Cell transplantation therapies for spinal cord injury focusing on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells:Advances and challenges

Spinal cord injury(SCI)is a devastating condition with complex pathological mechanisms that lead to sensory,motor,and autonomic dysfunction below the site of injury.To date,no effective therapy is available for the treatment of SCI.Recently,bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells(BMMSCs)have been considered to be the most promising source for cellular therapies following SCI.The objective of the present review is to summarize the most recent insights into the cellular and molecular mechanism using BMMSC therapy to treat SCI.In this work,we review the specific mechanism of BMMSCs in SCI repair mainly from the following aspects:Neuroprotection,axon sprouting and/or regeneration,myelin regeneration,inhibitory microenvironments,glial scar formation,immunomodulation,and angiogenesis.Additionally,we summarize the latest evidence on the application of BMMSCs in clinical trials and further discuss the challenges and future directions for stem cell therapy in SCI models.

Near-infrared spectroscopy in schizophrenia:A bibliometric perspective

BACKGROUND Compared with current methods used to assess schizophrenia,near-infrared spectroscopy(NIRS)has the advantages of providing noninvasive and real-time monitoring of functional activities of the brain and providing direct and objective assessment information.AIM To explore the research field of NIRS in schizophrenia from the perspective of bibliometrics.METHODS The Web of Science Core Collection was used as the search tool,and the last search date was April 21,2024.Bibliometric indicators,such as the numbers of publications and citations,were recorded.Bibliometrix and VOS viewer were used for visualization analysis.RESULTS A total of 355 articles from 105 journals were included in the analysis.The overall trend of the number of research publications increased.Schizophrenia Research was identified as an influential journal in the field.Kasai K was one of the most influential and productive authors in this area of research.The University of Tokyo and Japan had the highest scientific output for an institution and a country,respectively.The top ten keywords were“schizophrenia”,“activation”,“near-infrared spectroscopy”,“verbal fluency task”,“cortex”,“brain,performance”,“workingmemory”,“brain activation”,and“prefrontal cortex”.CONCLUSION Our study reveals the evolution of knowledge and emerging trends in the field of NIRS in schizophrenia.the research focus is shifting from underlying disease characteristics to more in-depth studies of brain function and physiological mechanisms.

Recent advances in reactive oxygen species(ROS)-responsive drug delivery systems for photodynamic therapy of cancer

Reactive oxygen species(ROS)-responsive drug delivery systems(DDSs)have garnered signif-icant attention in cancer research because of their potential for precise spatiotemporal drug release tailored to high ROS levels within tumors.Despite the challenges posed by ROS distribution heterogeneity and endogenous supply constraints,this review highlights the strategic alliance of ROS-responsive DDSs with photodynamic therapy(PDT),enabling selective drug delivery and leveraging PDT-induced ROS for enhanced therapeutic efficacy.This review delves into the biological importance of ROS in cancer progres-sion and treatment.We elucidate in detail the operational mechanisms of ROS-responsive linkers,including thioether,thioketal,selenide,diselencide,telluride and aryl boronic acids/esters,as well as the latest devel-opments in ROS-responsive nanomedicines that integrate with PDT strategies.These insights are intended to inspire the design of innovative ROS-responsive nanocarriers for enhanced cancer PDT.

Signaling pathways and targeted therapy for myocardial infarction

Although the treatment of myocardial infarction(MI)has improved considerably,it is still a worldwide disease with high morbidity and high mortality.Whilst there is still a long way to go for discovering ideal treatments,therapeutic strategies committed to cardioprotection and cardiac repair following cardiac ischemia are emerging.Evidence of pathological characteristics in MI illustrates cell signaling pathways that participate in the survival,proliferation,apoptosis,autophagy of cardiomyocytes,endothelial cells,fibroblasts,monocytes,and stem cells.These signaling pathways include the key players in inflammation response,e.g.,NLRP3/caspase-1 and TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB;the crucial mediators in oxidative stress and apoptosis,for instance,Notch,Hippo/YAP,RhoA/ROCK,Nrf2/HO-1,and Sonic hedgehog;the controller of myocardial fibrosis such as TGF-β/SMADs and Wnt/β-catenin;and the main regulator of angiogenesis,PI3K/Akt,MAPK,JAK/STAT,Sonic hedgehog,etc.Since signaling pathways play an important role in administering the process of MI,aiming at targeting these aberrant signaling pathways and improving the pathological manifestations in MI is indispensable and promising.Hence,drug therapy,gene therapy,protein therapy,cell therapy,and exosome therapy have been emerging and are known as novel therapies.In this review,we summarize the therapeutic strategies for MI by regulating these associated pathways,which contribute to inhibiting cardiomyocytes death,attenuating inflammation,enhancing angiogenesis,etc.so as to repair and re-functionalize damaged hearts.

Recent progress on multifunctional electromagnetic interference shielding polymer composites

The explosive development of electronic devices and wireless communication technology gives rise to the issue of electromagnetic pollution,known as electromagnetic interference(EMI).The accumulation of undesirable electromagnetic radiation in space disturbs the normal function of unshielded electronic appliances and poses seriously threat to human health.Thus,the development of EMI shielding materials have emerged to solve the grim problem.Considering the complex application contexts,EMI shielding materials have evolved from traditional single-function to multi-functions to meet the ever-increasing application requirements in recent few years.This paper provides detailed insight into the current re-search status and future challenges in the advancement of polymer-based EMI shielding materials with various functions.First,the basic theory of EMI shielding,factors influencing results and the dominating characterization technologies for EMI shielding properties are summarized.Then,the comprehensive descriptions of the seven types of multifunctional EMI shields are provided with respect to their structures,fabrication methods and specific functions.Meanwhile,the corresponding critical scientific and technical issues are proposed.Based on our comprehensive analysis,the main challenges in the development of multifunctional EMI shielding materials are presented.This review aims to provide some guidance and inspire more efforts toward functional EMI shielding material research to satisfy the growing requirements for next-generation electronic systems.

Newly developed gas-assisted sonodynamic therapy in cancer treatment

Sonodynamic therapy(SDT) is an emerging noninvasive treatment modality that utilizes lowfrequency and low-intensity ultrasound(US) to trigger sensitizers to kill tumor cells with reactive oxygen species(ROS).Although SDT has attracted much attention for its properties including high tumor specificity and deep tissue penetration,its anticancer efficacy is still far from satisfactory.As a result,new strategies such as gas-assisted therapy have been proposed to further promote the effectiveness of SDT.In this review,the mechanisms of SDT and gas-assisted SDT are first summarized.Then,the applications of gas-assisted SDT for cancer therapy are introduced and categorized by gas types.Next,therapeutic systems for SDT that can realize real-time imaging are further presented.Finally,the challenges and perspectives of gas-assisted SDT for future clinical applications are discussed.

Adhesive chitosan-based hydrogel assisted with photothermal antibacterial property to prompt mice infected skin wound healing

Bacterial infection of wounds is an escalating medical problem,issuing threats to both global public health and personal health.Photothermal antibacterial technology as a novel sterilization strategy has outstanding sterilization efficiency,high safety and low risk of emergence of drug-resistant bacteria.By combining inherent antibacterial activity and light-assisted antibacterial treatment,developing novel multifunctional dressings with synergistic high-efficiency antibacterial effects and also promoting wound healing possesses attractive advantages in the field of treating bacterial wound infections in clinical care.Herein,a multifunctional hydrogel formed by in situ photo-cross linking was designed and prepared by first grafting methacrylic anhydride as a photosensitizer onto chitosan,and then introducing oxidatively synthesized polydopamine(PDA).The physicochemical characterizations of the synthesized hydrogels demonstrated their tunability certainly associated with PDA concentration,including pore size,water swelling,rheological properties and in vitro degradability.In addition,the composite hydrogels exhibited good adhesion,anti-oxidation and photothermal properties due to the existence of PDA.Within 10min upon exposure to 808 nm near-infrared(NIR)light irradiation,this hydrogel system displayed outstanding antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with almost 100%killing efficiency,of which rapid efficient sterilization plays a significant role in wound healing.Moreover,the hydrogel is capable of cytocompatibility and has low toxicity to murine fibroblasts(L929 and NIH/3T3).In the full-thickness wound defect infection model in mice,the wound closure ratio,inflammatory response,fibroblasts,neovascularization and epithelialization were measured.Animal experiments also reveal that the hydrogel assisted with NIR laser irradiation can inhibit effectively infection at an early stage and accelerate the wound healing process.In summary,this novel multifunctional injectable hydrogel exhibits excellent swelling capacity,bio-adhesion,antioxidant property,photothermal activity,efficient antibacterial property and facilitates skin healing,which has great promising application as a medical dressing biomaterial in infected wound carefields.