The rapid progress in the field of stem cell research has laid strong foundations for their use in regenerative medicine applications of injured or diseased tissues. Growing evidences indicate that some observed therapeutic outcomes of stem cell-based therapy are due to paracrine effects rather than long-term engraftment and survival of transplanted cells. Given their ability to cross biological barriers and mediate intercellular information transfer of bioactive molecules, extracellular vesicles are being explored as potential cell-free therapeutic agents. In this review, we first discuss the state of the art of regenerative medicine and its current limitations and challenges, with particular attention on pluripotent stem cell-derived products to repair organs like the eye, heart, skeletal muscle and skin. We then focus on emerging beneficial roles of extracellular vesicles to alleviate these pathological conditions and address hurdles and operational issues of this acellular strategy. Finally, we discuss future directions and examine how careful integration of different approaches presented in this review could help to potentiate therapeutic results in preclinical models and their good manufacturing practice (GMP) implementation for future clinical trials.

Chronic wounds, such as leg ulcers associated with sickle cell disease, occur as a consequence of a prolonged inflammatory phase during the healing process. They are extremely hard to heal and persist as a significant health care problem due to the absence of effective treatment and the uprising number of patients. Indeed, there is a critical need to develop novel cell- and tissue-based therapies to treat these chronic wounds. Development in skin engineering leads to a small catalogue of available substitutes manufactured in Good Manufacturing Practices compliant (GMPc) conditions. Those substitutes are produced using primary cells that could limit their use due to restricted sourcing. Here, we propose GMPc protocols to produce functional populations of keratinocytes and fibroblasts derived from pluripotent stem cells to reconstruct the associated dermo-epidermal substitute with plasma-based fibrin matrix. In addition, this manufactured composite skin is biologically active and enhances in vitro wounding of keratinocytes. The proposed composite skin opens new perspectives for skin replacement using allogeneic substitute.

Melanocytes are essential for skin homeostasis and protection, and their loss or misfunction leads to a wide spectrum of diseases. Cell therapy utilizing autologous melanocytes has been used for years as an adjunct treatment for hypopigmentary disorders such as vitiligo. However, these approaches are hindered by the poor proliferative capacity of melanocytes obtained from skin biopsies. Recent advances in the field of human pluripotent stem cells have fueled the prospect of generating melanocytes. Here, we have developed a well-characterized method to produce a pure and homogenous population of functional and proliferative melanocytes. The genetic stability and potential transformation of melanocytes from pluripotent stem cells have been evaluated over time during the in vitro culture process. Thanks to transcriptomic analysis, the molecular signatures all along the differentiation protocol have been characterized, providing a solid basis for standardizing the protocol. Altogether, our results promise meaningful, broadly applicable, and longer-lasting advances for pigmentation disorders and open perspectives for innovative biotherapies for pigment disorders.

Over the last decade, various protocols have been published to generate melanocytes from human pluripotent stem cells (CSP). However, there is li | POSTER

Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex (EBS), an autosomal dominant skin disorder, is characterized by skin fragility. Genetically, majority of cases are | POSTER