Efficient Wound Healing Using a Synthetic Nanofibrous Bilayer Skin Substitute in Murine Model.

Treatment of full-thickness skin wounds with minimal scarring and complete restoration of native tissue properties still exists as a clinical challenge. A bilayer skin substitute was fabricated by coating human amniotic membrane (AM) with electrospun silk fibroin nanofibers, and its in vivo biological behavior was studied using murine full-thickness skin wound model. Donut-shaped silicon splints were utilized to prevent wound contraction in mouse skin and simulate re-epithelialization, which is the normal path of human wound healing.

Correction to: "Comparative repair capacity of knee osteochondral defects using regenerated silk fiber scaffolds and fibrin glue with/without autologous chondrocyes during 36 weeks in rabbit model.

The published online of the original version contains mistakes.

Differentiation of Menstrual Blood Stem Cells into Keratinocyte-Like Cells on Bilayer Nanofibrous Scaffold.

Skin tissue engineering is a high-throughput technology to heal the wounds. Already, considerable advances have been achieved using stem cells for wound healing applications. Menstrual blood stem cell (MenSC) is an available and accessible source of stem cells that have differentiation potential into a wide range of lineages like keratinocytes.

Bilayer Amniotic Membrane/Nano-fibrous Fibroin Scaffold Promotes Differentiation Capability of Menstrual Blood Stem Cells into Keratinocyte-Like Cells.

The skin provides a dynamic barrier separating and protecting human body from the exterior world, and then immediate repair and rebuilding of the epidermal barrier is crucial after wound and injury. Wound healing without scars and complete regeneration of skin tissue still remain as a clinical challenge. The demand to engineer scaffolds that actively promote regeneration of damaged areas of the skin has been increased.

Hardystonite-Coated Poly(l-lactide) Nanofibrous Scaffold and Efficient Osteogenic Differentiation of Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

In this study, a ceramic-coated nanofibrous scaffold has been fabricated to biomimic the microstructure of natural extracellular matrix and the stiffening inorganic compartment of bone. Poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) nanofibers were electrospun and exposed to oxygen plasma to induce hydrophilicity and promote ceramic adsorption. Hardystonite (HS), which possesses superior osteoinduction potential over hydroxyapatite, was coated on plasma-treated PLLA nanofibers by drenching the nanofibers in HS suspension.

Current State of Cartilage Tissue Engineering using Nanofibrous Scaffolds and Stem Cells.

Cartilage is an avascular, aneural, and alymphatic connective tissue with a limited capacity caused by low mitotic activity of its resident cells, chondrocytes. Natural repair of full thickness cartilage defects usually leads to the formation of fibrocartilage with lower function and mechanical force compared with the original hyaline cartilage and further deterioration can occur. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is a promising strategy to repair bone and articular cartilage defects and rehabilitate joint functions by focusing on the optimal combination of cells, material scaffolds, and signaling molecules.

Comparative capability of menstrual blood versus bone marrow derived stem cells in neural differentiation.

In order to characterize the potency of menstrual blood stem cells (MenSCs) for future cell therapy of neurological disorders instead of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) as a well-known and conventional source of adult stem cells, we examined the in vitro differentiation potential of these stem cells into neural-like cells. The differentiation potential of MenSCs to neural cells in comparison with BMSCs was assessed under two step neural differentiation including conversion to neurosphere-like cells and final differentiation. The expression levels of Nestin, Microtubule-associated protein 2, gamma-aminobutyric acid type B receptor subunit 1 and 2, and Tubulin, beta 3 class III mRNA and/or protein were up-regulated during development of MenSCs into neurosphere-like cells (NSCs) and neural-like cells.

Extended Culture of Encapsulated Human Blastocysts in Alginate Hydrogel Containing Decidualized Endometrial Stromal Cells in the Presence of Melatonin.

Extended in vitro culture of human embryos beyond blastocyst stage could serve as a tool to explore the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying embryo development and to identify factors regulating pregnancy outcomes. This study presents the first report on the maintenance of human embryo in vitro by alginate co-encapsulation of human blastocyst and decidualized endometrial stromal cells (EnSCs) under melatonin-fortified culture conditions. The effectiveness of the 3D culture system was studied through monitoring of embryo development in terms of survival time, viability, morphological changes, and production of the two hormones of 17b-oestradiol and human chorionic gonadotropin.

Fabrication and characterization of nano-fibrous bilayer composite for skin regeneration application.

Full thickness wound healing with minimal scarring and complete restoration of normal skin properties still remains as a clinical challenge. In this study, a bilayer skin substitute has been fabricated to biomimic the microstructure of natural extracellular matrix of the skin. Human amniotic membrane (HAM) and silk fibroin nano-fibers were combined to produce bilayer construct, which was further treated and characterized.