The Effects of Negative Pressure Therapy on Hair Growth of Mouse Models.

Negative pressure therapy (NPT) has been shown to facilitate wound healing and promote hair growth in a porcine model. However, there is a paucity of research on the impact of negative pressure on hair growth in murine models. Despite the ability of nude mice to develop hair follicles, the hair they produce is often flawed towing to genetically induced keratin disorders, rendering them a pertinent animal model for assessing hair regeneration.

Enhancing lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic drainage to vascularized lymph nodes with nanofibrillar collagen scaffolds.

Background: This study investigated the effect of nanofibrillar collagen scaffold (BioBridge) implantation from the affected limb to the unaffected contralateral femoral vein or lymph node in a rat model.

Methods: Hind limb lymphedema in Lewis rats was created with lymphadenectomy and inguinal circumcision without radiation. The volumetric difference (greater than 5%) using computed tomography and indocyanine green fluorescence evaluated the progress of lymphedema at 4 weeks.

Long-term outcomes of arterial ischemia or venous occlusion on vascularized groin lymph nodes in a rat model.

Background: This study investigated the long-term effects of arterial ischemia and venous occlusion on lymph node drainage function in a rat model.

Methods: Bilateral groin lymph node flaps of 18 Lewis rats were dissected. The pedicle artery was clamped for 4, 5, and 6 h (A4, A5, and A6 groups), and the vein for 3, 4, and 5 h (V3, V4, and V5 groups) in six flaps.

Efficacy validation of a lymphatic drainage device for lymphedema drainage in a rat model.

Background: Vascularized lymph node transfer (VLNT) is an effective surgery for extremity lymphedema. This study evaluated a lymphatic drainage device (LDD) for the drainage of accumulated fluid into the venous system.

Methods: Micropore filtering membranes with pore sizes of 5, 0.

Impacts of arterial ischemia or venous occlusion on vascularized groin lymph nodes in a rat model.

Background: Reported ischemia time of vascularized lymph nodes was 5 hours. This study investigated the effects of arterial ischemia and venous occlusion on vascularized lymph node function in rats.

Methods: Bilateral pedicled groin lymph node flaps were raised in 27 Lewis rats.

Critical Ischemia Time, Perfusion, and Drainage Function of Vascularized Lymph Nodes.

Background: Vascularized lymph node transfer is a promising surgical treatment for lymphedema. This study investigated the effect of ischemia on the lymphatic drainage efficiency of vascularized lymph node flaps and the critical ischemia time of lymph nodes.

Methods: Twenty-four lymph nodes containing groin flaps in 12 Sprague-Dawley rats were dissected.

Periosteal Osteogenic Capacity Depends on Tissue Source.

Periosteal osteogenic capacity can be exploited to enhance bone formation in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Despite this importance, there have been no studies examining the composition, structure, and osteogenic capacity of periostea from different bone sources. In this study, structure and osteogenic factor content were compared among periostea from rib, calvarial, femoral, and tibial bones, in which the native bones of these four regions were harvested and subjected to histological analysis.

Synthesis and evaluation of dual crosslinked alginate microbeads.

Unlabelled: Alginate hydrogels have been investigated for a broad variety of medical applications. The ability to assemble hydrogels at neutral pH and mild temperatures makes alginate a popular choice for the encapsulation and delivery of cells and proteins. Alginate has been studied extensively for the delivery of islets as a treatment for type 1 diabetes.

Promoting chondrocyte cell clustering through tuning of a poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(peptide) thermosensitive hydrogel with distinctive microarchitecture.

Hydrogels are considered to be attractive cell-matrix for chondrocytes due to their similarity in properties to the natural cartilage. However, the formation of chondrocyte cell clusters in hydrogels has been mostly limited to naturally-derived or relatively fast degrading materials. In this study, a series of diblock copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(alanine) (mPEG-PA) was synthesized and investigated as injectable biomimic hydrogels for the culturing of chondrocytes.

Proposed pathway and mechanism of vascularized lymph node flaps.

Objective: To investigate the pump mechanism and pathway of lymph transit in vascularized lymph node flaps.

Background: Microsurgical treatment of lymphedema with vascularized lymph node transfer can improve signs and symptoms of disease, but the pathways and mechanisms of these flaps warrant further exploration.

Methods: (Animal model) 72 flaps were raised in 18 rats: 36 groin flaps contained lymph nodes (LN), 36 deep inferior epigastric artery perforator flaps did not (non-LN).

Quantity of lymph nodes correlates with improvement in lymphatic drainage in treatment of hind limb lymphedema with lymph node flap transfer in rats.

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the correlation between the number of vascularized lymph nodes (LN) transferred and resolution of hind limb lymphedema in a rat model.

Methods: Unilateral hind limb lymphedema was created in 18 male Sprague-Dawley rats following inguinal and popliteal LN resection and radiation. A para-aortic LN flap based on the celiac artery was subsequently transferred to the affected groin.

Developing a Lower Limb Lymphedema Animal Model with Combined Lymphadenectomy and Low-dose Radiation.

Background: This study was aimed to establish a consistent lower limb lymphedema animal model for further investigation of the mechanism and treatment of lymphedema.

Methods: Lymphedema in the lower extremity was created by removing unilateral inguinal lymph nodes followed by 20, 30, and 40 Gy (groups IA, IB, and IC, respectively) radiation or by removing both inguinal lymph nodes and popliteal lymph nodes followed by 20 Gy (group II) radiation in Sprague-Dawley rats (350-400 g). Tc(99) lymphoscintigraphy was used to monitor lymphatic flow patterns.

The mechanism of vascularized lymph node transfer for lymphedema: natural lymphaticovenous drainage.

Background: Vascularized lymph node flap transfer for the treatment of upper and lower limb lymphedema has had promising results. This study was performed to investigate the mechanism of lymph drainage of a vascularized lymph node flap both experimentally and clinically.

Methods: In the experimental study, 18 Sprague-Dawley rats were used to create 36 flaps, either a groin lymph node flap or an abdominal cutaneous flap that did not contain lymph nodes.

An ectopic approach for engineering a vascularized tracheal substitute.

Tissue engineering can provide alternatives to current methods for tracheal reconstruction. Here we describe an approach for ectopic engineering of vascularized trachea based on the implantation of co-cultured scaffolds surrounded by a muscle flap. Poly(L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) or poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds were seeded with chondrocytes, bone marrow stem cells and co-cultured both cells respectively (8 groups), wrapped in a pedicled muscle flap, placed as an ectopic culture on the abdominal wall of rabbits (n = 24), and harvested after two and four weeks.

The DNA methylation inhibitor 5-azacytidine increases regulatory T cells and alleviates airway inflammation in ovalbumin-sensitized mice.

Background: Asthma is characterized as a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways associated with an enhanced TH2 response to inhaled allergens. CD4+ T regulatory (Treg) cells are controlled by the master transcription factor FoxP3 and strictly maintain peripheral immunotolerance. Epigenetic regulation of FoxP3 by DNA methyltransferase inhibitors, such as 5-azacytidine (Aza), can generate a steady supply of functional Treg cells.

Profiling lipid-protein interactions using nonquenched fluorescent liposomal nanovesicles and proteome microarrays.

Fluorescent liposomal nanovesicles (liposomes) are commonly used for lipid research and/or signal enhancement. However, the problem of self-quenching with conventional fluorescent liposomes limits their applications because these liposomes must be lysed to detect the fluorescent signals. Here, we developed a nonquenched fluorescent (NQF)1 liposome by optimizing the proportion of sulforhodamine B (SRB) encapsulant and lissamine rhodamine B-dipalmitoyl phosphatidylethanol (LRB-DPPE) on a liposomal surface for signal amplification.

Elesclomol induces cancer cell apoptosis through oxidative stress.

Elesclomol (formerly STA-4783) is a novel small molecule undergoing clinical evaluation in a pivotal phase III melanoma trial (SYMMETRY). In a phase II randomized, double-blinded, controlled, multi-center trial in 81 patients with stage IV metastatic melanoma, treatment with elesclomol plus paclitaxel showed a statistically significant doubling of progression-free survival time compared with treatment with paclitaxel alone. Although elesclomol displays significant therapeutic activity in the clinic, the mechanism underlying its anticancer activity has not been defined previously.