Global Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis of Tracheal Tissue Engineering Research.

The development of tracheal tissue engineering (TTE) has seen a rapid growth in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the global status, trends, and hotspots of TTE research based on bibliometrics and visualization analysis. Publications related to TTE were retrieved and included in the Web of Science Core Collection. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to generate knowledge maps. Six hundred fifty-five publications were identified, and the quantity of the annual publications worldwide was on the increase. International collaboration is a widespread reality. The United States led the world in the field of trachea tissue engineering, whereas University College London was the institution with the greatest contribution. In addition, Biomaterials had a great influence in this field, attracting the largest number of papers. Moreover, the topics of TTE research largely concentrated on the biomechanical scaffold preparation, the vascularization and epithelialization of scaffold, the tracheal cartilage regeneration, and the tissue-engineered tracheal transplantation. And the research on the application of decellularization and 3D printing for the construction of a tissue-engineered trachea was likely to receive more widespread attention in the future. Impact statement In recent years, tracheal tissue engineering (TTE) has experienced rapid growth. In this study, we investigated the worldwide status and trends of TTE research, and revealed the countries, institutions, journals, and authors that had made significant contributions to the field of TTE. Moreover, the possible research hotspots in the future were predicted. According to our research, researchers can gain a better understanding of the trends in this field, and stay informed of the most current research by tracking key journals, institutions, and authors.

Reconstruction of tracheal window-shape defect by 3D printed polycaprolatone scaffold coated with Silk Fibroin Methacryloyl.

In this study, we aimed to utilize autologous tracheal epithelia and BMSCs as the seeding cells, utilize PCL coated with SilMA as the hybrid scaffold to carry the cells and KGN, which can selectively stimulate chondrogenic differentiation of BMSCs. This hybrid tracheal substitution was carried out to repair the tracheal partial window-shape defect. Firstly, SilMA with the concentration of 10%, 15% and 20% was prepared, and the experiment of swelling and degradation was performed. With the increase of the concentration, the swelling ratio of SilMA decreased, and the degradation progress slowed down. Upon the result of CCK-8 test and HE staining of 3D co-culture, the SilMA with concentration of 20% was selected. Next, SilMA and the cells attached to SilMA were characterized by SEM. Furthermore, in vitro cytotoxicity test shows that 20% SilMA has good cytocompatibility. The hybrid scaffold was then made by PCL coated with 20% SilMA. The mechanical test shows this hybrid scaffold has better biomechanical properties than native trachea. In vivo tracheal defect repair assays were conducted to evaluate the effect of the hybrid substitution. H&E staining, IHC staining and IF staining showed that this hybrid substitution ensured the viability, proliferation and migration of epithelium. However, it is sad that the results of chondrogenesis were not obvious. This study is expected to provide new strategies for the fields of tracheal replacement therapy needing mechanical properties and epithelization.

Construction of a novel cell-free tracheal scaffold promoting vascularization for repairing tracheal defects.

Functional vascularization is crucial for maintaining the long-term patency of tissue-engineered trachea and repairing defective trachea. Herein, we report the construction and evaluation of a novel cell-free tissue-engineered tracheal scaffold that effectively promotes vascularization of the graft. Our findings demonstrated that exosomes derived from endothelial progenitor cells (EPC-Exos) enhance the proliferation, migration, and tube formation of endothelial cells. Taking advantage of the angiogenic properties of EPC-Exos, we utilized methacrylate gelatin (GelMA) as a carrier for endothelial progenitor cell exosomes and encapsulated them within a 3D-printed polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold to fabricate a composite tracheal scaffold. The results demonstrated the excellent angiogenic potential of the methacrylate gelatin/vascular endothelial progenitor cell exosome/polycaprolactone tracheal scaffold. Furthermore, in vivo reconstruction of tracheal defects revealed the capacity of this composite tracheal stent to remodel vasculature. In conclusion, we have successfully developed a novel tracheal stent composed of methacrylate gelatin/vascular endothelial progenitor exosome/polycaprolactone, which effectively promotes angiogenesis for tracheal repair, thereby offering significant prospects for clinical and translational medicine.

Application of tissue engineering techniques in tracheal repair: a bibliometric study.

Transplantation of tissue-engineered trachea is an effective treatment for long-segment tracheal injury. This technology avoids problems associated with a lack of donor resources and immune rejection, generating an artificial trachea with good biocompatibility. To our knowledge, a systematic summary of basic and clinical research on tissue-engineered trachea in the last 20 years has not been conducted. Here, we analyzed the development trends of tissue-engineered trachea research by bibliometric means and outlined the future perspectives in this field. The Web of Science portal was selected as the data source. CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and the Bibliometric Online Analysis Platform were used to analyze the number of publications, journals, countries, institutions, authors, and keywords from 475 screened studies. Between 2000 and 2023, the number of published studies on tissue-engineered trachea has been increasing. Biomaterials published the largest number of papers. The United States and China have made the largest contributions to this field. University College London published the highest number of studies, and the most productive researcher was an Italian scholar, Paolo Macchiarini. However, close collaborations between various researchers and institutions from different countries were generally lacking. Despite this, keyword analysis showed that manufacturing methods for tracheal stents, hydrogel materials, and 3D bioprinting technology are current popular research topics. Our bibliometric study will help scientists in this field gain an in-depth understanding of the current research progress and development trends to guide their future work, and researchers in related fields will benefit from the introduction to transplantation methods of tissue-engineered trachea.

We conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of tissue-engineered trachea.We systematically outlined the preparation methods and current development forms of tissue-engineered trachea.We predicted future tissue-engineered trachea research trends from the perspectives of countries, institutions, researchers, and popular research topics.

Biomimetic in situ tracheal microvascularization for segmental tracheal reconstruction in one-step.

Formation of functional and perfusable vascular network is critical to ensure the long-term survival and functionality of the engineered tissue tracheae after transplantation. However, the greatest challenge in tracheal-replacement therapy is the promotion of tissue regeneration by rapid graft vascularization. Traditional prevascularization methods for tracheal grafts typically utilize omentum or muscle flap wrapping, which requires a second operation; vascularized segment tracheal orthotopic transplantation in one step remains difficult. This study proposes a method to construct a tissue-engineered tracheal graft, which directly forms the microvascular network after orthotopic transplantation in vivo. The focus of this study was the preparation of a hybrid tracheal graft that is non-immunogenic, has good biomechanical properties, supports cell proliferation, and quickly vascularizes. The results showed that vacuum-assisted decellularized trachea-polycaprolactone hybrid scaffold could match most of the above requirements as closely as possible. Furthermore, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were extracted and used as vascularized seed cells and seeded on the surfaces of hybrid grafts before and during the tracheal orthotopic transplantation. The results showed that the microvascularized tracheal grafts formed maintained the survival of the recipient, showing a satisfactory therapeutic outcome. This is the first study to utilize EPCs for microvascular construction of long-segment trachea in one-step; the approach represents a promising method for microvascular tracheal reconstruction.

Application of three-dimensional reconstruction technology combined with three-dimensional printing in the treatment of pectus excavatum.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the clinical value of three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction technology combined with 3D printing in the treatment of pectus excavatum (PE). METHODS: The clinical data of 10 patients with PE in our department from June 2018 to December 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. All patients underwent thin-layer computed tomography examination before the operation, and then 3D reconstruction was performed with Mimics 20.0 software. The radian and curvature of the pectus bar were designed according to the reconstructed images. Afterward, the images were imported into the light-curing 3D printer in STL format for slice printing. Hence that the personalized operation scheme, including the size of the pectus bar and the surgical approach, can be made according to the 3D printed model. The thoracoscopic-assisted Nuss operation was completed by bilateral incisions. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative hospitalization were counted and analyzed. The satisfaction of the surgery was evaluated according to the Haller index and the most posterior sternal compression sternovertebral distance. RESULTS: The surgeries were successfully completed in 10 patients without a transfer to open procedure. The average operation time was (56 ± 8.76) min, the intraoperative blood loss was (23.5 ± 11.07) mL, and the postoperative hospitalization was (7.2 ± 0.92) d. There were no serious complications or death during the perioperative period. Compared with the data before the operation, the most posterior sternal compression sternovertebral distance was larger, and the Haller index was lower, the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: 3D reconstruction technology combined with 3D printing, which can be used before operation, contributes to the operator performing thoracoscopic-assisted Nuss operation safely and effectively, which has productive clinical application value for the treatment of pectus excavatum.

Increased PPARD Expression May Play a Protective Role in Human Lung Adenocarcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-δ, encoded by gene PPARD, is overexpressed in a majority of human lung cancer subtypes, but its role in the tumor progression remains poorly understood. We have analyzed the expression of PPARD in lung adenocarcinoma (LA) and squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) datasets. The potential roles of PPARD in the pathological development of LA and LSCC were explored through literature-based pathway analysis and pathway enrichment analysis. In all LA datasets (N = 11) and in seven out of nine LSCC studies, the levels of PPARD were increased as compared to control tissues (log-fold changes were 0.37 ± 0.20 and 0.10 ± 0.37 for LA and LSCC, respectively). On average, the expression levels of PPARD in LA were higher than those in LSCC (p = 0.036). Pathway analysis showed that the overexpression of PPARD might play both positive and negative roles in the development of both LA and LSCC. Specifically, PPARD inhibits seven LSCC promoters and seven LA promoters and activates one LSCC inhibitor and another LA inhibitor. However, PPARD also activates six and one promoters of LA and LSCC, respectively, which would facilitate the development of LA/LSCC. Our results suggested a mixed role of PPARD in LA/LSCC, which may add new insights into the understanding of the PPARD-lung cancer relationship.

Laboratory Study on Improvement of Expansive Soil by Chemically Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation.

This paper proposes the use of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation induced by the addition of calcium chloride (CaCl2) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) solutions as a procedure to stabilize and improve expansive soil. A set of laboratory tests, including the free swell test, unloaded swelling ratio test, unconfined compression test, direct shear test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) test, cyclic wetting-drying test and laboratory-scale precipitation model test, were performed under various curing periods to evaluate the performance of the CaCO3 stabilization. It is concluded from the free swell tests and unloaded swelling ratio tests that the addition of CaCl2 and Na2CO3 can profoundly decrease soil expansion potential. The reduction in expansion parameters is primarily attributed to the strong short-term reactions between clay and stabilizers. In addition, the formed cementation precipitation can decrease the water adsorption capacity of the clay surface and then consequently reduce the expansion potential. The results of unconfined compression tests and direct shear strength tests indicated that the addition of CaCl2 and Na2CO3 has a major effect on geotechnical behavior of expansive soils. Based on the SEM analyses, new cementing crystalline phases formatted by sequentially mixing CaCl2 and Na2CO3 solutions into expansive soil were found to appear in the pore space, which results in a much denser microstructure. A laboratory-scale model test was conducted, and results demonstrate the effectiveness of the CaCO3 precipitation technique in stabilizing the expansive soil procedure. The test results indicated that the concentration of CaCl2 higher than 22.0% and Na2CO3 higher than 21.2% are needed to satisfactorily stabilize expansive soil. It is proposed to implement the precipitation technique in the field by the sequential permeation of CaCl2 and Na2CO3 solutions into soils in situ.

Macrophage escape by cholesterol-polyoxyethylene sorbitol oleate micelles for pulmonary delivery.

Aim: Micelles are one of the most promising nanoplatforms for drug delivery, and here, cholesterol-conjugated polyoxyethylene sorbitol oleate (CPSO) micelles have been fabricated for the pulmonary delivery of paclitaxel (PTX). Materials & methods: PTX-CPSO micelles were prepared by a dialysis-ultrasonic method, and a single-factor experiment with a Box-Behnken design was conducted to optimize the formulation. Furthermore, intracellular and phagocytosis escape studies of the optimized formulation were performed on A549 and NR8383 cells. Results: The optimal micelles exhibited satisfactory encapsulation efficiency (78.48 ± 2.36%) and drug loading (17.06 ± 1.71%). In vitro studies showed enhanced CPSO micelle A549 cellular uptake and their ability to escape macrophages. Conclusion: PTX-CPSO micelles could be a promising system for pulmonary targeting by intravenous administration.

Selection of the optimum 3D-printed pore and the surface modification techniques for tissue engineering tracheal scaffold in vivo reconstruction.

The influences of pore sizes and surface modifications on biomechanical properties and biocompatibility (BC) of porous tracheal scaffolds (PTSs) fabricated by polycaprolactone (PCL) using 3D printing technology. The porous grafts were surface-modified through hydrolysis, amination, and nanocrystallization treatment. The surface properties of the modified grafts were characterized by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The materials were cocultured with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The effect of different pore sizes and surface modifications on the cell proliferation behavior was evaluated by the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Compared to native tracheas, the PTS has good biomechanical properties. A pore diameter of 200 µm is the optimum for cell adhesion, and the surface modifications successfully improved the cytotropism of the PTS. Allogeneic implantation confirmed that it largely retains its structural integrity in the host, and the immune rejection reaction of the PTS decreased significantly after the acute phase. Nano-silicon dioxide (NSD)-modified PTS is a promising material for tissue engineering tracheal reconstruction. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 360-370, 2019.

Serum miR-10a-5p and miR-196a-5p as non-invasive biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for about 85% of all cases. MicroRNAs are stable molecules in the blood and can be used as biomarkers for early diagnosis of various malignancies. The aim of this study was to evaluate expression of miR-10a-5p and miR-196a-5p in tissue and serum of patients with NSCLC and to explore its relationship with clinicopathological characteristics. METHODS: A total of 20 pairs of tissues and 80 serum samples were obtained from NSCLC patients. Seventy-five serum samples from healthy individuals of the same age and gender were also collected. The expression level of miR-10a-5p and miR-196a-5p was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. The relationship between miR-10a-5p and miR-196a-5p expression level in NSCLC tissues and serum and clinicopathological characteristics was estimated respectively. The diagnostic value of miRNA-10a-5p and miR-196a-5p in NSCLC was assessed by the Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve method. RESULTS: We found that miRNA-10a-5p and miR-196a-5p expression levels were increased significantly in NSCLC tissues compared with non-tumor adjacent normal tissues. Serum miR-10a-5p and miR-196-5p were over-expressed in NSCLC patients compared with healthy controls. The higher miR-10a-5p or miR-196-5p expression levels were positively correlated with advanced tumor stage and positive lymph node metastasis. The area under the curve (AUC) of serum miR-10a-5p and miR-196-5p to diagnose NSCLC were 0.709 and 0.785. Optimal sensitivity and specificity were 65.98% and 72.71%, 67.86% and 77.57%, respectively in differentiating NSCLC patients from healthy controls. The combination of these two miRNAs with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) further increased the diagnostic value, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.801 (sensitivity, 76.34%; specificity, 79.26%) using logistic regression model analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Serum miR-10a-5p and miR-196a-5p may be useful noninvasive biomarkers for the clinical diagnosis of NSCLC.

Biomechanical properties and cellular biocompatibility of 3D printed tracheal graft.

The goals of our study were to evaluate the biomechanical properties and cellular biocompatibility of 3D printed tracheal graft fabricated by polycaprolactone (PCL). Compared with native tracheal patch, there was a significant increase in maximum stress and elastic modulus for 3DP tracheal graft (p < 0.05). BMSCs were co-cultured under four different conditions to investigate cytotoxicity of the graft: (1) co-cultured with normal culture medium, as blank control; (2) co-cultured with perfluoropropylene, as negative control; (3) co-cultured with 3DP tracheal graft; and (4) co-cultured with polyvinyl chloride, as positive control. Moreover, the results of SRB assay showed that compared with blank and negative control group, there was no significant difference in the cell proliferation of 3DP tracheal graft group for 21 days (p > 0.05). These results revealed that 3DP tracheal graft in our study has favorable cellular biocompatibility and biomechanical properties, and, therefore, will be a promising alternative for tissue-engineered trachea.

Hollow Au nanoflower substrates for identification and discrimination of the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are multipotent stem cells, which play an important role in the repair of bone injury, angiogenesis, immune diseases, cancer invasion and metastasis. Therefore, increasing attention has been focused on the study of BMSCs. However, the identification and discrimination of the undifferentiated and differentiated BMSCs, which are closely related and morphologically similar, are still a challenge using traditional methods. In this study, we report a novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate based on hollow gold nanoflower (HAuNF)-decorated silicon wafers for distinguishing the differentiation of BMSCs. The flower-like, hollow Au nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by a seed-mediated growth approach. We demonstrated that fabricated HAuNF substrates had very good reproducibility, homogeneous SERS activity and a high SERS effect. Using HAuNF substrates as a high-performance in vitro sensing platform allowed us to monitor the changes in the cellular biochemical composition during the differentiation of BMSCs. SERS spectra were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA), which successfully segregated the subtypes of BMSCs. Furthermore, the results of biological assay suggested that the adipogenic inductor and the osteogenic inductor could induce the differentiation of BMSCs into adipocytes and osteocytes, respectively. The SERS technique based on HAuNF substrates provides a sensitive, efficient and non-invasive detection method for studying the differentiation of stem cells.

Survey of the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of primary palmar hyperhidrosis among adolescents in Yangzhou / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To investigate the prevalence and related factors of primary palmar hyperhidrosis in adolescents in Yangzhou. Methods    On-site questionnaire survey was performed on students selected by cluster random sampling from the two colleges and two high or middle schools, with each class as a unit. Data were collected through the questionnaire to make the diagnosis and severity grading. Results    A total of 3 487 copies of the questionnaire were distributed in the survey and 3 299 were finished, among which 3 083 were effective with an effective rate of 88.41%. Among them, 1 358 respondents were males and 1 725 were females; 933 were middle school students, 809 high school students, and the remaining 1 341 college students. According to the diagnostic criteria, 104 respondents were diagnosed with palmar hyperhidrosis with an overall prevalence of 3.37%. There were 60 (4.41%) males and 44 (2.55%) females. Although the prevalence of palmar hyperhidrosis in males was higher than that of females (χ2=8.130，P<0.05), severe palmar hyperhidrosis was more often to be observed in females than in males, and females were also more likely to have hyperhidrosis in other parts of the body. In addition, the age of the first onset of the disease was mainly 10 to 20 years old and 36.54% of the patients had a family history. Conclusion    The prevalence of palmar hyperhidrosis in adolescents in Yangzhou was 3.37%, and there is a significant difference in the gender. The palmar hyperhidros is often accompanied by hyperhidrosis symptoms of other parts of body, and the disease shows an obvious genetic predisposition.