Search

Background: Marine ecosystems, covering 70% of Earth's surface, hold immense biodiversity and potential for biomaterials. Cuttlefish bone (CB) and marine resources have gained attention as eco-friendly biomaterials. Objectives: We aim to comprehensively study biomedical applications of CB-derived materials. By evaluating both in vivo and in vitro investigations, the review seeks to uncover the diverse potential of CB in the biomedical field. Methods: A comprehensive search of electronic databases yielded 51 articles from 2408 studies. These studies encompassed in vivo animal studies and in vitro investigations. Results: In vivo studies employed for bone repair, dorsal subcutaneous defects, thermal wound healing, muscle injections, and avian blood testing. In vitro studies focused on HAp synthesis, scaffold development, dental material enhancement, and antimicrobial properties. Risk of bias assessments revealed varying degrees of methodological quality in both animal and in vitro studies, underscoring the need for standardised reporting and rigorous study design in future research. Conclusions: This review fills a gap in the literature by providing a comprehensive overview of the applications of CB-derived materials in the biomedical field. Additionally, it offers valuable insights for researchers, clinicians, and policymakers interested in sustainable and effective biomaterials for diverse medical purposes, advancing the fields of regenerative medicine and dentistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cysteine desulfurase IscS is required for cellular iron-sulfur protein maturation in eukaryotes and prokaryotes. In this study, we examined the effect of dietary iron intake on the expression in rat skeletal muscle of IscS in relation to 2 iron-sulfur proteins, cytosolic aconitase (c-aconitase) and mitochondrial aconitase (m-aconitase). Three groups of male weanling Wistar rats were used; 1 group was fed an iron-deficient diet (D), and the other 2 groups were pair-fed (P) or freely fed (C) a control (35 mg Fe/kg diet) diet for 1 or 2 wk. At the end of wk 1 and 2, the mitochondrial IscS protein levels in the skeletal muscle of iron-deficient rats had decreased to 45 and 50% of those of the control and pair-fed rats, respectively, whereas the IscS mRNA levels did not differ among the 3 groups, indicating that iron deficiency affected the expression of IscS protein at the post-transcriptional level. Iron deficiency caused a 55-76% reduction in c-aconitase activity and an ~50% reduction in the c-aconitase protein level. The m-aconitase activity and protein level in iron-deficient rats also declined to 50 and 58-64% of the control levels, respectively. Our results indicate that dietary iron modulates mitochondrial IscS protein and aconitase at the post-transcriptional level, and mitochondrial IscS may be associated with this regulation of aconitase in skeletal muscle. KEY WORDS: * aconitase * cysteine desulfurase * iron deficiency * rats * skeletal muscle

The formation of burn-scar tissue in human skin profoundly alters, among other things, the structure of the dermis. We present a method to characterize dermal scar tissue by the measurement of the near-infrared attenuation coefficient using optical coherence tomography (OCT). To generate accurate en face parametric images of attenuation, we found it critical to first identify (using speckle decorrelation) and mask the tissue vasculature from the three-dimensional OCT data. The resulting attenuation coefficients in the vasculature-masked regions of the dermis of human burn-scar patients are lower in hypertrophic (3.8±0.4  mm(-1)) and normotrophic (4.2±0.9  mm(-1)) scars than in contralateral or adjacent normal skin (6.3±0.5  mm(-1)). Our results suggest that the attenuation coefficient of vasculature-masked tissue could be used as an objective means to assess human burn scars.

In scars arising from burns, objective assessment of vascularity is important in the early identification of pathological scarring, and in the assessment of progression and treatment response. We demonstrate the first clinical assessment and automated quantification of vascularity in cutaneous burn scars of human patients in vivo that uses optical coherence tomography (OCT). Scar microvasculature was delineated in three-dimensional OCT images using speckle decorrelation. The diameter and area density of blood vessels were automatically quantified. A substantial increase was observed in the measured density of vasculature in hypertrophic scar tissues (38%) when compared against normal, unscarred skin (22%). A proliferation of larger vessels (diameter≥100  μm) was revealed in hypertrophic scarring, which was absent from normal scars and normal skin over the investigated physical depth range of 600 μm. This study establishes the feasibility of this methodology as a means of clinical monitoring of scar progression.

A new synthetic compound, 6-hydroxy-2-tosylisoquinolin-1(2H)-one (2-OH), was selected for immunopharmacological activity tests. The effects of 2-OH on human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation were determined by tritiated thymidine uptake. Compared to phytohemagglutinin (PHA; 5 microg/mL) stimulation, 2-OH significantly enhanced PBMC proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. The 50% enhancement activity (EC(50)) for 2-OH was 4.4+/-0.1 microM. In addition, effects of 2-OH on interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production in PBMC were determined by enzyme immunoassay. Results demonstrated that 2-OH stimulated IL-2 and IFN-gamma production in PBMC. Data from reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and real-time PCR indicated that IL-2 and IFN-gamma mRNA expression in PBMC could be induced by 2-OH. Therefore, 2-OH enhanced IL-2 and IFN-gamma production in PBMC by modulation their gene expression. We suggest that 2-OH may be an immunomodulatory agent.