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Disaster Medicine and Public Health... Jun 2020
Topics: COVID-19; Coronavirus Infections; Humans; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral; Quarantine; Ships
PubMed: 32241332
DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2020.67 -
American Journal of Physiology. Renal... Jun 2022Kidney organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells constitute a novel model of disease, development, and regenerative therapy. Organoids are human,... (Review)
Review
Kidney organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells constitute a novel model of disease, development, and regenerative therapy. Organoids are human, experimentally accessible, high throughput, and enable reconstitution of tissue-scale biology in a petri dish. Although gene expression patterns in organoid cells have been analyzed extensively, less is known about the functionality of these structures. Here, we review assays of physiological function in human kidney organoids, including best practices for quality control, and future applications. Tubular structures in organoids accumulate specific molecules through active transport, including dextran and organic anions, and swell with fluid in response to cAMP stimulation. When engrafted into animal models in vivo, organoids form vascularized glomerulus-like structures capable of size-selective filtration. Organoids exhibit metabolic, endocrine, injury, and infection phenotypes, although their specificity is not yet fully clear. To properly interpret organoid physiology assays, it is important to incorporate appropriate negative and positive controls, statistical methods, data presentation, molecular mechanisms, and clinical data sets. Improvements in organoid perfusion, patterning, and maturation are needed to enable branching morphogenesis, urine production, and renal replacement. Reconstituting renal physiology with kidney organoids is a new field with potential to provide fresh insights into classical phenomena.
Topics: Animals; Cell Differentiation; Humans; Kidney; Kidney Glomerulus; Morphogenesis; Organoids; Pluripotent Stem Cells
PubMed: 35379001
DOI: 10.1152/ajprenal.00400.2021 -
PLoS Pathogens Jul 2022Mycobacteriophages-bacteriophages infecting Mycobacterium hosts-contribute substantially to our understanding of viral diversity and evolution, provide resources for... (Review)
Review
Mycobacteriophages-bacteriophages infecting Mycobacterium hosts-contribute substantially to our understanding of viral diversity and evolution, provide resources for advancing Mycobacterium genetics, are the basis of high-impact science education programs, and show considerable therapeutic potential. Over 10,000 individual mycobacteriophages have been isolated by high school and undergraduate students using the model organism Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 and 2,100 have been completely sequenced, giving a high-resolution view of the phages that infect a single common host strain. The phage genomes are revealed to be highly diverse and architecturally mosaic and are replete with genes of unknown function. Mycobacteriophages have provided many widely used tools for Mycobacterium genetics including integration-proficient vectors and recombineering systems, as well as systems for efficient delivery of reporter genes, transposons, and allelic exchange substrates. The genomic insights and engineering tools have facilitated exploration of phages for treatment of Mycobacterium infections, although their full therapeutic potential has yet to be realized.
Topics: Bacteriophages; Genome, Viral; Humans; Mycobacteriophages; Mycobacterium; Mycobacterium Infections; Mycobacterium smegmatis
PubMed: 35797343
DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010602 -
Materials (Basel, Switzerland) Dec 2019The classic cell culture involves the use of support in two dimensions, such as a well plate or a Petri dish, that allows the culture of different types of cells.... (Review)
Review
The classic cell culture involves the use of support in two dimensions, such as a well plate or a Petri dish, that allows the culture of different types of cells. However, this technique does not mimic the natural microenvironment where the cells are exposed to. To solve that, three-dimensional bioprinting techniques were implemented, which involves the use of biopolymers and/or synthetic materials and cells. Because of a lack of information between data sources, the objective of this review paper is, to sum up, all the available information on the topic of bioprinting and to help researchers with the problematics with 3D bioprinters, such as the 3D-Bioplotter™. The 3D-Bioplotter™ has been used in the pre-clinical field since 2000 and could allow the printing of more than one material at the same time, and therefore to increase the complexity of the 3D structure manufactured. It is also very precise with maximum flexibility and a user-friendly and stable software that allows the optimization of the bioprinting process on the technological point of view. Different applications have resulted from the research on this field, mainly focused on regenerative medicine, but the lack of information and/or the possible misunderstandings between papers makes the reproducibility of the tests difficult. Nowadays, the 3D Bioprinting is evolving into another technology called 4D Bioprinting, which promises to be the next step in the bioprinting field and might promote great applications in the future.
PubMed: 31810326
DOI: 10.3390/ma12234005 -
Journal of Visualized Experiments : JoVE Feb 2021To select food with nutritional value while avoiding the consumption of harmful agents, animals need a sophisticated and robust taste system to evaluate their food...
To select food with nutritional value while avoiding the consumption of harmful agents, animals need a sophisticated and robust taste system to evaluate their food environment. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is a genetically tractable model organism that is widely used to decipher the molecular, cellular, and neural underpinnings of food preference. To analyze fly food preference, a robust feeding method is needed. Described here is a two-choice feeding assay, which is rigorous, cost-saving, and fast. The assay is Petri-dish-based and involves the addition of two different foods supplemented with blue or red dye to the two halves of the dish. Then, ~70 prestarved, 2-4-day-old flies are placed in the dish and allowed to choose between blue and red foods in the dark for about 90 min. Examination of the abdomen of each fly is followed by the calculation of the preference index. In contrast to multiwell plates, each Petri dish takes only ~20 s to fill and saves time and effort. This feeding assay can be employed to quickly determine whether flies like or dislike a particular food.
Topics: Animals; Biological Assay; Coloring Agents; Drosophila melanogaster; Feeding Behavior; Food Preferences; Indicators and Reagents; Starvation
PubMed: 33645577
DOI: 10.3791/62051 -
Biochip Journal May 2023In vitro model systems have been advanced to recapitulate important physiological features of the target organ in vivo more closely than the conventional cell line... (Review)
Review
In vitro model systems have been advanced to recapitulate important physiological features of the target organ in vivo more closely than the conventional cell line cultures on a petri dish. The advanced organotypic model systems can be used as a complementary or alternative tool for various testing and screening. Numerous data from germ-free animal studies and genome sequencings of clinical samples indicate that human microbiota is an essential part of the human body, but current in vitro model systems rarely include them, which can be one of the reasons for the discrepancy in the tissue phenotypes and outcome of therapeutic intervention between in vivo and in vitro tissues. A coculture model system with appropriate microbes and host cells may have great potential to bridge the gap between the in vitro model and the in vivo counterpart. However, successfully integrating two species in one system introduces new variables to consider and poses new challenges to overcome. This review aims to provide perspectives on the important factors that should be considered for developing organotypic bacterial coculture models. Recent advances in various organotypic bacterial coculture models are highlighted. Finally, challenges and opportunities in developing organotypic microbial coculture models are also discussed.
PubMed: 37363268
DOI: 10.1007/s13206-023-00103-5 -
Nature Communications Jun 2022Precision oncology continues to challenge the "one-size-fits-all" dogma. Under the precision oncology banner, cancer patients are screened for molecular tumor... (Review)
Review
Precision oncology continues to challenge the "one-size-fits-all" dogma. Under the precision oncology banner, cancer patients are screened for molecular tumor alterations that predict treatment response, ideally leading to optimal treatments. Functional assays that directly evaluate treatment efficacy on the patient's cells offer an alternative and complementary tool to improve the accuracy of precision oncology. Unfortunately, traditional Petri dish-based assays overlook much tumor complexity, limiting their potential as predictive functional biomarkers. Here, we review past applications of microfluidic systems for precision medicine and discuss the present and potential future role of functional microfluidic assays as treatment predictors.
Topics: Biological Assay; Humans; Microfluidics; Neoplasms; Precision Medicine
PubMed: 35654785
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30384-7 -
Journal of Molecular Cell Biology Aug 2020Gastroesophageal cancers are leading causes of cancer death. Our attempts at adopting molecularly based treatment approaches have been slow and ineffective even though... (Review)
Review
Gastroesophageal cancers are leading causes of cancer death. Our attempts at adopting molecularly based treatment approaches have been slow and ineffective even though we begin to identify specific targetable gene mutations and pathways. It is clear that we should no longer treat all gastroesophageal cancers as a homogeneous disease, which is what we do when we use non-specific chemotherapy. However, we currently cannot monitor successful gene/pathway targeting, nor understand how/when tumors develop resistance, nor predict which patients will derive maximal benefit. To improve outcomes, we must precisely detail the heterogeneity of these tumors to then individualize cancer therapy as well as develop novel avenues to study and predict treatment effects in individual patients. To this end, patient-derived organoids, in which tumor cells from individual patients are grown in a Petri dish, are a new versatile system that allows for timely expandability, detailed molecular characterization, and genetic manipulation with the promise of enabling predictive assessment of treatment response. In this review, we will explore the development and basic techniques for organoid generation, and discuss the current and potential future applications of this exciting technology to study the basic science of carcinogenesis and to predict/guide cancer patient care in the clinics.
Topics: Animals; Carcinogenesis; Esophageal Neoplasms; Humans; Organoids; Stomach Neoplasms; Translational Research, Biomedical
PubMed: 32652008
DOI: 10.1093/jmcb/mjaa035 -
Biomedicines Apr 2024Stroke is a common neurological disorder, the second leading cause of death, and the third leading cause of disability. Unfortunately, the only approved drug for it is... (Review)
Review
Stroke is a common neurological disorder, the second leading cause of death, and the third leading cause of disability. Unfortunately, the only approved drug for it is tissue plasminogen, but the therapeutic window is limited. In this context, preclinical studies are relevant to better dissect the underlying mechanisms of stroke and for the drug screening of potential therapies. Brain organoids could be relevant in this setting. They are derived from pluripotent stem cells or isolated organ progenitors that differentiate to form an organ-like tissue, exhibiting multiple cell types that self-organize to form a structure not unlike the organ in vivo. Brain organoids mimic many key features of early human brain development at molecular, cellular, structural, and functional levels and have emerged as novel model systems that can be used to investigate human brain diseases including stroke. Brain organoids are a promising and powerful tool for ischemic stroke studies; however, there are a few concerns that need to be addressed, including the lack of vascularization and the many cell types that are typically present in the human brain. The aim of this review is to discuss the potential of brain organoids as a novel model system for studying ischemic stroke, highlighting both the advantages and disadvantages in the use of this technology.
PubMed: 38672231
DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12040877