Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2025
Comprehensive Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Safety of Placenta-Targeted Drug Delivery Using Three Complementary Methods
Published on: September 10, 2018
Methods and criteria for validating the multimodal functions of perinatal derivatives when used in oncological and
Antonietta R Silini1, Taja Železnik Ramuta2, Ana Salomé Pires3,4,5
1Centro di Ricerca E. Menni, Fondazione Poliambulanza Istituto Ospedaliero, Brescia, Italy.
Abstract:
Perinatal derivatives or PnDs refer to tissues, cells and secretomes from perinatal, or birth-associated tissues. In the past 2 decades PnDs have been highly investigated for their multimodal mechanisms of action that have been exploited in various disease settings, including in different cancers and infections. Indeed, there is growing evidence that PnDs possess anticancer and antimicrobial activities, but an urgent issue that needs to be addressed is the reproducible evaluation of efficacy, both in vitro and in vivo. Herein we present the most commonly used functional assays for the assessment of antitumor and antimicrobial properties of PnDs, and we discuss their advantages and disadvantages in assessing the functionality. This review is part of a quadrinomial series on functional assays for the validation of PnDs spanning biological functions such as immunomodulation, anticancer and antimicrobial, wound healing, and regeneration.
Insights
Perinatal derivatives (PnDs) show promise for treating cancers and infections. This review details functional assays for reproducible efficacy evaluation of PnDs in preclinical and clinical settings.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Science
- Regenerative Medicine
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Perinatal derivatives (PnDs) are tissues, cells, and secretomes from birth-associated sources.
- PnDs have demonstrated multimodal mechanisms of action in cancer and infection models.
- Reproducible efficacy evaluation of PnDs remains a critical challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present commonly used functional assays for assessing PnD antitumor and antimicrobial properties.
- To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these assays for PnD functionality assessment.
- To contribute to the validation of PnDs across various biological functions.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on functional assays for PnDs.
- Analysis of assays for evaluating anticancer properties of PnDs.
- Analysis of assays for evaluating antimicrobial properties of PnDs.
Main Results:
- Identification of key functional assays for PnD efficacy assessment.
- Discussion of limitations and strengths of current evaluation methods.
- Highlighting the need for standardized and reproducible assay protocols.
Conclusions:
- Standardized functional assays are essential for the reliable validation of PnDs.
- Further research is needed to optimize assay methodologies for PnD research.
- This review supports the development of PnDs as therapeutic agents.
