Chapters authored
Biomaterials and Stem Cell Therapies for Injuries Associated to Skeletal Muscular Tissues By Tiago Pereira, Andrea Gärtner, Irina Amorim, Paulo Armada-da- Silva, Raquel Gomes, Cátia Pereira, Miguel L. França, Diana M. Morais, Miguel A. Rodrigues, Maria A. Lopes, José D. Santos, Ana Lúcia Luís and Ana Colette Maurício
Part of the book: Advances in Biomaterials Science and Biomedical Applications
Trends in Mesenchymal Stem Cells' Applications for Skeletal Muscle Repair and Regeneration By A.R. Caseiro, T. Pereira, P.J. Bártolo, J.D. Santos, A.L. Luís and A. C.
Maurício
Skeletal muscle injuries are quite frequent in traumatic scenarios, such as war injuries or road- or work-related accidents. The skeletal muscle has good regenerative ability, but the extent or recurrence of muscle injury might impair complete structural and functional recovery. Severe tissue loss overwhelms skeletal muscle´s intrinsic regenerative capabilities and culminates in the development of noncontractile fibrous tissue scar. Conservative RICE -based and surgical treatments show limited efficacy in terms of improving these severe cases outcomes, pressing the need for new approaches on skeletal muscle’s therapy. Since the first suggestions of the potential of mesenchymal stem cells for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, many applications have been explored for a variety of tissues and diseases, including the skeletal muscle, which is the focus of this literature review.
Part of the book: Progress in Stem Cell Transplantation
Metabolomic and Proteomic Analysis of the Mesenchymal Stem Cells’ Secretome By Galya Ivanova, Tiago Pereira, Ana Rita Caseiro, Petia Georgieva and
Ana Colette Maurício
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells with a strong potential in human regenerative medicine due to their ability to renew themselves and differentiate into various specialized cell types under certain physiological or experimental conditions. MSCs secrete a broad spectrum of autocrine and paracrine factors (MSCs’ secretome) that could exert significant effects on cells in their vicinity. MSCs have been clinically tested and have displayed a great potential in the treatment of bone/cartilage fractures and disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and immune, neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases. The therapeutic efficacy of MSCs was initially attributed to their multipotent character and ability to engraft and differentiate at the site of injury. However, in recent years, it has been revealed that either undifferentiated or differentiated MSCs’ secretome plays an important role in the therapeutic potential of MSCs. The deciphering of the composition of MSCs’ secretome through proteomic and metabolic analyses and implementation of certain advanced analytical (nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS), chromatography, etc.) and immunological methods could contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of MSCs.
Part of the book: Metabolomics
Olfactory Mucosa Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Biomaterials: A New Combination to Regenerative Therapies after Peripheral Nerve Injury By Rui Damásio Alvites, Ana Rita Caseiro Santos, Artur Severo Proença
Varejão and Ana Colette Pereira de Castro Osório Maurício
The peripheral nerve injury after trauma is a common occurrence in both human and veterinary medicine and has severe consequences for the survival and quality of life of the patients. Despite the continuous efforts and the creation of diverse medical and surgical techniques, the harmful effects of this type of injury are far from being overcome. Regenerative medicine has been growing in the scientific milieu as a new therapeutic approach for different situations. Among the cell-based therapies explored, the mesenchymal stem cells are evidenced by their features, versatility and potential applications. The olfactory mucosa mesenchymal stem cells, components of the olfactory system and identified in the lamina propria, were newly identified and are still undergoing characterization, appearing as a new promise in the regenerative therapy of several tissues but with special emphasis on the nervous system in general and the peripheral nervous system in particular, for which they appear to have special regenerative aptitude.
Part of the book: Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Scaffolds for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration, the Importance of In Vitro and In Vivo Studies for the Development of Cell-Based Therapies and Biomaterials: State of the Art By Sílvia Santos Pedrosa, Ana Rita Caseiro, José Domingos Santos and
Ana Colette Maurício
Human adult peripheral nerve injuries are a high incidence clinical problem that greatly affects patients’ quality of life. Although peripheral nervous system has intrinsic regenerative capacity, this occurs in an incomplete or poorly functional manner. When a nerve fiber loses its continuity with consequent damage of the basal lamina tubes, axon spontaneous regeneration is disorganized and mismatched. These phenomena translate in an inadequate nerve functional recovery and consequent musculoskeletal incapacity. Nerve grafts still remain the gold standard in peripheral injuries treatment. However, this approach contains its disadvantages such as the necessity of primary surgery to harvest the autografts, loss of a functional nerve, donor site morbidity and longer surgery procedures. Therefore, biomaterials and tissue engineering can provide efficient resources and alternatives to nerve injury repair not only by the development of biocompatible structures but also, introducing neurotrophic factors and cellular systems to stimulate optimum clinical outcome. In this chapter, a comprehensive state-of-the art picture of tissue-engineered nerve grafts scaffolds, their application in nerve regeneration along with latest advances in peripheral nerve repair and future perspectives will be discussed, including our own large experience in this field of knowledge.
Part of the book: Materials, Technologies and Clinical Applications
Spray Drying: An Overview By Daniel Santos, Ana Colette Maurício, Vitor Sencadas, José
Domingos Santos, Maria H. Fernandes and Pedro S. Gomes
Spray drying is a well-known method of particle production which comprises the transformation of a fluid material into dried particles, taking advantage of a gaseous hot drying medium, with clear advantages for the fabrication of medical devices. In fact, it is quite common the production of microspheres and microcapsules designed for drug delivery systems. This review describes the different stages of the mechanism of the spray-drying process: atomization, droplet-to-particle conversion and particle collection. In particular, this work addresses the diversity of available atomizers, the drying kinetics and the importance of the configuration of the drying chamber, and the efficiency of the collection devices. The final properties of the dried products are influenced by a variety of factors, namely the spray dryer design, the feed characteristics and the processing parameters. The impact of those variables in optimizing both the spray-drying process and the synthesis of dried particles with desirable characteristics is discussed. The scalability of this manufacturing process in obtaining dried particles in submicron-to-micron scale favors a variety of applications within the food, chemical, polymeric, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical industries.
Part of the book: Biomaterials
Synovia-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Application in Musculoskeletal Injuries: A Review By Mariana Esteves Vieira Branquinho, Ana Rita Caseiro, Sílvia Santos
Pedrosa, Rui Damásio Alvites and Ana Colette Maurício
Musculoskeletal injuries impact millions of people globally and affect their health and well-being as well as of their companion and athletic animals. Soft-tissue injuries represent almost half of these and are associated with unorganized scar tissue formation and long time-depending healing processes. Cell-based therapeutic strategies have been developed in the past decades aiming at the treatment and reversion of such disorders. Stem cells are fairly appealing in the field, being a responsive undifferentiated population, with ability to self-renew and differentiate into different lineages. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be obtained from several adult tissues, including the synovial membrane. Synovia-derived MSCs can be found in individuals of any age and are associated to intrinsic regenerative processes, through both paracrine and cell-to-cell interactions, thus, contributing to hosts’ healing capacity. Studies have demonstrated the potential benefit of synovia-derived MSCs in these regenerative processes in both human and veterinary medicine. The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature regarding SM-MSC therapies applied to musculoskeletal disorders, in both human and veterinary medicine.
Part of the book: Tissue Regeneration
Biomaterials and Cellular Systems at the Forefront of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration By Rui Damásio Alvites, Mariana Vieira Branquinho, Ana Rita Caseiro, Sílvia Santos Pedrosa, Ana Lúcia Luís, Stefano Geuna, Artur Severo Proença Varejão and Ana Colette Maurício
Peripheral nerve injuries remain a common clinical complication, and currently available therapies present significant limitations, often resulting in poor and suboptimal outcomes. Despite significant developments in microsurgical approaches in the last decades, no effective treatment options have been disclosed. Current research focuses on the optimization of such microsurgical techniques and on their combination with other pro-regenerative factors, such as mesenchymal stem cells or biomaterials. Mesenchymal stem cells present a remarkable capacity for bioactive molecule production that modulates inflammatory and regenerative processes, stimulating peripheral nerve regeneration. In parallel, efforts have been directed towards the development of biomaterial nerve guidance channels and nerve conduits. These biomaterials have been optimized in terms of biodegradability, ability to release bioactive factors, incorporation of cellular agents, and internal matrix architecture (to enable cellular migration and mimic native tissue morphology and to generate and bear specific electrical activity). The current literature review presents relevant advances in the development of mesenchymal stem cell and biomaterial-based therapeutic approaches aiming at the peripheral nerve tissue regeneration in diverse lesion scenarios, also exploring the advances achieved by our research group in this field in recent years.
Part of the book: Peripheral Nerve Disorders and Treatment
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