Browsing by Author "Schenck, Thilo L."

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    Acute stimulation of mesenchymal stem cells with cigarette smoke extract affects their migration, differentiation, and paracrine potential
    (2016) Wahl, Elizabeth A.; Schenck, Thilo L.; Machens, Hans Guenther; Egaña, José T.
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    Development of a Hibernation-Inspired Preservation Strategy to Enhance the Clinical Translation of Photosynthetic Biomaterials
    (2023) Corrales-Orovio, Rocio; Castillo, Valentina; Rozas Rojas, Pablo; Schenck, Thilo L.; Egaña, José Tomas
    Photosynthetic biomaterials have emerged as a promising approach for delivering oxygen and other bioactive molecules in several biomedical applications. This technology is based on the use of standard biomaterials loaded with photosynthetic cells for the controlled release of oxygen at the target site. However, as well as for other cell-based approaches, a main drawback for their clinical translation is the low shelf-life of living materials. Here, the potential of inducing a dormant hibernation-inspired state to preserve photosynthetic biomaterials for clinical applications is explored. First, a protocol to preserve microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is optimized and then applied to photosynthetic scaffolds, showing that the viability and functionality of the biomaterial is preserved for up to 6 weeks. To evaluate the clinical viability of this approach, both fresh and preserved photosynthetic scaffolds are implanted in a full-skin defect mouse model. The safety of this approach is evaluated and confirmed by several means, including clinical parameters, histological assays, and local and systemic molecular analysis. Altogether, for the first time the successful preservation of photosynthetic biomaterials through a hibernation-inspired strategy is described here, which could have a tremendous impact for the clinical translation of these materials as well as other photosynthetic therapies., Photosynthetic biomaterials have garnered attention for local and controlled delivery of oxygen to tissues. A novel hibernation-inspired preservation method is presented, extending the lifespan of photosynthetic scaffolds. The research demonstrates successful preservation for up to 6 weeks without cryopreservation agents, demonstrating in vivo safety and applicability. This advancement significantly enhances the clinical potential of photosynthetic materials and related therapies.image
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    Use of photosynthetic transgenic cyanobacteria to promote lymphangiogenesis in scaffolds for dermal regeneration
    (2021) Chávez, Myra N.; Fuchs, Benedikt; Moellhoff, Nicholas; Hofmann, Daniel; Zhang, Lifang; Selão, Tiago Toscano; Giunta, Riccardo E.; Egaña, José Tomás; Nickelsen, Jörg; Schenck, Thilo L.
    Impaired wound healing represents an unsolved medical need with a high impact on patients´ quality of life and global health care. Even though its causes are diverse, ischemic-hypoxic conditions and exacerbated inflammation are shared pathological features responsible for obstructing tissue restoration. In line with this, it has been suggested that promoting a normoxic pro-regenerative environment and accelerating inflammation resolution, by reinstating the lymphatic fluid transport, could allow the wound healing process to be resumed. Our group was first to demonstrate the functional use of scaffolds seeded with photosynthetic microorganisms to supply tissues with oxygen. Moreover, we previously proposed a photosynthetic gene therapy strategy to create scaffolds that deliver other therapeutic molecules, such as recombinant human growth factors into the wound area. In the present work, we introduce the use of transgenic Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 cyanobacteria (SynHA), which can produce oxygen and lymphangiogenic hyaluronic acid, in photosynthetic biomaterials. We show that the co-culture of lymphatic endothelial cells with SynHA promotes their survival and proliferation under hypoxic conditions. Also, hyaluronic acid secreted by the cyanobacteria enhanced their lymphangiogenic potential as shown by changes to their gene expression profile, the presence of lymphangiogenic protein markers and their capacity to build lymph vessel tubes. Finally, by seeding SynHA into collagen-based dermal regeneration materials, we developed a viable photosynthetic scaffold that promotes lymphangiogenesis in vitro under hypoxic conditions. The results obtained in this study lay the groundwork for future tissue engineering applications using transgenic cyanobacteria that could become a therapeutic alternative for chronic wound treatment. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: In this study, we introduce the use of transgenic Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 (SynHA) cyanobacteria, which were genetically engineered to produce hyaluronic acid, to create lymphangiogenic photosynthetic scaffolds for dermal regeneration. Our results confirmed that SynHA cyanobacteria maintain their photosynthetic capacity under standard human cell culture conditions and efficiently proliferate when seeded inside fibrin-collagen scaffolds. Moreover, we show that SynHA supported the viability of co-cultured lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) under hypoxic conditions by providing them with photosynthetic-derived oxygen, while cyanobacteria-derived hyaluronic acid stimulated the lymphangiogenic capacity of LECs. Since tissue hypoxia and impaired lymphatic drainage are two key factors that directly affect wound healing, our results suggest that lymphangiogenic photosynthetic biomaterials could become a treatment option for chronic wound management.