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Whole-organ decellularization has opened the gates to the creation of 3D extracellular matrix (ECM) templates that mimic nature’s design to a degree that—as for today—is not reproducible with any synthetic materials. Here, we describe a whole-heart decellularization approach thro ...

Cardiomyopathy induces geometric alteration of the ventricular cavity, which changes from a natural elliptical (conical) to a spherical shape. Ventricular chamber dilatation and spherical deformation are important causes of morbidity and mortality among patients with con ...

Despite outstanding progress in the area of cardiovascular diseases, significant challenges remain in designing efficient delivery systems for myocardial therapy. Nanotechnology provides the tools to explore such frontiers of biomedical science at cellular level and thus o ...

Stem cell transplantation has been considered as a major breakthrough for treating ischemic heart disease. However, survival and retention of transplanted cells at the site of infarction remains tenuous. This chapter details a method of creating polymeric microcapsules for cell de ...

Stem cell transplantation is a promising approach for improving cardiac function after severe myocardial damage for which use of autologous cells have been preferred to avoid immune rejection. Recently, however, rodent as well as human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been repor ...

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a challenging endeavor, namely, due to the fact that the disease only occurs in the central nervous system of elderly humans. Thus, model systems simply do not accurately portray this cellular landscape. While we cannot a ...

The cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) by γ-secretase produces Aβ peptides, which are prominent features in Alzheimer’s disease and have been extensively studied. By contrast, APP intracellular domain (AICD), also a product of this cleavage event, has received little or no inves ...

The accumulation of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide in the form of insoluble fibrillar deposits and soluble oligomeric aggregates is widely believed to play a causal role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Proteolytic cleavage of APP by the β-site APP cleaving enzyme (BACE1) near the C-terminus results in ...

There has been a growing recognition of a wide variety of diseases commonly referred to as conformational diseases, which share the feature of specific disease-related proteins adopting nonnative conformation that promote their ordered aggregation and deposition on surfaces. D ...

Since its original description in 1906 by Dr Alois Alzheimer, amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles have remained the hypothetical cause of Alzheimer’s disease. However, plaque burden poorly predicts cognitive status in humans, which led several groups to investigate the po ...

Recent data suggest that soluble, non-fibrillar assemblies of the amyloid β-protein (Aβ) may mediate the synaptic deficits that characterize the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Consequently, much effort has been expended in isolating and studying a variety of different Aβ assem ...

This chapter outlines protocols that produce homogenous preparations of oligomeric and fibrillar amyloid-β peptide (Aβ). While there are several isoforms of this peptide, the 42 amino acid form is the focus because of its genetic and pathological link to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Past dec ...

Since the discovery of the association of apolipoprotein E (apoE) 4 with Alzheimer’s disease 17 years ago, numerous in vitro experiments with the apoE isoforms (apoE2, apoE3, and apoE4) have been performed to try to understand the basis for this association. The majority of these studies used com ...

Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia are two of the most common neurodegenerative dementias. Here, we review the clinical presentation, genetic causes, typical neuropathology, and current treatments for these disorders. We then review molecules involved in their p ...

Viral vector-mediated gene transfer is widely used to manipulate gene expression (overexpression or knock down) in cultures and in different tissues of animals. Vectors based on lentiviruses have particularly useful features. Lentiviral vectors mediate gene transfer into any ne ...

The aggregation of beta-amyloid (Aβ) into soluble oligomers is considered an early event in Alzheimer’s disease. Furthermore, the presence of these aggregates seems to lead to neurodegeneration in the context of this disease. However, the mechanisms underlying Aβ-induced neurotox ...

Recent years have witnessed an explosion of research on the role of epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation and histone protein acetylation and phosphorylation, in neuroscience. These changes exert control over gene expression and have been shown to play important roles in a v ...

High levels of Aβ impair neuronal function at least in part by disrupting normal synaptic transmission and causing dysfunction of neural networks. This network dysfunction includes abnormal synchronization of neuronal activity resulting in epileptiform activity. Over time, t ...

The normal function of neurons depends on the integrity of microtubule-dependent transport of cellular materials and organelles to/from their cell bodies or axon terminus. In this chapter, we describe the design and implementation of a fluorescence imaging method to visualize axonal ...

RNA in situ hybridization is a powerful technique for examining gene expression in specific cell populations. This method is particularly useful in the central nervous system with its high cellular diversity and dynamic gene expression regulation associated with development, pla ...