Collagen scaffold-seeded iTenocytes accelerate the healing and functional recovery of Achilles tendon defects in a rat model.

Introduction: Tendon injuries represent an ongoing challenge in clinical practice due to poor regenerative capacity, structure, and biomechanical function recovery of ruptured tendons. This study is focused on the assessment of a novel strategy to repair ruptured Achilles tendons in a Nude rat model using stem cell-seeded biomaterial.

Methods: Specifically, we have used induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs) overexpressing the early tendon marker Scleraxis (SCX, iMSC, iTenocytes) in combination with an elastic collagen scaffold.

The acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines in Rwanda: a cross-sectional study.

The first reported case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Rwanda occurred on March 14 2020. By the end of July 2024, a total of 133,518 individuals had tested positive for the infection, resulting in 1,468 deaths and 132,039 had fully recovered. The success of COVID-19 elimination in Rwanda hinges on the public's level of acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccination.

Biofabrication of prevascularized spheroids for bone tissue engineering by fusion of microvascular fragments with osteoblasts.

Introduction: Spheroids are promising building blocks for scaffold-free bone tissue engineering. Their rapid vascularization is of major importance to guarantee their survival after transplantation. To achieve this, we herein introduce the biofabrication of prevascularized spheroids by fusion of adipose tissue-derived microvascular fragments (MVF) with osteoblasts (OB).

Eosinophils, basophils and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in chronic Loa loa infection and its treatment in an endemic setting.

Background: Chronic infection by Loa loa remains an unsolved immunological paradox. Despite harboring subcutaneously migrating adult worms and often high densities of microfilariae, most patients experience only relatively mild symptoms, yet microfilaricidal treatment can trigger life-threatening inflammation. Here, we investigated innate cell populations hypothesized to play a role in these two faces of the disease, in an endemic population in Gabon.

Fourth Controlled Human Infection Model (CHIM) meeting - CHIMs in endemic countries, May 22-23, 2023.

Earlier meetings laid the foundations for Controlled Human Infection Models (CHIMs), also known as human challenge studies and human infection studies, including Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) production of the challenge agent, CHIM ethics, environmental safety in CHIM, recruitment, community engagement, advertising and incentives, pre-existing immunity, and clinical, immunological, and microbiological endpoints. The fourth CHIM meeting focused on CHIM studies being conducted in endemic countries. Over the last ten years we have seen a vast expansion of the number of countries in Africa performing CHIM studies, as well as a growing number of different challenge organisms being used.