Electrically Conductive Injectable Silk/PEDOT: PSS Hydrogel for Enhanced Neural Network Formation.

With no effective treatments for functional recovery after injury, spinal cord injury (SCI) remains one of the unresolved healthcare challenges. Human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) transplantation is a versatile patient-specific regenerative approach for functional recovery after SCI. Injectable electroconductive hydrogel (ECH) can further enhance the cell transplantation efficacy through a minimally invasive manner as well as recapitulate the native bioelectrical microenvironment of neural tissue.

Observational Analyses of Ex Vivo Native American Platelet Responses.

Platelet activation plays an essential role in clot formation to prevent blood loss following vascular damage. In pathologic conditions, platelet activation can lead to obstructive clots, disrupting blood flow and resulting in thrombosis. Native Americans suffer disproportionately from arterial disease and previous research has shown that Blacks are enriched in genetic polymorphisms that correlate with higher platelet reactivity contributing to an increased risk for thrombosis.

Neurotrophic extracellular matrix proteins promote neuronal and iPSC astrocyte progenitor cell- and nano-scale process extension for neural repair applications.

The extracellular matrix plays a critical role in modulating cell behaviour in the developing and adult central nervous system influencing neural cell morphology, function and growth. Neurons and astrocytes, play vital roles in neural signalling and support respectively and respond to cues from the surrounding matrix environment. However, a better understanding of the impact of specific individual extracellular matrix proteins on both neurons and astrocytes is critical for advancing the development of matrix-based scaffolds for neural repair applications.