Extracellular Matrix News Volume 9.48 | Dec 6 2018

TOP STORY

Soft Hyaluronic Gels Promote Cell Spreading, Stress Fibers, Focal Adhesion, and Membrane Tension by Phosphoinositide Signaling, Not Traction Force

Hyaluronic acid (HA) together with collagen I promoted hepatocellular carcinoma cell spreading on very soft substrates, resulting in morphology and motility similar to what these cells develop only on stiff substrates formed by polyacrylamide that contain collagen but no HA. The effect of HA required turnover of polyphosphoinositides and led to the activation of AKT. [ACS Nano] Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Encapsulation of Bone Marrow-MSCs in PRP-Derived Fibrin Microbeads and Preliminary Evaluation in a Volumetric Muscle Loss Injury Rat Model: Modular Muscle Tissue Engineering

Investigators proposed the development of fibrin-based microbeads (FMs) alone or as a bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) encapsulation matrix for modular muscle engineering. FMs were generated through the ionotropic gelation of alginate and fibrinogen obtained from the platelet-rich plasma of whole blood, and then removing the alginate by citrate treatment. [Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol] Abstract

Induction of Migration of Periodontal Ligament Cells by Selective Regulation of Integrin Subunits

The effects of blocking specific integrins on migration and ECM adhesion were investigated based on integrin expression profiles observed during migration. Up-regulation of integrins α3, α5, and fibronectin was identified at distinct localizations in migrating periodontal ligament cells. [J Cell Mol Med] Full Article

Reduced Extracellular Matrix Stiffness Prompts SH-SY5Y Cell Softening and Actin Turnover to Selectively Increase Aβ(1-42) Endocytosis

Scientists demonstrated substrate stiffness significantly modified the behavior of undifferentiated SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma, where cells plated on soft substrates displayed a rounded morphology, decreased actin polymerization, reduced adhesion and a reduced cell stiffness compared to cells plated on tissue culture plastic. [ACS Chem Neurosci] Abstract

BST-2 Promotes Survival in Circulation and Pulmonary Metastatic Seeding of Breast Cancer Cells

Researchers showed that suppression of bone marrow stromal antigen 2 (BST-2) rendered non-adherent cancer cells non-viable by sensitizing cells to anoikis. Embedment of cancer cells in basement membrane matrix revealed that silencing BTS-2 expression inhibited invadopodia formation, ECM degradation, and subsequent cell invasion. [Sci Rep] Full Article

MED28 and Forkhead Box M1 (FOXM1) Mediate Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2)-Dependent Cellular Migration in Human Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Cells

The authors report that the increased expression levels of both MED28 and FOXM1 elevated the expression of MMP2, a metastasis marker, which enhanced cell migration and matrigel invasion of NSCLC cells. [J Cell Physiol] Abstract

Reduced Production of Laminin by Hepatic Stellate Cells Contributes to Impairment in Oval Cell Response to Liver Injury in Aged Mice

Scientists found that the genes differentially expressed in damaged young and aged mouse liver tissues were predominantly those required for the formation and remodeling of the ECM. Consistent with the downregulation of genes encoding DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) proteins in aged hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), inhibition of DNA-PK led to reduced expression of laminin in HSCs. [Aging (Albany NY)] Full Article

Macromolecular Crowding Tunes 3D Collagen Architecture and Cell Morphogenesis

Researchers established an approach to tune collagen fibril architecture using PEG as an inert molecular crowding agent during gelation and cell embedding. The resulting matrices had the effect of preventing cell spreading, confining cells, and reducing cell contractility. [Biomater Sci] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

EGF/EGFR Upregulates and Cooperates with Netrin-4 to Protect Glioblastoma Cells from DNA Damage-Induced Senescence

Scientists investigated the relationship between epidermal growth factor/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF/EGFR) signaling and netrin-4, and explored their effect on therapeutic efficacy in glioblastoma multiforme cells upon temozolomide treatment. Pathway analysis suggested that EGFR and its related genes contributed to cell adhesion, ECM organization and caspase related signaling. [BMC Cancer] Full Article

An Injectable Alginate/Extra Cellular Matrix (ECM) Hydrogel towards Acellular Treatment of Heart Failure

The authors identified that a high G block alginate/ECM hybrid hydrogel had appropriate rheological and mechanical properties and could be delivered using a minimally invasive delivery device. They determined that these novel hydrogels were not cytotoxic and were capable of enhancing the metabolic activity of dermal fibroblasts in vitro. [Drug Deliv Transl Res] Abstract

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Ex Vivo Tumor-on-a-Chip Platforms to Study Intercellular Interactions within the Tumor Microenvironment

Investigators review advancements in tumor-on-a‐-chip technology that are developed and used to understand the interaction of tumor cells with other surrounding cells, including immune cells, in the tumor microenvironment. [Adv Healthc Mater] Abstract

Proinvasive Extracellular Matrix Remodeling for Tumor Progression

Abnormal ECM affects cancer progression through several ways such as inducing hypoxia, immune cells interaction by promoting mesenchymal shift and cell transformation. The authors summarize and discuss the role of the ECM in modulating epithelial cells and surrounding stomatal cell components and consider its prospects in cancer biology. [Arch Pharm Res] Abstract

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

£1.3 Billion Industry/Government Investment in UK Economy and New Partnership Driving Early Disease Detection

Tens of thousands of lives could be saved by pioneering research to detect deadly diseases before symptoms even appear, thanks to a new collaboration between the government and the Life Sciences Industry. The deal will also announce that global biopharmaceutical company UCB is investing £1 billion in research and development, including in a new state-of-the-art facility, continuing the UK’s reputation as a world leading base for global life sciences research and industry. [Gov UK] Press Release

Anika Resumes Global Distribution of HYALOFAST, HYALOGRAFT-C and HYALOMATRIX

Anika Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it has resumed global distribution of its solid hyaluronic acid (HA)-based treatments, including HYALOFAST, a biodegradable, HA-based cartilage repair scaffold, after a voluntary, non-safety related recall in the second quarter of 2018. [Anika Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release

China Backs Bold Plan to Tear Down Journal Paywalls

In a huge boost to the open-access movement, librarians and funders in China have said that they intend to make results of publicly funded research free to read immediately on publication. The move includes a pledge of support for Plan S, a bold initiative launched in September by a group of European funders to ensure that, by 2020, their scientists make papers immediately open. [Nature News] Editorial

University College London Geneticist Cleared of Wrongdoing

Geneticist David Latchman, the chief academic and administrative officer of Birkbeck, University of London, had no knowledge of the image manipulation that went into several papers he coauthored, according to a second investigation by University College London, where he runs a lab. [The Scientist] Editorial

Looming Parliament Vote Boosts Brexit Jitters for U.K. Scientists

U.K. scientists dreading the country’s impending departure from the European Union, known as Brexit, now face possible outcomes ranging from undesirable to potentially disastrous—with an outside chance of a last-minute reprieve. Two and a half years after a divisive popular vote to leave the European Union, against the wishes of most scientists, politicians must soon decide whether the divorce will be orderly or chaotic. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW 16^th ECFS Basic Science Conference
March 27-30, 2019
Dubrovnik, Croatia

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

NEW Lecturers/ Senior Lecturers – Department of Bioengineering (Imperial College London)

Postdoctoral Position – Engineering Solutions for Airway Disorders (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)

Postdoctoral Position – Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cells & Bioengineering (Igenomix Foundation)

Postdoctoral Fellow Position – Bioengineering of 4D/3D Tissue Scaffold Development (The Ohio State University College of Medicine)

Tenured Track Faculty Position – Biomedical Engineering (Johns Hopkins University)

Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Pathogenesis of Sepsis and Lung Inflammation (Boston University)

Postdoctoral Fellowship Program – Aging (Niigata University)

Associate Professor/ Professor – Regenerative Medicine (University of Toronto)

Faculty Position – Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (Mayo Clinic)

Postdoctoral Scholar – Cellular Mechanobiology (Washington University in St. Louis)

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