Category Archives: Research Highlights

Tracking Down the Culprit Responsible For AML

Institutions:Jilin University, China Team:Liu, M., Yu, B., Tian, Y., and Li, F. Disease Model:Acute Myeloid Leukemia Hydrogel:VitroGel® RGD A combination of a gene expression network analysis and in vitro assays implicates regulation and modification of a particular enzyme, WTAP, as a source of tumorigenesis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). One of the several forms of […]

COPD-Linked Extracellular Vesicles Transfer HIF-1α, Fueling Lung Cancer

Institutions:Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano, Italy Team:Petraroia, I., Ghidotti, P., Bertolini, G., Pontis, F., Roz, L., Balsamo, M., Suatoni, P., Pastorino, U., Ferretti, A.M., Sozzi, G., & Fortunato, O. Disease Model:Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Hydrogel:VitroGel® 3D   A definitive link between COPD and lung cancer was identified by determining that extracellular vesicles […]

Utilizing Ultrasound Waves with Embedded Mesenchymal Stromal Cell in VitroGel® for Cartilage Regeneration

Institutions:The BioRobotics Institute and Department of Excellence in Robotics & AI, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy; and several other European institutions Team:Ricotti, L., Cafarelli, A., Manferdini, C., et al. & Lisignoli, G. Disease Model:Bone Tissue Regeneration Hydrogel:VitroGel® RGD In vitro assays with cells embedded in VitroGel RGD demonstrate that ultrasound waves can be used to […]

Cyto3D® Live-Dead Assay Kit Aids in Identifying MiRNAs as Promising Biomarkers for Glioma Prognosis

Institutions: Translational Oncology Research Unit, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy.; and several other Italian institutions Team: Méndez, A.B.D., Sacconi, A., Tremante, E., et al. & Rizzo, M.G. Disease Model: Brain Cancer Hydrogel: Cyto3D® Live-Dead Assay Kit Three micro RNA species have been identified that are correlated with poor outcomes in glioma patients. […]

The Good Side of Bad Cholesterol

Spheroid co-culture experimental scheme.

Institutions:University Hospital Regensburg, Germany Team:Babl, N., Hofbauer, J., Matos, C., Voll, F., Menevse, A.N., Rechenmacher, M., Mair, R., Beckhove, P., Herr, W., Siska, P.J., Renner, K., Kreutz, M., & Schnell, A. Disease Model:Colorectal Cancer Hydrogel:Cyto3D® Live-Dead Assay Kit Cholesterol, in the form of LDL, demonstrates an intriguing ability to stimulate the immunotherapeutic potential of T-cells […]

A One-Two-Three Punch Against Breast Cancer

In vivo delivery and efficacy of ComBiNE in a BRCA-mutant breast cancer model.

Institutions:Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Team:Beha, M.J., Kim, J.-C., Im, S.H., Kim, Y., Yang, S., Lee, J., Nam, Y.R., Lee, H., Park, H.-S., & Chung, H.J. Disease Model:Breast Cancer Hydrogel:VitroGel® Hydrogel Matrix Anticancer drugs were combined with CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing complex in a powerful nanoparticle structure that shows promise in targeting tumor cells […]

Long-Lived Lab Grown Cells for Diabetes Treatment

3D-hydrogel long-term cultured human islets showed maintenance of mass, viability, and function.

Institutions:City of Hope National Medical Center, CA Team:Omori, K., Qi, M., Salgado, M., et al., and Kandeel, F. Disease Model:Diabetes & Kidney Transplantation Hydrogel:VitroGel® 3D Human islet beta cells can be grown in 3D cell culture for up to eight weeks, rather than the three days they would survive in standard 2D culture. These cells […]

Bringing a Small Intestine Model into the Laboratory

Vitrogel increased cell proliferation by a factor of 1.70 compared to a cell control.

Institutions:University of Graz, Austria Team:Zeiringer, S., Wiltschko, L., Glader, C., Reiser, M., Absenger-Novak, M., Frölich, E., & Roblegg, E. Disease Model:Intestinal Absorption Hydrogel:VitroGel® Hydrogel Matrix Three hydrogels were tested as possible extracellular matrix mimics to establish a viable model of the human small intestine in the lab. The extracellular matrix, or ECM, is a network […]

Bulking up Stem Cells to Get into the Healing Game

MSC expansion in vertical-wheel bioreactors utilizing a fed-batch process while utilizing VitroGel

Institutions:Rutgers University Team:Teryek, M., Jadhav, P., Bento, R., and Parekkadan, B. Disease Model:Liver & Kidney Failure Hydrogel:VitroGel® MSC Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be grown up to scale and genetically tuned for therapeutic deployment using a combination of a xeno-free hydrogel system and a vertical wheel bioreactor. In recent years we have been able to […]

Finding Living Needles in a 3D Haystack

Experimental setup for optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging with cells encapsulated in VitroGel 3D

Institutions:National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), Maryland, USA Team:Babakhanova, G., Agrawal, A., Arora, D., Horenberg, A., Budhathoki, J.B., Dunkers, J.P., Chalfoun, J., Bajcsy, P., & Simon Jr., C.G. Disease Model:Tissue Repair Hydrogel:VitroGel® 3D The use of 3D optical coherence tomography (OCT) proves to be a quick, easy, and […]