Biomimesys
Meet HCS Pharma in BIO-EUROPE Spring 2023!
I will be pleased to be in BIO-Europe Spring in Basel, Switzerland to present BIOMIMESYS, our breakthrough technology and our new results that we have with it. In HCS Pharma, we are reinventing biology with our academic partners by analyzing the impact of changes in the microenvironment on cells and Read more…
Biomimesys
Animal tests no longer necessary before drug clinical trials? Let’s make it in 3D in preclinical studies… and with the extracellular matrix!
End of last year, the american legislation has ratified that new drugs no longer need to be tested in animals to receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. This is a huge step toward animal-free validation of drugs, but it requires the design of a relevant and more predictive drug Read more…
Biomimesys
Presentation of BIOMIMESYS technology, the first organ-specific in vitro ECM, to develop innovative and predictive 3D cellular models for drug discovery – Academia Sinica, the 1st of November 2022
BIOMIMESYS® is a patented 3D matrix reproducing the physicochemical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM), different from classical hydrogels used for 3D cell culture. It is composed of native ECM components: Hyaluronic Acid (HA) combined with collagens, adhesion peptides… in the form of a unique hydroscaffold, i.e. exhibiting a dual Read more…
Biomimesys
Poster – Importance of microenvironment in cerebral in vitro models for phenotypic screening
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…
News
Meet us at the ECM Congress on 22, 23 and 24 June in Copenhagen!
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…
News
We will be present at the next annual congress of the SCMC (Societe Cerveau et Maladies Cerebrovasculaires – Brain and cerebrovascular diseases Society)
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…
Biomimesys
Human liver organoids and disease models, it’s time to use a more realistic ECM
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…
Biomimesys
Extracellular Matrix Modifications in Lung Cancer Initiation, Progression and Propagation
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…
Biomimesys
Matrix stiffness: a key feature in cancer progression
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…
Biomimesys
On the importance of the physical features of cancer
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…
Biomimesys
A single procedure to generate functional hiPSCs-derived liver organoids -Towards an innovative tool suitable for drug screening
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…
Biomimesys
The extracellular matrix modification in pulmonary fibrosis
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…
Biomimesys
Importance of the physical features of cancer tissues
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…
Biomimesys
Poster – Importance of matricial and cellular microenvironments in in vitro models for drug discovery in Parkinson’s disease
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…
Biomimesys
We will present our researches on the importance of ECM for drug discovery in Parkinson’s disease at NeuroFrance congress (May 19 to 21 )
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…
Biomimesys
Applications for 3D in vitro models with BIOMIMESYS® Adipose Tissue and preview of BIOMIMESYS® Skin
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…
Biomimesys
The key role of appropriate microenvironnement in your 3D cellular assays
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…
HCS, HCA & Biology
The key role of ECM in the invasion of cutaneous melanoma
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…
HCS, HCA & Biology
Importance of CAF-ECM interplay in cancer
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…
HCS, HCA & Biology
Cell-ECM Mechanobiology: why interdisciplinary fields?
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…
HCS, HCA & Biology
Mechanical stress on cells observed in cancerous tumor can be reproduced with BIOMIMESYS® hydroscaffold
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…
HCS, HCA & Biology
Involvement of extracellular matrix in brain plasticity and memory
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…