Review
Neurosciences
Hannah Franklin, Benjamin E. Clarke, Rickie Patani
Summary: Astrocytes and microglia play critical roles in maintaining homeostasis and immune functions in the healthy central nervous system, with dysfunction implicated in various neurodegenerative diseases. Human in vitro models offer unique insights into disease biology by providing a manipulable model system directly from patients.
PROGRESS IN NEUROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Mengfan Li, Bingtian Xu, Xing Li, Yueqi Li, Shuqin Qiu, Kechun Chen, Zhuhe Liu, Yuewen Ding, Honghao Wang, Jiangping Xu, Haitao Wang
Summary: CBD exerts anti-inflammatory effects by regulating Mfn2, reducing inflammatory responses and improving cognitive function. It also shows protective effects in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model.
BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND IMMUNITY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Bregje W. M. de Wildt, Robin van der Meijden, Paul A. A. Bartels, Nico A. J. M. Sommerdijk, Anat Akiva, Keita Ito, Sandra Hofmann
Summary: In this study, a bone-mimetic template was developed using silk fibroin, poly-aspartic acid, and simulated body fluid. This model showed support for osteoclastic resorption and osteoblastic mineralization, mimicking the physiological bone remodeling process. The study highlights the potential importance of investigating cell-matrix interactions and using in vitro models for drug testing in bone remodeling pathologies like osteoporosis.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Valentin Mieville, Arjan W. Griffioen, Daniel Benamran, Patrycja Nowak-Sliwinska
Summary: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), especially clear cell RCC, is the most common type of kidney cancer. The lack of long-term therapeutic success in current pharmacological intervention is due to the high heterogeneity of RCC and the complexity of its tumor microenvironment. In vitro models used for drug development often fail to recapitulate important elements of the tumor, leading to a lack of effective treatment. Therefore, more complex in vitro or ex vivo drug screening models are needed for RCC research.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-REVIEWS ON CANCER
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Giuseppe Carota, Alfio Distefano, Mariarita Spampinato, Cesarina Giallongo, Giuseppe Broggi, Lucia Longhitano, Giuseppe A. Palumbo, Rosalba Parenti, Rosario Caltabiano, Sebastiano Giallongo, Michelino Di Rosa, Riccardo Polosa, Vincenzo Bramanti, Nunzio Vicario, Giovanni Li Volti, Daniele Tibullo
Summary: This study assessed the potential of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) in iron overload models. The results showed that ALA could revert iron overload-induced toxicity, regulate gene expression, promote anti-inflammatory effects, and reduce iron accumulation and iron-mediated damage.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Poonam Sharma, Xiaowei Wang, Clara Liu Chung Ming, Laura Vettori, Gemma Figtree, Andrew Boyle, Carmine Gentile
Summary: Myocardial infarction (MI) remains a major global cause of death despite advances in cardiovascular medicine, with reperfusion of the myocardium causing detrimental changes known as reperfusion injury. Current models of ischemia/reperfusion injury do not accurately represent this complex scenario, necessitating the development of more clinically relevant bioengineered in vitro models of the human heart.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Raffaella Colombo, Lucia Ferron, Ilaria Frosi, Adele Papetti
Summary: In vitro digestion models are crucial for predicting the bioaccessibility and bioactivity of food molecules or natural products. Static methods, despite their simplicity, have a wide applicability in the nutritional, pharmaceutical, and toxicological fields and offer advantages over dynamic models in terms of reproducibility and avoiding inter-individual variations of in vivo experiments. The standardization efforts, such as the Infogest consensus method, have helped harmonize experimental conditions and facilitate the comparison of studies and data in the field of in vitro static digestion methods.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Simon Maksour, Lezanne Ooi
Summary: Microglia play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) through specific or predominant expression of risk factor genes. Studies on human tissue and animal models have shown that microglia undergo significant morphological and phenotypic changes during AD progression. However, limitations exist due to the representation of a single time point or lack of conservation between species. Recent innovations, such as the use of pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia, transdifferentiation of patient monocytes, and xenotransplantation into mouse brains, have advanced our understanding of microglia in AD. This review outlines the strengths and limitations of these approaches and provides recommendations for future research.
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Yun Wei, Xianxiao Li
Summary: Microglia, immune-competent cells, play a critical role in maintaining normal brain function. In Alzheimer's disease, microglial proliferation and activation occur around amyloid plaques. Recent research has discovered various microglial phenotypes related to aging and Alzheimer's disease, beyond the traditional M1 and M2 types. Redox signaling regulates the acquisition of different microglial activation phenotypes, which are associated with distinct molecular signatures.
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Marzia Campanile, Leonardo Bettinelli, Camilla Cerutti, Gaia Spinetti
Summary: Cardiometabolic diseases and cancer are common and concerning diseases worldwide. The bone marrow plays an important role in both conditions, and human-specific in vitro models are needed to study the molecular mechanisms of cell trafficking.
FRONTIERS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sumin Kim, Youngsook Son
Summary: Microglia and astrocytes were found to communicate and regulate each other's functions in a mixed glial culture, showing potential for polarization and proliferation. The study also demonstrated the impact of inflammatory cytokines and the stroke-mimicking environment on the polarization of microglia and astrocytes, suggesting a complex interplay between these cells in disease conditions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Louise Orcheston-Findlay, Samuel Bax, Robert Utama, Martin Engel, Dinisha Govender, Geraldine O'Neill
Summary: The life expectancy of patients with high-grade glioma (HGG) has not improved, highlighting the need for advanced models for future improvement. Currently, advanced models are crucial for identifying new targets and evaluating treatment modalities. While pediatric HGG (pHGG) models lag behind those of adults, there is hope to bring this to light and improve pGBM models.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Irina Arutyunyan, Enar Jumaniyazova, Andrey Makarov, Timur Fatkhudinov
Summary: Researchers have been trying to create an ideal preclinical model of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) that is accessible, reproducible, and relevant. The development of cellular technologies has allowed for the creation of patient-derived 3D models that accurately replicate the cellular composition, architecture, mutational, or viral load of native tumor tissue. These in vitro models have various applications, including screening potential antitumor agents, studying the tumor microenvironment, determining the prognostic significance of biomarkers, investigating viral infection's impact on the disease, and tailoring treatment strategies for specific patients or groups. Promising results have led to the registration of clinical studies using HNSCC in vitro models.
JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED MEDICINE
(2023)
Review
Immunology
Daphne M. Peelen, Martin J. Hoogduijn, Dennis A. Hesselink, Carla C. Baan
Summary: Endothelial cells play a key role in acute and chronic rejection of solid organ transplants, with significant impact on organ function. Innovative 3D in vitro models have been developed to expand understanding of endothelial cell roles and potentially discover new therapeutic targets.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Nadia Rajab, Paul W. Angel, Yidi Deng, Jennifer Gu, Vanta Jameson, Mariola Kurowska-Stolarska, Simon Milling, Chris M. Pacheco, Matt Rutar, Andrew L. Laslett, Kim-Anh Le Cao, Jarny Choi, Christine A. Wells
Summary: The Stemformatics myeloid atlas provides an integrated transcriptome atlas of human macrophages and dendritic cells, comparing different sources of myeloid cells. The study found that culture significantly impacted primary cell phenotypes, and identified characteristic features in pluripotent stem cell-derived macrophages. The reproducibility of myeloid subsets and phenotypes across experimental series, including single-cell data, demonstrates the robust reference that the atlas provides.
