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Lomboni DJ, Ozgun A, de Medeiros TV, Staines W, Naccache R, Woulfe J, Variola F. Electroconductive Collagen-Carbon Nanodots Nanocomposite Elicits Neurite Outgrowth, Supports Neurogenic Differentiation and Accelerates Electrophysiological Maturation of Neural Progenitor Spheroids. Adv Healthc Mater 2024; 13:e2301894. [PMID: 37922888 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202301894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Neuronal disorders are characterized by the loss of functional neurons and disrupted neuroanatomical connectivity, severely impacting the quality of life of patients. This study investigates a novel electroconductive nanocomposite consisting of glycine-derived carbon nanodots (GlyCNDs) incorporated into a collagen matrix and validates its beneficial physicochemical and electro-active cueing to relevant cells. To this end, this work employs mouse induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neural progenitor (NP) spheroids. The findings reveal that the nanocomposite markedly augmented neuronal differentiation in NP spheroids and stimulate neuritogenesis. In addition, this work demonstrates that the biomaterial-driven enhancements of the cellular response ultimately contribute to the development of highly integrated and functional neural networks. Lastly, acute dizocilpine (MK-801) treatment provides new evidence for a direct interaction between collagen-bound GlyCNDs and postsynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, thereby suggesting a potential mechanism underlying the observed cellular events. In summary, the findings establish a foundation for the development of a new nanocomposite resulting from the integration of carbon nanomaterials within a clinically approved hydrogel, toward an effective biomaterial-based strategy for addressing neuronal disorders by restoring damaged/lost neurons and supporting the reestablishment of neuroanatomical connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Lomboni
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
- Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Biomedical Engineering (OCIBME), Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Alp Ozgun
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8M5, Canada
| | - Tayline V de Medeiros
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Centre for NanoScience Research, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
- Quebec Centre for Advanced Materials, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - William Staines
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8M5, Canada
| | - Rafik Naccache
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Centre for NanoScience Research, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
- Quebec Centre for Advanced Materials, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - John Woulfe
- The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4E9, Canada
| | - Fabio Variola
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
- Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Biomedical Engineering (OCIBME), Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8M5, Canada
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Serial Gene Expression Profiling of Neural Stem Cells Shows Transcriptome Switch by Long-Term Physioxia from Metabolic Adaption to Cell Signaling Profile. Stem Cells Int 2022; 2022:6718640. [PMID: 36411871 PMCID: PMC9675612 DOI: 10.1155/2022/6718640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxygen is an essential factor in the cellular microenvironment with pivotal effects on neural development with a particular sensitivity of midbrain neural stem cells (NSCs) to high atmospheric oxygen tension. However, most experiments are still performed at atmospheric O2 levels (21%, normoxia), whereas mammalian brain tissue is physiologically exposed to substantially lower O2 tensions around 3% (physioxia). We here performed serial Affymetrix gene array analyses to detect expression changes in mouse fetal NSCs from both midbrain and cortical tissues when kept at physioxia compared to normoxia. We identified more than 400 O2-regulated genes involved in cellular metabolism, cell proliferation/differentiation, and various signaling pathways. NSCs from both regions showed a low number but high conformity of regulated genes (9 genes in midbrain vs. 34 in cortical NSCs; 8 concordant expression changes) after short-term physioxia (2 days) with metabolic processes and cellular processes being the most prominent GO categories pointing to cellular adaption to lower oxygen levels. Gene expression profiles changed dramatically after long-term physioxia (13 days) with a higher number of regulated genes and more diverse expression patterns when comparing the two NSC types (338 genes in midbrain vs. 121 in cortical NSCs; 75 concordant changes). Most prominently, we observed a reduction of hits in metabolic processes but an increase in biological regulation and signaling pointing to a switch towards signaling processes and stem cell maintenance. Our data may serve as a basis for identifying potential signaling pathways that maintain stem cell characteristics in cortical versus midbrain physioxic stem cell niches.
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Singh R, Birru B, Veit JGS, Arrigali EM, Serban MA. Development and Characterization of an In Vitro Round Window Membrane Model for Drug Permeability Evaluations. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15091105. [PMID: 36145326 PMCID: PMC9504332 DOI: 10.3390/ph15091105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Hearing loss and balance disorders are highly common disorders, and the development of effective oto-therapeutics remains an area of intense research. Drug development and screening in the hearing research field heavily rely on the use of preclinical models with often ambiguous translational relevance. This often leads to failed advancement in the market of effective therapeutics. In this context, especially for inner ear-specific pathologies, the availability of an in vitro, physiologically relevant, round window membrane (RWM) model could enable rapid, high-throughput screening of potential topical drugs for inner ear and cochlear dysfunctions and could help accelerate the advancement to clinic and market of more viable drug candidates. In this study, we report the development and evaluation of an in vitro model that mimics the native RWM tissue morphology and microenvironment as shown via immunostaining and histological analyses. The developed three-dimensional (3D) in vitro model was additionally assessed for barrier integrity by transepithelial electrical resistance, and the permeability of lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs was determined. Our collective findings suggest that this in vitro model could serve as a tool for rapid development and screening of topically deliverable oto-therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruby Singh
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana, 32 Campus Dr., Skaggs 394, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
- Montana Biotechnology Center (BIOTECH), University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Bhaskar Birru
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana, 32 Campus Dr., Skaggs 394, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
- Montana Biotechnology Center (BIOTECH), University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Joachim G. S. Veit
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana, 32 Campus Dr., Skaggs 394, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
- Montana Biotechnology Center (BIOTECH), University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Elizabeth M. Arrigali
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana, 32 Campus Dr., Skaggs 394, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
- Montana Biotechnology Center (BIOTECH), University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Monica A. Serban
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana, 32 Campus Dr., Skaggs 394, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
- Montana Biotechnology Center (BIOTECH), University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
- Correspondence:
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