David J. Lundy

• Ph.D.
• Professor (Assistant) at Taipei Medical University

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), lipid bilayer‐bound particles secreted by cells, have attracted significant research attention for their roles in aging‐related disorders, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction, cancer, and neurodegeneration. Research shows that EV cargo and function are influenced by factors including age, disease st...

Background Previous research has indicated that extracellular vesicles (EVs) potentially play significant roles in multiple ageing phenotypes. This study uses a factorial experimental design to explore the interactions between circulating EVs and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) isolated from young (7–12 weeks) and aged (70–90 weeks) mice....

Background Cell therapy can protect cardiomyocytes from hypoxia, primarily via paracrine secretions, including extracellular vesicles (EVs). Since EVs fulfil specific biological functions based on their cellular origin, we hypothesised that EVs from human cardiac stromal cells (CMSCLCs) obtained from coronary artery bypass surgery may have cardiopr...

This work describes protocols for preparing specific forms of human platelet lysates from pooled platelet concentrates (PCs) and the isolation of platelet-derived extracellular vesicles (p-EVs). Clinical-grade PCs can be sourced from blood establishments immediately following expiration for transfusion use. Here, we describe methods to process PCs...

This study investigates the characteristics of cardiac mesenchymal stem cell-like cells (CMSCLCs) isolated from the right atrial appendage of human donors with ischemia and a young patient with endocarditis (NE-CMSCLCs). Typical CMSCLCs from ischemic heart patients were derived from coronary artery bypass grafting procedures and compared against bo...

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a heterogeneous syndrome, comprising diverse aetiologies of kidney insults which result in high mortality and morbidity if not well-managed. Although great efforts have been made to investigate underlying pathogenic mechanisms of AKI, there are limited therapeutic strategies available. Extracellular vesicles (EV) are me...

The gut microbiome and its metabolites are increasingly implicated in several cardiovascular diseases, but their role in human myocardial infarction (MI) injury responses have yet to be established. To address this, we examined stool samples from 77 ST-elevation MI (STEMI) patients using 16 S V3-V4 next-generation sequencing, metagenomics and machi...

Platelets are small anucleated blood cells primarily known for their vital hemostatic role. Allogeneic platelet concen‑ trates (PCs) collected from healthy donors are an essential cellular product transfused by hospitals to control or pre‑ vent bleeding in patients affected by thrombocytopenia or platelet dysfunctions. Platelets fulfill additional...

Our team has previously shown the isolation and culture of a mesenchymal cell population from the right atrial appendage (RAA) of living human donor tissues. The cells are CD44/105/166 ⁺ , CD45/19/11b ⁻ and secrete growth factors (including VEGF and IGF-1) comparable to BM-MSCs. Their secretome preserved EF% and dP/dTmax in a mouse MI model and sti...

Abstract Calorie restriction (CR) and fasting affect lifespan, disease susceptibility and response to acute injury across multiple animal models, including ischaemic injuries such as myocardial infarction or kidney hypoxia. The cargo and function of circulating extracellular vesicles (EV) respond to changes in host physiology, including exercise, i...

Cell therapy has significant therapeutic potential but is often limited by poor donor cell retention and viability at the host implantation site. Biomaterials can improve cell retention by providing cells with increased cell-cell and cell-matrix contacts and materials that allow three-dimensional cell culture to better recapitulate native cell morp...

There is significant interest in the role of stem cells in cardiac regeneration, and yet little is known about how cardiac disease progression affects native cardiac stem cells in the human heart. In this brief report, cardiac mesenchymal stem cell-like cells (CMSCLC) from the right atria of a 21-year-old female patient with a bicuspid aortic valve...

Background: Cardiac regeneration after injury is limited by the low proliferative capacity of adult mammalian cardiomyocytes (CMs). However, certain animals readily regenerate lost myocardium through a process involving dedifferentiation, which unlocks their proliferative capacities. Methods: We bred mice with inducible, CM-specific expression o...

Introduction: Human cardiac regeneration after injury is limited by the low proliferative capacity of adult mammalian cardiomyocytes (CMs). However, some animals readily regenerate lost myocardium via a process involving CM dedifferentiation, which unlocks their proliferative capacity. Methods: Inspired by this concept, we generated mice with induc...

We hypothesized that the host microbiome may influence foreign body responses following biomaterial implantation. To test this, we implanted a variety of clinically relevant biomaterials into germ-free or antibiotic-treated mice. Surprisingly, these mice displayed less fibrous tissue deposition, reduced host cell recruitment to the implant site, an...

Myocardial infarction is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Due to poor inherent regeneration of the adult mammalian myocardium and challenges with effective drug delivery, there has been little progress in regenerative therapies. Nanocarriers, including liposomes, nanoparticles, and exosomes, offer many potential advantages for th...

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and a leading cause of death worldwide. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive subtype which is the most challenging to treat. Due to heterogeneity and a lack of specific molecular targets, small molecule-based chemotherapy is the preferred course of treatment. However, these...

Treatment of brain tumors is challenging since the blood–brain tumor barrier prevents chemotherapy drugs from reaching the tumor site in sufficient concentrations. Nanomedicines have great potential for therapy of brain disorders but are still uncommon in clinical use despite decades of research and development. Here, we provide an update on nano-c...

This Scientific Report 2020-2021 presents the main research activities carried out by the Professors and research teams of the College of Biomedical Engineering at Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. The report highlights the main research focus of the College in the fields of (a) Biomedical Materials and Tissue Engineering, (b) Nanomedicine...

This document presents the Research fields and performance of the College of Biomedical Engineering of Taipei Medical University (TMU). After only three years of existence, our College of Biomedical Engineering (CBME) was already listed in the top 150 in Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) in 2018. CBME has 26 full-time professors and clo...

The blood brain barrier (BBB) selectively controls the passage of endogenous and exogenous molecules between systemic circulation and the brain parenchyma. Nano-carrier based drugs such as liposomes and nanoparticles are an attractive prospect for cancer therapy since they can carry a drug payload and be modified to improve targeting and retention...

According to the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Ranking 2018, Taipei Medical University continues to improve its ranking to reach now the 83th place. Our College of Biomedical Engineering was for the first time listed in the top 150-200 biomedical engineering academic institutes in the world in the ARWU ranking, after only 3 years of...

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked genetic disorder resulting from mutations in the dystrophin gene. The mdx/utrn−/− mouse, lacking in both dystrophin and its autosomal homologue utrophin, is commonly used to model the clinical symptoms of DMD. Interestingly, these mice are infertile but the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remai...

Rationale:Reducing cardiomyocyte death and enhancing their proliferation after myocardial infarction is perhaps the single largest challenge for cardiac tissue regeneration. Survivin (SVV) is the smallest member of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family but plays two important roles; inhibiting caspase-9 activation in the intrinsic apoptosis pathw...

Supplementary figures and tables.

There is a growing need for in vitro models which can serve as platforms for drug screening and basic research. Human adult cardiomyocytes cannot be readily obtained or cultured, and so pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes appear to be an attractive option. Unfortunately, these cells are structurally and functionally immature-more comparabl...

Review Process File

Appendix

Although remnant cardiomyocytes (CMs) possess a certain degree of proliferative ability, efficiency is too low for cardiac regeneration after injury. In this study, we identified a distinct stage within the initiation phase of CM reprogramming before the MET process, and microarray analysis revealed the strong up-regulation of several mitosis-relat...

Human clinical trials of protein therapy for ischemic diseases have shown disappointing outcomes so far, mainly because of the poor circulatory half-life of growth factors in circulation and their low uptake and retention by the targeted injury site. The attachment of polyethylene glycol (PEG) extends the circulatory half-lives of protein drugs but...

Nanoparticles represent an attractive option for systemic delivery of therapeutic compounds to the heart following myocardial infarction. However, it is well known that physicochemical properties of nanoparticles such as size, shape and surface modifications can vastly alter the distribution and uptake of injected nanoparticles. Therefore, we aimed...

This study comprehensively investigates the changing biodistribution of fluorescent-labelled polystyrene latex bead nanoparticles in a mouse model of inflammation. Since inflammation alters systemic circulatory properties, increases vessel permeability and modulates the immune system, we theorised that systemic inflammation would alter nanoparticle...

Pluripotent-cell-derived cardiomyocytes have great potential for use in research and medicine, but limitations in their maturity currently constrain their usefulness. Here, we report a method for improving features of maturation in murine and human embryonic-stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes (m/hESC-CMs). We found that coculturing m/hESC-CMs with e...