In the past few years, exosomes released from adipose-derived stem cells (abbreviated as ADSCs) have shown promises to provide therapeutic benefits in the fields of regenerative medicine. miRNAs, existing in exosomes, are endogenous, small noncoding RNAs that play important roles in a variety of cellular functions and tumor development. Emerging evidences have indicated that miR-21 is one of the important miRNAs associated with tumor angiogenesis. In this study, we identified the role of exosomes from ADSCs overexpressing miR-21 in regulating/promoting vascularization of endothelial cells. Experimental data indicated an elevated miR-21 level in exosomes released by ADSCs overexpressing miR-21. In vitro matrigel angiogenesis assay showed that exosomes secreted by ADSCs overexpressing miR-21 significantly promoted the vascularization of HUVEC cells (an endothelial cell line). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot (WB) revealed an upregulation of HIF-1α, VEGF, SDF-1, p-Akt, p-ERK1/2 and downregulation of PTEN in response to miR-21 overexpression, indicating that miR-21 enriched exosomes induced angiogenesis through Akt and ERK activation and also HIF-1α and SDF-1 expression. Our work suggests that exosomes from ADSCs that overexpressing miR-21 can potentially promote vascularization and therefore the transplantation of exosomes from their culture may be suitable for clinical effort in regenerative medicine.
Three-dimensional cell-laden tissue engineering has become an extensive research direction. This study aimed to evaluate whether chondrocyte spheroids (chondro-spheroids) prepared using the hanging-drop method could develop better cell proliferation and morphology maintenance characteristics, and be optimized as a micro unit for cartilage tissue engineering. Chondro-spheroids were loaded into a cross-linkable hybrid hydrogel of gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) and hyaluronic acid methacrylate (HAMA) in vivo and in vitro. Cell proliferation, aggregation, cell morphology maintenance as well as cartilage-related gene expression and matrix secretion in vitro and in vivo were evaluated. The results indicated that compared with chondrocyte-laden hydrogel, chondro-spheroid-laden hydrogel enhanced proliferation, had better phenotype maintenance, and a more natural morphological structure, which made it appropriate for use as a micro unit in cartilage tissue engineering.
Background The incidence of vascular complications varies among different fillers. The main purpose of this study was to compare the risk of embolism between PMMA (Artecoll) and hyaluronic acid (HA, Restylane) after artery injection. Methods Rabbit ears were injected via the central artery with 0.1 ml PMMA (group A), 0.1 ml HA (group B), 0.2 ml PMMA (group C), or 0.2 mL HA (group D), respectively. The formation of transparent emboli was monitored right after injection. Tissue necrosis and histopathological changes were analyzed on day 7. Results With 0.1 ml injected volume, PMMA was dispersed within a few minutes and only 5% of the injected ears had mild necrosis on day 7, while HA tended to form obvious transparent emboli, an indication of blood vessel clotting, and 60% of injected ears showed necrosis on day 7. With 0.2 ml injected volume, PMMA had a risk of complete blood vessel clotting in between 0.1 ml PMMA group and 0.1 ml HA group, and 30% of injected ears had necrosis; in contrast, 100% of 0.2 ml HA-injected ears showed transparent emboli and necrosis. The necrosis areas were significantly increased in the HA groups compared with PMMA groups at the same injection volumes. HA injection also caused dilation of small blood vessels. Conclusion At the same injection volume, PMMA had less risk of embolism compared with HA. With increased injection volume, there were increased risks of embolism and necrosis for both PMMA and HA. No Level Assigned This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 . Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00266-019-01320-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Chinese patients more frequently complain of forehead wrinkles than eyebrow and upper eyelid ptosis. Besides the commonly used brow-lifting technique, a novel technique to satisfy the demands of Chinese patients is needed. In this article, we introduce our novel endoscopic forehead lift procedure and analyze the morphometric evaluation and patient-reported outcomes. From January 2010 to January 2017, 171 Chinese patients underwent endoscopic forehead lift in which two parallel incisions were made on the frontalis muscle to relieve forehead wrinkles. Biopsy forceps were used to bite off the glabella muscles to relieve wrinkles between the eyebrows. Lifting devices were not used. Morphometric evaluations of eyebrow locations were performed, and the vertical distance of the upper eyebrows was measured post- and preoperatively to evaluate the elevation range. FACE-Q scales were sent to patients who were still being followed-up. A total of 46 patients underwent the morphometric evaluation, which suggested that the eyebrows were elevated effectively. At 12 to 36 months postoperatively, the median post-/preoperative ratio was 118.4, 112.5, and 111.8% in the medial, middle, and lateral eyebrows, respectively. In the same patients, at 37 to 84 months postoperatively, the median post-/preoperative ratio was 116.6, 112.2, and 108.9% in the medial, middle, and lateral eyebrows, respectively. Sixty-five patients completed the FACE-Q scales, demonstrating high satisfaction levels with the forehead and eyebrow, outcome, and decisions, with a median score of 100 for each. Postoperative appraisal revealed that the lines in the forehead and between the eyebrows had a good outcome with scores of 86 and 93, respectively. The median number of years younger that patients thought they appeared was 7. The most frequent self-claimed recovery symptom was temporary forehead skin numbness (83.1%) followed by a receding hairline (46.2%). Our endoscopic forehead lift procedure was effective in relieving forehead and glabella wrinkles and lifting the eyebrows. This was a level of evidence III study.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.