Design of a Tumor Binding GMCSF as Intratumoral Immunotherapy of Solid Tumors.

Next-generation cancer immunotherapies may utilize immunostimulants to selectively activate the host immune system against tumor cells. Checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) like anti-PD1/PDL-1 that inhibit immunosuppression have shown unprecedented success but are only effective in the 20-30% of patients that possess an already "hot" (immunogenic) tumor. In this regard, intratumoral (IT) injection of immunostimulants is a promising approach since they can work synergistically with CPIs to overcome the resistance to immunotherapies by inducing immune stimulation in the tumor.

Brain Homogenate Decoys for Antigen-Specific Cell Amplification.

Multiple sclerosis is complex and heterogeneous. Better tools are needed to be able to monitor this disease among individuals, but blood-based biomarkers are often too rare to profile. In this work, we developed antigen-specific biomaterials to replicate the central nervous system niche where multiple sclerosis biomarkers are amplified.

Remote-Controlled 3D Porous Magnetic Interface toward High-Throughput Dynamic 3D Cell Culture.

Mechanical stimuli have been shown to play a large role in cellular behavior, including cellular growth, differentiation, morphology, homeostasis, and disease. Therefore, developing bioreactor systems that can create complex mechanical environments for both tissue engineering and disease modeling drug screening is appealing. However, many of existing systems are restricted because of their bulky size with external force generators, destructive microenvironment control, and low throughput.

Investigation of human adipose-derived stem-cell behavior using a cell-instructive polydopamine-coated gelatin-alginate hydrogel.

Hydrogels can be fabricated and designed to exert direct control over stem cells' adhesion and differentiation. In this study, we have investigated the use of polydopamine (pDA)-treatment as a binding platform for bioactive compounds to create a versatile gelatin-alginate (Gel-Alg) hydrogel for tissue engineering applications. Precisely, pDA was used to modify the surface properties of the hydrogel and better control the adhesion and osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs).

Investigation of human adipose stem cell-derived nanoparticles as a biomimetic carrier for intracellular drug delivery.

Prevailing drug delivery strategies rely on the use of synthetic nanocarriers like metal nanoparticles and polymeric liposomes to control the release of therapeutics in a safe and efficacious manner. Despite their high efficiency in encapsulating drugs, these systems exhibit low to moderate biocompatibility, low cellular uptake, and sub-optimal targeting capabilities. Conversely, cell-derived nanoparticles (CDNs) have emerged as a promising alternative to these artificial drug delivery carriers for achieving safer clinical outcomes.

Pre-Conditioning Stem Cells in a Biomimetic Environment for Enhanced Cardiac Tissue Repair: and Analysis.

Introduction: Stem cell-based therapies represent a valid approach to restore cardiac function due to their beneficial effect in reducing scar area formation and promoting angiogenesis. However, their translation into the clinic is limited by the poor differentiation and inability to secrete sufficient therapeutic factors. To address this issue, several strategies such as genetic modification and biophysical preconditioning have been used to enhance the efficacy of stem cells for cardiac tissue repair.

Development of MicroRNA-146a-Enriched Stem Cell Secretome for Wound-Healing Applications.

Secretome-based therapies have the potential to become the next generation of viable therapeutic wound repair treatments. However, precise strategies aimed to refine and control the secretome composition are necessary to enhance its therapeutic efficacy and facilitate clinical translation. In this study, we aim to accomplish this by transfecting human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) with microRNA-146a, which is a potent regulator of angiogenesis and inflammation.

Fabrication of a Double-Cross-Linked Interpenetrating Polymeric Network (IPN) Hydrogel Surface Modified with Polydopamine to Modulate the Osteogenic Differentiation of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells.

Hydrogel surface properties can be modified to form bioactive interfaces to modulate the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells. In this work, a hydrogel made of gelatin methacrylamide (GelMA) and alginate was designed and tested as a scaffold to control stem-cell osteogenic differentiation. The hydrogel's surface was treated with polydopamine (pDA) to create an adhesive layer for the adsorption of the osteoinductive drug dexamethasone (Dex).

Controlling Adult Stem Cell Behavior Using Nanodiamond-Reinforced Hydrogel: Implication in Bone Regeneration Therapy.

Nanodiamonds (NDs) have attracted considerable attention as drug delivery nanocarriers due to their low cytotoxicity and facile surface functionalization. Given these features, NDs have been recently investigated for the fabrication of nanocomposite hydrogels for tissue engineering. Here we report the synthesis of a hydrogel using photocrosslinkable gelatin methacrylamide (GelMA) and NDs as a three-dimensional scaffold for drug delivery and stem cell-guided bone regeneration.

Strategies to develop endogenous stem cell-recruiting bioactive materials for tissue repair and regeneration.

A leading strategy in tissue engineering is the design of biomimetic scaffolds that stimulate the body's repair mechanisms through the recruitment of endogenous stem cells to sites of injury. Approaches that employ the use of chemoattractant gradients to guide tissue regeneration without external cell sources are favored over traditional cell-based therapies that have limited potential for clinical translation. Following this concept, bioactive scaffolds can be engineered to provide a temporally and spatially controlled release of biological cues, with the possibility to mimic the complex signaling patterns of endogenous tissue regeneration.

Nanodiamond-based injectable hydrogel for sustained growth factor release: Preparation, characterization and in vitro analysis.

Unlabelled: Nanodiamonds (NDs) represent an emerging class of carbon nanomaterials that possess favorable physical and chemical properties to be used as multifunctional carriers for a variety of bioactive molecules. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of a new injectable ND-based nanocomposite hydrogel which facilitates a controlled release of therapeutic molecules for regenerative applications. In particular, we have formulated a thermosensitive hydrogel using gelatin, chitosan and NDs that provides a sustained release of exogenous human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for wound healing applications.

Dendritic spine and dendritic field characteristics of layer V pyramidal neurons in the visual cortex of fragile-X knockout mice.

Fragile-X syndrome is a common form of mental retardation resulting from the inability to produce the fragile-X mental retardation protein. The specific function of this protein is unknown; however, it has been proposed to play a role in developmental synaptic plasticity. Examination of human brain autopsy material has shown that fragile-X patients exhibit abnormalities in dendritic spine structure and number, suggesting a failure of normal developmental dendritic spine maturation and pruning in this syndrome.