Muscle Cell News 2.40 December 4, 2017 | |
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TOP STORYBeating Heart Patch is Large Enough to Repair the Human Heart Biomedical engineers at Duke University have created a fully functioning artificial human heart muscle large enough to patch over damage typically seen in patients who have suffered a heart attack. [Press release from Duke University discussing online prepublication in Nature Communications] Press Release | Full Article | Video | |
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PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)CARDIAC MUSCLE CELLSResearchers demonstrated that the 3D culture environment reproducibly improved both cardiomyocyte (CM) purity and metabolic maturation across different human pluripotent stem cell lines, thereby providing a robust strategy to derive enriched human pluripotent stem cell-CMs with metabolic features closer to that of adult CMs. [Biotechnol Bioeng] Abstract The authors describe the development and application of an injectable hyaluronic acid hydrogel for the local and sustained delivery of miR-302 mimics to the heart. They showed that the miR-302 mimics released in vitro promoted cardiomyocyte proliferation over one week, and that a single injection of the hydrogel in the mouse heart led to local and sustained cardiomyocyte proliferation for two weeks. [Nat Biomed Eng] Abstract | Press Release | Editorial SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLSResearchers developed biomimetic nanopatterned poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) substrates conjugated with sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a potent angiogenic and myogenic factor, to enhance myoblast and endothelial maturation. Primary muscle cells cultured on these functionalized S1P nanopatterned substrates developed a highly aligned and elongated morphology and exhibited higher expression levels of myosin heavy chain, in addition to genes characteristic of mature skeletal muscle. [ACS Nano] Abstract | Graphical Abstract Scientists demonstrated in human and mouse that endothelial cells and myogenic progenitor cells interacted together to couple myogenesis and angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo during skeletal muscle regeneration. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract The Histone Code Reader Spin1 Controls Skeletal Muscle Development Investigators generated Spin1M5 mice with ablation of Spin1 in myoblast precursors using the Myf5-Cre deleter strain. Most Spin1M5 mice died shortly after birth displaying severe sarcomere disorganization and necrosis. Surviving Spin1M5 mice were growth-retarded and exhibited the most prominent defects in soleus, tibialis anterior, and diaphragm muscle. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article Osteoglycin Inhibition by MicroRNA miR-155 Impairs Myogenesis Researchers tested the hypothesis that miR-155 inhibits the expression of the osteoglycin (Ogn) to regulate skeletal myogenesis. They showed that miR-155 interacts with the 3’UTR Ogn region and decrease the levels of Ogn in myotubes. [PLoS One] Full Article Resveratrol treatment in skeletal muscle cells improves inflammatory-induced reductions in skeletal muscle cell differentiation. Scientists therefore hypothesized that resveratrol treatment would improve muscle cell differentiation and myotube hypertrophy in differentiating C2C12 myoblasts and mature myotubes during glucose restriction. [Mol Cell Biochem] Full Article SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLSFour-month old male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were studied. Compared to WKY rats, SHR showed a significant increase in aortic stiffness and blood pressure, which was accompanied by a remarkable cell stiffening and Rho kinase activation in thoracic aortic vascular smooth muscle cells. [Cell Physiol Biochem] Full Article The authors investigated the effects of ketamine on platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB)-induced vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and the associated mechanism. Ketamine concentration-dependently inhibited PDGF-BB-induced VSMC proliferation without cytotoxicity, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) inhibitors, LY294002 and PD98059, respectively, have similar inhibitory effects. [Int J Mol Sci] Full Article Researchers investigated the effect of hydrochlorothiazide on the large conductance voltage- and Ca2+-dependent K+ (BK) channel activity in native smooth muscle cells from human umbilical artery and HEK293T cells expressing the BK channel (with and without the β1-subunit). [Acta Pharmacol Sin] Abstract Results from smooth muscle cell recruitment and migration models showed that miR-195 impaired the capacity of M1 macrophages to promote smooth muscle cells migration. [PLoS One] Full Article | |
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REVIEWSThe Role of αB-Crystallin in Skeletal and Cardiac Muscle Tissues The authors report the current known state of the regulation and localization of αB-crystallin heat shock protein (HSPB5) in skeletal and cardiac tissue, making also a critical summary of all human HSPB5 mutations known to be strictly associated to specific skeletal and cardiac diseases, such as desmin-related myopathies, dilated and restrictive cardiomyopathy. [Cell Stress Chaperones] Abstract Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the muscle cell research field. | |
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INDUSTRY NEWSGene Therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Advances toward Clinical Trials Technology developed by MU School of Medicine researcher is now ready for last phase of testing. Researcher Dongsheng Duan, PhD, continues to race toward bringing an effective treatment to patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. [University of Missouri School of Medicine] Press Release Solid Biosciences announced that it has initiated clinical trial activities for SGT-001, the company’s lead microdystrophin gene transfer candidate for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The Phase I/II adaptive study, called IGNITE DMD, will evaluate the safety and efficacy of a single intravenous dose of SGT-001 in ambulatory and non-ambulatory adolescents and children with DMD. [Solid Biosciences] Press Release Capricor Therapeutics announced that the FDA has cleared its IND application to conduct a new clinical trial of CAP-1002, its lead investigational therapy, in boys and young men in advanced stages of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. [Capricor Therapeutics] Press Release | |
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POLICY NEWSBiohackers Disregard FDA Warning on DIY Gene Therapy Despite a warning from the federal government about do-it-yourself (DIY) gene therapy, two companies say they’ll continue offering DNA-altering materials to the public. The companies, The Odin and Ascendance Biomedical, both recently posted videos online of people self-administering DNA molecules their labs had produced. [MIT Technology Review] Editorial Health Agency Reveals Scourge of Fake Drugs in Developing World One in ten medicines in developing countries is fake or substandard, data from the World Health Organization suggest. Malaria drugs and antibiotics are among the most commonly reported, the agency found. But the problem extends to a variety of medications, including those for cancer, heart disease and HIV, as well as contraceptives and painkillers. [Nature News] Editorial China to Roll Back Regulations for Traditional Medicine despite Safety Concerns Support for traditional medicine in China goes right to the top. President Xi Jinping has called this type of medicine a “gem” of the country’s scientific heritage and promised to give alternative therapies and Western drugs equal government support. The country is taking dramatic steps to promote these cures even as researchers raise concerns about such treatments. [Nature News] Editorial
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EVENTSNEW 11th Dutch Stem Cell Meeting Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW Postdoctoral Position – Cardiac Metabolism (University of British Columbia) Research Fellow – Skeletal Muscle Cells (The University of Melbourne) Postdoctoral Fellow – 3D Multicellular Culture Systems (KU Leuven) Postdoctoral Fellowship – Metabolism or Tissue Fibrosis (University of California, San Francisco) Faculty Positions – Cardiovascular Biology Research Program (Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation) Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Skeletal Muscle Biology (Weill Cornell Medical College) Multiple Positions – Cardiovascular Research (Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research) Postdoctoral Position – Biomicrofluidics and Organ-on-a-Chip Research (University of Toronto) Postdoctoral Fellow – Smooth Muscle Biology (Boston Children’s Hospital & Harvard Medical School) 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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