Cell sheet technology: a promising strategy in regenerative medicine

Regenerative medicine is a burgeoning field that is important to combat challenging diseases and functional impairments. Compared with traditional cell therapies with evident shortcomings (e.g., cell suspension injection or tissue engineering with scaffolds), scaffold-free cell sheet technology enables transplanted cells to be grafted and fully maintain their viability on target sites. Clinical and experimental studies have advanced the application of cell sheet technology to numerous tissues and organs (e.g., liver, cornea and bone). However, previous reviews have failed to discuss vital aspects of this rapidly developing technology, and many new challenges are gradually emerging. This review aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to cell sheet technology from cell selection to the ultimate applications of cell sheets, and challenges and future visions are also described.     

Development of the γ-Aminobutyric Acid Neurotransmitter System in the Rat Cerebral Cortex During Repeated Administration of the GABA-Transaminase Inhibitor Ethanolamine O-Sulphate

Ethanolamine O-sulphate (400 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered to rat pups at 9 days of age and on alternate days up to 17 days of age. At 18 days of age, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentration was increased (three- to fourfold), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) activity reduced to 55% of control, and the number of GABAA and GABAB binding sites increased in the cerebral cortex. This is the same pattern of change as seen previously with oral administration of ethanolamine O-sulphate to the adult rat but the changes occur more rapidly in the developing rat. A lower dose of ethanolamine O-sulphate (100 mg/kg, i.p.), administered according to the same schedule, caused a twofold increase in cortical GABA at 18 days of age whereas GAD activity and GABAA binding were not significantly altered.