Search

In the context of biointeractive dressings used for enhancing wound healing, the use of stromal vascular fraction (SVF) or adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) hereof derived has not been fully exploited yet. Noncultured SVF, a heterogeneous mesenchymal population of cells, is attractive in the field of dermal regeneration because it can be instantaneously obtained, avoids genomic alterations, and is comparatively safer than cultured ASCs. Integra

The continuous improvements in the field of both regenerative medicine and tissue engineering have allowed the design of new and more efficacious strategies for the treatment of chronic or hard-to-heal skin wounds, which represent heavy burden, from a medical and economic point of view. These novel approaches are based on the usage of three key methodologies: stem cells, growth factors, and biomimetic scaffolds. These days, the adipose tissue can be considered the main source of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells, especially adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs). ASCs are easily accessible from various fat depots and show an intrinsic plasticity in giving rise to cell types involved in wound healing and angiogenesis. ASCs can be found in fat grafts, historically used in the treatment of chronic wounds, and have been evaluated as such in both animal models and human trials, to exploit their capability of accelerating wound closure and inducing a correct remodeling of the newly formed fibrovascular tissue. Since survival and fitness of ASCs need to be improved, they are now employed in conjunction with advanced wound dressings, together with dermal regenerative templates and platelet-rich plasma (as a source of growth and healing factors). In this work, we provide an overview of the current knowledge on the topic, based on existing studies and on our own experience.

Introduction: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most fatal autosomal recessive disorder caused by the absence/dysfunction of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein at the apical membrane of epithelial cells. The variety of innovative drug- and gene-based approaches warrants the development of assays that can allow disease modeling and high-throughput screening of drugs.Areas covered: This article aims to highlight the role of stem cells in the development of models that can recapitulate the pathophysiology of CF in the lungs, pancreas, liver, and gut. Particular emphasis will be placed upon the use of these models, derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and adult stem cells, in the screening of innovative drugs that are in the development pipeline.Expert opinion: iPSCs and adult stem cells have allowed the reconstitution of facets of CF disease in vitro and in vivo models, and, when converted to organoids, have been successfully employed for the screening of drug and gene...

Transfusion (or drinking) of blood or of its components has been thought as a rejuvenation method since ancient times. Parabiosis, the procedure of joining two animals so that they share each others blood circulation, has revitalized the concept of blood as a putative drug. Since 2005, a number of papers have reported the anti-ageing effect of heterochronic parabiosis, which is joining an aged mouse to a young partner. The hallmark of aging is the decline of regenerative properties in most tissues, partially attributed to impaired function of stem and progenitor cells. In the parabiosis experiments, it was elegantly shown that factors derived from the young systemic environment are able to activate molecular signaling pathways in hepatic, muscle or neural stem cells of the old parabiont leading to increased tissue regeneration. Eventually, further studies have brought to identify some soluble factors in part responsible for these rejuvenating effects, including the chemokine CCL11, the growth differentiation factor 11, a member of the TGF-β superfamily, and oxytocin. The question about giving whole blood or specific factors in helping rejuvenation is open, as well as the mechanisms of action of these factors, deserving further studies to be translated into the life of (old) human beings.