science.editor
Posts 45
|
This John Hopkins article has been picked up and republished by several science media outlets. The YouTube video is linked in the Miscellaneous thread here ...
KEY CONTENT:
“Our study demonstrates for the first time that the way cells move inside a three-dimensional environment, such as the human body, is fundamentally different from the behavior we’ve seen in conventional flat lab dishes. It’s both qualitatively and quantitatively different.”
One implication of this discovery is that the results produced by a common high-speed method of screening drugs to prevent cell migration on flat substrates are, at best, misleading, said Wirtz, who is the Theophilus H. Smoot Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins. This is important because cell movement is related to the spread of cancer, Wirtz said. “Our study identified possible targets to dramatically slow down cell invasion in a three-dimensional matrix.”
Original Source: http://gazette.jhu.edu/2010/06/21/studying-cells-in-3-d-could-reveal-new-cancer-targets/
edited by science.editor on 6/29/2010
|
science.editor
Posts 45
|
Another take: "3D Data Key to Next-Gen Bio Research"
KEY CONTENT:
Recent research by biomedical engineers at Johns Hopkins, published in the June issue of Nature Cell Biology, however, suggests that such 2D techniques may be giving a false picture—leading to misinterpretation of or failure to identify cell migration mechanisms that work differently in vivo than on flat substrates.
....
What they discovered was surprising: On 2D substrates, focal adhesions form easily and may last for several minutes. But, says Fraley, the shape of cells in 2D and the importance of focal adhesions limiting movement are "merely artifacts of their environment." In 3D matrices, says Wirtz, the same cells assume a distinctly different shape, "focal adhesions disappear and the role of adhesion proteins in regulating cell motility becomes different." The researchers discovered that cells moving in 3D environments make only very brief and short-lived contacts with collagen fibers surrounding them. Such loss of adhesion and enhanced cell movement are hallmarks of the metastatic process by which cancers spread throughout the body.
Original source: http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Technology-For-Change/3D-Dataviz-Key-to-NextGen-Bio-Research/
|