Muscle Cell News 2.31 September 18, 2017 | |
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TOP STORYKLF4-Dependent Perivascular Cell Plasticity Mediates Pre-Metastatic Niche Formation and Metastasis Given the well-described plasticity of perivascular cells, investigators hypothesized that perivascular cells similarly regulate tumor cell fate at metastatic sites. They showed that perivascular cells lose the expression of traditional vascular smooth muscle cells and pericyte markers in response to tumor-secreted factors and exhibited increased proliferation, migration and extracellular matrix synthesis. [Nat Med] Abstract | |
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PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)CARDIAC MUSCLE CELLSCortical Bone Stem Cell Therapy Preserves Cardiac Structure and Function after Myocardial Infarction Researchers determined if post-myocardial infarction (MI) transendocardial injection of allogeneic cortical bone stem cells reduced pathological structural and functional remodeling and prevented the development of heart failure in a swine MI model. [Circ Res] Abstract Scientists developed a 96-well device for functional screening in human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac organoids. Through interrogation of >10,000 organoids, they systematically optimized parameters, including extracellular matrix, metabolic substrate, and growth factor conditions, that enhanced cardiac tissue viability, function, and maturation. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract The authors investigated whether a dual inhibition of cathepsin G (Cat.G) and chymase influences cardiomyocyte injury and wound healing after experimental ischemia/reperfusion in mice. Treatment of isolated cardiomyocytes with Cat.G or chymase significantly promoted focal adhesion signaling downregulation, myofibril degeneration and myocyte apoptosis. [Basic Res Cardiol] Abstract SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLSSkeletal Muscle-on-a-Chip: An In Vitro Model to Evaluate Tissue Formation and Injury Researchers describe the development of a 3D skeletal muscle tissue that recapitulates the architectural and structural complexities of muscle within a microfluidic device. Using a 3D photo-patterning approach, they spatially confined a cell-laden gelatin network around two bio-inert hydrogel pillars, which induced uniaxial alignment of the cells and served as anchoring sites for the encapsulated cells and muscle tissues as they formed and matured. [Lab Chip] Abstract Functional analyses showed that overexpression of AK017368 promoted proliferation and restrained differentiation of myoblasts, whereas inhibition of AK017368 had completely opposite effects in vitro. In mice, knockdown of AK017368 promoted muscle hypertrophy in vivo. [FASEB J] Abstract The authors performed single cell RNA sequencing on freshly isolated muscle satellite cells and found a surprising degree of heterogeneity at multiple levels, from muscle-specific transcripts to the broader satellite cell transcriptome. [Gene] Abstract SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLSTargeted Inhibition of Gq Signaling Induces Airway Relaxation in Mouse Models of Asthma Scientists found that the compound FR900359 (FR), a membrane-permeable inhibitor of Gq, was effective in silencing Gq signaling in murine and human airway smooth muscle cells. Moreover, FR both prevented bronchoconstrictor responses and triggered sustained airway relaxation in mouse, pig, and human airway tissue ex vivo. [Sci Transl Med] Abstract Novel Pathological Role of hnRNPA1 in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Function and Neointima Hyperplasia Researchers investigated the functional roles of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (hnRNPA1) in the contexts of vascular smooth muscle cell function, injury-induced vessel remodeling, and human atherosclerotic lesions, as well as discerned the molecular mechanisms involved. [Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol] Abstract | Full Article (Download) One lncRNA named LnRPT (lncRNA regulated by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and TGFβ) was the most potent one to promote proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) when knocked down. Oppositely, proliferation of PASMCs was repressed when LnRPT was overexpressed. [Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol] Abstract | |
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REVIEWSA Focus on Extracellular Ca2+ Entry into Skeletal Muscle Recent studies on extracellular Ca2+ entry into skeletal muscle are reviewed along with descriptions of the proteins that are related to extracellular Ca2+ entry and their influences on skeletal muscle function and disease. [Exp Mol Med] Full Article Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the muscle cell research field. | |
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SCIENCE NEWSBioCardia’s CardiAMP Heart Failure Trial Design to Be Presented BioCardia®, Inc. announced that the trial design for its pivotal Phase III CardiAMP Heart Failure Trial was presented during the “Heart Failure: The Big Target for CV Regenerative Therapy State of the Field” session. [Press release from BioCardia®, Inc. discussing research presented at the 2017 Texas Heart Institute (THI) International Symposium on Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine, Houston] Press Release Ipsen Announces Oral and Poster Presentations of abobotulinumtoxinA Data Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that five abstracts regarding abobotulinumtoxinA data have been accepted for three oral presentations and two poster presentations. [Press release from Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc discussing research presented at the 71st annual meeting of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM), Montreal] Press Release Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the company will present results from the open-label extension of the MoveDMD trial following 24 and 36 weeks of edasalonexent treatment in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. [Press release from Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discussing research to be presented at the 22nd International Congress of the World Muscle Society (WMS), Saint Malo] Press Release Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it will present six-month follow-up results from the randomized Phase I/II HOPE-Duchenne clinical trial of CAP-1002 in boys and young men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. [Press release from Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. discussing research to be presented at the 22nd International Congress of the World Muscle Society (WMS), Saint Malo] Press Release | |
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INDUSTRY NEWSVital Strategies Launches Resolve, a New $225 Million Global Health Initiative Resolve, a groundbreaking $225 million global health initiative and the first to be funded by three leading philanthropies – Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – launches under the leadership of Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and former commissioner of the New York City Health Department. The initiative aims to save more than 100 million lives by preventing heart attacks and strokes and will help countries close life-threatening gaps in epidemic preparedness and response. [Vital Strategies] Press Release Thanks to an $11.6-Million Program Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University are poised to explore new possibilities in stem cell-based treatments for heart repair and regeneration. The project is aimed specifically at better understanding the regenerative capabilities of stem cell-derived microvesicles known as exosomes. [Temple University] Press Release LSUHealthNO to Study New Drug to Regenerate Heart Muscle In collaboration with Novo Biosciences, Inc., Louisiana State University (LSU) Health New Orleans Cardiovascular Center of Excellence will receive more $500,000 over two years to study the effectiveness of a novel drug designed to stimulate the regeneration of heart muscle and prevent the formation or scar tissue following a heart attack. The funding is part of a $1.5 million Small Business Innovation Research Program award from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute to Novo Biosciences, Inc. [Louisiana State University] Press Release | |
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POLICY NEWSU.S. House Approves 2018 Spending Bills, but Process Far from Finished The U.S. House of Representatives took a major step toward setting federal science budgets for the 2018 fiscal year. But Congress is still far from the finish line, and final spending levels aren’t likely to be finalized until late this year at the earliest. [ScienceInsider] Editorial After Uproar, U.K. Parliament’s Science Committee Now Has a Female Member The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee tweeted that it was “pleased to announced our membership has been confirmed.” Parliamentary committees had been dissolved after the recent U.K. election, and now the panel was rolling out its new contingent of lawmakers. The only problem: All eight of the mostly smiling faces belonged to men. [ScienceInsider] Editorial
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EVENTSNEW International Scientific Congress on Spinal Muscular Atrophy 2018 Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW Postdoctoral Research Associate – Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine (University of Cambridge) Faculty Positions – Cardiovascular Biology (Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation) Researcher – Skeletal Tissue Engineering (KU Leuven) Research Assistant – Cardiovascular Stem Cells (University of Oxford) Postdoctoral Fellowship – Cardiology (Temple University) PhD Position – Epigenetic Regulation of Cardiac Myocyte Proliferation (KU Leuven) Postdoctoral Associate – Muscular Dystrophy (University of Florida) Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Cardiovascular Experimental Therapeutics (University Health Network) PhD Student – Cardiac Stem Cell Differentiation (Ernst Moritz Arndt Universität Greifswald) Scientist – Obesity, Metabolic & Muscle Diseases (Regeneron) Postdoctoral Fellow – Diabetes and Heart Disease (University Health Network) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
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