Correction to: Optimizing conditions for labeling of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) with gold nanoparticles: a prerequisite for in vivo tracking of MSCs.

The authors apologized for the unfortunate error in figure during publication of the article and they also explained that some of the solid grey graphs in Fig. 5 are intentionally based on the same data. For 8 different surface makers (CD14, CD73, CD34, CD105, CD19, CD90, CD45, HA-DR) in accordance to the guidelines of the manufacturer a panel of 4 different isotype controls were used, corresponding to 4 different fluorescence channels.

Publisher Correction: Experimental orthotopic transplantation of a tissue-engineered oesophagus in rats.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4562.

In vitro assessment of electrospun polyamide-6 scaffolds for esophageal tissue engineering.

Artificial tissue-engineered grafts offer a potential alternative to autologous tissue grafts for patients, which can be traumatic. After decellularizing Papio hamadryas esophagus and studying the morphology and physical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM), we generated electrospun polyamide-6 based scaffolds to mimic it. The scaffolds supported a greater mechanical load than the native ECM and demonstrated similar 3D microstructure, with randomly aligned fibers, 90% porosity, 29 μm maximal pore size, and average fiber diameter of 2.

Optimizing conditions for labeling of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) with gold nanoparticles: a prerequisite for in vivo tracking of MSCs.

Background: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have an inherent migratory capacity towards tumor tissue in vivo. With the future objective to quantify the tumor homing efficacy of MSCs, as first step in this direction we investigated the use of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs), in particular ca. 4 nm-sized Au NPs, for MSC labeling.

Diverse Applications of Nanomedicine.

The design and use of materials in the nanoscale size range for addressing medical and health-related issues continues to receive increasing interest. Research in nanomedicine spans a multitude of areas, including drug delivery, vaccine development, antibacterial, diagnosis and imaging tools, wearable devices, implants, high-throughput screening platforms, etc. using biological, nonbiological, biomimetic, or hybrid materials.

EPR spectroscopy solutions for assessment of decellularization of intrathoracic organs and tissues.

Using EPR spectroscopy it was established that the determination of the concentration of paramagnetic centers in lyophilized tissues allows indirect evaluation of the quality of decellularization of intrathoracic organs (diaphragm, heart, and lungs), since the content of paramagnetic particles in them can serve as a criterion of cell viability and points to the necessity to repeat decellularization. Experiments in rats showed that the EPR spectra of the native thoracic organs contained paramagnetic centers with g-factor values ranging from 2.007 to 2.

In vivo degeneration and the fate of inorganic nanoparticles.

What happens to inorganic nanoparticles (NPs), such as plasmonic gold or silver, superparamagnetic iron oxide, or fluorescent quantum dot NPs after they have been administrated to a living being? This review discusses the integrity, biodistribution, and fate of NPs after in vivo administration. The hybrid nature of the NPs is described, conceptually divided into the inorganic core, the engineered surface coating comprising of the ligand shell and optionally also bio-conjugates, and the corona of adsorbed biological molecules. Empirical evidence shows that all of these three compounds may degrade individually in vivo and can drastically modify the life cycle and biodistribution of the whole heterostructure.

Orthotopic transplantation of a tissue engineered diaphragm in rats.

The currently available surgical options to repair the diaphragm are associated with significant risks of defect recurrence, lack of growth potential and restored functionality. A tissue engineered diaphragm has the potential to improve surgical outcomes for patients with congenital or acquired disorders. Here we show that decellularized diaphragmatic tissue reseeded with bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) facilitates in situ regeneration of functional tissue.

Autologous Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells as Treatment in Refractory Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a devastating disorder. Despite enormous efforts in clinical research, effective treatment options are lacking, and mortality rates remain unacceptably high.

Objectives: A male patient with severe ARDS showed no clinical improvement with conventional therapies.

Uniportal Videothoracoscopic Surgery: Our Indications and Limits.

Objective: We present our experience with uniportal videothoracoscopic surgery (VATS-U), examining its indications, limits, and results.

Methods: Since January 2009, 66 patients underwent VATS-U for the following indications: pneumothorax (n = 25), lung nodule (n = 15; n = 10 with preoperative radiolocalization), wedge biopsy (n = 15), hyperhidrosis (n = 10), and chest wall schwannoma (n = 1). The conversion rate to conventional video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), postoperative pain, complications, residual paraesthesia, and hospitalization were analyzed.

The Use of Mathematical Modelling for Improving the Tissue Engineering of Organs and Stem Cell Therapy.

Regenerative medicine is a multidisciplinary field where continued progress relies on the incorporation of a diverse set of technologies from a wide range of disciplines within medicine, science and engineering. This review describes how one such technique, mathematical modelling, can be utilised to improve the tissue engineering of organs and stem cell therapy. Several case studies, taken from research carried out by our group, ACTREM, demonstrate the utility of mechanistic mathematical models to help aid the design and optimisation of protocols in regenerative medicine.

Extracellular vesicle in vivo biodistribution is determined by cell source, route of administration and targeting.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as important mediators of intercellular communication in a diverse range of biological processes. For future therapeutic applications and for EV biology research in general, understanding the in vivo fate of EVs is of utmost importance. Here we studied biodistribution of EVs in mice after systemic delivery.

Carinal resection.

Carinal resections and reconstructions, with or without lung resection, are challenging operations that may be indicated in less than 1% of operable patients with NSCLC or benign lesions involving the carina. These operations are completed in only a few centers worldwide, likely because of their technical complexity and the general opinion about their limited patient benefit. However, good survival results can be expected in pN0 or pN1 patients so that, in experienced hands, these operations are effective options.

Tracheal tissue engineering in rats.

Tissue-engineered tracheal transplants have been successfully performed clinically. However, before becoming a routine clinical procedure, further preclinical studies are necessary to determine the underlying mechanisms of in situ tissue regeneration. Here we describe a protocol using a tissue engineering strategy and orthotopic transplantation of either natural decellularized donor tracheae or artificial electrospun nanofiber scaffolds into a rat model.

Kinetics of oxygen uptake by cells potentially used in a tissue engineered trachea.

Synthetic polymer scaffold seeded with autologous cells have a clinical translational potential. A rational design oriented to clinical applications must ensure an efficient mass transfer of nutrients as a function of specific metabolic rates, especially for precariously vascularized tissues grown in vitro or integrated in vivo. In this work, luminescence lifetime-based sensors were used to provide accurate, extensive and non-invasive measurements of the oxygen uptake rate for human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), tracheal epithelial cells (hTEpiCs) and human chondrocytes (hCCs) within a range of 2-40% O2 partial pressure.