Muscle Cell News Volume 3.19 | Jun 4 2018

TOP STORY

Regulating the Migration of Smooth Muscle Cells by a Vertically Distributed poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) Gradient on Polymer Brushes Covalently Immobilized with RGD Peptides

Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate)-block-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (P(HEMA-co-GMA)-b-PHEMA) brushes with a uniform underneath P(HEMA-co-GMA) layer and a gradient thickness of PHEMA blocks were prepared. The polymer chains were subsequently functionalized with the cell-adhesive arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptides by reaction with the glycidyl groups. Adhesion and migration processes of smooth muscle cells were then studied. [Acta Biomater] Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

CARDIAC MUSCLE CELLS

Nur77 Protects against Adverse Cardiac Remodeling by Limiting Neuropeptide Y Signaling in the Sympathoadrenal-Cardiac Axis

Recently, transcriptome analyses revealed neuropeptide Y (NPY) as a putative target of Nur77. Researchers assessed whether Nur77 modulates adverse cardiac remodeling via NPY signaling. [Cardiovasc Res] Abstract

Reduction of Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Inactivating Oxidized Phospholipids

Oxidized phosphatidylcholine-containing phospholipids (OxPL) were generated within cardiomyocytes during ischemia reperfusion and had detrimental effects on cardiomyocyte viability. Inactivation of OxPL in vivo resulted in a reduction of infarct size. [Cardiovasc Res] Abstract

The Lifelong Impact of Fetal Growth Restriction on Cardiac Development

Scientists examined the developmental and long-term impact of maternal nutrient restriction-induced fetal growth restriction on cardiac structure in a model that closely mimics human development. [Pediatr Res] Abstract

MicroRNA-497 Promotes Proliferation and Inhibits Apoptosis of Cardiomyocytes through the Downregulation of Mfn2 in a Mouse Model of Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Since microRNA-497 has been found to be related with cardiomyocyte apoptosis, investigators aimed to explore the effect of miR-497 by targeting Mfn2 in a mouse model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. [Biomed Pharmacother] Abstract

SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS

SNAIL Is a Key Regulator of Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma Tumor Growth and Differentiation through Repression of MYF5 and MYOD Function

SNAIL silencing in alveolar subtype of rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) cells inhibited proliferation and induced differentiation in vitro, and thereby completely abolishes the growth of human ARMS xenotransplants in vivo. SNAIL silencing induced myogenic differentiation by upregulation of myogenic factors and muscle-specific microRNAs, such as miR-206. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Decellularized Skeletal Muscles Allow Functional Muscle Regeneration by Promoting Host Cell Migration

The authors investigated the ability of three different decellularized skeletal muscle scaffolds to support muscle regeneration in a xenogeneic immune-competent model of volumetric muscle loss, in which the extensor digitorum longus muscle was surgically resected. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Ghrelin Knockout Mice Display Defective Skeletal Muscle Regeneration and Impaired Satellite Cell Self-Renewal

To delineate the endogenous contribution of preproghrelin in muscle regeneration, researchers evaluated the repair process in Ghrl^−/− mice upon CTX-induced injury. [Endocrine] Abstract

SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS

COMP-Prohibitin 2 Interaction Maintains Mitochondrial Homeostasis and Controls Smooth Muscle Cell Identity

The interactome of mitochondrial cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) revealed that COMP interacted with prohibitin 2, and COMP-prohibitin 2 interaction maintained mitochondrial homeostasis. Disruption of COMP-prohibitin 2 interaction caused vascular smooth muscle cell dedifferentiation in vitro and enhanced the neointima formation post rat carotid artery injury in vivo. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Nuclear Translocator in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Is Required for Optimal Peripheral Perfusion Recovery

The authors highlight hypoxia‐inducible factor responses to hypoxia in arteriole vascular smooth muscle cells critical for the phenotypic and functional stability of vessels that aid in the recovery of blood flow in ischemic peripheral tissues. [J Am Heart Assoc] Full Article

Pericytes in the Premetastatic Niche

The premetastatic niche formed by primary tumor-derived molecules contributes to fixation of cancer metastasis. The design of efficient therapies is limited by the current lack of knowledge about the details of cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the premetastatic niche formation. [Cancer Res] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the muscle cell research field.

‘Reprogrammed’ Stem Cells Approved to Mend Human Hearts for the First Time

Scientists in Japan now have permission to treat people who have heart disease with cells produced by a revolutionary reprogramming technique. The study is only the second clinical application of induced pluripotent stem cells. [Nature News] Editorial | Press Release

Grant Awarded to Study Whether Stem Cells Can Treat Urinary Incontinence

School of Medicine researcher Bertha Chen, MD, has been awarded $5.98 million by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to investigate ways of using a person’s own stem cells to treat urinary incontinence. Chen, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and her team are exploring ways to use stem cells to generate the smooth muscle cells in the urinary tract that are lost in a person with urinary incontinence. If the approach works, it could also lead to new ways to treat other urinary or digestive problems caused by a loss of smooth muscle. [Stanford Medicine] Press Release

Stem Cell Researchers Tackle Muscle Weakness in Older People

For most people, muscle loss is a normal part of aging that makes daily tasks harder. Muscle loss called sarcopenia happens more quickly, leading to falls and decreased mobility. One reason for this muscle loss is that stem cells that help repair damaged muscles lose their regenerative capacity with age. A team of researchers led by Dr. Jeffrey Dilworth received $1.5 million from Canadian Institutes of Health Research to study how the genes in muscle stem cells that control this repair ability are turned off with age. [Ottawa Hospital Research Institute] Press Release

Treeway Announces Promising Data from Phase I Clinical Trial of Lead Program TW001 for ALS

Treeway, a biotech company developing therapies against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), announced the completion of its Phase I trial of lead program TW001, an oral formulation of edaravone. [Treeway] Press Release

Europe’s Top Science Funder Shows High-Risk Research Pays Off

A popular and unusual self-review carried out by Europe’s most prestigious science funder is back. The annual assessment, now in its third year, found that nearly one in five projects by the European Research Council led to a scientific breakthrough. [Nature News] Editorial

‘Right-to-Try’ Law Intended to Weaken the FDA, Measure’s Sponsor Says in Blunt Remarks

Sen. Ron Johnson, the author of the federal “right-to-try” law signed by President Trump this week, wants to make one thing clear: His new law is meant to weaken the FDA. “This law intends to diminish the FDA’s power over people’s lives, not increase it,” he wrote in a letter to Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. [STAT News] Editorial

China to Crack Down on Fraud in Scandal-Hit Scientific Research amid ZTE Wrangle

China has issued the first national guidelines to enforce academic integrity in scientific research and vowed to punish academics and institutes for misconduct such as plagiarism and fabrication of data. [South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd] Editorial

Sweden Commits to Open Science with New Open-Access Publishing Deal

Swedish researchers can now publish their articles in Frontiers’ Open Access journals through a simplified process that covers publishing fees, thanks to a national agreement announced between Frontiers and the National Library of Sweden, on behalf of the organizations participating in the Bibsam Consortium. [American Association for the Advancement of Science] Editorial

NEW ComBio 2018
September 23-26, 2018
Sydney, Australia

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

NEW Canada Excellence Research Chair – Cardiac Regeneration (University of Toronto)

NEW Senior Scientist/Scientist – Cardiac Differentiation and Cardiac Tissue Engineering (Novoheart)

Postdoctoral Research Scientist – Specification and Morphogenesis of the Embryonic Heart (University of Oxford)

Postdoctoral Position – Vascular Smooth Muscle and Endothelial Cell Ion Channels (University of Tennessee)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cardiovascular Stem Cell Research (University of Maryland School of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cardiovascular Biology (Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Vascular Smooth Muscle and Endothelial Cell Ion Channels (The University of Tennessee Health Science Center)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Heart Muscle Cells (Universitatsklinikum Munster)

Postdoctoral Research Scientist – Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (University of Oxford)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Human Skeletal Muscle Disease Modeling and Regeneration (Duke University)

Postdoctoral Fellow – hiPSC Based Cardiac Regeneration (Duke University)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering (Stanford University)

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

Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.

Have we missed an important article or publication in Muscle Cell News? Click here to submit!

Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.