Enhancement of the Anticancer Ability of Natural Killer Cells through Allogeneic Mitochondrial Transfer.

An in vitro culture period of at least 2 weeks is required to produce sufficient natural killer (NK) cells for immunotherapy, which are the key effectors in hematological malignancy treatment. Mitochondrial damage and fragmentation reduce the NK cell immune surveillance capacity. Thus, we hypothesized that the transfer of healthy mitochondria to NK cells could enhance their anticancer effects.

Nanoinjection system for precise direct delivery of biomolecules into single cells.

Intracellular delivery of functional molecules such as proteins, transcription factors and DNA is effective and promising in cell biology. However, existing transfection methods are often unsuitable to deliver big molecules into cells or require carriers such as viruses and peptides specific to the target molecules. In addition, the nature of bulk processing does not generally provide accurate dose control of individual cells.

Delivery of exogenous mitochondria via centrifugation enhances cellular metabolic function.

Mitochondria are essential organelles involved in the maintenance of cell growth and function, and have been investigated as therapeutic targets in various diseases. Recent studies have demonstrated that direct mitochondrial transfer can restore cellular functions of cells with inherited or acquired mitochondrial dysfunction. However, previous mitochondrial transfer methods are inefficient and time-consuming.

A composite dermal filler comprising cross-linked hyaluronic acid and human collagen for tissue reconstruction.

In this study, we developed a composite filler comprising cross-linked hyaluronic acid (HA) and human collagen (COL) derived from the human umbilical cord with the aim of improving its biocompatibility and longevity compared with commercially available fillers. After HA/ COL composite fillers were made in two different ratios (10:1 and 5:1), the physical properties of the fillers were evaluated. The interior morphologies and in vivo weight change of these hydrogels were also characterized at 1-16 weeks after injection into mice.

Effect of rice cell-derived human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor on 5-fluorouracil-induced mucositis in hamsters.

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is an important regulator of the maturation and function of cells in the granulocyte and macrophage lineages, and also plays a significant role in wound healing. In a previous study, we expressed human GM-CSF in rice cells (rice cell-derived human GM-CSF; rhGM-CSF). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate its effect on wound healing in oral mucositis.