Janus liposozyme for the modulation of redox and immune homeostasis in infected diabetic wounds.

Diabetic foot ulcers often become infected, leading to treatment complications and increased risk of loss of limb. Therapeutics to manage infection and simultaneously promote healing are needed. Here we report on the development of a Janus liposozyme that treats infections and promotes wound closure and re-epithelialization.

Decellularized Scaffolds with Double-Layer Aligned Microchannels Induce the Oriented Growth of Bladder Smooth Muscle Cells: Toward Urethral and Ureteral Reconstruction.

There is a great clinical need for regenerating urinary tissue. Native urethras and ureters have bidirectional aligned smooth muscle cells (SMCs) layers, which plays a pivotal role in micturition and transporting urine and inhibiting reflux. Thus far, urinary scaffolds have not been designed to induce the native-mimicking aligned arrangement of SMCs.

The loading of C-type natriuretic peptides improved hemocompatibility and vascular regeneration of electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) grafts.

As a result of thrombosis or intimal hyperplasia, synthetic artificial vascular grafts had a low success rate when they were used to replace small-diameter arteries (inner diameter < 6 mm). C-type natriuretic peptides (CNP) have anti-thrombotic effects, and can promote endothelial cell (EC) proliferation and inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) over-growth. In this study, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) vascular grafts loaded with CNP (PCL-CNP) were constructed by electrospinning.

Mechanically reinforced biotubes for arterial replacement and arteriovenous grafting inspired by architectural engineering.

There is a lack in clinically-suitable vascular grafts. Biotubes, prepared using in vivo tissue engineering, show potential for vascular regeneration. However, their mechanical strength is typically poor.

The effect of hypoxia-mimicking responses on improving the regeneration of artificial vascular grafts.

Cellular transition to hypoxia following tissue injury, has been shown to improve angiogenesis and regeneration in multiple tissues. To take advantage of this, many hypoxia-mimicking scaffolds have been prepared, yet the oxygen access state of implanted artificial small-diameter vascular grafts (SDVGs) has not been investigated. Therefore, the oxygen access state of electrospun PCL grafts implanted into rat abdominal arteries was assessed.

Targeted Repair of Vascular Injury by Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Modified with P-Selectin Binding Peptide.

Percutaneous coronary intervention for coronary artery disease treatment often results in pathological vascular injury, characterized by P-selectin overexpression. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) therapeutic efficacy remains elusive due to poor ADSCs targeting and retention in injured vessels. Here, conjugated P-selectin binding peptide (PBP) to polyethylene glycol-conjugated phospholipid derivative (DMPE-PEG) linkers (DMPE-PEG-PBP; DPP) are used to facilitate the modification of PBP onto ADSCs cell surfaces via hydrophobic interactions between DMPE-PEG and the phospholipid bilayer.

Construction of vascular graft with circumferentially oriented microchannels for improving artery regeneration.

Design and fabrication of scaffolds with three-dimensional (3D) topological cues inducing regeneration of the neo-tissue comparable to native one remains a major challenge in both scientific and clinical fields. Here, we developed a well-designed vascular graft with 3D highly interconnected and circumferentially oriented microchannels by using the sacrificial sugar microfiber leaching method. The microchannels structure was capable of promoting the migration, oriented arrangement, elongation, and the contractile phenotype expression of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in vitro.

Local Delivery of Dual MicroRNAs in Trilayered Electrospun Grafts for Vascular Regeneration.

Globally growing problems related to cardiovascular diseases lead to a considerable need for synthetic vascular grafts. For small-caliber vascular prosthesis, it remains essential to fulfill rapid endothelialization, inhibit intimal hyperplasia, and prevent calcification for keeping patency. To modulate vascular regeneration, herein, we developed a bioactive trilayered tissue-engineered vascular graft encapsulating both microRNA-126 and microRNA-145 in the fibrous inner and middle layers, respectively.

Assessment of combustion and emission behavior of corn straw biochar briquette fuels under different temperatures.

The 350 °C and 700 °C corn straw biochars were used to produce solid fuel briquettes. NovoGro (NG), an industrial by-product, were selected as a binder in the briquetting process. The ratios of the raw material to NG was assumed as 100:1 and 50:1 (denoted as 350NB, 350NB, 700NB and 700NB, respectively).

Supramolecular Nanofibers with Superior Bioactivity to Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I.

Bioactive peptides derived from proteins generally need to be folded into secondary structures to activate downstream signaling pathways. However, synthetic peptides typically form random-coils, thus losing their bioactivities. Here, we show that by introducing a self-assembling peptide motif and using different preparation pathways, a peptide from insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1) can be folded into an α-helix and β-sheet.

Cobalt-mediated multi-functional dressings promote bacteria-infected wound healing.

Wound dressings with multiple functions are required to meet the complexity of the wound healing process. The multifunctionality often leads to an increase in the complexity and difficulty in dressing preparation. To surmount this problem, we used a facile preparation and fabrication process to fabricate a multi-functional dressing by integrating four widely accessible materials: plain gauze, sodium alginate (SA), Ca and Co.

In situ blood vessel regeneration using neuropeptide substance P-conjugated small-diameter vascular grafts.

In situ blood vessel regeneration through host stem/progenitor cell mobilization may hold great promise for vascular reconstruction. Neuropeptide substance P (SP) has been shown to accelerate tissue repair by endogenous cell mobilization and recruitment. This study was aimed to evaluate the vascular regeneration potential of SP and heparin co-tethered vascular grafts.

In Situ Blood Vessel Regeneration Using SP (Substance P) and SDF (Stromal Cell-Derived Factor)-1α Peptide Eluting Vascular Grafts.

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop small-diameter vascular grafts capable of eluting SDF (stromal cell-derived factor)-1α-derived peptide and SP (substance P) for in situ vascular regeneration.

Approach And Results: Polycaprolactone (PCL)/collagen grafts containing SP or SDF-1α-derived peptide were fabricated by electrospinning. SP and SDF-1α peptide-loaded grafts recruited significantly higher numbers of mesenchymal stem cells than that of the control group.

Functional Modification of Electrospun Poly(ε-caprolactone) Vascular Grafts with the Fusion Protein VEGF-HGFI Enhanced Vascular Regeneration.

Synthetic artificial vascular grafts have exhibited low patency rate and severe neointimal hyperplasia in replacing small-caliber arteries (<6 mm) because of their failure to generate a functional endothelium. In this study, small-caliber (2.0 mm) electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) vascular grafts were modified with a fusion protein VEGF-HGFI which consists of the class I hydrophobin (HGFI) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), via hydrophobic interactions.