Mobilizing Endogenous Progenitor Cells Using pSDF1α-Activated Scaffolds Accelerates Angiogenesis and Bone Repair in Critical-Sized Bone Defects.

Mobilizing endogenous progenitor cells to repair damaged tissue in situ has the potential to revolutionize the field of regenerative medicine, while the early establishment of a vascular network will ensure survival of newly generated tissue. In this study, a gene-activated scaffold containing a stromal derived factor 1α plasmid (pSDF1α), a pro-angiogenic gene that is also thought to be involved in the recruitment of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to sites of injury is described. It is shown that over-expression of SDF1α protein enhanced MSC recruitment and induced vessel-like structure formation by endothelial cells in vitro.

Dual Glyoxalase-1 and β-Klotho Gene-Activated Scaffold Reduces Methylglyoxal and Reprograms Diabetic Adipose-Derived Stem Cells: Prospects in Improved Wound Healing.

Tissue engineering approaches aim to provide biocompatible scaffold supports that allow healing to progress often in healthy tissue. In diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), hyperglycemia impedes ulcer regeneration, due to complications involving accumulations of cellular methylglyoxal (MG), a key component of oxidated stress and premature cellular aging which further limits repair. In this study, we aim to reduce MG using a collagen-chondroitin sulfate gene-activated scaffold (GAS) containing the glyoxalase-1 gene (GLO-1) to scavenge MG and anti-fibrotic β-klotho to restore stem cell activity in diabetic adipose-derived stem cells (dADSCs).

Dual delivery gene-activated scaffold directs fibroblast activity and keratinocyte epithelization.

Fibroblasts are the most abundant cell type in dermal skin and keratinocytes are the most abundant cell type in the epidermis; both play a crucial role in wound remodeling and maturation. We aim to assess the functionality of a novel dual gene activated scaffold (GAS) on human adult dermal fibroblasts (hDFs) and see how the secretome produced could affect human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMVECs) and human epidermal keratinocyte (hEKs) growth and epithelization. Our GAS is a collagen chondroitin sulfate scaffold loaded with pro-angiogenic stromal derived factor (SDF-1α) and/or an anti-aging β-Klotho plasmids.

Anti-Aging β-Klotho Gene-Activated Scaffold Promotes Rejuvenative Wound Healing Response in Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells.

Wound healing requires a tight orchestration of complex cellular events. Disruption in the cell-signaling events can severely impair healing. The application of biomaterial scaffolds has shown healing potential; however, the potential is insufficient for optimal wound maturation.

SDF-1α gene-activated collagen scaffold enhances provasculogenic response in a coculture of human endothelial cells with human adipose-derived stromal cells.

Novel biomaterials can be used to provide a better environment for cross talk between vessel forming endothelial cells and wound healing instructor stem cells for tissue regeneration. This study seeks to investigate if a collagen scaffold containing a proangiogenic gene encoding for the chemokine stromal-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1α GAS) could be used to enhance functional responses in a coculture of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human adipose-derived stem/stromal cells (ADSCs). Functional responses were determined by (1) monitoring the amount of junctional adhesion molecule VE-cadherin released during 14 days culture, (2) expression of provasculogenic genes on the 14th day, and (3) the bioactivity of secreted factors on neurogenic human Schwann cells.

SDF-1α Gene-Activated Collagen Scaffold Restores Pro-Angiogenic Wound Healing Features in Human Diabetic Adipose-Derived Stem Cells.

Non-healing diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) can lead to leg amputation in diabetic patients. Autologous stem cell therapy holds some potential to solve this problem; however, diabetic stem cells are relatively dysfunctional and restrictive in their wound healing abilities. This study sought to explore if a novel collagen-chondroitin sulfate (coll-CS) scaffold, functionalized with polyplex nanoparticles carrying the gene encoding for stromal-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1α gene-activated scaffold), can enhance the regenerative functionality of human diabetic adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs).

SDF-1α gene-activated collagen scaffold drives functional differentiation of human Schwann cells for wound healing applications.

Enhancing angiogenesis is the prime target of current biomaterial-based wound healing strategies. However, these approaches largely overlook the angiogenic role of the cells of the nervous system. Therefore, we explored the role of a collagen-chondroitin sulfate scaffold functionalized with a proangiogenic gene stromal-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α)-an SDF-1α gene-activated scaffold on the functional regulation of human Schwann cells (SCs).

Pro-angiogenic impact of SDF-1α gene-activated collagen-based scaffolds in stem cell driven angiogenesis.

Ensuring an adequate angiogenic response during wound healing is a prevailing clinical challenge in biomaterials science. To address this, we aimed to develop a pro-angiogenic gene-activated scaffold (GAS) that could activate MSCs to produce paracrine factors and influence angiogenesis and wound repair. A non-viral polyethyleneimine (PEI) nanoparticles carrying a gene encoding for stromal derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1α) was combined with a collagen-chondroitin sulfate scaffold to produce the GAS.

Innovations in gene and growth factor delivery systems for diabetic wound healing.

The rise in lower extremity amputations due to nonhealing of foot ulcers in diabetic patients calls for rapid improvement in effective treatment regimens. Administration of growth factors (GFs) are thought to offer an off-the-shelf treatment; however, the dose- and time-dependent efficacy of the GFs together with the hostile environment of diabetic wound beds impose a major hindrance in the selection of an ideal route for GF delivery. As an alternative, the delivery of therapeutic genes using viral and nonviral vectors, capable of transiently expressing the genes until the recovery of the wounded tissue offers promise.

Biomimetic approaches for cell implantation to the restoration of infarcted myocardium.

Compelling evidences accumulated over the years have proven stem cells as a promising source for regenerative medicine. However, the inadequacy with the design of delivery modalities has prolonged the research in realizing an ideal cell-based approach for the regeneration of infarcted myocardium. Currently, some modest improvements in cardiac function have been documented in clinical trials with stem cell treatments, although regenerating a fully functional myocardium remains a dream for cardiac surgeons.

Controlled release of titanocene into the hybrid nanofibrous scaffolds to prevent the proliferation of breast cancer cells.

Electrospun hybrid nanofibrous scaffolds have gained much importance in the field of tissue engineering and drug delivery applications owing to its multifaceted properties. In this study, the properties of composite polycaprolactone (PCL)/silk fibroin (SF) nanofibrous scaffolds was investigated as a potential scaffold for cell growth and also a drug eluting mat to control the proliferation of MCF-7 cells. Titanocene dichloride was chosen as the model drug to study its antitumor efficacy on MCF-7 cell lines.