Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells From a Hypoxic Culture Improve Neuronal Differentiation and Nerve Repair.

Hypoxic expansion has been demonstrated to enhance neuronal differentiation of bone-marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Whether adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) increase their neuronal differentiation potential following hypoxic expansion has been examined in the study. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence staining were employed to detect the expression of neuronal markers and compare the differentiation efficiency of hypoxic and normoxic ADSCs.

Mesenchymal stem cells from a hypoxic culture improve nerve regeneration.

Repairing the peripheral nerves following a segmental defect injury remains surgically challenging. Because of some disadvantages of nerve grafts, nerve regeneration, such as conduits combined with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), may serve as an alternative. BMSCs expand under hypoxic conditions, decrease in senescence, and increase in proliferation and differentiation potential into the bone, fat, and cartilage.

Biomaterial Substrate-Mediated Multicellular Spheroid Formation and Their Applications in Tissue Engineering.

Three-dimentional (3D) multicellular aggregates (spheroids), compared to the traditional 2D monolayer cultured cells, are physiologically more similar to the cells in vivo. So far there are various techniques to generate 3D spheroids. Spheroids obtained from different methods have already been applied to regenerative medicine or cancer research.

Glucose-sensitive self-healing hydrogel as sacrificial materials to fabricate vascularized constructs.

A major challenge in tissue engineering is the lack of proper vascularization. Although various approaches have been used to build vascular network in a tissue engineering construct, there remain some drawbacks. Herein, a glucose-sensitive self-healing hydrogel are employed as sacrificial materials to fabricate branched tubular channels within a construct.

Accumulation and Toxicity of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Cells and Experimental Animals.

The uptake and distribution of negatively charged superparamagnetic iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles (SPIONs) in mouse embryonic fibroblasts NIH3T3, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal influenced by SPIONs injected into experimental animals, were visualized and investigated. Cellular uptake and distribution of the SPIONs in NIH3T3 after staining with Prussian Blue were investigated by a bright-field microscope equipped with digital color camera. SPIONs were localized in vesicles, mostly placed near the nucleus.

Substrate-mediated reprogramming of human fibroblasts into neural crest stem-like cells and their applications in neural repair.

Cell- and gene-based therapies have emerged as promising strategies for treating neurological diseases. The sources of neural stem cells are limited while the induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have risk of tumor formation. Here, we proposed the generation of self-renewable, multipotent, and neural lineage-related neural crest stem-like cells by chitosan substrate-mediated gene transfer of a single factor forkhead box D3 (FOXD3) for the use in neural repair.

Increased cell survival of cells exposed to superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles through biomaterial substrate-induced autophagy.

The cellular uptake of nanoparticles (NPs) can be promoted by NP surface modification but cell viability is often sacrificed. Our previous study has shown that intracellular uptake of iron oxide NPs was significantly increased for cells cultured on chitosan. However, the mechanism for having the higher cellular uptake as well as better cell survival on the chitosan surface remains unclear.

Effect of an Epineurial-Like Biohybrid Nerve Conduit on Nerve Regeneration.

A novel approach of making a biomimetic nerve conduit was established by seeding adipose-derived adult stem cells (ADSCs) on the external wall of porous poly(d,l-lactic acid) (PLA) nerve conduits. The PLA conduits were fabricated using gas foaming salt and solvent-nonsolvent phase conversion. We examined the effect of two different porous structures (GS and GL) on ADSC growth and proliferation.

Fast isolation and expansion of multipotent cells from adipose tissue based on chitosan-selected primary culture.

Adipose-derived adult stem cells (ASCs) have gained much attention because of their multipotency and easy access. Here we describe a novel chitosan-based selection (CS) system instead of the conventional plastic adherence (PA) to obtain the primary ASCs. The minimal amount of adipose tissue for consistent isolation of ASCs is reduced from 10 mL to 5 mL.

An Injectable, Self-Healing Hydrogel to Repair the Central Nervous System.

An injectable, self-healing hydrogel (≈1.5 kPa) is developed for healing nerve-system deficits. Neurosphere-like progenitors proliferate in the hydrogel and differentiate into neuron-like cells.

Substrate-mediated nanoparticle/gene delivery to MSC spheroids and their applications in peripheral nerve regeneration.

Substrate-derived mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) spheroids show greater differentiation capacities than dispersed single cells in vitro. During spheroid formation, nanoparticles (NPs)/genes may be delivered into the cells. In this study, MSCs were conveniently labeled with superparamagnetic Fe3O4 NPs, or transfected with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, by the substrate-mediated NP/gene uptake.

Fabrication of bioactive conduits containing the fibroblast growth factor 1 and neural stem cells for peripheral nerve regeneration across a 15 mm critical gap.

Nerve conduits are often used in combination with bioactive molecules and stem cells to enhance peripheral nerve regeneration. In this study, the acidic fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) was immobilized onto the microporous/micropatterned poly (D, L-lactic acid) (PLA) nerve conduits after open air plasma treatment. PLA substrates grafted with chitosan in the presence of a small amount of gold nanoparticles (nano Au) showed a protective effect on the activity of the immobilized FGF1 in vitro.

Nanoparticle uptake and gene transfer efficiency for MSCs on chitosan and chitosan-hyaluronan substrates.

Nanoparticles (NPs) are usually surface modified to increase endocytosis for applications in cellular imaging and gene delivery. The influence of cell culture substrates on endocytosis remains relatively unexplored. This study investigated the substrate-mediated effects on the uptake of NPs by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).