Piezoelectric hydrogels for accelerating healing of diverse wound types.

The skin, as the body's largest organ, plays a crucial role in protecting against mechanical forces and infections, maintaining fluid balance, and regulating body temperature. Therefore, skin wounds can significantly threaten human health and cause a heavy economic burden on society. Recently, bioelectric fields and electrical stimulation (ES) have been recognized as a promising pathway for modulating tissue engineering and regeneration of wounded skin.

Integrated analysis and systematic characterization of the regulatory network for human germline development.

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the precursors of germline that are specified at the embryonic stage. Recent studies reveal that humans employ different mechanisms for PGC specification compared with model organisms such as mice. Moreover, the specific regulatory machinery remains largely unexplored, mainly due to the inaccessible nature of this complex biological process in humans.

METTL3/METTL14 maintain human nucleoli integrity by mediating SUV39H1/H2 degradation.

Nucleoli are fundamentally essential sites for ribosome biogenesis in cells and formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) for a multilayer condensate structure. How the nucleoli integrity is maintained remains poorly understood. Here, we reveal that METTL3/METTL14, the typical methyltransferase complex catalyzing N6-methyladnosine (mA) on mRNAs maintain nucleoli integrity in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

The Crystallization and Melting Behavior of Neodymium-Based Butadiene Rubber Blends.

This study investigates the influence of poly(butadiene-isoprene) copolymer rubber (BIR) and TDAE oil on the crystallization and melting behavior of neodymium-based butadiene rubber (Nd-BR). The study demonstrates that the melting points of Nd-BR and its blends decrease with lower crystallization temperatures. Below the critical crystallization temperature (), the melting behavior shows dual peaks in distinct temperature ranges, which are attributed to different spherulitic sizes.

Study on the Crystallization Behavior of Neodymium Rare-Earth Butadiene Rubber Blends and Its Effect on Dynamic Mechanical Properties.

Utilizing neodymium-based butadiene rubber as a baseline, this study examines the effect of eco-friendly aromatic TDAE oil, fillers, and crosslinking reactions on neodymium-based rare-earth butadiene rubber (Nd-BR) crystallization behavior. The findings suggest that TDAE oil hinders crystallization, resulting in decreased crystallization temperatures and heightened activation energies (). The crystallization activation energies for 20 parts per hundreds of rubber (PHR) and 37.

Comparative effectiveness of prophylactic strategies for preeclampsia: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: Preeclampsia is a common disease during pregnancy that leads to fetal and maternal adverse events. Few head-to-head clinical trials are currently comparing the effectiveness of prophylactic strategies for preeclampsia. In this network meta-analysis, we aimed to compare the efficacy of prophylactic strategies for preventing preeclampsia in pregnant women at risk.

Different transcriptional profiles of human embryonic stem cells grown in a feeder-free culture system and on human foreskin fibroblast feeder layers.

Feeder cells provide an optimal microenvironment for the propagation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) by supplying currently known or unknown factors. However, the hESCs grown on feeder cells are not suitable for the purpose of clinical application because of the risk of contamination. In recent years, the feeder-free culture method has been developed to eliminate contamination, but some studies show that hESCs exhibit poor growth patterns in a feeder-free culture system.

Protocol to derive human trophoblast stem cells directly from primed pluripotent stem cells.

Human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs) are useful for studying human placenta development and diseases, but primed human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) routinely cultured in most laboratories do not support hTSC derivation. Here, we present a protocol to derive hTSCs directly from primed hPSCs. This approach, containing two strategies either with or without bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4), provides a simple and accessible tool for deriving hTSCs to study placenta development and disease modeling without ethical limitations or reprogramming process.

Preeclampsia associated changes in volume density of fetoplacental vessels in Chinese women and mouse model of preeclampsia.

Introduction: Preeclampsia (PE) is associated with abnormal placental vascular structure. However, the volume density of fetoplacental vessels in PE remains unclear. Additionally, manually annotated CT angiography, which is widely used to analyze placental vessels, has issues regarding inaccuracy.

Coordination of EZH2 and SOX2 specifies human neural fate decision.

Polycomb repressive complexes (PRCs) are essential in mouse gastrulation and specify neural ectoderm in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), but the underlying molecular basis remains unclear. Here in this study, by employing an array of different approaches, such as gene knock-out, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, et al., we uncover that EZH2, an important PRC factor, specifies the normal neural fate decision through repressing the competing meso/endoderm program.

Efficient derivation of human trophoblast stem cells from primed pluripotent stem cells.

Human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs) provide a valuable model to study placental development and function. While primary hTSCs have been derived from embryos/early placenta, and transdifferentiated hTSCs from naïve human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), the generation of hTSCs from primed PSCs is problematic. We report the successful generation of TSCs from primed hPSCs and show that BMP4 substantially enhances this process.

ACE2 Is Expressed in Immune Cells That Infiltrate the Placenta in Infection-Associated Preterm Birth.

COVID-19 is associated with increased incidence of preterm birth (PTB). We assessed pathways by which SARS-CoV-2 could access the placenta. Placentae, from PTB with or without chorioamnionitis (ChA), or from term pregnancies ( = 12/13/group) were collected.

Establishment of a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated ANP32A homozygous knockout human embryonic stem cell line.

ANP32A is a member of acidic leucine-rich nuclear phosphoprotein 32 family, which is involved in diverse biochemical processes, including chromatin modification and remodeling. Here, we established the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated ANP32A homozygous knockout human embryonic stem cell (ESC) line to investigate the roles of ANP32A in pluripotency maintenance and differentiation process of human ESCs. This cell line shows the normal karyotype and typical stem cell morphology, in accordance with high expression of pluripotent genes and the differentiation potential in vitro.

Generation of two RNF2 homozygous knockout human embryonic stem cell lines by CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Human RNF2 (RING1B) gene is a critical epigenetic modification factor for embryonic development, pluripotency and differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). To further gain insights into the role of RNF2 in cell fate decisions of human ESCs, here we generated two RNF2 homozygous knockout human ESC lines by CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology. These cell lines maintained a normal karyotype and typical undifferentiated state in terms of morphology, pluripotent gene expression, and had differentiation potential in vivo.

Deciphering a distinct regulatory network of TEAD4, CDX2 and GATA3 in humans for trophoblast transition from embryonic stem cells.

The placenta is an essential organ for the fetus, but its regulatory mechanism for formation of functional trophoblast lineage remains elusive in humans. Although widely known in mice, TEAD4 and its downstream targets CDX2 and GATA3 have not been determined in human models. In this work, we used a human model of trophoblast transition from BAP (BMP4, A83-01 and PD173074)-treated human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and performed multiple gain- and loss-of-function tests of TEAD4, CDX2 or GATA3 to study their roles during this process.

TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) promotes trophoblast cell invasion via miR-146a-EGFR/CXCR4 axis: A novel mechanism for preeclampsia?

Introduction: Preeclampsia (PE) is associated with failure of uterovascular transformation due to impaired trophoblast invasion. Previously, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has been controversially reported to correlate with PE, but whether it regulates trophoblast invasion yet to be defined.

Methods: We treated HTR8/SVneo cells with sTRAIL at concentrations of 0.

JMJD3 and UTX determine fidelity and lineage specification of human neural progenitor cells.

Neurogenesis, a highly orchestrated process, entails the transition from a pluripotent to neural state and involves neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and neuronal/glial subtypes. However, the precise epigenetic mechanisms underlying fate decision remain poorly understood. Here, we delete KDM6s (JMJD3 and/or UTX), the H3K27me3 demethylases, in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and show that their deletion does not impede NPC generation from hESCs.

Decidual small extracellular vesicles induce trophoblast invasion by upregulating N-cadherin.

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are important mediators of cell-to-cell communication involved in the successful establishment of a pregnancy. Human decidual stromal cells play a key role in regulating trophoblast invasion. Nevertheless, the regulatory functions of decidual stromal cells-derived sEVs in human trophoblast cells are still unclear.

Comparison of Dinoprostone and Oxytocin for the Induction of Labor in Late-Term Pregnancy and the Rate of Cesarean Section: A Retrospective Study in Ten Centers in South China.

BACKGROUND Dinoprostone is the recommended primary option for induction of labor (IOL) in late-term pregnancies (LTPs). However, oxytocin is used in developing and rural areas, and studies have supported similar effectiveness for oxytocin and dinoprostone in reducing the rate of cesarean delivery of LTPs with a Bishop's score of between 4-6. This study aimed to compare dinoprostone and oxytocin for IOL in LTPs and the rate of cesarean section in ten centers in South China.

Tuning FOXD3 expression dose-dependently balances human embryonic stem cells between pluripotency and meso-endoderm fates.

Forkhead box D3 (FOXD3) is a key transcription factor maintaining pluripotency in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Yet to date studies on its role in human ESCs are quite limited. In this study, we report that deletion of FOXD3 in human ESCs results in loss of pluripotency and spontaneous differentiation toward meso-endoderm.

Decreased expression of fibroblast growth factor 13 in early-onset preeclampsia is associated with the increased trophoblast permeability.

Objective: Intracellular protein fibroblast growth factor 13 (FGF13) is highly expressed in human placenta, although its biological function remains unexplored. The aims of this study were to investigate the expression of FGF13 in placentae with early-onset preeclampsia (PE) and the associated mechanisms in the pathophysiology of PE.

Methods: The expression levels of FGF13 in placentae obtained from patients with early-onset PE and normal pregnancies were assessed using immunofluorescent staining, Western blot assays and quantitative PCR.

Safety and efficacy of a novel three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging model for uterine incision in placenta previa.

Objective: To assess a novel three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) model for determining position of uterine incision during cesarean delivery among patients with placenta previa.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted among women with singleton pregnancies complicated by placenta previa who delivered by cesarean at a hospital in China between January 1, 2014, and January 1, 2016. Patients chose whether to undergo 3D MRI modeling to guide uterine incision (study group) or the standard intervention (control group).