Extracellular Matrix News 10.13 April 11, 2019 | |
| |
TOP STORYDefective Fibrillar Collagen Organization by Fibroblasts Contributes to Airway Remodeling in Asthma In vitro studies demonstrated that asthmatic airway fibroblasts were deficient in their packaging of fibrillar collagen-I, and expressed less decorin, important for collagen fibril packaging. Packaging of collagen fibrils was found to be more disorganized in asthmatics airways compared to controls, using transmission electron microscopy. [Am J Respir Crit Care Med] Abstract | |
| |
PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)Muscle Functions as a Connective Tissue and Source of Extracellular Matrix in Planarians Muscle cells expressed core ECM components, including all 19 collagen-encoding genes. Inhibition of muscle-expressed hemicentin-1, which encodes a highly conserved ECM glycoprotein, resulted in ectopic peripheral localization of cells, including neoblasts, outside of the muscle layer. [Nat Commun] Full Article Strontium-graphene oxide-modified collagen scaffolds displayed a strong effect on adipose-derived stem cells by facilitating cell adhesion and osteogenic differentiation and by promoting the secretion of angiogenic factors to stimulate the in vitro tube formation of endothelial cells. [ACS Appl Mater Interfaces] Abstract Collagen XXV Promotes Myoblast Fusion during Myogenic Differentiation and Muscle Formation In cell culture, the cleaved soluble extracellular domain of collagen XXV was sufficient to promote the formation of highly multinucleated myofibers. Col25a1 was transiently expressed during myogenic differentiation and Col25a1 transcripts were down-regulated in multinucleated myofibers by a muscle-specific microRNA, miR-499. [Sci Rep] Full Article Researchers developed a minimal, microscope-based system using chimeric integrins to investigate receptor-proximal events during focal adhesion assembly. Clustering of the human integrin β1 tail led to recruitment of talin, kindlin, and paxillin and mutation of the known talin binding site abolished recruitment of this protein. [Sci Rep] Full Article Gibson Assembly DNA technology was used to construct a circularFNDC3B (circFNDC3B) expression vector without a splice site and restriction enzyme site. The authors showed that circFNDC3B increased migration and invasion in gastric cancer (GC). Ectopic expression of circFNDC3B reduced the level of E-cadherin protein to promote the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in GC. [J Cell Physiol] Full Article Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 Induces Keratinocyte Apoptosis through FasL/Fas Pathway in Diabetic Wound Scientists explored whether matrix metalloproteinase (MMP9) induced keratinocyte apoptosis and investigated the plausible mechanisms. Their In vitro study showed that advanced glycation end products induced keratinocyte apoptosis and enhanced MMP9 level. MMP9, both intra-cellular expressions and extra-cellular supplement, promoted cell apoptosis. [Apoptosis] Abstract SJL wild-type and Mmp12−/− mice were infected with TME virus or vehicle (mock) and euthanized at 28 and 98 days post infection. Immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence of cervical and thoracic spinal cord for detecting glial fibrillary acidic protein, ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1, chemokine receptor 2, CD107b, CD16/32, and arginase I was performed and quantitatively evaluated. [Int J Mol Sci] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Researchers employed a feedback-controlled table-top bioreactor to investigate the role of TGF-β in microtissues of human chondrocytes over a wider range of physiological oxygen tensions (i.e., physoxia). They compared 1%, 2.5%, and 5% of partial oxygen pressure to the ‘normoxic’ 20%. [Int J Mol Sci] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Scientists developed and validated a custom-made automated bioreactor, called oscillating stretch-perfusion bioreactor, consisting of multiple, independent culture chambers able to combine a bidirectional perfusion with a programmable, uniaxial strain to functionalize cell-seeded decellularized tendons. Decellularized tendon matrices were seeded on their surfaces and within the tendon fibers with mesenchymal stem cells. [Ann Biomed Eng] Full Article Matrix Metalloproteinase 11 as a Potential Therapeutic Target in Lung Adenocarcinoma Transcriptome microarray data from four GEO datasets were jointly analyzed for differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Ontologic analysis showed that most of upregulated DEGs enriched in collagen catabolic/fibril organization processes regulated by matrix metalloproteinases. [Mol Ther Oncolytics] Abstract | Full Article Subscribe to one of our other 19 science newsletters such as Endothelial Cell News & Dermal Cell News. | |
| |
REVIEWSGetting a Grip on Adhesion: Cadherin Switching and Collagen Signaling DDR inhibitors have demonstrated anticancer therapeutic efficacy preclinically by inhibiting the collagen signaling. Understanding how collagen signaling impacts cellular processes including EMT and cadherin switching is of great interest especially given the strong interest in stromal targeted therapies for desmoplastic cancers. [Biochim Biophys Acta] Abstract Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the extracellular matrix research field. | |
| |
INDUSTRY NEWSACell, Inc. announced that it has entered into an exclusive longterm product supply and distribution agreement with First Horizon, LLC and Weihai Jierui Medical Products Co., Ltd. The terms of the distribution agreement grant exclusive rights to Weihai Jierui for the sale, marketing, and distribution of ACell’s MicroMatrix® and Cytal® Wound Matrix devices in China and Hong Kong for 10 years after marketing clearance. [ACell Inc.] Press Release £1.1 Million Project to Develop New Biodegradable Stents A £1.1 million project to develop biodegradable stents for patients with severe vascular disease, which affects around one million people in the UK, has started thanks to Innovate UK funding. The unique project, a collaboration between the UK-based medical device company Arterius and the Translational Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Bristol, will develop a new type of bioresorbable stent that prevents the complications associated with metal stents. [The American Association for the Advancement of Science] Press Release Paul Andrew Reyfman, MD, MS, of Northwestern University has been awarded the ATS Foundation/Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Research Fellowship in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The $100,000 award will help fund Dr. Reyfman’s research, “Single Cell Transcriptomic Analysis of Pulmonary Fibrosis.” [The American Association for the Advancement of Science] Press Release | |
| |
POLICY NEWSImpact Factors Are Still Widely Used in Academic Evaluations About 40% of institutes with a strong focus on research mention impact factors in documents used in the review, promotion and tenure process, according to the analysis, which examined more than 800 documents across 129 institutions in the United States and Canada. [Nature News] Editorial Racism Rife at Top South African University, Says Report A damning report that says racism is entrenched at the University of Cape Town has reignited discussions about how to erase the divisive legacy of colonialism at South Africa’s top research institutions. [Nature News] Editorial
| |
EVENTSNEW Gordon Research Conference: Elastin, Elastic Fibers & Microfibrils Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
| |
JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Ligand and Integrin Therapeutics (Boston Children’s Hospital) Scientist – Matrix Biology (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.) Research Scientist – Therapeutics Discovery Division (MD Anderson Cancer Center) Tenure-Track Lecturer – Molecular Biology (University of Cyprus) Postdoctoral Research – Modelling Bioabsorbable Vascular Scaffolds (NUI Galway) Postdoctoral Position – Vascular Tissue Engineering (BioTis) Faculty Position – Department of Bioengineering (University of Pittsburgh) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
| |
Have we missed an important article or publication in Extracellular Matrix News? Click here to submit! Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here. | |
|