Article
Cell Biology
Kristen L. Segars, Nicholas A. Azzari, Stephanie Gomez, Cody Machen, Celeste B. Rich, Vickery Trinkaus-Randall
Summary: Research has shown that changes in corneal stiffness and signaling contribute to decreased wound healing efficacy in older mice. As mice age, the stiffness of the cornea changes, leading to longer healing times. Additionally, there is reduced calcium signaling at the wound site in older mice, resulting in lower cell activity compared to younger mice.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jo-Anne Chan, Jessica R. Loughland, Lauren de la Parte, Satomi Okano, Isaac Ssewanyana, Mayimuna Nalubega, Felistas Nankya, Kenneth Musinguzi, John Rek, Emmanuel Arinaitwe, Peta Tipping, Peter Bourke, Dean Andrew, Nicholas Dooley, Arya SheelaNair, Bruce D. Wines, P. Mark Hogarth, James G. Beeson, Bryan Greenhouse, Grant Dorsey, Moses Kamya, Gunter Hartel, Gabriela Minigo, Margaret Feeney, Prasanna Jagannathan, Michelle J. Boyle
Summary: This study focuses on the host and parasite factors that influence the development of CD4 T-follicular helper cells and antibodies. The research reveals a complex relationship between the circulating Tfh compartment, antibody development, and protection from malaria.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
Milos Nikolic, Giuliano Scarcelli, Kandice Tanner
Summary: By measuring cell mechanical phenotypes using different modalities, it was found that cells exhibit different mechanical characteristics in different environments; meanwhile, the heterogeneity in cell shape is closely linked to the cells' mechanical state; in multicellular spheroids, there is mechanical cooperativity between cells.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Francesco Nava, Francesco Margoni, Nilmini Herath, Elena Nava
Summary: Cooperation is an advantageous strategy in human societies, crucial for their success or survival. This study explored how cooperation changes across the lifespan, finding that intuitive decision-making favors cooperation from age 20, while in adolescents, reflective thinking promotes cooperation. Participants' choices were influenced by their expectations of others' cooperative behavior and their level of optimism about their own future, highlighting the role of reciprocity expectations and individual predispositions in shaping cooperative humans.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Justin Kurian, Veronica Bohl, Michael Behanan, Sadia Mohsin, Mohsin Khan
Summary: Metabolism plays a crucial role in regulating stem cell properties, with metabolites acting as secondary messengers in response to microenvironment changes. The study highlights the impact of acetyl-CoA on chromatin remodeling, particularly in cardiac cells. The differences in metabolism between neonatal cardiac stem cells and aged cardiac stem cells suggest a link between metabolism and chromatin remodeling with age.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Robotics
Yeonwook Roh, Minho Kim, Sang Min Won, Daseul Lim, Insic Hong, Seunggon Lee, Taewi Kim, Changhwan Kim, Doohoe Lee, Sunghoon Im, Gunhee Lee, Dongjin Kim, Dongwook Shin, Dohyeon Gong, Baekgyeom Kim, Seongyeon Kim, Sungyeong Kim, Hyun Kuk Kim, Bon-Kwon Koo, Sungchul Seo, Je-Sung Koh, Daeshik Kang, Seungyong Han
Summary: Soft grippers incorporating functional materials play a crucial role in developing mechanically compliant and multifunctional interfaces for sensing and stimulating soft objects and organisms. They enable firm and delicate grasping without mechanical damage, and can measure temperature and pressure on grasped objects while providing temperature and mechanical stimuli. This miniaturized soft gripper demonstrates potential for widespread utility in biomedical engineering, especially in interfacing with microscale biotissues and organisms.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tomohiro Shirai, Dan Takase, Junkichi Yokoyama, Kuniyuki Nakanishi, Chisaki Uehara, Naoko Saito, Aya Kato-Namba, Keiichi Yoshikawa
Summary: This study investigates the constituents and functions of olfactory mucus, finding that it contains high concentrations of solutes and molecules related to odorant metabolism. The study also reveals the age-dependent decrease in the amount of olfactory mucus and its impact on the sensitivity of odorant detection by receptors. These findings provide insights into the molecular processes of olfactory mucus and propose a potential cause of olfactory decline.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ferenc Petak, Barbara N. Kovacs, Szilvia Agocs, Katalin Virag, Tibor Nyari, Andrea Molnar, Roberta Sudy, Csaba Lengyel, Barna Babik
Summary: This study evaluated the seasonality of cardiac surgeries in a hospital in East-Central Europe and found that diabetes, smoking, and elderly age were associated with seasonal variations in the monthly proportion of surgeries. The simultaneous presence of diabetes and smoking increased the requirement for cardiac surgery, while the presence of older age and diabetes or smoking eliminated seasonal variations.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Aylin Acun, Ruben Oganesyan, Korkut Uygun, Heidi Yeh, Martin L. Yarmush, Basak E. Uygun
Summary: The extracellular matrix of the liver changes with age, affecting cell function, and donor age should be considered an important factor for bioengineering liver substitutes.
Article
Mechanics
Junjie Ye, Yun Hong, Lu Liu, Heng Cai, Wangpeng He, Bo Huang, Mohamed Saafi, Yongkun Wang, Jianqiao Ye
Summary: This study presents an effective microscale model for fiber-reinforced composites with initial damages to investigate local stress distribution and damage evolution at the material level. Experimental data is used for validation, showing good agreement with numerical results. Different types of initial damage and their influence on damage evolution are studied.
COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Kevin Hoffseth, Emily Busse, Josue Jaramillo, Jennifer Simkin, Michelle Lacey, Mimi C. Sammarco
Summary: Mouse digit amputation serves as a useful model for studying bone growth after injury, showing that intramembranous bone formation is promoted in adult animals. Aged mice display altered trabecular spacing and patterning, as well as increased mineral density in the regenerated bone. Analysis of elasticity using imaging techniques suggests that regenerated bone has decreased elasticity compared to uninjured bone, but no significant difference in elasticity between aged and young regenerated bone.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Thermodynamics
Mutabe Aljaghtham, Kannan Premnath, Radi Alsulami
Summary: The close-contact melting process, resulting from direct heating of phase change material, has various applications. Increasing slip velocity without temperature slip can enhance melting rate and lead to an earlier onset of steady state, while including temperature slip can slow down the melting rate and delay reaching steady state.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maha Sellami, Shamma Al-muraikhy, Hend Al-Jaber, Hadaia Al-Amri, Layla Al-Mansoori, Nayef A. Mazloum, Francesco Donati, Francesco Botre, Mohamed A. Elrayess
Summary: This study found that levels of TNF-α were significantly higher in older athletes, while IL-10 significantly increased in high-intensity endurance sports regardless of age group, and IL-6 concentration was higher in older athletes participating in high-intensity sports. Overall, significant positive correlations were identified among levels of IL-6, IL-10, IL-8, and TNF-α.
Article
Cell Biology
Clayton W. Molter, Eliana F. Muszynski, Yuanyuan Tao, Tanisha Trivedi, Anna Clouvel, Allen J. Ehrlicher
Summary: The study found that the contractility, cell stiffness, and motility of prostate cancer cells exhibit unique biophysical responses under different metastatic potential, which are influenced by substrate stiffness. Despite the biophysical diversity, the mechanical microenvironment is a key determinant in the biophysical response of PCa with variable metastatic potentials.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maria Bencurova, Terezia Lysikova, Katarina Leskova Majdova, Peter Kaplan, Peter Racay, Jan Lehotsky, Zuzana Tatarkova
Summary: Heart structure and function deteriorate with aging, making the heart more susceptible to ischemia-reperfusion (IR) damage. Maintaining Ca2+ homeostasis is crucial for cardiac contractility. Aging reduces the abundance and function of Ca2+-handling proteins, but the effect of IR on these proteins does not increase with age.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
James Carthew, Hazem H. Abdelmaksoud, Karla J. Cowley, Margeaux Hodgson-Garms, Roey Elnathan, Joachim P. Spatz, Juergen Brugger, Helmut Thissen, Kaylene J. Simpson, Nicolas H. Voelcker, Jessica E. Frith, Victor J. Cadarso
Summary: The novel technology developed allows for direct imprint of micro- and nanoscaled topographical features onto the base of conventional cell cultureware, making it compatible with standard biological techniques and methods of analysis. High-throughput screening across five distinct cell types interrogated the effects of 12 surface topographies, demonstrating unique cell specific responses to behavior and cell morphological characteristics. This technology provides new insights into how surface topographies can regulate key image descriptors to drive cell fate determination in various fields in the life sciences.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Dimitris Missirlis, Lara Heckmann, Tamas Haraszti, Joachim P. Spatz
Summary: This study demonstrates that changes in fibronectin presentation on the surface have a comprehensive effect on cell mechanosensing, independent of bulk mechanics. Reduction of surface hydrophilicity alters fibronectin adsorption strength, allowing cells to remodel fibronectin and migrate.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuanzhen Wang, Chensheng Xu, Timotheus Jahnke, Wolfgang Verestek, Siegfried Schmauder, Joachim P. Spatz
Summary: This article introduces a new method for modeling the microstructure of carbon black and calculating the electrical conductivity of polymer composites. It demonstrates the ability to predict the required carbon black content and minimize the amount of additive to achieve a specific conductivity.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yixuan Jia, Christoph A. Spiegel, Alexander Welle, Stefan Heissler, Elaheh Sedghamiz, Modan Liu, Wolfgang Wenzel, Maximilian Hackner, Joachim P. Spatz, Manuel Tsotsalas, Eva Blasco
Summary: This article presents a method for manufacturing programmable materials using alkoxyamines for printing. By investigating different reaction processes, the mechanical properties of the material can be adjusted, and the size of the structure can be changed through polymerization reactions.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Elham Sharifikolouei, Baran Sarac, Alexandre Micoulet, Reinhard Mager, Moyu Watari-Alvarez, Efi Hadjixenophontos, Zaklina Burghard, Guido Schmitz, Joachim P. Spatz
Summary: The hardness of AISI316-Ti stainless steel has been improved by generating an amorphous-nanocrystalline microstructure. The fully amorphous structure was obtained using a modified melt-spinning technique, and the hardness was characterized using thermal analysis and nanoindentation analysis.
MATERIALS & DESIGN
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Oskar Staufer, Goesta Gantner, Ilia Platzman, Klaus Tanner, Imre Berger, Joachim P. Spatz
Summary: Synthetic biology is an engineering approach that aims to redesign or build biological organisms to enhance our understanding of life. This article summarizes current methods for synthetic engineering of viral replication cycles and discusses the potential risks associated with this bottom-up approach in infectious diseases.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Desiree Sauter, Martin Schroeter, Christoph Frey, Cornelia Weber, Ulrike Mersdorf, Jan-Willi Janiesch, Ilia Platzman, Joachim P. Spatz
Summary: This study introduces a method for assembling an artificial cytoskeleton in a synthetic cell model system, and investigates the temperature-mediated contraction/release behavior of the cytoskeleton. The results show that the deformation induced by hydrogel can be used to controllably manipulate the motility of droplet-based synthetic cells.
MACROMOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Virology
Fania Geiger, Tim Wendlandt, Tim Berking, Joachim P. Spatz, Christina Wege
Summary: A simple enzyme-mediated strategy enables site-specific covalent coupling of genetically tagged luciferase molecules to TMV-CoA, both in solution and on solid supports. The use of TMV-CoA for fishing ybbR-tagged proteins from complex mixtures could provide new opportunities for versatile equipment of miniaturized devices with biologically active proteins. The enzymes displayed on the protein coat of TMV nanocarriers exhibited high activity.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Andreas Fink, Charlotte R. Doll, Ana Yague Relimpio, Yannik Dreher, Joachim P. Spatz, Kerstin Goepfrich, Elisabetta Ada Cavalcanti-Adam
Summary: Spontaneous and induced front-rear polarization of cells is crucial for cell migration in various physiological and pathological conditions. The balance between adhesion and cytoskeleton-driven protrusion and retraction is important for adherent cell migration. A minimal model system using synthetic cells resembling giant unilamellar lipid vesicles (GUVs) was created to study the relationship between cytoskeleton organization and cell front-rear polarization. Micropatterned surfaces induced asymmetric deformation and alignment of actin filaments in adherent GUVs depending on their shape and size. This bottom-up approach lays the foundation for further understanding the mechanisms of cell migration.
ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Sadaf Pashapour, Senne Seneca, Martin Schroeter, Friedrich Frischknecht, Ilia Platzman, Joachim Spatz
Summary: This study developed protein-based microcapsules derived from the extracellular matrix (ECM) to investigate the interactions between ECM components and pathogens and study disease infectivity. The microcapsules were created by using water-in-oil emulsion droplets as templates, allowing for the charge-mediated attraction of ECM proteins to the inner periphery of the droplets. The released ECM-based protein microcapsules containing E. coli showed differences in the behavior of E. coli depending on the surrounding ECM protein matrix.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Sophie L. Preuss, Stephanie Oehrl, Hao Zhang, Thomas Doebel, Ulrike Engel, Jennifer L. Young, Joachim P. Spatz, Knut Schaekel
Summary: Formation and deposition of immune complexes (ICs) is a characteristic feature of autoimmune diseases. In this study, we demonstrated that ICs induce a specific migratory response, haptokinesis, in non-classical monocytes (ncMo) and in a specific subset of monocytes known as 6-sulfo LacNAc(+) monocytes (slanMo), but not in other monocyte subsets. CD16-dependent signaling and the activity of the metalloproteinase ADAM17 were found to mediate this migratory response.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Reinhard Lipowsky, Shreya Pramanik, Amelie S. Benk, Miroslaw Tarnawski, Joachim P. Spatz, Rumiana Dimova
Summary: Artificial or synthetic organelles are a challenge in bottom-up synthetic biology. Synthetic organelles are typically based on spherical membrane compartments for spatially confining chemical reactions. However, cellular organelles, like the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), have more complex architectures. The morphology of ER, including its straight appearance and nanoscopic shapes, as well as the formation and maintenance of its reticular networks, are closely related to the dimerization of membrane proteins and the generation of membrane tension.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ana Yagu''e Relimpio, Andreas Fink, Duc Thien Bui, Sebastian Fabritz, Martin Schro''ter, Alessia Ruggieri, Ilia Platzman, Joachim P. Spatz
Summary: This study uses bottom-up assembled synthetic SARS-CoV-2 viruses to investigate the binding properties of the Omicron and Alpha variants. The results reveal a significantly higher affinity of Omicron S towards the lipid membrane and ACE2 receptor.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shreya Pramanik, Jan Steinkuehler, Rumiana Dimova, Joachim Spatz, Reinhard Lipowsky
Summary: His-tagged molecules can be attached to lipid bilayers via anchor lipids for biofunctionalization. Two fluorescent His-tagged molecules, GFP and FITC, were studied in this research. The brightness of membrane-bound 6H-GFP was found to exceed that of membrane-bound 6H-FITC, contrary to their quantum yields in solution. The membrane fluorescence was also measured as a function of the molar concentration of fluorophores, leading to the determination of equilibrium dissociation constants and a strong pH-dependence of membrane fluorescence.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Lucia T. Benk, Amelie S. Benk, Rafael B. Lira, Elisabetta Ada Cavalcanti-Adam, Rumiana Dimova, Reinhard Lipowsky, Benjamin Geiger, Joachim P. Spatz
Summary: This study utilizes droplet-based microfluidics to generate cell-sized giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) with a defined molecular composition, and quantifies the adhesion of integrin alpha(IIb)beta(3)-containing protocells in relation to the number of integrin-talin head domain (THD) complexes. The study shows that THD induces integrin clustering in protocells adhering to fibrinogen, which is an essential step in synthetic cell design. These results pave the way for further investigations of protein-protein interactions and assembly mechanisms within complex synthetic cells.
ADVANCED NANOBIOMED RESEARCH
(2022)
