10 documents found, page 1 of 1
Delivery of Antisense Oligonucleotides Mediated by a Hydrogel System: In Vitro ...
Moreno, PMD; Rodrigues, T; Torrado, M; Amaral, IF; Pêgo, APBiomaterials-based hydrogels are attractive drug-eluting vehicles in the context of RNA therapeutics, such as those utilizing antisense oligonucleotide or RNA interference based drugs, as they can potentially reduce systemic toxicity and enhance in vivo efficacy by increasing in situ concentrations. Here we describe the preparation of antisense oligonucleotide-loaded fibrin hydrogels exploring their application...
Engineering Hydrogels with Affinity-Bound Laminin as 3D Neural Stem Cell Cultur...
Barros, D; Conde-Sousa, E; Gonçalves, AM; Han, WM; García, AJ; Amaral, IF; Pêgo, APLaminin incorporation into biological or synthetic hydrogels has been explored to recapitulate the dynamic nature and biological complexity of neural stem cell (NSC) niches. However, the strategies currently explored for laminin immobilization within three-dimensional (3D) matrices do not address a critical aspect influencing cell-matrix interactions, which is the control over laminin conformation and orientati...
An affinity-based approach to engineer laminin-presenting cell instructive micr...
Barros, D; Parreira, P; Furtado, J; Ferreira-da-Silva, F; Conde-Sousa, E; García, A; Martins, MCL; Amaral, IF; Pêgo, APLaminin immobilization into diverse biological and synthetic matrices has been explored to replicate the microenvironment of stem cell niches and gain insight into the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) on stem cell behavior. However, the site-specific immobilization of this heterotrimeric glycoprotein and, consequently, control over its orientation and bioactivity has been a challenge that has limited many of ...
Laminin-Inspired Cell-Instructive Microenvironments for Neural Stem Cells
Barros, D; Amaral, IF; Pêgo, APLaminin is a heterotrimeric glycoprotein with a key role in the formation and maintenance of the basement membrane architecture and properties, as well as on the modulation of several biological functions, including cell adhesion, migration, differentiation and matrix-mediated signaling. In the central nervous system (CNS), laminin is differentially expressed during development and homeostasis, with an impact o...
Synthetic matrix enhances transplanted satellite cell engraftment in dystrophic...
Han, W; Anderson, S; Mohiuddin, M; Barros, D; Nakhai, S; Shin, E; Amaral, IF; Pêgo, AP; García, A; Jang, YMuscle satellite cells (MuSCs) play a central role in muscle regeneration, but their quantity and function decline with comorbidity of trauma, aging, and muscle diseases. Although transplantation of MuSCs in traumatically injured muscle in the comorbid context of aging or pathology is a strategy to boost muscle regeneration, an effective cell delivery strategy in these contexts has not been developed. We engine...
Hydrogel-Assisted Antisense LNA Gapmer Delivery for In Situ Gene Silencing in S...
Moreno, PM; Ferreira, AR; Salvador, D; Rodrigues, MT; Torrado, M; Carvalho, ED; Tedebark, U; Sousa, MM; Amaral, IF; Wengel, J; Pêgo, APAfter spinal cord injury (SCI), nerve regeneration is severely hampered due to the establishment of a highly inhibitory microenvironment at the injury site, through the contribution of multiple factors. The potential of antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) to modify gene expression at different levels, allowing the regulation of cell survival and cell function, together with the availability of chemically modified...
Fibrin functionalization with synthetic adhesive ligands interacting with a6ß1 ...
Silva, J; Bento, AR; Barros, D; Laundos, TL; Sousa, SR; Quelhas, P; Sousa, MM; Pêgo, AP; Amaral, IFTo enhance fibrin hydrogel affinity towards pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) and its capacity to support NSPC migration and neurite extension, we explored the tethering of synthetic peptides engaging integrin a6ß1, a cell receptor enriched in NSPCs. Six a6ß1 integrin ligands were tested for their ability to support integrin a6ß1-mediated adhesion of embryonic stem cell-derived ...
Three-dimensional culture of single embryonic stem-derived neural/stem progenit...
Bento, AR; Quelhas, P; Oliveira, MJ; Pêgo, AP; Amaral, IFIn an attempt to improve the efficacy of neural stem/progenitor cell (NSPC) based therapies, fibrin hydrogels are being explored to provide a favourable microenvironment for cell survival and differentiation following transplantation. In the present work, the ability of fibrin to support the survival, proliferation, and neuronal differentiation of NSPCs derived from embryonic stem (ES) cells under monolayer cul...
Rotary orbital suspension culture of embryonic stem cell-derived neural stem/pr...
Laundos, TL; Silva, J; Assunção, M; Quelhas, P; Monteiro, C; Oliveira, C; Oliveira, MJ; Pêgo, AP; Amaral, IFEmbryonic stem (ES)-derived neural stem/progenitor cells (ES-NSPCs) constitute a promising cell source for application in cell therapies for the treatment of central nervous system disorders. In this study, a rotary orbital hydrodynamic culture system was applied to single-cell suspensions of ES-NSPCs, to obtain homogeneously-sized ES-NSPC cellular aggregates (neurospheres). Hydrodynamic culture allowed the for...
Biomimetic synthetic self-assembled hydrogels for cell transplantation
Barros, D; Amaral, IF; Pêgo, APThe development of three-dimensional matrices capable of recapitulating the main features of native extracellular matrix and contribute for the establishment of a favorable microenvironment for cell behavior and fate is expected to circumvent some of the main limitations of cell-based therapies. In this context, self-assembly has emerged as a promising strategy to engineer cell-compatible hydrogels. A wide numb...