Bone tissue engineering using polyetherketoneketone scaffolds combined with autologous mesenchymal stem cells in a sheep calvarial defect model.

Polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) a high performance thermoplastic polymer that is FDA-approved for cranio- and maxillo-facial as well as spineal surgery. We studied the viability, growth and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow-derived human and sheep mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in combination with a 3D scaffold made of PEKK using different cell-based assays. To investigate if autologous MSC, either undifferentiated or osteogenically pre-differentiated, augmented bone formation after implantation, we implanted cell-seeded 3D PEKK scaffolds into calvarial defects in sheep for 12 weeks.

Different Culture Media Affect Proliferation, Surface Epitope Expression, and Differentiation of Ovine MSC.

Orthopedic implants including engineered bone tissue are commonly tested in sheep. To avoid rejection of heterologous or xenogeneic cells, autologous cells are preferably used, that is, ovine mesenchymal stem cells (oMSC). Unlike human MSC, ovine MSC are not well studied regarding isolation, expansion, and characterization.

Fluorescent SNAP-tag galectin fusion proteins as novel tools in glycobiology.

Galectins,β-galactoside binding proteins, function in several physiological and pathological processes. The further evaluation of these processes as well as possible applications of galectins in diagnosis and therapy has raised high scientific interest. Therefore, easy and reliable test systems are necessary.

Ex vivo expansion of cord blood-CD34(+) cells using IGFBP2 and Angptl-5 impairs short-term lymphoid repopulation in vivo.

Cord blood-derived haematopoietic stem cells (CB-HSCs) are an attractive source for transplantation in haematopoietic disorders. However, the yield of CB-HSCs per graft is limited and often insufficient, particularly for the treatment of adult patients. Here we compare the capacity of three cytokine cocktails to expand CB-CD34(+) cells.