A call for standardization: evaluating different methodologies to induce in vitro foreign body giant cell formation for biomaterials research and design.

Foreign body giant cells (FBGCs) are crucial in the foreign body reaction at the biomaterial-tissue interface, forming through the fusion of cells from the monocyte/macrophage lineage and performing functions such as material degradation and fibrous encapsulation. Yet, their presence and role in biomaterials research is only slowly unveiled. This review analyzed existing FBGC literature identified through a search string and sources from FBGC articles to evaluate the most commonly used methods and highlight the challenges in establishing a standardized protocol.

Predictive equation derived from 6,497 doubly labelled water measurements enables the detection of erroneous self-reported energy intake.

Nutritional epidemiology aims to link dietary exposures to chronic disease, but the instruments for evaluating dietary intake are inaccurate. One way to identify unreliable data and the sources of errors is to compare estimated intakes with the total energy expenditure (TEE). In this study, we used the International Atomic Energy Agency Doubly Labeled Water Database to derive a predictive equation for TEE using 6,497 measures of TEE in individuals aged 4 to 96 years.

Immune Shielding of Human Heart Valves: A Proof-of-Concept Study of HLA-Targeting Therapy for Transplantations.

Children born with defective heart valves require multiple donor valve replacements throughout life, because these cannot grow and can cause early failure through immune degeneration. This study tests the lentiviral delivery of viral immune evasion genes US2 and human serpin 9 to shield human heart valves from immune rejection. The results show we can efficiently down-regulate human leukocyte antigen expression in heart valve cells and in intact heart valve tissue resulting in decreased activity of a human leukocyte antigen-reactive CD8+ T-cell clone without inducing cytotoxicity.

Spatial regulation of substrate adhesion directs fibroblast morphotype and phenotype.

The switching of the fibroblast phenotype to myofibroblast is a hallmark of a wide variety of tissue pathologies. This phenotypical switch is known to be influenced not only by humoral factors such as TGF-β, but also by mechanical and physical cues in the cellular environment, and is accompanied by distinctive changes in cell morphology. However, the causative link between these cues, the concomitant morphological changes, and the resulting phenotypic switch remain elusive.