Newsletters

[ACS Nano] To modulate the oxidative microenvironment and remodel the ECM, a smart microneedle capable of regulating reactive oxygen species and delivering matrix metalloproteinase functions was developed.

[Biomaterials] The development of artificial scaffolds capable of providing dynamically evolving mineralized niches for mesenchymal stem cells remains challenging, and the underlying osteogenic mechanisms are still poorly understood. A hierarchical graphene-doped polymethyl methacrylate scaffold was fabricated via vapor-induced phase separation.

[Journal of the American Society of Nephrology] Researchers investigated the role of mesangial cell–derived ECM protein 1 in regulating mesangial matrix homeostasis and glomerular structure in mice.

[Science Advances] Scientists showed that SPindle Defective-5) contains two regions, phospho-regulated γTuC binding region 1 (PRGB1) and PRGB2, that are each sufficient for polo-like kinase 1 phosphorylation–regulated γTuC binding.

[Acta Biomaterialia] Primary human corneal fibroblasts were cultured on hydrogels with varying stiffness. Label-free quantitative proteomics revealed that increased ECM stiffness triggered widespread proteomic reprogramming, with significant enrichment in pathways related to fibrosis, Hippo signaling, cytoskeletal remodeling, and glycolysis.

[Journal of Bone and Mineral Research] Investigators developed an injectable, sustained, and matrix metalloproteinase-responsive local drug delivery system by integrating triglycerol monostearate nanoparticles within a dynamically crosslinked hyaluronic acid-based hydrogel scaffold.

[Biomolecules & Biomedicine] Given the established profibrotic role of zinc finger protein 469 (ZNF469) in other mesenchymal lineages, scientists investigated its function in lung fibroblasts using an integrated functional and transcriptomic approach.

[Biomedical Materials] The authors frames stress urinary incontinence as a clinically relevant ECM-failure niche and synthesises ECM-targeted biomaterials and nanocarriers designed to rebalance the MMP/TIMP axis while enabling pragmatic pharmacodynamic readouts for early translation.

[MannKind Corporation] MannKind Corporation announced key clinical execution milestones in the development of nintedanib DPI for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), including the completion of patient randomization in the US Phase Ib INFLO-1 clinical trial and enrollment of the first patient in the global Phase II INFLO-2 study.

[ Anixa Biosciences, Inc.] Anixa Biosciences, Inc. announced that the Canadian Intellectual Property Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for a patent covering key aspects of Anixa's ovarian cancer vaccine technology. Anixa's ovarian cancer vaccine is based on immunizing against AMHR2, a protein expressed in normal ovaries prior to menopause and also aberrantly expressed in certain types of ovarian cancer.

[The Salk Institute] Three Salk faculty members, Drs. Sung Han, Daniel Hollern, and Graham McVicker, have been chosen as Keck Scholars, alongside corresponding graduate students as Keck Fellows, in a special W. M. Keck Foundation Bridge Funding Initiative.

[Nature Immunology] Researchers used single-cell RNA sequencing of resting and CD3+CD28 antibody-stimulated T cells from lymphoid and mucosal tissues of organ donors to investigate age-dependent mechanisms for functional regulation of human memory T cells. Their findings revealed key mechanisms controlling T cell functional states in early life.