Development of a local controlled release system for therapeutic proteins in the treatment of skeletal muscle injuries and diseases.

The present study aims to develop and characterize a controlled-release delivery system for protein therapeutics in skeletal muscle regeneration following an acute injury. The therapeutic protein, a membrane-GPI anchored protein called Cripto, was immobilized in an injectable hydrogel delivery vehicle for local administration and sustained release. The hydrogel was made of poly(ethylene glycol)-fibrinogen (PEG-Fibrinogen, PF), in the form of injectable microspheres.

Ischemic Stroke due to Intracranial Embolization of a Pelvic Phlebolith in a Pregnant Patient Successfully Treated by Surgical Embolectomy following Attempted Endovascular Thrombectomy.

An unusual case of ischemic stroke due to calcified cerebral embolus occurring in a pregnant patient during the peripartum period is reported. The source of the embolus was suspected to be a pelvic phlebolith in origin which paradoxically embolized via a patent foramen ovale to the supraclinoid right internal carotid artery. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of calcified cerebral embolus attributed to paradoxical embolism of a pelvic phlebolith, and we theorize that introduction of the phlebolith into the venous system may have occurred as a consequence of vascular remodeling due to pregnancy-related hemodynamic changes.

Biomanufacturing Recombinantly Expressed Cripto-1 Protein in Anchorage-Dependent Mammalian Cells Growing in Suspension Bioreactors within a Three-Dimensional Hydrogel Microcarrier.

Biotherapeutic soluble proteins that are recombinantly expressed in mammalian cells can pose a challenge when biomanufacturing in three-dimensional (3D) suspension culture systems. Herein, we tested a 3D hydrogel microcarrier for a suspension culture of HEK293 cells overexpressing recombinant Cripto-1 protein. Cripto-1 is an extracellular protein that is involved in developmental processes and has recently been reported to have therapeutic effects in alleviating muscle injury and diseases by regulating muscle regeneration through satellite cell progression toward the myogenic lineage.