Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marzieh Khani, Tobias Materzok, Hossein Eslami, Stanislav Gorb, Florian Mueller-Plathe
Summary: Grand canonical ensemble molecular dynamics simulations and experimental measurements were used to investigate the water content and mechanical properties of gecko beta-keratin at different relative humidities (RH). The results showed a decrease in mechanical properties and an increase in water content with higher RH. The weakening effect of water, caused by the swelling of keratin, was more pronounced at higher RHs.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2022)
Article
Optics
Deepak K. Gupta, T. R. Ravindran
Summary: We propose a new and direct technique to map the incident laser intensity on the active area of a spatial light modulator (SLM) by using a diffraction-based setup in a holographic optical tweezers (HOTs) system to generate structured light. The importance of mapping the laser intensity across the SLM is demonstrated by studying the effect of mismatch between the input laser beam center and the actual beam center on the trap properties.
OPTICS COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Aysegul Dede Eren, Amy W. A. Lucassen, Urandelger Tuvshindorj, Roman Truckenmuller, Stefan Giselbrecht, E. Deniz Eren, Mehmet Orhan Tas, Phanikrishna Sudarsanam, Jan de Boer
Summary: This study investigated how cells organize their adhesive machinery on surfaces with different topographies and adhesive island geometries, and examined the reciprocal interaction between stress fiber and focal adhesion formation. The results confirm that the spatial organization of adhesive sites determines the ability of cells to form focal adhesions and stress fibers.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Hidetaka Ueno, Yoshinori Akagi, Shohei Yamamura
Summary: Selective cell retrieval is crucial for advancing cell analyzing technologies and regenerative medicine. This study presents a novel method using a light-responsive gas-generating polymer microarray for selective cell retrieval. The system allows easy and rapid retrieval of adhered cells without causing any damage.
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)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Subhrokoli Ghosh, Anand Dev Ranjan, Santu Das, Rakesh Sen, Basudev Roy, Soumyajit Roy, Ayan Banerjee
Summary: The technology utilizes self-assembly driven by microbubble formation at the interface of a liquid-solid substrate due to a focused laser, enabling reliable patterning of soft materials and colloids with a wide range of applications and challenges.
Article
Polymer Science
David Kun, Zoltan Karpati, Erika Fekete, Janos Moczo
Summary: This study investigated the effect of physical contact between filler particles on the modulus of composite materials by incorporating different types of milled sunflower husk into various polymer composites. The results showed that weak van der Waals interactions at the interface between polyolefins and sunflower husk particles led to poor adhesion and reinforcement in their composites. Enhanced interfacial adhesion was observed in specific interactions such as pi electron interactions for PS, hydrogen bonds for PLA, and a combination of both for PETG-based composites.
Review
Cell Biology
Yasaswi Gayatri Mishra, Bramanandam Manavathi
Summary: Cell-ECM adhesions, with integrins at their core, serve as a crucial link between the cell cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix, playing a major role in cell signalling for mechanotransduction, migration, proliferation, and other cellular processes. The diverse integrin adhesion complexes, such as focal adhesions and invadosomes, are not only essential for normal cell survival and development, but also play significant roles in various pathological processes.
CELLULAR SIGNALLING
(2021)
Article
Optics
Arseniy A. Kapkov, Alexey N. Semenov, Petr B. Ermolinskiy, Andrei E. Lugovtsov, Alexander Priezzhev
Summary: This study investigated the interaction between single red blood cells and single endothelial cells in vitro, revealing that the strength of interaction is dependent on the concentration of proaggregant macromolecules in the environment, such as fibrinogen or dextran. The force of interaction nonlinearly increased with higher concentrations of fibrinogen or dextran, and dextran with a higher molecular mass enhanced adhesion of RBCs to ECs compared to lower molecular mass dextran. Activation of ECs with TNF-alpha and the shape of RBCs also influenced the force of interaction.
JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE OPTICAL HEALTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Pengyuan Zou, Hua Zhang, Min Lei, Donghai Cheng, Shuo Huang, Fan Yang
Summary: The combination of PEEK-CFRP with Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy using continuous laser welding process is a promising manufacturing method, resulting in strong joints. However, the quality of joints is significantly affected by welding speed, with the formation of bubbles, cracks, and anchor effects impacting mechanical properties.
Review
Developmental Biology
Naoya Yamaguchi, Holger Knaut
Summary: Cell-extracellular matrix interactions are essential for cell anchoring and migration, with focal adhesions (FAs) playing a key role. However, the role of FAs in vivo is still not well understood.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mihai Adrian Bodescu, Jonas Aretz, Marco Grison, Matthias Rief, Reinhard Faessler
Summary: In this study, the mechanical stability of the talin-integrin bond was investigated using single-molecule force spectroscopy. The addition of kindlin-2 resulted in a force-independent, ideal talin-integrin bond, which relied on the steric proximity of and the intervening amino acid sequences between the talin and kindlin binding sites in the P-integrin tail. These findings reveal how kindlin cooperates with talin to enable the transmission of high forces required for cell adhesion.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Karin Legerstee, Tsion E. Abraham, Wiggert A. van Cappellen, Alex L. Nigg, Johan A. Slotman, Adriaan B. Houtsmuller
Summary: Focal adhesions (FAs) are flat elongated structures consisting of three layers along the vertical axis. Different proteins extend at different parts of the FAs, and their redistribution may be involved in cell movement during migration processes.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Optics
Guojun Zhu, Xinying Li, Xinyue Yin, Sohail Muhammad, Changwen Xu, Chunxiang Zhang, Chunyang Ma, Jun Liu
Summary: In this study, both continuous-wave (CW) and Q-switched cylindrical vector beams (CVBs) were successfully generated from a mid-infrared Er3+-doped ZBLAN (Er:ZBLAN) fiber laser. A customized S-waveplate was used as the intracavity mode converter to achieve the mid-infrared CVBs, and the switching between radially and azimuthally polarized beams was easily realized by manipulating the cavity conditions. The CW CVBs achieved a maximum output power of around 250 mW. In the short-pulsed CVBs operation regime, both the active and passive Q-switching modes were realized with a pulse duration of hundreds of nanoseconds. The proposed mid-infrared cylindrical vector lasers have significant potential for applications in biomedicine, optical trapping, material processing, and optical communication.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jiaxuan Li, Weiqiang Zhu, Ettore Biondi, Zhongwen Zhan
Summary: Earthquake focal mechanisms are crucial for understanding subsurface faulting and stress state. The emerging DAS technology has the potential to fill in the incomplete azimuthal coverage of traditional seismic networks and improve constraints on the nodal plane orientation. However, determining first-arrival polarities on DAS is challenging due to its technical limitations.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Leo Piquet, Louise Dewit, Nathan Schoonjans, Martial Millet, Julie Berube, Peter R. A. Gerges, Francois Bordeleau, Solange Landreville
Article
Cell Biology
Francois Bordeleau, Wenjun Wang, Alysha Simmons, Marc A. Antonyak, Richard A. Cerione, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King
JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Cell Biology
Claire Dziengelewski, Marc-Antoine Rodrigue, Alexia Caillier, Kevin Jacquet, Marie-Chloe Booangers, Jonathan Bergeman, Margit Fuchs, Herman Lambert, Patrick Laprise, Darren E. Richard, Francois Bordeleau, Marc-Etienne Huot, Josee N. Lavoie
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Iuri C. Valadao, Ana Carolina L. Ralph, Francois Bordeleau, Luciana M. Dzik, Karen S. C. Borbely, Murilo Geraldo, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King, Vanessa M. Freitas
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carole Luthold, Alice-Anais Varlet, Herman Lambert, Francois Bordeleau, Josee N. Lavoie
Summary: The study reveals that during mitosis, BAG3 interacts with HSPB8, p62/SQSTM1, and HDAC6 to regulate cell rounding, cortex stability, and spindle orientation. Depletion of BAG3 affects subcortical actin cloud dynamics and impairs spindle positioning. These effects can be corrected by drugs inhibiting the Arp2/3 complex or HDAC6 activity, indicating a role for BAG3 in tuning branched actin network assembly.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Lauren A. Hapach, Shawn P. Carey, Samantha C. Schwager, Paul Taufalele, Wenjun Wang, Jenna A. Mosier, Nerymar Ortiz-Otero, Tanner J. McArdle, Zachary E. Goldblatt, Marsha C. Lampi, Francois Bordeleau, Jocelyn R. Marshall, Isaac M. Richardson, Jiahe Li, Michael R. King, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King
Summary: This study reveals that weakly migratory breast cancer cell subpopulation is highly metastatic and regulated by E-cadherin, emphasizing the discrepancy between cancer cell migration and metastasis.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Paul Taufalele, Wenjun Wang, Alan J. Simmons, Austin N. Southard-Smith, Bob Chen, Joshua D. Greenlee, Michael R. King, Ken S. Lau, Duane C. Hassane, Francois Bordeleau, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King
Summary: Intratumor heterogeneity plays a crucial role in cancer therapy, and the mechanisms of cell-cell interactions are still unclear. This study investigated the transcriptional differences between tumors with different stiffness using single-cell RNA sequencing. It was found that tumors with higher stiffness had a higher concentration of tumor-promoting macrophages. These findings highlight the importance of cell-cell interactions and macrophage recruitment in tumor development.
ACTA BIOMATERIALIA
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Martial Millet, Enola Bollmann, Cassandra Ringuette Goulet, Genevieve Bernard, Stephane Chabaud, Marc-Etienne Huot, Frederic Pouliot, Stephane Bolduc, Francois Bordeleau
Summary: A study on the physical properties of tumors demonstrates that a 3D self-assembly bladder model constructed with cancer-associated fibroblasts can effectively recapitulate the biological and mechanical features of tumors. The model exhibited increased extracellular matrix content, remodeling, and stiffness in the stroma assembled by cancer-associated fibroblasts. Additionally, normal urothelial cells seeded on the tumor model displayed tumor-like responses, including increased cell proliferation, cell infiltration, and features of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.
Review
Oncology
Carole Luthold, Tarek Hallal, David P. Labbe, Francois Bordeleau
Summary: Prostate cancer affects a large number of men worldwide. Understanding the mechanisms of disease progression and therapy resistance is crucial for developing effective treatments. Alterations in the extracellular matrix, particularly stiffening, play a role in prostate cancer progression. This review examines the association between extracellular matrix stiffening and disease progression and castration resistance in prostate cancer.
Article
Biology
Samantha C. Schwager, Katherine M. Young, Lauren A. Hapach, Caroline M. Carlson, Jenna A. Mosier, Tanner J. McArdle, Wenjun Wang, Curtis Schunk, Anissa L. Jayathilake, Madison E. Bates, Francois Bordeleau, Marc A. Antonyak, Richard A. Cerione, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King
Summary: Weakly migratory cancer cells disseminate from the primary tumor via communication with stromal cells and enhance cancer cell migration and metastasis by releasing microvesicles rich in Tg2.
Article
Cell Biology
Leo Piquet, Kelly Coutant, Andrew Mitchell, Amel Ben Anes, Enola Bollmann, Nathan Schoonjans, Julie Berube, Francois Bordeleau, Alain Brisson, Solange Landreville
Summary: This study investigates the effects of extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by uveal melanoma (UM) cells on stellate and endothelial cells in the tumor microenvironment. The findings show that UM-derived EVs lead to increased contractility in hepatic stellate cells and promote the formation of capillary-like networks in endothelial cells.
Article
Cell Biology
Wenjun Wang, Paul V. Taufalele, Martial Millet, Kevin Homsy, Kyra Smart, Emily D. Berestesky, Curtis T. Schunk, Matthew M. Rowe, Francois Bordeleau, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King
Summary: This study reveals that matrix stiffness promotes tumor cell intravasation by increasing MENA expression and decreasing ESRP1 expression, leading to enhanced contractility and intravasation.
Article
Cell Biology
You Chi Tang, Khoren Ponsin, Adda-Lee Graham-Paquin, Carole Luthold, Kevin Homsy, Magdalena Schindler, Viviane Tran, Jean-Francois Cote, Francois Bordeleau, Anmar Khadra, Maxime Bouchard
Summary: During urinary tract development, the common nephric duct (CND) undergoes shortening through non-professional efferocytosis, where apoptotic bodies are engulfed by epithelial cells. This process, coupled with actomyosin contractility, ensures CND shortening without compromising the structural connection between the ureter and bladder. Disruption of apoptosis, non-professional efferocytosis, or actomyosin activity leads to deficient CND shortening. These findings highlight the importance of non-professional efferocytosis and actomyosin contractility in controlling CND morphogenesis.
Editorial Material
Oncology
Francois Bordeleau
Summary: Despite progress, reliable tools for predicting tumor aggressiveness, including prostate cancer, are still lacking. Biomarkers have poor accuracy when used alone due to tumor heterogeneity. However, TP53 mutations are highly correlated with progression.
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Martial Millet, Emilie Pic, Carole Luthold, Gaelle Bourriquen, Gabriel Khelifi, Samer Hussein, Francois Bordeleau.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)