Open-ST: High-resolution spatial transcriptomics in 3D.

Spatial transcriptomics (ST) methods unlock molecular mechanisms underlying tissue development, homeostasis, or disease. However, there is a need for easy-to-use, high-resolution, cost-efficient, and 3D-scalable methods. Here, we report Open-ST, a sequencing-based, open-source experimental and computational resource to address these challenges and to study the molecular organization of tissues in 2D and 3D.

Novel leukocyte-depleted platelet-rich plasma-based skin equivalent as an in vitro model of chronic wounds: a preliminary study.

Background: Chronic leg ulcerations are associated with Haemoglobin disorders, Type2 Diabetes Mellitus, and long-term venous insufficiency, where poor perfusion and altered metabolism develop into a chronic inflammation that impairs wound closure. Skin equivalent organotypic cultures can be engineered in vitro to study skin biology and wound closure by modelling the specific cellular components of the skin. This study aimed to develop a novel bioactive platelet-rich plasma (PRP) leukocyte depleted scaffold to facilitate the study of common clinical skin wounds in patients with poor chronic skin perfusion and low leukocyte infiltration.

Comparison of DNA extraction methods for samples from old blood collections.

In this study, DNA was extracted from whole blood which had been collected and stored at -20°C for 5-18 years, with the aim of determining the most suitable commercial DNA extraction kit for this purpose. DNA from nine cord blood samples collected in 1999, 2001 and 2012, with low blood volumes (<1 ml), and a partly dried adult blood sample collected in 2003, having a large blood volume (6 ml) was extracted using four different DNA extraction kits: Quick-DNA Miniprep Plus kit, DNeasy Blood & Tissue kit, MagAttract HMW DNA kit and QIAamp Blood Maxi kit. We concluded that high-quality DNA can be extracted from whole blood sample collections which have been stored for even up to 18 years in a biobank at -20°C.

Immunoglobulin G in Platelet-Derived Wound Healing Factors.

We intended to reformulate an existing platelet-derived wound healing formula to target each phase of the healing wound with the appropriate phase-specific molecules. A decreased perfusion of the skin, often associated with conditions such as thalassemia, sickle cell disease, diabetes mellitus, and chronic vascular disease, is the most common etiology of cutaneous ulcers and chronic wounds. We had previously shown that a PDWHF topically applied to a chronic nonhealing ulcer of a -thalassemia homozygote stimulated and accelerated closure of the wound.