Ricerc@Sapienza

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are currently being tested in preclinical and clinical trials for their ability to foster wound healing and tissue regeneration [1]. They are well known to show a therapeutic potential largely depending on their ability to secrete proregenerative cytokines, making these cells an attractive option for improving the treatment of chronic wounds.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are found in high concentrations in several tissues, such as umbilical cord, adipose tissue and dental tissue. Dental stem cells reside in many areas of the oral cavity. Thanks to their abilities, dental stem cells could be used to treat diseases and to understand the basic mechanisms of developmental pathologies. There are currently numerous ongoing clinical trials evaluating a broad spectrum of conditions and situations using different stem cell populations.

Purpose of Review: Cardiac regenerative medicine is a field bridging together biotechnology and surgical science. In this review, we present the explored surgical roads to cell delivery and the known effects of each delivery method on cell therapy efficiency. We also list the more recent clinical trials, exploring the safety and efficacy of delivery routes used for cardiac cell therapy approaches. Recent Findings: There is no consensus in defining which way is the most suitable for the delivery of the different therapeutic cell types to the damaged heart tissue.

Research focus: Skin injuries are evolving as an epidemic issue. Chronic skin lesion is a globally widespread disease, often referred to as a “wound difficult to heal” and one which has a strong impact on both overall health and quality of life. Genetic and clinical variables, such as diabetes, smoking and inflammatory/immunological pathologies, are among the important risk factors limiting the regenerative powers of many therapeutic applications. Therefore, optimisation of current clinical strategies is critical.

Research focus: Skin injuries are evolving as an epidemic issue. Chronic skin lesion is a globally widespread disease, often referred to as a “wound difficult to heal" and one which has a strong impact on both overall health and quality of life. Genetic and clinical variables, such as diabetes, smoking, and inflammatory/immunological pathologies, are among the important risk factors limiting the regenerative powers of many therapeutic applications. Therefore, optimisation of current clinical strategies is critical.

During foetal life, the liver plays the important roles of connection and transient hematopoietic function. Foetal liver cells develop in an environment called a hematopoietic stem cell niche composed of several cell types, where stem cells can proliferate and give rise to mature blood cells. Embryologically, at about the third week of gestation, the liver appears, and it grows rapidly from the fifth to 10th week under WNT/beta-Catenin signaling pathway stimulation, which induces hepatic progenitor cells proliferation and differentiation into hepatocytes.

The pressure towards innovation and creation of new model systems in regenerative medicine and cancer research has fostered the development of novel potential therapeutic applications. Kidney injuries provoke a high request of organ transplants making it the most demanding system in the field of regenerative medicine. Furthermore, renal cancer frequently threaten patients’ life and aggressive forms still remain difficult to treat.

Over time, an understanding of the molecular mechanisms of replication and differentiation of stem cells has enabled the development of various protocols and techniques to be applied with a regenerative scope, as discussed in previous chapters. Here, we will discuss the recent progress of regenerative medicine in chemical reprogramming and transdifferentiation based on the use of epi-drugs. The main epigenetic mechanisms regulating gene expression include DNA methylation and histone tails modifications.