Tissue engineering, as an interdisciplinary approach, is seeking to create tissues with optimal performance for clinical applications. Various factors, including cells, biomaterials, cell or tissue culture conditions and signaling molecules such as growth factors, play a vital role in the engineering of tissues. In vivo microenvironment of cells imposes complex and specific stimuli on the cells, and has a direct effect on cellular behavior, including proliferation, differentiation and extracellular matrix (ECM) assembly. Therefore, to create appropriate tissues, the conditions of the natural environment around the cells should be well imitated. Therefore, researchers are trying to develop biomimetic scaffolds that can produce appropriate cellular responses. To achieve this, we need to know enough about biomimetic materials. Scaffolds made of biomaterials in musculoskeletal tissue engineering should also be multifunctional in order to be able to function better in mechanical properties, cell signaling and cell adhesion. Multiple combinations of different biomaterials are used to improve above-mentioned properties of various biomaterials and to better imitate the natural features of musculoskeletal tissue in the culture medium. These improvements ultimately lead to the creation of replacement structures in the musculoskeletal system, which are closer to natural tissues in terms of appearance and function. The present review article is focused on biocompatible and biomimetic materials, which are used in musculoskeletal tissue engineering, in particular, cartilage tissue engineering.
Natural killer (NK) cells have significant capability in tumor immune-surveillance. The ability of lyse transformed cells immediately in an antigen-independent manner make them an attractive candidate for cancer cell therapy. Despite employment of NK cells in cancer immunotherapy, clinical trials are faced with serious limitations such as trouble with the penetration of NK cells in tumor sites, limited in vivo persistence, and tumor microenvironment interference. Taken together, the NK-cell cancer therapy is still infant scenario that has a long way to be translated in clinic. Current article first reviews characteristic features of NK lymphocytes. Then, it discusses about important disruptive barriers and motivator in the developmental stages of NK cells like as tumor microenvironment. Finally, some revolutionary approaches are highlighted utilizing of NK cells in cancer therapy.
SummaryBackground:The aim of this study was to determine age, gender, and hemispheric differences in the volume of the human neostriatum (striatum) nucleus in healthy humans.Material/Methods:This study was performed on 120 normal human subjects (60 males, 60 females, right-handed) 15–65 years old, divided into two groups: young (<40 yrs) and old (=≥40 yrs). Sectional brain images were obtained via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), analyzed and processed using the Image-J software, and the striatum volume was calculated using the Cavalieri’s principle, retrospectively.Results:The analyses revealed bilateral age-related shrinkage of the putamen in both genders and the putamen and caudate nucleus were significantly smaller in older than in younger subjects (P-value <0.001). The age-related shrinkage of the caudate and putamen nucleus in men and women was about 5%, 5% and 4%, 4%, respectively, and there were statistically significant volume differences between males and females (P-value <0.05). In both genders, a significant rightward asymmetry was observed in the caudate and putamen nucleus (3.89%, 4.21% in men and 4.51%, 3.32% in women).Conclusions:Bilateral age-related shrinkage and rightward asymmetry of the striate nucleus was found in healthy adults and there were significant volume differences between men and women. Obtained results provide useful baseline data on age and gender-related changes of the volume of the striatum.
Educational and practice age, sex, type of hospital, and geographical region affect he KAP of interventional radiology staff regarding RP. Since many of the subjective radiation harms for both medical team and patients, this can be easily controlled and prevented; a checkup for personnel of interventional radiology departments, considering samples from different parts of the country with different levels of education, continuous training, and practical courses may help map the status of KAP. The results of this study may also help authorized health physics officers design strategic plans to enhance the quality of such services in radiation departments.
Many traditional procedures, including surgical methods such as microfracture of subchondral bone and soft tissue transplantation, have been widely used to treat damaged cartilage. However, there is still no definitive cure for cartilage defects. In recent decades, tissue engineering has raised hopes for the repair of defective cartilage. Different approaches are used for cartilage engineering, in which cells, scaffolds, and biological signals or growth factors may be used alone or in combination. Additionally, the imitation of the mechanical properties of the natural cartilage tissue by bioreactors is also helpful in this regard. It should be noted that in the transplantation of engineered cartilage tissue, there are challenges such as poor integration, inflammation and phenotypic instability that may lead to failure of neo-cartilage transplantation. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the multiple therapeutic approaches, including surgical procedures, cell-based methods and tissue engineering, should be obtained. The present review article provides this information, along with a variety of factors, including cells, materials, and biological/biomechanical factors required for the engineering of cartilage tissue, as well as the challenges ahead and their solutions.
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