Extracellular Matrix News Volume 10.33 | Aug 29 2019

TOP STORY

ADAMDEC1 Maintains a Growth Factor Signaling Loop in Cancer Stem Cells

Researchers identified a novel signaling loop that induced and maintained glioblastoma cancer stem cells (GSCs) consisting of an atypical metalloproteinase, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-like protein decysin 1 (ADAMDEC1), secreted by GSCs. [Cancer Discov] Abstract | Press Release

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Rebalancing of Actomyosin Contractility Enables Mammary Tumor Formation upon Loss of E-Cadherin

Scientists showed that E-cadherin loss induced extrusion of luminal mouse mammary epithelial cells (MMECs) to the basal lamina. Remarkably, E-cadherin-deficient MMECs can breach the basal lamina but do not disseminate into the surrounding fat pad. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Tissue Architectural Cues Drive Organ Targeting of Tumor Cells in Zebrafish

Investigators examined the role of physical factors in non-random organ colonization using a zebrafish xenograft model. They observed a two-step process by which mammalian mammary tumor cells showed non-random organ colonization. [Cell Syst] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

Dualism of FGF and TGF-β Signaling in Heterogeneous Cancer-Associated Fibroblast Activation with ETV1 as a Critical Determinant

The authors showed that in primary human dermal fibroblasts, fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling oppositely modulated multiple cancer-associated fibroblast effector genes. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Hydrogel Platform for In Vitro Three Dimensional Assembly of Human Stem Cell-Derived Islet Cells and Endothelial Cells

Researchers developed a strategy of assembling human embryonic stem cell-derived islet cells with endothelial cells into three-dimensional aggregates on a hydrogel. The resulting islet organoids expressed β cell and other endocrine markers and were functional, capable of undergoing glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. [Acta Biomater] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

The Cross-Talk between TGF-β and PDGFRα Signaling Pathways Regulates Stromal Fibro/Adipogenic Progenitors’ Fate

Investigators found that TGF-β signaling reduced PDGFRα expression in fibro/adipogenic progenitors (FAPs), mouse dermal fibroblasts, and in two related mesenchymal/fibroblast cell lines. Moreover, TGF-β promoted myofibroblast differentiation of FAPs but inhibited their adipogenicity. [J Cell Sci] Abstract

Longer Collagen Fibers Trigger Multicellular Streaming on Soft Substrates via Enhanced Forces and Cell-Cell Cooperation

To independently tune stiffness and collagen fiber length, the authors developed new hydrogels and discovered invasion-like streaming of normal epithelial cells on soft substrates coated with long collagen fibers. [J Cell Sci] Abstract

Nano-Mechanical Mapping of Interdependent Cell and ECM Mechanics by AFM Force Spectroscopy

Using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), scientists characterized five different decellularized matrices diverse in their topography, ECM composition and stiffness and cultured them with normal and pathological fibroblasts. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Transcriptional Profiling of Corneal Stromal Cells Derived from Patients with Keratoconus

Researchers utilized mRNA-Seq to analyze gene expression in primary human corneal stromal cells derived from five non-Keratoconus healthy and four Keratoconus donors. Gene ontology analysis using WebGestalt indicated the enrichment of genes involved in cell migration, extracellular matrix, adherens junction, and MAPK signaling. [Sci Rep] Full Article

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The Complex Interaction between the Tumor Micro-Environment and Immune Checkpoints in Breast Cancer

The authors focus on the immune checkpoint and tumor microenvironment elements that influence cancer progression, particularly studies in molecular subtypes of breast cancer. [Cancers] Abstract

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Ceapro Announces Research Funding Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for Joint Projects with McMaster University

Ceapro Inc. announced that the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in partnership with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada has awarded a $670,315 Collaborative Health Research Projects Initiative grant for a three-year collaborative project with Dr. Todd Hoare, Dr. Brian Coombes and Dr. Kjetil Ask at McMaster University. [Ceapro, Inc.] Press Release

Grant Awarded to Study Negative Side Effects of Cancer Treatment Medication

Xinzhu (Shin) Pu, an assistant research professor in Boise State University’s biology department and Biomolecular Research Center, has been awarded a one-year renewable grant of $50,000 by the IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence to fund a pilot study related to the heart-damaging effects of Doxorubicin. [Boise State University] Press Release

Scientist Lands $1.7 Million NIH Grant for Tissue Engineering Approach

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine have received a five-year R01 grant totaling $1,738,565 from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a novel project titled “Hypoxia Regulation of the Lens.” [Florida Atlantic University] Press Release

Younger Scientists Need Better Support

Letters from research funders to university leaders rarely raise eyebrows. But a letter sent this month by the heads of the United Kingdom’s three largest medical-research funders did just that. [Nature News] Editorial

FDA Warns Testing Companies: Don’t Tell Patients How Their DNA Influences Response to Specific Drugs

Amid a boom in genetic testing that aims to predict a person’s response to medication, the Food and Drug Administration has been quietly pressuring a handful of companies to stop reporting results to patients about how their genes may interact with specific drugs. [STAT News] Editorial

NEW Gordon Research Seminar: Signal Transduction by Engineered Extracellular Matrices
July 18-19, 2020
Manchester, New Hampshire, United States

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NEW Postdoctoral Researcher – Proteoglycans in Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis (Drexel University)

NEW Lab Specialist – ECM of the Eye (The University of Utah)

NEW Postdoctoral Researchers – Engineering Human Tissues (Columbia University)

Scientific Communications Coordinator (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Scientist – Matrix Biology (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Molecular Mechanisms of Psychiatric Disorders (McLean Hospital)

Postdoctoral Position – Receptor Biology (Scripps Research Institute)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Circulating Extracellular RNAs in Reproductive Medicine (Columbia University)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Intercellular Signaling Inflammation and Atherosclerosis (University of California, San Francisco)

Research Scientist – Intestinal Injury/Tissue Engineering (Nationwide Children’s Hospital)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Bioengineering of 4D Scaffold Development (Nationwide Children’s Hospital)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Extracellular Matrix of Brain Vessels (Inserm)

Postdoctoral Fellow – ECM Remodeling & Cancer Invasion Research (Luxembourg Institute of Health)

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