Pressure ulcers (PUs) have no cure and are of significant health and economic concern worldwide, owing to the increasing population of elderly individuals at high risk for PU and who have impaired tissue repair. Macrophages play a pivotal role in PU development and healing. Imbalances between M1 (inflammatory) and M2 (anti-inflammatory/reparative) macrophages result in delayed resolution of inflammation and wound healing. We hypothesized that M1-to-M2 macrophage polarization mediated by artificial apoptotic cell mimics, phosphatidylserine-containing liposomes (PSLs), would protect against PU formation and accelerate PU healing in young (2-month-old) and middle-aged (12-month-old) mice. We used a clinically relevant murine model of ischemia-reperfusion-induced PU. Middle-aged mice displayed the delayed wound healing associated with increased inflammation, decreased collagen deposition, reduced angiogenesis, and delayed wound closure relative to their younger counterparts. PSL treatment significantly inhibited PU formation and promoted tissue remodeling in both age groups. These effects were mediated by increased M1-to-M2 macrophage polarization, induced by the PSLs. Thus, this study suggests, for the first time, that PSL-induced M2-like macrophage polarization is a promising strategy to protect against PU formation and promote PU repair in human patients of all ages.Living therapeutics approaches that exploit mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as nanomedicine carriers are highly attractive due to MSCs native tropism toward the 3D tumor microenvironment. However, a streamlined pre-clinical evaluation of nano-in-cell anti-cancer therapies remains limited by the lack of in vitro testing platforms for screening MSCs-3D microtumor interactions. Herein we generated dense breast cancer mono and heterotypic 3D micro-spheroids for evaluating MSCs-solid tumors interactions and screen advanced nano-in-MSCs therapies. Breast cancer monotypic and heterotypic models comprising cancer cells and cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) were self-assembled under controlled conditions using the liquid overlay technique.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/BIBF1120.html  The resulting microtumors exhibited high compactness, reproducible morphology and necrotic regions, similarly to native solid tumors. For evaluating tumoritropic therapies in organotypic tumor-stroma 3D models, theranostic polydopamine nanoparticles loaded with indocyanine green-doxorubicin combinations (PDA-ICG-DOX) were synthesized and administered to human bone-marrow derived MSCs (hBM-MSCs). The dual-loaded PDA nano-platforms were efficiently internalized, exhibited highly efficient NIR-light responsivity and assured MSCs viability up to 3 days. The administration of PDA-ICG-DOX nano-in-MSC tumoritropic units to microtumor models was performed in ultra-low adhesion surfaces for simulating in vitro the stem cell-tumor interactions observed in the in vivo scenario. Bioimaging analysis revealed hBM-MSCs adhesion to 3D cancer cells mass and MSCs-chemo-photothermal nanotherapeutics exhibited higher anti-tumor potential when compared to their standalone chemotherapy treated 3D tumor counterparts. Overall, the proposed methodology is suitable for evaluating MSCs-microtumors individualized interactions and enables a rapid high-throughput screening of tumoritropic therapies bioperformance.We examine different approaches for the controlled release of L-lactate, which is a signaling molecule that participates in tissue remodeling and regeneration, such as cardiac and muscle tissue. Robust, flexible, and self-supported 3-layers films made of two spin-coated poly(lactic acid) (PLA) layers separated by an electropolymerized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) layer, are used as loading and delivery systems. Films with outer layers prepared using homochiral PLA and with nanoperforations of diameter 146 ± 70 experience more bulk erosion, which also contributes to the release of L-lactic acid, than those obtained using heterochiral PLA and with nanoperforations of diameter 66 ± 24. Moreover, the release of L-lactic acid as degradation product is accelerated by applying biphasic electrical pulses. The four approaches used for loading extra L-lactate in the 3-layered films were incorporation of L-lactate at the intermediate PEDOT layer as primary dopant agent using (1) organic or (2) basic water solutions as reaction media; (3) substitution at the PEDOT layer of the ClO4- dopant by L-lactate using de-doping and re-doping processes; and (4) loading of L-lactate at the outer PLA layers during the spin-coating process. Electrical stimuli were applied considering biphasic voltage pulses and constant voltages (both negative and positive). Results indicate that the approach used to load the L-lactate has a very significant influence in the release regulation process, affecting the concentration of released L-lactate up to two orders of magnitude. Among the tested approaches, the one based on the utilization of the outer layers for loading, approach (4), can be proposed for situations requiring prolonged and sustained L-lactate release over time. The biocompatibility and suitability of the engineered films for cardiac tissue engineering has also been confirmed using cardiac cells.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are used extensively in developing tissue engineered constructs for bone and cartilage regeneration. An important factor in designing such constructs is that the MSCs are appropriately primed to differentiate along osteogenic or chondrogenic lineage. In contrast to a top-down method of tissue engineering where the differentiation of cells is guided by the scaffold and signals, a bottom-up method involves direct modulation of stem cell behavior without relying on the environmental cues. In this review, we discuss several bottom-up strategies that have emerged in engineering MSC behavior for bone and cartilage tissue engineering, including gene delivery, gene editing, and subpopulation isolation.The Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NFκB) pathway is an important signalling pathway in the immune system. Single gene defects in the NFκB pathway are described in a number of immunodeficiency diseases. These conditions provide a unique opportunity to investigate the mechanisms of NFκB function and how genetic mutations that disrupt this function lead to human disease. Here we describe a robust method for quantifying small differences in the functional activity of the NFκB pathway. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors were stimulated over several days, with a combination of anti-IgM antibody and multimeric CD40 ligand. Nuclear proteins were thereafter extracted and tested for the ability of activated transcription factors, to bind known NFκB DNA binding motifs. Repeatability experiments showed that the DNA binding Activity can be quantified with an average inter and intra assay coefficient of variation of less than 10% (RelB and p52) and less than 15% (p50 and RelA). In healthy individuals there is a significant increase in the DNA binding activity of NFκB transcription factors in response to stimulation, although the magnitude of this response varies across individuals.