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Stem cell therapy has been introduced as an innovative and promising treatment in Ischemic diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells are considered for cell therapy to some extent due to their immunemodulatory, differentiation potential, feasibility of isolation and proliferation properties. Stem cells, after transplantation, often encounter harsh and hypoxic environment in ischemic tissues, which leads to cell death and decreased therapeutic efficiency. On the other hand, the fate of stem cell viability and differentiation  is still an ambiguous issue in cell therapy regenerative medicine. To overcome this problem, Hypoxic/Ischemic preconditioning has been reported as a powerful tool with beneficial effects on cell survival. The reported master regulator in this process is a transcription factor known as HIF-1α. This study aimed to over-express HIF-1α in mesenchymal stem cells along with eGFP by using lenti viral vectors. Bisistronic expression of eGFP and HIF-1α provides the possibilities of tracking the transplanted cells and mimicking the hypoxic conditions for genetically modified stem cells for future animal model studies.  

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The current study was conducted to determine the effect of the feed form (mash, pellet, and extrude) on Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1α (HIF-1α mRNA) and heart index in broiler chickens. The relative weight of hearts and lungs, the ratio of Right Ventricle heart weight to the Total Ventricle weight (RV/TV, heart index), Hematocrit value (HCT) and gene expression (HIF-1α mRNA) in the hearts and lungs tissues of the broiler chickens were determined at 35 days of age. Also, mortality and performance parameters were recorded throughout the experiment. The results showed that Average Daily Weight Gain (ADWG), Average Daily Feed Intake (ADFI) (P< 0.01), Right Ventricle weight (RV), Ventricles Total weight (TV), hematocrit value and expression of HIF-1α mRNA in the lungs tissues were higher in the pellet and extrude diet form compared to the mash diet form (P< 0.05). Also, a higher Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) (P< 0.01) was observed in the mash diet form. The hematocrit value and expression of the HIF-1α mRNA gene in the lung tissues of the broiler chickens were increased by feeding pellet and extruded diets, which was associated with increase in mortality from ascites. Our findings, therefore, revealed that the HIF-1αmRNA gene might be concerned with the increase of pulmonary and ascites syndrome in the broiler chickens.