Browsing by Subject "Regenerative medicine"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Advances in translational orthopaedic research with species-specific multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells derived from the umbilical cord
    (Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2021) Ramallo, Melina; Carreras Sánchez, Irene; López Fernández, Alba; Vélez, Roberto; Aguirre, Màrius; Feldman, Sara; Vives, Joaquim
    Compliance with current regulations for the development of innovative medicines require the testing of candidate therapies in relevant translational animal models prior to human use. This poses a great challenge when the drug is composed of cells, not only because of the living nature of the active ingredient but also due to its human origin, which can subsequently lead to a xenogeneic response in the animals. Although immunosuppression is a plausible solution, this is not suitable for large animals and may also influence the results of the study by altering mechanisms of action that are, in fact, poorly understood. For this reason, a number of procedures have been developed to isolate homologous species-specific cell types to address preclinical pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and toxicology. In this work, we present and discuss advances in the methodologies for derivation of multipotent Mesenchymal Stromal Cells derived from the umbilical cord, in general, and Wharton’s jelly, in particular, from medium to large animals of interest in orthopaedics research, as well as current and potential applications in studies addressing proof of concept and preclinical regulatory aspects.
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    Current trends in stem cell therapy for improvement of bone quality
    (F. Hernández y Juan F. Madrid. Universidad de Murcia: Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2014) Yamada, Yoichi; Nakamura, Sayaka; Klein, Ophir D.
    As the average lifespan of humans continues to increase, improvement in the quality of life for elderly people is important. Among the most severe problems during aging are bone loss-associated diseases such as poor fracture healing and osteoporosis. Therapy-induced bone loss such as bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw also increases in incidence with age. Most of the current treatment strategies are focused on antiresorptive and bone formation pharmacological agents, but it is hard to obtain appropriate bone augmentation and there are concerns regarding their long-term safety without side effects. Therefore, a novel method for improvement of bone quality is required, and stem cells are of great interest as potential therapeutic tools for diseases that remain without clinically effective therapies. In this review, we describe the concept of stem cell-based therapy and evaluate the current progress of cell therapy for the improvement of bone quality. In addition, we report and discuss a new clinical strategy in which improved bone quality was obtained by applying bone-marrow derived MSCs with platelet rich plasma in clinical therapy.
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    Identification, characterization and biological significance of very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) in regenerative medicine
    (F. Hernández y Juan F. Madrid. Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2012) Feng, Guowei; Cui, Jian; Zheng, Yizhou; Han, Zhongchao; Xu, Yong; Li, Zongjin
    The progress of stem cell research, along with technological innovation, has brought researchers to focus on the potential role of stem cells in regenerative medicine. Ethical and technological issues have limited the applications of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in this field. As a promising candidate, very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) express a multitude of pluripotent stem cell markers and demonstrate the ability to differentiate into three germ-layer lineages in vitro. Optimized methods for isolation and expansion of VSELs have aroused the scientific community’s interest in use of this kind of cells for regenerative purposes. In this review, we will focus on the biological characteristics, as well as the potentiality and remaining challenges in clinical application of VSELs. Moreover, a comparison among VSELs and the other pluripotent stem cells will be illustrated to highlight the unique advantages of VSELs
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    Immunomodulatory functions of mesenchymal stem cells and possible mechanisms
    (Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2016) Wang, Qing; Ding, Gang; Xu, Xin
    In addition to their well-studied self-renewal capabilities and multipotent differentiation properties, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been reported to possess profound immunomodulatory functions both in vitro and in vivo. More and more studies have shown that MSCs are capable of interacting closely with almost all subsets of immune cells, such as T cells, B cells, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, macrophages, and neutrophils etc. The immunomodulatory property of MSCs may shed light on the treatment of a variety of autoimmune and inflammation-related diseases. In this article, we will review the studies on the immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory functions of MSCs and the mechanisms responsible for the interaction between immune cells and MSCs, which could improve the development of promising approaches for cellmediated immune therapies.
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    Mesenchymal stem cells: from the perivascular environment to clinical applications
    (Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2018) Vezzani, Bianca; Pierantozzi, Enrico; Sorrentino, Vincenzo
    Adult stem cells represent a fundamental biological system that has fascinated scientists over the last decades, and are currently the subject of a large number of studies aimed at better defining the properties of these cells, with a prominent focus on improving their application in regenerative medicine. One of the most used adult stem cells in clinical trials are mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are multipotent cells able to differentiate into mature cells of mesodermal lineages. Following the initial studies on MSCs isolated from bone marrow, similar cells were also isolated from a variety of fetal and adult human tissues. Initially considered as identical and equipotent, MSCs from tissues other than bone marrow actually display differences in terms of their plastic abilities, which can be ascribed to the tissue of origin and/or to the procedures used for their isolation. Moreover, results from additional studies suggest that cultured MSCs represent the in vitro version of a subset of in vivo resident cells localized in the perivascular environment. In this review, we will focus our attention on MSCs from tissues other than bone marrow, their in vivo localization and their current applications in clinics.
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    Platelet rich plasma: a valid augmentation for cartilage scaffolds? a systematic review
    (F. Hernández y Juan F. Madrid. Universidad de Murcia: Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2014) Perdisa, Francesco; Filardo, Giuseppe; Di Matteo, Berardo; Marcacci, Maurilio; Kon, Elizaveta
    It has been shown that modern regenerative scaffold-based procedures for the treatment of articular cartilage defects offer good clinical results, although the properties of native healthy cartilage have not yet been matched by any substitute. Several implants have been tested and clinically used over the years to promote articular surface restoration, some of them producing a hyaline-like reparative tissue. There has been an increase in the number of new biological strategies, alone and in combination with scaffolds, to enhance the clinical outcome in patients with chondral disease. Among these innovative methods, one of the most widely used is Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP), based on the rationale of using the growth factors contained in platelet alpha granules to promote tissue regeneration. The aim of the present manuscript is to review systematically the current evidence in pre-clinical and clinical studies for the use of PRP augmented scaffolds to treat chondral or osteochondral disorders.
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    The application of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of traumatic brain injury: Mechanisms, results, and problems
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2024) Zhang, Ying; Zheng, Zejun; Sun, Jinmeng; Xu, Shuangshuang; Wei, Yanan; Ding, Xiaoling; Ding, Gang
    Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells that can be derived from a wide variety of human tissues and organs. They can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including osteoblasts, adipocytes, and chondrocytes, and thus show great potential in regenerative medicine. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an organic injury to brain tissue with a high rate of disability and death caused by an external impact or concussive force acting directly or indirectly on the head. The current treatment of TBI mainly includes symptomatic, pharmacological, and rehabilitation treatment. Although some efficacy has been achieved, the definitive recovery effect on neural tissue is still limited. Recent studies have shown that MSC therapies are more effective than traditional treatment strategies due to their strong multi-directional differentiation potential, self-renewal capacity, and low immunogenicity and homing properties, thus MSCs are considered to play an important role and are an ideal cell for the treatment of injurious diseases, including TBI. In this paper, we systematically reviewed the role and mechanisms of MSCs and MSC-derived exosomes in the treatment of TBI, thereby providing new insights into the clinical applications of MSCs and MSC-derived exosomes in the treatment of central nervous system disorders
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    The significance of M1 macrophage should be highlighted in peripheral nerve regeneration
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2023) Feng, Ruiqin; Zhang, Peixun
    Macrophage influences peripheral nerve regeneration. According to the classical M1/M2 paradigm, the M1 macrophage is an inhibitor of regeneration, while the M2 macrophage is a promoter. However, several studies have shown that M1 macrophages are indispensable for peripheral nerve repair and facilitate many critical processes in axonal regeneration. In this review, we summarized the information on macrophage polarization and focused on the activities of M1 macrophages in regeneration. We also provided some examples where the macrophage phenotypes were regulated to help regeneration. We argued that the coordination of both macrophage phenotypes might be effective in peripheral nerve repair, and a more comprehensive view of macrophages might contribute to macrophage-based immunomodulatory therapies.