Engineering Human Brain Organoids: From Basic Research to Tissue Regeneration.

BACKGROUND: Brain organoids are self-organized from human pluripotent stem cells and developed into various brain region following the developmental process of brain. Brain organoids provide promising approach for studying brain development process and neurological diseases and for tissue regeneration. METHODS: In this review, we summarized the development of brain organoids technology, potential applications focusing on disease modeling for regeneration medicine, and multidisciplinary approaches to overcome current limitations of the technology. RESULTS: Generations of brain organoids are categorized into two major classes by depending on the patterning method. In order to guide the differentiation into specific brain region, the extrinsic factors such as growth factors, small molecules, and biomaterials are actively studied. For better modelling of diseases with brain organoids and clinical application for tissue regeneration, improvement of the brain organoid maturation is one of the most important steps. CONCLUSION: Brain organoids have potential to develop into an innovative platform for pharmacological studies and tissue engineering. However, they are not identical replicas of their in vivo counterpart and there are still a lot of limitations to move forward to clinical applications.

Synthesis of a Novel α-Glucosyl Ginsenoside F1 by Cyclodextrin Glucanotransferase and Its In Vitro Cosmetic Applications.

Ginsenosides from Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng) are unique triterpenoidal saponins that are considered to be responsible for most of the pharmacological activities of P. ginseng. However, the various linkage positions cause different pharmacological activities. In this context, we aimed to synthesize new derivatives of ginsenosides with unusual linkages that show enhanced pharmacological activities. Novel α-glycosylated derivatives of ginsenoside F1 were synthesized from transglycosylation reactions of dextrin (sugar donor) and ginsenoside F1 (acceptor) by the successive actions of Toruzyme®3.0L, a cyclodextrin glucanotransferase. One of the resultant products was isolated and identified as (20S)-3ß,6α,12ß-trihydroxydammar-24ene-(20-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-α-D-glucopyranoside) by various spectroscopic characterization techniques of fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry (FAB-MS), infrared spectroscopy (IR), proton-nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR), 13C-NMR, gradient heteronuclear single quantum coherence (gHSQC), and gradient heteronuclear multiple bond coherence (gHMBC). As expected, the novel α-glycosylated ginsenoside F1 (G1-F1) exhibited increased solubility, lower cytotoxicity toward human dermal fibroblast cells (HDF), and higher tyrosinase activity and ultraviolet A (UVA)-induced inhibitory activity against matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) than ginsenoside F1. Since F1 has been reported as an antiaging and antioxidant agent, the enhanced efficacies of the novel α-glycosylated ginsenoside F1 suggest that it might be useful in cosmetic applications after screening.

Assessment of radical scavenging, whitening and moisture retention activities of Panax ginseng berry mediated gold nanoparticles as safe and efficient novel cosmetic material.

Panax ginseng berry extract possess remarkable pharmacological effects on skin treatment such as anti-aging, antioxidant, promotor of collagen synthesis and alleviation against atopic dermatitis. In recent years, gold nanoparticles have gained much attention due to their extensive range of applications in particular in the field of drug delivery as a result of their biological compatibility and low toxicity. In a previous study, we designed and developed biocompatible gold and silver nanoparticles based on phytochemical profile and pharmacological efficacy of P. ginseng berry extract, we were able to reduce gold ions to nanoparticles through the process of green synthesis. However, its potential as a cosmetic ingredient is still unexplored. The aim of the present study is to investigate the moisture retention, in-vitro scavenging and whitening properties of gold nanoparticles synthesized from P. ginseng berry in cosmetic applications. Our findings confirm that P. ginseng berry mediated gold nanoparticles exhibited moisture retention capacity. In addition, MTT assay results confirmed that P. ginseng berry mediated gold nanoparticles are non-toxic to human dermal fibroblast and murine melanoma skin cells, possess scavenging activity, protect and provide alleviation against injured caused by H2O2-induced damage. In addition, P. ginseng berry mediated gold nanoparticles, significantly reduced melanin content and suppress tyrosinase activity in α-MSH-stimulated B16BL6 cells. We conclude that P. ginseng berry mediated gold nanoparticles are biocompatible and environmental affable materials and can be a potential novel cosmetic ingredient.

Pharmacological importance, characterization and applications of gold and silver nanoparticles synthesized by Panax ginseng fresh leaves.

Previously, we showed the rapid and eco-friendly synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles within 3 and 45 min by fresh leaves extract of herbal medicinal plant Panax ginseng. In addition, we characterized the nanoparticles in terms of shape, size, morphology and stability by FE-TEM, EDX, elemental mapping, SEAD, XRD and particles size analysis. In addition of this, we showed their antimicrobial, anti-coagulant, and biofilm inhibition activity of nanoparticles. Continuing our previous study, here we highlight the further characterization and biomedical applications of P. ginseng leaf-mediated gold and silver nanoparticles. We characterized the nanoparticles further in terms of active functional group and capping layer, surface charge, and temperature stability. Based on these factors, we explored the nanoparticles for antioxidant efficacy, biocompatibility in HaCaT cells, 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes cells, for anticancer efficacy in A549 lung cancer and B16BL6 skin melenoma cancer cell lines and for anti-inflammation efficacy in RAW 264.7 cell lines. Based on our findings, we suggest that the P. ginseng-mediated gold nanoparticles have high antioxidant activity and highly biocompatibility in HaCaT cells, 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes cells, RAW 264.7 cells lines and could be considered for future drug delivery carriers. The silver nanoparticles also showed high potent antioxidant efficacy, additionally it showed high anticancer effect in A549 lung cancer and B16BL6 skin melenoma cancer cell lines as compared to precursor salts. Moreover, both gold and silver nanoparticles have anti-inflammatory efficacies in RAW 264.7 cells. Thus, the study may provide useful insights of P. ginseng leaves extract-mediated biocompatible gold and silver nanoparticles and improving their applicability in designing nanoparticles carrier systems for drug delivery applications.