Bioreactor Culture to Create Adipose Tissue from Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells.

Adipose tissue is a complex and multifaceted endocrine organ located throughout the body. The dysfunction of adipose tissue is known to induce a wide variety of comorbidities that can negatively impact one's health and quality of life. In addition to behavioral changes, drugs that target dysfunctional adipose tissue to treat associated diseases are clinically needed.

Influence of the Synthetic Cannabinoid Agonist on Normal and Inflamed Cartilage: An In Vitro Study.

Medical marijuana (versus Marijuana derivatives) has been reported to possess analgesic, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory properties. Recent studies in animal models of arthritis showed that cannabinoids, a group of compounds produced from marijuana, may attenuate joint damage. However, whether marijuana byproducts can suppress osteoarthritis (OA)-associated cartilage degradation has not been previously reported.

Using Microphysiological System for the Development of Treatments for Joint Inflammation and Associated Cartilage Loss-A Pilot Study.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful and disabling joint disease affecting millions worldwide. The lack of clinically relevant models limits our ability to predict therapeutic outcomes prior to clinical trials, where most drugs fail. Therefore, there is a need for a model that accurately recapitulates the whole-joint disease nature of OA in humans.

In vitro study to identify ligand-independent function of estrogen receptor-α in suppressing DNA damage-induced chondrocyte senescence.

In osteoarthritis (OA), chondrocytes undergo many pathological alternations that are linked with cellular senescence. However, the exact pathways that lead to the generation of a senescence-like phenotype in OA chondrocytes are not clear. Previously, we found that loss of estrogen receptor-α (ERα) was associated with an increased senescence level in human chondrocytes.

PEG Reinforced Scaffold Promotes Uniform Distribution of Human MSC-Created Cartilage Matrix.

Previously, we used a gelatin/hyaluronic acid (GH)-based scaffold to induce chondrogenic differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hBMSC). The results showed that hBMSCs underwent robust chondrogenesis and facilitated cartilage regeneration. However, it was noticed that the GH scaffolds display a compressive modulus that is markedly lower than native cartilage.

Generation of hyaline-like cartilage tissue from human mesenchymal stromal cells within the self-generated extracellular matrix.

Chondrocytic hypertrophy, a phenotype not observed in healthy hyaline cartilage, is often concomitant with the chondrogenesis of human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs). This undesired feature represents one of the major obstacles in applying hMSCs for hyaline cartilage repair. Previously, we developed a method to induce hMSC chondrogenesis within self-generated extracellular matrix (mECM), which formed a cartilage tissue with a lower hypertrophy level than conventional hMSC pellets.

Arthroscopic release for symptomatic scarring of the anterior interval of the knee.

Background: Patients with a history of knee trauma or previous surgery may exhibit pain in the infrapatellar region that is refractory to conservative care. This may be due to subtle scarring of the anterior interval.

Hypothesis: Arthroscopic release of a scarred anterior interval will lead to improvement in anterior knee pain.