To track the lineage of both blastomeres of 2-cell embryos during mouse preimplantation development, each cell was injected with dextran solutions conjugated with different fluorochromes. The fate of the progeny of the first two blastomeres was followed with confocal microscopy during cleavage and during the formation of the blastocyst. We observed that in most of cleaving embryos the cells derived from the two first blastomeres intermingled in both the trophectoderm and the inner cell mass (ICM) and did not form two discrete groups. We conclude that embryonic parts of blastocysts contain descendants of both blastomeres of 2-cell embryo.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) and fibrin glue (FG) are effective hydrogels for tissue engineering applications as they support tissue in-growth, retain growth factors, and release them slowly with time. The scaffolds, in combination with a hydrogel, effectuate a successful graft. However, the survival of a graft entirely depends upon a functional vascular supply. Therefore, hydrogels must support the in-growing vasculature. To study and compare the vascular patterns, HA and FG hydrogel-containing PLDLLA-TCP-PCL scaffolds were implanted in the groin of male Lewis rats and supplied with a micro-surgically prepared arterio-venous (A-V) loop. The rats were perfused with a vascular contrast media after 4 and 8 weeks and sacrificed for further analysis. The specimens were scanned with micro-CT to find the vascular growth patterns. Corrosion casting of blood vessels followed by SEM demonstrated a high vascular density near the parent blood vessels. Histologically, HA and FG implanted animal groups showed significant angiogenetic activity, especially within the pores of the scaffold. However, formation of new blood vessels was more conspicuously observed at 4 weeks in FG than HA implants. Furthermore, by 8 weeks, the number and pattern of blood vessels were comparable between them. At this time, HA was still present indicating its slow degradation. The finding was confirmed by histomorphometric analysis. This experimental study demonstrates that HA containing composite scaffold systems permit stabile in-growth of blood vessels due to sustained degradation over 8 weeks. HA is a potential matrix for a tissue engineered composite graft.
In Poland storage of human biological samples takes place at most universities and scientific institutions conducting research projects in the field of biomedicine. The First International Biobanking Conference organized by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in 2014 shed a light on the situation of Polish biobanking infrastructures. The country has around 40 large biorepositories, which store unique biological material such as whole brains, muscle fibers from patients with rare diseases, as well as thousands of samples from patients with lifestyle diseases. There are only two population-based biobanks working locally and several disease-oriented biobanks specializing mainly in oncological diseases. Consortium BBMRI.pl created plans for establishing a Polish Network of Biobanks, with national node which meets standards for biobanks and cooperation to guarantee development of biomedical sciences and international collaboration between Poland and other countries. The Polish network will enhance research activities, due to better visibility of samples and data that are stored in the national biobanking catalogue. However, it requires more than a comprehensive understanding of all benefits. The list of examples of benefits can be presented as follows: (i) a reduction of the duration and cost of clinical trials and subsequent time to market for anticancer drugs; (ii) more precise patient diagnosis and the associated impact on treatment and lower healthcare costs for providers, individuals, and the nation; (iii) improvements in research experiment time frames and data efficiencies; (iv) convergence to an industry standards for biospecimen quality; (v) optimization of capital infrastructure and IT technology.
Many types of biomedical research projects depend on high-quality biological material with a data set attached. The Quality Management System (QMS) is focused on operational standards for all organizational activities to ensure that the described quality of each procedure, product, or service is guaranteed. The implementation of the QMS is necessary for the provision of both high quality and repeatability of processes in research laboratories. The current status of implementation of the QMS is determined according to the ''Organisation of Polish Biobanking Network'' within the project ''Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure BBMRI-ERIC'' supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education-decision number DIR/WK/2017/01. According to the above, preliminary audits in six Polish institutions were conducted and reports with recommendations concerning the implementation and improvement of the QMS in Polish biobanks were prepared. During all audits, 13 QMS main areas were analyzed. All audited units belong to the BBMRI.pl consortium, which is responsible for the creation of the Polish Biobanking Network within the BBMRI-ERIC structure. Among all 13 analyzed areas, 27 deviations were identified. Eleven of them were implemented in all audited biobanks but defined as the areas for improvement, 16 of them were not implemented correctly or not implemented at all, respectively (areas underlined to corrective procedures).
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