Browsing by Author "Armada, Paulo"
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- Neuro-muscular Regeneration Using Scaffolds with Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) Isolated from Human Umbilical Cord Wharton's Jelly: Functional and Morphological Analysis Using Rat Sciatic Nerve Neurotmesis Injury ModelPublication . Caseiro, Ana Rita; Pereira, Tiago; Ribeiro, Jorge; Amorim, Irina; Faria, Fátima; Bártolo, Paulo Jorge; Armada, Paulo; Luís, Ana Lúcia; Maurício, Ana ColettePeripheral nerves possess the capacity of self-regeneration after traumatic injury but the extent of regeneration is often poor and may benefit from exogenous factors that enhance growth. Neonatal tissues are routinely discarded at parturition so little ethical controversy attends the harvest of the Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) which may play an important therapeutic role through the secretion of soluble trophic factors which enhance and assist in repair by paracrine activation of surrounding cells. The use of cellular systems is a rational approach for delivering neurotrophic factors at the nerve lesion site, and in our recent research work we have been evaluating the therapeutic value of MSCs isolated from the Wharton jelly (WJ) in nerve repair associated to different tube-guides made of biodegradable and biocompatible biomaterials. The WJ MSCs in vitro studies included cell characterization by immunocytochemistry, karyotype analysis, tri-lineage differentiation capacity and flow cytometry and also citocompatibility by measuring the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in the presence of different tube-guides.