STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: In this study we have tissue engineered a novel cell free tubular collagen based scaffold and used it as a urethral graft in a rabbit model. The novelty of our technique is that the tube can be sutured. Testing showed better burst pressures and the grafts could then be successfully implanted after a urethral excision. This long term study demonstrated excellent biocompatibility of the 2cm graft and gradual regeneration with time, challenging the current literature. Finally, the main impact is that we describe an off-the-shelf and cost-effective product with comparable surgical outcome to the cellular grafts.
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Urinary incontinence is involuntary urine leakage, resulting from a deficient function of the sphincter muscle complex. Yet there is no functional cure for this devastating condition using current treatment options. Applied physical and surgical therapies have limited success. In this study, a novel bioactive injectable bulking agent, triggering new muscle regeneration at the injection site, has been evaluated. This injectable consists of cross-linked collagen and fibrin micro-beads, functionalized with bound insulin-like growth factor-1 (α2PI1-8-MMP-IGF-1). These bioactive fibrin micro-beads induced human smooth muscle cell migration in vitro. Thus, this injectable bulking agent is apt to be a good candidate for regeneration of urethral sphincter muscle, ensuring a long-lasting treatment for urinary incontinence.
METHODS: The innovative sous vide treatments were cooked at 45°C and 65°C for 6 h (SV45-65), common sous vide treatment at 45°C and 65°C for 3 h (SV45 and SV65) and traditional cooking at 75°C for 30 min (CON75). Water loss and cooking loss, as well as the physical properties (color and shear force) and chemical properties (protein and collagen solubility) of the treated meat, were investigated.
RESULTS: The results obtained indicated that the innovative sous vide with double thermal treatment (SV45-65) and cooked with air presence (CON75) resulted to lower a* and higher b* values, respectively. The water loss and cooking loss increased when temperature increased from 45°C to 65°C, and lower water loss was recorded in SV45 and CON75. These samples presented higher water content and revealed strong correlation to protein solubility. Warner-Bratzler shear force (SF) analysis showed the marked interaction between cooking temperature and time. Sample cooked at a high temperature (CON75) and a long period (SV45-65) showed a significantly lower value of SF than sample SV65 (p<0.05). Interestingly, there was no difference in SF values between SV45-65 and CON75.
CONCLUSION: The innovative sous vide treatment with double thermal effect appears an attractive cooking method as compared to common sous vide and traditional cooking method, as it has a potential for improving tenderness values of cooked beef semitendinosus muscle.
METHODS: Water extract of B. orientale was used. Excision wound healing activity was examined on Sprague-Dawley rats, dressed with 1% and 2% of the water extract. Control groups were dressed with the base cream (vehicle group, negative control) and 10% povidone-iodine (positive control) respectively. Healing was assessed based on contraction of wound size, mean epithelisation time, hydroxyproline content and histopathological examinations. Statistical analyses were performed using one way ANOVA followed by Tukey HSD test.
RESULTS: Wound healing study revealed significant reduction in wound size and mean epithelisation time, and higher collagen synthesis in the 2% extract-treated group compared to the vehicle group. These findings were supported by histolopathological examinations of healed wound sections which showed greater tissue regeneration, more fibroblasts and angiogenesis in the 2% extract-treated group.
CONCLUSIONS: The ethnotherapeutic use of this fern is validated. The water extract of B. orientale is a potential candidate for the treatment of dermal wounds. Synergistic effects of both strong antioxidant and antibacterial activities in the extract are deduced to have accelerated the wound repair at the proliferative phase of the healing process.
RESULTS: Spheroids generated from nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line HK-1 continuously grew and invaded into collagen matrix in a 24-well plate. Similar observations were noticed with spheroids embedded in the 3D chip. Large spheroids in both 24-well plate and the 3D chip disintegrated and invaded into the collagen matrix. Preliminary drug sensitivity assays showed that the growth and invasion of spheroids were inhibited when spheroids were treated with combination of cisplatin and paynantheine at high concentrations, in a 24-well plate. Comparable findings were obtained when spheroids were treated with the same drug combination in the 3D chip. Moving forward, spheroid assays could be performed in the 3D chip in a more high-throughput manner with minimal time and cost.