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1. Hydrogel scaffolds with elasticity-mimicking embryonic substrates promote cardiac cellular network formation

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s40204-020-00137-0  

   Alonzo, Matthew; Anil Kumar, Shweta; Allen, Shane C.; Alvarez-Primo, Fabian; Suggs, Laura J.; Joddar, Binata. (September 2020, Progress in biomaterials)

   null (Ed.)

   Hydrogels are a class of biomaterials used for a wide range of biomedical applications, including as a three-dimensional (3D) scaffold for cell culture that mimics the extracellular matrix (ECM) of native tissues. To understand the role of the ECM in the modulation of cardiac cell function, alginate was used to fabricate crosslinked gels with stiffness values that resembled embryonic (2.66 ± 0.84 kPa), physiologic (8.98 ± 1.29 kPa) and fibrotic (18.27 ± 3.17 kPa) cardiac tissues. The average pore diameter and hydrogel swelling were seen to decrease with increasing substrate stiffness. Cardiomyocytes cultured within soft embryonic gels demonstrated enhanced cell spreading, elongation, and network formation, while a progressive increase in gel stiffness diminished these behaviors. Cell viability decreased with increasing hydrogel stiffness. Furthermore, cells in fibrotic gels showed enhanced protein expression of the characteristic cardiac stress biomarker, Troponin-I, while reduced protein expression of the cardiac gap junction protein, Connexin-43, in comparison to cells within embryonic gels. The results from this study demonstrate the role that 3D substrate stiffness has on cardiac tissue formation and its implications in the development of complex matrix remodeling-based conditions, such as myocardial fibrosis. 

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2. Junctions at the crossroads: the impact of mechanical cues on endothelial cell-cell junction conformations and vascular permeability

   https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.00605.2023  

   Brandon, Ken D; Frank, William E; Stroka, Kimberly M (October 2024, American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology)

   Cells depend on precisely regulating barrier function within the vasculature to maintain physiological stability and facilitate essential substance transport. Endothelial cells achieve this through specialized adherens and tight junction protein complexes, which govern paracellular permeability across vascular beds. Adherens junctions, anchored by vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin and associated catenins to the actin cytoskeleton, mediate homophilic adhesion crucial for barrier integrity. In contrast, tight junctions composed of occludin, claudin, and junctional adhesion molecule A interact with Zonula Occludens proteins, reinforcing intercellular connections essential for barrier selectivity. Endothelial cell-cell junctions exhibit dynamic conformations during development, maturation, and remodeling, regulated by local biochemical and mechanical cues. These structural adaptations play pivotal roles in disease contexts such as chronic inflammation, where junctional remodeling contributes to increased vascular permeability observed in conditions from cancer to cardiovascular diseases. Conversely, the brain microvasculature’s specialized junctional arrangements pose challenges for therapeutic drug delivery due to their unique molecular compositions and tight organization. This commentary explores the molecular mechanisms underlying endothelial cell-cell junction conformations and their implications for vascular permeability. By highlighting recent advances in quantifying junctional changes and understanding mechanotransduction pathways, we elucidate how physical forces from cellular contacts and hemodynamic flow influence junctional dynamics. 

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3. A kidney proximal tubule model to evaluate effects of basement membrane stiffening on renal tubular epithelial cells

   https://doi.org/10.1093/intbio/zyac016  

   Wang, Dan; Sant, Snehal; Lawless, Craig; Ferrell, Nicholas (December 2022, Integrative Biology)

   Abstract The kidney tubule consists of a single layer of epithelial cells supported by the tubular basement membrane (TBM), a thin layer of specialized extracellular matrix (ECM). The mechanical properties of the ECM are important for regulating a wide range of cell functions including proliferation, differentiation and cell survival. Increased ECM stiffness plays a role in promoting multiple pathological conditions including cancer, fibrosis and heart disease. How changes in TBM mechanics regulate tubular epithelial cell behavior is not fully understood. Here we introduce a cell culture system that utilizes in vivo-derived TBM to investigate cell–matrix interactions in kidney proximal tubule cells. Basement membrane mechanics was controlled using genipin, a biocompatibility crosslinker. Genipin modification resulted in a dose-dependent increase in matrix stiffness. Crosslinking had a marginal but statistically significant impact on the diffusive molecular transport properties of the TBM, likely due to a reduction in pore size. Both native and genipin-modified TBM substrates supported tubular epithelial cell growth. Cells were able to attach and proliferate to form confluent monolayers. Tubular epithelial cells polarized and assembled organized cell–cell junctions. Genipin modification had minimal impact on cell viability and proliferation. Genipin stiffened TBM increased gene expression of pro-fibrotic cytokines and altered gene expression for N-cadherin, a proximal tubular epithelial specific cell–cell junction marker. This work introduces a new cell culture model for cell-basement membrane mechanobiology studies that utilizes in vivo-derived basement membrane. We also demonstrate that TBM stiffening affects tubular epithelial cell function through altered gene expression of cell-specific differentiation markers and induced increased expression of pro-fibrotic growth factors. 

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4. Clickable decellularized extracellular matrix as a new tool for building hybrid-hydrogels to model chronic fibrotic diseases in vitro

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D0TB00613K  

   Petrou, Cassandra L.; D’Ovidio, Tyler J.; Bölükbas, Deniz A.; Tas, Sinem; Brown, R. Dale; Allawzi, Ayed; Lindstedt, Sandra; Nozik-Grayck, Eva; Stenmark, Kurt R.; Wagner, Darcy E.; et al (August 2020, Journal of Materials Chemistry B)

   null (Ed.)

   Fibrotic disorders account for over one third of mortalities worldwide. Despite great efforts to study the cellular and molecular processes underlying fibrosis, there are currently few effective therapies. Dual-stage polymerization reactions are an innovative tool for recreating heterogeneous increases in extracellular matrix (ECM) modulus, a hallmark of fibrotic diseases in vivo . Here, we present a clickable decellularized ECM (dECM) crosslinker incorporated into a dynamically responsive poly(ethylene glycol)-α-methacrylate (PEGαMA) hybrid-hydrogel to recreate ECM remodeling in vitro . An off-stoichiometry thiol–ene Michael addition between PEGαMA (8-arm, 10 kg mol −1 ) and the clickable dECM resulted in hydrogels with an elastic modulus of E = 3.6 ± 0.24 kPa, approximating healthy lung tissue (1–5 kPa). Next, residual αMA groups were reacted via a photo-initiated homopolymerization to increase modulus values to fibrotic levels ( E = 13.4 ± 0.82 kPa) in situ . Hydrogels with increased elastic moduli, mimicking fibrotic ECM, induced a significant increase in the expression of myofibroblast transgenes. The proportion of primary fibroblasts from dual-reporter mouse lungs expressing collagen 1a1 and alpha-smooth muscle actin increased by approximately 60% when cultured on stiff and dynamically stiffened hybrid-hydrogels compared to soft. Likewise, fibroblasts expressed significantly increased levels of the collagen 1a1 transgene on stiff regions of spatially patterned hybrid-hydrogels compared to the soft areas. Collectively, these results indicate that hybrid-hydrogels are a new tool that can be implemented to spatiotemporally induce a phenotypic transition in primary murine fibroblasts in vitro . 

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5. Feedback between mechanosensitive signaling and active forces governs endothelial junction integrity

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34701-y  

   McEvoy, Eoin; Sneh, Tal; Moeendarbary, Emad; Javanmardi, Yousef; Efimova, Nadia; Yang, Changsong; Marino-Bravante, Gloria E.; Chen, Xingyu; Escribano, Jorge; Spill, Fabian; et al (December 2022, Nature Communications)

   Abstract The formation and recovery of gaps in the vascular endothelium governs a wide range of physiological and pathological phenomena, from angiogenesis to tumor cell extravasation. However, the interplay between the mechanical and signaling processes that drive dynamic behavior in vascular endothelial cells is not well understood. In this study, we propose a chemo-mechanical model to investigate the regulation of endothelial junctions as dependent on the feedback between actomyosin contractility, VE-cadherin bond turnover, and actin polymerization, which mediate the forces exerted on the cell-cell interface. Simulations reveal that active cell tension can stabilize cadherin bonds, but excessive RhoA signaling can drive bond dissociation and junction failure. While actin polymerization aids gap closure, high levels of Rac1 can induce junction weakening. Combining the modeling framework with experiments, our model predicts the influence of pharmacological treatments on the junction state and identifies that a critical balance between RhoA and Rac1 expression is required to maintain junction stability. Our proposed framework can help guide the development of therapeutics that target the Rho family of GTPases and downstream active mechanical processes. 

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