Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

0 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

Advances and Current Challenges in Intestinal in vitro Model Engineering: A Digest.

ABSTRACT: The physiological environment of the intestine is characterized by its variegated composition, numerous functions and unique dynamic conditions, making it challenging to recreate the organ in vitro. This review outlines the requirements for engineering physiologically relevant intestinal in vitro models, mainly focusing on the importance of the mechano-structural cues that are often neglected in classic cell culture systems. More precisely: the topography, motility and flow present in the intestinal epithelium. After defining quantitative descriptors for these features, we describe the current state of the art, citing relevant approaches used to address one (or more) of the elements in question, pursuing a progressive conceptual construction of an "ideal" biomimetic intestinal model. The review concludes with a critical assessment of the currently available methods to summarize the important features of the intestinal tissue in the light of their different applications.

SUBMITTER: Costa J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6591368 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Publications

Advances and Current Challenges in Intestinal in vitro Model Engineering: A Digest.

Costa Joana J Ahluwalia Arti A

Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology 20190618

The physiological environment of the intestine is characterized by its variegated composition, numerous functions and unique dynamic conditions, making it challenging to recreate the organ in vitro. This review outlines the requirements for engineering physiologically relevant intestinal in vitro models, mainly focusing on the importance of the mechano-structural cues that are often neglected in classic cell culture systems. More precisely: the topography, motility and flow present ...[more]

PMID: 31275931

Similar Datasets

MicroRNA Therapeutics in Cancer: Current Advances and Challenges.

Project description:The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) in 1993 has challenged the dogma of gene expression regulation. MiRNAs affect most of cellular processes from metabolism, through cell proliferation and differentiation, to cell death. In cancer, deregulated miRNA expression leads to tumor development and progression by promoting acquisition of cancer hallmark traits. The multi-target action of miRNAs, which enable regulation of entire signaling networks, makes them attractive tools for the development of anti-cancer therapies. Hence, supplementing downregulated miRNA by synthetic oligonucleotides or silencing overexpressed miRNAs through artificial antagonists became a common strategy in cancer research. However, the ultimate success of miRNA therapeutics will depend on solving pharmacokinetic and targeted delivery issues. The development of a number of nanocarrier-based platforms holds significant promises to enhance the cell specific controlled delivery and safety profile of miRNA-based therapies. In this review, we provide among the most comprehensive assessments to date of promising nanomedicine platforms that have been tested preclinically, pertaining to the treatment of selected solid tumors including lung, liver, breast, and glioblastoma tumors as well as endocrine malignancies. The future challenges and potential applications in clinical oncology are discussed.

| S-EPMC8198729 | biostudies-literature

Challenges and Advances for Genetic Engineering of Non-model Bacteria and Uses in Consolidated Bioprocessing.

Project description:Metabolic diversity in microorganisms can provide the basis for creating novel biochemical products. However, most metabolic engineering projects utilize a handful of established model organisms and thus, a challenge for harnessing the potential of novel microbial functions is the ability to either heterologously express novel genes or directly utilize non-model organisms. Genetic manipulation of non-model microorganisms is still challenging due to organism-specific nuances that hinder universal molecular genetic tools and translatable knowledge of intracellular biochemical pathways and regulatory mechanisms. However, in the past several years, unprecedented progress has been made in synthetic biology, molecular genetics tools development, applications of omics data techniques, and computational tools that can aid in developing non-model hosts in a systematic manner. In this review, we focus on concerns and approaches related to working with non-model microorganisms including developing molecular genetics tools such as shuttle vectors, selectable markers, and expression systems. In addition, we will discuss: (1) current techniques in controlling gene expression (transcriptional/translational level), (2) advances in site-specific genome engineering tools [homologous recombination (HR) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)], and (3) advances in genome-scale metabolic models (GSMMs) in guiding design of non-model species. Application of these principles to metabolic engineering strategies for consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) will be discussed along with some brief comments on foreseeable future prospects.

| S-EPMC5662904 | biostudies-literature

Drugs in development for toxoplasmosis: advances, challenges, and current status.

Project description:Toxoplasma gondii causes fatal and debilitating brain and eye diseases. Medicines that are currently used to treat toxoplasmosis commonly have toxic side effects and require prolonged courses that range from weeks to more than a year. The need for long treatment durations and the risk of relapsing disease are in part due to the lack of efficacy against T. gondii tissue cysts. The challenges for developing a more effective treatment for toxoplasmosis include decreasing toxicity, achieving therapeutic concentrations in the brain and eye, shortening duration, eliminating tissue cysts from the host, safety in pregnancy, and creating a formulation that is inexpensive and practical for use in resource-poor areas of the world. Over the last decade, significant progress has been made in identifying and developing new compounds for the treatment of toxoplasmosis. Unlike clinically used medicines that were repurposed for toxoplasmosis, these compounds have been optimized for efficacy against toxoplasmosis during preclinical development. Medicines with enhanced efficacy as well as features that address the unique aspects of toxoplasmosis have the potential to greatly improve toxoplasmosis therapy. This review discusses the facets of toxoplasmosis that are pertinent to drug design and the advances, challenges, and current status of preclinical drug research for toxoplasmosis.

| S-EPMC5279849 | biostudies-literature

Therapeutic bacteria to combat cancer; current advances, challenges, and opportunities.

Project description:Successful treatment of cancer remains a challenge, due to the unique pathophysiology of solid tumors, and the predictable emergence of resistance. Traditional methods for cancer therapy including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy all have their own limitations. A novel approach is bacteriotherapy, either used alone, or in combination with conventional methods, has shown a positive effect on regression of tumors and inhibition of metastasis. Bacteria-assisted tumor-targeted therapy used as therapeutic/gene/drug delivery vehicles has great promise in the treatment of tumors. The use of bacteria only, or in combination with conventional methods was found to be effective in some experimental models of cancer (tumor regression and increased survival rate). In this article, we reviewed the major advantages, challenges, and prospective directions for combinations of bacteria with conventional methods for tumor therapy.

| S-EPMC6558487 | biostudies-literature

Articular cartilage and osteochondral tissue engineering techniques: Recent advances and challenges.

Project description:In spite of the considerable achievements in the field of regenerative medicine in the past several decades, osteochondral defect regeneration remains a challenging issue among diseases in the musculoskeletal system because of the spatial complexity of osteochondral units in composition, structure and functions. In order to repair the hierarchical tissue involving different layers of articular cartilage, cartilage-bone interface and subchondral bone, traditional clinical treatments including palliative and reparative methods have showed certain improvement in pain relief and defect filling. It is the development of tissue engineering that has provided more promising results in regenerating neo-tissues with comparable compositional, structural and functional characteristics to the native osteochondral tissues. Here in this review, some basic knowledge of the osteochondral units including the anatomical structure and composition, the defect classification and clinical treatments will be first introduced. Then we will highlight the recent progress in osteochondral tissue engineering from perspectives of scaffold design, cell encapsulation and signaling factor incorporation including bioreactor application. Clinical products for osteochondral defect repair will be analyzed and summarized later. Moreover, we will discuss the current obstacles and future directions to regenerate the damaged osteochondral tissues.

| S-EPMC8175243 | biostudies-literature

Manufacturing of Food Packaging Based on Nanocellulose: Current Advances and Challenges.

Project description:Nowadays, environmental pollution due to synthetic polymers represents one of the biggest worldwide challenges. As demonstrated in numerous scientific articles, plant-based nanocellulose (NC) is a biodegradable and nontoxic material whose mechanical, rheological, and gas barrier properties are competitive compared to those of oil-based plastics. However, the sensitivity of NC in humid ambient and lack of thermosealability have proven to be a major obstacle that hinders its breakthrough in various sectors including food packaging. In recent years, attempts have been made in order to provide a hydrophobic character to NC through chemical modifications. In addition, extensive works on nanocellulose applications in food packaging such as coating, layer-by-layer, casting, and electrospinning have been reported. Despite these enormous advances, it can easily be observed that packaging manufacturers have not yet shown a particular interest in terms of applicability and processability of the nanocellulose due to the lack of guidelines and guarantee on the success of their implementation. This review is useful for researchers and packaging manufacturers because it puts emphasis on recent works that have dealt with the nanocellulose applications and focuses on the best strategies to be adopted for swift and sustainable industrial manufacturing scale-up of high-performance bio-based/compostable packaging in replacement of the oil-based counterparts used today.

| S-EPMC7558397 | biostudies-literature

CNS-Targeting Therapies for Lysosomal Storage Diseases: Current Advances and Challenges.

Project description:During the past decades, several therapeutic approaches have been developed and made rapidly available for many patients afflicted with lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs), inborn organelle disorders with broad clinical manifestations secondary to the progressive accumulation of undegraded macromolecules within lysosomes. These conditions are individually rare, but, collectively, their incidence ranges from 1 in 2,315 to 7,700 live-births. Most LSDs are manifested by neurological symptoms or signs, including developmental delay, seizures, acroparesthesia, motor weakness, and extrapyramidal signs. The chronic and later-onset clinical forms are at one end of the continuum spectrum and are characterized by a subtle and slow progression of neurological symptoms. Due to its inherent physiological properties, unfortunately, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) constitutes a significant obstacle for current and upcoming therapies to achieve the central nervous system (CNS) and treat neurological problems so prevalent in these conditions. To circumvent this limitation, several strategies have been developed to make the therapeutic agent achieve the CNS. This narrative will provide an overview of current therapeutic strategies under development to permeate the BBB, and address and unmet need for treatment of the progressive neurological manifestations, which are so prevalent in these inherited lysosomal disorders.

| S-EPMC7693645 | biostudies-literature

Engineering nanoparticles to reprogram radiotherapy and immunotherapy: recent advances and future challenges.

Project description:Nanoparticles (NPs) have been increasingly studied for radiosensitization. The principle of NPs radio-enhancement is to use high-atomic number NPs (e.g. gold, hafnium, bismuth and gadolinium) or deliver radiosensitizing substances, such as cisplatin and selenium. Nowadays, cancer immunotherapy is emerged as a promising treatment and immune checkpoint regulation has a potential property to improve clinical outcomes in cancer immunotherapy. Furthermore, NPs have been served as an ideal platform for immunomodulator system delivery. Owing to enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, modified-NPs increase the targeting and retention of antibodies in target cells. The purpose of this review is to highlight the latest progress of nanotechnology in radiotherapy (RT) and immunotherapy, as well as combining these three strategies in cancer treatment. Overall, nanomedicine as an effective strategy for RT can significantly enhance the outcome of immunotherapy response and might be beneficial for clinical transformation.

| S-EPMC7227304 | biostudies-literature

Targeting Head and Neck Cancer Stem Cells: Current Advances and Future Challenges.

Project description:Cancer stem cells (CSCs), or tumor-initiating cells, comprise a subset of tumor cells with demonstrated ability for tumor growth, invasion, metastasis, and resistance to chemotherapy and radiation. Targeting of CSCs remains an attractive yet elusive therapeutic option, with the goal of increasing specificity and effectiveness in tumor eradication, as well as decreasing off-target or systemic toxicity. Research into further characterization and targeted therapy toward head and neck CSCs is an active and rapidly evolving field. This review discusses the current state of research into therapy against head and neck CSCs and future directions for targeted therapy.

| S-EPMC5469447 | biostudies-literature

High-grade glioma management and response assessment-recent advances and current challenges.

Project description:The management of high-grade gliomas (hggs) is complex and ever-evolving. The standard of care for the treatment of hggs consists of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, treatment options are influenced by multiple factors such as patient age and performance status, extent of tumour resection, biomarker profile, and tumour histology and grade. Follow-up cranial magnetic resonance imaging (mri) to differentiate treatment response from treatment effect can be challenging and affects clinical decision-making. An assortment of advanced radiologic techniques-including perfusion imaging with dynamic susceptibility contrast mri, dynamic contrast-enhanced mri, diffusion-weighted imaging, proton spectroscopy, mri subtraction imaging, and amino acid radiotracer imaging-can now incorporate novel physiologic data, providing new methods to help characterize tumour progression, pseudoprogression, and pseudoresponse. In the present review, we provide an overview of current treatment options for hgg and summarize recent advances and challenges in imaging technology.

| S-EPMC4974045 | biostudies-literature