Perspectives on the Immune System in Sepsis.

Beyond the modifications shown by the biochemistry labs, profound and ample modifications are seen in septic patients at a molecular level stemming from DNA translation and gene expression, manifested as unique profiles of mRNA (messenger), as well as non-coding, functional RNAs: miRNA (micro) and lncRNAs (long non-coding). Counteracting these modifications requires treatment with pleiotropic molecules and/or combination of molecules and opens the possibility of future treatments with arrays of siRNAs and/or specific panels of small molecules tailored for each patient subpopulation.

Decontamination of Two Umbilical Cord Blood Grafts Prior to Autologous Administration.

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is proving to be a valuable resource of stem cells and is currently being used for a variety of oncological and hematological pathologies and metabolic disorders; in addition, new clinical trials are showing promising results in certain neurological, autoimmune and developmental disorders. More recently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for the clinical use of cellular therapies with UCB-based products and new therapeutic utilizations are being studied for regenerative medicine; all these developments will increase the utilization of "off-the-shelf" UCB units. As a drawback, contamination of UCB grafts is a significant occurrence (upwards of 5% in most analysis) and, even though it consists mainly of non-pathogenic bacteria, it can raise serious questions regarding intravenous UCB administration, especially in patients who are not receiving coincidental antibiotic coverage. Here we report the successful decontamination of two UCB grafts prior to administration without compromising the viability of the stem cells administered, and propose to apply the same principle and procedure to any contaminated graft.

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Cord Blood Collection for Stem Cell Use and Actual Perspectives.

Cord blood collection for stem cell storage remains a popular procedure due to the advantages associated to it. In the last ten years, the therapeutic potential of umbilical cord stem cells was demonstrated in the treatment of bone pathologies, neuropsychiatry, metabolic and genetic diseases. There are several factors with direct influence on the quality and quantity of cord blood collection for stem cell storage. The collection principles should be individualized according to the maternal and fetal characteristics. Furthermore, in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, additional information can be obtained through this procedure. We present a specific case-adapted strategy for the collection of umbilical cord blood and its application in analyzing the transplacental transfer of maternal COVID-19 antibodies after vaccination. We suggest that the informed consent offered to the future parents prior to the procedure should include the history of COVID-19 during pregnancy, the vaccination status of the mother and the gestational age at the time when this event occurred.