Polarized HLA Class I Expression on Renal Tubules Hinders the Detection of Donor-Specific Urinary Extracellular Vesicles.

Purpose: Kidney transplantation is the optimal treatment for patients with end-stage kidney disease. Donor-specific urinary extracellular vesicles (uEVs) hold potential as biomarkers for assessing allograft status. We aimed to develop a method for identifying donor-specific uEVs based on human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatching with the kidney transplant recipients (KTRs).

An model system based on calcium- and phosphate ion-induced hMSC spheroid mineralization.

A challenge in regenerative medicine is creating the three-dimensional organic and inorganic microenvironment of bone, which would allow the study of musculoskeletal disorders and the generation of building blocks for bone regeneration. This study presents a microwell-based platform for creating spheroids of human mesenchymal stromal cells, which are then mineralized using ionic calcium and phosphate supplementation. The resulting mineralized spheroids promote an osteogenic gene expression profile through the influence of the spheroids' biophysical environment and inorganic signaling and require less calcium or phosphate to achieve mineralization compared to a monolayer culture.

Charging of Vitreous Samples in Cryogenic Electron Microscopy Mitigated by Graphene.

Cryogenic electron microscopy can provide high-resolution reconstructions of macromolecules embedded in a thin layer of ice from which atomic models can be built . However, the interaction between the ionizing electron beam and the sample results in beam-induced motion and image distortion, which limit the attainable resolutions. Sample charging is one contributing factor of beam-induced motions and image distortions, which is normally alleviated by including part of the supporting conducting film within the beam-exposed region.

In Situ Covalent Reinforcement of a Benzene-1,3,5-Tricarboxamide Supramolecular Polymer Enables Biomimetic, Tough, and Fibrous Hydrogels and Bioinks.

Synthetic hydrogels often lack the load-bearing capacity and mechanical properties of native biopolymers found in tissue, such as cartilage. In natural tissues, toughness is often imparted via the combination of fibrous noncovalent self-assembly with key covalent bond formation. This controlled combination of supramolecular and covalent interactions remains difficult to engineer, yet can provide a clear strategy for advanced biomaterials.

Molecular Tuning of a Benzene-1,3,5-Tricarboxamide Supramolecular Fibrous Hydrogel Enables Control over Viscoelasticity and Creates Tunable ECM-Mimetic Hydrogels and Bioinks.

Traditional synthetic covalent hydrogels lack the native tissue dynamics and hierarchical fibrous structure found in the extracellular matrix (ECM). These dynamics and fibrous nanostructures are imperative in obtaining the correct cell/material interactions. Consequently, the challenge to engineer functional dynamics in a fibrous hydrogel and recapitulate native ECM properties remains a bottle-neck to biomimetic hydrogel environments.