Review
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Mohammad Reza Kouchakian, Neda Baghban, Seyedeh Farzaneh Moniri, Mandana Baghban, Shabnam Bakhshalizadeh, Vahid Najafzadeh, Zahra Safaei, Safoura Izanlou, Arezoo Khoradmehr, Iraj Nabipour, Reza Shirazi, Amin Tamadon
Summary: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) hold great potential for treating autoimmune, inflammatory, and degenerative diseases. Despite extensive research on the application of MSCs, a low percentage of studies are related to clinical trials.
STEM CELLS INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Review
Polymer Science
Federica Re, Elisa Borsani, Rita Rezzani, Luciana Sartore, Domenico Russo
Summary: Bone regenerative medicine combines live osteoblast progenitors, such as MSCs, with a biocompatible scaffold to restore bone tissue integrity. Although tissue engineering strategies have been developed, few have been translated to clinical application. This review identified and analyzed nine clinical trials involving scaffolds with or without MSCs. The majority of scaffolds were composed of calcium phosphate ceramic, and bone marrow was the primary MSC source. These cell-scaffold constructs show promise in regenerative medicine, but further studies are needed to optimize their application for treating bone diseases.
Review
Cell Biology
Ryad Tamouza, Fernanda Volt, Jean-Romain Richard, Ching-Lien Wu, Jihene Bouassida, Wahid Boukouaci, Pauline Lansiaux, Barbara Cappelli, Graziana Maria Scigliuolo, Hanadi Rafii, Chantal Kenzey, Esma Mezouad, Soumia Naamoune, Leila Chami, Florian Lejuste, Dominique Farge, Eliane Gluckman
Summary: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a set of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by impaired social interactions and repetitive behaviors. Both genetic predisposition and environmental factors contribute to immune dysfunctions, which can be observed in the brain and peripheral blood of ASD individuals. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) hold promise as a therapeutic option for ASD due to their immunoregulatory properties.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Ellison D. Aldrich, Xiaolin Cui, Caroline A. Murphy, Khoon S. Lim, Gary J. Hooper, C. Wayne McIlwraith, Tim B. F. Woodfield
Summary: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been extensively studied for their paracrine signaling and immunomodulatory properties, with a focus on their role as signaling and modulating cells rather than as a cell replacement therapy. The benefits of allogeneic cells with defined characteristics in clinical settings are well recognized, with ongoing research on cell tracking techniques to further enhance the understanding of MSC activity in cartilage regeneration.
STEM CELLS TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Lila Teixeira de Araujo, Carolina The Macedo, Patricia Kauanna Fonseca Damasceno, Italo Gabriel Costa das Neves, Carla Souza de Lima, Girlaine Cafe Santos, Thais Alves de Santana, Gabriela Louise de Almeida Sampaio, Daniela Nascimento Silva, Cristiane Flora Villarreal, Alessandra Casemiro de Campos Chaguri, Crislaine Gomes da Silva, Augusto Cesar de Andrade Mota, Roberto Badaro, Ricardo Ribeiro dos Santos, Milena Botelho Pereira Soares
Summary: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an important public health problem with no effective treatments available. Stem cell therapy, particularly mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs), has been investigated as a potential approach for SCI treatment. However, there is heterogeneity in the design of clinical trials and a lack of standardized protocols and recommendations for the therapeutic use of stem cells in SCI.
Review
Ophthalmology
Joo Youn Oh, Eunjae Kim, Young In Yun, Ryang Hwa Lee
Summary: Despite advancements in surgical techniques and understanding of rejection pathways, corticosteroids remain the main immunosuppressive regimen for corneal transplantation with 15-year survival rates still low. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have emerged as a promising cell therapy to promote transplant tolerance and prevent rejection in both corneal and solid organ transplantation.
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Alison J. Wilson, Emma Rand, Andrew J. Webster, Paul G. Genever
Summary: Many clinical trials involving mesenchymal stem/stromal cells lack comprehensive characterization data of the cellular population, including details on surface marker expression, viability, and differentiation. Functional assessment is very limited and does not always correlate with the likely mechanism of action.
STEM CELL RESEARCH & THERAPY
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
William Morello, Silvia Budelli, Daniel Ari Bernstein, Tiziana Montemurro, Elisa Montelatici, Cristiana Lavazza, Luciana Ghio, Alberto Edefonti, Licia Peruzzi, Daniela Molino, Elisa Benetti, Bruno Gianoglio, Florian Mehmeti, Laura Catenacci, Jessica Rotella, Chiara Tamburello, Antonia Moretta, Lorenza Lazzari, Rosaria Giordano, Daniele Prati, Giovanni Montini
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cord-blood-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (CB-MSCs) in children with multi-drug resistant idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (MDR-INS). The study found that CB-MSCs treatment was safe and may have a role in immunosuppressive therapy. This preliminary experience paves the way for further studies on the effectiveness of MSCs in immune-mediated kidney diseases.
STEM CELL RESEARCH & THERAPY
(2022)
Review
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Maryam Ghasemi, Elham Roshandel, Mozhdeh Mohammadian, Behrouz Farhadihosseinabadi, Parvin Akbarzadehlaleh, Karim Shamsasenjan
Summary: In recent years, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have gained scientific attention for their potential in treating incurable diseases. However, concerns about side effects and limitations of direct cell transplantation have led to the exploration of MSC secretome, which consists of bioactive molecules involved in neuro-regeneration. This study reviews the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of MSC secretome in central nervous system disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease, with the aim of discovering new treatment options.
STEM CELL RESEARCH & THERAPY
(2023)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Charles Michael Cotten, Kimberley Fisher, William Malcolm, Kathryn E. Gustafson, Lynn Cheatham, Amanda Marion, Rachel Greenberg, Joanne Kurtzberg
Summary: Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in neonates causes high mortality and long-term morbidity. Previous use of autologous cord blood for brain damage had limitations, while allogeneic cord tissue mesenchymal stromal cells (hCT-MSC) have shown promise. A phase I clinical trial was conducted to test the safety and efficacy of hCT-MSC in neonates with HIE, with positive results.
STEM CELLS TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yujie Song, Christian Jorgensen
Summary: This review highlights the potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in treating osteoarthritis (OA), focusing on their chondrogenic and immunomodulatory potential. The review provides an overview of the effects of MSCs in preclinical and clinical studies of OA treatment, comparing different MSC sources. Furthermore, the review summarizes the current evidence for the assessment of cartilage in OA using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and second-look arthroscopy after MSC therapy.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dan Xing, Kai Wang, Jun Wu, Yu Zhao, Wei Liu, Jiao Jiao Li, Tingting Gao, Deng Yan, Liu Wang, Jie Hao, Jianhao Lin
Summary: The study demonstrates that multiple injections of ES-MSCs can improve osteoarthritis in a rat model. The repeated doses group showed more proteoglycan and less cartilage loss, along with lower Mankin scores, indicating the potential of ES-MSCs as a regenerative therapy for OA.
Article
Immunology
Haiping He, Atsuko Takahashi, Takeo Mukai, Akiko Hori, Miwako Narita, Arinobu Tojo, Tonghua Yang, Tokiko Nagamura-Inoue
Summary: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) were primed with Triptolide (TPL) to enhance their immunosuppressive abilities. TPL-primed UC-MSCs showed stronger anti-proliferative effects on activated T cells, potentially offering a novel immunosuppressive cell therapy. The upregulation of IDO-1 and induction of PD-L1 in TPL-primed UC-MSCs enhanced their immunosuppressive potency.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Kun Lu, Shi-tao Geng, Shikai Tang, Hua Yang, Wei Xiong, Fang Xu, Qijun Yuan, Xian Xiao, Renqiang Huang, Haihui Liang, Zhipeng Chen, Chuanyun Qian, Yang Li, Songqing Wang
Summary: This article systematically summarizes the clinical efficacy of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in the treatment of COVID-19 and elaborates on the possible mechanisms, providing a reference for further studies.
STEM CELL RESEARCH & THERAPY
(2022)
Review
Cell Biology
Yanina Bogliotti, Mark Vander Roest, Aras N. Mattis, Robert G. Gish, Gary Peltz, Robin Anwyl, Salah Kivlighn, Eric R. Schuur
Summary: Liver disease is a major cause of global mortality, with late-stage liver disease being characterized by hepatocyte injury, inflammation, and aberrant tissue healing. Treatment options for liver disease are limited, but cell replacement therapy using hepatocyte-like cells shows promise as a safe and effective treatment option.
Editorial Material
Medical Ethics
Jesse D. Troy, Frank Rockhold, Gregory P. Samsa
Summary: Questionable research practices (QRP) refer to a range of actions taken by researchers that violate research best practices and pose risks to institutions and research participants. In this editorial, the risks associated with QRP are discussed and mitigation strategies at the institutional level are proposed, using a common QRP as an example.
ACCOUNTABILITY IN RESEARCH-ETHICS INTEGRITY AND POLICY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Tawny Tsang, Adam J. Naples, Erin C. Barney, Minhang Xie, Raphael Bernier, Geraldine Dawson, James Dziura, Susan Faja, Shafali Spurling Jeste, James C. McPartland, Charles A. Nelson, Michael Murias, Helen Seow, Catherine Sugar, Sara J. Webb, Frederick Shic, Scott P. Johnson
Summary: This study used a visual exploration paradigm to examine the salience of social stimuli in ASD. The results showed that children with ASD had less attention and fixation on faces compared to typically developing children, and they spent less time looking at each object on average. Attention to the screen and faces correlated positively with social and cognitive skills in the ASD group.
JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Pradeep Raj Krishnappa Babu, J. Matias Di Martino, Zhuoqing Chang, Sam Perochon, Rachel Aiello, Kimberly L. H. Carpenter, Scott Compton, Naomi Davis, Lauren Franz, Steven Espinosa, Jacqueline Flowers, Geraldine Dawson, Guillermo Sapiro
Summary: Early differences in sensorimotor functioning have been observed in young autistic children and infants who are later diagnosed with autism. Autistic toddlers exhibit more frequent and complex head movements while watching audiovisual stimuli, suggesting differences in their sensorimotor dynamics compared to neurotypical toddlers. Computer vision analysis provides a scalable means of detecting these differences, which may help identify early behaviors associated with autism.
JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Gregory Samsa, Kathryn Colborn, Maren Olsen, Gina-Maria Pomann, Steven Grambow, Megan Neely, Jesse Troy
Summary: Collaboration with a statistician on statistical analysis plan design can be improved by understanding how statisticians approach their task. This approach can be visually represented by a directed acyclic graph (DAG), which not only illustrates the statistician's perspective but also serves as a practical tool for plan development.
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Sara Jane Webb, Adam J. Naples, April R. Levin, Gerhard Hellemann, Heather Borland, Jessica Benton, Carter Carlos, Takumi McAllister, Megha Santhosh, Helen Seow, Adham Atyabi, Raphael Bernier, Katarzyna Chawarska, Geraldine Dawson, James Dziura, Susan Faja, Shafali Jeste, Michael Murias, Charles A. Nelson, Maura Sabatos-DeVito, Damla Senturk, Frederick Shic, Catherine A. Sugar, James C. McPartland
Summary: This study evaluated a battery of EEG assays as potential biomarkers for clinical trials in ASD, and found that resting state, faces task, and VEP showed promise in terms of data acquisition and construct performance. The study also observed that the faces task's P1 and N170 performed well in terms of group discrimination and phenotype correlations, providing valuable information for further evaluation of biomarkers.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Mingfei Dong, Donatello Telesca, Catherine Sugar, Frederick Shic, Adam Naples, Scott P. Johnson, Beibin Li, Adham Atyabi, Minhang Xie, Sara J. Webb, Shafali Jeste, Susan Faja, April R. Levin, Geraldine Dawson, James C. McPartland, Damla Senturk
Summary: Eye tracking experiments commonly record the continuous trajectory of gaze on a screen during repeated presentations of stimuli. However, commonly used data analysis methods collapse the data into simple summaries, losing information about trial time. This study introduces functional data analysis (FDA) for eye tracking data analysis and proposes novel functional outcomes, called viewing profiles, to capture common gaze trends across trials. Applying FDA to data from autism clinical trials reveals new insights into consistency of gaze behavior early in trial time.
STATISTICS IN BIOSCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Junya Chen, Matthew Engelhard, Ricardo Henao, Samuel Berchuck, Brian Eichner, Eliana M. Perrin, Guillermo Sapiro, Geraldine Dawson
Summary: Recent work has demonstrated that predictive models based on structured electronic health record (EHR) data can stratify the likelihood of autism from an early age. This study aimed to improve the accuracy of early autism prediction by integrating clinical narratives with structured EHR data. Models were built separately using the two types of data and then combined into an ensemble model. The results showed that the ensemble model had superior performance, achieving promising accuracy within 30 days and outperforming models based on structured data alone.
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pradeep Raj Krishnappa Babu, Vikram Aikat, J. Matias Di Martino, Zhuoqing Chang, Sam Perochon, Steven Espinosa, Rachel Aiello, Kimberly L. H. Carpenter, Scott Compton, Naomi Davis, Brian Eichner, Jacqueline Flowers, Lauren Franz, Geraldine Dawson, Guillermo Sapiro
Summary: Novel methods using computer vision analysis were used to automatically quantify patterns of attentional engagement in young autistic children. Autistic children spent less time facing the screen and had a higher blink rate compared to neurotypical children. Autistic children also showed differences in attentional engagement between social and nonsocial movies.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Pradeep Raj Krishnappa Babu, J. Matias Di Martino, Zhuoqing Chang, Sam Perochon, Kimberly L. H. Carpenter, Scott Compton, Steven Espinosa, Geraldine Dawson, Guillermo Sapiro
Summary: Atypical facial expression is an early symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and automatic quantification of these behaviors can provide new biomarkers for screening and diagnosing ASD. In this study, facial landmarks were automatically computed using computer vision algorithms to analyze the complexity of facial dynamics in toddlers with ASD and typically developing toddlers. The results showed that toddlers with ASD had higher complexity in facial dynamics compared to typically developing toddlers, indicating that computer vision analysis of facial landmark movements is a promising approach for detecting and quantifying early behavioral symptoms associated with ASD.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AFFECTIVE COMPUTING
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Dmitry Yu. Isaev, Maura Sabatos-DeVito, J. Matias Di Martino, Kimberly Carpenter, Rachel Aiello, Scott Compton, Naomi Davis, Lauren Franz, Connor Sullivan, Geraldine Dawson, Guillermo Sapiro
Summary: We analyzed caregiver-child interactions during free play with children diagnosed with autism, ADHD, or combined autism + ADHD, and neurotypical children. The analysis revealed two clusters of interaction patterns, which differed in the frequency of reaching to a toy and caregivers' contingent responses. Higher caregiver responsiveness was associated with less developed language, communication, and socialization skills in children. The clusters were not associated with diagnostic groups, suggesting the potential for automated assessment methods in clinical trials.
JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Jill Howard, Brianna Herold, Samantha Major, Caroline Leahy, Kevin Ramseur, Lauren Franz, Megan Deaver, Saritha Vermeer, Kimberly L. H. Carpenter, Michael Murias, Wei Angel Huang, Geraldine Dawson
Summary: This study explored the relationship between executive function and attention abilities and social and language skills in early childhood for 180 autistic children. Higher levels of executive function skills were associated with better social communication abilities and lower levels of social pragmatic problems. Children with longer sustained attention showed higher expressive language abilities. These findings highlight the importance of executive function and attention skills in autistic children, particularly in language and social communication.
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Andrew Yuan, Maura Sabatos-DeVito, Alexandra L. Bey, Samantha Major, Kimberly L. H. Carpenter, Lauren Franz, Jill Howard, Saritha Vermeer, Ryan Simmons, Jesse Troy, Geraldine Dawson
Summary: This study investigated whether automated video tracking of autistic children's movement and location during play correlates with clinical features. The results suggest that movement tracking is a promising method for assessing clinical variation during autistic children's play.
Editorial Material
Medicine, General & Internal
Geraldine Dawson
JAMA-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
(2023)
Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Jesse D. Troy, Megan L. Neely, Gina-Maria Pomann, Steven C. Grambow, Gregory P. Samsa
Summary: This tutorial uses computer simulations to demonstrate the influence of sampling variability on efficacy estimates from pilot trials, highlighting the risk of misleading conclusions and emphasizing the importance of not using pilot trials to evaluate treatment efficacy.
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sam Perochon, J. Matias Di Martino, Kimberly L. H. Carpenter, Scott Compton, Naomi Davis, Brian Eichner, Steven Espinosa, Lauren Franz, Pradeep Raj Krishnappa Babu, Guillermo Sapiro, Geraldine Dawson
Summary: This study evaluates the accuracy of an autism screening digital application in a real-world setting. The app shows high diagnostic accuracy and can potentially be a scalable approach to autism screening. The introduction of digital phenotyping may help increase screening accuracy and reduce disparities in access to diagnosis and intervention.