In vivo engraftment into the cornea endothelium using extracellular matrix shrink-wrapped cells.

Cell injection is a common clinical approach for therapeutic delivery into diseased and damaged tissues in order to achieve regeneration. However, cell retention, viability, and engraftment at the injection site have generally been poor, driving the need for improved approaches. Here, we developed a technique to shrink-wrap micropatterned islands of corneal endothelial cells in a basement membrane-like layer of extracellular matrix that enables the cells to maintain their cell-cell junctions and cytoskeletal structure while in suspension.

Quantifying cellular forces: Practical considerations of traction force microscopy for dermal fibroblasts.

Traction force microscopy (TFM) is a well-established technique traditionally used by biophysicists to quantify the forces adherent biological cells exert on their microenvironment. As image processing software becomes increasingly user-friendly, TFM is being adopted by broader audiences to quantify contractility of (myo)fibroblasts. While many technical reviews of TFM's computational mechanics are available, this review focuses on practical experimental considerations for dermatology researchers new to cell mechanics and TFM who may wish to implement a higher throughput and less expensive alternative to collagen compaction assays.

Natural Biomaterials for Corneal Tissue Engineering, Repair, and Regeneration.

Corneal blindness is a major cause of vision loss, estimated to affect over 10 million people worldwide. Once impaired through clouding or shape change, the best treatment option for restoring vision is corneal transplantation using full or partial thickness cadaveric grafts. However, donor corneas are globally limited and face rejection and graft failure, similar to other transplanted organs.

Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells From Hypertensive Patient-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Advance Hypertension Pharmacogenomics.

Unlabelled: Studies in hypertension (HTN) pharmacogenomics seek to identify genetic sources of variable antihypertensive drug response. Genetic association studies have detected single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that link to drug responses; however, to understand mechanisms underlying how genetic traits alter drug responses, a biological interface is needed. Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide a potential source for studying otherwise inaccessible tissues that may be important to antihypertensive drug response.