| TOP STORY | Patterned Collagen Fibers Orient Branching Mammary Epithelium through Distinct Signaling Modules For decades, the work of cell and developmental biologists has demonstrated the striking ability of the mesenchyme and the stroma to instruct epithelial form and function in the mammary gland, but the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules in mammary pattern specification has not been elucidated. Researchers provide an explanation for how the stromal ECM encodes architectural cues for branch orientation as well as how the branching epithelium interprets and reinforces these cues through distinct signaling processes. [Curr Biol] Abstract |
| PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by impact factor of the journal) | Modeling Vascularized Bone Regeneration within a Porous Biodegradable CaP Scaffold Loaded with Growth Factors Osteogenetic microenvironment is a complex constitution in which extracellular matrix molecules, stem cells and growth factors each interact to direct the coordinate regulation of bone tissue development. Researchers developed a three-dimensional (3D) multi-scale system model to study cell response to growth factors released from a 3D biodegradable porous calcium phosphate scaffold. [Biomaterials] Abstract LOXL4 Is Induced by TGF-β1 through Smad and JunB/Fra2 and Contributes to Vascular Matrix Remodeling Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is a pleiotropic factor involved in the regulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis and remodeling. In search for novel genes mediating the action of TGF-β1 on vascular ECM, the authors identified the member of the lysyl oxidase family of matrix remodeling enzymes, lysyl oxidase-like 4 (LOXL4), as a direct target of TGF-β1 in aortic endothelial cells, and dissected the molecular mechanism of its induction. [Mol Cell Biol] Abstract Angiogenic Responses Are Enhanced in Mechanically and Microscopically Characterized, Microbial Transglutaminase Crosslinked Collagen Matrices with Increased Stiffness In a 3D angiogenic model in which a monolayer of endothelial cells is induced to invade an underlying collagen matrix, researchers measured angiogenic responses as a function of collagen matrix stiffness by inducing collagen crosslinking with microbial transglutaminase (mTG). With biaxial mechanical testing, they measured stiffer collagen matrices with both mTG treatment and incubation time. [Acta Biomater] Abstract Cell Spreading and Proliferation in Response to the Composition and Mechanics of Engineered Fibrillar Extracellular Matrices Scientists engineered a model extracellular matrix (ECM) consisting of fibrillar Type-1 collagen plus fibronectin that allows systematic examination of the effects of matrix composition and mechanics on cells. On this combined protein matrix, cells exhibit intermediate degrees of spreading and proliferation compared to their responses on collagen or fibronectin alone. [Biotechnol Bioeng] Abstract Fibers in the Extracellular Matrix Enable Long-Range Stress Transmission between Cells The ability of cells to mechanically sense and respond to the presence of other cells over relatively long distances (e.g., ~100 μm, or 10 cell-diameters) across extracellular matrix (ECM) has been attributed to the strain-hardening behavior of the ECM. Researchers explored an alternative hypothesis: the fibrous nature of the ECM makes long-range stress transmission possible and provides an important mechanism for long-range cell-cell mechanical signaling. [Biophys J] Abstract Extracellular Matrix Proteins and Displacement of Cultured Fibroblasts from Duodenal Biopsies in Celiac Patients and Controls The fibroblasts (FBs) are the most abundant mesenchymal cell type in the intestinal mucosa and are responsible for both the architectural arrangement of the villi and the formation of the extracellular matrix (ECM). This study evaluated both the intracellular distribution of different proteins involved in ECM and FBs characterization, and the cellular displacement of primary FBs obtained from duodenal endoscopic biopsies of healthy subjects and celiac patients. [J Transl Med] Abstract | Full Article Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals Regional Variations in the Micromechanical Properties of the Pericellular and Extracellular Matrices of the Meniscus Regional variations in the composition and architecture of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and pericellular matrix (PCM) of the knee meniscus play important roles in determining the local mechanical environment of meniscus cells. Atomic force microscopy was used to spatially map the mechanical properties of matched ECM and perlecan-labeled PCM sites within the outer, middle, and inner porcine medial meniscus, and to evaluate the properties of the proximal surface of each region. [J Orthop Res] Abstract Extracellular Matrix Remodeling Genes Polymorphisms and Risk of Chronic Bronchitis and Recurrent Pneumonia in Children Scientists investigated the association of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), the disintegrin and metalloprotease 33 and the tissue and serum inhibitors of proteinase gene polymorphisms with severe chronic respiratory diseases in Tatar children. Their findings suggest that the MMP9, MMP3 and TIMP3 (tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases) polymorphisms and MMP3 and MMP12 haplotypes may play a substantial role in susceptibility to severe airway and lung injury in children with chronic bronchitis and recurrent pneumonia. [J Hum Genet] Abstract Expression of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Human Breast Cancer Tissues The authors investigated and compared the expression of matrix metalloproteinases in different grades of human breast cancer tissues with normal breast tissues. [Dis Markers] Abstract |
| INDUSTRY NEWS | Cutting-Edge Technology Brings Major Advance to Patients Lacking Healthy Gum Tissue Patients lacking healthy gums now have an advanced, living cell-based product available to help the body generate new tissue. Jay R. Beagle , D.D.S., M.S.D., a leading periodontist who has been practicing for over two decades in Indianapolis, Indiana, was chosen as one of the first periodontists in the country to be trained to use this novel, regenerative medicine product GINTUIT™ (Allogeneic Cultured Keratinocytes and Fibroblasts in Bovine Collagen). [PR Newswire Association LLC] Press Release State’s InvestMaryland Program Invests $500,000 in Cytomedix Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Secretary Dominick Murray announced that the state has invested $500,000 in Cytomedix Inc., a regenerative medicine company in Gaithersburg. [Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development] Press Release From our sponsor: Pluripotent cell isolation for regenerative medicine – request a free wallchart from Nature. |
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