Sharif Digital Repository

Background: The exact pathogenic mechanism causes hair miniaturization during androgenic alopecia (AGA) has not been delineated. Recent evidence has shown a role for non-coding regulatory RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), in skin and hair disease. There is no reported information about the role of miRNAs in hair epithelial cells of AGA. Objectives: To investigate the roles of miRNAs affecting AGA in normal and patient's epithelial hair cells. Methods: Normal follicular stem and progenitor cells, as well as follicular patient's stem cells, were sorted from hair follicles, and a miRNA q-PCR profiling to compare the expression of 748 miRNA (miRs) in sorted cells were performed. Further, we... 

Chronic, non-healing wounds place a significant burden on patients and healthcare systems, resulting in impaired mobility, limb amputation, or even death. Chronic wounds result from a disruption in the highly orchestrated cascade of events involved in wound closure. Significant advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic wounds have resulted in the development of drugs designed to target different aspects of the impaired processes. However, the hostility of the wound environment rich in degradative enzymes and its elevated pH, combined with differences in the time scales of different physiological processes involved in tissue regeneration require the use of effective drug... 

Herein, a hybrid hydrogel/microsphere system is introduced for accelerated wound healing by sustained release of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The hydrogel is composed of a mixture of PVA, gelatin and chitosan. The double-emulsion-solvent-evaporation method was utilized to obtain microspheres composed of PCL, as the organic phase, and PVA, as the aqueous phase. Subsequently, various in-vitro and in-vivo assays were performed to characterize the system. BSA was used to optimize the release mechanism, and encapsulation efficiency in microspheres, where a combination of 3% (w/v) PCL and 1% (w/v) PVA was found to be the optimum microsphere sample. Incorporation of microspheres within... 

According to the latest report from the World Health Organization, an estimated 265,000 deaths still occur every year as a direct result of burn injuries. A widespread range of these deaths induced by burn wound happens in low- and middle-income countries, where survivors face a lifetime of morbidity. Most of the deaths occur due to infections when a high percentage of the external regions of the body area is affected. Microbial nutrient availability, skin barrier disruption, and vascular supply destruction in burn injuries as well as systemic immunosuppression are important parameters that cause burns to be susceptible to infections. Topical antimicrobials and dressings are generally... 

To enhance physicomechanical properties and bioactivity of fibrous membranes for wound dressing and tissue engineering applications, novel composite scaffolds consisting of fibrous mats and thermosensitive hydrogel particles were prepared by concurrent electrospinning and electrospraying technique. The composite scaffolds were composed of keratin/bacterial cellulose fibers (150 ± 43 nm) which are hybridized with hydrogel particles (500 nm to 2 μm) based on nonionic triblock copolymers conjugated with Tragacanth gum (TG). FTIR and H-NMR studies indicated ester reactions between carboxylated copolymers and TG through carbodiimide crosslinker chemistry. The hydrogel particles were uniformly... 

In the current study, two series of antimicrobial dressings conjugated with silver sulfadiazine (SSD) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were developed and evaluated for chronic wound healing. Highly porous polycaprolactone (PCL)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers were loaded with different concentrations of SSD or AgNPs and compared comprehensively in vitro and in vivo. SSD and AgNPs indicated a strong and equal antimicrobial activity against S. aureus. However, SSD had more toxicity against fibroblast cells over one week in vitro culture. An in vivo model of wound healing on male Wistar rats was developed with a full thickness wound. All the wound dressings indicated enough flexibility and... 

As a novel, recyclable nanocatalyst, (Fe3O4)-GOTfOH based Ag nanoparticles doped Starch/PEG-poly (acrylic acid) nanocomposite (Fe3O4@GOTfOH/Ag/St-PEG-AcA) was applied for one-pot synthesis of 2,4,6-triarylpyridine derivatives under water solvent conditions. The prepared nanocomposite was also evaluated in terms of biocompatibility for wound healing. Fe3O4@GOTfOH/Ag/St-PEG-AcA could be easily removed from the mixture of the reaction by an external magnet and recycled without a considerable decrease of activity even after 10 runs. The new nanocatalyst offered better efficiencies than other commercially available sulfonic acid catalysts. In terms of the bioactivity of nanocatalyst, good... 

In this study, physically cross-linked hydrogels were developed by freezing-thawing method while different concentrations of honey were included into the hydrogels for accelerated wound healing. The hydrogel was composed of chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and gelatin with the ratio of 2:1:1 (v/v), respectively. Further, the effect of honey concentrations on antibacterial properties, and cell behavior was investigated. In vivo studies, including wound healing mechanism using rat model and histological analysis of section tissue samples were performed. The results illustrated that the incorporation of honey in hydrogels increased the ultimate strain of hydrogels approximately two times,... 

Unique physiochemical and biological properties of nanofibers along with the choice of a wide variety of materials for both fabrication and tunable release patterns make nanofibers an ideal option for drug delivery. Loading antibacterial agents into nanofibers has attracted great deal of attention. Whilst there are several studies focusing on applying new generations of antibacterial materials, antibiotics are still the gold standard in clinical applications. Therefore, we aimed at introducing antibiotic-loaded nanofiber substrates with potential for topical skin delivery applications, reduced consumption of antibiotics and increased storage time. We applied Amoxicillin (AMX) as a model drug... 

In this paper, novel zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) functionalized with Ag (Ag@ZIF-8) nanoparticles were synthesized through a green, facile and environmental-friendly process for wound dressing applications. X-ray diffraction revealed that the ZIF-8 and Ag@ZIF-8 were successfully synthesized by green solvents at ambient temperature. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy indicated a homogeneous porous blend of ∼30 nm chitosan/bacterial cellulose (CS/BC) nanofibers embedded with ∼80–110 nm nanoparticles of the ZIF-8 and Ag@ZIF-8. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the Ag@ZIF-8 nanostructures consist of ZIF-8 cores that are covered by 5–20 nm Ag nanoparticles. MTT assay... 

Fabrication of scaffolds with enhanced mechanical properties and desirable cellular compatibility is critical for numerous tissue engineering applications. This study was aimed at fabrication and characterization of a nanofiber skin substitute composed of collagen (Col)/sodium alginate (SA)/ polyethylene oxide (PEO)/Rhodotorula mucilaginosa sp. GUMS16 produced exopolysaccharides (EPS) were prepared using the biaxial electrospinning technique. This study used collagen extracted from the bovine tendon as a natural scaffold, sodium alginate as an absorber of excess wound fluids, and GUMS16 produced exopolysaccharides as an antioxidant. Collagen was characterized using FTIR and EDS analyses. The... 

Bacterial infection is one of the biggest challenges in wound healing and imposes enormous burden on patient and medical system. Moreover, multidrug resistant microorganisms (MDR) limit the usage of therapeutic agents including antibiotics for wound treatment. Hydrogels are three-dimensional networks that have emerged as efficient scaffolds for the treatment of infected wounds. In addition to their intrinsic antibacterial activities, hydrogels are able to load and release therapeutic agents to keep the efficient dose during wound healing process. At the same lines, incorporation of metal nanoparticles (NPs) into hydrogels boosts their antibacterial activity. Moreover, photothermal agents... 

Simvastatin, a well-known antihyperlipidemic drug, has antibacterial activity against a broad range of bacteria, especially Staphylococcus aureus. In present study, a nanoemulsion gel-based formulation containing Simvastatin was developed for infected wound therapy. Therefore, different formulations of Simvastatin nanoemulsion were prepared. Based on droplet size, polydispersity index and zeta potential, the best nanoemulsion formulation containing Simvastatin was selected for development of nanoemulsion gel formulation of drug using carbomer 934 as gelling agent. Thermodynamic stability of Simvastatin nanoemulsion was assessed at different conditions. The in vitro antibacterial activity... 

Scar tissue size following myocardial infarction is an independent predictor of cardiovascular outcomes, yet little is known about factors regulating scar size. We demonstrate that collagen V, a minor constituent of heart scars, regulates the size of heart scars after ischemic injury. Depletion of collagen V led to a paradoxical increase in post-infarction scar size with worsening of heart function. A systems genetics approach across 100 in-bred strains of mice demonstrated that collagen V is a critical driver of postinjury heart function. We show that collagen V deficiency alters the mechanical properties of scar tissue, and altered reciprocal feedback between matrix and cells induces... 

Background: Melittin, a peptide component of honey bee venom, is an appealing candidate for cancer therapy. In the current study, melittin, melittin-loaded niosome, and empty niosome had been optimized and the anticancer effect assessed in vitro on 4T1 and SKBR3 breast cell lines and in vivo on BALB/C inbred mice. "Thin-layer hydration method" was used for preparing the niosomes; different niosomal formulations of melittin were prepared and characterized in terms of morphology, size, polydispersity index, encapsulation efficiency, release kinetics, and stability. A niosome was formulated and loaded with melittin as a promising drug carrier system for chemotherapy of the breast cancer cells.... 

Bioinspired materials can mimic the stem cell environment and modulate stem cell differentiation and proliferation. In this study, biomimetic micro/nanoenvironments were fabricated by cell-imprinted substrates based on mature human keratinocyte morphological templates. The data obtained from atomic force microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that the keratinocyte-cell-imprinted poly(dimethylsiloxane) casting procedure could imitate the surface morphology of the plasma membrane, ranging from the nanoscale to the macroscale, which may provide the required topographical cell fingerprints to induce differentiation. Gene expression levels of the genes analyzed... 

Though wound healing process is well-researched, this area is poorly known. One reason is that all interactions have not been discovered, the main reason, though, is that the involved processes interact in a very complicated manner with nonlinear feedback. Such complex feedback mechanisms can be easily addressed by mathematical modeling. This paper contains a review of the mathematical modeling of cell interaction with extracellular matrix components during the process of dermal wound healing with focusing on remodeling phase. The models are of partial differential equation type and solved by numerical method  

Though wound healing process is well-researched, this area is poorly known. One reason is that all interactions have not been discovered, the main reason, though, is that the involved processes interact in a very complicated manner with nonlinear feedback. Such complex feedback mechanisms can be easily addressed by mathematical modeling. This paper contains a review of the mathematical modeling of cell interaction with extracellular matrix components during the process of dermal wound healing with focusing on remodeling phase. The models are of partial differential equation type and solved by finite element method  

Wound healing is a complex biological process dependent on multiple variables: tissue oxygenation, wound size, contamination, etc. Many of these factors depend on multiple factors themselves. Mechanisms for some interactions between these factors are still unknown but it is generally accepted that collagen synthesis, accumulation and organization are increased by mechanical stimuli, resulting in a forced healing process which improves mechanical properties of the damaged tissue. In this paper we focus on the neural networks and regard them as function approximators, and attempt to simulate remodeling phase of dermal wound healing process using neural networks as an intelligent technique  

Wound healing is a complex biological process dependent on multiple variables: tissue oxygenation, wound size, contamination, etc. Many of these factors depend on multiple factors themselves. Mechanisms for some interactions between these factors are still unknown, presenting a barrier for scientists intending to model wound healing using an object-based programming approach. In this paper we focus on the neural networks and regard them as function approximators, and attempt to simulate remodeling phase of dermal wound healing process using neural networks as an intelligence technique. © 2009 IEEE