A Novel Photopharmacological Tool: Dual-Step Luminescence for Biological Tissue Penetration of Light and the Selective Activation of Photodrugs.

Conventional pharmacology lacks spatial and temporal selectivity in terms of drug action. This leads to unwanted side effects, such as damage to healthy cells, as well as other less obvious effects, such as environmental toxicity and the acquisition of resistance to drugs, especially antibiotics, by pathogenic microorganisms. Photopharmacology, based on the selective activation of drugs by light, can contribute to alleviating this serious problem.

Bioengineered tissue and cell therapy products are efficiently cryopreserved with pathogen-inactivated human platelet lysate-based solutions.

Background: There remains much interest in improving cryopreservation techniques for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs). Recently, human platelet lysate (hPL) has emerged as a promising candidate to replace fetal bovine serum (FBS) as a xeno-free culture supplement for the expansion of human cell therapy products. Whether hPL can also substitute for FBS in cryopreservation procedures remains poorly studied.

Human-Centric Lighting: Rare-Earth-Free Photoluminescent Materials for Correlated Color Temperature Tunable White LEDs.

Artificial lighting is ubiquitous in modern society, with detrimental effects on sleep and health. The reason for this is that light is responsible not only for vision but also for non-visual functions, such as the regulation of the circadian system. To avoid circadian disruption, artificial lighting should be dynamic, changing throughout the day in a manner comparable to natural light in terms of both light intensity and associated color temperature.

Brain Organoids to Evaluate Cellular Therapies.

Animal models currently used to test the efficacy and safety of cell therapies, mainly murine models, have limitations as molecular, cellular, and physiological mechanisms are often inherently different between species, especially in the brain. Therefore, for clinical translation of cell-based medicinal products, the development of alternative models based on human neural cells may be crucial. We have developed an in vitro model of transplantation into human brain organoids to study the potential of neural stem cells as cell therapeutics and compared these data with standard xenograft studies in the brain of immunodeficient NOD.

Sunlike White Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Rare-Earth-Free Luminescent Materials.

Solid-state lighting (SSL) sources based on light-emitting diodes represent the new generation of highly efficient illumination systems that significantly impact energy-saving. The development of white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) with a combination of high color rendering index (CRI) and high deep-red color rendering R is an important challenge in the field of solid-state lighting. On the other hand, most WLEDs use rare-earth inorganic luminescent materials.

Light Pollution and Circadian Misalignment: A Healthy, Blue-Free, White Light-Emitting Diode to Avoid Chronodisruption.

Sunlight has participated in the development of all life forms on Earth. The micro-world and the daily rhythms of plants and animals are strongly regulated by the light-dark rhythm. Human beings have followed this pattern for thousands of years.

Human Neural Stem Cells for Cell-Based Medicinal Products.

Neural stem cells represent an attractive tool for the development of regenerative therapies and are being tested in clinical trials for several neurological disorders. Human neural stem cells can be isolated from the central nervous system or can be derived in vitro from pluripotent stem cells. Embryonic sources are ethically controversial and other sources are less well characterized and/or inefficient.

Retinal pigment epithelium degeneration caused by aggregation of PRPF31 and the role of HSP70 family of proteins.

Background: Mutations in pre-mRNA splicing factor PRPF31 can lead to retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Although the exact disease mechanism remains unknown, it has been hypothesized that haploinsufficiency might be involved in the pathophysiology of the disease.

Methods: In this study, we have analyzed a mouse model containing the p.

Human iPSC derived disease model of MERTK-associated retinitis pigmentosa.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) represents a genetically heterogeneous group of retinal dystrophies affecting mainly the rod photoreceptors and in some instances also the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells of the retina. Clinical symptoms and disease progression leading to moderate to severe loss of vision are well established and despite significant progress in the identification of causative genes, the disease pathology remains unclear. Lack of this understanding has so far hindered development of effective therapies.