Stem cells for spinal cord injuries bearing translational potential

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a highly debilitating neurological disease, which still lacks effective treatment strategies, causing significant financial burden and distress to the affected families. Nevertheless, nanotechnology and regenerative medicine strategies holding promise for the development of novel therapies that would reach from bench to bedside to serve the SCI patients. There has already been significant progress in the field of cell-based therapies, with the clinical application for SCI, currently in phase II of the clinical trial. Stem cells (e.g., induced pluripotent stem cells, fetal stem cells, human embryonic stem cells, and olfactory ensheathing cells) are certainly not to be considered the panacea for neural repair but, especially when combined with rehabilitation or other combinatorial approaches using the help of nanotechnology, they seem to be the source of some of the most promising and clinical translatable cell-based therapies that could help solving impactful problems on neural repair

Translational Regenerative Therapies for Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury is a chronic and debilitating neurological condition that is currently being managed symptomatically with no real therapeutic strategies available. Even though there is no consensus on the best time to start interventions, the chronic phase is definitely the most stable target in order to determine whether a therapy can effectively restore neurological function. The advancements of nanoscience and stem cell technology, combined with the powerful, novel neuroimaging modalities that have arisen can now accelerate the path of promising novel therapeutic strategies from bench to bedside. Several types of stem cells have reached up to clinical trials phase II, including adult neural stem cells, human spinal cord stem cells, olfactory ensheathing cells, autologous Schwann cells, umbilical cord blood-derived mononuclear cells, adult mesenchymal cells, and autologous bone-marrow-derived stem cells. There also have been combinations of different molecular therapies; these have been either alone or combined with supportive scaffolds with nanostructures to facilitate favorable cell–material interactions. The results already show promise but it will take some coordinated actions in order to develop a proper step-by-step approach to solve impactful problems with neural repair

AQP4 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms in patients with traumatic brain injury

Accumulating evidence suggests that the extent of brain injury and the clinical outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI) are modulated, to some degree, by genetic variants. Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is the predominant water channel in the central nervous system and plays a critical role in controlling the water content of brain cells and the development of brain edema after TBI. We sought to investigate the influence of the AQP4 gene region on patient outcome after TBI by genotyping tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) along AQP4 gene. A total of 363 patients with TBI (19.6% female) were prospectively evaluated. Data including the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores at admission, the presence of intracranial hemorrhage, and the 6-month Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) scores were collected. Seven tag SNPs across the AQP4 gene were identified based on the HapMap data. Using logistic regression analyses, SNPs and haplotypes were tested for associations with 6-month GOS after adjusting for age, GCS score, and sex. Significant associations with TBI outcome were detected for rs3763043 (OR [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 5.15 [1.60-16.5], p = 0.006, for recessive model), rs3875089 (OR [95% CI]: 0.18 [0.07-0.50] p = 0.0009, for allele difference model), and a common haplotype of AQP4 tag SNPs (OR [95% CI]: 2.94, [1.34-6.36], p = 0.0065). AQP4 tag SNPs were not found to influence the initial severity of TBI or the presence of intracranial hemorrhages. In conclusion, the present study provides evidence for possible involvement of genetic variations in AQP4 gene in the functional outcome of patients with TBI. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc

AQP4 Tag Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury

Accumulating evidence suggests that the extent of brain injury and the clinical outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI) are modulated, to some degree, by genetic variants. Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is the predominant water channel in the central nervous system and plays a critical role in controlling the water content of brain cells and the development of brain edema after TBI. We sought to investigate the influence of the AQP4 gene region on patient outcome after TBI by genotyping tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) along AQP4 gene. A total of 363 patients with TBI (19.6% female) were prospectively evaluated. Data including the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores at admission, the presence of intracranial hemorrhage, and the 6-month Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) scores were collected. Seven tag SNPs across the AQP4 gene were identified based on the HapMap data. Using logistic regression analyses, SNPs and haplotypes were tested for associations with 6-month GOS after adjusting for age, GCS score, and sex. Significant associations with TBI outcome were detected for rs3763043 (OR [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 5.15 [1.60-16.5], p=0.006, for recessive model), rs3875089 (OR [95% CI]: 0.18 [0.07-0.50] p=0.0009, for allele difference model), and a common haplotype of AQP4 tag SNPs (OR [95% CI]: 2.94, [1.34-6.36], p=0.0065). AQP4 tag SNPs were not found to influence the initial severity of TBI or the presence of intracranial hemorrhages. In conclusion, the present study provides evidence for possible involvement of genetic variations in AQP4 gene in the functional outcome of patients with TBI

Stem Cells Commitment on Graphene-Based Scaffolds

none8siIn the last years, a rapid development in production, and functionalization of graphene give rise to several products that have shown great potentials in many fields, such as nanoelectronics, energy technology, sensors, and catalysis. In this context we should not forget the biomedical application of graphene that became a new area with outstanding potential. The first study on graphene for biomedical applications has been performed by Dai in 2008 that reported the use of graphene oxide as an efficient nanocarrier for drug delivery. This pioneristic study opened the doors for the use of graphene in widespread biomedical applications such as drug/gene delivery, biological sensing and imaging, antibacterial materials, but also as biocompatible scaffold for cell culture and tissue engineering. The application of graphene-based scaffolds for tissue engineering applications is confirmed by the many exciting and intriguing literature reports over the last few years, that clearly confirm that graphene and its related substrates are excellent platforms for adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of various cells such as human Mesenchymal stem cells, human neuronal stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. Since most of the papers on this fields are related to in vitro studies, several future in vivo investigations need to be conducted in order to lead to its utilization as implantable tissue engineering material.mixedBuggio, Maurizio; Tatullo, Marco; Sivolella, Stefano; Gardin, Chiara; Ferroni, Letizia; Mijiritsky, Eitan; Piattelli, Adriano; Zavan, BarbaraBuggio, Maurizio; Tatullo, Marco; Sivolella, Stefano; Gardin, Chiara; Ferroni, Letizia; Mijiritsky, Eitan; Piattelli, Adriano; Zavan, Barbar