Alterations in phenotype and gene expression of adult human aneurysmal smooth muscle cells by exogenous nitric oxide.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are characterized by matrix remodeling, elastin degradation, absence of nitric oxide (NO) signaling, and inflammation, influencing smooth muscle cell (SMC) phenotype and gene expression. Little is known about the biomolecular release and intrinsic biomechanics of human AAA-SMCs. NO delivery could be an attractive therapeutic strategy to restore lost functionality of AAA-SMCs by inhibiting inflammation and cell stiffening.

Membrane isolation of repeated-use sweat stimulants for mitigating both direct dermal contact and sweat dilution.

With the device integration of sweat stimulation, sweat becomes a stronger candidate for non-invasive continuous biochemical sensing. However, sweat stimulants are cholinergenic agents and non-selective to just the sweat glands, and so, direct placement of sweat stimulants poses additional challenges in the possibility for uncontrollable transport of the stimulant into the body and challenges in contamination of the sweat sample. Reported here is membrane isolation of repeated-use sweat stimulants for mitigating direct dermal contact, dilution of the sweat stimulant, and contamination of the sweat sample.

Complete validation of a continuous and blood-correlated sweat biosensing device with integrated sweat stimulation.

A wearable sweat biosensing device is demonstrated that stimulates sweat and continuously measures sweat ethanol concentrations at 25 s intervals, which is then correlated with blood ethanol during a >3 hour testing phase. The testing involves a baseline condition (no ethanol) followed by a rapid blood and sweat rise of ethanol (oral bolus), and finally, the physiological response of the body as ethanol concentrations return to baseline (metabolized). Data sets include multiple in vivo validation trials and careful in vitro characterization of the electrochemical enzymatic ethanol sensor against likely interferents.

Prolonged and localized sweat stimulation by iontophoretic delivery of the slowly-metabolized cholinergic agent carbachol.

Background: Continuous non-invasive sampling and sensing of multiple classes of analytes could revolutionize medical diagnostics and wearable technologies, but also remains highly elusive because of the many confounding factors for candidate biofluids such as interstitial fluid, tears, saliva, and sweat. Eccrine sweat biosensing has seen a recent surge in demonstrations of wearable sampling and sensing devices. However, for subjects at rest, access to eccrine sweat is highly limited and unpredictable compared to saliva and tears.

Nitric oxide stimulates matrix synthesis and deposition by adult human aortic smooth muscle cells within three-dimensional cocultures.

Vascular diseases are characterized by the over-proliferation and migration of aortic smooth muscle cells (SMCs), and degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) within the vessel wall, leading to compromise in cell-cell and cell-matrix signaling pathways. Tissue engineering approaches to regulate SMC over-proliferation and enhance healthy ECM synthesis showed promise, but resulted in low crosslinking efficiency. Here, we report the benefits of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) cues, delivered from S-Nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), to cell proliferation and matrix deposition by adult human aortic SMCs (HA-SMCs) within three-dimensional (3D) biomimetic cocultures.