Beautiful ...and super interesting.
Now published... and on the #BiophysJ cover!
Cell Adhesion Pattern Shows Conserved #Scalings under #Geometrical Control
Studying the relationship between the size and the #anatomy and #physiology of #living #organisms has proven useful in deciphering what the key physical constraints are that apply to them. For instance, total adhesive pad area is found to #scale like organism mass over a wide variety of animal species, possibly to resist against body weight.
In this study, we apply this approach at the cell scale to ask how large-scale geometrical constraints affect the organisation of #adhesion patches and the size of #cellSubstrate contact at different stages of the #cellSpreading process. Indeed, #cells, like many animals, adhere to their substrate. For that, they use specific protein complexes, called #focalAdhesions, which form patches often situated at the cell periphery.
cc @JonFouchard
Unveiling the Architect of Life: Exploring the Plasma Membrane
#CellAdhesion, #CellMembrane, #CellSignaling, #Communication, #Disease, #Homeostasis, #LipidByLayer, #Pathology, #PlasmaMembrane, #SelectivePermeability, #SemiPermeableMembrane, #UnitMembrane #CellBiology Composed primarily of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates, the plasma membrane exhibits a dynamic and heterogeneous structure. Phospholipids, with their hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails, form the…
#FGF modulates cell adhesion to help salivary glands branch out
A Research Highlight showcasing new work from Ayan Ray & Philippe Soriano
Read the full Research Article, 'FGF signaling regulates #SalivaryGland branching morphogenesis by modulating cell adhesion' here:
A reviewer said, "This linkage between FGF signalling and #CellAdhesion provides a useful new dimension to understanding the mechanisms of #FGFsignalling".
FGF signalling is implicated in salivary gland branching during development, but the mechanisms underpinning its role in this process are unknown. Here, Ayan Ray and Philippe Soriano focus on the FGFR1 and FGFR2 receptors, which they show are particularly strongly expressed in outer bud epithelial cells of murine salivary glands. They generate various compound mutants to disrupt Fgfr1 and/or Fgfr2 expression in the salivary gland epithelium and find that this results in branching defects. They are able to largely rescue these defects by reintroducing Fgfr1/2FCPG alleles encoding receptors that cannot engage their standard downstream signals, which suggests that these receptors are regulating salivary gland branching through non-canonical mechanisms. They go on to demonstrate that loss of FGF signalling results in reduced E-cadherin accumulation at cell-cell junctions, reduced cell adhesion to the basement membrane, and compromised basement membrane integrity. Again, they partially rescue these cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion defects by expression of the Fgfr1/2FCPG mutant alleles. Although the mechanisms underlying these effects remain to be determined, this work suggests non-canonical FGF signalling promotes proper salivary gland branching during development by modulating cell adhesion.
#introduction:
We are a new cell systems biology team at the #UniversityOfManchester #UoM.
We study #CellAdhesion #networks in health and disease, especially #cancer.
Fascinated by how adhesion proteins help #cells function in so many ways!
#proteomics #integrins #adhesion #cytoskeleton #nucleus #bioinformatics #omics #ExtracellularMatrix #ECM #NetworkBiology #DataViz
Jocelyn Etienne
micrordt
Development
Pereda Lab
Michael Bachmann
Richard Sever
Byron Lab
Adam Byron