Search

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Developing the Next Generation of Universal Immune Receptors," "From Synthesis to Pathology: A Bottom-Up Approach to Studying the Role of Advanced Glycation End-Products in Diabetes and Aging," "Hybrid Bioactive Nanoparticles for Modulation of Tumor Microenvironment and Enhancing Radiation and Chemotherapy Efficacy," "In Situ Bioprinting of Planar Biomaterials and Tissues," "Novel AAV Engineering Technology: Identification of Improved AAV Variants for Gene Addition and Genome Engineering in Primary Human Cells," and "Substrate Reduction Therapy for Krabbe Disease and a New Murine Model for Cell-Autonomous Expression of Lysosomal Hydrolases."

Theses reviewed in this issue include “Engineering Efficient and Safe In Situ Genome Regulation via CRISPR-Cas9 for Enabling Gene Therapies,” “Investigating the Mechanism of LINE-1 Retrotranspositi...

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Clearance of Capillary Occlusions Improves Cortical Blood Flow and Cognitive Function in Alzheimer's Mouse Models," "Dermato-Informatic Approaches to Understanding and Improving Lesional Diagnostic Expertise in Cutaneous Oncology," "Furthering the Scope, Understanding, and Application of Proteolysis Targeting Chimera," "Optimization and Application of Synthetic High-Density Lipoprotein (sHDL) System in Atherosclerosis and Glioma Therapy," "Regulatory T Cell Enriching Microparticles for Promoting Tolerance in Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation," and "Tau Prion Strains Induce Distinct Pathological Phenotypes

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Advanced Imaging Technologies for Combined Biomedical Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Imaging," "Engineering Bispecific Chimeric Antigen Receptors to Improve the Efficacy of Adoptive T-Cell Therapy," "Il-36 Gamma Promotes Anti-Tumor Immunity Through Therapeutic Induction of Tumor-Associated Tertiary Lymphoid Structures," "Investigating the Role of Matrix Vesicles During Aortic Valve Interstitial Cell Calcification," "Local Delivery of Cyclosporine and Erythropoietin Promotes Functional Recovery in a Rodent Model of Stroke Injury by Endogenous Tissue Repair," and "Targeting Primary Cilia-Mediated Mechanotransduction to Promote Whole Bone Formation."

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Cancer and Stem Cell Extravasation through Angiopellosis," "Human Chimeric Antigen Receptor Macrophages for Cancer Immunotherapy," "Insights on Alzheimer's Disease Etiology from Network Approaches in Healthy Aging," "Myelin and Glial Pathology in Aging and Cognitive Decline: Evidence for Faulty Myelin Clearance in the Rhesus Monkey," "Phosphatidylserine-Based Nanoparticles for Tolerance Induction Toward Therapeutic Proteins," and "Role of Endothelial Cell Stiffening in Choroidal Atrophy Associated with Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration."

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Alpha-Synuclein Oligomers: Cellular Mechanisms and Aspects of Antibody Treatment," "Cx3cr1/cx3cl1 Axis Drives the Migration and Maturation of Oligodendroglia in the Central Nervous System," "Genome-Wide Expression Profiling of Human Circulating Monocytes and Macrophages Identifies Diagnostic and Prognostic Signatures for Cancer Outcomes," "Lysosomal Oxidation of Low Density Lipoproteins," and "The Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype Induced by ID1-p16 Axis Contributes to Sorafenib Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma."

Theses reviewed in this issue include Characterization and Modeling of Metabolic Stress Responses in Cellular Aging; Engineering Immunity: Enhancing T Cell Vaccines and Combination Immunotherapies for the Treatment of Cancer; Extracellular Inflammatory Signaling from Dysfunctional Telomeres; High-Throughput Microfluidic Labyrinth for the Label-Free Isolation of circulating tumor cells for Single-Cell Gene Expression Profiling; Oxygen Nanobubbles for Ultrasound-guided Targeting of Cancer Hypoxia; and The Eye as a Window to the Alzheimer's Disease Brain.

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Engineering Protein Disaggregases to Counter Alpha-Synuclein and Amyloid-Beta Neurotoxicity," "Hyperglycaemia Induced Immunomodulation of Macrophages in Diabetic Vascular Disease," "Microvasculature-on-a-Chip Systems for Human Disease Modeling," "Senescence Surveillance: The Interplay Between the Immune System and Senescent Cells," "The HMG Transcription Factor TOX Induces a Transcriptional and Epigenetic Program of CD8+ T Cell Exhaustion in Chronic Infection and Cancer," and "Zero to One-Translational Advancements in the Field of Xenotransplantation."

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Advances on Chip-In-Cell Wireless Platform for Continuous Monitoring of Physiological Parameters in Single Cells," "Design and Delivery of Synthetic mRNA by a Peptide Nanoparticle," "Inflammation Alters Endothelial Progenitor Cell-derived Exosome Contents and Therapeutic Effect on Myocardial Repair," "Partial Reprogramming: A Shortcut to Rejuvenation," "Renal Angioplasty and Therapeutic Angiogenesis for Renovascular Disease: A Novel Treatment Strategy," and "Targeted EDTA Chelation Therapy with Albumin Nanoparticles to Reverse Arterial Calcification and Restore Vascular Health in Chronic Kidney Disease."

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Computational Pathology for Quantifying Spatial Heterogeneity in Digital Images of Tissue Sections from Solid Tumors," "Molecular Analysis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration Brain Tissue Identifies Disease Mechanisms Associated with Repetitive DNA Elements," "Neuroprotective Potential of the N-Terminal Beta Amyloid Peptide Fragment in the Neurodegeneration, Synaptic Dysfunction and Memory Deficits in Models of Alzheimer's Disease," "pH-triggered Self-Assembly of a PEGylated Peptide Amphiphilic Contrast Agent," "Quantitative Approaches for Profiling the T Cell Receptor Repertoire in Human Tissues," and "Regulation and Repair of Neural Stem Cells and the Neurogenic Niche."

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Bowties, Barcodes, and DNA Origami: A Novel Approach for Paired-Chain Immune Receptor Repertoire Analysis," "Development of Canine Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy for TreatmentTranslation," "Endocytic Vesicle Rupture in the Pathogenesis and Propagation of Neurodegenerative Proteinopathies," "Exploring Mechanisms of Metastasis Suppression in Metastatic Melanoma," "Polymer and Nucleic Acid Self-Assemblies: Properties and Applications at the Biological Interface," and "Towards a Scalable, Biomimetic, Antibacterial Coating."

Can memory be retained after cryopreservation? Our research has attempted to answer this long-standing question by using the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, a well-known model organism for biological research that has generated revolutionary findings but has not been tested for memory retention after cryopreservation. Our study's goal was to test C. elegans' memory recall after vitrification and reviving. Using a method of sensory imprinting in the young C. elegans, we establish that learning acquired through olfactory cues shapes the animal's behavior and the learning is retained at the adult stage after vitrification. Our research method included olfactory imprinting with the chemical benzaldehyde (C6H5CHO) for phase-sense olfactory imprinting at the L1 stage, the fast-cooling SafeSpeed method for vitrification at the L2 stage, reviving, and a chemotaxis assay for testing memory retention of learning at the adult stage. Our results in testing memory retention after cryopreservation show that the mechanisms that regulate the odorant imprinting (a form of long-term memory) in C. elegans have not been modified by the process of vitrification or by slow freezing.

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Automated Analysis of Quantitative Image Biomarkers from Low-Dose Chest CT Scans," "Design, Synthesis, and Delivery of a Self-Cleaving Replicon System Yielding Biologically Active MicroRNAs In Vivo," "Mechanisms of Physiological Amyloidogenesis," "Programming and Reprogramming Neural Cell Types Using Synthetic Transcription Factors," "Targeted Drug Delivery via Exploitation of the Tumor Microenvironment," and "Towards Clinically-Relevant Cell-Transplant-Based Therapies for the Treatment of Liver Diseases."

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Atrophied Thymus, a Tumor Reservoir for Harboring Melanoma Cells," "Evolutionary Adaptations in Developmental Signaling Pathways Underlie Regenerative Scar-Free Wound Repair in African Spiny Mouse (Genus Acomys)," "Integrated Immunoassays on Paper/Polymer Hybrid Microfluidic Devices for Low-Cost Detection of Disease Biomarkers," "RNA Regulation in the Nervous System: CircRNA Expression Changes During Aging, and Function of the Calm1 Extended 3' UTR Isoform," "The Role of Amylin in Alzheimer's Disease," and "Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies to Detect and Halt ATTR Cardiac Amyloidosis and Neuropathy."

Theses reviewed in this issue include "Age-Associated Lamin-B1 Reduction in the Thymic Epithelial Cells and Its Role in Thymic Involution," "Brainstem Structural Integrity in the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease," "Challenging Current Paradigms: Increasing the Efficacy of Radiation Therapy with Novel Radiation Schemes," "Cross-Talk Between the Skeletal Muscle Stem Cells and Endothelial Cells," "Design and Synthesis of Enzyme-MOF (Metal-Organic Framework) Composites for Long-Persistent Biomedical Applications," and "Megakaryocyte-Membrane Wrapped Nanoparticles for Targeted Delivery to Hematopoietic Stem Cells."

One of the main benefits of the dramatic technological progress over the last two centuries is the enormous increase in human life expectancy, which has now reached record highs. After conquering most childhood diseases and a fair fraction of the diseases that plague adulthood, medical technology is now mainly preoccupied by age-related disorders. Further progress is dependent on circumventing the traditional medical focus on individual diseases and instead targeting aging as a whole as the ultimate cause of the health problems that affect humankind at old age. In principle, a major effort to control the gradual accumulation of molecular and cellular damage - considered by many as the ultimate cause of intrinsic aging - may rapidly lead to interventions for regenerating aged and worn-out tissues and organs. While considered impossible by many, there really is no reason to reject this as scientifically implausible. However, as we posit, it is not only scientific progress that is currently a limiting factor, but societal factors that hinder and may ultimately prevent further progress in testing and adopting the many possible interventions to cure aging.

In this column, we continue the series, begun in issue 10(1), of surveys highlighting a small selection of recently completed doctoral theses with particular relevance to the fields covered by Rejuvenation Research. While it has become common for thesis work to appear in the general academic literature, it remains valuable to scan the thesis databases for important advances that one might otherwise overlook.

Evidence is accumulating that the first genuine antiaging interventions (e.g., approved pharmaceutical, nutriceutical, and stem-cell-based therapies) will become available within the next decades. Model organism data, next-generation sequencing, and further advances call for sophisticated large-scale data analysis. To present the state-of-the art and to talk about upcoming tasks and challenges in the bioinformatics and systems biology of aging-related data, a workshop on Bioinformatics in Ageing Research convened leading experts from Europe on May 4-5, 2010, in Rostock/Warnemunde. This meeting report summarizes talks and gives some outlook into future developments.