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Topic Review
Evolution of Skin-on-a-Chip Platforms
The increased demand for physiologically relevant in vitro human skin models for testing pharmaceutical drugs has led to significant advancements in skin engineering. One of the most promising approaches is the use of in vitro microfluidic systems to generate advanced skin models, commonly known as skin-on-a-chip (SoC) devices. These devices allow the simulation of key mechanical, functional and structural features of the human skin, better mimicking the native microenvironment. Importantly, contrary to conventional cell culture techniques, SoC devices can perfuse the skin tissue, either by the inclusion of perfusable lumens or by the use of microfluidic channels acting as engineered vasculature.
  • 797
  • 12 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Extracellular Matrix in Chronic Inflammation
Bidirectional communication between cells and their microenvironment has a key function in normal tissue homeostasis and for disease initiation, progression and patient’s prognosis at least. The extracellular matrix (ECM), as an element of all tissues and cellular microenvironment, is a frequently overlooked component in implication in pathogenesis and progression of several diseases. In inflammatory microenvironment (IME) different alterations affect ECM resulting from remodeling processes which progressively induce cancer initiation and the passage toward a tumor microenvironment (TME). Indeed, it is demonstrated that altered ECM components interact with a variety of surface receptors triggering intracellular signaling that, in turn, affect cellular pathways. Supporting this concept, new studies have offered exciting clues about the function of decellularized ECM (dECM) and its components, as active participants in cancer and inflammation diseases evolution, once matched it with other cellular elements. Research results support the notion that the ECM, rather than acting as a passive element, is an active participant in promotion of chronic inflammatory and cancer initiation. Particularly it highlights the different effects of ECM components alterations in both disease and the correlation between chronic inflammation and cancer initiation. In conclusion, it soughts to explore the employment of dECM models as a tool to prevent cancer initiation. Indeed, reporting some of the data obtained in cancer research, it reflects about the employment of dECM models to investigate the short-circuits contributing to create distinct IME, representing, thus, a potential tool to avoid the progression toward a malignant lesion.
  • 795
  • 30 Jan 2023
Topic Review
3D Bioprinting of Hyaline Articular Cartilage
Hyaline articular cartilage (HAC) is a smooth, wear-resistant, highly specialized hyaline cartilage covering the epiphyses and certain anatomical areas of the bone within the synovial joint capsule. HAC reduces friction, allowing smooth joint movement. The emergence of biofabrication technologies, including three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting, at the end of the 20th century, allowed reconstructive interventions to get a second wind. Three-dimensional bioprinting creates volume constraints that mimic the structure and function of natural tissue due to the combinations of biomaterials, living cells, and signal molecules to create.
  • 795
  • 27 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Modelling Ischaemic Stroke In Vitro
Most of the knowledge on the pathophysiological mechanisms of an ischaemic stroke is derived from animal-based in vitro and in vivo models. Over the past decades, different animal models of stroke have been developed, induced by emboli, intraluminal suture, photothrombosis or endothelin-1, typically in rodents. The rat is one of the most commonly used species in stroke research, among other reasons, due to the similarity of the cerebral vasculature and physiology with that of humans. Moreover, mice are often used, since they are helpful in unravelling the function of certain genes in the pathophysiology of stroke by means of the creation of transgenic mice. Animal stroke models have been an indispensable tool, as they can model different aspects of the complex pathophysiology of ischaemic stroke that cannot be modelled (yet) in simple in vitro models lacking intact blood vessels and blood flow. However, simplified, highly controlled in vitro systems are required and preferred when investigating specific basic mechanisms and cell type-specific responses under ischaemia-like conditions. Besides, in the context of testing potential neuroprotective compounds, working in vitro allows high-throughput screenings, even on a human-based background.
  • 783
  • 19 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Emerging Trends in Biodegradable Microcarriers for Therapeutic Applications
Microcarriers (MCs) are adaptable therapeutic instruments that may be adjusted to specific therapeutic uses, making them an appealing alternative for regenerative medicine and drug delivery. MCs can be employed to expand therapeutic cells. MCs can be used as scaffolds for tissue engineering, as well as providing a 3D milieu that replicates the original extracellular matrix, facilitating cell proliferation and differentiation. Drugs, peptides, and other therapeutic compounds can be carried by MCs. The surface of the MCs can be altered, to improve medication loading and release, and to target specific tissues or cells. Allogeneic cell therapies in clinical trials require enormous volumes of stem cells, to assure adequate coverage for several recruitment locations, eliminate batch to batch variability, and reduce production costs. Commercially available microcarriers necessitate additional harvesting steps to extract cells and dissociation reagents, which reduces cell yield and quality. To circumvent such production challenges, biodegradable microcarriers have been developed.
  • 781
  • 24 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Cardiac Repair and Regeneration
After more than 20 years following the introduction of regenerative medicine to address the problem of cardiac diseases, still questions arise as to the best cell types and materials to use to obtain effective clinical translation. Now that it is definitively clear that the heart does not have a consistent reservoir of stem cells that could give rise to new myocytes, and that there are cells that could contribute, at most, with their pro-angiogenic or immunomodulatory potential, there is fierce debate on what will emerge as the winning strategy.
  • 780
  • 23 May 2023
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Primary Progenitor Tenocytes: Cytotherapeutics and Cell-Free Derivatives
Primary progenitor tenocytes are diploid cells that may be cultured in vitro and therapeutically used for allogeneic musculoskeletal regenerative medicine. Firstly, technical aspects of cell banking, biotechnological manufacturing, and extensive preclinical characterization data have confirmed that FE002-Ten primary progenitor tenocytes may be safely considered for human cytotherapeutic use (e.g., in tissue engineering products, standardized transplants). Parallelly, lyophilized progenitor tenocyte extracts (e.g., stabilized cells or cell-free derivatives) were shown to optimally act as potent hyaluronan-based hydrogel functionalizing agents, useful for stability enhancement against oxidative product degradation. Therefore, primary progenitor tenocytes (e.g., FE002-Ten cell source) may potentially be used in diverse clinical presentations of tendon-related pathologies, ranging from volumetric tissue replacement (i.e., for the promotion of enhanced graft bio-integration) to local management of tissular inflammation and pain (i.e., ancillary action of the cellular extracts for the functional enhancement of injectable hyaluronan-based preparations). Overall, the primary progenitor tenocytes investigated under the Swiss progenitor cell transplantation program were shown to represent highly standardized biotechnological materials with a versatility of potential therapeutic uses after formulation into an array of cytotherapeutic preparations or cell-free devices.
  • 775
  • 29 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Heterotypic Multicellular Spheroids as Models of Sprouting Angiogenesis
Sprouting angiogenesis is the common response of live tissues to physiological and pathological angiogenic stimuli. Its accurate evaluation is of utmost importance for basic research and practical medicine and pharmacology and requires adequate experimental models. A variety of assays for angiogenesis were developed, none of them perfect. In vitro approaches are generally less physiologically relevant due to the omission of essential components regulating the process. However, only in vitro models can be entirely non-xenogeneic. The limitations of the in vitro angiogenesis assays can be partially overcome using 3D models mimicking tissue O2 and nutrient gradients, the influence of the extracellular matrix (ECM), and enabling cell-cell interactions.
  • 773
  • 25 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Different Sources of Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are pluripotent stem cells found in the bone marrow and are important for making and repairing bone tissue such as cartilage, bone, and fat in the bone marrow. With age and disease, mesenchymal stem cells are primarily transformed into lipid-accumulating adipocytes.
  • 768
  • 30 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Multilayer Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheets
Cell and gene therapies have been developing dramatically over the past decade. To face and adapt to the development of these new therapies, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wrote and updated new guidelines from 2016 and keep updating them. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the most used cells for treatment, far ahead from the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), based on registered clinical trials at clinicaltrials.gov. They are widely used because of their differentiation capacity and their anti-inflammatory properties, but some controversies still require clear answers. Additional studies are needed to determine the dosage, the number, and the route of injections (location and transplantation method), and if allogenic MSCs are safe compared to autologous MSC injection, including their long-term effect. In this review, we summarized the research our company is conducting with the adipose stromal cells in engineering cell sheets and their potential application
  • 765
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Cortical Bone Stem Cells
The newly established mouse cortical-bone-derived stem cells (mCBSCs) are unique stem cells compared to mouse mesenchymal stem cells (mMSCs). The mCBSC-treated hearts after myocardial infarction have been reported to have greater improvement in myocardial structure and functions. 
  • 765
  • 09 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Carbohydrates for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering
Carbohydrate-based biomaterials are a unique platform for active molecular transport and targeted drug delivery, providing biocompatibility, biodegradability, and a reduction in toxic side effects.
  • 764
  • 27 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Nanoparticle-Incorporated Natural-Based Biomaterials towards Cells on Activated Pathways
The advancement of natural-based biomaterials in providing a carrier has revealed a wide range of benefits in the biomedical sciences, particularly in wound healing, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Incorporating nanoparticles within polymer composites has been reported to enhance scaffolding performance, cellular interactions and their physico-chemical and biological properties in comparison to analogue composites without nanoparticles. Combining therapies consisting of nanoparticles and biomaterials could be promising for future therapies and better outcomes in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. 
  • 762
  • 28 Feb 2022
Topic Review
NSCLC’s TIME
Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has become a major treatment for lung cancer. Better understanding of the tumor immune micro-environment (TIME) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is urgently needed to better treat it with this type of therapy. In this review, we describe and explore how NSCLC’s TIME relates to response to ICB, as well as how to treat those with unresponsive types of TIME, which will significantly impact future research in lung cancer immunotherapy. 
  • 758
  • 28 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Bone Remodeling in Osteoarthritis
Bone morphogenesis (osteogenesis) is the process of formation and maintenance of bone tissue and is the result of bone formation and bone resorption. Both processes, bone formation (osteoproduction) and bone resorption (osteoresorption), are functionally balanced in the creation and maintenance of optimal functional structure, or homeostasis, of the skeletal system according to functional demands. Deviation from the physiological balance of these processes is manifested in pathological osteogenesis. One morphological substrate of pathological osteogenesis is osteophyte formation in osteoarthritis (OA).
  • 758
  • 20 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Extracellular Matrix (ECM)
In tissues and organs, the extracellular matrix (ECM) is an essential extracellular element that surrounds cells, characterised by its sophisticated nanoarchitecture. It is a highly hydrated structure composed of cell-secreted proteins (e.g., collagen, fibronectin, elastin, etc.), macromolecules (e.g., polysaccharides, hyaluronan, glycosaminoglycans—GAGs—and proteoglycans—PGs), and specialised soluble factors (e.g., ions, growth factor, cytokines, and hormones).
  • 756
  • 09 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Spinal Cord Injury
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising option for developing new treatments for spinal cord injury (SCI). They can help repair damaged tissue, making them an exciting area of research in regenerative medicine. It is important to study the safety, effectiveness, and best ways to use MSC-based therapies while addressing challenges in bringing these treatments to the clinic. Challenges include finding the best source of MSCs, determining when and how to administer them, and creating standardized methods for handling MSCs.
  • 751
  • 16 May 2023
Topic Review
Tissue Nanotransfection Chips for In Vivo Tissue Reprogramming
Tissue nanotransfection (TNT), a cutting-edge technique of in vivo gene therapy, has gained substantial attention in various applications ranging from in vivo tissue reprogramming in regenerative medicine, and wound healing to cancer treatment. This technique harnesses the advancements in the semiconductor processes, facilitating the integration of conventional transdermal gene delivery methods—nanoelectroporation and microneedle technologies. TNT silicon chips have demonstrated considerable promise in reprogramming fibroblast cells of skin in vivo into vascular or neural cells in preclinical studies to assist in the recovery of injured limbs and damaged brain tissue.
  • 742
  • 25 Jan 2024
Topic Review
3D Dynamic Cell Culture Systems
The traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture methods have a long history of mimicking in vivo cell growth. 3D cell carriers have been gradually developed to provide a 3D matrix-like structure for cell attachment, proliferation, differentiation, and communication in static and dynamic culture conditions. 3D cell carriers in dynamic culture systems could primarily provide different mechanical stimulations which further mimic the real in vivo microenvironment.
  • 738
  • 30 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Cell-Based Therapeutic Strategies for Skin Replacement
The immune system has a crucial role in skin wound healing and the application of specific cell-laden immunomodulating biomaterials emerged as a possible treatment option to drive skin tissue regeneration. Cell-laden tissue-engineered skin substitutes have the ability to activate immune pathways, even in the absence of other immune-stimulating signals. In particular, mesenchymal stem cells with their immunomodulatory properties can create a specific immune microenvironment to reduce inflammation, scarring, and support skin regeneration. 
  • 737
  • 09 Feb 2022
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