Publications by authors named "Albert Pai"
Article Synopsis
- Tracheal grafts are important for repairing airway obstructions after surgery, and bioengineered options offer customizable solutions for better integration with the body.* -
- The study involved using a specialized bioreactor to prepare ferret tracheas with basal cells, assessing how well these grafts performed when implanted back in the body.* -
- Although immunosuppression hindered early tissue integration, adding a growth factor helped improve blood vessel formation; the grafts showed signs of survival and integration after one month, leading to further research potential in regenerative therapy.*
Article Synopsis
- The research explores the use of a novel ferret tracheal injury and cell engraftment model to study airway biology, highlighting a gap in the use of such models compared to traditional animal models.
- The study introduces a whole-mount staining protocol that reveals detailed structural anatomy of the airway epithelium and submucosal glands, offering advantages over traditional 2D tissue sections.
- A novel 3D-printed culture chamber facilitates live imaging and cell differentiation at an air-liquid interface, aiming to improve cell-based therapies for pulmonary diseases.
Pouch Transfer for Single Coronary Artery With Nodal Artery Variant in Arterial Switch Operation.
World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg
May 2023
The arterial switch operation with single coronary artery variance is an independent risk factor for increased operative mortality. There are reports of technical modifications, such as the double-barreled sinus pouch configuration, to improve geometric reimplantation of the single coronary into the neoaortic sinus. We describe the novel application of this technique for transferring a single coronary artery with a separate nodal artery emanating from the opposite sinus during an arterial switch operation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Keratin expression in airway basal cells changes after lung injury, affecting their behavior, but the specific impacts have not been fully understood.
- In a study related to bronchiolitis obliterans (an issue post-lung transplant), a shift from keratin15 (Krt15) to keratin14 (Krt14) was linked to reduced cell division ability (clonogenicity) in these cells.
- Using genetic techniques, the research found that Krt14 promotes more cell growth but hinders differentiation, while Krt15 supports differentiation but decreases growth, highlighting their distinct roles in cell behavior, especially in chronic diseases like bronchiolitis obliterans.
Systemic right ventricular failure after physiologic repair for dextro-transposition of the great arteries can be managed with durable mechanical circulatory support; however, the right ventricular morphology, such as intervening papillary muscles, presents challenges to inflow cannula positioning. Papillary muscle repositioning is an innovative technique to circumvent obstructive anatomy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study identifies three key stem cell compartments in the airways of larger mammals and mice, specifically highlighting the role of Sox9-expressing progenitors in airway repair that decrease with age.
- It finds that Lef1 is crucial for the contribution of these progenitors to surface airway epithelium (SAE) repair, while deleting Sox9 enhances progenitor proliferation after injury but not in lab settings.
- Additionally, Sox9’s expression is linked to the regulation of glandular progenitor behavior, with different cellular signals (Wnt/Lef1 and Sox9) influencing their growth and movement.
Article Synopsis
- Long-term survival for lung transplant patients is often complicated by chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), which has two histological types: obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) and restrictive alveolar fibroelastosis (AFE), each with different clinical implications.
- A study utilized a ferret model of lung transplantation to investigate CLAD by comparing histological features and immune response in allografts with OB and AFE, using morphometric analysis and RNA expression profiling.
- Results showed that ferret lung allografts exhibited clinical markers of both OB and AFE, with AFE being associated with larger tertiary lymphoid organs and a greater immune response, highlighting the model's potential for developing new treatments for lung transplant
Article Synopsis
- Tracheal grafts present a potential solution for airway issues requiring surgical removal, but progress on regenerating submucosal glands has been limited.
- A new, cost-effective bioreactor system was created to test the growth of airway epithelial cells and myoepithelial cells on decellularized ferret tracheas, aiming to produce a complete trachea replacement.
- The research showed that the decellularized tracheas maintained their structural integrity, supported cell growth, and indicated successful early differentiation and regeneration of submucosal glands, paving the way for future transplantation studies.
Article Synopsis
- * This review covers known stem/progenitor cell populations, their differences between humans and rodents, and their implications for chronic lung disease and potential treatments.
- * Recent advancements, like lineage-tracing models and single-cell RNA sequencing, have improved our knowledge of lung stem cells, helping us understand how they differentiate and maintain flexibility, paving the way for better therapies for lung diseases.
Iatrogenic tracheal injuries are rare but potentially serious complications of endotracheal intubation that frequently require lung isolation to repair. This is not tolerated in patients with severe respiratory failure. We describe a case in a patient with acute respiratory distress syndrome, repaired using veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF