Extracellular Matrix News Volume 4.14 | Apr 11 2013

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    Extracellular Matrix News 4.14 April 11, 2013
         In this issue: Publications | Reviews | Industry News | Policy News | Events | Jobs
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    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

    New TeSR™-E8™ is Here For Feeder-Free Culture of Human ES Cells and iPS Cells

    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

    View Lectures, Tools, Protocols and Other Resources on the Human Immunology Portal (www.humanimmunologyportal.com)

    REVIEWS

    Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 and -9 as Promising Benefactors in Development, Plasticity and Repair of the Nervous System
    This review highlights the currently known or suggested actions of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 in the developing and adult nervous system and their potential to improve repair or regeneration after nervous system injury. [Prog Neurobiol] Abstract

    Molecular Regulation of CCN2 in the Intervertebral Disc: Lessons Learned from other Connective Tissues
    Connective tissue growth factor (CCN2) plays an important role in extracellular matrix synthesis, especially in skeletal tissues such as cartilage, bone, and the intervertebral disc. As a result there is a growing interest in examining the function and regulation of this important molecule in the disc. This review discusses the regulation of CCN2 by TGF-β and hypoxia, two critical determinants that characterize the disc microenvironment, and discusses known functions of CCN2 in the disc. [Matrix Biol] Full Article

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

    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.

    POLICY NEWS

    National Institutes of Health (United States)

    Food and Drug Administration (United States)

    Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (United States)
     
    European Medicines Agency (European Union)

    Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (United Kingdom)

    Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

    EVENTS

    NEW World Conference on Regenerative Medicine
    October 23-25, 2013
    Leipzig, Germany

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

    JOB OPPORTUNITIES

    Price Gilbert, Jr. Chair in Regenerative Engineering and Medicine (Georgia Institute of Technology)

    Postdoctoral Fellow – Extracellular Microenvironment in Blood Vessel Morphogenesis (Thomas Jefferson University)

    Postdoctoral Position – Extracellular Matrix + Developmental Biology (Purdue University)

    Postdoctoral Position – Tissue Engineering (Weizmann Institute of Science)

    PhD Studentship – Single-Molecule Mechanobiology (CIC nanoGUNE Consolider Research Center)

    Postdoctoral Fellow – Extracellular Microenvironment in Blood Vessel Morphogenesis (Thomas Jefferson University)

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