Hyaluronan (HA) is a natural polysaccharide abundant in biological tissues and it can be modified to prepare biomaterials. In this work, HA modified with glycidyl methacrylate was photocrosslinked to form the first network (PHA), and then a series of highly porous PHA/N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DAAm) hydrogels (PHA/DAAm) with high mechanical strength were obtained by incorporating a second network of photocrosslinked DAAm into PHA network. Due to the synergistic effect produced by double network (DN) structure, despite containing 90% of water, the resulting PHA/DAAm hydrogel showed a compressive modulus and a fracture stress over 0.5 MPa and 5.2 MPa, respectively. Compared to the photocrosslinked hyaluronan single network hydrogel, which is generally very brittle and fractures easily, the PHA/DAAm hydrogels are ductile. Mouse dermal fibroblast was used as a model cell line to validate in vitro non-cytotoxicity of the PHA/DAAm hydrogels. Cells deposited extracellular matrix on the surface of these hydrogels and this was confirmed by positive staining of Type I collagen by Sirius Red. The PHA/DAAm hydrogels were also resistant to biodegradation and largely retained their excellent mechanical properties even after 2 months of co-culturing with fibroblasts.

Cell elongation is a developmental process that is regulated by light and phytohormones and is of critical importance for plant growth. Mutants defective in their response to light and various hormones are often dwarfs. The dwarfed phenotype results because of a failure in normal cell elongation. Little is known, however, about the basis of dwarfism as a common element in these diverse signaling pathways and the nature of the cellular functions responsible for cell elongation. Here, we describe an Arabidopsis mutant, dwarf4 (dwf4), whose phenotype can be rescued with exogenously supplied brassinolide. dwf4 mutants display features of light-regulatory mutants, but the dwarfed phenotype is entirely and specifically brassinosteroid dependent; no other hormone can rescue dwf4 to a wild-type phenotype. Therefore, an intact brassinosteroid system is an absolute requirement for cell elongation.

In this study, we investigated the role of Trypanosoma cruzi invasion and inflammatory processes in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in mouse atrial cardiomyocyte line (HL-1) and primary adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. Cardiomyocytes were incubated with T. cruzi (Tc) trypomastigotes, Tc lysate (TcTL) or Tc secreted proteins (TcSP) for 0-72 h, and ROS measured by amplex red assay. Cardiomyocytes infected by T. cruzi (but not those incubated with TcTL or TcSP) exhibited a linear increase in ROS production during 2-48 h post-infection (max.18-fold increase) which was further enhanced by recombinant cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α and IFN-γ). We observed no increase in NADPH oxidase, xanthine oxidase, and myeloperoxidase activities, and specific inhibitor of these enzymes did not block the increased rate of ROS production in infected cardiomyocytes. Instead, the mitochondrial membrane potential was perturbed, and resulted in inefficient electron transport chain (ETC) activity, and enhanced electron leakage and ROS formation in infected cardiomyocytes. HL-1 rho (ρ) cardiomyocytes lacked a functional ETC, and exhibited no increase in ROS formation in response to T. cruzi. Together, these results demonstrate that invasion by T. cruzi and inflammatory milieu affect mitochondrial integrity and contribute to electron transport chain inefficiency and ROS production in cardiomyocytes.

Using a perfusion decellularization protocol, we developed a decellularized skin/adipose tissue flap (DSAF) comprising extracellular matrix (ECM) and intact vasculature. Our DSAF had a dominant vascular pedicle, microcirculatory vascularity, and a sensory nerve network and retained three-dimensional (3D) nanofibrous structures well. DSAF, which was composed of collagen and laminin with well-preserved growth factors (e.g., vascular endothelial growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor), was successfully repopulated with human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), which integrated with DSAF and formed 3D aggregates and vessel-like structures in vitro. We used microsurgery techniques to re-anastomose the recellularized DSAF into nude rats. In vivo, the engineered flap construct underwent neovascularization and constructive remodeling, which was characterized by the predominant infiltration of M2 macrophages and significant adipose tissue formation at 3 months postoperatively. Our results indicate that DSAF co-cultured with hASCs and HUVECs is a promising platform for vascularized soft tissue flap engineering. This platform is not limited by the flap size, as the entire construct can be immediately perfused by the recellularized vascular network following simple re-integration into the host using conventional microsurgical techniques.