Antioxidative, Anti-Inflammatory, Antibacterial, Photo-Cross-Linkable Hydrogel of Gallic Acid-Chitosan Methacrylate: Synthesis, In Vitro, and In Vivo Assessments.

Chitosan (CS)-based photo-cross-linkable hydrogels have gained increasing attention in biomedical applications. In this study, we grafted CS with gallic acid (GA) by carbodiimide chemistry to prepare the GA-CS conjugate, which was subsequently modified with methacrylic anhydride (MA) modification to obtain the methacrylated GA-CS conjugate (GA-CS-MA). Our results demonstrated that the GA-CS-MA hydrogel not only exhibited improved physicochemical properties but also showed antibacterial, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory capacity. It showed moderate antibacterial activity and especially showed a more powerful inhibitory effect against Gram-positive bacteria. It modulated macrophage polarization, downregulated pro-inflammatory gene expression, upregulated anti-inflammatory gene expression, and significantly reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) production under lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Subcutaneously implanted GA-CS-MA hydrogels induced significantly lower inflammatory responses, as evidenced by less inflammatory cell infiltration, thinner fibrous capsule, and predominately promoted M2 polarization. This study provides a feasible strategy to prepare CS-based photo-cross-linkable hydrogels with improved physicochemical properties for biomedical applications.

Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative electrospun nanofiber membrane promotes diabetic wound healing via macrophage modulation.

BACKGROUND: In the inflammatory milieu of diabetic chronic wounds, macrophages undergo substantial metabolic reprogramming and play a pivotal role in orchestrating immune responses. Itaconic acid, primarily synthesized by inflammatory macrophages as a byproduct in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, has recently gained increasing attention as an immunomodulator. This study aims to assess the immunomodulatory capacity of an itaconic acid derivative, 4-Octyl itaconate (OI), which was covalently conjugated to electrospun nanofibers and investigated through in vitro studies and a full-thickness wound model of diabetic mice. RESULTS: OI was feasibly conjugated onto chitosan (CS), which was then grafted to electrospun polycaprolactone/gelatin (PG) nanofibers to obtain P/G-CS-OI membranes. The P/G-CS-OI membrane exhibited good mechanical strength, compliance, and biocompatibility. In addition, the sustained OI release endowed the nanofiber membrane with great antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities as revealed in in vitro and in vivo studies. Specifically, the P/G-CS-OI membrane activated nuclear factor-erythroid-2-related factor 2 (NRF2) by alkylating Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1). This antioxidative response modulates macrophage polarization, leading to mitigated inflammatory responses, enhanced angiogenesis, and recovered re-epithelization, finally contributing to improved healing of mouse diabetic wounds. CONCLUSIONS: The P/G-CS-OI nanofiber membrane shows good capacity in macrophage modulation and might be promising for diabetic chronic wound treatment.

Low-dose celecoxib-loaded PCL fibers reverse intervertebral disc degeneration by up-regulating CHSY3 expression.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) has been identified as one of the predominant factors leading to persistent low back pain and disability in middle-aged and elderly people. Dysregulation of Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) can cause IDD, while low-dose celecoxib can maintain PGE2 at the physiological level and activate the skeletal interoception. Here, as nano fibers have been extensively used in the treatment of IDD, novel polycaprolactone (PCL) nano fibers loaded with low-dose celecoxib were fabricated for IDD treatment. In vitro studies demonstrated that the nano fibers had the ability of releasing low-dose celecoxib slowly and sustainably and maintain PGE2. Meanwhile, in a puncture-induced rabbit IDD model, the nano fibers reversed IDD. Furthermore, low-dose celecoxib released from the nano fibers was firstly proved to promote CHSY3 expression. In a lumbar spine instability-induced mouse IDD model, low-dose celecoxib inhibited IDD in CHSY3wt mice rather than CHSY3-/- mice. This model indicated that CHSY3 was indispensable for low-dose celecoxib to alleviate IDD. In conclusion, this study developed a novel low-dose celecoxib-loaded PCL nano fibers to reverse IDD by maintaining PGE2 at the physiological level and promoting CHSY3 expression.

Transcriptome Profiling of Cu Stressed Petunia Petals Reveals Candidate Genes Involved in Fe and Cu Crosstalk.

Copper (Cu) is an essential element for most living plants, but it is toxic for plants when present in excess. To better understand the response mechanism under excess Cu in plants, especially in flowers, transcriptome sequencing on petunia buds and opened flowers under excess Cu was performed. Interestingly, the transcript level of FIT-independent Fe deficiency response genes was significantly affected in Cu stressed petals, probably regulated by basic-helix-loop-helix 121 (bHLH121), while no difference was found in Fe content. Notably, the expression level of bHLH121 was significantly down-regulated in petals under excess Cu. In addition, the expression level of genes related to photosystem II (PSII), photosystem I (PSI), cytochrome b6/f complex, the light-harvesting chlorophyll II complex and electron carriers showed disordered expression profiles in petals under excess Cu, thus photosynthesis parameters, including the maximum PSII efficiency (FV/FM), nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ), quantum yield of the PSII (ΦPS(II)) and photochemical quenching coefficient (qP), were reduced in Cu stressed petals. Moreover, the chlorophyll a content was significantly reduced, while the chlorophyll b content was not affected, probably caused by the increased expression of chlorophyllide a oxygenase (CAO). Together, we provide new insight into excess Cu response and the Cu-Fe crosstalk in flowers.

Photocrosslinkable hydrogel of ibuprofen-chitosan methacrylate modulates inflammatory response.

Methacrylated biopolymers are unique and attractive in preparing photocrosslinkable hydrogels in biomedical applications. Here we report a novel chitosan (CS) derivative-based injectable hydrogel with anti-inflammatory capacity via methacrylation modification. First, ibuprofen (IBU) was conjugated to the backbone of CS by carbodiimide chemistry to obtain IBU-CS conjugate, which converts water-insoluble unmodified CS into water-soluble IBU-CS conjugate. The IBU-CS conjugate did not precipitate at the pH of 7, which was beneficial to subsequent chemical modification with methacrylic anhydride to prepare IBU-CS methacrylate (IBU-CS-MA) with significantly higher methacrylation substitution. Photocrosslinkable in situ gel formation of injectable IBU-CS-MA hydrogel was verified using lithium phenyl-2,4,6-trimethylbenzoylphosphinate (LAP) initiator under visible light. The IBU-CS-MA hydrogel showed good cytocompatibility as revealed by encapsulating and in vitro culturing murine fibroblasts within hydrogels. It promoted macrophage polarization toward M2 phenotype, as well as downregulated pro-inflammatory gene expression and upregulated anti-inflammatory gene expression of macrophages. The hydrogel also significantly reduced the reactive oxygen specifies (ROS) and nitrogen oxide (NO) produced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-stimulated macrophages. Upon subcutaneous implantation in a rat model, it significantly mitigated inflammatory responses as shown by significantly lower inflammatory cell density, less cell infiltration, and much thinner fibrous capsule compared with CS methacrylate (CS-MA) hydrogel. This study suggests that IBU-CS conjugate represents a feasible strategy for preparing CS-based methacrylate hydrogels for biomedical applications.

The relationship between rehabilitation motivation and upper limb motor function in stroke patients.

Objective: Insufficient motivation among post-stroke survivors may be an important factor affecting their motor function recovery. This study seeks to investigate the relationship between motivation and functional recovery in stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation training. Materials and methods: 103 stroke patients with upper limb impairments were studied during their hospital stays. Assessments were done before and after rehabilitation training to measure motivation, emotional state, motor function, and independence in daily activities. Data analysis was conducted to examine the distribution of these factors among the participants. Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses were used to study the relationships between motivation, emotional state, and motor function. Patients were divided into high and low motivation groups based on the Rehabilitation Motivation Scale (RMS), and chi-square and rank-sum tests were used to compare functional differences before and after treatment among patients with varying levels of motivation. Results: 66 participants were found to have low motivation in the initial assessment of the RMS (64.08%). Consistency in motivation levels was observed among patients with high motivation (r = 0.648, P<0.001). Apathy was identified as the main factor affecting motivation in patients with low motivation (p = 0.027), while depression and anxiety were not significantly correlated. Motivation was strongly linked to improvements in upper limb motor function, daily living activities, and self-exercise duration (p < 0.001) for stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation. Post-training, there was a notable increase in motivation, motor function, and independence in daily activities (p < 0.001). Increased rehabilitation motivation was linked to better upper limb motor function and daily independence in patients, particularly those with low motivation. This correlation was significant for both the FMA-UE and FIM scores. Discussion: Old patients with poor upper limb motor function often have low motivation, which hinders their recovery. Using strategies to boost motivation in stroke patients with impaired upper limb function could greatly improve their rehabilitation and motor skills. It is crucial to prioritize these intervention strategies. Conclusion: Enhancing rehabilitation motivation in stroke patients with low motivation and upper limb motor impairments can foster the restoration of their functional capabilities.

Ibuprofen-loaded bilayer electrospun mesh modulates host response toward promoting full-thickness abdominal wall defect repair.

Pro-inflammatory response impairs the constructive repair of abdominal wall defects after mesh implantation. Electrospinning-aid functionalization has the potential to improve the highly orchestrated response by attenuating the over-activation of foreign body reactions. Herein, we combined poly(L-lactic acid-co-caprolactone) (PLLA-CL) with gelatin proportionally via electrospinning, with Ibuprofen (IBU) incorporation to fabricate a bilayer mesh for the repair improvement. The PLLA-CL/gelatin/IBU (PGI) mesh was characterized in vitro and implanted into the rat model with a full-thickness defect for a comprehensive evaluation in comparison to the PLLA-CL/gelatin (PG) and off-the-shelf small intestinal submucosa (SIS) meshes. The bilayer PGI mesh presented a sustained release of IBU over 21 days with degradation in vitro and developed less-intensive intraperitoneal adhesion along with a histologically weaker inflammatory response than the PG mesh after 28 days. It elicited an M2 macrophage-dominant foreign body reaction within the process, leading to a pro-remodeling response similar to the biological SIS mesh, which was superior to the PG mesh. The PGI mesh provided preponderant mechanical supports over the SIS mesh and the native abdominal wall with similar compliance. Collectively, the newly developed mesh advances the intraperitoneal applicability of electrospun meshes by guiding a pro-remodeling response and offers a feasible functionalization approach upon immunomodulation.

A novel antibiotic: the antimicrobial effects of CFBSA and its application on electronspun wound dressing.

N-chloro-N-fluorobenzenesulfonylamide (CFBSA), was a novel chlorinating reagent, which exhibits potential antibacterial activities. In this study, CFBSA was confirmed as a wide-broad antimicrobial and bactericidal drug against different gram-negative bacteria, gram-positive bacteria and fungi, while it was found to have low cytotoxicity for eukaryotic cells. In addition, microorganism morphology assay and oxidative stress test was used to determine the antimicrobial mechanisms of CFBSA. According to the results, CFBSA probably had a target on cell membrane and killed microorganism by disrupting its cell membrane. Then, CFBSA was first combined with poly(L-lactide-co-caprolactone) (PLCL)/SF via electrospinning and applied in wound dressings. The characterization of different PLCL/SF of CFBSA-loaded nanofibrous mats was investigated by SEM, water contact angle, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, cell compatibility and antimicrobial test. CFBSA-loaded PLCL/SF nanofibrous mats showed excellent antimicrobial activities. In order to balance of the biocompatibility and antibacterial efficiency, SP-2.5 was selected as the ideal loading concentration for further application of CFBSA-loaded PLCL/SF. In conclusion, the electrospun CFBSA-loaded PLCL/SF nanofibrous mat with its broad-spectrum antimicrobial and bactericidal activity and good biocompatibility showed enormous potential for wound dressing.

Fiber configuration determines foreign body response of electrospun scaffolds:in vitroandin vivoassessments.

Biomaterial scaffolds boost tissue repair and regeneration by providing physical support, delivering biological signals and/or cells, and recruiting endogenous cells to facilitate tissue-material integration and remodeling. Foreign body response (FBR), an innate immune response that occurs immediately after biomaterial implantation, is a critical factor in determining the biological outcomes of biomaterial scaffolds. Electrospinning is of great simplicity and cost-effectiveness to produce nanofiber scaffolds with well-defined physicochemical properties and has been used in a variety of regenerative medicine applications in preclinical trials and clinical practice. A deep understanding of causal factors between material properties and FBR of host tissues is beneficial to the optimal design of electrospun scaffolds with favorable immunomodulatory properties. We herein prepared and characterized three electrospun scaffolds with distinct fiber configurations and investigated their effects on FBR in terms of immune cell-material interactions and host responses. Our results show that electrospun yarn scaffold results in greater cellular immune reactions and elevated FBR inin vivoassessments. Although the yarn scaffold showed aligned fiber bundles, it failed to induce cell elongation of macrophages due to its rough surface and porous grooves between yarns. In contrast, the aligned scaffold showed reduced FBR compared to the yarn scaffold, indicating a smooth surface is also a contributor to the immunomodulatory effects of the aligned scaffold. Our study suggests that balanced porousness and smooth surface of aligned fibers or yarns should be the key design parameters of electrospun scaffolds to modulate host responsein vivo.

Electrospun membranes chelated by metal magnesium ions enhance pro-angiogenic activity and promote diabetic wound healing.

Diabetic wounds, resulting from skin atrophy due to localized ischemia and hypoxia in diabetic patients, lead to chronic pathological inflammation and delayed healing. Using electrospinning technology, we developed magnesium ion-chelated nanofiber membranes to explore their efficacy in antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and angiogenic applications for wound healing. These membranes are flexible and elastic, resembling native skin tissue, and possess good hydrophilicity for comfortable wound bed contact. The mechanical properties of nanofiber membranes are enhanced by the chelation of magnesium ions (Mg2+), which also facilitates a long-term slow release of Mg2+. The cytocompatibility of the nanofibrous membranes is influenced by their Mg2+ content: lower levels encourage the proliferation of fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and macrophages, while higher levels are inhibitory. In a diabetic rat model, magnesium ion-chelated nanofibrous membranes effectively reduced early wound inflammation and notably accelerated wound healing. This study highlights the potential of magnesium ion-chelated nanofiber membranes in treating diabetic wounds.

Uni-directional release of ibuprofen from an asymmetric fibrous membrane enables effective peritendinous anti-adhesion.

Drug-loaded porous membranes have been deemed to be effective physicochemical barriers to separate postoperative adhesion-prone tissues in tendon healing. However, cell viability and subsequent tissue regeneration might be severely interfered with the unrestricted release and the locally excessive concentration of anti-inflammatory drugs. Herein, we report a double-layered membrane with sustained and uni-directional drug delivery features to prevent peritendinous adhesion without hampering the healing outcome. A vortex-assisted electrospinning system in combination with ibuprofen (IBU)-in-water emulsion was utilized to fabricate IBU-loaded poly-ʟ-lactic-acid (PLLA) fiber bundle membrane (PFB-IBU) as the anti-adhesion layer. The resultant highly porous structure, oleophilic and hydrophobic nature of PLLA fibers enabled in situ loading of IBU with a concentration gradient across the membrane thickness. Aligned collagen nanofibers were further deposited at the low IBU concentration side of the membrane for regulating cell growth and achieving uni-directional release of IBU. Drug release kinetics showed that the release amount of IBU from the high concentration side reached 79.32% at 14 d, while it was only 0.35% at the collagen side. Therefore, fibroblast proliferation at the high concentration side was successfully inhibited without affecting the oriented growth of tendon-derived stem cells at the other side. In vivo evaluation of the rat Achilles adhesion model confirmed the successful peritendinous anti-adhesion of our double-layered membrane, in that the macrophage recruitment, the inflammatory factor secretion and the deposition of pathological adhesion markers such as α-SMA and COL-III were all inhibited, which greatly improved the peritendinous fibrosis and restored the motor function of tendon.

Shape-Persistent Conductive Nerve Guidance Conduits for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration.

To solve the problems of slow regeneration and mismatch of axon regeneration after peripheral nerve injury, nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) have been widely used to promote nerve regeneration. Multichannel NGCs have been widely studied to mimic the structure of natural nerve bundles. However, multichannel conduits are prone to structural instability. Thermo-responsive shape memory polymers (SMPs) can maintain a persistent initial structure over the body temperature range. Electrical stimulation (ES), utilized within nerve NGCs, serves as a biological signal to expedite damaged nerve regeneration. Here, an electrospun shape-persistent conductive NGC is designed to maintain the persistent tubular structure in the physiological temperature range and improve the conductivity. The physicochemical and biocompatibility of these P, P/G, P/G-GO, and P/G-RGO NGCs are conducted in vitro. Meanwhile, to evaluate biocompatibility and peripheral nerve regeneration, NGCs are implanted in subcutaneous parts of the back of rats and sciatic nerves assessed by histology and immunofluorescence analyses. The conductive NGC displays a stable structure, good biocompatibility, and promoted nerve regeneration. Collectively, the shape-persistent conductive NGC (P/G-RGO) is expected to promote peripheral nerve recovery, especially for long-gap and large-diameter nerves.

Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts-Derived Extracellular Matrix Facilitates Expansion of Inner Ear-Derived Cells.

OBJECTIVE: Previous reports showed that mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) could support pluripotent stem cell selfrenewal and maintain their pluripotency. The goal of this study was to reveal whether the decellularized extracellular matrix derived from MEFs (MEF-ECM) is beneficial to promote the proliferation of inner ear-derived cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this experimental study, we prepared a cell-free MEF-ECM through decellularization. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and immunofluorescent staining were conducted for phenotype characterization. Organs of Corti were dissected from postnatal day 2 and the inner ear-derived cells were obtained. The identification of inner ear-derived cells was conducted by using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to evaluate the proliferation capability of inner ear-derived cells cultured on the MEFECM and tissue culture plate (TCP). RESULTS: The MEF-ECM was clearly observed after decellularization via SEM, and the immunofluorescence staining results revealed that MEF-ECM was composed of three proteins, including collagen I, fibronectin and laminin. Most importantly, the results of CCK-8 showed that compared with TCP, MEF-ECM could effectively facilitate the proliferation of inner ear-derived cells. CONCLUSION: The discovery of the potential of MEF-ECM in promoting inner ear-derived cell proliferation indicates that the decellularized matrix microenvironment may play a vital role in keeping proliferation ability of these cells. Our findings indicate that the use of MEF-ECM may serve as a novel approach for expanding inner ear-derived cells and potentially facilitating the clinical application of inner ear-derived cells for hearing loss in the future.

Mechanisms of magnesium oxide-incorporated electrospun membrane modulating inflammation and accelerating wound healing.

Previously, we demonstrated that magnesium oxide (MgO)-incorporated electrospun membranes show powerful antibacterial activity and promote wound healing, but the underlying mechanisms have not been entirely understood. Herein, we investigated the relationship between structure and function of MgO-incorporated membranes and interrogated critical bioactive cues that contribute to accelerated wound healing and functional restoration. Our results show that MgO-incorporated membranes exhibit good flexibility and improved water vapor transmission rates (WVTRs) and sustained Mg2+ release in a simulated model of wounds. MgO-incorporated membranes modulate macrophage phenotype to downregulate inflammatory response, contributing to alleviated inflammation and creating a favorable microenvironment for wound healing. Specifically, MgO-incorporated membranes stimulate macrophages to shift to a pro-healing M2 phenotype and upregulate pro-healing cytokine of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-ß1) and downregulate pro-inflammatory cytokines under lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge conditions. Together with increased TGF-ß1 by macrophages, MgO-incorporated membranes significantly boost the proliferation of fibroblasts and upregulate collagen production, thus driving granulation tissue formation and wound closure. MgO-incorporated membranes promote angiogenesis by promoting tube formation and upregulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production of endothelial cells. Rapid epithelialization of regenerated skin tissue is attributed to the balanced phenotype of keratinocytes between proliferative and terminally differentiated populations. In addition to coordinating keratinocyte phenotype, MgO-incorporated membranes reduce the expression of inflammatory cytokine interleukin 1-alpha (IL-1α) therefore promoting hair follicle regeneration. These data provide mechanisms of MgO-incorporated membranes that inhibit bacterial infection, alleviate inflammation, facilitate extracellular matrix production and epithelialization, and potentiate hair follicle regeneration.

Electrospun flexible magnesium-doped silica bioactive glass nanofiber membranes with anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic effects for infected wounds.

Antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and pro-angiogenic properties are prerequisites for dressing materials that accelerate the healing process of infected wounds. Herein, we report a magnesium-doped silica bioactive glass (SiO2/MgO) nanofiber membrane prepared by electrospinning. Our results demonstrate that this SiO2/MgO nanofiber membrane has good flexibility and hydrophilicity, which give it intimate contact with wound beds. In vitro assessments illustrate its good cytocompatibility and bioactivity that contribute to its robust cell proliferation and angiogenesis. It shows capacity in modulating the cellular inflammatory response of murine macrophages. In addition, in vitro assays prove its good antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains. In a full-thickness skin defect inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus in mice, it effectively inhibits bacterial infection. Both gene expression and histological/immunohistochemical analyses confirmed the down-regulated pro-inflammatory factors, up-regulated anti-inflammatory factors, and enhanced angiogenesis. Taken together, these desirable properties work in concert to contribute to the rapid healing of infected wounds and make it a good candidate for wound dressing materials.

Type I collagen and fibromodulin enhance the tenogenic phenotype of hASCs and their potential for tendon regeneration.

Our previous work demonstrated the tendon-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) extracts as vital niches to specifically direct mesenchymal stem cells towards tenogenic differentiation. This study aims to further define the effective ECM molecules capable of teno-lineage induction on human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) and test their function for tendon engineering. By detecting the teno-markers expression levels in hASCs exposed to various substrate coatings, collagen I (COL1) and fibromodulin (FMOD) were identified to be the key molecules as a combination and further employed to the modification of poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) electrospun nanoyarns, which showed advantages in inducting seeded hASCs for teno-lineage specific differentiation. Under dynamic mechanical loading, modified scaffold seeded with hASCs formed neo-tendon in vitro at the histological level and formed better tendon tissue in vivo with mature histology and enhanced mechanical properties. Primary mechanistic investigation with RNA sequencing demonstrated that the inductive mechanism of these two molecules for hASCs tenogenic differentiation was directly correlated with positive regulation of peptidase activity, regulation of cell-substrate adhesion and regulation of cytoskeletal organization. These biological processes were potentially affected by LOC101929398/has-miR-197-3p/TENM4 ceRNA regulation axis. In summary, COL1 and FMOD in combination are the major bioactive molecules in tendon ECM for likely directing tenogenic phenotype of hASCs and certainly valuable for hASCs-based tendon engineering.

Biomimetic Cardiac Fibrotic Model for Antifibrotic Drug Screening.

Cardiac fibrosis is characterized by pathological proliferation and activation of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts. Inhibition and reverse of transdifferentiation of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts is a potential strategy for cardiac fibrosis. Despite substantial progress, more effort is needed to discover effective drugs to improve and reverse cardiac fibrosis. The main reason for the slow development of antifibrotic drugs is that the traditional polystyrene culture platform does not recapitulate the microenvironment where cells reside in tissues. In this study, we propose an in vitro cardiac fibrotic model by seeding electrospun yarn scaffolds with cardiac fibroblasts. Our results show that yarn scaffolds allow three-dimensional growth of cardiac fibroblasts, promote extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and induce the transdifferentiation of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts. Exogenous transforming growth factor-ß1 further promotes cardiac fibroblast activation and ECM deposition, which makes it a suitable fibrotic model to predict the antifibrotic potential of drugs. By using this platform, we demonstrate that both Honokiol (HKL) and Pirfenidone (PFD) show potential in antifibrosis to some extent. HKL is more efficient in antifibrosis than PFD as revealed by biochemical composition, gene, and molecular analyses as well as histological and biomechanical analysis. The electrospun yarn scaffold provides a novel platform for constructing in vitro fibrotic models to study cardiac fibrosis and to predict the antifibrotic efficacy of novel drugs.

A comparative study on various cell sources for constructing tissue-engineered meniscus.

Injury to the meniscus is a common occurrence in the knee joint and its management remains a significant challenge in the clinic. Appropriate cell source is essential to cell-based tissue regeneration and cell therapy. Herein, three commonly used cell sources, namely, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC), adipose-derived stem cell (ADSC), and articular chondrocyte, were comparatively evaluated to determine their potential for engineered meniscus tissue in the absence of growth factor stimulus. Cells were seeded on electrospun nanofiber yarn scaffolds that share similar aligned fibrous configurations with native meniscus tissue for constructing meniscus tissue in vitro. Our results show that cells proliferated robustly along nanofiber yarns to form organized cell-scaffold constructs, which recapitulate the typical circumferential fiber bundles of native meniscus. Chondrocytes exhibited different proliferative characteristics and formed engineered tissues with distinct biochemical and biomechanical properties compared to BMSC and ADSC. Chondrocytes maintained good chondrogenesis gene expression profiles and produced significantly increased chondrogenic matrix and form mature cartilage-like tissue as revealed by typical cartilage lacunae. In contrast, stem cells underwent predominately fibroblastic differentiation and generated greater collagen, which contributes to improved tensile strengths of cell-scaffold constructs in comparison to the chondrocyte. ADSC showed greater proliferative activity and increased collagen production than BMSC. These findings indicate that chondrocytes are superior to stem cells for constructing chondrogenic tissues while the latter is feasible to form fibroblastic tissue. Combination of chondrocytes and stem cells might be a possible solution to construct fibrocartilage tissue and meniscus repair and regeneration.

Sustained Release of Dicumarol via Novel Grafted Polymer in Electrospun Nanofiber Membrane for Treatment of Peritendinous Adhesion.

The prevention and treatment of post-traumatic peritendinous adhesion (PA) have always been a great difficulty for orthopedic surgeons. Current treatments include resecting surgery, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) usage and implantable membranes, often target single disease pathogenic processes, resulting in unfavorable therapeutic outcomes. Here a polylactic acid (PLA)-dicumarol conjugates-electrospun nanofiber membrane (ENM) (PCD) is generated, which can achieve spatial accuracy and temporal sustainability in drug release. It is further demonstrated that PCD possesses a significantly higher and more sustainable drug release profile than traditional drug-loading ENM. By providing a physical barrier and continuous releasing of dicumarol, PCD implantation significantly reduces tissue adhesion by 25%, decreases fibroblasts activity and inhibits key fibrogenic cytokine transforming growth factor beta (TGFß) production by 30%, and improves the biomechanical tendon property by 14.69%. Mechanistically, PCD potently inhibits the connexin43 (Cx43) and thereby tunes down the fibroblastic TGFß/Smad3 signaling pathway. Thus, this approach leverages the anti-adhesion effect of dicumarol and drug release properties of grafted copolymer ENM by esters to provide a promising therapeutic strategy for patients who suffer from PA.

Elastic 3D-Printed Nanofibers Composite Scaffold for Bone Tissue Engineering.

Loading nanoparticles into hydrogels has been a conventional approach to augment the printability of ink and the physicochemical characteristics of scaffolds in three-dimensional (3D) printing. However, the efficacy of this enhancement has often proven to be limited. We amalgamate electrospun nanofibers with 3D printing techniques to fabricate a composite scaffold reminiscent of a "reinforced concrete" structure, aimed at addressing bone defects. These supple silica nanofibers are synthesized through a dual-step process involving high-speed homogenization and low-temperature ball milling technology. The nanofibers are homogeneously blended with sodium alginate to create the printing ink. The resultant ink was extruded seamlessly, displaying commendable molding properties, thereby yielding scaffolds with favorable macroscopic morphology. In contrast to nanoparticle-reinforced scaffolds, composite scaffolds containing nanofibers exhibit superior mechanical attributes and bioactivity. These nanofiber composite scaffolds demonstrate enhanced osteoinductive properties in both in vitro and in vivo evaluations. To conclude, this research introduces a novel 3D printing approach where the fabricated nanofiber-infused 3D-printed scaffolds hold the potential to revolutionize the realm of 3D printing in the domain of bone tissue engineering.