This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Immune checkpoints are an effective way that cancers evade the immune system, but they're not the only one. In the case of pancreatic ductal carcinoma, or PDAC, tumor fibrosis also plays an important role. To understand how fibrosis might translate to poor outcomes among patients with PDAC, researchers examined the ARF6-AMAP1 molecular pathway, which research suggests is activated during fibrosis. Findings revealed that AMAP1 correlated with elevated expression of PD-L1, a molecule that tumor cells present on their surface to elude attack by the immune system. AMAP1 was also linked to elevated fibrosis. Consistently, silencing AMAP1 in a mouse model of human PDAC reduced PD-L1 and fibrosis in their tumors. Suppressing the ARF6-AMAP1, therefore, could be one way to ensure that PDAC tumors can’t hide from immune defenses, offering the prospect of more effective immunotherapies for patients with pancreatic ductal carcinoma..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe how signaling pathways direct protein expression, cellular metabolism, and cell growthIdentify the function of PKC in signal transduction pathwaysRecognize the role of apoptosis in the development and maintenance of a healthy organism

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the extracellular matrixList examples of the ways that plant cells and animal cells communicate with adjacent cellsSummarize the roles of tight junctions, desmosomes, gap junctions, and plasmodesmata

This course covers the principles of materials science and cell biology underlying the design of medical implants, artificial organs, and matrices for tissue engineering. Methods for biomaterials surface characterization and analysis of protein adsorption on biomaterials. Molecular and cellular interactions with biomaterials are analyzed in terms of unit cell processes, such as matrix synthesis, degradation, and contraction. Mechanisms underlying wound healing and tissue remodeling following implantation in various organs. Tissue and organ regeneration. Design of implants and prostheses based on control of biomaterials-tissue interactions. Comparative analysis of intact, biodegradable, and bioreplaceable implants by reference to case studies. Criteria for restoration of physiological function for tissues and organs.

Mechanical forces play a decisive role during development of tissues and organs, during remodeling following injury as well as in normal function. A stress field influences cell function primarily through deformation of the extracellular matrix to which cells are attached. Deformed cells express different biosynthetic activity relative to undeformed cells. The unit cell process paradigm combined with topics in connective tissue mechanics form the basis for discussions of several topics from cell biology, physiology, and medicine.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Cardiac fibrosis, or scarring of heart tissue, is a common finding in many disorders of the heart, including myocardial infarction, hypertension, and cardiac hypertrophy. A key step in this form of scarring is the transformation of fibroblasts, cells that provide structural, electrical, and chemical support into myofibroblasts, more muscle-like cells expressed only in stressed or failing hearts. A new review explores the important role played by noncoding RNAs in this transformation. Noncoding RNAs, studies are showing, regulate fibrotic scarring through the TGF-β and WNT signaling pathways. TGF-β signaling participates in a variety of heart-related processes, including cardiac repair, hypertrophy, fibrotic remodeling, and fibroblast activation. WNT signaling, meanwhile, is implicated in the pathogenesis of many diseases. Crosstalk between the TGF-β and WNT pathways could be responsible for the transcription of genes that promote fibrosis..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessel formation, is a critical step in tumor formation and development. In addition to enabling the growth of individual tumors, angiogenesis helps tumor cells metastasize to distant organs, which makes the factors involved in angiogenesis potential targets for cancer therapies. For example, small enclosed sacs called extracellular vesicles (EVs) that are released from tumor cells can promote angiogenesis. These EVs encapsulate proteins and RNA molecules that can activate nearby endothelial cells in the tumor microenvironment. In turn, the endothelial cells release their own EVs, whose contents may help remodel the extracellular matrix and regulate immunity to facilitate tumor progression. EVs’ ability to deliver materials while evading immune surveillance is especially promising for cancer treatment. Specifically, EVs can be engineered to carry cancer-fighting drugs or small RNA molecules that silence certain genes..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This course develops and applies scaling laws and the methods of continuum and statistical mechanics to biomechanical phenomena over a range of length scales, from molecular to cellular to tissue or organ level.

This course, intended for both graduate and upper level undergraduate students, will focus on understanding of the basic molecular structural principles of biological materials. It will address the molecular structures of various materials of biological origin, such as several types of collagen, silk, spider silk, wool, hair, bones, shells, protein adhesives, GFP, and self-assembling peptides. It will also address molecular design of new biological materials applying the molecular structural principles. The long-term goal of this course is to teach molecular design of new biological materials for a broad range of applications. A brief history of biological materials and its future perspective as well as its impact to the society will also be discussed. Several experts will be invited to give guest lectures.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Osteochondral allograft transplantation is well established for the treatment of large cartilage defects. But despite advancements in this transplantation method, the factors that influence graft survival remain poorly understood—including how long grafts are stored before they’re implanted. In a new study reported in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers examined the effect of storage time on allograft survival in patients undergoing transplantation for symptomatic cartilage defects. Their findings suggest that prioritizing early transplantation could improve the survival rates of osteochondral allografts. The team analyzed data gathered for 132 patients who underwent osteochondral allograft transplantation by a single surgeon with at least 2-year follow-up. The 111 patients who met the study’s inclusion criteria fell into two groups: an early-transplant group who received allografts stored for 19 to 24 days; and a late-transplant group receiving grafts stored for 25 to 28 days..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

The principles and practice of tissue engineering (and regenerative medicine) are taught by faculty of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. The principles underlying strategies for employing selected cells, biomaterial scaffolds, soluble regulators or their genes, and mechanical loading and culture conditions, for the regeneration of tissues and organs in vitro and in vivo are addressed. Differentiated cell types and stem cells are compared and contrasted for this application, as are natural and synthetic scaffolds. Methodology for the preparation of cells and scaffolds in practice is described. The rationale for employing selected growth factors is covered and the techniques for incorporating their genes into the scaffolds are examined. Discussion also addresses the influence of environmental factors including mechanical loading and culture conditions (e.g., static versus dynamic). Methods for fabricating tissue-engineered products and devices for implantation are taught. Examples of tissue engineering-based procedures currently employed clinically are analyzed as case studies.
Archived webcast lecture videos for the Fall 2008 version of this class can be found at the HST.535 Fall 2008 website.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Cancer cells interact with neighboring cells through proteins in the extracellular matrix (ECM), a scaffold of molecules that support cells and tumor development. As part of this process, cancer cells release extracellular vesicles that participate in tumor progression, either interacting with ECM or tumor surrounding cells, allowing tumor cells to develop, metastasize, and become drug-resistant. Adhesion receptors called integrins are found in extracellular vesicles (EVs) from tumor cells. These receptors are responsible for the interaction of tumor cells/EVs with the ECM. EVs – nanovesicles secreted from cells and packed with bioactive cargo can mediate communication between cells. EVs are classified according their size, biogenesis mechanism and cargoes (SEVs: size 50–150 nm, LEVs: size 100–1000 nm). Integrins in EVs have been shown to promote cancer cell migration and metastasis, although how this happens is unclear..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"While it might seem that bone must be solid to support our moving bodies, it's actually a dynamic tissue containing not only blood vessels but also nerves suggesting that they may have closely linked functions, particularly during bone formation and regeneration. A recent study evaluated the role of innervation on blood vessel formation during bone regeneration. Using a microfluidic culture system, researchers examined two types of cells from rats – sensory neurons, which convey neurological signals and endothelial cells, which are responsible for blood vessel generation and repair. They found that two neuropeptides – CGRP and SP – were secreted by sensory neurons when cultured with endothelial cells which drove an increase in markers of blood vessel formation in endothelial cells. The levels of tissue remodeling proteins called matrix metalloproteinases were also increased in endothelial cells..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Liver fibrosis is a scarring process that accompanies most chronic liver diseases. That process is believed to be linked to the expression of Follistatin-like 1 (Fstl1), a glycoprotein tied to diseases such as cancer and heart disease. To understand Fstl1’s role in liver fibrosis, researchers analyzed liver tissue from patients with chronic liver disease and from mice with chemically induced liver disease. Patients with liver disease, and therefore with liver fibrosis, showed significantly increased concentrations of Fstl1 compared with healthy controls. In mice, genetically silencing Fstl1 expression significantly reduced the extent of liver fibrosis. Similar results were obtained when mice were treated with an antibody designed to interrupt Fstl1 expression. Further experiments revealed that Fstl1 is part of a genetic circuit that involves two factors that help control cell growth, proliferation, and death: the growth factor TGF-β and the non-coding RNA miR29a..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Prostate cancer that has spread to bone doesn’t completely respond to the standard androgen- targeting therapies. Rather, it tends to progress into castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), which is fatal. The extracellular matrix protein tenascin-C (TNC) facilitates bone metastasis of prostate cancer, and the androgen receptor variant-AR-V7 is associated with treatment-resistant CRPC, but the potential interactions between these proteins remain unclear. To learn more, a new study examined TNC signaling and AR-V7 regulation in 3D tissue cultures called organoids. In the organoids, the interaction of prostate cancer cells with bone precursor cells (preosteoblasts) upregulated both TNC and AR-V7 expression, and this effect was enhanced by the anti-androgen drug enzalutamide. Further experiments on prostate cancer cells revealed that TNC regulates AR-V7 splicing, protein stability, and nuclear localization by activating the Src signaling pathway..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Cancer cells don’t just exist in isolation. Their dynamic interactions with cells and non-cell components in the tumor microenvironment (TME) allow cancer cells to grow and evolve. A new review highlights the complexity of the TME, the implications for cancer therapy, and advances in TME research. Tumor cells control the function of their environment, co-opting complex signaling networks for their own benefit, resulting in multi-drug resistance, metastasis, and cancer progression. To fully understand this phenomenon, we must go beyond 2D systems, using novel technologies such as 3D platforms and lab-on-chip devices to better simulate TME biology and function. Researchers can replicate the behavior of cells in the TME, including tumor epithelial cells, pericytes, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and tumor-associated macrophages. Non-cellular factors, including extracellular matrix components, exosomes, circulating free DNA, and apoptotic bodies, are also more easily studied using 3D systems..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.