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Current engineered synthetic scaffolds fail to functionally repair and regenerate ruptured native tendon tissues, partly because they cannot satisfy both the unique biological and biomechanical properties of these tissues. Ideal scaffolds for tendon repair and regeneration need to provide porous topographic structures and biological cues necessary for the efficient infiltration and tenogenic differentiation of embedded stem cells. To obtain crimped and porous scaffolds, highly aligned poly(l-lactide) fibers were prepared by electrospinning followed by postprocessing. Through a mild and controlled hydrogen gas foaming technique, we successfully transformed the crimped fibrous mats into three-dimensional porous scaffolds without sacrificing the crimped microstructure. Porcine derived decellularized tendon matrix was then grafted onto this porous scaffold through fiber surface modification and carbodiimide chemistry. These biofunctionalized, crimped, and porous scaffolds supported the proliferation, migration, and tenogenic induction of tendon derived stem/progenitor cells, while enabling adhesion to native tendons. Together, our data suggest that these biofunctionalized scaffolds can be exploited as promising engineered scaffolds for the treatment of acute tendon rupture.

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Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease is a genetic kidney disease caused by mutations in the genes PKD1 or PKD2. Its course is characterized by the formation of progressively enlarged cysts in the renal tubules bilaterally. The basic genetic explanation for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease is the double-hit theory, and many of its mechanistic issues can be explained by the cilia doctrine. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underpinning this condition's occurrence are still not completely understood. Experimental evidence suggests that aquaporins, a class of transmembrane channel proteins, including aquaporin-1, aquaporin-2, aquaporin-3, and aquaporin-11, are involved in the mechanism of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Aquaporins are either a potential new target for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, and further study into the physiopathological role of aquaporins in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease will assist to clarify the disease's pathophysiology and increase the pool of potential treatment options. We primarily cover pertinent findings on aquaporins in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease in this review.

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Stigeoclonium is a genus of green algae that is widely distributed in freshwater habitats around the world. The genus comprises species with variously developed prostrates and erect systems of uniseriate branched filaments and grows attached to a wide range of different surfaces. It holds significant promise for applications in water quality indicators, sewage treatment, and the development of high-value-added products. Nevertheless, our comprehension of Stigeoclonium remains unclear and perplexing, particularly regarding its fundamental systematic taxonomy. Recent molecular analyses have revealed that the morphologically well-defined genus Stigeoclonium is polyphyletic and requires taxonomic revision. Phylogenetic analysis based on a single molecular marker and limited samples is insufficient to address the polyphyletic nature of Stigeoclonium. In the present study, 34 out of 45 strains of Stigeoclonium were newly acquired from China. Alongside the morphological data, a concatenated dataset of three markers (18S rDNA + ITS2 + tufA) was utilized to determine their molecular phylogeny. The phylogenetic analysis successfully resolved the broadly defined Stigeoclonium into three robustly supported clades (Stigeoclonim tenue clade, S. farctum clade, and S. helveticum clade). The morphological characteristics assessment results showed that the cell type of the main axis-producing branch, considered a crucial morphological characteristic of the Stigeoclonium taxonomy, did not accurately reflect the real phylogeny of the genus. A new taxonomical classification of the genus Stigeoclonium was proposed based on zoospores' germination types, which aligned well with the phylogenetic topologies. Species where zoospores showed erect germination (S. helveticum clade) formed a distinct monophyletic clade, clearly separated from the other two clades, with zoospores showing prostrate germination or pseudo-erect germination. Consequently, a new genus, Pseudostigeoclonium gen. nov., is suggested to include all species in the broadly defined Stigeoclonium with zoospores with erect germination. The taxonomic diversity is supported by distinctive morphological differences and phylogenetic divergence within the broadly defined Stigeoclonium identified in this study. Further evaluation of the genus Stigeoclonium is necessary, especially via examining additional specimens and re-evaluating morphological characters under precisely defined laboratory conditions.

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Osteoarthritis (OA) affects numerous patients worldwide, and there are no approved disease-modifying drugs. Repurposing FDA-approved small molecular drugs could be a promising alternative strategy to treat OA. Disulfiram (DSF), a clinically approved drug for treatment of alcoholism, inhibits inflammasome activation and exhibits a protective role in interleukin-1ß-induced cardiac injury. However, its efficacy in treating OA remains to be explored due to its poor water solubility and stability, which limit its use in OA treatment. Here, the anti-inflammatory effect of DSF is evaluated in vitro, and a double-layer encapsulation approach is developed for intra-articular delivery of DSF for OA treatment in vivo. DSF is loaded into poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-based nanoparticles and encapsulated in gelatin methacrylate microgels through a microfluidic device. Results show that DSF effectively inhibits the expression of key inflammatory cytokines in OA chondrocytes, and the double-layer encapsulation approach reduces the burst release of DSF and prolongs its retention time in the in vitro study. Sustained release of DSF from microgels mitigates cartilage inflammation and subchondral bone erosion in a monoiodoacetate-induced rat OA model. This work demonstrates the potential of repurposing FDA-approved drugs for OA treatment and provides a promising platform for intra-articular delivery of small molecules for superior therapeutic effect.

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With the increasing prevalence and mortality, chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a world public health problem. As the primary pathological manifestation in CKD, renal fibrosis is often used as a critical target for the treatment of CKD and inhibits the progression of CKD to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). As a potential drug, natural products have been confirmed to have the potential as a routine or supplementary therapy for chronic kidney disease, which may target renal fibrosis and act through various pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidation of natural products. This article briefly introduces the pathological mechanism of renal fibrosis and systematically summarizes the latest research on the treatment of renal fibrosis with natural products of Chinese herbal medicines.

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Stimulus-responsive therapy that allows precise imaging-guided therapy is limited for osteoarthritis (OA) therapy due to the selection of proper physiological markers as stimulus. Based on that the over-production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) is associated with the progression in OA, we selected ROS as markers and designed a cartilage targeting and ROS-responsive theranostic nanoprobe that can be used for effective bioimaging and therapy of OA. This nanoprobe was fabricated by using PEG micelles modified with ROS-sensitive thioketal linkers (TK) and cartilage-targeting peptide, termed TKCP, which was then encapsulated with Dexamethasone (DEX) to form TKCP@DEX nanoparticles. Results showed that the nanoprobe can smartly "turn on" in response to excessive ROS and "turn off" in the normal joint. By applying different doses of ROS inducer and ROS inhibitor, this nanoprobe can emit ROS-dependent fluorescence according to the degree of OA severity, helpful to precise disease classification in clinic. Specifically targeting cartilage, TKCP@DEX could effectively respond to ROS and sustained release DEX to remarkably reduce cartilage damage in the OA joints. This smart, sensitive and endogenously activated ROS-responsive nanoprobe is promising for OA theranostics.

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Intra-articular (IA) injection is an efficient treatment for osteoarthritis, which will minimize systemic side effects. However, the joint experiences rapid clearance of therapeutics after intra-articular injection. Delivering system modified through active targeting strategies to facilitate localization within specific joint tissues such as cartilage is hopeful to increase the therapeutic effects. In this study, we designed a nanoscaled amphiphilic and cartilage-targeting polymer-drug delivery system by using formononetin (FMN)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) (denoted as PCFMN), which was prepared by PEGylation of FMN followed by coupling with cartilage-targeting peptide (CollBP). Our results showed that PCFMN was approximately regular spherical with an average diameter about 218 nm. The in vitro test using IL-1ß stimulated chondrocytes indicated that PCFMN was biocompatible and upregulated anabolic genes while simultaneously downregulated catabolic genes of the articular cartilage. The therapeutic effects in vivo indicated that PCFMN could effectively attenuate the progression of OA as evidenced by immunohistochemical staining and histological analysis. In addition, PCFMN showed higher intention time in joints and better anti-inflammatory effects than FMN, indicating the efficacy of cartilage targeting nanodrug on OA. This study may provide a reference for clinical OA therapy.

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Drug therapy of osteoarthritis (OA) is limited by the short retention and lacking of stimulus-responsiveness after intra-articular (IA) injection. The weak acid microenvironment in joint provides a potential trigger for controlled drug release systems in the treatment of OA. Herein, we developed an pH-responsive metal - organic frameworks (MOFs) system modified by hyaluronic acid (HA) and loaded with an anti-inflammatory protocatechuic acid (PCA), designated as MOF@HA@PCA, for the therapy of OA. Results demonstrated that MOF@HA@PCA could smartly respond to acidic conditions in OA microenvironment and gradually release PCA, which could remarkably reduce synovial inflammation in both IL-1ß induced chondrocytes and the OA joints. MOF@HA@PCA also down-regulated the expression of inflammatory markers of OA and promoted the expression of cartilage-specific makers. This work may provide a new insight for the design of efficient nanoprobes for precision theranostics of OA .

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Stimulus-responsive therapy permits precise control of therapeutic effect only at lesion of interest, which determines it a promising method for diagnosis and imaging-guided precision therapy. The acid environment and overexpressed matrix metalloproteinases-13 (MMP-13) are typical markers in osteoarthritis (OA), which enables the development of stimulus-responsive drug delivery system with high specificity for OA. We herein demonstrate a nano-micelle based stimuli-responsive theranostic strategy with reporting and drug release controlled by acidic pH and MMP-13 for OA therapy. Such nanoplatform is incorporated with a motif specifically targeting on cartilage, a motif responsive to matrix metalloproteinases-13 to specifically report OA condition and biodynamics of nano-micelles, an anti-inflammatory drug (e.g., psoralidin (PSO)) from traditional Chinese medicine, and a biocompatible polymeric skeleton for sustainable drug release in response to the acidic OA condition. The high effectiveness of this targeted precision therapy is demonstrated comprehensively by both in vitro and vivo evidences.

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Nanofibers as niche-biomimetic scaffolds exhibit potential in bone tissue engineering (BTE). Here, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) co-polymer (P34HB)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) nanofiber membranes with a high hydrophilicity and mechanical properties were fabricated by introducing PEG to P34HB via electrospinning. The P34HB/PEG nanofibrous scaffolds were investigated for their potential in the osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). By adjusting the ratio of PEG to P34HB, three scaffolds, including P34HB, P34HB/10 wt%PEG, and P34HB/30 wt%PEG, were successfully fabricated. The composite P34HB/PEG nanofiber membranes showed an enhanced hydrophilicity, a decreased fiber size, and an increased mechanical strength compared with those of P34HB. In-vitro studies showed that the P34HB/PEG membranes better supported cell adhesion, spreading, and proliferation than those of P34HB. The incorporation of PEG into the P34HB scaffold also promoted the osteoinduction capacity, as evidenced by activation of the alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) activity, increased gene expression of bone specific markers (such as RUNX2, ALP, Col1a1, OPN, OCN, and BMP2), and mineral nodules formation. Comparatively, P34HB/10 wt%PEG showed a higher hydrophilicity and mechanical properties, as well as a better biological performance than the other membranes. Thus, the electrospun P34HB/PEG nanofiber membranes may be potentially developed as regenerative materials for BTE applications.

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