Combination of melt-electrospun poly-ε-caprolactone scaffolds and hepatocyte-like cells from footprint-free hiPSCs to create 3D biohybrid constructs for liver tissue engineering.

The liver is a vital organ with numerous functions, including metabolic functions, detoxification, and the synthesis of secretory proteins. The increasing prevalence of liver diseases requires the development of effective treatments, models, and regenerative approaches. The field of liver tissue engineering represents a significant advance in overcoming these challenges.

Tackling the Root Cause of Surface-Induced Coagulation: Inhibition of FXII Activation to Mitigate Coagulation Propagation and Prevent Clotting.

Factor XII (FXII) is a zymogen present in blood that tends to adsorb onto the surfaces of blood-contacting medical devices. Once adsorbed, it becomes activated, initiating a cascade of enzymatic reactions that lead to surface-induced coagulation. This process is characterized by multiple redundancies, making it extremely challenging to prevent clot formation and preserve the properties of the surface.

Improving Bioactive Characteristics of Small Diameter Polytetrafluoroethylene Stent Grafts by Electrospinning: A Comparative Hemocompatibility Study.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a commonly used biomaterial for the manufacturing of vascular grafts and several strategies, such as coatings, have been explored to improve the hemocompatibility of small-diameter prostheses. In this study, the hemocompatibility properties of novel stent grafts covered with electrospun PTFE (LimFlow Gen-1 and LimFlow Gen-2) were compared with uncoated and heparin-coated PTFE grafts (Gore Viabahn) using fresh human blood in a Chandler closed-loop system. After 60 min of incubation, the blood samples were examined hematologically and activation of coagulation, platelets, and the complement system were analyzed.

Improving hemocompatibility of artificial lungs by click conjugation of glycoengineered endothelial cells onto blood-contacting surfaces.

Artificial lungs, also known as oxygenators, allow adequate oxygenation of the blood in patients with severe respiratory failure and enable patient survival. However, the insufficient hemocompatibility of the current of artificial lungs hampers their long-term use. Therefore, in this study, a novel strategy was developed to efficiently endothelialize blood-contacting surfaces to improve their hemocompatibility.

Profiling of time-dependent human plasma protein adsorption on non-coated and heparin-coated oxygenator membranes.

Patients with severe lung diseases are highly dependent on lung support systems. Despite many improvements, long-term use is not possible, mainly because of the strong body defence reactions (e.g.

Homing of mRNA-Modified Endothelial Progenitor Cells to Inflamed Endothelium.

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are one of the most important stem cells for the neovascularization of tissues damaged by ischemic diseases such as myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or critical limb ischemia. However, their low homing efficiency in the treatment of ischemic tissues limits their potential clinical applications. The use of synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) for cell engineering represents a novel and promising technology for the modulation of cell behavior and tissue regeneration.

Biodegradable Zn-Cu-Fe Alloy as a Promising Material for Craniomaxillofacial Implants: An Investigation into Degradation Behavior, Cytotoxicity, and Hemocompatibility.

Zinc-based nanoparticles, nanoscale metal frameworks and metals have been considered as biocompatible materials for bone tissue engineering. Among them, zinc-based metals are recognized as promising biodegradable materials thanks to their moderate degradation rate ranging between magnesium and iron. Nonetheless, materials' biodegradability and the related biological response depend on the specific implant site.

Influence of Human Jaw Periosteal Cells Seeded β-Tricalcium Phosphate Scaffolds on Blood Coagulation.

Tissue engineering offers auspicious opportunities in oral and maxillofacial surgery to heal bone defects. For this purpose, the combination of cells with stability-providing scaffolds is required. Jaw periosteal cells (JPCs) are well suited for regenerative therapies, as they are easily accessible and show strong osteogenic potential.

A Recombinant Fusion Construct between Human Serum Albumin and NTPDase CD39 Allows Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Thrombotic Coating of Medical Devices.

Medical devices directly exposed to blood are commonly used to treat cardiovascular diseases. However, these devices are associated with inflammatory reactions leading to delayed healing, rejection of foreign material or device-associated thrombus formation. We developed a novel recombinant fusion protein as a new biocompatible coating strategy for medical devices with direct blood contact.

Synthetic Material Abdominal Swabs Reduce Activation of Platelets and Leukocytes Compared to Cotton Materials.

During surgical procedures, cotton abdominal swabs with their high absorptive capacity and malleability are used to retain organs and absorb blood or other body fluids. Such properties of the natural material cotton are advantageous for most operations, but in cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery, a high blood volume can accumulate in the thoracic cavity that is quickly retransfused via the heart-lung machine (HLM). This common practice is supposed to be safe due to the high anticoagulation.

An alternative in vivo model to evaluate pluripotency of patient-specific iPSCs.

The generation of autologous human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from a patient’s somatic cells and the sub­sequent differentiation of these cells into desired cell types offer innovative treatment options for tissue regeneration. The hiPSCs obtained are usually implanted in immunodeficient mice, and teratoma formation is analyzed after 4 to 6 weeks to assess the cells’ pluripotency. In this study, an alternative in vivo model based on chicken egg chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) was established to analyze the pluripotency of newly created hiPSCs.

The assessment of electrospun scaffolds fabricated from polycaprolactone with the addition of L-arginine.

Polycaprolactone (PCL) was electrospun with the addition of arginine (Arg), an α-amino acid that accelerates the healing process. The efficient needleless electrospinning technique was used for the fabrication of the nanofibrous layers. The materials produced consisted mainly of fibers with diameters of between 200 and 400 nm.

Left ventricular assist device implantation causes platelet dysfunction and proinflammatory platelet-neutrophil interaction.

Blood flow through left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) may induce activation and dysfunction of platelets. Dysfunctional platelets cause coagulation disturbances and form platelet-neutrophil conjugates (PNC), which contribute to inflammatory tissue damage. This prospective observational cohort study investigated patients, who underwent implantation of a LVAD (either HeartMate II (HM II) (n = 7) or HeartMate 3 (HM 3) (n = 6)) and as control patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and/or aortic valve replacement (AVR) (n = 10).

Hemocompatibility of new magnetically-levitated centrifugal pump technology compared to the CentriMag adult pump.

The specific hemocompatibility properties of mechanical-circulatory-support (MCS)-pump technologies have not previously been described in a comparable manner. We thus investigated the hemocompatibility-indicating marker of a new magnetically-levitated (MagLev) centrifugal pump (MT-Mag) in a human, whole-blood mock-loop for 360 min using the MCS devices as a driving component. We compared those results with the CentriMag adult (C-Mag) device under the same conditions according to ISO10993-4.

Chandler-Loop surveyed blood compatibility and dynamic blood triggered degradation behavior of Zn-4Cu alloy and Zn.

Zinc (Zn) and its alloys have been considered promising absorbable metals for medical implants. However, the dynamic interaction between Zn-based materials and human blood after implantation remains unclear. In this study, a modified Chandler-Loop system was applied to assess the blood compatibility and initial degradation behavior of a Zn-4.

ECMO implantation training: Needle penetration in 3D printable materials and porcine aorta.

Aim: Patients with cardiogenic shock or ARDS, for example, in COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2, may require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). An ECLS/ECMO model simulating challenging vascular anatomy is desirable for cannula insertion training purposes. We assessed the ability of various 3D-printable materials to mimic the penetration properties of human tissue by using porcine aortae.

Publisher Correction: In vitro investigation of chemical properties and biocompatibility of neurovascular braided implants.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Hydrojet-based delivery of footprint-free iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes into porcine myocardium.

The reprogramming of patient´s somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and the consecutive differentiation into cardiomyocytes enables new options for the treatment of infarcted myocardium. In this study, the applicability of a hydrojet-based method to deliver footprint-free iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes into the myocardium was analyzed. A new hydrojet system enabling a rapid and accurate change between high tissue penetration pressures and low cell injection pressures was developed.

Modulating endothelial adhesion and migration impacts stem cell therapies efficacy.

Background: Limited knowledge of stem cell therapies` mechanisms of action hampers their sustainable implementation into the clinic. Specifically, the interactions of transplanted stem cells with the host vasculature and its implications for their therapeutic efficacy are not elucidated. We tested whether adhesion receptors and chemokine receptors on stem cells can be functionally modulated, and consequently if such modulation may substantially affect therapeutically relevant stem cell interactions with the host endothelium.

Cell motility and migration as determinants of stem cell efficacy.

Background: Stem cells` (SC) functional heterogeneity and its poorly understood aetiology impedes clinical development of cell-based therapies in regenerative medicine and oncology. Recent studies suggest a strong correlation between the SC migration potential and their therapeutic efficacy in humans. Designating SC migration as a denominator of functional SC heterogeneity, we sought to identify highly migrating subpopulations within different SC classes and evaluate their therapeutic properties in comparison to the parental non-selected cells.

A Novel C1-Esterase Inhibitor Oxygenator Coating Prevents FXII Activation in Human Blood.

The limited hemocompatibility of currently used oxygenator membranes prevents long-term use of artificial lungs in patients with lung failure. To improve hemocompatibility, we developed a novel covalent C1-esterase inhibitor (C1-INH) coating. Besides complement inhibition, C1-INH also prevents FXII activation, a very early event of contact phase activation at the crossroads of coagulation and inflammation.

Application of totarol as natural antibacterial coating on dental implants for prevention of peri-implantitis.

Peri-implantitis is the most important issue threatening the long-term survival rate of dental implants. Various efforts have been made to reduce implant surface plaque formation, which is one of the essential causes of peri-implantitis. In our study, we applied the natural antibacterial agent totarol as a coating on experimental silicon wafer and titanium implant surfaces.

Hemocompatibility Testing of Blood-Contacting Implants in a Flow Loop Model Mimicking Human Blood Flow.

The growing use of medical devices (e.g., vascular grafts, stents, and cardiac catheters) for temporary or permanent purposes that remain in the body's circulatory system demands a reliable and multiparametric approach that evaluates the possible hematologic complications caused by these devices (i.

Multi-Modal Characterization of the Coagulopathy Associated With Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Objectives: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is used to stabilize severe cardiocirculatory and/or respiratory failure. However, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is associated with a coagulopathy characterized by thromboembolic and hemorrhagic complications. This study aimed to characterize the pathomechanism of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation-associated coagulopathy and identify options to optimize its monitoring and therapy.