Tissue Engineering. Part C, Methods

In recent years the need for in vitro skin models as a replacement for animal studies has resulted in significant progress in the development of skin-on-a-chip models. These devices allow the fine control of the microenvironment of the model and the incorporation of chemical and physical stimuli. Here we describe the development of an easy and low-budget open-top dynamic microfluidic device for skin-on-a-chip experiments using PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) and a porous polyethylene terephthalate (PETE) membrane...

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of ozone (OZN) therapy on the dynamics of bone tissue in ovariectomized rats treated with zoledronic acid (ZOL). Female Wistar rats aged 6 months (n = 110) were subjected to bilateral ovariectomy (OVX). At month 3 post-OVX, 10 animals were euthanized to characterize the bone tissue architecture using microtomography (micro-CT). The remaining animals were divided into two groups: ZOL group, administered with ZOL (100 µg/kg bodyweight); saline (SAL) group (0...

BACKGROUND: Intervertebral disc degeneration is a major cause of low back pain, and several studies have evaluated the efficacy of extracellular vesicles in the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration. METHODS: The databases Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched from inception to the end of 2022 to identify studies investigating the therapeutic potential of cell-derived extracellular vesicles for intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) treatment...

Fecal incontinence, although not life-threatening, has a high impact in the economy and in patient quality of life. So far, available treatments are based on both surgical and non-surgical approaches. These can range from changes in diet, to bowel training, or sacral nerve stimulation, but none of which provide a long-term solution. New regenerative medicine-based therapies are emerging, which aim at regenerating the sphincter muscle and restore continence. Usually, these consist of the administration of a suspension of expanded skeletal-derived muscle cells (SkMDCs) to the damaged site...

Insufficient vascularization is still a challenge that impedes bladder tissue engineering and results in unsatisfied smooth muscle regeneration. Since bladder regeneration is a complex articulated process, the aim of this study is to investigate whether combining multiple pathways by exploiting a combination of biomaterials, cells, and bioactive factors, contributes to the improvements of smooth muscle regeneration and vascularization in tissue-engineered bladder. Autologous endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and bladder smooth muscle cells (BSMCs) are cultured and incorporated into our previously prepared porcine bladder acellular matrix (BAM) for bladder augmentation in rabbits...

The nasal cavity is covered with respiratory epithelia, including ciliated cells that eliminate foreign substances trapped in the mucus. In hereditary diseases such as primary ciliary dyskinesia and cystic fibrosis, respiratory epithelial functions are irreversibly impaired; however, no radical treatment has been established yet. Thus, we considered that the transplantation of normal airway epithelia into the nasal epithelia is one of the strategies that could lead to radical treatment in the future. In our previous study, human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived airway epithelia (hiPSC-AE) on the vitrigel membrane were transplanted into the scraped area of the nasal septal mucosa of nude rats...

Traumatic injuries may result in the formation of soft tissue adhesions between peripheral nerves and surrounding soft tissue. These soft tissue adhesions lead to compression and ischemic stress within fascicles due to non-pliability of adhered scar tissue, and nerve tension due to loss of nerve gliding from scar tethering. These changes in the soft tissue bed surrounding the nerve may result in axon degeneration and neuromas-in-continuity. Preclinical models that simulate clinically relevant levels of scar in the nerve environment may be impactful to the development of surgical techniques and treatments to prevent adhesions...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Due to a growing need in visualizing human pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids from recent advancements in the field, an efficient bulk-processing application is necessary to providing preprocessing and image analysis services. In this study, we developed Organalysis, a high-accuracy, multifunctional, and accessible application that meets these needs by providing functionality of image manipulation and enhancement, organoid area and intensity calculation, fractal analysis, noise removal, and feature importance computation...

Cardiac fibrosis is characterized by pathological proliferation and activation of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts. Inhibition and reverse of transdifferentiation of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts is a potential strategy for cardiac fibrosis. Despite substantial progress, more effort is needed to discover effective drugs to improve and reverse cardiac fibrosis. The main reason for the slow development of anti-fibrotic drugs is that the traditional polystyrene culture platform does not recapitulate the microenvironment where cells reside in tissues...

The management of large amounts of bio-wastes, such as bovine femurs from kitchens and slaughterhouses, has long been a challenging issue. However, through the utilization of a hydrothermal process, it is possible to transform these bio-wastes into valuable products. In this study, we focused on extracting hydroxyapatite (HAp), the primary inorganic component of bovine femurs, for potential use in bone tissue engineering scaffolds. By subjecting the femurs to hydrothermal treatment at varying times and solvents, we successfully decomposed and removed the organic matter present, resulting in the extraction of HAp...

Adipose Stem Cell Tissue Engineering (ASCTE) has emerged as a promising field of research in recent years. In order to gain comprehensive insights into this field, we conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis using WoSCC and various bibliometric tools, including CiteSpace, VOS viewer, and R-Bibliometrix. Our analysis focuses on the historical development and evolution of active topics in ASCTE from a time-dynamics perspective, covering 4522 publications, 3924 academic institutions, and 873 journals, with significant growth observed over the past two decades...

To date, islet transplantation to treat Type 1 diabetes mellitus remains unsuccessful in long-term follow-up, mainly due to failed engraftment and reconstruction of the islet niche. Alternative approaches, such as islet embedding structures based on 3D-printing have been developed. However, most of them have been implanted subcutaneously and only a few are intended for direct integration into the vascular system via an anastomosis. In this study we 3D-printed a proof-of-concept islet embedding structure using gelatin methacrylate biocompatible ink...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

In regenerative medicine, extracellular vesicles (EVs) are considered as a promising cell-free approach. EVs are lipid bilayer-enclosed vesicles secreted by cells and are key players in intercellular communication. EV-based therapeutic approaches have unique advantages over the use of cell-based therapies, such as a high biologic, but low immunogenic and tumorigenic potential. To analyze the purity and biochemical composition of EV preparations the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) has prepared guidelines recommending the analysis of multiple (EV) markers, as well as proteins co-isolated/recovered with EVs...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Hepatocyte transplantation has been utilized as a therapy for congenital metabolic liver diseases such as hemophilia and as liver function support for acute liver failure. Hepatocyte sheet technology using a thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm)-grafted dish is expected to provide an efficient cell transplantation method because the resulting hepatocyte sheet possesses extracellular matrix (ECM) on the basal surface, which enhances attachment to the target sites. However, the cultured hepatocytes consume large amounts of oxygen, leading to the loss of a few hepatocytes within the confluent culture sheet owing to a lack of oxygen...

Decellularized porcine myocardium is commonly used as scaffolding for engineered heart tissues (EHTs). However, structural and mechanical heterogeneity in the myocardium complicates production of mechanically consistent tissues. Here, we evaluate the porcine psoas major muscle (tenderloin) as an alternative scaffold material. Head-to-head comparison of decellularized tenderloin and ventricular scaffolds showed only minor differences in mean biomechanical characteristics, but tenderloin scaffolds were less variable and less dependent on the region of origin than ventricular samples...

Muscle tissue engineering has been the focus of extensive research due to its potential for numerous medical applications including ex vivo actuator development and clinical treatments. In this study, we developed a method for harvesting muscle fiber in a floatable and translocatable manner utilizing thermally expandable hydrogels with a chemically-patterned polydopamine (PD) layer generated by microcontact printing (μCP). The μCP of PD on the hydrogel facilitated the formation of stripe patterns with varying widths of printed/non-printed area (50/50, 100/100, and 200/200 μm)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.