Aim: Limbal cultures restore the corneal epithelium in patients with ocular burns. We investigated the biological parameters instrumental for their clinical success.
Methods: We report a long-term multicenter prospective study on 152 patients carrying corneal destruction due to severe ocular burns, treated with autologous limbal cells cultured on fibrin and clinical-grade 3T3-J2 feeder cells. Clinical results were statistically evaluated both by parametric and nonparametric methods.
Results: Clinical outcomes were scored as full success, partial success and failure in 66.05, 19.14 and 14.81% of eyes, respectively. The total number of clonogenic cells, colony size, growth rate and presence of conjunctival cells could not predict clinical results. Instead, the clinical data provided conclusive evidence that graft quality and likelihood of a successful outcome rely on an accurate evaluation of the number of stem cells detected before transplantation as holoclones expressing high levels of the p63 transcription factor. No adverse effects related to the feeder layer have been observed and the regenerated epithelium was completely devoid of any 3T3-J2 contamination.
Conclusion: Cultures of limbal stem cells can be safely used to successfully treat massive destruction of the human cornea. We emphasize the importance of a discipline for defining the suitability and the quality of cultured epithelial grafts, which are relevant to the future clinical use of any cultured cell type.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.2217/rme.13.43 | DOI Listing |
Domest Anim Endocrinol
January 2025
BIOFITER-IUCA, Universidad de Zaragoza, Facultad de Veterinaria, Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address:
This review presents recent findings on the effect of melatonin on ram spermatozoa. This hormone regulates seasonal reproduction in the ovine species through the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, but it also exerts direct effects on spermatogenesis, seminal quality and fertility. In the testis, melatonin stimulates blood flow to this organ, but it also appears to be involved in the differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells and the secretion of testosterone through the MT1 and MT2 receptors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu, 210029, China.
Patellar dysplasia (PD) can cause patellar dislocation and subsequent osteoarthritis (OA) development. Herein, a novel ABCA6 mutation contributing to a four-generation family with familiar patellar dysplasia (FPD) is identified. In this study, whole exome sequencing (WES) and genetic linkage analysis across a four-generation lineage presenting with six cases of FPD are conducted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Orthopedic Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Geriatric Diseases and Immunology, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215000, China.
Extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from mesenchymal stem cells regulates antioxidant properties and bone metabolism by providing a favorable extracellular microenvironment. However, its functional role and molecular mechanism in mitochondrial function regulation and aged bone regeneration remain insufficiently elucidated. This proteomic analysis has revealed a greater abundance of proteins supporting mitochondrial function in the young ECM (Y-ECM) secreted by young bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) compared to the aged ECM (A-ECM).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Genet
January 2025
Department of Molecular Biosciences, Program in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, KU Center for Genomics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America.
Recent studies in vertebrates and Caenorhabditis elegans have reshaped models of how the axon guidance cue UNC-6/Netrin functions in dorsal-ventral axon guidance, which was traditionally thought to form a ventral-to-dorsal concentration gradient that was actively sensed by growing axons. In the vertebrate spinal cord, floorplate Netrin1 was shown to be largely dispensable for ventral commissural growth. Rather, short range interactions with Netrin1 on the ventricular zone radial glial stem cells was shown to guide ventral commissural axon growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Adv
January 2025
Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Tissues form during development through mechanical compaction of their extracellular matrix (ECM) and shape morphing, processes that result in complex-shaped structures that contribute to tissue function. While observed in vivo, control over these processes in vitro to understand both tissue development and guide tissue formation has remained challenging. Here, we use combinations of mesenchymal stromal cell spheroids and hydrogel microparticles (microgels) with varied hydrolytic stability to fabricate programmable and dynamic granular composites that control compaction and tissue formation over time.
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