Related papers: Breaking the VE-cadherin bonds
The syndecans represent an ongoing research field focused on their regulatory roles in normal and pathological conditions. Syndecan's role in cancer progression becomes well-documented, implicating their importance in diagnosis and even…
Optimal characterization of the mechanical properties of both cells and their surrounding is an issue of major interest. Indeed, cell function and development are strongly influenced by external stimuli. Furthermore, a change in cell…
Recently, Rozovsky et al. reported on the morphology and dynamics of superstructures in three-component lipid bilayers containing saturated and unsaturated lipids as well as cholesterol [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127, 36 (2005)]. We comment that…
Particle-particle and particle-wall collisions occur in many natural and industrial applications such as sedimentation, agglomeration, and granular flows. To accurately predict the behavior of particulate flows, fundamental knowledge of the…
Cell migration in morphogenesis and cancer metastasis typically involves interplay between different cell types. We construct and study a minimal, one-dimensional model comprised of two different motile cells with each cell represented as…
A hydrodynamic model is proposed to describe one of the most critical problems in intensive medical care units: the formation of biofilms inside central venous catheters. The incorporation of approximate solutions for the flow-limited…
Atherosclerosis is a major cardiovascular complication of diseases associated with elevated oxidative stress such as type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. In these situations, low density lipoproteins (LDL) undergo oxidation. Oxidized LDL…
Biological cells can actively tune their intracellular architecture according to their overall shape. Here we explore the rheological implication of such coupling in a minimal model of a dense cellular material where each cell exerts an…
Cell shape is determined by a balance of intrinsic properties of the cell as well as its mechanochemical environment. Inhomogeneous shape changes underly many morphogenetic events and involve spatial gradients in active cellular forces…
The hydration layer surrounding the phosphocholine headgroups of single-component phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipids, or of lipid-mixtures, assembled at an interface greatly modifies the interfacial properties and interactions. As water…
Maintaining tissue homeostasis requires appropriate regulation of stem cell differentiation. The Waddington landscape posits that gene circuits in a cell form a potential landscape of different cell types, wherein cells follow attractors of…
Observations of single epidermal cells on flat adhesive substrates have revealed two distinct morphological and functional states, namely a non-migrating symmetric unpolarized state and a migrating asymmetric polarized state. These states…
Aggregates of twisted protein fibers, such as sickle hemoglobin and actin, are important examples of biopolymers in which elastic interactions play a crucial role in determining the (metastable) bundle radii. Here, we present a corrected…
Mechanical loading generally weakens adhesive structures and eventually leads to their rupture. However, biological systems can adapt to loads by strengthening adhesions, which is essential for maintaining the integrity of tissue and whole…
Hayashi and Carthew (Nature 431 [2004], 647) have shown that the packing of cone cells in the Drosophila retina resembles soap bubble packing, and that changing E- and N-cadherin expression can change this packing, as well as cell shape.…
ECM components, such as the Perineuronal net (PNN), one of the most prevalent parts surrounding the neuronal cell. PNN is a protective net-like structure regulating neuronal activity such as neurotransmission, charge balance and generates…
We study the morphology of the Saturn ring defect and director structure around a colloidal particle with normal anchoring conditions and within the flow of the nematic host phase through a rectangular duct of comparable size to the…
As nutrients travel through microcirculation and are absorbed, their availability continuously decreases. However, a uniform nutrient distribution is critical, as it prevents tissue death in poorly supplied areas. How, then, do vascular…
The experimental actualisation of organoids modelling organs from brains to pancreases has revealed that much of the diverse morphologies of organs are emergent properties of simple intercellular "rules" and not the result of top-down…
The dynamical properties and mechanical functions of amorphous materials are governed by their microscopic structures, particularly the elasticity of the interaction networks, which is generally complicated by structural heterogeneity. This…