Extracellular Matrix News Volume 1.29 | Nov 25 2010

Nanoscale Architecture of Integrin-Based Cell Adhesions  
Researchers used three-dimensional super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (interferometric photoactivated localization microscopy) to map nanoscale protein organization in focal adhesions. [Nature]

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Researchers First to Turn Normal Skin Cells into Three-Dimensional Cancers in Tissue Culture Dishes
Researchers have successfully transformed normal human tissue into three-dimensional cancers in a tissue culture dish for the first time. [Press release from the Stanford University School of Medicine discussing online prepublication in Nature Medicine]

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Invasive Three-Dimensional Organotypic Neoplasia from Multiple Normal Human Epithelia
Researchers used tumor-associated genetic pathways to transform primary human epithelial cells from the epidermis, oropharynx, esophagus and cervix into genetically defined tumors in a human three-dimensional tissue environment that incorporates cell-populated stroma and intact basement membrane. [Nat Med]
 
Osteoblasts Derived from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Form Calcified Structures in Scaffolds Both In Vitro and In Vitro
Researchers performed directed differentiation to assess the ability of murine induced pluripotent stem cells to differentiate into bone, cartilage and fat in vitro and to maintain an osteoblast phenotype on a scaffold in vitro and in vivo. [Stem Cells]
 
Long-Term In Vitro Human Pancreatic Islet Culture Using Three-Dimensional Microfabricated Scaffolds
Researchers investigated the effects of human islet culture within various three-dimensional environments; collagen I gel, collagen I gel supplemented with extracellular matrix (ECM) components fibronectin and collagen IV, and microfabricated scaffold with ECM-supplemented gel. [Biomaterials]

In Vitro Generation of an Osteochondral Interface from Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Collagen Microspheres
Researchers present a mesenchymal stem cell-collagen microsphere-based approach for complex tissue engineering and demonstrate in vitro formation of a stem cell-derived osteochondral interface with calcified cartilage interface separating a non-calcified cartilage layer and an underlying bone layer. [Biomaterials]

High-Throughput Generation of Hydrogel Microbeads with Varying Elasticity for Cell Encapsulation
Researchers report a microfluidic approach for high-throughput generation of 3D microenvironments with different elasticity for studies of cell fate. [Biomaterials]

The Influence of Biological Motifs and Dynamic Mechanical Stimulation in Hydrogel Scaffold Systems on the Phenotype of Chondrocytes
Results support the hypothesis that both compressive strain and scaffold bioactivity have an important effect on the chondrocyte metabolic response to mechanical stimulation, and that the 3D environment surrounding chondrocytes can actively participate in translating mechanical stimulation to the resident cells. [Biomaterials]

Hydrogel-Electrospun Mesh Composites for Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts
Researchers demonstrated that a multi-component scaffold comprised of polyurethane electrospun mesh layers (intended to be mimetic of arterial collagen fiber loading) bonded together by a fibrin hydrogel matrix (intended to be mimetic of arterial elastic fiber response) results in a composite construct which retains the high tensile strength and suture retention strength of electrospun mesh but which displays a “J-shaped” mechanical response similar to that of native coronary artery. [Tissue Eng Part C Methods]

Distinct Regulatory Mechanisms Control Integrin Adhesive Processes During Tissue Morphogenesis
Researchers found that morphogenetic processes use various beta-integrin regulatory mechanisms to differing degrees and that conformational changes associated with outside-in activation are essential for developmental integrin functions. [Dev Dyn]

Stratophase Collaborates with LGC on Real-Time Monitoring of 3D Cell Culture Growth
By using Stratophase’s innovative SpectroSens insertion probe, LGC has demonstrated its potential to improve the monitoring of cell growth in a 3D culture by enabling real-time measurement of nutrient metabolism and the build-up of waste products. [Stratophase Limited Press Release]
 
Medtronic Completes Acquisition of Osteotech
Moving to expand its Biologics product offerings, Medtronic, Inc. announced it has completed the acquisition of Osteotech, following payment of $6.50 per share in cash for each share of Osteotech stock, with a total transaction value of approximately $123 million. [Medtronic, Inc. Press Release]
 
A New Collaboration with Tokyo Women´s Medical University
Karolinska Institutet and the Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering and Science, Tokyo Women´s Medical University have agreed to collaborate on education and biomedical research. [Karolinska Institutet Press Release]

Pfizer Launches Global Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, a Network of Research Partnerships, with University of California, San Francisco
Pfizer Inc. announced the establishment of the Global Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, an entrepreneurial network of partnerships with leading academic medical centers to transform research and development by accessing leading translational researchers. [Pfizer Inc. Press Release]
 
Bioscience Vaccines Receives Tax Credit to Develop Medical Technology
Officials at Bioscience Vaccines Inc. announced that the firm has received an award to progress the firm’s technology, which enhances the prevention of infectious disease, biological warfare attacks and several types of cancer. Bioscience Vaccines’ Extracellular Matrix technology is an additive that helps vaccines work more effectively at a reduced cost. [Purdue Research Park Press Release]
 
Stratatech Awarded $3.5 Million to Continue Development of Infection-Fighting Skin Substitute
Stratatech Corporation, a privately-held regenerative medicine company, announced that it has been awarded a $3.5 million Fast-Track Small Business Innovation Research grant to expand the development of its anti-infective living human skin substitute. [Business Wire]

RepRegen™ Raises £1.03 Million ($1.6 Million) in Additional Capital from Existing Investors Imperial Innovations, Longbow Capital and Others
RepRegen™ Ltd., the ‘smart biomaterials’ company, announced that it has raised £1.03 million ($1.6 million). [RepRegen™ Ltd. Press Release]
 
FDA Approves Amgen’s XGEVA™ (Denosumab) for the Prevention of Skeletal-Related Events in Patients with Bone Metastases from Solid Tumors
Amgen Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved XGEVA™ (denosumab), the first and only RANK Ligand inhibitor for the prevention of skeletal-related events (SREs) in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors. [Amgen Inc. Press Release]

European Research Body to Get New Head
The European Research Council is about to get a new leader, although not in the form most people expected. Helga Nowotny, chair of the ERC’s Scientific Council, a new secretary-general has been chosen to replace Andreu Mas-Colell, who stepped down for personal reasons in September. [European Research Council, European Union]
 
Committee for Advanced Therapies Adopts Five-Year Work Program to Foster Development of Advanced Therapies
The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Advanced Therapies has unveiled a Work Program to 2015, intended to help increase the number of advanced-therapy medicinal products that make it from the early research stage to the market. [European Medicines Agency, European Union]

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