Myocardial protection and therapeutic angiogenesis using peptide and embryonic stem cell transplantation

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

The Effect of Scaffold Modulus on the Morphology and Remodeling of Fetal Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Hydrogel materials have been successfully used as matrices to explore the role of biophysical and biochemical stimuli in directing stem cell behavior. Here, we present our findings on the role of modulus in guiding bone marrow fetal mesenchymal stem cell (BMfMSC) fate determination using semi-synthetic hydrogels made from PEG-fibrinogen (PF). The BMfMSCs were cultivated in the PF for up to 2 weeks to study the influence of matrix modulus (i.e., cross-linking density of the PF) on BMfMSC survival, morphology and integrin expression. Both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) culture conditions were employed to examine the BMfMSCs as single cells or as cell spheroids. The hydrogel modulus affected the rate of BMfMSC metabolic activity, the integrin expression levels and the cell morphology, both as single cells and as spheroids. The cell seeding density was also found to be an important parameter of the system in that high densities were favorable in facilitating more cell-to-cell contacts that favored higher metabolic activity. Our findings provide important insight about design of a hydrogel scaffold that can be used to optimize the biological response of BMfMSCs for various tissue engineering applications

Loss of viability during freeze-thaw of intact and adherent human embryonic stem cells with conventional slow-cooling protocols is predominantly due to apoptosis rather than cellular necrosis

10.1007/s11373-005-9051-9Journal of Biomedical Science133433-44

Hydrogels for therapeutic cardiovascular angiogenesis

10.1016/j.addr.2015.07.003ADVANCED DRUG DELIVERY REVIEWS9631-3

Efficient derivation of lateral plate and paraxial mesoderm subtypes from human embryonic stem cells through GSKi-mediated differentiation

10.1089/scd.2012.0590Stem Cells and Development22131893-1906SCDT

Mending a broken heart: In vitro, in vivo and in silico models of congenital heart disease

10.1242/dmm.047522DISEASE MODELS & MECHANISMS14

Fabrication of vascularized tissue constructs under chemically defined culture conditions

10.1088/1758-5090/aba0c2BIOFABRICATION12

Modulation of Dental Pulp Stem Cell Odontogenesis in a Tunable PEG-Fibrinogen Hydrogel System

Injectable hydrogels have the great potential for clinical translation of dental pulp regeneration. A recently developed PEG-fibrinogen (PF) hydrogel, which comprises a bioactive fibrinogen backbone conjugated to polyethylene glycol (PEG) side chains, can be cross-linked after injection by photopolymerization. The objective of this study was to investigate the use of this hydrogel, which allows tuning of its mechanical properties, as a scaffold for dental pulp tissue engineering. The cross-linking degree of PF hydrogels could be controlled by varying the amounts of PEG-diacrylate (PEG-DA) cross-linker. PF hydrogels are generally cytocompatible with the encapsulated dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), yielding >85% cell viability in all hydrogels. It was found that the cell morphology of encapsulated DPSCs, odontogenic gene expression, and mineralization were strongly modulated by the hydrogel cross-linking degree and matrix stiffness. Notably, DPSCs cultured within the highest cross-linked hydrogel remained mostly rounded in aggregates and demonstrated the greatest enhancement in odontogenic gene expression. Consistently, the highest degree of mineralization was observed in the highest cross-linked hydrogel. Collectively, our results indicate that PF hydrogels can be used as a scaffold for DPSCs and offers the possibility of influencing DPSCs in ways that may be beneficial for applications in regenerative endodontics

An autologous platelet-rich plasma hydrogel compound restores left ventricular structure, function and ameliorates adverse remodeling in a minimally invasive large animal myocardial restoration model: A translational approach. Vu and Pal "Myocardial Repair: PRP, Hydrogel and Supplements"

10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.12.013Biomaterials4527-3

Hypoxia-induced amniotic fluid stem cell secretome augments cardiomyocyte proliferation and enhances cardioprotective effects under hypoxic-ischemic conditions

10.1038/s41598-020-80326-wSCIENTIFIC REPORTS111complete