Extracellular Matrix News Volume 10.29 | Aug 1 2019

TOP STORY

3D Bioprinting of Collagen to Rebuild Components of the Human Heart

Researchers present a method to 3D-bioprint collagen using freeform reversible embedding of suspended hydrogels to engineer components of the human heart at various scales, from capillaries to the full organ. [Science] Full Article

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Extracellular Matrix Stiffness Cues Junctional Remodeling for 3D Tissue Elongation

Scientists applied advanced image analysis to reveal extracellular matrix-responsive cell behaviors that drove elongation of the Drosophila follicle, a model system in which basement membrane stiffness instructed three-dimensional tissue morphogenesis. [Nat Commun] Full Article

A ZEB1/p53 Signaling Axis in Stromal Fibroblasts Promotes Mammary Epithelial Tumors

Using a mouse model of breast cancer, investigators showed that ZEB1 inactivation in stromal fibroblasts suppressed tumor initiation, progression and metastasis. They associated this with reduced extracellular matrix remodeling, immune cell infiltration and decreased angiogenesis. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Sidekick Is a Key Component of Tricellular Adherens Junctions That Acts to Resolve Cell Rearrangements

The adaptor proteins Polychaetoid and Canoe were enriched at tricellular adherens junctions in a Sidekick-dependent manner; Sidekick functionally interacted with both proteins and directly bound to Polychaetoid. [Dev Cell] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Structural Redundancy in Supracellular Actomyosin Networks Enables Robust Tissue Folding

The authors combined network analysis, experimental perturbations, and computational modeling to determine how network connectivity between hundreds of contractile cells on the ventral side of the Drosophila embryo ensured robust tissue folding. [Dev Cell] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Pharmacological and Genetic Inhibition of Caveolin-1 Promotes Epithelialization and Wound Closure

Pharmacological disruption of caveolae by MβCD or CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Caveolin-1 (Cav1)-knockdown, resulted in disruption of Cav1-membranous glucocorticoid receptor and Cav1-EGF-receptor complexes and promoted epithelialization and wound healing. [Mol Ther] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

Gene Editing of α6 Integrin Inhibits Muscle Invasive Networks and Increases Cell-Cell Biophysical Properties in Prostate Cancer

Researchers used a gene editing approach to determine if a specific region of laminin-binding α6β1 integrin was required for smooth muscle invasion both in vitro and in vivo. [Cancer Res] Abstract

Self-Seeding Circulating Tumor Cells Promote the Proliferation and Metastasis of Human Osteosarcoma by Upregulating Interleukin-8

Scientists successfully isolated and cultured self-seeding circulating tumor cells (CTCs) through a self-seeding nude mouse model established using green fluorescent protein-labeled F5M2 cells and found that self-seeding CTCs exhibited increased cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro, increased tumor growth and lung metastasis in mice, and increased interleukin-8 expression. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

A Collagen-Based Microwell Migration Assay to Study NK-Target Cell Interactions

Investigators combined a microwell assay that allowed long-term imaging and tracking of small, well-defined populations of natural killer (NK) cells with an interstitial ECM-like matrix. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Tyrosine 51 Residue of the Syndecan-2 Extracellular Domain Is Involved in the Interaction with and Activation of Pro-Matrix Metalloproteinase-7

The expression of a syndecan-2 mutant in which tyrosine residue 51 was changed to Ala diminished the interaction between the syndecan-2 extracellular domain and the pro-domain of metalloproteinase-7. [Sci Rep] Full Article

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The Bone Extracellular Matrix as an Ideal Milieu for Cancer Cell Metastases

Models to study the complex interactions between the bone matrix and metastatic cancer cells are limited. Advances in understanding the interactions between the bone ECM and bone metastatic cancer cells are necessary in order to both regulate and prevent metastatic cancer cell growth in bone. [Cancers] Full Article

Integrin Signaling: Linking Mechanical Stimulation to Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy

The authors provide basic information about integrin structure and activation, then explore its potential to serve as a critical mechanosensor and activator of muscle protein synthesis and growth. [Am J Physiol Cell Physiol] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the extracellular matrix research field.

Spring Bank Announces FDA Acceptance of IND Application for SB 11285, an IV-Administered STING Agonist, for the Treatment of Advanced Solid Tumors

Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a Phase I trial of SB 11285, the company’s intravenously (IV)-administered stimulator of interferon gene (STING) agonist development candidate, is now effective following clearance by the FDA. [Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc.] Press Release

Therapeutic Solutions International Reports Its NanoStilbene™ Nutraceutical Product Enhances Efficacy of FDA Cleared Cancer Immunotherapy in Animal Model of Cancer

Therapeutics Solutions International, Inc. reported positive animal data demonstrating synergy between its commercially available NanoStilbene™ nutraceutical product together with anti-CTLA4 antibody, which is the mouse equivalent of Ipilimumab, an FDA cleared immunotherapeutic which belongs to the family of drugs called “checkpoint inhibitors”. [Therapeutics Solutions International, Inc.] Press Release

The Latest CRISPR Patent Fight Is On. So Is the Mudslinging

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard lied about who invented the use of CRISPR genome editing in animal cells, and its lead CRISPR scientist Feng Zhang made statements to the patent office that he knew were “untrue,” attorneys for the University of California and its partners claim in legal documents filed Tuesday night with the US Patent and Trademark Office. [STAT News] Editorial

‘No One Is Immune’: Alaska’s Scientists Despair over Plan to Shrink State Universities

The University of Alaska’s governing board plans to consolidate campuses to cope with a 40% cut in state funding. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW 8^th Annual International Symposium on Regenerative Rehabilitation
October 24-26, 2019
Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

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

NEW Postdoctoral Researcher – Interactions of ECM, Neurons and Glia in Psychiatric Symptoms (McLean Hospital)

Scientific Communications Coordinator (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Scientist – Matrix Biology (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

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

Postdoctoral Researcher – Extracellular Matrix of Brain Vessels (Inserm)

Research Fellow – Lectin Biochemistry (University of Leeds)

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

Postdoctoral Fellow – Role of Collagen in Tissue Repair & Regeneration (University of Pennsylvania)

Research Lab Specialist – Tumor Microenvironment & Cell Behavior (University of Southern California)

Faculty Positions – Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics (Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Scholar – Computational Modeling of Cell-Matrix Interactions (Washington University in St. Louis)

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