Therapeutic Effects of Mesenchymal/Stromal Stem Cells and Their Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Currently available therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are inadequate to alleviate the inflammation and reduce joint damage. While the immune-regulatory effect of human mesenchymal/stromal stem cells (MSCs) extracellular vesicles (EVs) has been tested in many inflammation-related diseases, little is known regarding their effect on patients with RA. Thus, we assessed the effect of human MSCs and MSC-EVs (from naïve or IFN-β-primed MSCs) on CD4+ T cells from patients with RA.

Doxorubicin Loading into Milk and Mesenchymal Stem Cells' Extracellular Vesicles as Drug Delivery Vehicles.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have great potential as drug delivery vehicles. While mesenchymal/stromal stem cell (MSC) conditioned medium (CM) and milk are potentially safe and scalable sources of EVs for this purpose, the suitability of MSC EVs and milk EVs as drug delivery vehicles has never been compared and so was the objective of this study. Here EVs were separated from MSCs' CM and from milk and were characterised by nanoparticle tracking analysis, transmission electron microscopy, total protein quantification, and immunoblotting.

Macromolecular crowding transforms regenerative medicine by enabling the accelerated development of functional and truly three-dimensional cell assembled micro tissues.

Scaffold-free in vitro organogenesis exploits the innate ability of cells to synthesise and deposit their own extracellular matrix to fabricate tissue-like assemblies. Unfortunately, cell-assembled tissue engineered concepts require prolonged ex vivo culture periods of very high cell numbers for the development of a borderline three-dimensional implantable device, which are associated with phenotypic drift and high manufacturing costs, thus, hindering their clinical translation and commercialisation. Herein, we report the accelerated (10 days) development of a truly three-dimensional (338.

It is time to crowd your cell culture media - Physicochemical considerations with biological consequences.

In vivo, the interior and exterior of cells is populated by various macromolecules that create an extremely crowded milieu. Yet again, in vitro eukaryotic cell culture is conducted in dilute culture media that hardly imitate the native tissue density. Herein, the concept of macromolecular crowding is discussed in both intracellular and extracellular context.

Growth factor and macromolecular crowding supplementation in human tenocyte culture.

Cell-assembled tissue engineering strategies hold great potential in regenerative medicine, as three-dimensional tissue-like modules can be produced, even from a patient's own cells. However, the development of such implantable devices requires prolonged culture time, which is associated with cell phenotypic drift. Considering that the cells are subjected to numerous stimuli, multifactorial approaches are continuously gaining pace towards controlling cell fate during expansion.

The effect of aligned electrospun fibers and macromolecular crowding in tenocyte culture.

Tendon injuries continuously rise, and regeneration is not only slow, but also limited due to the poor endogenous healing ability of the tendon tissue. Tissue grafts constitute the clinical gold standard treatment for severe injuries, but inherent limitations drive the field toward tissue engineering approaches to create suitable tissue constructs. Recapitulation of the native microenvironment represent a key challenge for the development of tendon tissue equivalents in vitro that can be further utilized as implantable devices.

Mesenchymal Stem Cell Derived Extracellular Vesicles for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Applications.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are being extensively investigated for their potential in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, recent evidence suggests that the beneficial effects of MSCs may be manifest by their released extracellular vesicles (EVs); typically not requiring the administration of MSCs. This evidence, predominantly from pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo studies, suggests that MSC-EVs may exhibit substantial therapeutic properties in many pathophysiological conditions, potentially restoring an extensive range of damaged or diseased tissues and organs.

The synergistic effect of low oxygen tension and macromolecular crowding in the development of extracellular matrix-rich tendon equivalents.

Cellular therapies play an important role in tendon tissue engineering, with tenocytes being the most prominent and potent cell population available. However, for the development of a rich extracellular matrix tenocyte-assembled tendon equivalent, prolonged in vitro culture is required, which is associated with phenotypic drift. Recapitulation of tendon tissue microenvironment in vitro with cues that enhance and accelerate extracellular matrix synthesis and deposition, whilst maintaining tenocyte phenotype, may lead to functional cell therapies.

Translational Research Symposium-collaborative efforts as driving forces of healthcare innovation.

The 5th Translational Research Symposium was organised at the annual meeting of the European Society for Biomaterials 2018, Maastricht, the Netherlands, with emphasis on the future of emerging and smart technologies for healthcare in Europe. Invited speakers from academia and industry highlighted the vision and expectations of healthcare in Europe beyond 2020 and the perspectives of innovation stakeholders, such as small and medium enterprises, large companies and Universities. The aim of the present article is to summarise and explain the main statements made during the symposium, with particular attention on the need to identify unmet clinical needs and their efficient translation into healthcare solutions through active collaborations between all the participants involved in the value chain.

Identification of topographical architectures supporting the phenotype of rat tenocytes.

Tenocytes, the main cell type of the tendon, require mechanical stimuli for their proper function. When the tenocyte environment changes due to tissue damage or by transferring tenocytes from their native environment into cell culture, the signals from the tenocyte niche are lost, leading towards a decline of phenotypic markers. It is known that micro-topographies can influence cell fate by the physical cues they provide.

Joint academic and industrial efforts towards innovative and efficient solutions for clinical needs.

The 4 Translational Research Symposium (TRS) was organised at the annual meeting of the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) 2017, Athens, Greece, with a focus on 'Academia-Industry Clusters of Research for Innovation Catalysis'. Collaborations between research institutes and industry can be sustained in several ways such as: European Union (EU) funded consortiums; syndicates of academic institutes, clinicians and industries; funding from national governments; and private collaborations between universities and companies. Invited speakers from industry and research institutions presented examples of these collaborations in the translation of research ideas or concepts into marketable products.