Publication Release

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterized by myocyte hypertrophy and fibrosis. Studies in 2 mouse models (R92W-TnT/R403Q-MyHC) at early HCM stage revealed upregulation of endothelin (ET1) signaling in both mutants, but TGFβ signaling only in TnT mutants. Dysregulation of miR29 expression has been implicated in cardiac fibrosis. But it is...

Neither allograft nor commercially available bone graft substitutes provide the same quality of bone healing as autograft. Incorporation of bioactive molecules like PTH within bone graft substitute materials may provide similar, if not better treatment options to grafting. The goal of this work was to develop a biomaterial system for...

RNA has been classically known to play central roles in biology, including maintaining telomeres 1 , protein synthesis 2 , and in sex chromosome compensation in certain species 3 , 4 . At the center of these important biological systems are noncoding RNAs. While thousands of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs)...

Our group focuses on the development of biomaterial matrices that can serve as advanced culture systems or in vivo delivery systems for primary cells. We exploit material chemistry as a tool to decipher how cells process signals from the extracellular matrix (ECM), and then use this information to design improved...

A new discovery provides rare evidence of symbolic behavior in Neanderthal communities and extends the record further geographically and temporally across Europe. Rodríguez-Hidalgo et al. analyzed recently unearthed Spanish imperial eagle phalanges, which were found along the Iberian Peninsula, and inferred that Neanderthal communities used these talons for symbolic purposes...

We show that protein unfolding on biomaterials may be dramatically reduced via tuning the chemical heterogeneity of the protein–material interface. Specifically, using dynamic single-molecule methods, we confirmed that the transient structure and dynamics of fibronectin (FN) may be mediated through varying the composition of random copolymer brushes. The brushes, which...

Paleoclimate records are rich sources of information about the past history of the Earth system. Information theory provides a new means for studying these records. We demonstrate that weighted permutation entropy of water-isotope data from the West Antarctica Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide ice core reveals meaningful climate signals in this...

There is a growing interest in materials that can dynamically change their properties in the presence of cells to study mechanobiology. Herein, we exploit the 365 nm light mediated [4+4] photodimerization of anthracene groups to develop cytocompatible PEG‐based hydrogels with tailorable initial moduli that can be further stiffened. A hydrogel formulation...

Valve interstitial cells (VIC) are the primary cell type residing within heart valve tissues. In many valve pathologies, VICs become activated and will subsequently profoundly remodel the valve tissue extracellular matrix (ECM). A primary indicator of VIC activation is the upregulation of α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) stress fibers, which in...

Bone marrow derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are a promising cell source for regenerative therapies; however, ex vivo expansion is often required to achieve clinically useful cells numbers. Recent results reveal that when MSCs are cultured in stiff microenvironments, their regenerative capacity can be altered in a manner that...