Injectable and Dynamically Crosslinked Zwitterionic Hydrogels for Anti-Fouling and Tissue Regeneration Applications.

A zwitterionic injectable and degradable hydrogel based on hydrazide and aldehyde-functionalized [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (DMAPS) precursor polymers that can address practical in vivo needs is reported. Zwitterion fusion interactions between the zwitterionic precursor polymers create a secondary physically crosslinked network to enable much more rapid gelation than previously reported with other synthetic polymers, facilitating rapid gelation at much lower polymer concentrations or degrees of functionalization than previously accessible in addition to promoting zero swelling and long-term degradation responses and significantly stiffer mechanics than are typically accessed with previously reported low-viscosity precursor gelation systems. The hydrogels maintain the highly anti-fouling properties of conventional zwitterionic hydrogels against proteins, mammalian cells, and bacteria while also promoting anti-fibrotic tissue responses in vivo. Furthermore, the use of the hydrogels for effective delivery and subsequent controlled release of viable cells with tunable profiles both in vitro and in vivo is demonstrated, including the delivery of myoblasts in a mouse skeletal muscle defect model for reducing the time between injury and functional mobility recovery. The combination of the injectability, degradability, and tissue compatibility achieved offers the potential to expand the utility of zwitterionic hydrogels in minimally invasive therapeutic applications.

Determinants, Prevention, and Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease Among Immigrant and Refugee Populations.

Immigration policies shape the composition, socioeconomic characteristics, and health of migrant populations. The health of migrants is also influenced by a confluence of social, economic, environmental, and political factors. Immigrants and refugees often face various barriers to accessing health care because of factors such as lack of familiarity with navigating the health care system, language barriers, systemic racism, and gaps in health insurance. Social determinants of health and access to primary care health services likely influence the burden of cardiovascular risk factors among immigrants. The relatively low burden of many cardiovascular risk factors in many immigrant populations likely contributes to the generally lower incidence rates of acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke in immigrants compared with nonimmigrants, although cardiovascular disease incidence rates vary substantially by country of origin. The "healthy immigrant effect" is the hypothesis that immigrants to high-income countries, such as Canada, are healthier than nonimmigrants in the host population. However, this effect may not apply universally across all immigrants, including recent refugees, immigrants without formal education, and unmarried immigrants. As unfolding sociopolitical events generate new waves of global migration, policymakers and health care providers need to focus on addressing social and structural determinants of health to better manage cardiovascular risk factors and prevent cardiovascular disease, especially among the most marginalized immigrants and refugees.

cDC1 coordinate innate and adaptive responses in the omentum required for T cell priming and memory.

In the peritoneal cavity, the omentum contains fat-associated lymphoid clusters (FALCs) whose role in response to infection is poorly understood. After intraperitoneal immunization with Toxoplasma gondii, conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s) were critical to induce innate sources of IFN-γ and cellular changes in the FALCs. Unexpectedly, infected peritoneal macrophages that migrated into the FALCs primed CD8+ T cells. Although T cell priming was cDC1 independent, these DCs were required for maximal CD8+ T cell expansion. An agent-based computational model and experimental data highlighted that cDC1s affected the magnitude of the proliferative burst and promoted CD8+ T cell expression of nutrient uptake receptors and cell survival. Thus, although FALCs lack the organization of secondary lymphoid organs, cDC1s resident in this tissue coordinate innate responses to microbial challenge and provide secondary signals required for T cell expansion and memory formation.

Integrated analysis of transcriptomic datasets to identify placental biomarkers of spontaneous preterm birth.

INTRODUCTION: Preterm birth (PTB) remains the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the United States. The mechanisms underlying spontaneous PTB (SPTB) involve multiple physiological processes and molecular transformations at the level of the placenta. This study aimed to identify consistent molecular correlates in the placenta linked with SPTB by cross-examining publicly available transcriptomic datasets within two publicly available repositories. METHODS: The National Center for Biotechnology Information and the European Bioinformatics Institute were queried, and relevant datasets were independently normalized, and then merged based on similarity in design. Differentially expressed genes between SPTB and term delivery (TD) were identified using a fixed effects linear model (p < 0.0001) and were evaluated for enrichment of biological processes and pathways. In general, global signatures associated with SPTB were unique to each study. RESULTS: A total of three datasets were used in the meta-analysis to assess the placental transcriptome in SPTB (11 samples) as compared to TD (15 samples). We identified 174 differentially expressed genes consistently correlated with SPTB across all studies, including previously proposed and new candidate biomarkers of SPTB. Differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched for master regulatory pathways relevant to placental development and disease, including chromatin organization and cellular response to stress. DISCUSSION: Identification of differentially expressed genes and associated pathways across multiple studies may identify transcriptomic biomarkers that can be applied in clinical investigations of SPTB and provide researchers enhanced insight into the underlying etiologies of SPTB.