Publications by authors named "Cristina Prat-Vidal"

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  • The SWI/SNF complex is made up of proteins that help control how our DNA is organized, and mutations in these proteins can cause dangerous cancers in young people.
  • These aggressive cancers, like rhabdoid tumors and epithelioid sarcoma, are hard to treat and often do not have good outcomes for patients.
  • A study called TILTS is testing a new treatment that uses special immune cells from the patients (called TILs) that can spot and attack these tumors, making it an exciting area of research for better therapies.
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  • The primary treatment strategy for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in organ transplant patients focuses on reducing immunosuppressive medication, but this can lead to high risks of transplant failure.
  • A case study discusses a 64-year-old kidney transplant recipient who developed PML and worsened despite lowered immunosuppression, showing increased levels of the JC virus in his cerebrospinal fluid.
  • A novel treatment using BKPyV-virus-specific T cells (BKPyV-VST) led to clinical improvement and a decrease in JC virus levels, marking the first successful application of this therapy in a kidney transplant patient with PML without adverse effects on the graft.
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  • The PERISCOPE Phase I clinical trial assessed the safety of PeriCord, a tissue graft made from decellularised pericardial matrix and umbilical cord mesenchymal cells, in patients undergoing surgical revascularization after non-acute myocardial infarction.
  • In the trial, seven patients received PeriCord and demonstrated no adverse effects during the one-year follow-up, although there were no significant changes in overall quality of life or cardiac function compared to controls.
  • The study highlighted PeriCord's immunomodulatory effects, specifically in influencing the behavior of circulating monocytes towards a repair-promoting state, indicating potential for further exploration in treating inflammation-related conditions.
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Background Aims: The increasing demand of clinical-grade mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for use in advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) require a re-evaluation of manufacturing strategies, ensuring scalability from two-dimensional (2D) surfaces to volumetric (3D) productivities. Herein we describe the design and validation of a Good Manufacturing Practice-compliant 3D culture methodology using microcarriers and 3-L single-use stirred tank bioreactors (STRs) for the expansion of Wharton's jelly (WJ)-derived MSCs in accordance to current regulatory and quality requirements.

Methods: MSC,WJ were successfully expanded in 3D and final product characterization was in conformity with Critical Quality Attributes and product specifications previously established for 2D expansion conditions.

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Objective: To assess the arrhythmic safety profile of the adipose graft transposition procedure (AGTP) and its electrophysiological effects on post-myocardial infarction (MI) scar.

Background: Myocardial repair is a promising treatment for patients with MI. The AGTP is a cardiac reparative therapy that reduces infarct size and improves cardiac function.

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Extracellular vesicles (EVs) from mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) are a potential therapy for cardiac healing after myocardial infarction (MI). Nevertheless, neither their efficient administration nor therapeutic mechanisms are fully elucidated. Here, we evaluate the preclinical efficacy of a tissue engineering approach to locally deliver porcine cardiac adipose tissue MSC-EV (cATMSC-EV) in an acute MI pig model.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers investigated the molecular changes following a heart attack (myocardial infarction) using microarray data from swine heart biopsies collected at various recovery stages.
  • Findings revealed that key processes like adipogenesis, fatty acid metabolism, and muscle contraction were significantly altered during the healing period, with angiogenesis emerging as a key early response.
  • The study identified critical genes involved in these processes, providing insights into potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for better understanding heart post-infarction recovery.
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  • - This commentary discusses the paper by Huang et al. (2021) on exosome proteins derived from human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) and emphasizes the growing interest in using mesenchymal stromal cell extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) for research and clinical applications.
  • - The authors stress the importance of providing solid evidence for the safety and effectiveness of MSC-EV preparations as they are developed for use in humans.
  • - They highlight the need for consistent isolation methods to ensure reliable and high-quality MSC-EVs that meet the standards necessary for clinical-grade manufacturing.
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Human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPC) are considered a good candidate in cell therapy for ischemic heart disease, demonstrating capacity to improve functional recovery after myocardial infarction (MI), both in small and large preclinical animal models. However, improvements are required in terms of cell engraftment and efficacy. Based on previously published reports, insulin-growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) have demonstrated substantial cardioprotective, repair and regeneration activities, so they are good candidates to be evaluated in large animal model of MI.

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Outstanding progress has been achieved in developing therapeutic options for reasonably alleviating symptoms and prolonging the lifespan of patients suffering from myocardial infarction (MI). Current treatments, however, only partially address the functional recovery of post-infarcted myocardium, which is in fact the major goal for effective primary care. In this context, we largely investigated novel cell and TE tissue engineering therapeutic approaches for cardiac repair, particularly using multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) and natural extracellular matrices, from pre-clinical studies to clinical application.

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The administration of extracellular vesicles (EV) from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) is a promising cell-free nanotherapy for tissue repair after myocardial infarction (MI). However, the optimal EV delivery strategy remains undetermined. Here, we designed a novel MSC-EV delivery, using 3D scaffolds engineered from decellularised cardiac tissue as a cell-free product for cardiac repair.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Due to the novelty of the ATMP field, there is limited guidance on the necessary steps and documents needed for development and usage.
  • * The article outlines insights gained from developing an ATMP for myocardial infarction in Spain, sharing experiences from the pre-clinical phase to obtaining phase I clinical trial approval.
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  • - This study focused on scaling up a small cardiac tissue engineering construct, known as PeriCord, into a human-size therapeutic product to aid post-heart attack recovery in patients.
  • - PeriCord is made from a decellularised pericardial matrix and contains human stem cells, with tests confirming its quality and safety before it was implanted in a patient with significant heart damage.
  • - The first implantation in a 63-year-old male showed promising results, with no adverse reactions or need for immunosuppression, and a notable reduction in the heart scar observed after three months.
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Type I collagen hydrogels are of high interest in tissue engineering. With the evolution of 3D bioprinting technologies, a high number of collagen-based scaffolds have been reported for the development of 3D cell cultures. A recent proposal was to mix collagen with silk fibroin derived from silkworm.

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Cardiac tissue engineering, which combines cells and supportive scaffolds, is an emerging treatment for restoring cardiac function after myocardial infarction (MI), although, the optimal construct remains a challenge. We developed two engineered cardiac grafts, based on decellularized scaffolds from myocardial and pericardial tissues and repopulated them with adipose tissue mesenchymal stem cells (ATMSCs). The structure, macromechanical and micromechanical scaffold properties were preserved upon the decellularization and recellularization processes, except for recellularized myocardium micromechanics that was ∼2-fold stiffer than native tissue and decellularized scaffolds.

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Mechanical conditioning is incompletely characterized for stimulating therapeutic cells within the physiological range. We sought to unravel the mechanism of action underlying mechanical conditioning of adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells (ATDPCs), both in vitro and in silico. Cardiac ATDPCs, grown on 3 different patterned surfaces, were mechanically stretched for 7 days at 1 Hz.

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The combination of biomatrices and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derivatives to aid repair and myocardial scar formation may soon become a reality for cardiac regenerative medicine. However, the tumor risk associated with residual undifferentiated cells remains an important safety concern of iPSC-based therapies. This concern is not satisfactorily addressed in xenotransplantation, which requires immune suppression of the transplanted animal.

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Sacubitril/Valsartan, proved superiority over other conventional heart failure management treatments, but its mechanisms of action remains obscure. In this study, we sought to explore the mechanistic details for Sacubitril/Valsartan in heart failure and post-myocardial infarction remodeling, using an in silico, systems biology approach. Myocardial transcriptome obtained in response to myocardial infarction in swine was analyzed to address post-infarction ventricular remodeling.

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Article Synopsis
  • Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM) is a major reason for heart transplants, and researchers are exploring blood markers, particularly low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1), to understand the disease better.
  • This study analyzed soluble LRP1 (sLRP1) levels in IDCM patients compared to healthy individuals and investigated if sLRP1 is transported out of the heart in extracellular vesicles (EVs).
  • Findings revealed that sLRP1 levels were higher in IDCM patients, and while EVs did not increase sLRP1 levels, studying their content could help identify new blood markers for the disease.
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Cardiac cells are subjected to mechanical and electrical forces, which regulate gene expression and cellular function. Therefore, in vitro electromechanical stimuli could benefit further integration of therapeutic cells into the myocardium. Our goals were (a) to study the viability of a tissue-engineered construct with cardiac adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells (cardiac ATDPCs) and (b) to examine the effect of electromechanically stimulated cardiac ATDPCs within a myocardial infarction (MI) model in mice for the first time.

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Cardiac tissue engineering, which combines cells and biomaterials, is promising for limiting the sequelae of myocardial infarction (MI). We assessed myocardial function and scar evolution after implanting an engineered bioactive impedance graft (EBIG) in a swine MI model. The EBIG comprises a scaffold of decellularized human pericardium, green fluorescent protein-labeled porcine adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells (pATPCs), and a customized-design electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) monitoring system.

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Myocardial infarction (MI) remains a dreadful disease around the world, causing irreversible sequelae that shorten life expectancy and reduce quality of life despite current treatment. Here, the authors engineered a cell-enriched myocardial graft, composed of a decellularized myocardial matrix refilled with adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells (EMG-ATDPC). Once applied over the infarcted area in the swine MI model, the EMG-ATDPC improved cardiac function, reduced infarct size, attenuated fibrosis progression, and promoted neovascularization of the ischemic myocardium.

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