Yogeswaran Lokanathan

• PhD (Biochemistry)
• Professor (Associate) at National University of Malaysia

Mesenchymal stromal cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (MSC-sEVs) have shown great promise in promoting tissue repair, including skin wound healing, but challenges like rapid degradation and short retention have limited their clinical application. Hydrogels have emerged as effective carriers for sustained EV release. Three-dimensional printi...

In the twenty-first century, in vitro models of excitotoxic injury, leveraging advanced cellular and molecular technologies, offer a promising alternative to animal studies. These models provide a more precise understanding of injury mechanisms. Method: This study utilizes kainic acid (KA), a potent glutamate receptor agonist, to induce excitotoxic...

Background Quality control (QC) is an important element in ensuring drug substances’ safety, efficacy, and quality. The dosing regimen for sEVs can be in the form of protein concentration or the number of particles based on the results of a series of quality controls applied as in-process control. Methods Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells (WJ...

Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, is a significant health issue that increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and renal failure. This condition broadly encompasses both primary and secondary forms. Despite extensive research, the underlying mechanisms of systemic arterial hypertension-particularly primary hypertensi...

Background/Objective: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by abdominal obesity, increased blood pressure (BP), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and triglyceride levels, and reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of the Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs)-derived small extracellular v...

Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) can be isolated from umbilical cords which is abundant and easy to obtain. Due to their potent immunosuppressive properties, multilineage differentiation potential, and lack of ethical issues, WJ-MSCs are considered a promising candidate for therapeutic applications. However, large-scale in v...

Approaches to regenerate vocal fold in glottic insufficiency remains to be a focus for exploration. This is attributed to the applications of cells or biological molecules alone result in fast degradation and inadequate for regeneration. Development of an injectable hydrogel for glottic insufficiency is challenging, as it needs to be non-cytotoxic,...

Nasal packing is a critical procedure in postoperative care and trauma management aimed at controlling bleeding, providing structural support, and promoting tissue healing. However, conventional nasal packs often lead to discomfort, infection risks, and secondary tissue damage. To address these challenges, this study explores the potential use of b...

Milk-derived extracellular vesicles (mEVs) are emerging as promising therapeutic candidates due to their unique properties and versatile functions. These vesicles play a crucial role in immunomodulation by influencing macrophage differentiation and cytokine production, potentially aiding in the treatment of conditions such as bone loss, fibrosis, a...

Revascularization procedures such as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are crucial to restore blood flow to the heart and are used in the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI). However, these techniques are known to cause myocardial reperfusion injury in the ischemic heart. The present study aims...

Background: Proteins are commonly used in the healthcare industry to treat various health conditions, and most proteins are sensitive to physical and chemical changes. Lyophilization, also known as freeze-drying, involves sublimating water in the form of ice from a substance at low pressure, forming a freeze-dried powder that increases its shelf li...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent organic pollutants that pose significant environmental and health risks. These compounds originate from both natural phenomena, such as volcanic activity and wildfires, and anthropogenic sources, including vehicular emissions, industrial processes, and fossil fuel combustion. Their classificati...

Background The clinical application of amniotic membrane wound healing products is limited partially due to handling challenges. Amnion-CollaGee sponge dressing (ACS) provides better alternatives to traditional therapy in facilitating wound healing. Objective To optimize the effectiveness of ACS as a healing agent in donor-site split-thickness ski...

Traumatic damage to the spinal cord (SCI) frequently leads to irreversible neurological deficits, which may be related to apoptotic neurodegeneration in nerve tissue. The MLC901 treatment possesses neuroprotective and neuroregenerative activity. This study aimed to explore the regenerative potential of MLC901 and the molecular mechanisms promoting...

Platelet-derived extracellular vesicles (pEVs) are emerging as pivotal players in numerous physiological and pathological processes, extending beyond their traditional roles in hemostasis and thrombosis. As one of the most abundant vesicle types in human blood, pEVs transport a diverse array of bioactive molecules, including growth factors, cytokin...

The wound healing mechanism is dynamic and well-orchestrated; yet, it is a complicated process. The hallmark of wound healing is to promote wound regeneration in less time without invading skin pathogens at the injury site. This study developed a sodium–carboxymethylcellulose (Na-CMC) bilayer scaffold that was later integrated with silver nanoparti...

Regenerative medicine represents a paradigm shift in healthcare, aiming to restore tissue and organ function through innovative therapeutic strategies. Among these, bioprinting and extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as promising techniques for tissue rejuvenation. EVs are small lipid membrane particles secreted by cells, known for their role...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a significant public health challenge, with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) resistance being a major obstacle to effective treatment. Despite advancements, resistance to 5-FU remains formidable due to complex mechanisms such as alterations in drug transport, evasion of apoptosis, dysregulation of cell cycle dynamics, tumor microenv...

Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a significant epidemiological problem worldwide. It is a pre-morbid, chronic and low-grade inflammatory disorder that precedes many chronic diseases. Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) could be used to treat MetS because they express high regenerative capacity, strong immunomodulatory pr...

Breast cancer, a multifaceted and heterogeneous disease, poses significant challenges in terms of understanding its intricate resistance mechanisms and devising effective therapeutic strategies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the intricate landscape of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the context of breast cancer, highlighting thei...

Numerous challenges remain within conventional cell-based therapy despite the growing trend of stem cells used to treat various life-debilitating diseases. These limitations include batch-to-batch heterogeneity, induced alloreactivity, cell survival and integration, poor scalability, and high cost of treatment, thus hindering successful translation...

Spinal cord regeneration is considered an ultimate achievement in the field of neuroscience. In vitro, neural stem cell (NSC-34) motor neuron-like cell cultures are powerful tools to study specific molecular pathways involved in neurogenesis. We aimed to demonstrate the usefulness of the in vitro injury model using the mechanical scratch method and...

The animal gut microbiota, comprising a diverse array of microorganisms, plays a pivotal role in shaping host health and physiology. This review explores the intricate dynamics of the gut microbiome in animals, focusing on its composition, function, and impact on host–microbe interactions. The composition of the intestinal microbiota in animals is...

This paper sheds light on the alarming issue of antibiotic resistance (ABR) in aquatic environments, exploring its detrimental effects on ecosystems and public health. It examines the multifaceted role of antibiotic use in aquaculture, agricultural runoff, and industrial waste in fostering the development and dissemination of resistant bacteria. Th...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystemic autoimmune disease that affects nearly 3.41 million people globally, with 90% of the cases affecting women of childbearing age. SLE is a complex disease due to the interplay of various immunological pathways and mechanisms. This scoping review aims to highlight the latest research findings on th...

Functional Bio-based Materials for Regenerative Medicine: From Bench to Bedside explores the use of bio-based materials for the regeneration of tissues and organs. The book presents an edited collection of 28 topics in 2 parts focused on the translation of these materials from laboratory research (the bench) to practical applications in clinical se...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) represents a cluster of metabolic abnormalities. The prevalence of MetS has surged, transforming it into a pressing public health concern that could potentially affect around 20%–25% of the global population. As MetS continues its ascent, diverse interventions, pharmacological, nonpharmacological and combined have been dep...

Respiratory diseases have a major impact on global health. The airway epithelium, which acts as a frontline defence, is one of the most common targets for inhaled allergens, irritants, or micro-organisms to enter the respiratory system. In the tissue engineering field, biomaterials play a crucial role. Due to the continuing high impact of respirato...

A wide range of biomaterials, both of natural and synthetic origin, have been studied for utilization in biomedical applications. The tremendous growth in science and technology of material science and biomedical engineering has enabled the influx of different kinds of materials, either obtained from natural sources or chemically synthesized, throu...

Conditioned medium from cultured fibroblast cells is recognized to promote wound healing and growth through the secretion of enzymes, extracellular matrix proteins, and various growth factors and cytokines. The objective of this study was to profile the secreted proteins present in nasal fibroblast conditioned medium (NFCM). Nasal fibroblasts isola...

Numerous biomaterials have been developed over the years to enhance the outcomes of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. These products are specifically designed to prevent postoperative bleeding, optimize wound healing, and reduce inflammation. However, there is no singular material on the market that can be dee...

Background: The idea of exploring respiratory therapy in vitro predominantly guided by cell-secreted substances has gained ground in recent years. A conditioned medium (CM) consists of protein milieu that contains a diverse spectrum of cytokines, chemokines, angiogenic agents, and growth factors. This review evaluated the efficacy of using CM colle...

Burns are a widespread global public health traumatic injury affecting many people worldwide. Non-fatal burn injuries are a leading cause of morbidity, resulting in prolonged hospitalization, disfigurement, and disability, often with resulting stigma and rejection. The treatment of burns is aimed at controlling pain, removing dead tissue, preventin...

Glottic insufficiency is one of the voice disorders affecting all demographics. Due to the incomplete closure of the vocal fold, there is a risk of aspiration and ineffective phonation. Current treatments for glottic insufficiency include nerve repair, reinnervation, implantation and injection laryngoplasty. Injection laryngoplasty is favored among...

Hydroxytyrosol (HT) is an olive polyphenol with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This study aimed to investigate the effect of HT treatment on epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in primary human respiratory epithelial cells (RECs) isolated from human nasal turbinate. HT dose–response study and growth kinetic study on RECs was perf...

Cancer is the second leading contributor to global deaths caused by non-communicable diseases. The cancer cells are known to interact with the surrounding non-cancerous cells, including the immune cells and stromal cells, within the tumor microenvironment (TME) to modulate the tumor progression, metastasis and resistance. Currently, chemotherapy an...

Background Excitotoxicity-induced in vivo injury models are vital to reflect the pathophysiological features of acute spinal cord injury (SCI) in humans. The duration and concentration of chemical treatment controls the extent of neuronal cell damage. The extent of injury is explained in relation to locomotor and behavioural activity. Several SCI i...

Glottic insufficiency is widespread in the elderly population and occurs as a result of secondary damage or systemic disease. Tissue engineering is a viable treatment for glottic insufficiency since it aims to restore damaged nerve tissue and revitalize aging muscle. After injection into the biological system, injectable biomaterial delivers cost-...

Collagen is the most abundant structural protein found in humans and mammals, particularly in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Its primary function is to hold the body together. The collagen superfamily of proteins includes over 20 types that have been identified. Yet, collagen type I is the major component in many tissues and can be extracted as a...

Objectives: To determine the serum levels of interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) in patients with acquired laryngotracheal stenosis (ALTS) and healthy volunteers and compare levels between serum and tissue of the stenotic segment. Materials and methods: An exploratory cohort study included 20 participants with ALTS and 5 healthy volunteers. ALTS group was...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are promising candidates to combat the growing rates of chronic degenerative diseases. These cells provide regeneration and/or differentiation into other cell types, and secrete various trophic factors that participate in migration, proliferation, and immunomodulation. However, the novelty of MSC research has noticeably...

Intravenous (IV) infusion of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from nascent tissues like Wharton's Jelly of the umbilical cord is reported to offer therapeutic effects against chronic diseases. However, toxicological data essential for the clinical application of these cells are limited. Thus, this study aimed to determine the safety of IV infusion of...

In the last decade, the advancement of stem cell research as a new therapeutic approach in the field of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, cell and gene therapy had urged researchers to produce clinical grade cell and tissue products. The process of translation from research to clinical application requires strict control of the product to...

Cardiac patch implantation helps maximize the paracrine function of grafted cells and serves as a reservoir of soluble proangiogenic factors required for the neovascularization of infarcted hearts. We have previously fabricated a cardiac patch, EF-HAM, composed of a human amniotic membrane (HAM) coated with aligned PLGA electrospun fibers (EF). In...

The recent advances of nanotechnologies in terms of manufacturing as well as high market demands over nanoscale frameworks have affected various fields includes tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine field involve creating, repairing, or replacing the cells, tissues, and organs using the combinati...

Recent explorations on mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) have reported a promising future for cell-based therapies. MSCs are widely sourced from various tissues and express unique properties of regenerative potential and immunomodulation. Currently, there is a growing interest in utilizing MSC for treatment of chronic diseases to overcome the dr...

Nanotechnology has become an emerging technology in the medical field and is widely applicable for various clinical applications. The potential use of nanoparticles as antimicrobial agents is greatly explored and taken into consideration as alternative methods to overcome the challenges faced by healthcare workers and patients in preventing infecti...

Telomere repeat binding factor 2 (TRF2) has a well-known function at the telomeres, which acts to protect the telomere end from being recognized as a DNA break or from unwanted recombination. This protection mechanism prevents DNA instability from mutation and subsequent severe diseases caused by the changes in DNA, such as cancer. Since TRF2 activ...

Background The nasal fibroblast secretome, which includes various cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors, promotes cell migration. Currently, the proteomics of airway fibroblast (AF) conditioned medium (AFCM) are being actively studied. Objective This study was aimed at profiling and identifying the AF secreted proteins that can enhance wound h...

Vocal fold injection is a preferred treatment in glottic insufficiency because it is relatively quick and cost-saving. However, researchers have yet to discover the ideal biomaterial with properties suitable for human vocal fold application. The current systematic review employing PRISMA guidelines summarizes and discusses the available evidence re...

Metal oxide nanoparticles had found a variety of applications in numerous fields of industrial, medical, and environmental technologies, attributable to recent advances nanotechnology field. Tin oxide nanoparticles (SnO2 NPs) have gained importance as metal oxide nanoparticles due to their potential in various fields, particularly nanomedicine and...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is the physiological clustering of hypertension, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. The MetS-related chronic illnesses encompass obesity, the cardiovascular system, renal operation, hepatic function, oncology, and mortality. To perform pre-clinical research, it is imperative that these s...

Skin injury is quite common, and the wound healing is a complex process involving many types of cells, the extracellular matrix, and soluble mediators. Cell differentiation, migration, and proliferation are essential in restoring the integrity of the injured tissue. Despite the advances in science and technology, we have yet to find the ideal dress...

Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) was first discovered during the transition of cells from the primitive streak during embryogenesis in chicks. It was later discovered that EMT holds greater potential in areas other than the early development of cells and tissues since it also plays a vital role in wound healing and cancer development. EMT ca...

Pathological conditions of the tracheal epithelium, such as postoperative injuries and chronic conditions, often compromise the functionality of the respiratory epithelium. Although replacement of the respiratory epithelium using various types of tracheal transplantation has been attempted, there is no predictable and dependable replacement method...

The current strategy for rapid wound healing treatment involves combining a biomaterial and cell-secreted proteins or biomolecules. This study was aimed at characterizing 3-dimensional (3D) collagen hydrogels fortified with dermal fibroblast-conditioned medium (DFCM) as a readily available acellular skin substitute. Confluent fibroblasts were cultu...

New materials that mimic natural bone properties, matching functional, mechanical, and biological properties have been continuously developed to rehabilitate bone defects. Desirably, ‘tissue engineering’ has been a multidisciplinary ground that uses the principles of life sciences and engineering for the biological replacements that restore or repl...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Its pathophysiology comprises acute and chronic phases and incorporates a cascade of destructive events such as ischemia, oxidative stress, inflammatory events, apoptotic pathways and locomotor dysfunctions. Man...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells with strong immunosuppressive property that renders them an attractive source of cells for cell therapy. MSCs have been studied in multiple clinical trials to treat liver diseases, peripheral nerve damage, graft-versus-host disease, autoimmune diseases, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular d...

Background Cell-based therapy for osteoarthritis requires culturing of good quality cells, especially with a chondrogenic lineage, for implantation. Objective To investigate the ability of chondrocyte-conditioned medium (CCM) to induced chondrogenesis. Methods Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were subjected to chondrogenic induction usi...

Nasal injury following nasal surgery is an adverse consequence, and prompt treatment should be initiated. Nasal packing, either non-absorbable or absorbable, are commonly used after nasal surgery to prevent bleeding and promote wound healing. In the current study, a novel gelatine sponge crosslinked with genipin was evaluated for suitability to be...

Fibroblasts secrete many essential factors that can be collected from fibroblast culture medium, which is termed dermal fibroblast conditioned medium (DFCM). Fibroblasts isolated from human skin samples were cultured in vitro using the serum-free keratinocyte-specific medium (Epilife (KM1), or define keratinocytes serum-free medium, DKSFM (KM2) and...

Background: Centella asiatica (L.) is a plant with neuroprotective and neuroregenerative properties; however, its effects on the neurodifferentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and on peripheral nerve injury are poorly explored. This study aimed to investigate the effects of C. asiatica (L.)-neurodifferentiated MSCs on the regeneration of pe...

Nasal mucosa injury can be caused by trauma, radiotherapy, chronic infection such as sinusitis, and post sinus surgery. The rate of healing and its treatment are important in the recovery of patients especially in post sinus surgery, which introduces new injuries. In this review, the current knowledge in terms of the mechanism underlying nasal woun...

Olfactory bulb and nasal mucosa are one of the sources for neural stem cell, including the superior and middle turbinates (MT). The middle and inferior turbinates (IT) provides the largest area of nasal mucosa which is technically easier to harvest the stem cell for future transplantation. The ability of nasal respiratory epithelial cells (RECs) an...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reside in the stromal region of various organs that can be triggered to home-in to injured tissues and differentiate into a specific cell type to replace the damaged ones. Many tissues undergo oxygen deprivation during trauma due to the disruption of the existing vascular network that promotes reparative functions invo...

Tissue engineering focuses on developing biological substitutes to restore, maintain or improve tissue functions and the three main components of its application are scaffold, cell and growth-stimulating signals. The scaffolds made of biomaterials mainly function as the structural support for the ex vivo cells to attach and proliferate, and also pr...

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a significant dynamic process that causes changes in the phenotype of epithelial cells, changing them from their original phenotype to the mesenchymal cell phenotype. This event can be observed during wound healing process, fibrosis and cancer. EMT-related diseases are usually caused by inflammation that e...

Background: Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, known as Indian Pennywort, is a tropical medicinal plant from Apiaceae family native to Southeast Asian countries. It has been widely used as a nerve tonic in Ayuverdic medicine since ancient times. However, whether it can substitute for neurotrophic factors to induce human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSCs) di...

Skin substitutes are one of the main treatments for skin loss, and a skin substitute that is readily available would be the best treatment option. However, most cell-based skin substitutes require long production times, and therefore, patients endure long waiting times. The proteins secreted from the cells and tissues play vital roles in promoting...

Growth factors and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are involved in wound healing. Human dermal fibroblasts secrete wound-healing mediators in culture medium known as dermal fibroblast conditioned medium (DFCM). However, the composition and concentration of the secreted proteins differ with culture conditions and environmental factors. We cultur...

Centella asiatica (L.) Urban (CA) is a well- known plant used to improve brain and memory functions in traditional medicine. Scientifically it was proven to show neurogenic effect on neural cell lines and in rat’s hippocampus. Its effect on spinal cord (SC) neurons, however, have not been studied. Aim of this study was to investigate the effects of...

Various natural biological conduits have been investigated to bridge peripheral nerve injury especially in critical gap (greater than 3 cm in human). Autograft, the current gold standard, has several drawbacks including limited availability of donor graft, donor-site morbidity and mismatch in size in clinical practices. The aim of this study was to...

Collagen type I is the most abundant matrix protein in the human body and is highly demanded in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and pharmaceutical applications. To meet the uprising demand in biomedical applications, collagen type I has been isolated from mammalians (bovine, porcine, goat and rat) and non-mammalians (fish, amphibian, and...

Although electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) may mimic structural features of extracellular matrix, its highly hydrophobic nature causes reduced cell attachment. This study analysed the physicochemical and structural changes of the surface modified PMMA nanofiber. The electrospun PMMA nanofibers (PM) were surface-treated as follows: PM alo...

Amniotic membrane has the potential to be used as scaffold in various tissue engineering applications. However, increasing its biostability at the same time maintaining its biocompatibility is important to enhance its usage as a scaffold. This studied characteristics genipin-crosslinked amniotic membrane as a bioscaffold. Redundant human amniotic m...

Background: One of the molecular mechanisms involved in upper airway-related diseases is epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Olea europaea (OE) has anti-inflammatory properties and thus, great potential to prevent EMT. This study aimed to investigate the effect of OE on EMT in primary nasal human respiratory epithelial cells (RECs). Metho...