The central nervous system (CNS) controls and regulates the functional activities of the organ systems and maintains the unity between the body and the external environment. The advent of co-culture systems has made it possible to elucidate the interactions between neural cells in vitro and to reproduce complex neural circuits. Here, we classified the co-culture system as a two-dimensional (2D) co-culture system, a cell-based three-dimensional (3D) co-culture system, a tissue slice-based 3D co-culture system, an organoid-based 3D co-culture system, and a microfluidic platform-based 3D co-culture system. We provide an overview of these different co-culture models and their applications in the study of neural cell interaction. The application of co-culture systems in virus-infected CNS disease models is also discussed here. Finally, the direction of the co-culture system in future research is prospected.

There is increasing evidence that chondrocytes within articular cartilage are affected by endogenous force-related electrical potentials. Furthermore, electrical stimulation (ES) promotes the proliferation of chondrocytes and the synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules, which accelerate the healing of cartilage defects. These findings suggest the potential application of ES in cartilage repair. In this review, we summarize the pathogenesis of articular cartilage injuries and the current clinical strategies for the treatment of articular cartilage injuries. We then focus on the application of ES in the repair of articular cartilage in vivo. The ES-induced chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and its potential regulatory mechanism are discussed in detail. In addition, we discuss the potential of applying piezoelectric materials in the process of constructing engineering articular cartilage, highlighting the important advances in the unique field of tissue engineering.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) ranks as the third leading cause of global mortality, affecting 210 million individuals worldwide. Notably, 60% of COPD patients experience comorbid neurocognitive disorders. Importantly, patients with neurocognitive dysfunction often exhibit poor adherence to therapeutic interventions and medications, exacerbating their COPD morbidity and increasing hospitalization rates and mortality risk. This review explores the potential lung-brain axis in COPD, emphasizing that oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in the lungs can spread to the systemic circulation, thereby regulating in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and contributing to brain dysfunction. In addition, the role of hormone-based hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in COPD progression is discussed. These cascading events can lead to neuronal deficits, altered glial cell function, and subsequent cognitive dysfunction. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive overview of potential medications for treating COPD and its associated cognitive deficits, with a specific focus on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant therapies. This compilation serves as a pivotal foundation for the prevention and management of cognitive dysfunction in COPD.

Objective. Three-dimensional (3D) neural tissue engineering is expected to provide new stride in developing neural disease models and functional substitutes to aid in the treatment of central nervous system injury. We have previously detailed an electrical stimulation (ES) system to generate 3D mouse engineered neural tissue (mENT) in vitro. However, ES-induced human ENT (hENT) has not previously been either investigated or identified in structural and functional manner. Here, we applied ES as a stimulator to regulate human neural stem cells in 3D Matrigel, explored the components and functional properties of hENTs. Approach. By immunofluorescence chemical staining and electron microscope imaging, we evaluated the effects of ES on (1) neuronal differentiation and maturation, (2) neurites outgrowth and alignment in hENT, (3) formation of synapses and myelin sheaths in hENT. We further investigated the formation of synaptic connections between ex-vivo-fused mouse and human tissue. We used calcium imaging to detect activities of neurons in hENT culture. Results. ES could induce neuronal differentiation, the orderly growth of neurites and the maturation of neuron subtypes to construct a well-developed neuronal network with synapses and myelin sheaths. Most importantly, we discovered that raising extracellular K⁺ concentration resulted the increasing neuronal excitability in the hENT, indicating electrical activities in neuronal cells. Significance. We applied ES to generate the organised 3D hENTs and identified them in both structural and functional manner.