The effect of shear stress on cardiac differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

Priming mesenchymal stem cells to develop "super stem cells"

The stem cell pre-treatment approaches at cellular and sub-cellular levels encompass physical manipulation of stem cells to growth factor treatment, genetic manipulation, and chemical and pharmacological treatment, each strategy having advantages and limitations. Most of these pre-treatment protocols are non-combinative. This editorial is a continuum of Li et al's published article and Wan et al's editorial focusing on the significance of pre-treatment strategies to enhance their stemness, immunoregulatory, and immunosuppressive properties. They have elaborated on the intricacies of the combinative pre-treatment protocol using pro-inflammatory cytokines and hypoxia. Applying a well-defined multi-pronged combinatorial strategy of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), pre-treatment based on the mechanistic understanding is expected to develop "Super MSCs", which will create a transformative shift in MSC-based therapies in clinical settings, potentially revolutionizing the field. Once optimized, the standardized protocols may be used with slight modifications to pre-treat different stem cells to develop "super stem cells" with augmented stemness, functionality, and reparability for diverse clinical applications with better outcomes.

Exploring Electrospun Scaffold Innovations in Cardiovascular Therapy: A Review of Electrospinning in Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of mortality worldwide. In particular, patients who suffer from ischemic heart disease (IHD) that is not amenable to surgical or percutaneous revascularization techniques have limited treatment options. Furthermore, after revascularization is successfully implemented, there are a number of pathophysiological changes to the myocardium, including but not limited to ischemia-reperfusion injury, necrosis, altered inflammation, tissue remodeling, and dyskinetic wall motion. Electrospinning, a nanofiber scaffold fabrication technique, has recently emerged as an attractive option as a potential therapeutic platform for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Electrospun scaffolds made of biocompatible materials have the ability to mimic the native extracellular matrix and are compatible with drug delivery. These inherent properties, combined with ease of customization and a low cost of production, have made electrospun scaffolds an active area of research for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. In this review, we aim to discuss the current state of electrospinning from the fundamentals of scaffold creation to the current role of electrospun materials as both bioengineered extracellular matrices and drug delivery vehicles in the treatment of CVD, with a special emphasis on the potential clinical applications in myocardial ischemia.

How the mechanical microenvironment of stem cell growth affects their differentiation: a review

Stem cell differentiation is of great interest in medical research; however, specifically and effectively regulating stem cell differentiation is still a challenge. In addition to chemical factors, physical signals are an important component of the stem cell ecotone. The mechanical microenvironment of stem cells has a huge role in stem cell differentiation. Herein, we describe the knowledge accumulated to date on the mechanical environment in which stem cells exist, which consists of various factors, including the extracellular matrix and topology, substrate stiffness, shear stress, hydrostatic pressure, tension, and microgravity. We then detail the currently known signalling pathways that stem cells use to perceive the mechanical environment, including those involving nuclear factor-kB, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, the piezoelectric mechanosensitive ion channel, and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α. Using this information in clinical settings to treat diseases is the goal of this research, and we describe the progress that has been made. In this review, we examined the effects of mechanical factors in the stem cell growth microenvironment on stem cell differentiation, how mechanical signals are transmitted to and function within the cell, and the influence of mechanical factors on the use of stem cells in clinical applications.

Preparation of myocardial patches from DiI-labeled rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and neonatal rat cardiomyocytes contact co-cultured on polycaprolactone film

DiI-labeled BMSCs were contact co-cultured with CMs on PCL film to prepare myocardial patches. BMSCs were labeled with DiI dye. DiI-labeled BMSCs were co-cultured with CMs on PCL film in the experimental group, while CMs were replaced with the same amount of unlabeled BMSCs in the control group. After 24 h, cell growth was observed by light microscopy and cells were fixed for scanning electron microscopy. After 7 days of co-culture, cells were stained for immunofluorescence detection of myocardial markers cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and α-actin. Differentiation of BMSCs on PCL was observed by fluorescence microscopy. The efficiency of BMSC differentiation into CMs was analyzed by flow cytometry on the first and seventh days of co-culture. CMs were stained with calcein alone and contact co-cultured with DiI-labeled BMSCs on PCL film to observe intercellular dye transfer. Finally, cells were stained for immunofluorescence detection of connexin 43 (Cx43) expression and to observe the relationship between gap junctions and contact co-culture. After co-culture for 24 h, cells were observed to have attached to PCL by light microscopy. Upon appropriate excitation, DiI-labeled BMSCs exhibited red fluorescence, while unlabeled CMs did not. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a large number of cells on the PCL membrane and their cell state appeared normal. On the seventh day, some DiI-labeled BMSCs expressed cTnT and α-actin. Flow cytometry showed that the rate of stem cell differentiation in the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group on the seven day (20.12% > 3.49%, P < 0.05). From the second day of co-culture, immunofluorescence staining for Cx43 revealed green fluorescent puncta in some BMSCs; from the third day of co-culture, a portion of BMSCs exhibited green fluorescence in dye transfer tests. Contact co-culture of DiI-labeled BMSCs and CMs on PCL film successfully generated myocardial patches.