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The extracellular matrix is a complex network of material such as proteins and polysaccharides that are secreted locally by cells and remain closely associated with them to provide structural, adhesive and biochemical signalling support.
Tissues undergo changes in their mechanical and material properties through alterations in cytoskeleton organization, extracellular matrix adhesion and cell–cell connectivity. These mechanical state transitions orchestrate cell proliferation and movement and tissue growth during development, in adult tissue repair and in disease contexts.
Neural circuit architecture must be maintained during an animal’s lifetime. Here, the authors show that a protective mechanism combining proteostasis and biomechanics supports the integrity of glial cells to environmental stressors.
Older age is associated with worse outcomes for patients with melanoma, and the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here the authors show that the loss of HAPLN1 in aged skin fibroblasts drives melanoma progression by increasing ICAM1 and angiogenesis. Blocking ICAM1 shrinks tumors, suggesting potential for age-specific melanoma therapy.
The fibrous geometry of extracellular matrices (ECMs) is believed to facilitate cell adhesion, but a mechanistic link is lacking. We uncover a type of integrin-mediated cell adhesion — ‘curved adhesion’ — driven by the fibrous geometry of the ECM. Curved adhesions are induced by membrane curvature, enabling cell adhesion to soft three-dimensional (3D) ECM fibres.
In this Tools of the Trade article, William Leineweber (from the Fraley lab) describes the set-up of an integrated biophysical imaging platform that allows researchers to assess the interactions between cells and the surrounding extracellular matrix.
Age-related stiffening of the extracellular matrix in cartilage promotes chondrocyte ageing in an epigenetically controlled process involving repression of the longevity protein α-Klotho.
An article in Nature Biomedical Engineering reports an intravenously injectable extracellular matrix biomaterial that can target and seal injured tissue by binding to leaky microvasculature.
