Crispr-associated (Cas) effectors delivery via microfluidic cell-deformation chip

Identifying new and even more precise technologies for modifying and manipulating selectively specific genes has provided a powerful tool for characterizing gene functions in basic research and potential therapeutics for genome regulation. The rapid development of nuclease-based techniques such as CRISPR/Cas systems has revolutionized new genome engineering and medicine possibilities. Additionally, the appropriate delivery procedures regarding CRISPR/Cas systems are critical, and a large number of previous reviews have focused on the CRISPR/Cas9�12 and 13 delivery methods. Still, despite all efforts, the in vivo delivery of the CAS gene systems remains challenging. The transfection of CRISPR components can often be inefficient when applying conventional delivery tools including viral elements and chemical vectors because of the restricted packaging size and incompetency of some cell types. Therefore, physical methods such as microfluidic systems are more applicable for in vitro delivery. This review focuses on the recent advancements of microfluidic systems to deliver CRISPR/Cas systems in clinical and therapy investigations. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Bone tissue engineering using human cells: A comprehensive review on recent trends, current prospects, and recommendations

The use of proper cells for bone tissue engineering remains a major challenge worldwide. Cells play a pivotal role in the repair and regeneration of the bone tissue in vitro and in vivo. Currently, a large number of differentiated (somatic) and undifferentiated (stem) cells have been used for bone reconstruction alone or in combination with different biomaterials and constructs (e.g., scaffolds). Although the results of the cell transplantation without any supporting or adjuvant material have been very effective with regard to bone healing. Recent advances in bone scaffolding are now becoming new players affecting the osteogenic potential of cells. In the present study, we have critically reviewed all the currently used cell sources for bone reconstruction and discussed the new horizons that are opening up in the context of cell-based bone tissue engineering strategies. © 2019 by the authors

Copper-enriched diamond-like carbon coatings promote regeneration at the bone�implant interface

There have been several attempts to design innovative biomaterials as surface coatings to enhance the biological performance of biomedical implants. The objective of this study was to design multifunctional Cu/a-C:H thin coating depositing on the Ti-6Al-4V alloy (TC4) via magnetron sputtering in the presence of Ar and CH4 for applications in bone implants. Moreover, the impact of Cu amount and sp2/sp3 ratio on the interior stress, corrosion behavior, mechanical properties, and tribological performance and biocompatibility of the resulting biomaterial was discussed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that the sp2/sp3 portion of the coating was enhanced for samples having higher Cu contents. The intensity of the interior stress of the Cu/a-C:H thin bio-films decreased by increase of Cu content as well as the sp2/sp3 ratio. By contrast, the values of Young's modulus, the H3/E2 ratio, and hardness exhibited no significant difference with enhancing Cu content and sp2/sp3 ratio. However, there was an optimum Cu content (36.8 wt.) and sp2/sp3 ratio (4.7) that it is feasible to get Cu/a-C:H coating with higher hardness and tribological properties. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy test results depicted significant improvement of Ti-6Al-4V alloy corrosion resistance by deposition of Cu/a-C:H thin coating at an optimum Ar/CH4 ratio. Furthermore, Cu/a-C:H thin coating with higher Cu contents showed better antibacterial properties and higher angiogenesis and osteogenesis activities. The coated samples inhibited the growth of bacteria as compared to the uncoated sample (p < 0.05). In addition, such coating composition can stimulate angiogenesis, osteogenesis and control host response, thereby increasing the success rate of implants. Moreover, Cu/a-C:H thin films encouraged development of blood vessels on the surface of titanium alloy when the density of grown blood vessels was increased with enhancing the Cu amount of the films. It is speculated that such coating can be a promising candidate for enhancing the osseointegration features. © 2020 Biomedical engineering; Materials science; Biomimetics; Tissue engineering; Coatings; Angiogenesis, Osteogenesis corrosion resistance; Copper; Hydrogenated amorphous carbon © 202

Correction to: Transplantation of Human Chorion-Derived Cholinergic Progenitor Cells: a Novel Treatment for Neurological Disorders

The original version of this article unfortunately contained mistake in the affiliation. Affiliation 1 should be read as �Neuroscience Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran�. The original article has been corrected. © 2018 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Natur

Correction to: Transplantation of Human Chorion-Derived Cholinergic Progenitor Cells: a Novel Treatment for Neurological Disorders

The original version of this article unfortunately contained mistake in the affiliation. Affiliation 1 should be read as �Neuroscience Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran�. The original article has been corrected. © 2018 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Natur

Correction to: Transplantation of Human Chorion-Derived Cholinergic Progenitor Cells: a Novel Treatment for Neurological Disorders (Molecular Neurobiology, (2019), 56, 1, (307-318), 10.1007/s12035-018-0968-1)

The original version of this article unfortunately contained mistake in the affiliation. Affiliation 1 should be read as �Neuroscience Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran�. The original article has been corrected. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

Age at first birth in women is genetically associated with increased risk of schizophrenia

Prof. Paunio on PGC:n jäsenPrevious studies have shown an increased risk for mental health problems in children born to both younger and older parents compared to children of average-aged parents. We previously used a novel design to reveal a latent mechanism of genetic association between schizophrenia and age at first birth in women (AFB). Here, we use independent data from the UK Biobank (N = 38,892) to replicate the finding of an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women, and to estimate the genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in women stratified into younger and older groups. We find evidence for an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women (P-value = 1.12E-05), and we show genetic heterogeneity between younger and older AFB groups (P-value = 3.45E-03). The genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in the younger AFB group is -0.16 (SE = 0.04) while that between schizophrenia and AFB in the older AFB group is 0.14 (SE = 0.08). Our results suggest that early, and perhaps also late, age at first birth in women is associated with increased genetic risk for schizophrenia in the UK Biobank sample. These findings contribute new insights into factors contributing to the complex bio-social risk architecture underpinning the association between parental age and offspring mental health.Peer reviewe

Theranostic Platforms Proposed for Cancerous Stem Cells: A Review

It is next-to-impossible not to accept that cancer takes a position as the main cause of the global burden of disease, for it is hard to ignore the outnumbered people dying from cancer. Looking at the statistics proves that progress in cancer therapy is always beyond cancer in a race of pessimism about the future; for various kinds of cancers yearly cause death in the world, whereas the conventional and even modern therapies often exhibit lack of reliability in the treatment of cancer. In principle, various reasons are identified for cancer resistance and recurrence. Recognizing the cells/tissue from which cancer takes origin enables its early detection, and optimistically saying, protection of patients against death. It has been recognized that cancer stem cells are responsible for cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. Conventional therapies cannot eradicate the cancer stem cell; therefore, cancer recurrence is unavoidable. In this regards, designing smart platforms with specific properties is an essential step in cancer treatment. Theranostic platforms have facilitated the cancer diagnosis and treatment, simultaneously. In this respect, several types of smart materials have been designed to detect and cure cancer. Cancer stem cell as a root of the cancerous tumor should be eradicated to achieve the complete treatment; hence, cancer stem cell mechanism must be known precisely to design an appropriate platform making possible to encounter with cancer stem cell. In this review paper, various therapeutic and diagnostic techniques of cancerous stem cell are discussed to pave a way for designing proper platforms for cancer eradication. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at [email protected]

Smart electrospun nanofibers containing PCL/gelatin/graphene oxide for application in nerve tissue engineering

Currently graphene-doped electrospun scaffolds have been a matter of great interest to be exploited in biomedical fields such as tissue engineering and drug delivery applications. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of graphene on biological properties of PCL/gelatin nanofibrous mats. SEM analysis was conducted to investigate the morphology of the electrospun nanofibers. The in-vitro cellular proliferation of PC12 cells on nanofibrous web was also investigated. Electrospun PCL/gelatin/graphene nanofibrous mats exhibited 99 antibacterial properties against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Drug release studies indicated that the �-� stacking interaction between TCH and graphene has led to the far better controlled release of TCH from electrospun PCL/gelatin/graphene compared to PCL/gelatin nanofibrous scaffolds. These superior properties along with an improvement in hydrophilicity and biodegradation features has made the nanofibers a promising candidate to be used as electrically conductive scaffolds in neural tissue engineering as well as controlled drug delivery. © 2019 Elsevier B.V

Enhanced healing of a full-thickness wound by a thermoresponsive dressing utilized for simultaneous transfer and protection of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells sheet

To boost the healing process in a full-thickness wound, a simple and efficient strategy based on adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) transplantation is described in this work. To increase the chance of ADSCs immobilization in the wound bed and prevent its migration, these cells are fully grown on the surface of a thermoresponsive dressing membrane under in vitro condition. Then, the cells sheet with their secreted extracellular matrix (ECM) is transferred to the damaged skin with the help of this dressing membrane. This membrane remains on wound bed and acts both as a cell sheet transfer vehicle, after external reduction of temperature, and protect wound during the healing process like a common wound dressing. The visual inspection of wounded skin (rat animal model) at selected time intervals shows a higher wound closure rate for ADSCs treated group. For this group of rats, the better quality of reconstructed tissue is approved by results of histological and immunohistochemical analysis since the higher length of the new epidermis, the higher thickness of re-epithelialization layer, a higher level of neovascularization and capillary density, and the least collagen deposition are detected in the healed tissue. Figure not available: see fulltext. © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature