Medical and economic impacts of managing corneas from older donors at the tissue bank-a single-center retrospective study spanning over 12 years.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of corneas from donors over 80 years of age on the activity of the North of France Tissue Bank and to determine the potential cost implications for banks using corneas from older donors.

Methods: We analyzed data from a single-center retrospective cohort study of 6,023 corneas preserved at the Lille Tissue Bank between 2012 and 2023. Donors, unrestricted by age, were divided into two groups: younger (≤ 80 years) and older (> 80 years).

Implementing Chicken Chorioallantoic Membrane (CAM) Assays for Validating Biomaterials in Tissue Engineering: Rationale and Methods.

Tissue engineering is a promising approach for generating or repairing living tissues. The development of innovative biomaterials for tissue engineering has the potential to address the unmet clinical needs in certain applications. However, before these biomaterials can be used in clinical settings, they must undergo preclinical testing to ensure safety and performance.

Engineering 3D-Printed Bioresorbable Scaffold to Improve Non-Vascularized Fat Grafting: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Autologous fat grafting is the gold standard for treatment in patients with soft-tissue defects. However, the technique has a major limitation of unpredictable fat resorption due to insufficient blood supply in the initial phase after transplantation. To overcome this problem, we investigated the capability of a medical-grade poly L-lactide-co-poly ε-caprolactone (PLCL) scaffold to support adipose tissue and vascular regeneration.

Specific quinone reductase 2 inhibitors reduce metabolic burden and reverse Alzheimer's disease phenotype in mice.

Biological aging can be described as accumulative, prolonged metabolic stress and is the major risk factor for cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recently, we identified and described a quinone reductase 2 (QR2) pathway in the brain, in which QR2 acts as a removable memory constraint and metabolic buffer within neurons. QR2 becomes overexpressed with age, and it is possibly a novel contributing factor to age-related metabolic stress and cognitive deficit.

Protein-losing Enteropathy as a Complication and/or Differential Diagnosis of Common Variable Immunodeficiency.

As protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) can lead to hypogammaglobulinemia and lymphopenia, and since common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is associated with digestive complications, we wondered if (1) PLE could occur during CVID and (2) specific features could help determine whether a patient with antibody deficiency has CVID, PLE, or both. Eligible patients were thus classified in 3 groups: CVID + PLE (n = 8), CVID-only (= 19), and PLE-only (n = 13). PLE was diagnosed using fecal clearance of α1-antitrypsin or 111In-labeled albumin.

Current Advances in 3D Bioprinting for Cancer Modeling and Personalized Medicine.

Tumor cells evolve in a complex and heterogeneous environment composed of different cell types and an extracellular matrix. Current 2D culture methods are very limited in their ability to mimic the cancer cell environment. In recent years, various 3D models of cancer cells have been developed, notably in the form of spheroids/organoids, using scaffold or cancer-on-chip devices.

Oral mucosal melanoma - A systematic review.

Oral mucosal melanoma (OMM) is the subject of few studies, resulting in a lack of understanding. The aim of this study is to review the current literature on OMM. The term searched was "oral mucosal melanoma" between 01/01/2000 and 03/15/2021 in the PubMed Database (MEDLINE).

Clinically Relevant Oxygraphic Assay to Assess Mitochondrial Energy Metabolism in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients.

Resistant acute myeloid leukemia (AML) exhibits mitochondrial energy metabolism changes compared to newly diagnosed AML. This phenotype is often observed by evaluating the mitochondrial oxygen consumption of blasts, but most of the oximetry protocols were established from leukemia cell lines without validation on primary leukemia cells. Moreover, the cultures and storage conditions of blasts freshly extracted from patient blood or bone marrow cause stress, which must be evaluated before determining oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS).

Small molecule inhibitor of Igf2bp1 represses Kras and a pro-oncogenic phenotype in cancer cells.

Igf2bp1 is an oncofetal RNA binding protein whose expression in numerous types of cancers is associated with upregulation of key pro-oncogenic RNAs, poor prognosis, and reduced survival. Importantly, Igf2bp1 synergizes with mutations in Kras to enhance signalling and oncogenic activity, suggesting that molecules inhibiting Igf2bp1 could have therapeutic potential. Here, we isolate a small molecule that interacts with a hydrophobic surface at the boundary of Igf2bp1 KH3 and KH4 domains, and inhibits binding to Kras RNA.

Antimetabolic cooperativity with the clinically approved l-asparaginase and tyrosine kinase inhibitors to eradicate CML stem cells.

Objective: Long-term treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) represents an effective cure for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients and discontinuation of TKI therapy is now proposed to patient with deep molecular responses. However, evidence demonstrating that TKI are unable to fully eradicate dormant leukemic stem cells (LSC) indicate that new therapeutic strategies are needed to control LSC and to prevent relapse. In this study we investigated the metabolic pathways responsible for CML surviving to imatinib exposure and its potential therapeutic utility to improve the efficacy of TKI against stem-like CML cells.

Retrospective study of COVID-19 seroprevalence among tissue donors at the onset of the outbreak before implementation of strict lockdown measures in France.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has altered organ and tissue donations as well as transplantation practices. SARS-CoV-2 serological tests could help in the selection of donors. We assessed COVID-19 seroprevalence in a population of tissue donors, at the onset of the outbreak in France, before systematic screening of donors for SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

Lipid Metabolism and Resistance to Anticancer Treatment.

Metabolic reprogramming is crucial to respond to cancer cell requirements during tumor development. In the last decade, metabolic alterations have been shown to modulate cancer cells' sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents including conventional and targeted therapies. Recently, it became apparent that changes in lipid metabolism represent important mediators of resistance to anticancer agents.

Mitochondrial spare respiratory capacity: Mechanisms, regulation, and significance in non-transformed and cancer cells.

Mitochondrial metabolism must constantly adapt to stress conditions in order to maintain bioenergetic levels related to cellular functions. This absence of proper adaptation can be seen in a wide array of conditions, including cancer. Metabolic adaptation calls on mitochondrial function and draws on the mitochondrial reserve to meet increasing needs.

How to improve donor skin availability: Pragmatic procedures to minimize the discard rate of cryopreserved allografts in skin banking.

Background: Microbial contamination of human skin allografts is a frequent cause of allograft discard. Our purpose was to evaluate the discard rate of skin bank contaminated allografts and specific procedures used to reduce allograft contamination without affecting safety.

Methods: We conducted at the Lille Tissue Bank a retrospective study of all deceased donors (n = 104) harvested from January 2018 to December 2018.

Benefits of cryopreserved human amniotic membranes in association with conventional treatments in the management of full-thickness burns.

The use of split-thickness skin autografts (STSA) with dermal substitutes is the gold standard treatment for third-degree burn patients. In this article, we tested whether cryopreserved amniotic membranes could be beneficial to the current treatments for full-thickness burns. Swines were subjected to standardised full-thickness burn injuries, and then were randomly assigned to treatments: (a) STSA alone; (b) STSA associated with the dermal substitute, Matriderm; (c) STSA plus human amniotic membrane (HAM); and (d) STSA associated with Matriderm plus HAM.

Covalent Docking Identifies a Potent and Selective MKK7 Inhibitor.

The c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway is central to the cell response to stress, inflammatory signals, and toxins. While selective inhibitors are known for JNKs and for various upstream MAP3Ks, no selective inhibitor is reported for MKK7--one of two direct MAP2Ks that activate JNK. Here, using covalent virtual screening, we identify selective MKK7 covalent inhibitors.

Synthesis of Industrially Relevant Carbamates towards Isocyanates using Carbon Dioxide and Organotin(IV) Alkoxides.

A straightforward phosgene-free synthesis of aromatic isocyanates and diisocyanates is disclosed. Theoretical investigations suggested that the insertion of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) by dialkyltin(IV) dialkoxides could be used to convert aromatic amines into aromatic mono- and dicarbamates. Here we show, that methyl phenylcarbamate (MPC) from aniline using organotin(IV) dimethoxide and CO2 can be formed in high yield of up to 92 %, experimentally corroborating the predictions of density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Formation of contiguous quaternary and tertiary stereocenters by sequential asymmetric conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to 2-substituted enones and Mg-enolate trapping.

Herein a comprehensive study is provided on the asymmetric conjugate addition (ACA) of Grignard reagents to α-substituted cyclic enones. After the elucidation of the optimal experimental conditions, the scope of Grignard reagents and Michael acceptors was examined. Whereas secondary Grignards gave better enantioselectivities with 2-cyclopentenones, both linear and branched Grignard reagents were tolerated for the ACA to 2-methylcyclohexenone.

Asymmetric conjugate addition to α-substituted enones/enolate trapping.

An NHC-Cu complex catalyzed the asymmetric conjugate addition (ACA) of various Grignard reagents to nonactivated α-substituted cyclic enones to give 2,3-dialkylated cyclopentanones and cyclohexanones. The Michael addition features the formation of a magnesium enolate intermediate. One-pot diastereoselective trapping of this enolate by alkyl, propargyl, allyl, and benzyl halides led to ketones with contiguous α-quaternary and β-tertiary centers.