Publications by authors named "K C Bertram"

Neuroinflammation is a significant correlate of Parkinson's Disease (PD), with positron emission tomography showing microglial activation early in the PD process and post-mortem tissue containing reactive microglia. Adipose-derived (AD) stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells have been shown to respond to pro-inflammatory conditions with secretion of anti-inflammatory paracrine factors. This pilot clinical trial was to examine the safety and clinical response using autologous ADSVF to treat PD.

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Vaccine adjuvants are thought to work by stimulating innate immunity in the draining lymph node (LN), although this has not been proven in humans. To bridge the data obtained in animals to humans, we have developed an in situ human LN explant model to investigate how adjuvants initiate immunity. Slices of explanted LNs were exposed to vaccine adjuvants and revealed responses that were not detectable in LN cell suspensions.

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Volumetric muscle loss (VML) leads to permanent muscle mass and functional impairments. While mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and their secreted factors can aid muscle regeneration, MSCs exhibit limited persistence in injured tissue post-transplantation. Human placental-derived stem cells (hPDSCs), sharing surface markers with MSCs, demonstrate superior regenerative potential due to their fetal origin.

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AXL+ Siglec-6+ dendritic cells (ASDC) are novel myeloid DCs which can be subdivided into CD11c+ and CD123+ expressing subsets. We showed for the first time that these two ASDC subsets are present in inflamed human anogenital tissues where HIV transmission occurs. Their presence in inflamed tissues was supported by single cell RNA analysis of public databases of such tissues including psoriasis diseased skin and colorectal cancer.

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