Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Goezde Dursun, Saurabh Balkrishna Tandale, Rutwik Gulakala, Joerg Eschweiler, Mersedeh Tohidnezhad, Bernd Markert, Marcus Stoffel
Summary: The study aimed to develop a potential CNN model for recognizing differentiated stem cells by learning features directly from image data of unlabelled cells. The results showed that CNN models can classify cells accurately, and training with image enhancement and data augmentation strategies can improve classification accuracy.
COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Guanyin Chen, Dong Fan, Wangqian Zhang, Shuning Wang, Jintao Gu, Yuan Gao, Lei He, Weina Li, Cun Zhang, Meng Li, Yingqi Zhang, Zhaohui Liu, Qiang Hao
Summary: This study found that under hypoxic conditions, there was a significant increase in the expression of Mkx in MSCs. Mkx mediated hypoxia-induced tenogenic differentiation of MSCs but could not completely repress the proliferation of hypoxic MSCs.
STEM CELL RESEARCH & THERAPY
(2021)
Review
Developmental Biology
Sonja D. C. Weterings, Marek J. van Oostrom, Katharina F. Sonnen
Summary: Despite the similarities between developmental biology and adult tissue homeostasis, they are often studied separately in contemporary research. The balance between stem cell proliferation and differentiation is key in coordinating tissue generation and maintenance, with upstream signaling playing a crucial role in achieving the desired outcomes at a population level. Both processes require tight regulation of stem cells at a single-cell level and the establishment of patterns at a tissue-wide level. Introducing interactions between these two disciplines could bring mutual benefits to both research fields.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Flavia Carton, Simona Casarella, Dalila Di Francesco, Emma Zanella, Annarita D'urso, Luca Di Nunno, Luca Fusaro, Diego Cotella, Maria Prat, Antonia Follenzi, Francesca Boccafoschi
Summary: Cells of the cardiovascular system are exposed to various mechanical forces that are crucial for cardiac development and functions. Focal adhesion (FA) complexes and actomyosin networks play vital roles in regulating cellular behaviors related to cytoskeleton dynamics, cell adhesion, migration, differentiation, and tissue organization. This study investigates the involvement of FA in cardiomyocyte differentiation, focusing on vinculin and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) family. The results show that differentiation conditions upregulate FAK-Tyr397 and vinculin, leading to their translocation to the cell membrane. Mechanical stretching also affects the cell shape and the length and number of vinculin-positive FAs, indicating the significant role of mechanotransductive pathways in cardiomyocyte differentiation and cytoskeleton rearrangement.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Renwang Sheng, Jia Liu, Wei Zhang, Yifan Luo, Zhixuan Chen, Jiayu Chi, Qingyun Mo, Mingyue Wang, Yuzhi Sun, Chuanquan Liu, Yanan Zhang, Yue Zhu, Baian Kuang, Chunguang Yan, Haoyang Liu, Ludvig J. Backman, Jialin Chen
Summary: This study found that soft materials are more likely to guide stem cell differentiation into tendon lineage, providing comprehensive evidence for optimized bioactive scaffold design in tendon tissue engineering.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ali H. Brivanlou, Norbert Gleicher
Summary: Research on human development, driven by an irresistible need to understand our origins, holds a unique position in scientific and medical research. This Comment explores the progress made in understanding human development over the past decade, focusing on basic research, clinical applications, and ethical considerations.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Yi Zheng, Robin Zhexuan Yan, Shiyu Sun, Mutsumi Kobayashi, Lifeng Xiang, Ran Yang, Alexander Goedel, Yu Kang, Xufeng Xue, Sajedeh Nasr Esfahani, Yue Liu, Agnes M. Resto Irizarry, Weisheng Wu, Yunxiu Li, Weizhi Ji, Yuyu Niu, Kenneth R. Chien, Tianqing Li, Toshihiro Shioda, Jianping Fu
Summary: Despite limited understanding of early human development, studying stem cell-derived embryo-like structures can help fill the knowledge gap. This study analyzed the transcriptomes of a human embryoid model at different time points, revealing the critical role of NODAL signaling in mesoderm and primordial germ cell specification. The findings propose stringent criteria for distinguishing between human blastocyst trophectoderm and early amniotic ectoderm cells.
Article
Orthopedics
Xing Guo, Denghua Huang, Dan Li, Longfei Zou, Hui Lv, Yuanhui Wang, Meiyun Tan
Summary: This study found that hypoxia preconditioning attenuates the proliferation and migration ability of ADSCs, but has positive impact on tenogenic differentiation through HIF-1 alpha signaling pathway.
JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY AND RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Zongyong Ai, Baohua Niu, Yu Yin, Lifeng Xiang, Gaohui Shi, Kui Duan, Sile Wang, Yingjie Hu, Chi Zhang, Chengting Zhang, Lujuan Rong, Ruize Kong, Tingwei Chen, Yixin Guo, Wanlu Liu, Nan Li, Shumei Zhao, Xiaoqing Zhu, Xuancheng Mai, Yonggang Li, Ze Wu, Yi Zheng, Jianping Fu, Weizhi Ji, Tianqing Li
Summary: Studies on cultured embryos have provided insights into human peri-implantation development, but the detailed knowledge of peri-implantation lineage development and mechanisms remains unclear. By using 3D-cultured human embryos, the researchers have created a complete cell atlas of early post-implantation lineages, deciphering the composition and gene signatures of epiblast and hypoblast derivatives. They have also developed an embryo-like assembloid that can simulate the development of epiblast and hypoblast. Their findings shed light on human peri-implantation development and provide a useful model for understanding human embryogenesis.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ana L. Graca, Rui M. A. Domingues, Manuel Gomez-Florit, Manuela E. Gomes
Summary: In this study, the role of platelet-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) in stem cells' tenogenic commitment was assessed using a 3D bioengineered in vitro tendon model. The findings showed that platelet-derived EVs boosted the tenogenic commitment of stem cells and enhanced the deposition of tendon-like extracellular matrix. These results suggest that platelet-derived EVs have promising applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Martin F. Pera, Janet Rossant
Summary: Recent studies of pluripotent stem cells have identified an intermediate stage called the formative state between naive pluripotency and primed pluripotency, which has important implications for deriving human embryo models.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bailey A. T. Weatherbee, Carlos W. Gantner, Lisa K. Iwamoto-Stohl, Riza M. Daza, Nobuhiko Hamazaki, Jay Shendure, Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz
Summary: By inducing stem cells, we have established a model of the human post-implantation embryo that mimics key aspects of human development and allows us to study tissue-tissue interactions. This model is important for investigating critical questions related to human post-implantation development and understanding the causes of pregnancy failure during this stage.
Article
Biology
Katherine T. Best, Antonion Korcari, Keshia E. Mora, Anne Ec Nichols, Samantha N. Muscat, Emma Knapp, Mark R. Buckley, Alayna E. Loiselle
Summary: Depletion of Scx(Lin) cells surprisingly resulted in enhanced biomechanical properties during tendon repair without impairing gliding function. RNA sequencing at 28 days post-repair revealed differences in matrix-related genes, cell motility, cytoskeletal organization, and metabolism. Depletion of adult Scx(Lin) cells also led to altered tendon collagen fibril diameter, density, and dispersion.
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Shuai Chen, Juan Wang, Yini Chen, Xiumei Mo, Cunyi Fan
Summary: Tissue engineering using GDF-5-induced ASCs cell sheets for tendon repair shows promise in enhancing tenogenesis-related markers expression. Combining cell sheets with nanoyarn scaffolds demonstrates potential in tendon regeneration in rabbit models.
MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING C-MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Langhai Xu, Zhonggai Chen, Tingting Geng, Bin Ru, Quan Wan, Jianbin Zhang, Shun Li, Wenjun Cai
Summary: This study found that irisin can promote the proliferation and tenogenic differentiation of rat TSPCs, which may be beneficial for the treatment of tendinopathy.
IN VITRO CELLULAR & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY-ANIMAL
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Aurelio Salerno, Agustina B. Leonardi, Parisa Pedram, Ernesto Di Maio, M. Alejandra Fanovich, Paolo A. Netti
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING C-MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Selene De Martino, Silvia Cavalli, Paolo Antonio Netti
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2020)
Article
Biophysics
Concetta Di Natale, Carlo F. Natale, Daniele Florio, Paolo Antonio Netti, Giancarlo Morelli, Maurizio Ventre, Daniela Marasco
Summary: The mechanical interpretation of the factors governing cellular localization of amyloid aggregates is crucial for planning novel therapeutical interventions in neurodegenerative diseases, with modifications of cellular environment affecting peptide localization, its cytoplasmic translocation and the size of amyloid aggregates.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Federica Cermola, Cristina D'Aniello, Rosarita Tate, Dario De Cesare, Alfonso Martinez-Arias, Gabriella Minchiotti, Eduardo Jorge Patriarca
Summary: The study found that as pluripotency progresses from naive to primed state, the efficiency of gastruloid formation decreases. Matured epiblast stem cells fail to generate proper cell aggregates, while early-primed epiblast-like cells can aggregate but fail to develop into elongated gastruloids.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Carlo Prati, Joao Paulo Mendes Tribst, Amanda Maria de Oliveira Dal Piva, Alexandre Luiz Souto Borges, Maurizio Ventre, Fausto Zamparini, Pietro Ausiello
Summary: The stress distribution generated in the root dentine canal during mechanical rotation of five different NiTi endodontic instruments was calculated using finite element analysis. Conventional Ni-Ti instruments demonstrated higher stress magnitudes in curved areas, while heat-treated instruments with higher flexibility showed reduced stress concentration. The mechanical behavior of all rotary endodontic instruments was affected by different elastic moduli and dentine canal rigidity.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Article
Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine
Pietro Ausiello, Joao Paulo Mendes Tribst, Maurizio Ventre, Enrico Salvati, Alessandro E. di Lauro, Massimo Martorelli, Antonio Lanzotti, David C. Watts
Summary: This study used finite element analysis to evaluate the influence of three different dental implant neck geometries under combined compressive/shear loads. The results showed that the neck configuration impacted the strain distribution and magnitude in cortical and trabecular bone tissues, with implants having 10 and 20 degree neck configurations showing lower strain values.
Review
Cell Biology
Eduardo J. Patriarca, Federica Cermola, Cristina D'Aniello, Annalisa Fico, Ombretta Guardiola, Dario De Cesare, Gabriella Minchiotti
Summary: Proline plays multifaceted roles in cell biology, serving as a precursor of extracellular proteins, an energy source, an antistress molecule, a neural metabotoxin, a modulator of cell signaling pathways, an epigenetic modifier, an inducer of cell proliferation, and a modulator of cell morphology and migration/invasiveness. Proline metabolism impacts beneficial tissue regeneration but also contributes to the progression of devastating pathologies such as fibrosis and metastatic cancer.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alessandro Gandin, Yaswanth Murugesan, Veronica Torresan, Lorenzo Ulliana, Anna Citron, Paolo Contessotto, Giusy Battilana, Tito Panciera, Maurizio Ventre, A. Paolo Netti, Lucia Nicola, Stefano Piccolo, Giovanna Brusatin
Summary: Despite significant advancements in understanding mechanotransduction, the implementation of mechanobiology assays remains challenging. Hydrogel substrates with tunable stiffness are crucial in investigating the effects of mechanical signals on cell behavior, but assessing their stiffness can be costly and complex. This study provides protocols for setting up and interpreting two simple, low-cost, and high-throughput tools for measuring hydrogel stiffness, which have been validated and compared with established techniques, offering a biologically and theoretically proven approach to mechanobiology.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Felicia Roffo, Alfonso Maria Ponsiglione, Paolo Antonio Netti, Enza Torino
Summary: An innovative hybrid nanocarrier based on lipid-polymer coupling was proposed and validated for theranostics and multimodal imaging applications. The nanocarrier, prepared using Microfluidics, consists of a core-shell structure with a lipid bilayer enveloping a polymeric chitosan core, capable of co-encapsulating different compounds. The hybrid nanocarriers exhibit monodispersity, structural integrity in different environmental conditions, and high biocompatibility, making them suitable for MRI and Optical applications.
Article
Oncology
Laura Casalino, Francesco Talotta, Amelia Cimmino, Pasquale Verde
Summary: Cancer metastasis largely relies on the phenotypic changes and genetic reprogramming orchestrated by transcription factors. Fra-1 is a crucial component in the metastatic process and represents an ideal therapeutic target. However, the structural features of Fra-1 pose challenges in designing inhibitory drugs for this nuclear oncoprotein.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Stefania Saporito, Carlo F. Natale, Costantino Menna, Paolo Antonio Netti, Maurizio Ventre
Summary: Mechanical forces play a significant role in eukaryotic cells, affecting cell shape, proliferation, polarity, and differentiation through mechanosensing and mechanotransduction. Recent findings suggest that cell-generated forces influence the translocation of transcription factors from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, which is influenced by the morphology of nuclear pore complexes. The complex patterns of nuclear envelope strains and stresses caused by cytoskeletal forces may alter the morphology of nuclear pore complexes, ultimately affecting molecular transport and cell functions.
MATERIALS TODAY BIO
(2022)
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Giorgia Imparato, Francesco Urciuolo, Claudia Mazio, Paolo A. Netti
Summary: The dynamic interaction between cancer cells and their microenvironment is crucial for cancer progression. Understanding this interaction is fundamental for designing and validating new nanotherapeutic approaches. The extracellular matrix of tumors has been identified as a promising target for anticancer treatment, revolutionizing the traditional therapeutic paradigm. Advanced 3D preclinical models and microfluidic technology are necessary to accurately mimic the complex and dynamic tumor microenvironment.
Review
Oncology
Alessandra Cambi, Maurizio Ventre
Summary: Cells can sense and respond to mechanical signals in addition to biochemical signals, and the cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interaction plays a crucial role in tissue homeostasis and cancer. Controllable cell culturing systems mimicking the ECM enable detailed investigation of mechanosensing and mechanotransduction pathways. Understanding the cell-ECM interplay may lead to novel therapies targeting the biophysical and mechanical features of the tumor ECM to improve therapy efficacy.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Laura Casalino, Francesco Talotta, Ilenia Matino, Pasquale Verde
Summary: FRA-1, encoded by FOSL1, is a key regulator of invasion and metastasis in breast cancer. It controls the transcriptional regulation of EMT and is overexpressed in the TNBC/basal subtypes. Through interactions with EMT-regulating transcription factors, miRNAs, RNA binding proteins, and cytokines, FRA-1 plays a role in the plasticity, stemness, and metastatic potential of cancer cells. The diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications of the FRA-1 transcriptome related to EMT are also discussed.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maria Isabella Maremonti, Valeria Panzetta, David Dannhauser, Paolo Antonio Netti, Filippo Causa
Summary: The study proposes a contactless microfluidic approach that enables precise control of stress application on cell nuclei for mechanobiological research. The results show that different compression forces can lead to nuclear reinforcement or deconstruction, and affect chromatin structure and biomolecular changes in cells.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2022)
