Extracellular Matrix News Volume 9.24 | Jun 21 2018

TOP STORY

Tissue Engineering toward Temporomandibular Joint Disc Regeneration

Treatments for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc thinning and perforation, conditions prevalent in TMJ pathologies, are palliative but not reparative. To address this, scaffold-free tissue-engineered implants were created using allogeneic, passaged costal chondrocytes. A combination of compressive and bioactive stimulation regimens produced implants with mechanical properties akin to those of the native disc. [Sci Transl Med] Full Article | Press Release

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Integration of a Superparamagnetic Scaffold and Magnetic Field to Enhance the Wound Healing Phenotype of Fibroblasts

The authors used nanofibrous superparamagnetic scaffolds with applied magnetic fields to build a “dynamic” scaffold platform and investigated the modulating effects of this platform on the phenotypes of fibroblasts. The results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent and transwell assays indicated that fibroblasts cultivated in this platform secreted significantly higher type I collagen, vascular endothelial growth factor A, and transforming growth factor-β1 and did so in a time-dependent manner. [ACS Appl Mater Interfaces] Abstract

Chondroprotective Effects of Hyaluronic Acid-Chitosan Nanoparticles Containing Plasmid DNA Encoding Cytokine Response Modifier A in a Rat Knee Osteoarthritis Model

Researchers explored the chondroprotective effects of hyaluronic acid-chitosan nanoparticles containing plasmid DNA encoding CrmA (HA/CS-CrmA) in a rat osteoarthritis model. HA/CS-CrmA nanoparticles significantly inhibited cartilage damage, synovial inflammation, and the loss of type II collagen induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection. The expression levels of interleukin-1β, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3, and MMP-13 in synovial tissue were dramatically down-regulated by HA/CS-CrmA nanoparticles. [Cell Physiol Biochem] Full Article

SDF-1-Mediated Migration of MSCs Enhances Collagen Type II Expression in Intervertebral Disc

The regenerative potential of a hyaluronan based (HA)-chemoattractant delivery system able to recruit mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) seeded on the cartilaginous endplate of intervertebral disc (IVD) was explored. Investigators demonstrated that HA delivery system containing stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1) increased MSCs recruitment, while the higher number of recruited cells partially contributed to accelerate matrix remodeling in nucleotomized IVDs. [Tissue Eng Part A] Abstract

Orexin a Prevents Degradation of the Articular Matrixes in Human Primary Chondrocyte Culture

Scientists characterized the protective effects of orexin A against interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced degradation of articular cartilage matrixes in human chondrocytes. Their results indicated that orexin-1 receptor (OX1R) but not orexin-2 receptor was expressed in human chondrocytes. They also found that the expression of OX1R was significantly lower in chondrocytes from osteoarthritis patients, and that treatment with IL-1β decreased the expression of OX1R in a dose-dependent manner. [Mol Immunol] Abstract

Collagen as Coating Material for 45S5 Bioactive Glass-Based Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Highly porous 45S5 bioactive glass-based scaffolds were fabricated by the foam replica technique and coated with collagen by a novel method. The composite material developed in this study exhibited positive cell viability as well as suitable cell attachment and proliferation on the surface. [Int J Mol Sci] Full Article

Asiatic Acid Enhances Intratumor Delivery and the Antitumor Effect of Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin by Reducing Tumor-Stroma Collagen

The impact of asiatic acid (AA) on collagen synthesis of fibroblast cell and cytotoxic effect of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin and doxorubicin to cancer cell were studied in vitro. In the presence of AA, the intratumor collagen level was restricted in vivo and in vitro. [Acta Pharmacol Sin] Abstract

Silibinin-Induced Autophagy Mediated by PPARα-sirt1-AMPK Pathway Participated in the Regulation of Type I Collagen-Enhanced Migration in Murine 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes

Researchers demonstrated that silibinin-induced autophagy is mediated by up-regulation of PPARα-sirt1-AMPK, contributing to repression of type I collagen-enhanced migration in murine 3T3-L1 preadipocytes through down-regulation of phosphorylated NF-κB p65. [Mol Cell Biochem] Abstract

Laminin α1 Orchestrates VEGFA Functions in the Ecosystem of Colorectal Carcinoma

By employing mouse models expressing high and low levels of the laminin α1 chain (LMα1), scientists highlighted its implication in a tumor‐stroma crosstalk, thus leading to increased colon tumor incidence, angiogenesis and tumor growth. The underlying mechanism involved attraction of carcinoma‐associated fibroblasts by LMα1, VEGFA expression triggered by the complex integrin α2β1‐CXCR4 and binding of VEGFA to LM‐111, which in turn promoted angiogenesis, tumor cell survival and proliferation. [Biol Cell] Abstract

A Complex Interplay between the Extracellular Matrix and the Innate Immune Response to Microbial Pathogens

The authors explore and discuss recent data that implicates an active role for the ECM in the immune response to infection, encompassing antimicrobial activities, microbial recognition, macrophage activation, phagocytosis, leukocyte population balance and transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of inflammatory networks, and may foster novel antimicrobial approaches. [Immunology] Abstract | Full Article

Recent Advances and Future of Gene Therapy for Bone Regeneration

Gene therapy methods for bone regeneration are systematically becoming more efficient and show proof-of-concept in clinically relevant animal models. Yet, on the pathway to clinical use, more investigation is needed to determine the safety aspects of the various techniques in terms of biodistribution, toxicity, and tumorigenicity. [Curr Osteoporos Rep] Abstract

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

WVU Eye Institute Fellow Receives Research Grant

Ezequiel Salido, M.D., Ph.D., a second-year post-doctoral fellow at the WVU Eye Institute, received a $65,000 grant from the Knights Templar Eye Foundations (KTEF), Inc., to study the matrix between the photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelial cells at the back of the eye. [WVU Medicine] Press Release

Anika Therapeutics Announces Top-Line Results from CINGAL 16-02 Clinical Trial in Knee Osteoarthritis

Anika Therapeutics, Inc. announced results from its CINGAL^® 16-02 clinical trial, an active-comparator Phase III study being conducted to support U.S. registration. [Anika Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release

Hundreds of U.S. Scientists Urge More Transparency in Animal Research

Breaking with a history of reticence, nearly 600 scientists, students, and lab animal workers published a letter in USA Today that calls on U.S. research institutions to “embrace openness” about their animal research. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

U.S. Legislators Back Larger Facilities Budget for NSF

The National Science Foundation (NSF) in Alexandria, Virginia, is in line for a budget increase of 4% to 5% next year. That assessment is based on bills approved recently by the spending committees in both chambers of Congress. Lawmakers have also signaled support for growing the account that NSF uses to build major new scientific facilities. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Why the Medical Research Grant System Could Be Costing Us Great Ideas

The medical research grant system in the United States, run through the National Institutes of Health, is intended to fund work that spurs innovation and fosters research careers. In many ways, it may be failing. [The New York Times] Editorial

NEW Gordon Research Seminar: Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering
July 28-August 2, 2019
Barcelona, Spain

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

NEW Postdoctoral Researcher – Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (NYU Langone Medical Center)

PhD Position – Mechanobiological Control over Tissue Differentiation (Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin)

Postdoctoral Positions – Bone Tissue Regeneration (Stomatological Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University)

Research Associate – Regenerative Medicine (University of Bristol)

Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Skeletal Muscle and Tendon Connective Matrix Biology and Mechanotransduction (Weill Cornell Medical College)

Director – Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine (MDI Biological Laboratory)

Assistant, Associate or Full Professor – Regenerative Medicine (University of San Diego)

Full Professor – Biomedical Sciences (Dublin City University)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Bioengineering (Harvard University)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Matrix Biology and Reproduction (University of Texas Southwestern Medical School)

Faculty Position – Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine (Seattle Children’s Research Institute)

Postdoctoral Position – Cancer, Immunotherapy, and Fibrosis (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

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