scholarly journals Development and Utilization of Multifunctional Polymeric Scaffolds for the Regulation of Physical Cellular Microenvironments

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 3880
Author(s):  
Youyi Tai ◽  
Aihik Banerjee ◽  
Robyn Goodrich ◽  
Lu Jin ◽  
Jin Nam
Keyword(s):  
Physicochemical Characteristics ◽  
Cell Behaviors ◽  
Polymeric Scaffold ◽  
Cell Proliferation And Differentiation ◽  
Polymeric Scaffolds ◽  
Cellular Behaviors ◽  
Development And Utilization ◽  
Cellular Microenvironments ◽  
Cell Niche

Polymeric biomaterials exhibit excellent physicochemical characteristics as a scaffold for cell and tissue engineering applications. Chemical modification of the polymers has been the primary mode of functionalization to enhance biocompatibility and regulate cellular behaviors such as cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and maturation. Due to the complexity of the in vivo cellular microenvironments, however, chemical functionalization alone is usually insufficient to develop functionally mature cells/tissues. Therefore, the multifunctional polymeric scaffolds that enable electrical, mechanical, and/or magnetic stimulation to the cells, have gained research interest in the past decade. Such multifunctional scaffolds are often combined with exogenous stimuli to further enhance the tissue and cell behaviors by dynamically controlling the microenvironments of the cells. Significantly improved cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as tissue functionalities, are frequently observed by applying extrinsic physical stimuli on functional polymeric scaffold systems. In this regard, the present paper discusses the current state-of-the-art functionalized polymeric scaffolds, with an emphasis on electrospun fibers, that modulate the physical cell niche to direct cellular behaviors and subsequent functional tissue development. We will also highlight the incorporation of the extrinsic stimuli to augment or activate the functionalized polymeric scaffold system to dynamically stimulate the cells.

scholarly journals Cancer and pH Dynamics: Transcriptional Regulation, Proteostasis, and the Need for New Molecular Tools

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2760
Author(s):  
Brandon J. Czowski ◽  
Ricardo Romero-Moreno ◽  
Keelan J. Trull ◽  
Katharine A. White
Keyword(s):  
Single Cell ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Metabolic Adaptation ◽  
Causative Role ◽  
Cell Behaviors ◽  
Cellular Behaviors ◽  
Spatiotemporal Control ◽  
Cell Data

An emerging hallmark of cancer cells is dysregulated pH dynamics. Recent work has suggested that dysregulated intracellular pH (pHi) dynamics enable diverse cancer cellular behaviors at the population level, including cell proliferation, cell migration and metastasis, evasion of apoptosis, and metabolic adaptation. However, the molecular mechanisms driving pH-dependent cancer-associated cell behaviors are largely unknown. In this review article, we explore recent literature suggesting pHi dynamics may play a causative role in regulating or reinforcing tumorigenic transcriptional and proteostatic changes at the molecular level, and discuss outcomes on tumorigenesis and tumor heterogeneity. Most of the data we discuss are population-level analyses; lack of single-cell data is driven by a lack of tools to experimentally change pHi with spatiotemporal control. Data is also sparse on how pHi dynamics play out in complex in vivo microenvironments. To address this need, at the end of this review, we cover recent advances for live-cell pHi measurement at single-cell resolution. We also discuss the essential role for tool development in revealing mechanisms by which pHi dynamics drive tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis.

MESENCHYMAL TNFR1 EXPRESSION PRESERVES THE COLONIC EPITHELIAL STEM CELL NICHE

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S7-S8
Author(s):  
Safina Gadeock ◽  
Cambrian Liu ◽  
Brent Polk
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Stem Cell Niche ◽  
Mesenchymal Cells ◽  
Epithelial Stem Cells ◽  
Epithelial Stem Cell ◽  
Long Term Treatment ◽  
Lgr5 Expression ◽  
Cell Niche

Abstract Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a highly expressed cytokine in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although TNF can induce colonic epithelial dysfunction and apoptosis, recent studies suggest that TNF signalling promotes epithelial wound repair and stem cell function. Here we investigated the role of TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) in mediating TNF’s effects on colonic epithelial stem cells, integral to mucosal healing in colitis. We demonstrate that Tnfr1-/- mice exhibit loss in Lgr5 expression (-52%, p<0.02; N=6) compared to wildtype (WT) controls. However, the opposite result was found in vitro, wherein murine Tnfr1-/- colonoids demonstrated a significant increase in Lgr5 expression (66%, p<0.007; N=6) compared to WT colonoids. Similarly, human colonoids treated with an anti-TNFR1 antibody also demonstrated an increase in Lgr5 expression, relative to IgG controls. To resolve the contradiction in the in vivo versus in vitro environment, we hypothesized that mesenchymal TNFR1 expression regulates the epithelial stem cell niche. To determine the relationships between these cell types, we co-cultured WT or Tnfr1-/- colonoids with WT or Tnfr1-/- colonic myofibroblasts (CMFs). We found that epithelial Lgr5 expression was significantly higher (by 52%, p<0.05; N=3) when co-cultured with WT compared to TNFR1-/- myofibroblasts. The loss of TNFR1 expression in vivo increases the number of αSMA+ mesenchymal cells by nearly 56% (N=6) but considerably reduces the pericryptal PDGFRα+ cells, suggesting modifications in mesenchymal populations that contribute to the epithelial stem cell niche. Functionally, primary Tnfr1-/--CMFs displayed PI3k (p<0.001; N=3) and MAPK (p<0.01; N=3)-dependent increases in migration, proliferation, and differentiation, but RNA profiling demonstrated by diminished levels of stem cell niche factors, Rspo3 (-80%, p<0.0001; N=6) and Wnt2b (-63%, p<0.008; N=6) compared to WT-CMFs. Supplementation with 50ng recombinant Rspo3 for 5 d to Lgr5-GFP organoids co-cultured with TNFR1-/--CMFs restored Lgr5 expression to wildtype levels. Therefore, TNFR1-mediated TNF signalling in mesenchymal cells promotes their ability to support an epithelial stem cell niche. These results should motivate future studies of the stem cell niche in the context of long-term treatment with anti-TNF therapies.

scholarly journals Effect of Mixing Ratio of Oppositely Charged Block Copolymers on Polyion Complex Micelles for In Vivo Application

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Noriko Nakamura ◽  
Yuki Mochida ◽  
Kazuko Toh ◽  
Shigeto Fukushima ◽  
Horacio Cabral ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physicochemical Characteristics ◽  
Charge Ratio ◽  
Structural Variations ◽  
Polyion Complex ◽  
Functional Capabilities ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Biological Performance ◽  
Complex Micelles ◽  
Oppositely Charged

Self-assembled supramolecular structures based on polyion complex (PIC) formation between oppositely charged polymers are attracting much attention for developing drug delivery systems able to endure harsh in vivo environments. As controlling polymer complexation provides an opportunity for engineering the assemblies, an improved understanding of the PIC formation will allow constructing assemblies with enhanced structural and functional capabilities. Here, we focused on the influence of the mixing charge ratio between block aniomers and catiomers on the physicochemical characteristics and in vivo biological performance of the resulting PIC micelles (PIC/m). Our results showed that by changing the mixing charge ratio, the structural state of the core was altered despite the sizes of PIC/m remaining almost the same. These structural variations greatly affected the stability of the PIC/m in the bloodstream after intravenous injection and determined their biodistribution.

Study of yolk-sac endoderm organogenesis in the chick using a specific enzyme (cysteine lyase) as a marker of cell differentiation

Development ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-174
Author(s):  
Nelly Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Cell Differentiation ◽  
Blood Cells ◽  
Primitive Streak ◽  
Yolk Sac ◽  
Specific Enzyme ◽  
Cell Proliferation And Differentiation ◽  
Lyase Activity ◽  
Morphological Specialization

The detection of a specific enzyme (cysteine lyase) of the yolk-sac endoderm by a very sensitive method is employed to characterize cell differentiation during the early stages of endoderm organogenesis in the chick. The first cells to contain active cysteine lyase are found in the germ wall at the primitive streak stage. In vivo observations establish a relation between the morphological specialization and organization of endodermal cells, their loss of mitotic activity and the increase in cysteine lyase activity. They suggest an influence of the mesoderm on endoderm differentiation. In vitro experiments confirm the existence in the yolk-sac endoderm of an incompatibility between cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as the action of the mesoderm on both the structural organization of the endoblast and the appearance of cysteine lyase; this last action seems to be due mainly to blood cells; chicken and rabbit blood cells are equally active. The problems of the origin of the endoderm and of the interactions occurring during the organogenesis of the yolk-sac endoderm are discussed.

scholarly journals Lymphatic vessels interact dynamically with the hair follicle stem cell niche during skin regeneration in vivo

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Peña‐Jimenez ◽  
Silvia Fontenete ◽  
Diego Megias ◽  
Coral Fustero‐Torre ◽  
Osvaldo Graña‐Castro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Hair Follicle ◽  
Stem Cell Niche ◽  
Lymphatic Vessels ◽  
Skin Regeneration ◽  
Hair Follicle Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Niche

scholarly journals A simple method of suspending implant wear particles for more physiological modelling of cell-particle interactions in vitro

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Poon
Keyword(s):  
Wear Debris ◽  
Culture Media ◽  
Polymeric Materials ◽  
Wear Particle ◽  
Physicochemical Characteristics ◽  
Wear Particles ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Implant Wear

AbstractArthroplasty implants e.g. hip, knee, spinal disc sustain relatively high compressive loading and friction wear, which lead to the formation of wear particles or debris between articulating surfaces. Despite advances in orthopaedic materials and surface treatments, the production of wear debris from any part of a joint arthroplasty implant is currently unavoidable. Implant wear debris induces host immune responses and inflammation, which causes patient pain and ultimately implant failure through progressive inflammation-mediated osteolysis and implant loosening, where the severity and rate of periprosthetic osteolysis depends on the material and physicochemical characteristics of the wear particles. Evaluating the cytotoxicity of implant wear particles is important for regulatory approved clinical application of arthroplasty implants, as is the study of cell-particle response pathways. However, the wear particles of polymeric materials commonly used for arthroplasty implants tend to float when placed in culture media, which limits their contact with cell cultures. This study reports a simple means of suspending wear particles in liquid medium using sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC) to provide a more realistic proxy of the interaction between cells and tissues to wear particles in vivo, which are free-floating in synovial fluid within the joint cavity. Low concentrations of NaCMC dissolved in culture medium were found to be effective for suspending polymeric wear particles. Such suspensions may be used as more physiologically-relevant means for testing cellular responses to implant wear debris, as well as studying the combinative effects of shear and wear particle abrasion on cells in a dynamic culture environments such as perfused tissue-on-chip devices.

scholarly journals Mechanics of the cellular microenvironment as perceived by cells in vivo

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Mongera ◽  
Marie Pochitaloff ◽  
Hannah J. Gustafson ◽  
Georgina A. Stooke-Vaughan ◽  
Payam Rowghanian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Relaxation ◽  
Mechanical Parameters ◽  
Cellular Microenvironment ◽  
Stem Cell Maintenance ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Cell Proliferation And Differentiation ◽  
3D Microenvironment ◽  
Proliferation And Differentiation

Tissue morphogenesis and repair, as well as organ homeostasis, require cells to constantly monitor their 3D microenvironment and adapt their behaviors in response to local biochemical and mechanical cues1-6. In vitro studies have shown that substrate stiffness and stress relaxation are important mechanical parameters in the control of cell proliferation and differentiation, stem cell maintenance, cell migration 7-11, as well as tumor progression and metastasis12,13. Yet, the mechanical parameters of the microenvironment that cells perceive in vivo, within 3D tissues, remain unknown. In complex materials with strain- and time-dependent material properties, the perceived mechanical parameters depend both on the strain and timescales at which the material is mechanically probed14. Here, we quantify in vivo and in situ the mechanics of the cellular microenvironment that cells probe during vertebrate presomitic mesoderm (PSM) specification. By analyzing the magnitude and dynamics of endogenous, cell-generated strains, we show that individual cells preferentially probe the stiffness associated with deformations of the supracellular, foam-like tissue architecture. We reveal how stress relaxation leads to a perceived microenvironment stiffness that decreases over time, with cells probing the softest regime. While stress relaxation timescales are spatially uniform in the tissue, most mechanical parameters, including those probed by cells, vary along the anteroposterior axis, as mesodermal progenitors commit to different lineages. Understanding the mechanical parameters that cells probe in their native 3D environment is important for quantitative studies of mechanosensation in vivo2-4,6,15 and can help design scaffolds for tissue engineering applications16-18.

LncRNA GAS5 suppresses the proliferation and invasion of osteosarcoma cells via the miR-23a-3p/PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianmin Liu ◽  
Ming Chen ◽  
Longyang Ma ◽  
Xingbo Dang ◽  
Gongliang Du
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Suppressor ◽  
Tumor Growth ◽  
Akt Pathway ◽  
Osteosarcoma Cell ◽  
Osteosarcoma Cells ◽  
Cell Behaviors ◽  
Human Osteosarcoma ◽  
Proliferation And Invasion

Abstract Background: Accumulating evidence has shown that lncRNA growth arrest special 5 (GAS5) is a well‑known tumor suppressor in the pathogenesis of a variety of human cancers. However, the detailed role of GAS5 in osteosarcoma is largely unclear. Here, we explore the role of GAS5 in progression of osteosarcoma. Methods: The expression level of GAS5 was detected in human osteosarcoma tissues and matched adjacent tissues, as well as osteosarcoma cell lines and non-malignant osteoblast cells. Then, in vitro gain- and loss-of-function experiments, with the pcDNA-GAS5 expression vector and GAS5-siRNA, were performed in U2OS and HOS cells to determine the effect of GAS5 on osteosarcoma cell proliferation and invasion. Subsequently, we searched potential miRNA targets with bioinformatics analysis and confirmed their interaction by using luciferase reporter gene and RNA pull-down assays. The function and mechanism of miR-23a-3p in proliferation and invasion was also investigated in U2OS and HOS cells. Furthermore, rescue experiments were performed to verify the involvement of miR-23a-3p and its target gene in GAS5-mediated cell behaviors. Finally, a xenograft nude mouse model was established by subcutaneous injection with U2OS cells overexpressing GAS5 or not, and the effect of GAS5 on tumor growth in vivo was evaluated. Results: GAS5 was downregulated in human osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of GAS5 could significantly suppress, and downregulation of GAS5 promoted, proliferation and invasion of osteosarcoma cells. GAS5 could directly bind with and downregulated miR-23a-3p that post-transcriptionally downregulated the tumor suppressor PTEN and positively regulated proliferation and invasion of osteosarcoma cells. Rescue experiments confirmed the involvement of miR-23a-3p and PTEN in GAS5-mediated cell behaviors by modifying the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases/protein-serine-threonine kinase (PI3K/AKT) pathway. GAS5 could inhibit tumor growth in vivo . Conclusion: GAS5 functions as a competing endogenous RNA , sponging miR-23a-3p, to promote PTEN expression and suppress cell growth and invasion in osteosarcoma by regulating the PI3K/AKT pathway.

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