases, such as healing of skin wounds, cancer, coronary heart disease, lung injury, liver fibrosis, and neurological, autoimmune, and inflammatory diseases. In this regard, it is not surprising that the scientific community is interested in studying the therapeutic properties of MSCs and MSC-Exo in the treatment of psoriasis. This review summarizes the recent advancements from preclinical and clinical studies of MSCs and MSC-Exo in the treatment of psoriasis, and it also discusses their mechanisms of therapeutic action involved in the treatment of this disease.

Aim: This study aimed to conduct a literature review on the prevalence, incidence, gender and age distribution of psoriasis, as well as the economic burden of psoriasis worldwide, including Kazakhstan. Material and methods: A literature review was conducted using keywords in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, eLibrary.ru databases, and Google Scholar to identify relevant articles. Results: The prevalence of psoriasis varies by geographic location and race. However, psoriasis is predominantly common in Western countries and among people of European descent: in Norway (4.6%), France (4.42%), Portugal (4.4%), and the United States of America (3.0%). Significant differences in the prevalence of this disease were identified in Kazakhstan, ranging from 0.86% to 2.5%. In many Western countries, the incidence rate of psoriasis is significantly higher than the global incidence rate (57.8 cases per 100,000 population): in Denmark (199.5), Italy (230.62), and Israel (280), respectively. In Kazakhstan, the incidence rate is 35.0 per 100,000 population, which is almost 1.7 times lower than the global rate. Psoriasis affects both genders. There is a bimodal pattern of manifestation of psoriasis with early (type I) and late (type II) onset, which occurs in the age range of 30–40 years, and about 60 years. In addition, treating and providing medications to patients with psoriasis represents a significant economic burden for both the government and the patients themselves. Conclusion: The study made it possible to determine the current epidemiological situation of psoriasis worldwide, including Kazakhstan, as well as to assess the economic burden of this disease.