Disruption of apical-basal polarity of human embryonic stem cells enhances hematoendothelial differentiation
Abstract During murine development, the formation of tight junctions and acquisition of polarity are associated with allocation of the blastomeres on the outer surface of the embryo to the trophoblast lineage, whereas the absence of polarization directs cells to the inner cell mass. Here, we report the results of ultrastructural analyses that suggest a similar link between polarization and cell fate in human embryos. In contrast, the five human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines displayed apical-basal, epithelial-type polarity with electron-dense tight junctions, apical microvilli, and asymmetric distribution of organelles. Consistent with these findings, molecules that are components of tigh…
A Xenogeneic-Free Protocol for Isolation and Expansion of Human Adipose Stem Cells for Clinical Uses
Human adipose stem cells (hASCs) play a crucial role in the fields of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering for different reasons: the abundance of adipose tissue, their easy harvesting, the ability to multipotent differentiation and the fact that they do not trigger allogeneic blood response or secrete cytokines that act as immunosuppressants. The vast majority of protocols use animal origin reagents, with the underlying risk of transmitting infections by non-human pathogens. We have designed a protocol to isolate and maintain the properties of hASCs avoiding xenogeneic reagents. These changes not only preserve hASCs morphology, but also increase cell proliferation and maintain thei…
Heart valve tissue engineering: how far is the bedside from the bench?
Heart disease, including valve pathologies, is the leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the progress made thanks to improving transplantation techniques, a perfect valve substitute has not yet been developed: once a diseased valve is replaced with current technologies, the newly implanted valve still needs to be changed some time in the future. This situation is particularly dramatic in the case of children and young adults, because of the necessity of valve growth during the patient's life. Our review focuses on the current status of heart valve (HV) therapy and the challenges that must be solved in the development of new approaches based on tissue engineering. Scientists and physicia…
Ultrastructure of preimplantation genetic diagnosis-derived human blastocysts grown in a coculture system after vitrification
Objective To evaluate ultrastructural features of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) blastocysts before and after vitrification. Design Descriptive study of both vitrified and fresh hatching blastocysts. Setting PGD program at the Instituto Universitario, Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad. Patient(s) Patients undergoing PGD donated their abnormal embryos for research (n = 26). Intervention(s) Biopsied embryos were cultured in the presence of human endometrial cells until day 6. Sixteen blastocysts were vitrified. A total of 11 high-scored hatching blastocysts, 6 warmed and 5 fresh, were fixed for ultrastructure. Main Outcome Measure(s) The cytoskeleton structure, type of intercellul…