Current treatment of epithelial wounds utilise biomimetic materials, cells or a combination of both. This project aimed to examine the feasibility of incorporating mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), isolated from adipose tissue and dental pulp, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived cells into 3D organotypic cultures, as reports suggest MSCs facilitate wound healing and can generate constituent cells. The effect collagen hydrogels containing MSCs on H400 epithelial cells seeded on its surface was assessed. Fixed H&E-stained sections of organotypic cultures were used to determine epithelial maturation and thickness using image analysis. iPSCs generated using the STEMCCA lentivirus were assessed by gene expression analysis and immunofluorescent staining for pluripotent capabilities and keratinocyte differentiation. MSCs incorporated into collagen hydrogels exerted no effect on epithelial thickness. iPSCs generated from mouse adipose-derived stem cells (mADSC- iPSCs) expressed pluripotency markers and were capable of differentiating down embryonic lineages. Keratinocytes generated from mADSC-iPSCs expressed cytokeratins, but were unable to be cultured in 3D organotypic cultures. This thesis highlighted the importance of characterising stem cells when investigating their therapeutic potential. Future work will involve characterising MSCs and evaluating their effects on epithelial cell growth. Furthermore, the effects of iPSC-derived keratinocytes must be determined to exploit them for regenerative therapies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:715546 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Smith, Michael James |
| Publisher | University of Birmingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7394/ |
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