Background: The clinical application of canine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) necessitates efficient and safe culture methods to produce large quantities of cells. Traditionally, fetal bovine serum (FBS) has been used for MSC expansion, but it carries risks such as contamination and adverse immune responses. Methods: In this study, we investigate the efficacy and efficiency of canine allogeneic serum as an effective alternative to FBS for the in vitro culture of canine MSCs. We measured the population doubling time of canine MSCs in allogeneic serum conditions and utilized qRT-PCR, flowcytometric analysis, and cellular staining/color-metric assay for investigating its effects on cellular senescence during long-term culture and the expression of key pluripotency-related transcriptomes. Results: Our findings demonstrate that canine MSCs cultured with allogeneic serum exhibited enhanced proliferation rates, reduced cellular senescence, and lower apoptosis levels compared to those cultured with FBS. Additionally, the expression of key pluripotency-related transcription factors, including Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog, was increased in canine MSCs cultured with allogeneic serum. Conclusions: These results highlight the potential of canine allogeneic serum to provide a safer and more effective culture environment, supporting the large-scale expansion and maintenance of canine MSCs for clinical applications.

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is a derivative of vitamin A and exhibits anticancer activity against acute promyelocytic leukemia. Fenbendazole (FBZ) is a benzimidazole anthelmintic that has wide safety margin and low toxicity. Recently, FBZ has been found to have anticancer activity by destabilizing microtubules. In this study, we treat ATRA and FBZ on HL-60 cells, a human leukemia cell line, to investigate the synergistic effects of two drugs, and the potential anticancer mechanism. ATRA and FBZ significantly decreased the metabolic activity of HL-60 cells at 0.04 μM ATRA. Cell viability of ATRA-treated HL-60 cells decreased in a concentration-dependent manner and more decreased by FBZ. N-acetyl cysteine, an inhibitor of reactive oxygen species production, significantly increased the metabolic activity of the cells treated with ATRA and FBZ. Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide staining showed the presence of broken nuclei in the HL-60 cells treated with ATRA and FBZ. And also, an apoptosis analysis demonstrated that 0.2 μM FBZ increased the percentages of cells in apoptosis and necrosis. In contrast, 0.04 μM ATRA showed no significant difference. Based on multiple assays, ATRA and FBZ showed not synergistic, but additive effect on HL-60 cells. This study may provide researchers and clinicians in cancer-related fields with some valuable information regarding the application of ATRA and FBZ.