Public Discourse on Stem Cell Research in Russia: Evolution of the Agenda

This paper studies the evolution of the media discussion surrounding stem cell research in Russia from 2001 until the issuance of the first national law in 2016 and its impact on stem cell’s ‘social career’ in the public discourse in Russia. It analyses how the interaction of different media frames stigmatized either the biomedical technology, or the expert community. It is argued that the regulatory framework in Russia lags behind technological developments in the country and mostly reacts to signs of fraudulent actions from drug makers or practitioners. Moral issues, in contrast to the international discourse, have been not the main reason in Russia. &nbsp

A Complex, Multidisciplinary Approach to Prevention of Gastro-Duodenal Bleeding in Therapeutic Patients of a General Hospital

The aim of this study was to make the prevention of EU-GDB more efficient in therapeutic patients admitted to a general hospital by using a multidisciplinary approach that includes a diagnostic algorithm, treatment protocol, and individual methods of EU-GDB prevention. Materials and Methods: The study included 114 patients of the therapeutic, pulmonary, and cardiology departments of the Voronezh City Emergency Care Hospital. The patients had been admitted due to destabilization of their underlying conditions and displayed signs of acute gastroduodenal erosions and ulcers during their stay in the hospital. All the patients were randomly divided into two equal groups: the main group and the comparison group. A multidisciplinary approach was applied to patients of the main group (n=58; mean age, 62.64±14.37); it included early pre-clinical diagnosis of EU-GDI by FGDS on the second or third day after their admission to the hospital, which helped to reveal in a timely manner uncomplicated EU-GDI and directly start local treatment as a part of complex therapy. An algorithm of the procedure provides for participation of a surgeon. Powder-like biologically active granular sorbents of the new generation (ASEPTISORB-A, ASEPTISORB-D, or ASEPTISORB-DT) were applied to the revealed acute erosions and gastroduodenal ulcers during the FGDS procedure to prevent hemorrhagic complications. After manifestation of the first signs of EU-GDB: during the curative endoscopy, the use of the developed minimally invasive method of endoscopic hemostasis, which provided combined application of a local haemostatic preparation Gelplastan and ASEPTISORB-D to the defect area. In the comparison group(n=56), the traditional technique of surgical consultations “on demand” was used. FGDS was performed when first symptoms appeared. Common methods of endoscopic hemostasis without local treatment of EU-GDI and application of granulated sorbents were used in this group. Conclusion: The developed program helps to prevent hemorrhagic complications, exclude emergency operations, and reduce mortality rate by 3 times

Experimental Justification of Using Aseptisorb-A and Platelet-Rich Plasma in Endoscopic Treatment of Mold Bleeding Stomach Defects

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of applying the biologically active draining sorbent Aseptisorb-A in combination with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to arrest bleeding of mold stomach defects in dogs. Methods and Results: The experimental study was done on 12 outbred dogs (both sexes). Fibrogastroduodenoscopy (FGDS) was performed on all animals under intravenous anesthesia. During FGDS, two ulcerative defects (pilot and control) were made in the antrum of the stomach at 4-5cm distant from each other. Endoscopic hemostasis in pilot ulcers was achieved with the help of pneumatic insufflation of powder-like Aseptisorb-A (0.3mg) on the bleeding defect with further application of platelet-rich autologous plasma from the animal. Endoscopic treatment of control ulcers was not done; such ulcers were used to estimate the time of spontaneous hemostasis. It was determined that in pilot ulcers after described interventions, bleeding arrest occurred in 3.0|2.5|4.0 sec (Ме | upper quartile | lower quartile) (p<0.01). It was noted that in all pilot ulcers, hemostasis was definitive and there was no recurrence of bleeding. In the control ulcers, bleeding arrest occurred in 29.0|27.5|30.5 sec (p≤0.01). In endoscopic gastroscopy, two cases of the reinitiation of haemorrhages in the form of hematin on ulcers were fixed. The reparative process in pilot ulcers treated with Aseptisorb-A and PRP occurred quicker and more efficiently. Complete healing of pilot ulcers occurred in 8.0|8.0|8.5 days (p≤0.01) with formation of a slight sword-cut, which did not destroy the wall of the organ. Complete healing of control ulcers was identified in 15.0|15.0|16.0 days (P<0.01) with formation of a rough scar, which deformed the organ’s wall. Conclusion: Using the biologically active draining sorbent Aseptisorb-A in combination with PRP in endoscopic treatment of mold bleeding in the defects of stomachs accelerates the reparative process, reduces the time of healing in experimental ulcers, improves the quality of healing and does not damage stomach tissue

Marine biomaterials: Biomimetic and pharmacological potential of cultivated Aplysina aerophoba marine demosponge

Marine demosponges of the Verongiida order are considered a gold-mine for bioinspired materials science and marine pharmacology. The aim of this work was to simultaneously isolate selected bromotyrosines and unique chitinous structures from A. aerophoba and to propose these molecules and biomaterials for possible application as antibacterial and antitumor compounds and as ready-to-use scaffolds for cultivation of cardiomyocytes, respectively. Among the extracted bromotyrosines, the attention has been focused on aeroplysinin-1 that showed interesting unexpected growth inhibition properties for some Gram-negative clinical multi-resistant bacterial strains, such as A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae, and on aeroplysinin-1 and on isofistularin-3 for their anti-tumorigenic activity. For both compounds, the effects are cell line dependent, with significant growth inhibition activity on the neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y by aeroplysinin-1 and on breast cancer cell line MCF-7 by isofistularin-3. In this study, we also compared the cultivation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) on the A. aerophoba chitinous scaffolds, in comparison to chitin structures that were pre-coated with Geltrex™, an extracellular matrix mimetic which is used to enhance iPSC-CM adhesion. The iPSC-CMs on uncoated and pure chitin structures started contracting 24 h after seeding, with comparable behaviour observed on Geltrex-coated cell culture plates, confirming the biocompatibility of the sponge biomaterial with this cell type. The advantage of A. aerophoba is that this source organism does not need to be collected in large quantities to supply the necessary amount for further pre-clinical studies before chemical synthesis of the active compounds will be available. A preliminary analysis of marine sponge bioeconomy as a perspective direction for application of biomaterials and secondary bioactive metabolites has been finally performed for the first time