413 results about "Cellular functions" patented technology

This invention provides novel nanofiber enhanced surface area substrates and structures comprising such substrates for use in various medical devices, as well as methods and uses for such substrates and medical devices. In one particular embodiment, methods for enhancing cellular functions on a surface of a medical device implant are disclosed which generally comprise providing a medical device implant comprising a plurality of nanofibers (e.g., nanowires) thereon and exposing the medical device implant to cells such as osteoblasts.

The present invention relates to a new method for reversible staining and functional isolation or characterization of cells, e.g. antigen-specific T cells. With this technique, the original functional status of cells can be substantially maintained after their identification and purification. Thus, this new method is of broad benefit for basic research and clinical applications.

Compositions and methods of modulating cellular function and treatment of disease in mammals comprising locally administering a regulated SNARE inhibitor and a translocating agent to the mammal. Regulated SNARE inhibitors include clostridial neurotoxins, tetanus neurotoxin and their free light chain portions and IgA protease. Translocating agents include acids, encapsulating vectors, and transduction domains.

Methods and compositions for preserving the function of insulin-producing cells and to furthering the lifespan of insulin-producing cells in non-insulin dependent patients with insulin-related disorders are provided.

The invention provides systems, modules, bioreactor and methods for the automated culture, proliferation, differentiation, production and maintenance of tissue engineered products. In one aspect is an automated tissue engineering system comprising a housing, at least one bioreactor supported by the housing, the bioreactor facilitating physiological cellular functions and/or the generation of one or more tissue constructs from cell and/or tissue sources. A fluid containment system is supported by the housing and is in fluid communication with the bioreactor. One or more sensors are associated with one or more of the housing, bioreactor or fluid containment system for monitoring parameters related to the physiological cellular functions and/or generation of tissue constructs; and a microprocessor linked to one or more of the sensors. The systems, methods and products of the invention find use in various clinical and laboratory settings.

The invention describes methods and agents for improving cosmetic appearance, for promoting, improving or restoring health of cells and tissues, preferably skin, and more preferably, for restoring aged or damaged skin to a healthy appearance. This invention relates to the use of cells and cellular extracts in rejuvenation and healing technologies thereby improving healing and regeneration of all bodily tissues and organs. The present invention relates to compositions and methods of managing, preventing, and treating scars. The invention also relates to prevention of deterioration, damage and malfunction of cells and tissues, and to promote, improve or exceed cellular function in order to promote, improve and exceed appearance, vitality and health. In some embodiments, the invention relates to compositions of cells, eggs, cell extracts, egg extracts, and extract components such as purified nucleic acids, polypeptides, lipids, carbohydrates or other natural products.

The present invention relates to the identification, the isolation and the use of molecules interfering with the function(s) mediated by the poliovirus receptor (PVR) on cells. The molecules can be used for the treatment of cells having a metastatic potential, metastasis and cancer. Further methods are provided that are useful for identifying and isolating molecules which have the capacity to modulate PVR mediated adhesion or invasion potential of cells.

Described is a method of producing a repertoire of random peptides on the surface of AAV particles wherein said random peptides are expressed as a fusion with an AAV capsid protein of an AAV particle which displays at its surface said random polypeptides. Also described is a peptide library obtainable by said method as well as a method of selecting a gene therapy vector specific for a desired cell type comprising the steps of (a) infecting the desired cell type with a peptide library of the invention and (b) harvesting AAV library particles from the supernatant and/or cell lysates. Finally, AAV vectors obtained by said method are described which are useful for gene therapy, e.g., AAV vectors targeting primary human coronary artery endothelial cells which are suitable for the treatment of diseases associated with a dysfunction of said cells.

The present invention relates to materials and methods useful in the study of cells and species associated with cells. Materials of the present invention may include emissive, photostable organic molecules (e.g., conjugated polymers, conjugated oligomers) that are appropriately functionalized to interact with a cell with essentially no disruption in normal cell functioning. The present invention may be useful in, for example, cell imaging, cell tracking, in vivo monitoring of cellular events, drug delivery, and determination of biological species. In one embodiment, a conjugated polymer or oligomer may be internalized into a cell and may exhibit a strong and stable emissive signal, allowing the cell to be monitored under extensive microscopic conditions for extended periods of time.

The invention describes methods and agents for improving cosmetic appearance, for promoting, improving or restoring health of cells and tissues, preferably skin, and more preferably, for restoring aged or damaged skin to a healthy appearance. This invention relates to the use of cells and cellular extracts in rejuvenation and healing technologies thereby improving healing and regeneration of all bodily tissues and organs. The present invention relates to compositions and methods of managing, preventing, and treating scars. The invention also relates to prevention of deterioration, damage and malfunction of cells and tissues, and to promote, improve or exceed cellular function in order to promote, improve and exceed appearance, vitality and health. In some embodiments, the invention relates to compositions of cells, eggs, cell extracts, egg extracts, and extract components such as purified nucleic acids, polypeptides, lipids, carbohydrates or other natural products. Said components can also be synthesized. In other embodiments, the cells are differentiable cells preferably stem cells or eggs. In some embodiments, compositions are used in a method that comprises application of compositions to tissues, including skin and/or wounds after removal of tissue surface layers. In other embodiments, the invention relates to methods of dedifferentiation of cells and/or dedifferentiation followed by differentiation. In other embodiments, the invention relates to managing, preventing, and treating skin diseases.

The present invention is directed to a composition or formulation which includes an asymmetric disulfide which alone or in combination inhibits or interferes with cellular redox function, as well as a method of using same to restore normal cellular function. More specifically, the composition of the present invention interacts with, interferes with or inhibits abnormal cellular proliferation and restores or prevents inhibition of cellular apoptosis.

A method of utilizing the physiological activity of a rare saccharide, wherein physiological-activity sensitive cells are treated with the rare saccharide to modify the function of the cells. A composition containing, as an active ingredient, a rare saccharide which is introduced into physiological-activity sensitive cells and has an effect of modifying the function of the cells. The cells are human cells. The composition is a functional food, a drug, or a cosmetic. The rare saccharide is a rare saccharide belonging to aldose and/or ketose. The aldose is D-allose, and the cells are selected from the group consisting of cancer-cell proliferation inhibitory activity sensitive cells and active-oxygen production inhibitory activity sensitive cells. The ketose is D-psicose, and the cells are selected from the group consisting of chemokine secretion inhibitory activity sensitive cells, microglia migration inhibitory activity sensitive cells, and hypoglycemic activity sensitive cells.

A grating-based sensor is disclosed that has a grating structure constructed and designed for both evanescent resonance (ER) fluorescence detection and label-free detection applications. One and two-dimensional gratings are also disclosed, including gratings characterized by unit cells with central posts, central holes, and two-level, two-dimensional gratings. A readout system for such sensors is also disclosed. Various applications for the biosensors are described, including cell-based assays for assessing the effect of drug compounds on cell function. A biosensor embodiment optimized for a luminescent response at two different wavelengths is also described. Such luminescent response could be produced by fluorescence (either native or from an attached fluorophore), phosphorescence, chemi-luminescence, or other luminescence technology. Two different luminescence technologies could be combined on the same biosensor chip.

Siderophore-photosensitizer conjugates, their synthesis and use in photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (PACT) is disclosed. The advantage of this method is improvement of photodynamic antimicrobial therapy against, for example, pathogenic micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi. Naturally occurring and synthetically available siderophore structures are conjugated chemically with photoactive compounds such as Chlorin e6 to improve their penetration into bacterial cells and to increase antibacterial efficacy of photosensitizers via microbial proteins that recognize and transport iron-loaded siderophores. In this way, photosensitizers can be transported inside bacteria that otherwise could not cross the cell wall and membranes. Photodynamic activation of photosensitizers inside the cells of pathogenic microbes enables a more effective inhibition of cellular functions than application at the outer side of the cells. The siderophore-transporting systems of microbes are known to be specific for bacteria and fungi. Consequently, siderophore conjugates with photosensitizers are not taken up by mammalian cells and photodynamic effects can thus be exerted specifically on pathogenic microbes. Applications of these conjugates include highly efficient treatment of pathogenic gram-negative and -positive bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, treatment of microbial infections that often occur in chronic wounds as well as therapy of other antibiotic resistant microbial infections.

Medical compositions and methods of treating or preventing neurodegeneration in a human suffering from or that is at risk of or susceptible to neurodegeneration or cellular dysfunction associated with expression or impaired cellular function of a neuronal protein encoded by one or more genes that code for alpha-synuclein (SNCA), Parkin RBR E3 ubiquitin protein ligase, (PARK2), Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), PTEN-induced putative kinase/(PINK1), Daisuke-Junko 1, (DJ-1) and ATPase type 13A2 (ATP13A2), are disclosed. Methods of treatment for these disorders is also provided, comprising administering a vector into a cell, wherein the vector facilitates expression of a molecular component that alters one of the aforementioned genes in the cell or expression of the gene in the cell, the gene being implicated in an etiology of the neurological deficit.

A rotating wall vessel is used as a culture vessel and bioreactor for the cultivation of hepatocytes in the form of spheroids to generate a culture with many properties of the intact liver. These properties include enzyme activity comparable to fresh cells and long-term maintenance of viability and cellular function for periods on the order of months. The cultures may be used to produce hepatocyte products, evaluate metabolism of an agent, propagate Hepatitis C virus and test agents as inhibitors of this virus. Thus, the culture system disclosed herein makes long term functional cultivation of human hepatocytes feasible.

The present invention is based on the seminal discovery that cord blood (CB) and adult bone marrow (BM) CD34+ cells can be reprogrammed to early stem cells. The invention provides the reprogramming of CB and adult bone marrow (BM) CD34+ cells from subjects without any pre-treatment. Provided are methods for reprogramming blood cells of a subject. Also provided are methods of disease modeling and methods of generating subject-specific differentiated cells. In addition, the invention provides methods of identifying an agent that alters a function of subject-specific differentiated cells as well as isolated pluripotent or multipotent stem cells reprogrammed from blood cells.

The present invention relates to a method for processing human placental cell sample, a human placental cell sample obtained according to said method for processing human placental cell sample, a human placental cell bank, a method for banking human placental cells, a method for searching human placental cell sample in said human placental cell bank according to the present invention, a method for preparing human cord blood serum, use of human placental cells obtained by said method for processing human placental cell sample or human placental cell bank established by said method for banking human placental cells in treating human dysfunction and diseases due to cell injury or cell malfunction, as well as a method for treating human dysfunction and diseases due to cell injury or cell malfunction.