Aim: About 90% of drug-candidates failed in clinical trials, in particular in neurology, due to a lack of efficacy. That highlights a lack of relevance in preclinical models, including in vitro models, which do not take into account the microenvironment, composed by glial cells and the Extracellular Matrix (ECM). The Read more…
It is our pleasure to participate to the ECM2022 congress the 22th, 23th and 24th of June in Copenhagen with two contributions (abstracts at the end): Our project leader in iPSc and Metabolic diseases Meryl Roudaut will present his works about the development of innovative hiPSC-based model including an innovative Read more…
Thursday, 16th June will take place the annual congress of the SCMC (Societe Cerveau et Maladies Cerebrovasculaires – Brain and cerebrovascular diseases Society) in Paris. It is our pleasure to participate to this event! Indeed, our project director Elodie Vandenhaute will be present as secretary of the association and organizer Read more…
The current hiPSC-derived models are adapted to reproduce diseases of genetic origin in two dimensions and have allowed in recent years to model diseases by using hepatocyte-like-cells (HCL) such as: Alpha1-antitrypsin (A1AT) deficiency (Tafaleng et al., 2015) Familial transthyretin-related amyloidosis (ATTR) (Isono et al., 2014) Glycogen storage deficiency (Satoh et Read more…
The Extracellular Matrix (ECM) is a major component of all the organs. This dynamic structure is involved not only in cell adhesion, but also in physiological processes, including cell differentiation, migration, and maturation, tissue homeostasis, biochemical signal retention and mediation, and growth factors’ retention. Moreover, the ECM can be abnormally Read more…
Increased ExtraCellular Matrix (ECM) stiffness is a common process in many cancers (Pickup et al, 2014). This process influences the behaviour of cancer cells in the tumour microenvironment. The accumulation of ECM in the stroma is mainly due to a high production of ECM molecules by TGF-β(Transforming Growth Factor-beta) -stimulated Read more…
Historically, cancer has been described as originating from modified cells, because of mutations impacting their growth, their differentiation and their way (not) to die. Now, it is widely acknowledged that the microenvironment surrounding these cells is involved in cancer initiation and progression. As explained in the article by Nia Munn Read more…
The current hiPSC-derived models are adapted to reproduce diseases of genetic origin. However, the current two-dimensional HLC (hepatocyte like-cells) model has an immature liver phenotype that is more is closer to a perinatal liver. Furthermore, it does not take into account the complexity of the tissues and the extracellular environment Read more…
The lung is a vital organ which allows gas exchanges between the external environment and the body. These gas exchanges take place in alveoli, formed by 2 cell types : pneumocytes I and II (Martinez et al., 2017). The alveolar wall is supported by a basal membrane mainly composed of collagen Read more…
In 2020, Nia et al. published in the journal Science a review entitled ‘Physical traits of cancer‘. In this article, the authors proposed 4 distinct physical traits of cancer linked to the biomechanical abnormalities observed in tumoral tissues : an enhanced solid stress (compression and tension), i.e. the mechanical forces Read more…
Ask for high quality link by putting your email below There is a 90% failure in clinical trials, due to efficacy and safety issues, which frequently concerns the central nervous system. That points a lack of relevance of preclinical models used upstream. In this frame, the aim of this study Read more…
The international NeuroFrance congress will take place May, 19, 20 and 21th 2021 (virtual meeting). On this occasion, our PhD student Véronique De Conto will present these works in a poster about the importance of matricial and cellular microenvironment for drug discovery in Parkinson’s disease (summary below). Feel free to Read more…
3D cell culture systems have recently emerged as promising tools for reproducing the cellular environment and the organization of tissues/organs, where cells are connected to each other and to the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM). In this webinar we will focus on BIOMIMESYS® Adipose Tissue and on the ongoing development of Read more…
Context It is well established that the extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a central role in cell homeostasis and cell adhesion by providing support, promoting cell-to-cell communication and differentiation (or dedifferentiation and tumoral progression when the ECM is modified). The composition but also the stiffness and elasticity of the ECM have important Read more…
Kaur et al. published in 2018 an interesting article about the effect of extracellular matrix (ECM) on skin cancer and immunity: “Remodeling of the collagen matrix in aging skin promotes melanoma metastasis and affects immune cell motility”. The aim of the study was to highlight ECM changes in the physical Read more…
At the occasion of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we would like to highlight the role of the interplay between the extracellular environment and the Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs) on the tumoral development, including breast cancers. In our previous articles, we described the pro-tumoral effect of the extracellular environment. Moreover, an Read more…
Cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM): what is the relationship between them? This is a fundamental question. We hear many reflections about this question. Should we let cells work alone, or should we force cells to form an aggregate when working in vitro? Do cells need a specific and relevant Read more…
It is now well described that in tumor biopsies, the stiffness of the cancerous tissue is higher than the surrounding non-cancerous tissue of the same organ, with a described remodeling of the ECM. The increase in rigidity is related to the stimulation of fibroblasts that increase the synthesis of glycosaminoglycans, Read more…
James W. Fawcett published the review « The extracellular matrix in plasticity and regeneration after CNS injury and neurodegenerative disease » in 2015, highlighting the key role of the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in brain plasticity. CSPGs are present in the brain extracellular matrix and Read more…
The 16th SFBMEC congress was held last week in Reims: Elodie and Zied attended the meeting to be aware of the last trends in extracellular matrix (ECM) research and industry and medical applications. And they were not disappointed! After a first touching lecture in memoriam of the late Ladislas Robert Read more…
Next week HCS Pharma will be present at SFBMEc Reims (15th-17th May). We will present a poster about the influence of BIOMIMESYS® hydroscaffold composition and stiffness on the 3D culture of breast cancer cells. The poster will be avalaible next week, but if you want it before, you can contact Read more…
Many categories of drugs can induce hepatotoxicity, so improving the prediction of toxic drugs is important. In vitro models using human hepatocytes are more accurate than in vivo animal models. Good in vitro models require an abundance of metabolic enzyme activities and normal cellular polarity. However, none of the in Read more…
Cells have diverse circuitry to sense and respond to extrinsic metabolic signals. Extracellular matrix (ECM) reorganization which is central to both tissue expansion and regeneration. ECM remodeling is also a signature of pathological processes, such as tumorigenesis. In this study from Sullivan et al., they show that increased migration in Read more…