Complete Genome Sequences of Actinobacteriophages Anaysia and Caviar.

Anaysia and Caviar are temperate siphoviruses isolated from soil using Gordonia terrae 3612 and Mycobacterium smegmatis mc155, respectively. Anaysia's 52,861-bp genome carries 102 genes, while Caviar's 47,074-bp genome carries 79 genes. Based on gene content similarity, Anaysia and Caviar are assigned to phage clusters A15 and A3, respectively.

Development of Modular, Dual-Perfused Osteochondral Constructs for Cartilage Repair.

This study describes methods for fabricating, culturing, and characterizing modular microbeads containing progenitor cells that can be used to create osteochondral tissue constructs. Such biphasic engineered tissues were cultured in a low flow rate perfusion bioreactor chamber to maintain tissue-specific differentiation while allowing development of the osteochondral interface.

Distributed vasculogenesis from modular agarose-hydroxyapatite-fibrinogen microbeads.

Unlabelled: Critical limb ischemia impairs circulation to the extremities, causing pain, disrupted wound healing, and potential tissue necrosis. Therapeutic angiogenesis seeks to repair the damaged microvasculature directly to restore blood flow. In this study, we developed modular, micro-scale constructs designed to possess robust handling qualities, allow in vitro pre-culture, and promote microvasculature formation.

Collagen Type II enhances chondrogenic differentiation in agarose-based modular microtissues.

Background Aims: Cell-based therapies have made an impact on the treatment of osteoarthritis; however, the repair and regeneration of thick cartilage defects is an important and growing clinical problem. Next-generation therapies that combine cells with biomaterials may provide improved outcomes. We have developed modular microenvironments that mimic the composition of articular cartilage as a delivery system for consistently differentiated cells.

Biomimetic microbeads containing a chondroitin sulfate/chitosan polyelectrolyte complex for cell-based cartilage therapy.

Articular cartilage has a limited healing capacity that complicates the treatment of joint injuries and osteoarthritis. Newer repair strategies have focused on the use of cells and biomaterials to promote cartilage regeneration. In the present study, we developed and characterized bioinspired materials designed to mimic the composition of the cartilage extracellular matrix.

Phenotypic differences in white-tailed deer antlerogenic progenitor cells and marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells.

Deer antlers are bony appendages that are annually cast and rapidly regrown in a seasonal process coupled to the reproductive cycle. Due to the uniqueness of this process among mammals, we reasoned that a fundamental characterization of antler progenitor cell behavior may provide insights that could lead to improved strategies for promoting bone repair. In this study, we investigated whether white-tailed deer antlerogenic progenitor cells (APC) conform to basic criteria defining mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC).

Variable bone fragility associated with an Amish COL1A2 variant and a knock-in mouse model.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heritable form of bone fragility typically associated with a dominant COL1A1 or COL1A2 mutation. Variable phenotype for OI patients with identical collagen mutations is well established, but phenotype variability is described using the qualitative Sillence classification. Patterning a new OI mouse model on a specific collagen mutation therefore has been hindered by the absence of an appropriate kindred with extensive quantitative phenotype data.