Dermal Cell News Volume 4.09 | Mar 19 2018

TOP STORY

The Dietary Supplement Chondroitin-4-Sulfate Exhibits Oncogene-Specific Pro-Tumor Effects on BRAF V600E Melanoma Cells

Investigators report that chondroitin-4-sulfate, a natural glycosaminoglycan approved as a dietary supplement used for osteoarthritis, selectively promotes the tumor growth potential of BRAF V600E-expressing human melanoma cells in patient- and cell line-derived xenograft mice and confers resistance to BRAF inhibitors. [Mol Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

DERMAL STEM CELLS & TISSUE REGENERATION

Desmosomal Cadherin Association with Tctex-1 and Cortactin-Arp2/3 Drives Perijunctional Actin Polymerization to Promote Keratinocyte Delamination

The authors reveal an unexpected role for the vertebrate cadherin desmoglein 1 in remodeling the actin cytoskeleton to promote the transit of basal cells into the suprabasal layer through a process of delamination, one mechanism of epidermal stratification. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Production-Scale Fibronectin Nanofibers Promote Wound Closure and Tissue Repair in a Dermal Mouse Model

Researchers showed that high extensional and shear strain rates in rotary jet spinning can drive high throughput fibronectin (Fn) fibrillogenesis, thus producing nanofiber scaffolds that are used to effectively enhance wound healing. When tested on a full-thickness wound mouse model, Fn nanofiber dressings not only accelerated wound closure, but also significantly improved tissue restoration, recovering dermal and epidermal structures as well as skin appendages and adipose tissue. [Biomaterials] Abstract | Press Release

Orchestrated Control of Filaggrin-Actin Scaffolds Underpins Cornification

Scientists employed advanced microscopy to examine filaggrin organization and dynamics in skin and human keratinocytes during differentiation. They found that filaggrin organization depends on the cytoplasmic actin cytoskeleton, including the role for α- and β-actin scaffolds. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Deficiency of Liver-Derived Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I) Does Not Interfere with the Skin Wound Healing Rate

Researchers investigated the role of systemic IGF-I on wound healing rate in mice with deficiency of liver-derived IGF-I during normal and impaired wound healing. [PLoS One] Full Article

Induction of Keratinocyte Migration by ECa 233 Is Mediated through FAK/Akt, ERK, and p38 MAPK Signaling

The authors investigated the effect and underlying molecular mechanisms of ECa 233 on the migration of a human keratinocyte cell line using the scratch wound healing assay. [Phytother Res] Abstract

SKIN CANCERS & DISORDERS

Copper Silicate Hollow Microspheres-Incorporated Scaffolds for Chemo-Photothermal Therapy of Melanoma and Tissue Healing

Copper silicate hollow microspheres (CSO HMSs)-incorporated bioactive scaffolds were designed for chemo-photothermal therapy of skin cancers and regeneration of skin tissue. With incorporation of drug-loaded CSO HMSs into the electrospun scaffolds, the composite scaffolds exhibited excellent photothermal effects and controlled NIR-triggered drug release, leading to distinctly synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy of skin cancer both in vitro and in vivo. [ACS Nano] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

AXL/AKT Axis Mediated-Resistance to BRAF Inhibitor Depends on PTEN Status in Melanoma

Scientists identified AXL as a key upstream effector of AKT pathway-associated resistance to BRAF inhibitor in melanoma with wildtype PTEN, but not in melanoma with impaired PTEN. [Oncogene] Abstract

Collagen Abundance Controls Melanoma Phenotypes through Lineage-Specific Microenvironment Sensing

Researchers demonstrated that collagen stiffness induced melanoma differentiation through a YAP/PAX3/MITF axis and showed that in melanoma patients increased collagen abundance correlates with nuclear YAP localization. [Oncogene] Full Article

Up-Regulated Deubiquitinase USP4 Plays an Oncogenic Role in Melanoma

Investigators found that the expression of the deubiquitinase ubiquitin‐specific peptidase (USP) 4 was significantly up‐regulated in melanoma tissues and cell lines. They showed that USP4 regulated cisplatin‐induced cell apoptosis via p53 signaling. [J Cell Mol Med] Abstract

Blockade of TGF-β/Smad Signaling by the Small Compound HPH-15 Ameliorates Experimental Skin Fibrosis

The effects of HPH-15 on expression of extracellular matrix components and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling in human dermal fibroblasts were analyzed. The antifibrotic properties of HPH-15 and its mechanisms were also examined in a bleomycin-induced skin fibrosis mouse model. [Arthritis Res Ther] Full Article

Cutaneous Barriers and Skin Immunity: Differentiating A Connected Network

The authors highlight the different levels of the cutaneous barrier, their characteristics, and functional, highly interconnected network of cells and mediators that allow balanced defense measures to protect the body and maintain barrier integrity. [Trends Immunol] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the dermal cell research field.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Vanderbilt University Expand Partnership to Develop Novel Treatment Approaches for Cancer

Boehringer Ingelheim and Vanderbilt University announced the expansion of their successful existing collaboration to develop novel anti-cancer compounds. [Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH] Press Release

eTheRNA Completes Enrolment of Low Dose Cohort for Phase Ib Study of TriMix mRNA-Based Cancer Specific Immunotherapy (ECI-006) in Melanoma

eTheRNA immunotherapies announced that it has completed enrolment of the low dose cohort in its Phase Ib study (E011-MEL) of ECI-006 as an adjuvant therapy in metastatic melanoma patients. [eTheRNA immunotherapies NV] Press Release

Reporter’s Notebook: House Budget Hearing Shows Science Chairman’s Impact on NSF Peer Review

Representative Lamar Smith has repeatedly criticized the peer-review process at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Alexandria, Virginia, since becoming chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’s science committee in 2013. It was no surprise, then, that during a hearing on NSF’s 2019 budget request he railed against a handful of grants from NSF’s $6 billion research portfolio as a waste of taxpayer dollars. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

‘Right-to-Try’ Bill Rejected by House, in Major Blow to GOP Efforts

In a major blow to the effort to pass a federal “right-to-try” law, House Republicans failed to muster the votes to pass a key compromise measure. [STAT News] Editorial

Springer Nature and VSNU Renew Agreement on Open Access Publishing

Springer Nature and the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) have renewed their agreement to secure open access publishing for Dutch universities up to 2021. [The Association of Universities in the Netherlands] Editorial

Science ‘Champion’ Dan Lipinski Faces Tough Race in Illinois Primary

Representative Daniel Lipinski—an anti-abortion Democrat who voted against the Affordable Care Act and who only recently has embraced a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants—knows that he’s out of step with progressives on many social issues. Lipinski will find out whether voters in Illinois’s third congressional district on Chicago’s southwest side feel there’s still room for him in the Democratic Party. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW 6^th Cambridge International Stem Cell Symposium
September 19-21, 2018
Cambridge, United Kingdom

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.

NEW Academic Dermatopathologist – Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (Harvard Medical School)

Postdoctoral Research Associate – Melanoma (University of North Texas Health Science Center)

Postdoctoral Position – Epidermal Development and Differentiation (National Institutes of Health)

Postdoctoral Associate – Biomedical Engineering (University of Minnesota)

Postdoctoral Research Associate – Wound Repair (Washington State University)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cancer Research (Indiana University School of Medicine)

Scientific Editor – Cancer Cell (Elsevier)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Molecular Biology (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

PhD Position – Melanoma (University of Luxembourg)

Director – Melanoma Global Value Evidence Leader (Merck)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Microbiology & Immunology (Johns Hopkins University)

PhD or Postdoctoral Position – Tissue Repair, Stem Cell Fate and Tumor Heterogeneity (Université Libre de Bruxelles)

Faculty Positions – Cancer and Stem Cell Biology (Sun Yat-Sen University)

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