James H-C. Wang | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Chinese American |
Occupation(s) | Orthopaedic biomechanist and academic |
Academic background | |
Education | B.S., Engineering Mechanics M.S., Experimental Biomechanics Ph.D., Bioengineering |
Alma mater | Tongji University University of Cincinnati |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Tongji University University of Pittsburgh |
James H-C. Wang is a Chinese American orthopedic biomechanist and academic. Currently,he is a Professor at the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery,Bioengineering,and PM&R at the University of Pittsburgh. [1] In addition,he is a Faculty Member at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. [2]
Wang is most known for his work on tissue biomechanics,tissue engineering,and cell mechanobiology. [3]
Wang is a Fellow of the International Orthopaedic Research (FIOR),and American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). [4]
Wang completed his Bachelor of Science in Engineering Mechanics in 1982 and Master of Science in Experimental Biomechanics in 1989 from Tongji University. Later in 1996,he obtained PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Cincinnati in the US. [1]
In 1982,Wang joined Tongji University as an Assistant Instructor in the Department of Engineering Mechanics. After moving to USA,he finished his PhD at the University of Cincinnati and later completed postdoctoral training in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins Medical School,Baltimore and Washington University,St. Louis. After his postdoctoral training,he joined the University of Pittsburgh in 1998,where he was Assistant Professor at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery from 1998 to 2005. Subsequently,he held the position of tenured Associate Professor at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and associate professor at the Departments of Bioengineering,Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science,and PM&R between 2005 and 2012. Since 2012,he has been serving as Professor at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and also Professor at the Departments of Bioengineering and PM&R. [1] [2]
In 2017,he was appointed Vice Chair of Research at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. Since 2004,he has been the Director of the MechanoBiology Laboratory in the same department. [2]
At the University of Pittsburgh,Wang has developed a research program in cell mechanobiology,which particularly focuses on the role of tendon cells in the development of tendinopathy. He has been consistently receiving substantial funding support from NIH and NSF. Additionally,he has been awarded research grants from DOD for several projects that aim to develop practical and clinically actionable strategies for the prevention and treatment of tendinopathy. He has authored numerous publications spanning the areas of tissue biomechanics,tissue engineering,and cell mechanobiology. [3]
To understand the inflammatory and degenerative responses of tendon due to overuse injury,Wang's group has established a validated animal model of tendinopathy by using mouse treadmill running that mimic human tendinopathy development. Additionally,his work emphasized the role of HMGB1 as a pivotal molecule in mechanically induced tendinopathy and proposed glycyrrhizin and metformin as potential therapeutic agents to inhibit HMGB1 activity,thereby offering preventive and treatment options for tendinopathy. [5] [6]
Wang's research team has also worked on the identification and characterization of tendon stem cells (TSCs) in humans,mice,rats,and rabbits. [7] Wang's tendon stem cell research has focused on the effects of different mechanical loading conditions on TSC growth and differentiation. [8] Focusing on TSCs,his work highlighted the role of TSC mechanobiology in tendon homeostasis as well as the development of degenerative tendinopathy. [8] [9] His group showed that in normal conditions,the multi-differentiation potential of TSCs allows these stem cells to differentiate into tenocytes;however,under high stress and injurious conditions TSCs can undergo aberrant differentiation into adipocytes,chondrocytes,and osteocytes. Wang's team has established the beneficial effects of modest exercise on tendons via moderate treadmill running by the virtue of its effect in enhancing the function of TSCs resulting in the formation of normal-like tendon tissue at the site of injury. [10] [11] In their examination of treatment options for tendon injuries, [12] his group has provided insights into the application of biologics such as PRP [13] for the effective treatment of tendon injuries. [14]
Wang also focuses his research on tissue engineering. His approach to regenerate tendons after injury includes the use of PRP. His group showed that PRP with minimal leukocytes,known as pure-PRP (P-PRP),induces TSC differentiation into active tenocytes. These tenocytes produce abundant collagens,enabling P-PRP to effectively repair tendon injuries. His team demonstrated that the combined application of kartogenin and PRP effectively enhanced the formation of a fibrocartilage region connecting the tendon graft and bone interface,thereby improving the biomechanical strength of the tendon-bone junction. [15]
A tendon or sinew is a tough band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system,while withstanding tension.
Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain,swelling,and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder,elbow,wrist,hip,knee,or ankle.
Tissue engineering is a biomedical engineering discipline that uses a combination of cells,engineering,materials methods,and suitable biochemical and physicochemical factors to restore,maintain,improve,or replace different types of biological tissues. Tissue engineering often involves the use of cells placed on tissue scaffolds in the formation of new viable tissue for a medical purpose,but is not limited to applications involving cells and tissue scaffolds. While it was once categorized as a sub-field of biomaterials,having grown in scope and importance,it can is considered as a field of its own.
Achilles tendinitis,also known as achilles tendinopathy,occurs when the Achilles tendon,found at the back of the ankle,becomes sore. Achilles tendinopathy is accompanied by alterations in the tendon's structure and mechanical properties. The most common symptoms are pain and swelling around the affected tendon. The pain is typically worse at the start of exercise and decreases thereafter. Stiffness of the ankle may also be present. Onset is generally gradual.
Rotator cuff tendinopathy is a process of senescence. The pathophysiology is mucoid degeneration. Most people develop rotator cuff tendinopathy within their lifetime.
Stem-cell therapy is the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. As of 2016,the only established therapy using stem cells is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This usually takes the form of a bone-marrow transplantation,but the cells can also be derived from umbilical cord blood. Research is underway to develop various sources for stem cells as well as to apply stem-cell treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) is a non-invasive,out-patient alternative to surgery for those with many joint and tendon disorders. ESWT sends acoustic shock waves into bone or soft tissue,in effect reinjuring the area on a cellular level and breaking up the scarring that has penetrated tendons and ligaments. The controlled reinjuring of tissue allows the body to regenerate blood vessels and bone cells. The resulting revascularization leads to faster healing and often a return to pre-injury activity levels. ESWT is mostly used for kidney stones removal,in physical therapy and orthopedics.
Signal transducer CD24 also known as cluster of differentiation 24 or heat stable antigen CD24 (HSA) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CD24 gene. CD24 is a cell adhesion molecule.
Kruppel-like factor 4 is a member of the KLF family of zinc finger transcription factors,which belongs to the relatively large family of SP1-like transcription factors. KLF4 is involved in the regulation of proliferation,differentiation,apoptosis and somatic cell reprogramming. Evidence also suggests that KLF4 is a tumor suppressor in certain cancers,including colorectal cancer. It has three C2H2-zinc fingers at its carboxyl terminus that are closely related to another KLF,KLF2. It has two nuclear localization sequences that signals it to localize to the nucleus. In embryonic stem cells (ESCs),KLF4 has been demonstrated to be a good indicator of stem-like capacity. It is suggested that the same is true in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).
Tenomodulin,also referred to as tendin,myodulin,Tnmd,or TeM,is a protein encoded by the TNMD (Tnmd) gene and was discovered independently by Brandau and Shukunami in 2001 as a gene sharing high similarity with the already known chondromodulin-1 (Chm1). It is a tendon-specific gene marker known to be important for tendon maturation with key implications for the residing tendon stem/progenitor cells (TSPCs) as well as for the regulation of endothelial cell migration in chordae tendineae cordis in the heart and in experimental tumour models. It is highly expressed in tendons,explaining the rationale behind its name and the establishment as being marker gene for tendinous and ligamentous lineages.
Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are stem cells present in the dental pulp,which is the soft living tissue within teeth. DPSCs can be collected from dental pulp by means of a non-invasive practice. It can be performed with an adult after simple extraction or to the young after surgical extraction of wisdom teeth. They are pluripotent,as they can form embryoid body-like structures (EBs) in vitro and teratoma-like structures that contained tissues derived from all three embryonic germ layers when injected in nude mice. DPSCs can differentiate in vitro into tissues that have similar characteristics to mesoderm,endoderm and ectoderm layers. They can differentiate into many cell types,such as odontoblasts,neural progenitors,osteoblasts,chondrocytes,and adipocytes. DPSCs were found to be able to differentiate into adipocytes and neural-like cells. DPSC differentiation into osteogenic lines is enhanced in 3D condition and hypoxia. These cells can be obtained from postnatal teeth,wisdom teeth,and deciduous teeth,providing researchers with a non-invasive method of extracting stem cells. The different cell populations,however,differ in certain aspects of their growth rate in culture,marker gene expression and cell differentiation,although the extent to which these differences can be attributed to tissue of origin,function or culture conditions remains unclear. As a result,DPSCs have been thought of as an extremely promising source of cells used in endogenous tissue engineering.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP),also known as autologous conditioned plasma,is a concentrate of platelet-rich plasma protein derived from whole blood,centrifuged to remove red blood cells. Though promoted to treat an array of medical problems,evidence for benefit is mixed as of 2020,with some evidence for use in certain conditions and against use in other conditions.
Evan Flatow is an American orthopaedic surgeon-scientist. As of 2023,he is President of Mount Sinai West,part of the Mount Sinai Health System. He published more than 400 book chapters and peer-reviewed articles. Flatow is indicated as principal or co-principal investigator for nine research grants and listed on six patents for influential shoulder implant systems.
Mechanobiology is an emerging field of science at the interface of biology,engineering,chemistry and physics. It focuses on how physical forces and changes in the mechanical properties of cells and tissues contribute to development,cell differentiation,physiology,and disease. Mechanical forces are experienced and may be interpreted to give biological responses in cells. The movement of joints,compressive loads on the cartilage and bone during exercise,and shear pressure on the blood vessel during blood circulation are all examples of mechanical forces in human tissues. A major challenge in the field is understanding mechanotransduction—the molecular mechanisms by which cells sense and respond to mechanical signals. While medicine has typically looked for the genetic and biochemical basis of disease,advances in mechanobiology suggest that changes in cell mechanics,extracellular matrix structure,or mechanotransduction may contribute to the development of many diseases,including atherosclerosis,fibrosis,asthma,osteoporosis,heart failure,and cancer. There is also a strong mechanical basis for many generalized medical disabilities,such as lower back pain,foot and postural injury,deformity,and irritable bowel syndrome.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) also known as mesenchymal stromal cells or medicinal signaling cells are multipotent stromal cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types,including osteoblasts,chondrocytes,myocytes and adipocytes.
Lori Ann Setton is an American biomechanical engineer noted for her research on mechanics and mechanobiology of the intervertebral disc,articular cartilage mechanics,drug delivery,and pathomechanisms of osteoarthritis. She is currently the department chair as well as the Lucy and Stanley Lopata Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.
The in vivo bioreactor is a tissue engineering paradigm that uses bioreactor methodology to grow neotissue in vivo that augments or replaces malfunctioning native tissue. Tissue engineering principles are used to construct a confined,artificial bioreactor space in vivo that hosts a tissue scaffold and key biomolecules necessary for neotissue growth. Said space often requires inoculation with pluripotent or specific stem cells to encourage initial growth,and access to a blood source. A blood source allows for recruitment of stem cells from the body alongside nutrient delivery for continual growth. This delivery of cells and nutrients to the bioreactor eventually results in the formation of a neotissue product.
Human engineered cardiac tissues (hECTs) are derived by experimental manipulation of pluripotent stem cells,such as human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and,more recently,human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to differentiate into human cardiomyocytes. Interest in these bioengineered cardiac tissues has risen due to their potential use in cardiovascular research and clinical therapies. These tissues provide a unique in vitro model to study cardiac physiology with a species-specific advantage over cultured animal cells in experimental studies. hECTs also have therapeutic potential for in vivo regeneration of heart muscle. hECTs provide a valuable resource to reproduce the normal development of human heart tissue,understand the development of human cardiovascular disease (CVD),and may lead to engineered tissue-based therapies for CVD patients.
Craniofacial regeneration refers to the biological process by which the skull and face regrow to heal an injury. This page covers birth defects and injuries related to the craniofacial region,the mechanisms behind the regeneration,the medical application of these processes,and the scientific research conducted on this specific regeneration. This regeneration is not to be confused with tooth regeneration. Craniofacial regrowth is broadly related to the mechanisms of general bone healing.
Artificial ligaments are devices used to replace damaged ligaments. Today,the most common use of artificial ligaments is in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Although autotransplantation remains the most common method of ligament reconstruction,numerous materials and structures were developed to optimize the artificial ligament since its creation in the World War I era. Many modern artificial ligaments are made of synthetic polymers,such as polyethylene terephthalate. Various coatings have been added to improve the biocompatibility of the synthetic polymers. Early artificial ligaments developed in the 1980s were ineffective due to material deterioration. Currently,the Ligament Advanced Reinforcement System (LARS) artificial ligament has been utilized extensively in clinical applications. Tissue engineering is a growing area of research which aims to regenerate and restore ligament function.