Engineered immunological niche directs therapeutic development in models of progressive multiple sclerosis.

Primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating autoimmune disease with only a single class of FDA-approved treatment, B cell depletion. Novel treatments could emerge from a deeper understanding of the interplay between multiple cell types within diseased tissue throughout progression. We initially describe an engineered biomaterial-based immunological niche (IN) as a surrogate for diseased tissue to investigate immune cell function and phenotype dynamics throughout a chronic progressive mouse model of MS.

Engineering immunity using metabolically active polymeric nanoparticles.

Immune system functions play crucial roles in both health and disease, and these functions are regulated by their metabolic programming. The field of immune engineering has emerged to develop therapeutic strategies, including polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), that can direct immune cell phenotype and function by directing immunometabolic changes. Precise control of bioenergetic processes may offer the opportunity to prevent undesired immune activity and improve disease-specific outcomes.

Biodegradable nanoparticles targeting circulating immune cells reduce central and peripheral sensitization to alleviate neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury.

Neuropathic pain is a critical source of comorbidity following spinal cord injury (SCI) that can be exacerbated by immune-mediated pathologies in the central and peripheral nervous systems. In this article, we investigate whether drug-free, biodegradable, poly(lactide- co -glycolide) (PLG) nanoparticle treatment mitigates the development of post-SCI neuropathic pain in female mice. Our results show that acute treatment with PLG nanoparticles following thoracic SCI significantly reduces tactile and cold hypersensitivity scores in a durable fashion.

Drainage of amniotic fluid delays vocal fold separation and induces load-related vocal fold mucosa remodeling.

In the present study, we investigated the role of mechanical load as generated by amniotic fluid in the vocal fold embryogenesis. In utero, amniotic fluid flows through the laryngeal inlet down into the lungs during fetal breathing and swallowing. In a mouse model, the onset of fetal breathing coincides with epithelial lamina recanalization.